My family knows me better than I know myself; I know that’s cliché, but it’s one-hundred percent accurate. I can’t help but feel sorry for them at times because, like any other teenage girl at home, I often had uncontrollable hormones raging through the roof. Besides the incessant teenage drama, another shameful confession I must make is the alarming transformation I undergo when I ignore, either subconsciously or consciously, the familiar alerts of hunger. This terrible feeling results in a grumbling, ferocious beast that envelops my stomach and leaves me being all but friendly. The sad part is, I usually do not even notice why I start to become a slightly less menacing (and less green) version of the Hulk every time I come back from a long day of school, or after countless hours of mind-boggling homework.
During my high school days, my dad would come into my room with a cheerful smile informing me that dinner was ready. My response would be to glare back at him as if he had just interrupted me performing an experiment that was going to find the cure for cancer. I would reply with a terse and annoyed, “okay.” Dragging my feet all the way to the table, I would offer no signs for casual small-talk with any of my siblings. However, as my mother plated one of her home-cooked meals before my eyes and I picked up the fork with eagerness and purpose, I instantly knew that my inner Hulk was slowly fading away and, simultaneously, the beast within my stomach would cease to exist. My dad would take the seat right next to mine and say, “Do you feel better? Jovanna is back everyone.” Clearly, this monster within me needed to be tamed because I couldn’t continue to let my family be the victim of my hunger-ravaging needs. The solution was simple: feel the building irritation, eat a snack.
Stephanie Rosenbloom’s “Moody? Cranky? Tired? Feed Me!” discusses this idea of snacking with a healthful conscience and people’s tendencies to fall into this hunger trap as I did. This New York Times article is about the expanding meaning of hunger and how it is “no longer merely a physiological state, [but] it is now also thought of as a mood.” For some background information, it is important to note that Rosenbloom is a columnist for the travel section of the New York Times, a former staff reporter for various other sections of the newspaper, and a guest on television as well as radio programs. She is known for writing about “American social trends including fashion, technology and love in a digital age,” which does not exactly qualify her as the expert on nutrition; however, she incorporates Dr. Edward Saltzman, a nutrition scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture's Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston, as the center stage for scientific evidence for her claims about the negative side effects of hunger. This article is in the style section of the newspaper and the author directed her article toward women or people with an interest in trending fashion styles. Hunger mood swings may not be a fashion statement, but they are a negative trend that tends to keep reappearing in everyday life. Although the text was published quite a few years ago, in December 2005, the topic of the article is general enough so as not to have outdated information.
A so-called “food swing,” as Rosenbloom points out, is becoming more of an issue in today’s society, and by providing humorous examples in combination with health experts’ advice, the author effectively gives her readers information about how to combat and understand these sudden emotional changes. The author makes a claim that women tend to be the majority of the people reporting crabby moods inflicted by hunger. To support this claim she accumulates information primarily from Lisa Sasson, a clinical assistant professor in New York University's department of nutrition, food studies and public health. Sasson provides evidence that suggests women are more “weight conscious” and their “heightened awareness of their own eating habits may make them go overboard, incorrectly linking every mood to hunger.” According to Sasson, healthy snacks such as “nuts, fruit, cheese and hummus” are a great alternative to ward away any unwanted emotional hunger. Ultimately, Rosenbloom wants to drive home that there is a “hunger-mood connection” that many people, particularly women, can relate to. This phenomenon results in the constant need to satisfy hunger irritability with some form of sustenance (hopefully healthy foods). I think she successfully wove in enough ethos to convince me of her claims and kept me interested with her comedic examples of moody women that are in constant need of a snack.
Well, readers, I want you to walk away from your computer today knowing that you are not alone in the day-to-day battle of “food swings.” What is even more important is that it’s not too late to step in and take control of that roller coaster of emotions. Don’t deprive yourself of food! Clearly, what you eat and when you eat is vital for sustaining a balanced mood. With that being said, I will be making sure I stick by my blueberries and trail mix whenever I start to feel a bit snappy in between meals. It’s time I start to take control over this habitual feeling of irritation and provide myself with some healthful snacks while I await my self-cooked dinnertime alternative. I won’t need to shamefully apologize or make excuses for the unintentional snarky glances or rude comments that resulted from the grumbling hunger pains within me. I would hope that as a result of this newly acquired information about the hunger and mood relationship, I will be able to keep my body energized and my attitude positive. Will my optimistic take on this article have any effect on my actual daily encounters with food? Well, I sure hope it gives me enough willpower to cook myself dinner on a weekday stacked with homework. Just like that catchy pop song from the nineties called “The Power,” “I’ve got the power,” and so do you!
Works Cited
Rosenbloom, Stephanie. "Moody? Cranky? Tired? Feed Me!" New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 Dec. 2005. Web. 3 May 2013.
I started reading your post and I completely agree with your statement about how your family knows you better than you know yourself. My family has dealt with my crazy emotions for 18 consecutive years...poor mom and dad. I would always come home from school hungry and if the refrigerator did not have something that looked decently appetizing, I would take my anger out on anyone around me.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading your post, I learned that I might want to inform my mom to stock up on nuts, fruit, cheese and hummus for when I come home from college, since they are prone to prevent "unwanted emotional hunger." Have you tried eating these snacks? Have you noticed a change in mood?
I am excited to see what you will be cooking and what it is like to cook on a college campus!
Jovanna- Your blog post was very relatable! I loved all the personal stories you included and how you really connected with the audience on a sentimental level. As a girl, I understand why we hesitate to snack and how it's harder for us to justify eating a lot because of the pressures of weight gain. I thought the article was really informative on this and it makes me feel better to know that snacking is actually what I'm supposed to do to have better moods and less mood swings. I learned a lot from your post and I really will take into account your suggestions of blueberries and nuts as snacks! I can see how those would be delicious and healthy. I really have enjoyed your blog so far and hope your success continues!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed your crude interpretations of yourself when ignoring the "familiar alerts of hunger". I know exactly how you feel, so it was that much easier to make that relatable and humorous. What I enjoyed most, however, was that you attempted to assist your audience in becoming happier and healthier through education.
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