I've never been much of a 'weigh myself' kind of person. I have only been on a scale twice in the past 5 years... once on a dare and the other in a doctor's office.
While I don't think much about weight, I do think about the foods I eat. I've had to, given a rather intense reaction to wheat. Even small amounts of flour added to soups or sauces result in large and immediate effects. And the evidence is as external as internal; dining partners are able to watch my eyes swell at virtually the same rate that my stomach cramps.
That doesn't mean I always avoid the stuff. On certain occasions, I'll go wild and willingly suffer the consequences of a good pizza or French bread with cheese or olive oil.
So it was, on my second day in Buenos Aires, that I chose to down a plate of warm empanadas. Reveling in the taste, it was only when my husband asked how I was feeling that I realized I wasn't... nothing happened.
And it still hasn't. With a 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' kind of glee, I've therefore been eating my way through just about every wheat and bread product (along with meat and wine) this country has to offer, with absolutely no consequences. What's more, I've been losing weight according to clothes that return from the laundry substantially looser than they went.
Over yet another breakfast of medialunas (mini-croissants with sweet or savory fillings), I remain intrigued by what appears to be a break in the laws of nutritional physics here in Argentina. From the looks of it, no one seems to be suffering from the effects of the glutton we're accustomed to in the States, in spite of their eating as much if not more than we do. Everywhere we go, behind plates piled high with food and goblets filled with Malbec, are fit, healthy, and youthful people of all ages.
Certainly exercise, stress, and happiness are factors. Yet conversations with the locals reveal that many couch, computer, and car bound Argentineans 'suffer' the same fit and trim fate of edible excess. I've therefore concluded that perhaps it is not quantity or even the types of foods we're eating in the States that are wholly problematic. Our manipulation of food- genetic and otherwise- as well as the preservatives we add to them have consequences not only for the foods themselves, but for the bodies they feed. Given my own rather shocking experience, I'm left wondering whether these preservatives are equally to blame for many of the allergies and weight gain that we attribute primarily to diet.
It's a topic I'll continue to look (and eat) into here in Argentina and back at home in New York. Now, por favor, pass the migas!
