We had company for dinner tonight. A couple we haven't seen in a couple of years. They've always tended toward heavy, but I was almost shocked at their appearance tonight. Especially his. He is easily a hundred pounds over weight and most of it seems to be in his stomach. It's massive - bigger than most pregnant women at nine months. I had cheese and pepperoni and crackers and a chex mix out before dinner and I watched them plow through most of that. For dinner for four I put six rolls on the table and there was a full stick of butter. After dinner there were no rolls left and no butter and two of us did not eat any rolls. He used his rolls to soak up the meat juice on his plate. And still had room for dessert. That's thousands of calories eaten in just one sitting. He must be constantly looking for, planning for and eating food. He would have to take in hundreds and hundreds of calories to maintain his weight at its current level. They sniped at each other a lot - these little verbal barbs shooting across the table. No tender looks, no shared little laughs. So which came first? the weight or the unhappiness? the chicken or the egg. They were still arguing as they left, some silly disagreement over who was going to use the car in the morning. All I can think about are the habits we allow ourselves to fall into. They are in the habit of fighting about everything - so entrenched in the habit that they were unaware how tedious it was to listen to them. They are in the habit of inhaling thousands upon thousands of calories daily. They are in the habit of being obese. If they could take a step back, take a minute to think, to reassess, they might be able to change some of those habits and create happiness within their own lives. The way I have and continue to do every day. I stop and think now before I take that bite, buy that food, have that lick. I consider. I choose. And am therefore in control of my life instead of food - or unhappiness - being in charge of me. I'm not usually happy to see company leave - but I couldn't wait for this evening to be over - for them to take their negative habits home with them.