Too Much Of A Good Thing?

This was the spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill in Arizona, Blair River. He recently died at the age of 29. He tried to capitalize on his size in a manner similar to the way Jared of Subway fame has capitalized on his weight loss. In either case, our cultural obsession with indulgence was the engine driving their popularity.

We often think of our Puritan roots in terms of our warped approach to sexuality. As I thought about this young man's death, I began to ponder how our puritan roots have shaped our attitudes to all manner of indulgence.

For example, the state with the highest per capita of on line subscriptions for pornography is Utah. In other words, the state most under the influence of the Church of Latter Day Saints, which takes a very restrictive and limiting view on sexuality, harbors this guilty secret.

Those are the operative words - guilty secret - I believe that is the key to the titillation that factors into so many of our indulgences.

I followed a link suggested by a Facebook friend to a NY Times article that referenced a 2007 study in which they found that feeling ok about indulging oneself lead to less of a binge. The participants were told this was a taste test survey and were instructed to eat donuts. One group was told that they shouldn't feel bad about eating the donuts as all the participants were doing so. They were all then asked to participate in an additional taste survey involving a large bowl of candy. Those who were encouraged not to feel bad actually ate less of the candy than those who were not.

Of course, the whole conclusion of this study was that the secret to losing weight was to cut yourself some slack and give yourself permission to indulge. I mildly objected to the implication that big was still equated as bad. However, the overall conclusion was rather interesting and contributed to my thoughts tonight.

Think about binge drinking. I look back and cannot reasonably explain why I drank that way when I was younger. It makes no sense. However, I think that when we consider the behavior in light of Mormon porn, maybe we are onto something, namely that when something is forbidden or "sinful" and we are likely to harbor guilty feelings, we indulge all the more.

Think about how we relate to food. How much of our enjoyment is tied up with the guilty pleasure tango? Perhaps we dive into that box of cookies all the more because we felt guilty putting into our shopping cart, felt guilty again as we placed at the checkout, more guilt as we unpacked it (maybe even hid it up in a cabinet for later), and finally once we ripped into that box, boy were we ready to indulge!

Let’s consider the seven deadly sins…not sure of the list? Think of that rather frightening movie, Seven, in which individuals are murdered by a serial killer because of their guilt. Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Vanity. Lust. Envy. Anger.

Essentially no indulgence is to be tolerated. If you enjoy your food, your money, your relaxation,
or your sexual activity too much, you are committing a deadly sin. And just how much is too much? There is no answer and so deep down we question ourselves…do I have the right to enjoy this?

If you’re liberal, the script is easy - with so much suffering in the world, how dare I…with so much hunger in the world, how dare I…with so much trouble in the world, how dare I…

If you’re conservative you see it all as sin anyway, so you already see it all as forbidden fun.

So where I am going with all this? Well, let’s go back and look at our spokesman, Blair. Being completely honest, on some level, for even a split second only, did you not think “well, of course, he died, just look at him…” I know I did. Inherent in that thought is a judgment - he was guilty of a sin - he got what he had coming to him.

Yet that very manner of thinking reminds me of something I read recently after Charlie Sheen made an anti-Semitic rant about his shows producer. There was a joke from the 1930's, "Hitler was making a passionate speech in Nuremberg and shouted to the crowd, "Who is the reason for all of Germany's problems? The Jews and the bicycle riders!" To which, one man turned to the other and said, "Why the bicycle riders?" We make similar responses when we pass judgment on individuals over their health issues.

We have been taught that corporations can sell us the answer to any problem we may face. We have been taught that if you do everything exactly the right way, you can avoid all health problems. If you maintain your weight at the right level, if you exercise the right amount, if you eat the right foods in the right portions...you can live forever! This feeds right into our Puritan way of thinking - if you live the right way you can go to Heaven!

The problem, of course, is that we really cannot control our biological destiny. Science continues to prove that more and more of what we face is due to the genetics we have inherited. A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with osteoporosis and she was devastated. In her mind, she was doing everything correctly - she is nearly an ascetic when it comes to food and portion size - she is militant about her approach to exercise. So how could SHE develop osteoporosis?

I see people that are so adamant in their belief that they will diet and exercise their way to perfect health - they are so pious about it. God forbid they indulge. When they do, the penance they assign themselves would make the Holy Father proud.

Which gets back to my whole point about indulgence. What if a wizard came along and said to you - "I can guarantee you live to be 150! All you need do is give up all physical contact with other humans and eat nothing but plain oatmeal" Would it really be worth it then to live to 150? I hope that every last one of you says "No."

Is it really worth giving up all delicious treats, by which I mean abstaining or feeling so guilty when you do indulge, in the hope of adding a few years to your life? Is it really worth sacrificing hours every week with endless exercise rather than lounging a bit on your sofa, watching some completely silly television show, having a pillow fight with your children, because you believe it will make you live longer?

By the way, studies have repeatedly shown that all this healthy living and exercise doesn't improve life expectancy. "Based on available information, physicians' recommendations about exercise should not include the possibility of increased life expectancy." Here's just one example.

I'm not suggesting we should give up trying to maintain a reasonable weight or that we should superglue ourselves to our couches. What healthy living does affect is quality of life. However, we all have our own ideas about what gives a life quality - in my case, I need a healthy amount of peace and quiet to just think and ponder, to read books and journals, to watch movies. I'm a big boy. I have health issues. Has my weight and activity level given me diabetes? Perhaps on top of a genetic trigger, yes. However, my dad is an equally big and equally sedentary man and he does not have diabetes.

I struggle with our Puritan heritage all the time. I drift into feelings of self recrimination. However, more often than not I allow myself to indulge and I am mostly successful at keeping the negative thoughts at bay. Peace.