Prompt 342 - foodism- Eating for the Wrong Reasons - slashluv18

[slashluv18.livejournal.com]

Title: Eating for the Wrong Reasons
Fandom: original
Prompt: #342 – foodism
Warnings: None
Pairings: None
Rating: G
Word count: 689
Summary: Marcus isn’t losing on Weight Watchers.
Notes: My fourth week. This is a scene from a future story that is still unwritten, it will most likely be the first scene.
Feedback: Yes, please!

“Marcus, talk to me.” Janine, the Weight Watcher leader, said, a frown marring her otherwise perfect face.

“About what?” Marcus asked defensively, arms crossed.

“You’ve been a member for two months, but you haven’t lost anything.”

“Maybe this program isn’t for me.” Marcus snarled as his eyes flashed.

“A lot of people say that, but I always turns out that they’re not doing he program correctly. Are you exercising at least 30 minutes every day?” Janine questioned.

Marcus nodded. “I alternate between practicing tennis, swimming, and doing kickboxing.”

“You should add some weight training in there, but otherwise, good. How about food?” Janine asked.

Marcus’s silence was telling.

Janine sighed sympathetically. “Marcus, if you don’t eat correctly and stay within the points, you’re not going to lose. It’s a fact.”

Marcus crossed his arms. “It’s too hard.”

“You don’t have to change everything all at once. That can be really overwhelming.”

Marcus didn’t reply.

Janine sighed. “Let’s start with this. Do you know why you eat so much?” Marcus opened his mouth and Janine put her hand up. “And don’t say it’s because you’re hungry. No one is ever that hungry.”

“Then I don’t know,” Marcus shrugged.

“That will be your task for this week. On a sheet of paper, every time you eat I want you to write down what you eat, the time you eat it, and what you are feeling as you eat it.”

“What’s the point?” Marcus asked grouchily.

“You’ll see the point next week. Make sure to bring the paper to the meeting.”

“Fine,” Marcus stood up and exited, not sparing Janine another glance.

~ ~

It was a cloudy day as Marcus entered the building. He checked in and went to weigh in. Like always he didn’t lose. Instead, he actually went in the opposite direction and gained 1.1 pounds. He ignored the lady’s reassurances, turning and cutting the normal spiel off.

He found his seat in the back, slouching as his foot tapped patiently, eyes firmly planted on the ground. He wasn’t even sure why he kept coming and throwing away his money on the useless program.

High-heeled feet stopped in front of him and forced his eyes up. Janine smiled as she turned the chair in front of him around, sitting down, brushing invisible lint off her pencil skirt. “Do you have the paper?”

Marcus reached into his vest pocket, pulling out the crumpled sheet.

Janine looked at it silently. Suddenly Janine looked up and smiled. “I want you to listen to me without getting defensive. Here.” She pointed to a particular line. “It says you were angry. What were you angry about?”

“My blind date was disgusted by me and I thought him a pompous prick.”

“So after dinner, you went home and ate fudge.”

Marcus eyes turned to his lap. “Yes.”

Janine didn’t say anything accusatory as she went back to the sheet. “How about this entry? You wrote down you were feeling stressed?”

“My boss has been giving me a hard time. Nothing I do is good enough and I’m afraid I’m going to be fired. I think she just doesn’t like how I look.”

Janine nodded. “So one the way home, you picked up a McDonald’s double quarter pounder meal and you made it a large?”

“Yes.” Marcus replied flatly.

“Do you see a pattern?”

Marcus kept his mouth closed.

“You eat when you are feeling high emotions. There’s nothing unusual about that, not at all. Emotional eating is actually very common. The trick is finding other ways, healthier ways, to deal with the emotions.”

“Like what?”

“It depends on the person. Some calming activities are exercising, going for a walk, playing with a pet, listening to music, reading, journaling, spending time with friends, and so on. It depends on what in particular relaxes you.”

Marcus nodded, mind busy.

“You task for the week is instead of immediately eating when upset, try a different activity. Hopefully, by trial and error, you’ll find something relaxing to you, and I want you to present your results to me next week. Deal?”

Marcus eyed Janine before closing his eyes. “Deal.”