The Food Controller

My husband tends to overeat.

Slightly before we got married, I started taking an active part in controlling his portions after he realized he could no longer fit into any of his trousers for work – and he willingly allowed me to do so. It became a habit between us, and a bit of a joke as time went on. 

I would always gently remind my husband that he had enough rice on his plate, only to have my mother object and tell him he could have more. To give Behr some credit, he would sneak a look at me with a cheeky smile and regretfully decline. 

It did become interesting after awhile, seeing how people’s reactions were to my portion control, especially in a society where one is encouraged to eat, and feeding the ones around you are akin to a type of love. 

So much so that it is often said that men tend to put on weight after marriage as a sign of contentment. I would laugh off this comment, and firmly tell people that it just wasn’t going to happen. 

As much as it may be a sign of affection, my idea of love is to keep my loved ones healthy and fit. From the very beginning I told my husband how important it was to me for us both to have a healthy lifestyle, and he grudgingly follows me intermittently to my yoga classes and eats relatively well. 

In an age where lifestyle related diseases are rife in our community, it was a conscious decision on my part to live as healthy a lifestyle as we could. 

Regardless of how people may raise an eyebrow whenever I tell my husband he’s having too much rice when we’re in public, at the end of the day it was a decision we both made to honour, and it remains a mutual understanding in our relationship.