While we often hear the maxim ‘you are what you eat’, the truth is what we eat is a reflection of how we think. For instance, we can eat like connoisseurs, focusing on taste. Or we can eat like it’s a sin – in private and embarrassed about our food choices.
Or we can overeat in the belief that it may be a long time till we taste such food again – a kind of hoarding. Or we can overeat because we have company, but lose our appetites because we are alone.
Clearly what and how we eat can hint at our personalities. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Sensation seekers
Some people eat for the sensory pleasures food can give us – the warmth, the spice, the crunch, the melting chocolate – this is another form of instant gratification.
Comfort seekers
When food has a strong association with moods and memories, it can push people in times of stress towards sweet tastes.
Spontaneous eaters
These people find planning meals unnecessary and boring. Food is a release or reward for a moment, so dinner plans, for instance, are made suddenly.
Passionate foodies
Single-minded and persistent, these people go to extremes. When young and unconcerned about their health, they go overboard with coffee, tobacco and greasy foods. When health issues arise, they put the same zeal into health foods.
Eating to live
Picky eaters tend to be disciplined about meal times. Even if they must skip a meal, they’ll have a coffee and a cookie. They never overeat.
Routine meal people
They eat only familiar foods at familiar times, and hardly experiment. They will eat a new kind of food only once or twice, but after that, they expect a meal of familiar foods.
From HT Brunch, August 20, 2017
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