Housewife Fights Freshman Fifteen

They used to say that you had to beware the "freshman fifteen" during your first year of college.

For those of you who are unaware, the freshman fifteen is the fifteen pounds that many Freshman college students GAIN because of the changes associated with newly-gained independence.

There are a mix of factors that lead to the weight gain actually, including the availability of mounds of junk and cafeteria foods, late night snacking during study sessions and change in exercise regiment, but the bottom line is that BAM! You become a sophomore and you're fifteen pounds heavier.

I would like to suggest that the same principle applies to marriage. One of my colleagues believes it's more like twenty pounds, so we'll call it the "housewife twenty."

When I was single, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. That means that I was able to maintain my own nuanced diet:

Breakfast + 2 hours = snack; snack + 1 hour = lunch; lunch + 2 hours = snack; snack + 2 hours = dinner and dessert; late-night popcorn. ;)

Now, I'm married.

My husband wants to eat at 12 noon, so he constantly fights against breakfast. My son wants to eat at 8:00 a.m. That means my waking time is thrown off, and I am forced to eat when he does. But he wants a snack at 9:30, and I can't have one until 10:00 a.m. Okay; I cheat this once. I'll have my regular lunch at 11 a.m. But wait, my husband wants to eat at noon. Maybe I should wait until then.

So, I eat at noon, way too much, because I waited too long. Hmph.

Take this unintentional binge... and multiply it times 100 days... and you're probably gonna get at least ten pounds.

What I'm doing now is reverting back to my original diet, eating at MY times despite whatever times they decide to eat. So far I've lost three of the unintended ten pounds I've gained since last year.

I feel good.

What have your experiences been with the housewife twenty?