after reading the essay "Life Size," i was, to say the least disturbed and confused. It is difficult for me to wrap my mind around such an extreme behavior. it is hard for me to understand such a serious mental shift and emotional struggle in which someone sees food as the enemy- but like many of you have said, it IS all about control. although the case is not nearly as extreme, this prompted thoughts of my friend in high school who had an eating disorder. every day at lunch she ate half of her yogurt, water, and maybe a handful of pretzels. these habits were not strnage at first, until her weight started plummeting and everyone around her could see what was going on. he slowly lost more and more weight, everyday obessing about working out and eating less than the day before. She has gained her weight back as a result of college (drinking, studying, and sleeping). like i said before- i know this isn't such an extreme case- but still, to this day, she will not have a meal without commenting on the calorie intake, how much she's been eating lately, etc. she is my old roomate and going to the grocery store with her, trying to compromise on food, was like pulling teeth. finally, i said "Ok, you get your fat free cheese and I'll get my junk food and we'll call it even." after reading this peice and discussing weight issues in class, i have realized something about my friend- i dont know where this osession with control came from, but i still see it today in her eating and in other aspects of her life. she sees gorging on chocolate cake as unreasonable and appalling, i see it as an indulgement.