It always strikes me as odd that restaurants have such uncomfortable seating…for fat people.

Maybe it’s because the really nice restaurants that all the foodies go to don’t want to be perceived as the cause for obesity. On one level, they’re not. Eating – what and how much – is a personal choice and a personal responsibility.  Yet, isn’t it the restaurants that provide the overly large portions of everything?

I’ve gotten really fat. No question. I eat poorly and exercise infrequently. That’s my fault.

I don’t always go to restaurant that serve healthy food that’s also well prepared. That’s also my fault. Yet, I wonder why on earth any restaurant allows booths designed with immovable tables and immovable benches.

I’m sure that, at some point in the process, the owner or chef is sitting down with the interior designer or architect or whoever and planning out how many people they want to cram into the space they have allotted. They’re probably discussing how often a table will turn and, in order to expedite that process, how to make the seating so that it’s comfortable but not too comfortable.

Thus, the tight booth and the tables that are way to close to one another.

I visited a restaurant this morning to meet a friend for breakfast. It has a great reputation and pricing to match.

At first, they hostess offered us a smallish, two person only table within about two feet of the next table. The table situation would have been optimal for my girth but it was really intrusive for our conversation.  I really prefer not to  be too close to someone else. I don’t really want to listen on on their conversations and I would prefer they don’t listing to mine no matter how inadvertently.

So, we were offered a booth. The table was fixed and immovable as were the benches. Luckily, I was able to squeeze in. Barely.  My friend was kind enough not to say anything. So I said it myself: “I need to lose weight”.

Quite frankly, it was uncomfortable. To top it off, of course, the portions at this particular eatery were generous. So, on the one hand, I need to make wise choices about what food to put in my mouth so I can fit comfortably into restaurant booths. On the other hand, restaurants promote over eating with large portions cooked with plenty of fat, sugar, salt and calories.

Ironic?