A Reflection on Eating Challenges

A few days ago, I decided to compile a list of all the eating challenges I’ve ever attempted in the past few years. I thought about posting it here in its entirety, but I felt that it would bore most people out of their minds.

My goal is to entertain people with pictures and stories of what I do. I don’t really need to toot my own horn. I know that I’ve completed many challenges. I know that some of my successful challenges were supremely difficult.

Then again, the whole point of having a blog dedicated to eating challenges is to toot my own horn. I want my “accomplishments” to be known. I don’t want people coming away thinking, “This guy just started. This guy’s unknown. He hasn’t done anything worth my attention. Why should I read anything he has to say?”

Sigh… it’s a balancing act on my part. I imagine at some point in the future I will post my challenges list, in whole or in several parts. For now I would like to take a moment and reflect upon what I do.

To put it simply, I like to test my ability to consume large portions of food. Restaurants help this habit along by offering ridiculously oversized meal items that I happily order and try to consume.

Whatever the psychology behind it is, I feel a sense of accomplishment at being able to completely devour meals that 4-6 persons would find difficult to share. I could call it finding my skill – my niche. A few weeks ago, while at a buffet, I casually noticed that I consumed more food than the family of six seated next to me.

So why do restaurants offer these oversized meals at all? Why do they present “eat-it-all-and-it’s-free” promotions?

 

"521 Burger"

Obviously, nobody needs to consume 44-oz of hamburger meat in sitting…. or 6 pounds or burrito. There’s no way your body can make use of all the nutrients contained in the food. In most individuals, the result would be digestive issues and weight gain. The vast majority of eaters would not even succeed in the task at hand.

Eating establishments sell monumental portions, I believe, to generate business. There’s a chance that people might come from miles away to visit a restaurant that sells a humungous hamburger or a mountainous ice cream sundae. I can testify from experience to this possibility!

Secondly, the “eat-it-all-for-free” promotion is usually a sucker’s bet. Very few people are capable of finishing the portion sizes presented by a restaurant for a challenge. The eating establishment makes lots of money on the failed trials. Successes are few and far between – the free food actually given out pales in comparison to the generated business. Restaurants potentially make a killing off eating challenges. At the very least, it’s a good advertising gimmick.

 

I don’t mind so much, because I’ve actually managed to eat many a meal on the house.

Of course, I don’t need the incentive of a free meal to take on an eating ‘challenge.’ I’ve consumed some meals for small prizes, such as a free hat or t-shirt, or my picture on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The restaurants get an even better deal here, since the ‘free’ merchandise or a photograph is less costly than the food they sell.

I’ve also consumed many grotesque meals that did not offer a prize of any kind. I consider any huge item of food a challenge! I could probably conclude that eating is a bit like the sport of hunting: the thrill is in the chase. We eat for the sake of digestive conquest. There’s no greater motivation required.

At this point, I’ve attempted 61 total ‘challenges’ and completed 55 of them for a total success rate of 90.2%. For me, failure to consume has been a rare event. I see failure as an enticement to push harder next time around. And I always do.

Many challenges still lie ahead of me.

I have not yet begun to eat!