Burger King reminded me ...

[apocalypsos]

... of a fic pet peeve that bothers me more than "Dean is blond!" and Sam's ever-changing eye color. (One which clex_monkie89 and I were discussing the other day.)

Sam does NOT live solely on salads.

For crying out loud, he is six-foot-five, built live a brick outhouse and lives a very physical lifestyle. He would have to eat ridiculous amounts of salad and tofu and grubs and whatever other "healthy" foods he supposedly lives on to maintain that body.

Come on, we've seen the way Jared eats. That man puts away food like there's a small nation of starving people living in his torso. I have an uncle who's in his forties now but was built almost exactly like Sam when he was in his twenties -- a couple of inches shorter, but basically the same body -- and he's notorious for coming to family parties, eating two full plates of food, and walking out the door with a big Tupperware container full of leftovers. (Actually, I have five uncles on my mom's side who are all big guys -- and let's not even get into how I lucked out and ended up five-two ... *sigh* -- and they all eat like that, but my uncle Eddie's the closest example.)

It's NOT all salad. It's not huge heaping plates of Doritos or whatever Dean's supposed to eat in comparison. It's meat and potatoes and pasta and veggies and cake and seafood and ... you know, food groups. Many, many food groups. Guys in that shape have ridiculous metabolisms. Those two guys are eating chicken and steak and ribs. They're eating potatoes and dessert and everything in sight.

I don't doubt Sam eats healthier than Dean does -- Sam's more likely to eat a salad with dinner than Dean, who'd probably swap that salad out for chili cheese fries if he could -- but it's a salad WITH dinner. Which considering Sam's size, he probably orders two of and then proceeds to lick the plate.

And I have a really hard time believing those two men have missed more than one meal at a time EVER, and not for lack of trying. They're tied up in a basement, some creature's got them cornered in an abandoned asylum ... that's why those two miss meals. We're talking about two grown men in near-perfect health, both muscular and over six feet tall. The only complaint that anybody ever seems to have about either one of their bodies is that Jensen's could use more definition in comparison. That's it.

That flashback in Something Wicked is a HUGE sign that those two rarely if ever went hungry, and for two very important reasons:

1. Sam had no problem complaining that he didn't want the food he'd asked for in the first place.
2. Dean had no problem throwing it away.

My mother would have KILLED me for throwing away perfectly good food and I never worried about where my next meal was coming from. I'm not saying that they had a huge selection to pick from, or that Ramen wasn't in their grocery bags sometimes, or that John wasn't grocery shopping with food stamps at the dollar store and buying the dented cans every so often. But those boys were not starving. Those boys have NEVER starved. Children who don't know where their next meal is coming from don't pick and choose their meals or throw away perfectly good Spaghetti-Os.

But mainly it's the salad thing that bothers me, because I have lived around big guys all of my life and ... NONONO.

Comments

[wolfshark]

Seriously - my brothers are all 6'5", and two of the three are built like Jared. They eat everything in sight, and always have.

Of course, the oldest is over 30, and his metabolism is slowing down, and he's starting to get a little chubby, because he hasn't figured out he can't do that anymore, but the youngest, who's enlisted in the army, eats like he's trying to feed one at every meal.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Exactly. My brother is the only guy in my family who doesn't eat like that. He's 5'11" and he almost always picks at his food, and he's a goddamn twig.

And another sign those two didn't starve -- Lucky Charms and Spaghetti-Os. If John had the extra cash to spend on brand names Sam and Dean weren't going hungry.

[mcee.livejournal.com]

i had a dream once where sam was sitting on a motel bed, watching TV and methodically eating his way through a whole loaf of sliced bread. as a snack.

i woke up laughing.

[altiloquent.livejournal.com]

My cousins used to do that, balling up each slice of bread and stuffing it into their mouths. Apparently the rolling make it more... delicious or something.

Boys are WEIRD.

[wtfbrain.livejournal.com]

What color is Dean's hair anyway? It looks like a dark blond to me, but I always see these "Dean is not blond!" posts, so what the hell are we supposed to call it? It's not brown, so he's not a brunet, and if it's not blond then what?

[lunardreamed.livejournal.com]

very light brown

[winterlive.livejournal.com]

...dean would say, if asked, that sam lives solely on rabbit food.

but that's because dean's tired of being told to eat something green that is not preceeded by the word "gummi". :)

[jira-rd.livejournal.com]

I have been having a crappy day and it's not even noon, and I was crying earlier, and then I came and read this, and then I read Which considering Sam's size, he probably orders two of and then proceeds to lick the plate, and stopped crying and started laughing helplessly.

Thank you. It's true, too. Ahah. I'm going to go off and try to feel better. And download Supernatural. I haven't been keeping up with it properly.

[lunardreamed.livejournal.com]

And Dean's growth wasn't stunted because he gave his food to Sam. He's not short!

And I agree. Sam is probably not the pickiest eater either. I can count the number of things I eat on two hands. And I never change brands. I'm picky. People who eat out of diners on a regular basis are not picky.

Someone wrote a story that Sam has to watch what he eats and that's why he was chubby when he was twelve and he never understood how Dean could eat everything in sight. I don't buy that. I think he was chubby until he hit his growth spurt and then he never could get fat again.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Damn straight that man's not short. He's six-one, for Christ's sake. He's shorter in comparison to Sam, but then again Tokyo is shorter in comparison to Sam.

[goddessleila.livejournal.com]

Not only that, but their father, with the kind of military background he had, would have the basic common sense to know that you can't expect your body to live up to those kind of physical demands without feeding it. John and his boys eat steak, and lots of 'em.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

John and his boys eat steak, and lots of 'em.

Which is why I want to go to dinner with the Winchesters. Just let it stare at the oven in horror and then bring it to me still mooing in fear. *rubs hands together*

[apetslife.livejournal.com]

My brother, who's only 5'10", used to eat two steaks, potatoes, veggies, and dessert for dinner when he was an athlete (and in shape fairly comparable to Sam and Dean). I can only imagine what the ginormous Padalecki can put away at one meal.

Which is to say, um, yeah, Sam and Dean eat a lot. And if they ARE tied up and miss a meal? That next one will be twice as big. Papa Winchester probably started scamming credit cards just so he could feed them both.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I keep picturing Jared in that postcards photo with the three styrofoam containers of food in his hand, and he goes back to his trailer afterwards and eats everything in them, and then licks the inside for good measure.

And then possibly eats the styrofoam containers. :)

[shoiryu.livejournal.com]

I've been quietly muttering this at fandom since I got into the damn show, heh. Dean, of course, is fond of saying that Sam eats twice as much as he does, he's just way less shameless about it!

[storydivagirl.livejournal.com]

Word to that. Dude, my brother was ALWAYS eating and he was an athlete in good shape. Also drinks too...boys don't just do a little sip of anything. He was always walking around with a carton of orange juice or milk in his hands.

And my friend, Mike, is never without his big jug of iced tea.

[amalthia]

my husband is 6 "1" and he eats everything in sight and bitches and complains if he's hungry (which is often if he doesn't eat enough) And then complalins that I won't share my meal with him because I can only eat half of what he eats so I take the rest home. I find it very hard to believe as well that Sam could survive off just salads. (though some places do serve gigantic salads.)

[trinity_clare]

THANK YOU.

[squee1123.livejournal.com]

Heh. All of my boy cousins...actually no ALL of my cousins on my mom's side are tall and tower over me and it irritates me. The girls dont pack away food like the boys do.

I swear. My cousin Travis got married two or three years ago and he always comes to our holiday get togethers and packs away two or three plates of food...and then leaves to go to his wife's family. And before he showed up at our house? He was at a FRIEND'S party. Its insane. Last year he stopped after three plates and said he had to leave room. WHERE?! How could there BE anymore room?!

Whoo...ramble done. I wholeheartedly agree that Sam is a meat and potatoes kinda guy. And Dean may eat the regular doritios, but maybe Sam prefers the baked ones.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but he eats the whole bag of baked Doritos in one sitting. ;)

[sasha-davidovna.livejournal.com]

Dean had no problem throwing it away.

That scene has always bothered me just a little. I guess I put it down to John providing food security but not adequate supervision for his boys, and Dean being annoyed, because you do not throw away food in my family and we have a hell of a lot more money than John ever did, unless he really is the black sheep of the gun family. *g* I guess dogs and compost bins weren't really an option for Dean, but those Spaghetti-Os weren't even at the dog-or-compost level, they were perfectly good for days with refrigeration, and probably even a couple without.

Word to the rest of the rant, too. My brother is an exception at 6'4" and about 120 pounds (I'm vaguely astonished he's not actually dead) but my other male relatives, who are mostly built like Sam in addition to being as tall, put away absolutely astonishing amounts of food.

[mellaithwen]

Hear freakin' hear! I remember someone on supernatural_tv spent like 4 pages worth of ranting on the fact that she hated fics with the boys eating in diners and/or fast-food restaurants because even hunting wouldn't be enough to burn off the calories :| every guy I know eats like that and still they don't put on weight. It's not completely unheard of, yeesh.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

... uh, where exactly did she expect them to eat? There aren't a hell of a lot of motels out there with built-in kitchens in the rooms, and the ones that have them are expensive. It's either eating out or starve with those two.

Guys like that are bottomless pits.

[scary-being-me.livejournal.com]

They're height and build is a good indicator that they never went hungry.

People who are not well nourished tend to be shorter than people with similar genes who are. If you took a set of identical twins and fed one a nutritious diet and gave the other enough to survive on; the well fed twin would be taller and have a better build.

One of the primary reasons the average height has continually increased over the last 150+ years is improved nutrition. I'm the 7th of 8 brothers (I have six sisters too) and I'm taller than all of my brothers except the one who is younger than me. All of my sisters are shorter; but my mother didn't hit the 5' mark. My father was shorter than his sons and was taller than his father.

[alieneyes.livejournal.com]

My Brother? Six foot three inches tall (maybe four inches, but that's pushing it) Played football in high school, a linebacker. Lots of activity come season and his eating habits would freaking increase. That man is a Hoover for food. There is four of us in our family, and if there is food left over when we are done, he eats ALL of it and then goes and makes some toast or waffles.

My family is big, like whoa, and yeah, there would be no way for any of us to be the sizes and shapes that we are if we only ate salads. Which is something we hardly ever eat. Ever.

[unperfectwolf.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I'm sure they eat enough to feed a small country and then some, and my family was always fairly well off when I was little, always had enough for shit like fruit roll-ups in lunches and stuff, and I feel like shit for throwing away food cause thats how my mother taught me. And if Dean could throw away the spagetti-os and Sam could eat he last of the lucky charms, then there was more food somewhere or he'd have eaten to O's.

[clex_monkie89.livejournal.com]

Sam and Dean totally didn't starve when they were little, maybe they missed a few meals here and there but that was it.

John is not the kind of man who would let his sons starve. If it came to the point where there were no credit cards, no money, no job and no food I can see John resorting to theft if it'll keep his boys fed.

When they missed meals I see it as John going on a hunt for a few days and underestimating children/teenagers and their ability to eat a weeks worth of food in three days.

Speaking of John, I would like to point out how much he had to have influenced the boys eating habits. John is very much the kind of guy who would order them a steak a humburger and two potatoes and tell them they're staying there until all the food is gone.

Every time I think about Sam and Dean and hunting I think about football players at my college and the way they force down two or three sandwiches in every class. Because even if they, for some insane reason, weren't hungry they still needed to keep their weight and body mass up for more power and strength.

Look at Sam; his idea of eating "healthier than Dean" is probably eating three helpings instead of four and a big bag of Funyun's instead of a big bag of pork rinds.

[silverkit.livejournal.com]

Come on, we've seen the way Jared eats. That man puts away food like there's a small nation of starving people living in his torso.

ROFL! It's true! And that's one of my big peeves in fic actually! When Sam either A)Eats nothing or B) Eats nothing but rabbit food.

Sheesh! My brother is shorter than both of those boys and he'll start eyeing my plate even after he's polished off thirds!

P.S Hey do you mind if I friend you?

[thexpuzzler.livejournal.com]

Actually, an example to prove your point: my cousin is as tall as Jared, maybe even a little taller... seriously.

And he DOES eat like fandom says.

Except he's thin like a pole and he has like, ribs. And bones. And NO muscle or fat or whatever under his skin. It's horrible. He does eat a lot, but mostly salad and fruits and gummi bears. Sometimes a pizza, but nothing much else.

So no. Sammy would NOT be able to keep that physique of his with just salad and the occasional piece of meat. Heh.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my brother's 5'11", a picky eater, and a total stick figure. He's always so proud of his six-pack until my mother and I point out that he doesn't eat enough to have the fat to cover up those muscles.

[tabaqui]

Ooooooookay.
This? This is not blond. Not even dirty blond or *dark blond*. This is brown. This is, in fact, about the same color as my own hair, and i am a brunette. Have *never* been blond, and looking at old Jensen pictures, he was never a tow-head. Dean? Is not a blond. And if i get sun - which i almost never do - i go red, rather than blonde.



And here here on the food issues. YES to all of them! I never threw away food as a kid and we had plenty. I think that was mostly Dean being annoyed rather than a habit. And remember their hotel room in Tall Tales? Pizza boxes, Chinese delivery boxes and stuff that looked like maybe frozen dinner boxes or something - whatever it was that Bobby sort of picked up with thumb and forefinger off the bed.
Heh.

*the balled bread thing is so gross. I remember boys in school doing that and their hands were dirty so the *bread* got dirty...*
*shudder*

[tabaqui]

What the....? My picture did not even show so much as a broken link.
*is baffled*

Here you go....
http://pics.livejournal.com/tabaqui/pic/00002ea9/g1

[mona1347.livejournal.com]

Word. Just...WORD. Boy is built like Sam (a little more on the pudgy side of brick shithouse but...that's my cross to bear..:D), he's 6' 5", he's insanely broad shouldered (his little round tummy is NOT the reason he can't fit properly into airplace seats - it's his SHOULDERS) and barrel-chested and he eats more food in one meal then I eat in a DAY.

[tigriswolf]

Concurred.