What's Our Real Perspective On Food? Not So Good

Hello weight losing fans...

Today I stepped up onto the Magical-Mystical-Digital-Scale weighing in at 186.6-pounds. Is this the donuts from yesterday showing up on me already? Gee, I don't know.


Our Perspectives About Food Consumption May Be Out Of Whack
This morning I woke up around seven. I wasn't working today. So, I wasn't in any rush to do anything.

I made the morning coffee and sat around for two hours practicing my guitar. What ever good that is. The only reason I play my guitar is because it's my mental and emotional therapy. I am not so good at playing it. But, I do attempt to improve my skill. I have this vision of playing the guitar like a rock and roll star at 80 years old, and being up on the stage having eighty year old ladies pulling their bra's off and tossing them on stage. Ah, what a vision.

I didn't decide to eat any food right away. I waited about two hours or so before I pulled a TV dinner from the freezer. Yep, I had a TV dinner for breakfast.

The box said that the total calories for this meal was 470 calories. Enclosed was a corn dog on a stick, about 1/3 cup of corn kernels, about 10 small chunks of French Fries, and a brownie that was about 1 1/2 inch square. This was the whole meal.

I have written about this before; that these TV dinners don't really have all that much food in them. Well, from my perspective, it's not a lot of food. However, it was just what it said on the box, which is the sum total of around 470 calories.

That's not an unreasonable amount of calories for anyone to consume during anyone meal. That is if someone is trying to lose weight. And, study the guidelines for the American Diabetes foundation, that's about what is recommended for a diabetic to consume for a meal.

Oh, pooh that's not a lot of food at all. How many times have we heard people say, "I don't eat that much food." Then when we look at them, we see they are over weight. It makes me wonder how anyone defines how much food isn't that much food. What are we comparing our food consumption to? Who's standard are we measuring our food consumption by? That is if we are even measuring our food consumption at all.

And in order to be fair, I didn't have a standard for a long time. It was only until I was pushed to the wall with my weight that I finally had to find a standard and make consistent food measurements. I also wonder what will it take for anyone to measure their food intake?

I am convinced when I see a lot of fat people, they really don't care if they are fat. Some aren't even aware they are fat. Many, just don't care anymore. They wait until a crisis comes with their health to make any attempt to lose weight. I was the same way. Truthfully though, I have been trying to lose weight on and off again ever since I was in the U.S. Army for 16 years.

I am proud to say, I am well within the height and weight guidelines for my age. That is if I were still in the military. It took some real effort to get here. It's taking real effort to stay here too.
I'd still like to shave off 20-pounds more.

When I hear someone say, "I really don't eat that much food." I start wondering, what they mean. From my experience, I ate too much food. It's so obvious because when I finally cut back on the "Not So Much Food," I lost weight. I didn't eat "Too Much Food." Said who? On what did I base my thinking? And, on what thinking does any one base their thinking with a statement like, "I really don't eat that much."

OK, you don't eat that much. Why are you starting to get flabby around the gut there mister? Why is your butt and legs so thick lady? What are you eating sawdust?

Honestly, our perspective on food consumption is out of whack. We'll go to the company picnic, chow down on a large scoop of potato salad, eat a hot dog, a hamburger, some coleslaw, a big scoop of baked beans, a few cookies, and then think "we haven't eaten too much." Only, that's too much food. That meal could have been breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We'll wake up in the morning cook up two pieces of toast with butter, two fried eggs, and a few strips of bacon thinking that's not too much food. Well, the toast is 200 calories alone, not including the butter. That bacon is 120 calories, depending on how big those pieces are. The fried eggs are around 80 calories each.

We'll stop at McDonald's and eat an egg, bacon, cheese biscuit, a hash brown, and coffee with two scoops of sugar thinking we didn't eat too much food. Then we'll go to Burger King for lunch, chow down on a Whopper, French Fries, and a Chocolate Shake and say, "that's not too much food."

Day in and day out we eat all this food. We over stuff our digestive tracts with food, and then think we didn't eat too much food.

Take a look at the recommended diet of a diabetic. The meals are so skimpy. But, this is really just about all the food the average person needs to live on.

I was in the book store looking at cook books. There were many books about low carb dieting. Many gave a picture with the recipe. If anyone is paying attention, the potatoes, the bread, and the starches are conspicuously missing from these meals. Even more scary is the recommended portion sizes. Yes, even the low carb diet books have recommended portion sizes. These may be one chicken breast, and a bowl of vegetables along side.

I guarantee anyone who uses the portion sizes recommended in many of these cook books, low carb dieting, or regular carb consumption, they will lose weight. Why? Because he/she will be eating a normal portion size.

What's a normal portion size? For meat, it's around 3 to 4 ounces. For the starch, it could be a small potato, a slice of bread, or 1/3 to 1/2 cup of rice. For a vegetable, if it's green the portion size could be very generous. But, if it's something like a beet, the portions may only be around 1/2 cup.

Like I have written many times before, we must eat less food. That's right, we over eat. This is why we blow up like beach balls. This is why we as Americans are heading for disaster with our health.

Do I recommend using the fat police? Oh, gosh no. But, I do recommend we finally wake up and realize, it's our own fault for blowing out the sides of our blue jeans. No one held a gun to you and said eat, or I will kill you. No, we've been duped by slick advertising, and the easy accessibility of food everywhere we go. We succumb to peer pressure thinking well if everyone else is doing it, I can too.

Our perspective about food is way out of whack. It shows in our society. We are becoming an over weight society. There is only one solution. It's going to be our own personal choice to fix it.

And, what will it take to change? I don't know for you. If you have gotten this far reading this, maybe you are ready to change.

I'll make it easy for you. Today for breakfast, eat a piece of toast with a 2 teaspoons of peanut butter on top. Fry and egg, and eat that. Then eat a couple slices of melon, or half and orange.

For lunch, eat a tortilla rolled with a piece of balogna and cheese inside. Have an apple too.

For dinner eat a broiled chicken breast, half a cup of rice, and a cup of vegetables.

There you go. Are you full? No? Tuff, that's about all you get. That's just about all you need to eat. You are serious about losing weight right? Oh, no? Go ahead eat that big giant donut for breakfast, and that big bowl of cereal. Just eat, and eat, and eat. There you go. Don't forget to burp out loud like a rude pig too.

Bye for now....

And that's the way it is...I'm David Dane