Monday, August 17, 2009

Calories, Fat Grams, and Carbs, OH MY!

Where's CaJoh!? you may ask. Well, today I have the pleasure of having Kat (AKA: Mama Nut) @ 4 Nuts in a Nutshell post on my behalf. This way I can enjoy the week off without having to worry about lining up posts while I'm gone. Looks like I am (as well as you are) in for a special treat:


hamburger In reference to the culinary arts, we live in the greatest time in history! Restaurants, cafes, fast food establishments… the drive-thru window! Never before has man been blessed by so many yummy food choices. On the other hand, never before has so many of Earth's inhabitants been wondering around with a few spare tires, love handles, and extra chins. Statistics say that the majority of Americans are overweight or obese. So my question is, if there are so many of us, why are skinny people running the show?

Medically speaking, obesity is, in fact, linked to many serious health problems — diabetes (although, I know MANY skinny people with this too) heart attacks, high blood pressure and cholesterol, etc. But everyone knows this! What bothers me is that they never address the fact that many overweight people are healthy eaters, workout regularly and live long lives. Genetics, people! Now don't get me wrong, I love the skinnies… but I understand the chunkies who just can't get off the weight and at the same time are hurting to be socially accepted. I've sported a double chin for most of my life — we are rather… attached. But I enjoy a great salad or chicken wrap as much as the next guy. My life is full of good eating, exercising, and weight watching… but it doesn't make me skinny. I am who I am. I won't let my weight define me.

Wouldn't it be nice if society let us enjoy those yummy food options out there once in a while, without giving us the guilt trip? I mean kicking back with a nice glass of wheat grass juice just isn't the same as a great big glass of Diet Coke. Come on folks!

So the other day I was flipping through the channels on the TV and came across several shows with the same scene: Joe Skinny was sitting across from Alice Fatty telling her that if she doesn't follow his diet plan she is going to die. Alice Fatty is crying, her husband's crying, and the kids are crying. Joe Skinny reaches over and holds Alice Fatty's hand. "We are going to get you through this…" He says with all the false emotion he can muster for the camera. At this point the camera zooms onto a box of Twinkies on the end table — Satan's food! Needless to say, I rolled my eyes and changed the channel. Ah, the Biggest Loser. After watching a few minutes of chunky people being tortured, I changed the channel again. CSI. Now this was I show I liked! Have you ever noticed that fat women never get murdered on that show… that's what I'm talking about. So I leaned back, kicked up my feet and snuggled down with my box of Twinkies, fat-free and sugar-free, of course!

5 comments:

Mama Badger said...

I keep wondering the same darn thing. Why do we need to get all up in eachother diets? Ban transfat, no more twinkies. Ridiculous. I think it's important to give people information, but then it's up to them to make decisions. And it's up to us to leave them the hell alone when they do it.

Deb said...

oh, excellent point about the murdering thing!

Anonymous said...

When I was a toddler, my family and the family of my father's brother went camping together. While my uncle was snacking on a box of Cracker Jacks, my aunt tried to sell him on the merits of an apple instead. His response has become a staple in our family lexicon: "Apples ain't Crackerjacks."

Anonymous said...

Government should get themselves in shape first, nevermind setting guidelines for the rest of us-LOL!

Cajoh said...

Thank you Mama Kat for your contribution:

I think that we live in a society that is geared towards consumption— be it consuming the latest fashions or the latest food offerings. Interestingly the government is also the one who advocates our dietary intake based not on our bodily needs, but of the needs of the food industry.

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