Friday, June 22, 2012

Fatty, fatty 2x4

Ed. note: this is a serious post that does not involve recipes, just some hard facts. Don't like them? Too bad.

This is something I've wanted to write about for a while, basically since I drove out from the Chi to Pittsburgh for my internship. It's about an 8 hour drive, give or take the 2 hours I spent driving through Chicago to get on the freeway (the entrance to which is conveniently located two blocks from my house. Fuck you, Garmin.). Naturally, I had to stop a couple times to get gas, Chex Mix, etc. and I was horrified by the general clientele of the Kwik-Stops that line the interstate. I mean, despite the fact that these people had idiotic tattoos, far too many of them were seriously or morbidly obese. I'm talking a serious percentage, over half.
Now, it's none of my business what your eating habits are, but seriously, this was embarrassing. I was looking at a cross-section of middle America and it literally nauseated me. Everyone's so upset about Mayor Bloomberg's proposed soda ban for New York, calling him a nanny and a food police and all sorts of other shit. And while they do have a point, it seems like Americans need a little food policing or we're all going to die of heart attacks and other obesity related diseases.
Now don't get me wrong, I love America. It is by far the best country in the whole world and I wouldn't live anywhere else, except maybe if Romney got elected. But we are the fattest country in the world, and gluttony is in no way impressive or appealing.
I know that a lot of the stuff I put on here isn't all that healthy; I'm primarily a baker and there's really no point to eating healthy baked goods. If I'm going to consume empty calories, I want them to taste good. Keep flax seed out of the equation. But I also share this stuff that I'm baking, and I eat in moderation. I'll eat an Oreo every couple of days (doublestuf, obviously) and that's okay. But four or five? Not so much. That's a lot of trans- and saturated fats that your body just doesn't need.
So here's my point and I'll get off my soapbox: respect your body, and respect yourself. It's not all that expensive to eat healthily if you make smart buying decisions and people who complain about the expense are just making excuses for themselves. If you're so offended by Bloomberg's war on soda and the fact that L.A. is picking up on the trend too, ask yourself why. Is it that you feel your freedoms and liberties are being encroached upon? Or is it that deep down, you're embarrassed that you can't make healthy decisions for yourself more often than not?
I'm not saying go all paleo-diet or start starving yourself. I'm just saying love your body and treat it with the respect it deserves. Don't pump it full of poison and expect to look good when swimsuit season comes around. Portion control and moderation are words that have been thrown at us hundreds of times since this 'obesity epidemic' has really taken hold, and as annoying as they are to hear, they're also important. It just helps when people as obnoxious as Dr. Oz aren't saying them.
Do I expect everyone to change their eating habits immediately? Of course not. But I think that people should consider more seriously the kinds of things they're putting in their body. You only get one, and plastic surgery will only take you so far. So think twice before that Twinkie.
I'm off my soapbox now.

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