I was at a wedding last weekend and I was sitting next to a friend of the bride’s that I remembered a few years back was on the chubby side. Now he was REALLY SKINNY. I could just tell by looking at him that he had made dramatic changes to his eating… but not necessarily healthy ones.
When the bread came around he passed it by and I commented, “you look like you haven’t had bread in a long time”. I was right. H
e is on the Paleo Diet. I know this is the new fad thing and EVERYONE must try it and you lose all kinds of weight, but the problem is, it’s not particularly healthy. Our bodies need a certain amount of carbs and calcium, and though dairy is not necessary for calcium, one has to be very careful when one cuts out an ENTIRE food group.
The funny thing is in most cultures food graphs (they take on different shapes) grains is always very high on the list, and carbs is one of the main macro nutrients that people need. So why is it that low carb diets such as the Paleo, gluten free and Atkins are so popular and seem to work… It depends on the carbs that you eat.
In Japan where carbs are the main staple, people live longer, have less cardio vascular problems and in general are healthier. The thing is the carbs they eat aren’t processed concoctions with barely a nutrient to be recognized. They eat whole grain, mostly rice.. and veggies. Italy is another country that loves it’s carbs. Pasta, pizza, and all the other goodies get eaten in huge portions, but again, they don’t chemically treat all the grains before eating them, they don’t load them down with hydrogenated…. anything.
The problem with the new diets are that people start cutting things like pizza and chips, which is great, but they lose out on the good carbs, like whole grain rices, pastas, and yes, bread. Which is the main macro nutrient needed to give us energy. No wonder coffee and naps are so popular.
I started out a little offended by what my friend had said to me, but then I realized that it wasn’t about me at all. It wasn’t about my son. The comment was about my friend’s own person self esteem issues. He had been trained, either my himself or parents, or others, that complimenting any aspect of yourself is a fault. That you mustn’t “pretend” that you’re better than others, or point out or even accept your good qualities.
you know of anything otherwise… please let me know).
I have to say this feels like a huge accomplishment. Most people I have read about and come in contact with don’t bother to try to get healthy. They just pop a magic pill. Their cholesterol comes down, and they feel like they are doing so much better after. I never understood that. You’re still 50 lbs overweight, but you take medication with major side affects that could harm you, but hey… at least you can still eat pizza whenever you want and feel like crap all the time… so go you!
medicated myself to death. But that’s not the life I want to live. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that some medication is actually necessary. My dad was a diabetic… there was no getting around taking insulin. There are also lots of people with a genetic predisposition to things like high blood pressure, or cholesterol. My brother had a friend who’s very fit and a vegetarian and still has in the 300s… but for most of us, we need to think beyond the numbers, and start thinking about overall health. This is the only body we get. Now I’m just waiting on the results of my thyroid tests… wish me luck!
Parents are in an uproar because there are stories about kids breaking into buildings and houses and getting shot at or other kids not looking where they are going and walking into a street and being hit by a car. I’m sorry, how is this the game’s fault?
u would be riding your bike and laughing with friends? Would you not pay attention to the cars on the road because you were too busy chatting? Maybe… but if you got hit, that was your fault.. not Huffy’s.
Katrina Michelle Russell 