We are bombarded on TV with ads for food, food, food, and then we are bombarded with doctors and "experts" telling us we must eat things I never heard of before.
No more bread! What happened to Bread is the staff of Life? In the home where I grew up we had bread every single meal, and sometimes two kinds of bread -- biscuits and cornbread. Mother used to say it was the biscuits that made her fat. She was round in the middle just as I am now. And like me, she was slim and pretty when she was young and when she married. I weighed 105 pounds back then.
No sugar, no bread, cut back on fruit, but eat salads. No potatoes except sweet potatoes. I am not a fan of salads because at our house we ate cooked vegetables - turnips, corn, beans, okra, peas of all kinds. No one eats that way now it seems. We must eat raw.
The salad dressings bought at the store are filled with sugar, so that means just vinegar and oil with maybe a little lemon juice. I'd rather not eat at all.
I am told to eat ancient grains instead of corn and wheat. Why? I like my grits each morning. I add a couple of tablespoons of oatmeal to the pot when I cook them and they are delicious with butter, salt and pepper. How can that be so bad for me?
One English muffin with my eggs each morning gives me a great feeling of satisfaction. We are told to cut out almost everything we have always eaten in order to live longer. I'm not sure I want to live longer if I can't eat the foods I enjoy.
My father once said, "When you get old about the only pleasure you have left is eating." I agree.
When my mother was healing from a ruptured aneurysm, doctors said for her to eat no salt. Foolish and so afraid she would die, I insisted she have not salt in her food. I'm sure when I was not acting like the Food Nazi she ate what she wanted. What good did it do to ruin the taste of food for her? I finally quit policing her diet. She lived ten years and died at the age of 80.
We have to learn by experience I'm afraid so no one will learn from reading this, but when your parents are old, don't take away their biggest pleasure - eating good-tasting food.
As for me, I will cut back on bread, sugar and fruit, but I can't cut it out. I plan to make a new food plan and do my best to stick to it, but my sister, Gay, says I am a dismal failure at dieting. And, I hope to get back to pool exercise next week. A new year for me and a good time to make some changes. Wish me luck. I will certainly need it.
