Judged on high fat

(KM) #21

She was raised in occupied territory during WWII. I do think she means well, but it’s a combination of deprivation mentality and being “peasant shaped” with a husband who wanted big boobs and everything else basically child sized. He was a string bean himself. So she (and I) spent the years from 1970 on on a diet of some sort, right at the same time the US went off the rails with the religion of low fat eating.

And I will say she’s better about this if I bring food and we eat in her apartment, but most of our meals are taken in the community dining room, where the Most Important Thing is that I behave in the way that she thinks will impress her friends. I frankly hate these visits but she’s getting too old to handle much else

(Chuck) #22

The issue is that the medical system most specifically in the USA is being told what to do by the food industry, and the food industry controls the government regulatory system. And the government is controlled by the almighty dollar and not what is right for its citizens. I spent 4 years in Washington DC in a supporting role to 3 presidents, and I saw the sad state of affairs that our government really is. Our elected officials are controlled by the big corporations and billionaires that pay for the campaigns of the candidates, then they pad the offshore bank accounts of the ones elected so they only vote the way they are told to. And with the election system anymore the vote is just a big show and the voters have no real say.

(Geoffrey) #23

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

(Geoffrey) #24

Very well said Chuck, it’s a sad state of affairs we have become.

(KM) #25

Yes, that whole “by the people, of the people, for the people” business has pretty well gone out the window, it seems. Unless you define a corporation as a person, ahem. I do believe Citizens v United was the turning point moment for me. ‘If you can’t get whatever what you want at everyone else’s expense, just rewrite the laws so you qualify.’ Ok, and I’ll just stand aside and do my own thing then, because if Monsanto is a person, then I don’t want to be one any more, thanks.

(Allie) #26

People don’t know how to listen to the signals their bodies give them. Instead of being taught to pay attention to the signals their body gives when specific things are consumed, they’re instead told “there’s a pill for that” so put their faith in the pill rather than their own body, then the pill masks the issue that the body is trying to raise awareness of, so the more the body screams out, more pills are taken, and the body screams and reacts even more while being muffled by pills until it gets to the point where the body stops trying to be heard and just starts to break down.

I have never regretted the day I decided to stop listening to doctors and start putting faith in my own body.

#27

I never even started listening to doctors and of course my own body knows zillion times better than any doctor and it knows better than I ever could but it needed to get shown a good woe (actually, more as time passed) to know what exactly to demand from me… I basically ate whatever food I have found tasty and tempting until then, not like it was super bad, I mostly got my nutrients, I just had a bunch of not so great stuff as well. I still don’t do it right enough but I came a long way… I just need to continue changing a bit longer.

(Geoffrey) #28

This so very true and something that just recently learned to do once I started this WOE.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #29

It won’t last forever, alas! I tried getting my mother’s old age home to see the light, but the dietary guidelines are too entrenched in the official regulations for officials at the home to feel safe striking out on their own.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #30

This is the big flaw in Western medicine, the idea that we can outwit 2,000,000 years of evolution with a medication or a supplement.

#31

Don’t forget that people in old age homes don’t last long either - be kind while you can.

(KM) #32

I’m an angel. Ahem. Well no, I’m a human, but I do my best to just love her and appreciate the time we have left and do what I think she’d like, which is why I turn myself into a high carb pretzel every few months. I just need to vent occasionally; my own health journey is probably my biggest focus, and I’ve spent five decades battling for personal autonomy against this person, only to give it up out of compassion. It’s all sort of strange.

And at 93 she’s actually not one of the oldest there, but she is the person who’s been in this community the longest - 29 years! It’s really a tribute to what a supportive community environment that takes the stress off an aging person can accomplish. I think the lack of control would drive me batty, but maybe when I’m ready, being pampered like this at the cost of making my own choices won’t seem so bad.