Today I'm a little frustrated with the news. There's a lot of talk this year after the election, talk about the healthcare bill, talk about the invasiveness of the new body scanners at airport security and talk about limiting legal reproductive choice.
I can't say that I have my thoughts straight on all of this, so, at best this is a draft post. But I can say that I am worried. Am I the only one who sees a parallel between the Religious Right and the Taliban?
Isn't there substantial world history that points to right wing (violent and BAD) takeovers when the economy is bad? Why do we continue to be susceptible to this?
My guess is that it's human nature to be protectionist when things are uncomfortable, meaning it's normal to protect ourselves and our families when we don't feel safe. But at the same time, don't we all have much better visibility of the world's problems? Of over-population, of poverty, of hunger, war and disease? Why then, are we so stuck on whether a TSA agent can see the outline of our boobs?
Get over it already.
Now, maybe there's an argument in the radiation. And for that poor old guy with the pee bag, yeah, that sucks. But still. When I worked in women's health consumer products, it was common knowlege that American women stand out as prudish, it was for us that applicator tampons were invented and continue to be made, regardless of the landfill contribution. Because - American women don't want to touch themselves "down there". It's so embarassing.
Ok, now the Affordable Healthcare Act is targeted. Not a big surprise, I guess, but isn't this the direction we are supposed to be going? Away from old, sick, poor and unlucky folks dying in the street? Towards civilization?
I vote for a move towards civilization.
On a similar note, where do we think we are going with limiting legal access to safe abortion? Back to unsafe abortion? Towards Burkas, towards a validation of shame and repression?
Why do people gather in groups, brainstorm for a few minutes, thinking they've understood the statistics, the demographics and the circumstances and then decide to lay out their plan, in legal and morally righteous (and secular) terms and announce *their* perspective as rule of law?
I wish I was more articulate. I wish I could write better and help people understand why things aren't so simple, help them understand why it's not reasonable to do these things.
For today, I'll just be frustrated. And see if anyone is listening.
Ask your doctor for a diet guiidlene. You can eat just about anything but have to remember that a good share of what you eat that is not good for you is empty nutrition. Follow the Diabetic Pyramid which you can get on line. Cut down on portions and you will be surprised at how much you really do NOT need to eat. Good luck. If you can control it by diet alone you will be way ahead of the game! It is your life and your health and it is up to you!Here is the pyramid in case you can't find it. The bottom is breads, grains and other starches. This includes beans, peas, and corn which are really veggies but are too starchy to eat as veggies. You get to have 6-11 servings a day. The servings are small. That is a 1/2 c potatoes, yams, peas, corn, beans (not french fries!), 1/3 c of rice or pasta (if you smash it gently down into the cup it is way more than you think it will be), one slice of bread. I/4 of a large bagel. So, if you want a sandwich for lunch that is 2 servings.The next step up is half veggies and half fruits. For the veggies you get 3-5 servings a day. That is 1 c raw and 1/2 c cooked. Just about any veggie not listed with the starches is okay but dark leafy green veggies are really good for you. And so are carrots.Fruits you get 2-4 servings a day. That is 1/2 canned fruit (in it's own juice, NOT heavy syrup. Lite fruit is okay. One small fresh fruit is a serving. If you get bananas get the smallest regular ones you can. If you get huge ones it is 2 servings. Good fruits are melons cuz you can have 1 cut cut up, raspberries you can have 1c and strawberries whole (w/o sugar or add some Equal) you can have 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups! I measure them, cut them up and sprinkle a packet of Equal on if they are not in season.The next level up is about 1/4-1/3 milk and the rest meat. Milk means milk not all dairy. You get 2-3 servings a day. Use low fat or fat free. Start with the low fat if you hate Skim MIlk and you will get used to the watered down taste. Also you can have 1 c of yogurt but get fat free. You can get flavors but watch the sugar content. 15 grams or under should be okay and don't get the fruit on the bottom stuff. If you don't really like yogurt (I don't) try getting a plain flavor like lemon or peach in the fat free and freeze it and eat it like a frozen treat. it is yummy.Meats you get 4-6 small servings a day. You can have any kind of meat as long as you blot fat , don't eat the fat that is attached and the serving is the size of a deck of cards. Obviously meat like skinless chicken breast and unbreaded fish will have less fat. I rely on spices to make it taste better. 1/4 c of cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or 1/2 cup of tofu (yuck) is also considered meat. As well as a small handful of unsalted nuts like walnuts, pecans or almonds.The top of the pyramid is the tiny point of it and that is fats. oils, and sweets. You can have a small portion of cake or pie every once in awhile. Try to stay away from oils (olove oil is the best or corn oil) and fats but it is inevitable you will have some. Don't add a lot of butter to your food and try to use reduced fat margarine (I Can't Beleive It's Not Butter is good). Cook with Pam cooking spray (I acutally get the Meijer store brand which works the same but it way cheaper.)Once you get used to THINKING about what you are eating it gets easier. Make a game out of it. You won't really feel hungry with all that food you can use but you may feel deprived from what you used to eat. You will get over that eventually and once in awhile you can have the sweets or fries. Just remember that if you cheat you are only cheating yourself.If you are married your family will benefit, too, and you will more than likely lose weight and that can't be a bad thing, right?Good luck and good health!!PS While some doctors still do call it borderline Diabetic usually now they say pre-Diabetic .
Posted by: Olando | 06/02/2012 at 04:16 PM