Pass the eggs, please

Along that line, remember in the early 80's the big cholesterol scare, when they were warning us about those big, bad eggs? I got so sick of those warnings that I made a point of eating as many eggs as possible. Right in the middle of my dangerous 'experiment,' our workplace sponsored a cholesterol screening. Mine was one of the lowest, a full ten points below the normal range. Of course, exercise and eating from all food groups helped.

And so it goes with meat and diets. Todd, you touched on brain chemistry as it relates to food cravings when you said how we inevitably compensate for what we cut back on. Some nutritionists theorize that under normal conditions, our brain tells us what we need through our cravings. In this light, when we cut back on certain fats, we get cravings, but since we are not "allowed" to have those kinds of calories, we compensate by overloading in another area. This sets us further off balance, if we are to follow the brain-chemistry/food craving logic.

Why do we all need to be thin, anyway? In some cultures, heavy is in. My body is programmed to be a certain weight. WIthin certain variations, I have been at this weight for the last 20 years. As much as I'd like to wear a size 7, it'll never happen. I'm overweight by standards of those darned insurance charts, but I'm right for me, and far from a health hazard. Much more so, I'm not putting myself at risk for metabolic hazards that come with yo-yo dieting, and not shorting myself on nutrition. Diets that limit intake in any given area, or prescribe you to eat food in a certain proportion or order, set the dieter up for failure by forcing a regimen that is not sustainable for a long period of time. Thus the dieter who follows one of these fad diets is on a continual roller coaster of loss/gain. Studies have shown that such yo-yo dieters have an increasingly harder time losing weight, as the body tightens its controls on metabolism.

Tsk.Tsk.Tsk...for the miniscule benefits of appearance, so many people put themselves at risk for health problems, including obesity.

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