What I don't understand is do we, the already overweight consumers, need to be tempted by the 10 brownies added to the large pizza and all the extra toppings? How about places such as American Buffets, Chinese Buffets, Ponderosa, offering all you can eat for $10.99? It is not enough that we have become a fast food society, now we have become the land of plenty cholesterol.
During a recent physical check up, I was informed by my family physician, Doc M. that my total choleserol level at 231 and LDL cholesterol level at 146 are borderline high risk. Since my HDL cholesterol level at 63 which is ideal, Doc M did not prescribe any medication. He did warn me to monitor my diet, lose weigh (the Body Mass Index (BMI) informed me I need to lose about 25 lbs), exercise and take on more physical activities.
Note: LDL is low-density lipoprotein = the bad cholesterol; the optimal level should be below 100. HDL is high-density lipoprotein = the good cholesterol; the ideal level should be 60 or more.
It is ironic to think that when my family lived in the refugee camp in 1979 after we left Viet Nam by boat, we did not have enough food to eat. Twenty six years later I have to try to control my intake of food because we have too much food. When we first arrived in a small island in Indonesia after surviving the horrid storm during our five days journey at sea, we were so weak from not eating for almost two days. The next few weeks, our daily meals consisted of a bowl of rice and a few pieces of fish or small portion of vegetable. When UNICEF and CARE finally came to the camp, we received ration of rice, a few canned meat, plenty of canned sardines, sugar and lot of ready to eat noddles.
My husband and I joked about how "beautiful" we looked in our wedding photos. We were both slim when we first got married in 1989. I used to be able to use a bandana as a belt and tie the loop twice. Now I would need two bandanas to keep my pants in place. My husband has gained a lot of weigh the last few years. C is consider obese and a high risk when it comes to bad cholesterol. He was on medication and have not been successful in losing weigh or starting any exercise program.
My nephew, J, is only 6 years old and he is already 30 lbs overweight. J has a very good appetite. Like most of us, J enjoys eating sweet and constanly telling Granma L that he is hungry. During my recent visit to NYC, I witnessed the tantrum J displayed when he demanded a second ice cream sandwich. My sister V and I tried reasoning and reminded J that he just had a slice of pizza in addition to the first ice cream sandwich. J calmed down after he realized that his crying and screaming would not produce any more food.
Walk into any grocery stores, any corner shops like Walgreen or Taget, and you could see evidence of Ameirca being the land of plenty. Even gas stations have become a place of temptation with displays of candy, snacks and frozen meals. Half of the television commercials target viewers' hunger with juicy steaks, jumbo shrimp, chicken covered with sautee mushroom, or fish entree (supposed to be healthy) swimming in heavy cream sauce. What about the half a pound burger by Hardee's that only a manly man would appreciate?
I believe we need to take responsibility for our eating habits. The food industry, especially fast good restaurants, will continue to temp us with clever advertisements and attractive commerials. But don't blame McDonald for making you fat. They don't drag you or switch your arms and force you to take your kids there. The grocery stores in my area are taking note that the customers are working people and even though we don't have time to cook, we would like to eat healthy food. Dierberg's Supermarket offers a wide range of freshly ready-to-eat dinners in small portions. There are many choices such as cutting back on snacks, eat less and choose a vegetable dish once in a while instead of the 12 ounce Kansas City steak.
I am not sure where I am going with this. It is only making me very hungry. Now where did I put that coupon for 10 brownies and a large pizza?
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