Skiny Us
This picture was taken in 1985. That would make Dove 34 years old and I was 31 years old. It's always fun to look back at pictures and 'remember when'.
As I was looking at this picture in light of my current state, many, many thoughts came back to me.
At a recent activity I made a comment about young adults will eventually get it (as I once was and so finally did get 'it'), in reference to keeping ones environment clean. Stupid thing to say to other people. It may well offend them if they feel their place is less than clean.
I had one baby after another. I threatened miscarriage and or was nursing for the first 10 years of marriage. My parents didn't really know how to keep their home and yard clean (dad didn't do bad with the yard, but it wasn't a Better Homes and Garden place either). They didn't know how to eat right either. I liked to take the drippings from the fried hamburger and put it over the rice. It flavored it really nice. And if you ate enough for a meal (meat and either potatoes or rice) then you didn't have to worry about wasting room in your tummy on fruits and veggies.
I had a WHOLE lot to learn. Once I learned those things, I would have more to learn.
As for diet and exercise, I learned then that I could eat until I was full, what full was, and to eat no sugars (refined carbohydrates, white flours, sugars in processed foods, and little honey), no added fats (none-this put hotdogs, cheese, oils-even olive oil-off my list of food), and only 4 oz. of meat (skinless, fat trimmed where applicable) per day. Dairy was definitely a no-no-save for nonfat/skim milk. Grains were mega good and you could eat as much as you wanted. Fruits and veggies were good for you.
I learned then, how to use quick bread recipes to make 'treats'. I made pineapple raisin bread, with whole wheat flower. I made purple pancakes (I used 100% grape juice concentrate for the liquid and sweetener in home-made pancake batter). I learned to flavor rice with bullion. I learned to use cornstarch and bullion to make gravy-lip smacking good gravy at that.
I learned that when I cooked this way, my kids had no choice but to eat that way. I never heard complaints. They were full and satisfied. And if you look back at their school pictures between 1984 and 1985 you will see that they lost a lot of 'baby-fat' as well.
I learned that I had to get up earlier than the rest and not be so lazy (selfish about what I wanted) and get their breakfast made-it took time but they would be healthier, smarter in school, more emotionally balanced (wasn't as hyper with the lack of sugar laced cereals in their diet-look at a bag of corn flakes-even the non-sweetened ones are made with sugar and this despite the fact that corn-a starchy grain already has a relatively high glycemic index!). This was back before the government 'helped' so many people with free food and meal programs.
As time progressed the government started free and reduced priced lunch programs. I used to feel so bad that I couldn't really participate as my kids had food allergies which made it nearly impossible-even though we qualified for the free (and later the reduced price) meals.
It took a while for it to sink in. But as I learned more about food and its effects on our bodies, I realized that I didn't want the government hand out. Years later I found my good friend who had moved to an adjacent state was participating in the free lunch program AND they were offering it during the summer-go to a local park and get a free lunch there too. Reminds me of the way the government has 'handled' the American Indian. Let us take care of you. Sure has done them a fat lot of good, eh?!
What an ideal way to snatch from the individual their self-esteem about working hard and providing for their family and teaching about the better way to eat and live. Hmmm... I wonder if the Obama's feed their kids school lunches. Or did they (the parents) participate in them when they were in public school? Whatever. Doesn't really matter to me in my current state.
So what have I learned about all of this since then? I have learned that if you eat what you want to eat, when you want to eat it, in the amount you desire-you will return to the same condition you were in before. Well, mostly. I don't have the rolls in the same places. And I don't eat exactly as I used to. I don't eat the volume I used to. However. It's been over 2 decades and so my metabolism has slowed down, so it doesn't take as much out of control eating habits to get as 'large' as I have.
Back to the second part of my post. House cleaning. I learned from that book, that what my home (inside and out) look like reflects on me and my inside (attitude and emotional state). I also learned that if I took care of the inside and outside of my home on a regular basis, my personal-inside would balance out much better.
I learned to sort my laundry as a kid-for different reasons. It was a wringer washer and you filled the tub with hot soapy water and washed load after load resulting in the water getting dirtier and dingier. Eventually you would put more onto and into the clothes than you were getting out. Mom didn't say anything when I finally understood this and started dumping the water after the second load. Our clothes looked better-much less like the hilly billy laundry I had been used to.
I have since learned that sociologically speaking, people who notice such things, look at your whites and colored clothes and judge your state of being (financial, social, emotional). That is to say, if you don't keep your whites white-you are lacking in one or all of the above. How do you keep them white? Water softener (machine or over the counter laundry aids like Biz, Borateem, Dreft), sorting, wearing once, treating stains, and that sort of thing. Same thing goes for your darks-wash them together (they usually don't need stain treatment-that said, oils, grease and grass in levis need treatment-liquid dish soap I have found works best and is cheapest).
I found that getting the kids to wash their hands before a meal was a smart health choice (just like wearing an undershirt between Labor Day/September and Memorial Day/Spring) AND washing after a meal was a smart housekeeping choice.
Go read the book Side Tracked Home Executives. It's funny, accurate, full of great tips and ideas of how to organize yourself and prepare the needful things to keeping your home environment a safe, healthy, clean place.
Now that I have no further excuses of foster youth or pregnancy or children underfoot to keep me from doing my own thing, I shall begin again with the diet and exercise thing and the homemaking routine.
Anyone want to join me??? I dare ya. I triple-dog dare ya! Ha! I tell you HA!
As I was looking at this picture in light of my current state, many, many thoughts came back to me.
- I read, "How to Lower Your Fat Thermostat"
- I worked really hard to get skinny (in a year I had gone from 290 lbs. to 147)
- I ate a lot of food-but only the stuff God made and sanctioned for humankind
- I did it without the support (and without the heckling) of friends, family, spouse
- I began a rigorous exercise program and stuck with it until health issues denied me
- I read, "Side Tracked Home Executives"
- I learned how to organize myself and keep my house clean
At a recent activity I made a comment about young adults will eventually get it (as I once was and so finally did get 'it'), in reference to keeping ones environment clean. Stupid thing to say to other people. It may well offend them if they feel their place is less than clean.
I had one baby after another. I threatened miscarriage and or was nursing for the first 10 years of marriage. My parents didn't really know how to keep their home and yard clean (dad didn't do bad with the yard, but it wasn't a Better Homes and Garden place either). They didn't know how to eat right either. I liked to take the drippings from the fried hamburger and put it over the rice. It flavored it really nice. And if you ate enough for a meal (meat and either potatoes or rice) then you didn't have to worry about wasting room in your tummy on fruits and veggies.
I had a WHOLE lot to learn. Once I learned those things, I would have more to learn.
As for diet and exercise, I learned then that I could eat until I was full, what full was, and to eat no sugars (refined carbohydrates, white flours, sugars in processed foods, and little honey), no added fats (none-this put hotdogs, cheese, oils-even olive oil-off my list of food), and only 4 oz. of meat (skinless, fat trimmed where applicable) per day. Dairy was definitely a no-no-save for nonfat/skim milk. Grains were mega good and you could eat as much as you wanted. Fruits and veggies were good for you.
I learned then, how to use quick bread recipes to make 'treats'. I made pineapple raisin bread, with whole wheat flower. I made purple pancakes (I used 100% grape juice concentrate for the liquid and sweetener in home-made pancake batter). I learned to flavor rice with bullion. I learned to use cornstarch and bullion to make gravy-lip smacking good gravy at that.
I learned that when I cooked this way, my kids had no choice but to eat that way. I never heard complaints. They were full and satisfied. And if you look back at their school pictures between 1984 and 1985 you will see that they lost a lot of 'baby-fat' as well.
I learned that I had to get up earlier than the rest and not be so lazy (selfish about what I wanted) and get their breakfast made-it took time but they would be healthier, smarter in school, more emotionally balanced (wasn't as hyper with the lack of sugar laced cereals in their diet-look at a bag of corn flakes-even the non-sweetened ones are made with sugar and this despite the fact that corn-a starchy grain already has a relatively high glycemic index!). This was back before the government 'helped' so many people with free food and meal programs.
As time progressed the government started free and reduced priced lunch programs. I used to feel so bad that I couldn't really participate as my kids had food allergies which made it nearly impossible-even though we qualified for the free (and later the reduced price) meals.
It took a while for it to sink in. But as I learned more about food and its effects on our bodies, I realized that I didn't want the government hand out. Years later I found my good friend who had moved to an adjacent state was participating in the free lunch program AND they were offering it during the summer-go to a local park and get a free lunch there too. Reminds me of the way the government has 'handled' the American Indian. Let us take care of you. Sure has done them a fat lot of good, eh?!
What an ideal way to snatch from the individual their self-esteem about working hard and providing for their family and teaching about the better way to eat and live. Hmmm... I wonder if the Obama's feed their kids school lunches. Or did they (the parents) participate in them when they were in public school? Whatever. Doesn't really matter to me in my current state.
So what have I learned about all of this since then? I have learned that if you eat what you want to eat, when you want to eat it, in the amount you desire-you will return to the same condition you were in before. Well, mostly. I don't have the rolls in the same places. And I don't eat exactly as I used to. I don't eat the volume I used to. However. It's been over 2 decades and so my metabolism has slowed down, so it doesn't take as much out of control eating habits to get as 'large' as I have.
Back to the second part of my post. House cleaning. I learned from that book, that what my home (inside and out) look like reflects on me and my inside (attitude and emotional state). I also learned that if I took care of the inside and outside of my home on a regular basis, my personal-inside would balance out much better.
I learned to sort my laundry as a kid-for different reasons. It was a wringer washer and you filled the tub with hot soapy water and washed load after load resulting in the water getting dirtier and dingier. Eventually you would put more onto and into the clothes than you were getting out. Mom didn't say anything when I finally understood this and started dumping the water after the second load. Our clothes looked better-much less like the hilly billy laundry I had been used to.
I have since learned that sociologically speaking, people who notice such things, look at your whites and colored clothes and judge your state of being (financial, social, emotional). That is to say, if you don't keep your whites white-you are lacking in one or all of the above. How do you keep them white? Water softener (machine or over the counter laundry aids like Biz, Borateem, Dreft), sorting, wearing once, treating stains, and that sort of thing. Same thing goes for your darks-wash them together (they usually don't need stain treatment-that said, oils, grease and grass in levis need treatment-liquid dish soap I have found works best and is cheapest).
I found that getting the kids to wash their hands before a meal was a smart health choice (just like wearing an undershirt between Labor Day/September and Memorial Day/Spring) AND washing after a meal was a smart housekeeping choice.
Go read the book Side Tracked Home Executives. It's funny, accurate, full of great tips and ideas of how to organize yourself and prepare the needful things to keeping your home environment a safe, healthy, clean place.
Now that I have no further excuses of foster youth or pregnancy or children underfoot to keep me from doing my own thing, I shall begin again with the diet and exercise thing and the homemaking routine.
Anyone want to join me??? I dare ya. I triple-dog dare ya! Ha! I tell you HA!
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