Friday, July 17, 2015

irony and healthy thoughts at the grocery store

Garfield was my favorite comic when I was a kid. I remember one particular strip where that lazy, gluttonous, overweight feline came across a box of diet chocolate candy and thinks to himself, "Hmmm, not bad. A couple more boxes of these and I'll be skinny as a rail."

That's not exactly how it works, but I frequently hear and see people act this way.

Yesterday I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work, and came across two women who were making a pastime out of gossiping about what was in various shoppers' carts after they had passed by. But you know what they say about people who live in glass houses...

These women, to their credit, had carts full of healthy foods. Mostly meats, fruits, vegetables, and unsweetened drinks, from what I could see. The irony, though, was the women themselves. Each was significantly overweight, and neither looked like they could get up a flight of stairs without taking a break half-way.

The whole episode was odd, and got me to thinking:

Getting healthy is a process: Maybe these women had already lost a lot of weight, and they're well on their way to their goal weight. They could be so tuned in to what they are eating that it really bugs them to see others eating poorly. Maybe.

Weight is the first marker of healthy: We can argue about one type of food being healthier than another, but we can't argue with this: One thing all centenarians have in common. People live into their 100s with a wide range of diets, but nobody gets to that age by being obese.

Eating healthy opens your eyes: It's true that once you become aware of exactly what you're eating, you start to notice just how many bad choices are available - they're everywhere you look!

Be nice: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, and when you point your finger there are three fingers pointed back at you. Be nice. Be friendly. Be respectful. It's just better that way.

- Chris Butterworth

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