No Carb Left Behind…. aka Gluttony

Perhaps I have something in common with GWB after all? I wanted to write this before Thanksgiving to try to encourage my audience to recognize the gluttony that is Thanksgiving and try to overcome (thank you Martin Luther King). However, I am glad I am writing it after eating so I can share my experience with gluttony.

I now feel I am a candidate for the Biggest Loser. I don’t watch that show because my friend, Caroline Rhea, (now ex-friend-kidding) used to host that show when it first went on the air. When she didn’t invite me to be the expert diet doctor on the show, I quickly lost interest- shallow, maybe; but if it’s not about me…I do kid, but I also watch people in the office shed weight every day- something both rewarding and extremely challenging. Perhaps I can host my own Biggest Loser direct from the office. Hmmmm.

Have you noticed the new trends for TV shows for mid-season replacement? The two I would like to point out are Shedding for the Wedding (SFTW) and Bridalplasty. If these two shows don’t exemplify the concept of gluttony, then I don’t know what does.

SFTW is essentially a weight loss show where brides compete to see who can lose the most weight. SInce it’s not on the air, I have no idea what the prize is going to be but anything that can get someone to lose weight is good by me. Unfortunately, it sets up the wrong paradigm. The paradigm that is ingrained in every overweight person in this country, i.e. 70% of all Americans; that dieting has a beginning and an end.

Let me be the first person to tell you that it does not. Dieting or as I like to call it, lifelong deprivation is just that, lifelong. Now, it is not just about deprivation- I say that only half jokingly; its about finding a lifestyle that works for you- when it comes to food. We need to learn how to rebuild our relationship to food- when did it go so wrong? We have tv shows from What’s Eating You?- which are true stories about real anorexics to Mike and Molly- a show about people who met at an Overeaters Anonymous class.

The extremes that America goes through is pathetic and we should all be ashamed of ourselves. Thanksgiving, which is a time when we celebrate gluttony is something that is marveled at by the rest of the world. Canada has a Thanksgiving day as well, but it is nothing compared to what goes on at our tables. I had a Canadian to Thanksgiving dinner and she was shocked at the amount of food that I had prepared- which again leads back to me. Don’t all roads to lead to…

So, why does gluttony mean so much to me? I was an overweight child who stood 80 pounds heavier than I am today. It was during my college years that I lost the weight and they have never come back on. I struggle every day with what to eat and have to think about it on a constant basis. Every decision I make is a reflection on my new relationship to food- whether it’s making the time to go to the gym (which I do faithfully no matter how busy I am) or passing up the bread baskets, not eating pasta, or giving up mouth- watering desserts; or simply making the correct decisions about what to buy in the grocery store- it is pure and simple lifestyle change. One now so embedded in me that I want to go to my refrigerator now and throw away all the carbs that I created with my very own hands yesterday.

Thanksgiving is a day of thanks. I am so thankful for my patients, family, friends, good health and so many other things. Yet, even I reduced the day down to one of gluttony- there wasn’t one person at my table that could stand after all the food prepared and consumed. I felt good about that- a good host after all. Another misguided concept.

But, that is not always case. Those who know me, know that I only indulge for my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and my winter holiday. If you come to my home at any other time, “there will be no carbs for you.” To sort of quote the soup nazi.

If you thought I wasn’t going to get back to Bridalplasty, you were mistaken. How could I leave that untouched. This is a show where brides to be compete to become the brides they want to be through the use of plastic surgery. How delicious is that? My DVR is already set. Watching a bunch of people who are too lazy, too self-educational- these shows actually help me help patients and my followers because they reveal who we truly are as a culture.

So, the day of gluttony is past. I for one, couldn’t be happier.

Until next time…