quick fix

"dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es"
"tell me what you eat, and i will tell you what you are."

brillat-savarin's master-work wasn't published until two months before his death, but he already had gained a certain renommee as an epicure, and now lost in the truffled mist, a bit of a scold. he was far more impressed by a simple meal prepared with thoughtful artistry than by a groaning board of ortolans and foie gras; he was an advocate of more veggies/less meat and a harsh critic of refined flour. (although that last bit may have been a philosophical hedge to sever associations with the "let them eat cake!" crowd so recently of the rolling heads {i KNOW she never said it, but go with the flow here, ok?})

what many also miss is his more holistic inference. the excesses of the ousted aristocracy still loomed large, and most french lived a never-ending cycle of back-breaking toil, poorly fueled by gnawing hunger. he who consumed recklessly was not just disregarding his own self, but affecting the greater whole by selfishly wasting scant resources. at that point, gluttony remained a sin of the privileged class.

it took only a few decades for the industrial revolution to create a new prosperity (the 1st american skyrocket ?), a whole new paradigm for labor and leisure, and with it, burgeoning waistlines. this quickly spawned a new batch of scolds like rev. graham (he of the crunchy cracker), horace fletcher (the great masticator) and dr. kellogg (cereal AND enemas -- whooosh!)

fast forward to earl butz, a mandate for cheap food and the rushing flood of high-fructose corn syrup. et voila, welcome to the fattest country on the planet.

as referenced in my last post, we're bombarded by quick-fixes: pills, powders, frozen trays of who-knows-what; low-fat ice cream, coke with protein, oat bran cookies. add a seeming endless stream of conflicting medical studies: high-fat diets cause cancer, but low-fat regimens don't prevent it; being underweight adds years to your life, but being overweight doesn't seem to diminish longevity; south beach, atkins, ornish; the french paradox, the mediterranean diet, the 100+ year old women on that japanese island -- it could be head-spinning.

trouble is, it all lacks context and americans are all about the quick fix. i work with a woman in her 50s. last year she quit smoking (yeah!), but has since gained about 50 pounds. (uh-oh!) her son bought her a treadmill. she admits it's a clothes rack, but she keeps talking about going on jenny craig first, cuz she saw how much weight tony orlando (!!) lost. she was complaining her skin and scalp were very dry. i suggested she drink more water. "i don't like water." uh, ok. her doctor then prescribed fish oil capsules, which cost $20 a week. a regular customer was extolling omega-3 capsules, so she will buy them this weekend. it occurs naturally in many foods, but why eat salmon or eggs when you can pop a pill ?

all sorts of things can get us to a place we never thought we'd be. despair, depression, non-accountability and self-loathing all made me just lay down the reins, and the results produced a decidedly unpleasant "before". now i'm working towards the "after". the old grey mare certainly isn't what she used to be, and my metabolism and muscle memory are no longer short quick-snapping rubber bands of response. however, i don't dread going to the gym like lots of folks do and am happy when i am there. my irregular schedule makes a *set* routine impossible, but as long as i get in a certain amount of time plus each week, i feel accomplished. although my progress seems to disappoint certain observers, i can feel the changes and see improvements. i am trying to be reasonable. i no longer expect to fit into the jeans of that anorexic/bulimic 24-year-old, but there's no reason what i could wear a few years ago should remain on the rack.

a certain person is fond of reminding me i am not the person i like to think i am. what that makes me in his eyes, i'm never totally sure, but in this case, with something i really can control, i'd like to get closer to what i thought i was. ne c'est pas?