Fed Up

Like so many Americans, my husband and I shop at Costco. Today, my husband picked up the DVD Fed Up. The picture is blurry, so I'll tell you the sentence above the title reads, "It's time to get real about food." It is narrated by Katie Couric.

We watched it this afternoon and was surprised to learn that the experts in this film do not believe that reducing calories and increasing exercise is the cure all for losing weight. They say calories are different. I did know eating vegetables and fruits is better for you than eating chips. Aside from the health value given to differing types of food, I figured you ate a hundred calories and spent three hours burning it off no matter what it was. (Joking a little here.)

They showed how drinking a sugary soda goes to your liver and is turned straight into fat. I'm sure this may be oversimplified, but it scared me. Not that I drink regular soda, but I do drink a ton of flavored coffee creamers. In the past, I wasn't worried about Diabetes because I have great genes and in a huge family of sugar addicts, no one was ever diagnosed with the disease. On the other hand, I do have huge hips and thighs, so I am ready to try a new path.

After watching the movie, I was once again convinced I need to eat better, not perfectly, but better. My husband even offered to make my lunches. (I've made his for the past four years.) That is incentive enough. I even Googled homemade coffee creamers and found some I will try. I had tried to make my own in the past, but thanks to the exploding Internet, I now have recipes. My past attempts were a huge failure.

I believe this documentary is worth the time and effort to watch. It focuses on our children and the struggle they have in a society that promotes unhealthy foods in the media. It also shares how attempts to improve packaged foods have failed. Have you ever noticed that there isn't a % of Daily Value for sugar on food labels?

Until next week,
keep reading and writing.
Tina Swayzee McCright