The War of the Waistline...P.S. We're Losing

So I apologize in advance if any of you haven't eaten yet, but a story must be told here. And unfortunately, pictures are required in this type of tale.

I live in the fattest city in America, and according to most people, just the simple fact that I actually am technically "underweight", I should have no room to speak on this issue.

(NOTE: I honestly think that in the last few years, the testing that determines "overweight, normal or underweight" has been skewed because so many people are overweight, that it has almost become the norm. For example, a good friend of mine took her happy, healthy and fit eight-year-old son to the doctor and was shocked to learn that he was only in the 40th percentile of size for his age. Upon query, the doctor informed her that her son was not in fact small, rather most other children have been tested as larger. Yikes.)

But back to the post. It is disturbing to me how many "larger" children there are running around. And since when do Flaming Hot Cheetos and a Coke constitute a decent breakfast for a child on their way to school? No joke. I actually see kids eating this in the morning on the train. And no, they are not sneaking it. They are being fed it by their mothers sitting next to them.

Ugh. I know that some people are trying to lose weight, and that the battles are epic. But I wonder sometimes how much we actually commit ourselves to fighting the challenges we face.

For example, today at lunch I popped into this place called "America Dogs". A kind of smorgasborg of hot dog delights from around the continental U.S. Knowing that I am DEFINITELY not supposed to be eating hot dogs on this new nutrition regiment given to me by my doctor, I almost walked out of the door before seeing that they had Morningstar Veggie Dogs on the menu. Hooray!! I ordered it at once. Scarfed it down with onions, mustard and ketchup, all the while reveling in my appropriate lunch choice.

And then I look over to the table next to me. There sat three Latino ladies, with what can only be described as a buffet of hot dogs, French fries, and onion rings. One lady, however, was the conscientious one who had opted for a salad. (EGADS! so the feast was now only for TWO?) At once I felt proud of that sole woman, who so bravely sat among the crinkly, beautiful, drool-worthy French fries and mouth-watering onion rings. A feat I know I would never be able to accomplish. That was until I saw this woman pull the largest carton of fries across the table and begin sprinkling them ONTO her salad.

People, I can't even make this shit up. So what the fuck what the lettuce for? An over sized garnish?

I'm not really sure I have point to all this besides, Yuck. Needless to say, I lost a little more faith in humanity today, and our ability to take care of ourselves. Double yuck.

And P.P.S. I just wrote this post while eating a plate of wraps that definitely had a LOT of bacon in them. Hypocrite? Maybe. But bacon is soooo good.