eating for fun, pleasure or because someone told you what to eat

eating for fun, pleasure or 

because someone told you what to eat

Bill

Thank you taking the time to share all that about
your chosen eating habits and your daughter's
choice to be a vegetarian and not imposing that
on her children.

I grew up in home of two immigrants
Mother from Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Father from Blythe, England

both from poor families

My mother came to the US as a contracted
indentured servant to a wealthy family in
Holyoke, Massachusetts for 2 or 3 years

Sadly I did not ask and they rarely
shared their earlier life stories

I only know bits and pieces and those may not be accurate

She was an upstairs maid and became a cook there

After that she moved to Toronto where one of her older sisters lived.

big gap in knowledge

then she ended up in Detroit somehow as a maid/cook for the Horace Dodge (auto industry) family.

I knew her as a very cook general cook.

Mostly meat/fish potatoes and 2 vegetables each meal

Sunday meals when I was growing up usually included

roast beef, chicken, turkey, or ham

Fridays often included fish instead of meat out of Depression and WWII traditions

no fancy sauces like French cooking

My second wife, Merry, the vegan/vegetarian/4 food group health food lover
was a fabulously creative cook but rarely used measurements other than taste

She could eat a meal in a restaurant and then copy it from taste memory alone.

ice cream, candy, soft drinks were part of my growing up

When I traveled in 24 countries by plane, train (Euro Rail/Brit Rail) bus, car, walking for 3+ months in the Summer of 1977 my eating habits changed as I experiment with foods in the various countries.

I mostly broke my habit sweets and Coca Colas most day

blah blah blah

I returned home much trimmer and lighter
25 or so lbs was due to catching cholera in Egypt
and being deathly ill for the next 24 to 30 hrs
until the doctors at the hospital in Beograde, Yugoslavia
saved my life.

I met Merry in the Spring of 1978 while we were both
working on Masters Degrees in Guidance & Counseling

in Boca Raton at Florida Atlantic University.

she focused all her studies on Dieting & Eating Disorders

I focused mine on working with Gifted, Talented & Creative individuals.

so endith my ranting about me and food.

I do it processed, canned, packaged food
while also eating fruits and vegetables each day
and cut back from the 16 oz to 24 oz steaks
or two pork chops, or 1/2 a chicken
or eating an entire small pizza

to much smaller portions during our 20 years together

years later in 2005 my doctor recommended that
"WE" concentrated on dealing with the hereditary health issues
from my parents

Both had been Type II diabetics taking pills (no idea which)
High Cholestorol
High Blood Pressure
High Blood Sugar
over weight

I have been taking pills and watching my eating habits
now ever since and having two semi-annual check ups
every year checking my NUMBERS
and controlling while lowering my weight realistically

9 or 10 times since I was 23 I have lost large amounts of weight
though dieting or excessive exercise

I stopped that shit the last time in 2004 when I put myself on a
NO SUGAR,
NO STARCH
diet for months to trim down

now I do some walking but not excessively as I have in the past
and I eat more modest meals while occasionally satisfying my
sweet tooth with a can of Coke or Pepsi occasionally.

pshew....lots of info...thanks for reading this far

Best wishes to you Bill.

Alan