Taking Care of Number One

What the public expects and what is healthy for an individual are two very different things. – Esther Williams

Lately, I’m hooked on watching “health” shows like Dr. Oz and The Doctors. Although most of their topics pertains on how to “retard” the inevitable dread of most women, once in a while I do picked some practical health tips.  But my favorite is House. I’m fascinated by his character. I can’t decide if his a sociopath, lacks empathy of just plain aloof. Is he a sadist or it’s just his way of showing his affection? Unlike other “detective” series where I can guess “whodunit”, one only knows if House had an epiphany when the camera focuses on his bulging blue-eyes and then - case solve. To be frank, I don’t have an idea what the hell they’re talking about most of the time!

When you reach that milestone where your age is more than the number of days in a calendar month, it’s time to count the number of calorie you take in a day. That includes changing your lifestyle like putting a ceiling on you vices, watching the food you eat and stretching those stiff muscles to produce sweat.

I do that. I’m down to smoking 6 sticks of cigarettes a day. I eat nuts and raisins as TV snacks instead of my usual potato chips or popcorn. My breakfast consist of 4 crackers, a banana and coffee, an apple, an orange and 4 more crackers for lunch and fish, vege and rice for supper with plenty of fluids between meals. But of course I indulge on beef, pizza and fried chicken on weekends to put some color and spice to my monotonous if not drab weekdays eating habit. I also promised myself to do a 4 km. walk, 3x a week the moment outside temperature hits above 20 degrees.

It works for me. When my wife and I have our annual general checkup, all my numbers are down while hers are playing just below critical. That’s the reason she complained to our doctor. She brags she does our laundry by hand instead of using the washing machine. A chore she regard as a form of exercise. She sleeps early while I sit and watched TV all night. I smoke while all her vices “only” consist of coffee, chocolate and doughnuts. So how come I’m healthier than her? It is perplexing indeed when the question comes from someone who does not eat breakfast because she’s “on diet” and considers a glass of fresh milk and a slice of chocolate cake – lunch!

But hey! What works for me does not necessarily mean it will work for you. The least you might get, especially with the nuts and raisins, is farthing all the time!