Letters to the Editor
crimchick
Published Letters: 41 Editor's Choice: 6
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My rules, and they've worked thus far...
[Read the article: The professor of pigging out]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My mom is a very severe Type I diabetic, but has had very few complications throughout her illness and is considerably healthier than a lot of non-diabetics her age. We were raised on the following:
1. Eat what you like. Deprivation does nothing but make you crabby and weak. I will have bacon and cheese grits for dinner if I want, just not often.
2. Find a physically demanding activity that you love. Not only because it allows you more wiggle room food-wise, but because watching your body become strong and capable is really darn cool. But remember, junk in, junk out. Try running after said bacon and cheese grits, it's just not happening. Having a physical hobby trains you to think of your body as a machine in need of proper fuel, and you'd be shocked how quickly your diet habits change.
3. When you start thinking "just one more bite," stop eating.
4. Water, lots of it. Always have a glass of it sitting next to you. No soda, not even diet. No juice, eat actual fruit instead.
5. Don't weigh yourself, that number is meaningless. How do you actually feel? Do you sleep well? Are you awake and alert all day? Do you feel sluggish or weak? No matter how thin you are, you're not healthy if you regularly doze off at work or get winded chasing your kid around the house.
6. Take high quality multivitamins. I swear I can't even think straight without mine.
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Walk a mile in those shoes
[Read the article: A mother's love]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obviously, some of the more judgmental types on this post have never been in this sort of situation. Consider yourselves lucky, and my condolences to your children or loved ones should they ever fall short of your expectations.
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Well-meaning, but wrong
[Read the article: Big Apple no longer Fat City]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Like a cookie made with butter instead of margarine will make you less fat...I know that this is a well-intentioned move to reduce obesity, but trans fats don't make you any fatter than regular fats. The problem is that people don't realize how their choices make them fat, i.e. the poster earlier talking about her sister's two-mochas-a-day habit. We try to look for convenient places to lay blame for obesity and poor health, when the blame almost always lies squarely on the individual. It is extremely rare when one does not completely earn their obesity through bad lifestyle choices, and banning trans fats won't change that.
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Don't do it for the money
[Read the article: Should I become an egg donor -- to pay off my loans?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A former roommate of mine donated. The few weeks she spent on hormones made her darn near unbearable, and she had to buy us a lot of drinks to make up for her mood swings. I think we chewed through a fair bit of her payment, but we all agreed she did a very cool thing. She has no plans to have children soon, but like a lot of young women she knows that her childbearing days are finite, and that she too may one day be in a position where she is unable to conceive and needs a donor. I think that being able to help couples have the babies that they obviously want desperately is rather altruistic.
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Poor woman didn't have a friend in the world...
[Read the article: Goodbye, Vickie Lynn]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've always had a soft spot for ANS. Yeah, she's not horribly bright, and had more than her fair share of problems. But aside from these flaws, she seemd like a perfectly nice woman who had lived a hardscrabble life and somehow managed to carve something out of it. Maybe it's because of these traits that she always seemed to be surrounded by leeches whose only goal was to suck her dry and exploit her. Nobody ever cared for her, they just wanted a piece of her fortune. Hell, I think the only people who ever cared for her were that geezer she married and her son.
What a sad woman.
Oh yeah, and her lawyer is an awfully suspicious critter. I'd put that baby on lockdown, because it seems like all the people who have a claim to the money are "mysteriously" dying.
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Everyone should just elope on an island.
[Read the article: My invitation to the wedding has not arrived. Should I inquire?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For reals. Best decision I've made in a long time.
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Maybe some people don't belong in college
[Read the article: The suicide test]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I spent a lot of years in school, and it seems to me that this whole situation has something to do with the fact that a college education has become accessible to pretty much anybody who can pay the money. I am not saying a more accessible system of higher education is a bad thing, but the result is that you get a lot of people entering the system who are just not cut out for success. Some lack basic knowledge, and others just do not understand how to cope with their new surroundings. Those students are naturally going to have a more stressful time. I know that everybody wants a college education, and that for a lot of people it's as much a given as a high school diploma. But it is vital to remember that college is HARD. It's supposed to be. Not everybody can, or should excel in college. If it were such a gimme, everybody who started would finish and the degree wouldn't mean much. So maybe some people just don't fit with the college structure, or should go at a different pace, or should take a year off. No harm in removing yourself from a situation you're not equipped to deal with.
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Damn kids! Get off my lawn!
[Read the article: Stating the obvious]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Eh, it's that standard "back when I was your age" crap. Everyone is guilty of it as they age. I'll give GK a pass, because anyone this folksy is bound to venture into nostalgic BS now and then.
Just remember: The good old days weren't all that good, and today is better than you think.