Zipper Problems

I have discovered that trying to get dressed to be presentable in public has become a real challenge. Like a lot of people I am discovering that I have a little zipper problem. It seems that my zippers don't want to close properly. They keep getting caught on my tummy or sometimes they don't even meet! I have lots of excuses but you've heard most of them. The long and the short of it is that I've been eating more than I need and not making very good choices.

Hubby has joined me in the search for bigger slacks, so we are trying to both be a little more careful in what we eat. I think maybe we need to be a lot more careful. I looked at the kitchen counter and discovered part of a batch of chocolate chip cookies (made for the grandkids), the last of a birthday cake (made for my son's birthday dinner) and part of a jam cake (from Christmas, for heaven's sake!). Naturally we have been munching contently on these "left-overs". What is it that makes it impossible for my generation to just throw it out? My refrigerator is full of little bowls, cups and cartons containing a serving of this, and a serving of that--why can't we throw it out!!!

I am a product of a generation that was raised by a generation that actually knew what it was like to not have enough. They knew hard times and food shortages. They didn't waste anything. I still marvel at how my mother-in-law would even save the water from rinsing vegetables to put on her flowers. They also didn't waste food. They cooked enough but not so much that they had tons of left-overs. No one ever starved in my mother's kitchen but she didn't have to clean out the refrigerator every week or so to get rid of all the left overs either.

I read the other day where the "average" serving size has increased by 200% in the last 40 years. The old "basic four" food model was set up on 1/2 cup servings. Put three 1/2 servings on a plate for a meal and most of us would think we were at a "fat farm". We have grown accustomed to eating way more than our bodies require. According to this article, today's small hamburgers are the same size as the regular of just a few years ago. Everything is larger, so why are we surprised that we are too?

Even the clothing stores work to make us eat more. Take for example I wear the same size jeans now that I did in my twenties. Do you think I am the same size--not hardly. The clothing manufacturers have gradually increased the sizes of the clothing so we won't feel upset that we have to keep buying bigger ones. I guess they think we won't realize that we are becoming bigger if the clothes do too.

The sad part is that when it all catches up with you then you have to give up eating the things that you love. When if we had only been eating smaller amounts and made some more sensible choices along the way, we could still be eating what we want. It's all about moderation and compromises. You can eat your cake but not three times a day!