Old World Swine

Y M I Fat?

 
(still from the 2008 movie Wall-e, © Disney/Pixar... about culture and being fat and stuff...)

It occurrs to me, as I again endeavour to take off these last stubborn 20 pounds of excess adipose tissue, that the recent trend toward porkliness in our country is not the mystery one may be led to think.

Of course we are fatter than our parents' generation (my folks were born in the 1920s - 30s). I believe that one huge cause of our increased larditude is the fact that our population during the last 100 years steadily moved off the farm and into the suburbs. We were country folk. We are now city folk... sedentary, wan and pasty.

Our parents and grandparents did more physical work. Lots more. How many contemporary Euro-Americans do physically laborious work for a living... or even much at home? Do we not increasingly hire immigrant labor to do such jobs... even around the house?

I haven't been completely comfortable with the idea of exercise as a substitute for work, either... by exercise I mean the idea of climbing on a treadmill or other apparatus and merely putting our muscles through pointless repetitive motions in an attempt to stave off a coronary. I'm not saying exercise is bad or evil, and I'm not judging people who exercise (please, hold your outrage). What I am saying is that the modern idea of exercise seems to be another indicator of the fractured nature of our lives. Now, it seems, the condition and overall health of our bodies is divorced completely from our real life. We have to take special pains to arrange and schedule periods of "exercise"... that or eat like a rabbit, or resign ourselves to a life of blob-dome.

It just ain't... holistic, to use the New Age Hippy lingo. It is another instance of the current terrible lack of comprehensiveness in our human experiences. Sex is estranged from procreation, family is estranged form marriage, we multiply online friendships, but don't even know the names of our neighbors.

I heard this week that there is a (tiny) community of Catholics called "Plain Catholics" who lead lives similar to the Amish, from whom I think we could all learn a thing or two. I'm anxious to find out more about them. Not to turn back the clock, only to go back and see if there might be some important things we have left behind in our headlong rush to we-know-not-where. Culture is not an altogether blind process. It's something we make. All of us. There's no reason we can't make it a little more sane and balanced. Keep computers, heck yeah... and air conditioning and all that other wonderful technology... but use it to make more humane, full and joyful lives for ourselves. Technology must become our agent, and not our master.

Come to think of it, that's what Tolkien was driving at, eh?

Oil Change & Tune Up

I went in for my annual checkup, today. The Doc kicked my tires and checked my oil (blood pressure was thankfully not that high).

Against the preferences of us both, I reminded him that my - er - tailpipe and muffler assembly had not been checked in several years. So, cross that off the list, too. Urgh.

To all guys 40 and over - you know the drill. Have your prostate checked. That is all. Your doctor may not bring it up (it's not what he hoped to do with his morning either), but you should.

I'm also having my cholesterol checked. There must have been some real spiritual grace that came to me through Lent this year, as I was consistently able to maintain a healthy approach to food, and as a result lost about 15 pounds. After Lent, I slipped back into some old habits, and have gained some of this weight back. I need to get back to my Lenten discipline and pray for more of that grace.

The Camel's Nose

Okay... I have a big problem with ObamaCare, and it is not directly related to abortion, euthanasia, death panels, embryonic stem cell research, or anything else that is or is not in the current version of the program.

Those things are abominable and are disqualifiers, certainly... but, for the sake of argument, let's say that none of these provisions were part of the current form of the bill.

My problem is simply in the bureaucratizing of the system, in the fact that it will be moving toward complete governmental control, because even given that none of these provisions were part of the program initially, I have the distinct sense that this is where things will be headed eventually. It's where the scientific "expert" ethicists want to go, it's where the current administration wants to go, it's where other supposedly more "advanced" Western countries are already going. The specific provisions of the current bill are not that relevant, what is relevant to me is that the government will be greatly expanding to control another huge aspect of public life, and that means loss of freedom.

You want a risk-free society? You can have it. I understand that there are people without insurance... there always have been, and there are more people insured now than ever. My wife and I were uninsured for years while we went to college. We were broke. Now we're going broke paying for insurance.

I think everyone ought to have access to medical care, and the vast majority already do. That doesn't mean that everyone can afford everything, but I am very close to a family of modest means that was in need of some very major, ongoing, expensive and specialized health care for a loved one and got it, paying only a tiny fraction of the total cost (which was all they could afford). Insurance covered only a fraction of the remainder, and the rest was absorbed by hospitals, by private physicians and donated by charities. In other words, people saw the need and covered it, without the government bureaucracy.

Does it always turn out that way? No. Do some people lack adequate health care? Sure. I think, though, that if we give up on private means of dealing with the problem and turn it over to Big Brother, we will regret it down the road.

You know that if Washington gets control of things, health care will continue to be structured so as to make money for all the "right" people, and this money will flow into Washington in such a way as to consolidate power for all the "right" pols. It will make the military/indudtrial complex green with envy. If you want to see the future of health care legislation, look at current legislation for weapons systems, which is based not on the needs of the military, but on the needs of some defense contractor that is holding some Senator's leash. "Who cares whether the air force needs or wants F22s?... My constituents want F22s, and I get a fat kickback from the company that makes F22s, in the form of campaign contributions and luxury junkets, etc... Screw the military ".

That is the same decision making dynamic that will be brought to bear in the health care industry, eventually, if it becomes another arm of the government.

Not Sure What I Think of This

There are a lot of cross-currents at work in this case of a 13-year-old cancer patient who wishes to opt out of chemotherapy in favor of some kind of "naturopathic" stuff. It's a Catholic family, but they " also believe in the 'do no harm' philosophy of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians.".

By itself, a strong belief in natural remedies is not incompatible with Catholicism (or any kind of Christian belief I know of), but it could get into some weird areas. If there is an admixture of shamanism (the family claims the boy is a "medicine man and elder in the Nemenhah Band"), then it may in fact be in positive conflict with Church teaching... if the Nemenhah band teaches, for instance, that faith healing is obligatory and that modern medical practices are of the devil, or something.

If they just want to believe that modern medicine just doesn't work as well as natural cures, they are completely free to do that as Catholics.

The boy is 13, on the cusp of manhood, and so the question of how much freedom and control he should have over his treatment is difficult to answer.

Also, it is cases like this one - rare, but sensational - that can easily be used to undermine the natural autonomy of all families by passing laws that take parental consent out of the picture altogether. Mandatory medical treatment enforced by the state is not something we should be really excited to see increasing.

How would a Jewish or Muslim family react if the state decided that one of their loved ones needed an organ transplant from a pig? How would they be allowed to react? If the patient was a devout Jew or Muslim, could it not possibly cause a horrible, personal/psychological/emotional crisis? Would they be allowed to opt out, then, for "religious" reasons?

At the same time, one hates to see kids caught up in the (possible) kookiness of the parents and end up paying with their lives. It's a sticky situation, but I truly hate to see the power of the state expand yet again at the expense of family sovereignty. The parents, in this case, are obviously not out to harm the boy. They just disagree with the state on the best way to approach his treatment. True neglect may be difficult or impossible to establish.

Please pray for these folks, especially that the boy's cancer will just go away. I don't think the family would mind that sort of intervention in their affairs.

As Screen Time Increases, Health Decreases

Reuters - The U.S. National Institutes of Health has concluded that spending a lot of time in front of a video screen is unhealthy. In other news, beer is discovered to be a mild intoxicant and water is found to be wet.

"I think we were pretty surprised by how overwhelming the number of studies was that showed this negative health impact," NIH bioethicist Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, one of the researchers in the report released by the advocacy group Common Sense Media, said in a telephone interview.

"The fact that it was probably more a matter of quantity than actual content is also a concern. We have a media-saturated life right now in the 21st century. And reducing the number of hours of exposure is going to be a big issue."

Does This Come With Some Kind of Certificate?

Fox news reports that a Rhode Island man was arrested with a blood alcohol level of .491, the highest recorded in the state "for someone who wasn't dead".

According to the article;

The legal limit in Rhode Island is 0.08. A level of 0.30 is classified as stupor, 0.4 is comatose and 0.5 is considered fatal, according to the health department.

Now, see what you can accomplish if you stick with it?

Auto Erotic

Eric Scheske of The Daily Eudemon links to a story about a guy who claims to enjoy having sex with cars. Look, is this a surprise? Google almost any inanimate object (well, or animate object, for that matter) and probably someone is boinking it, somewhere. Nowadays, though - thanks to the internet - these people can get together on websites and blogs and find support and encouragement for whatever sick obsession they happen to have. "Heck, we're just normal folks. I thought I was the only one! My family doesn't understand" blah, blah...

I picture the guy flipping through one of these hot-rod magazines... the kind with the bikini-clad girl flopped all over the car hood, or what have you... and wishing the girl would get out of the way.

And speaking of sick minds, the American Psychiatric Association  is working on a new version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - the DSM - the diagnostic guide of American psychiatry, after which they will confidently instruct us all on what constitutes "normal" sex. I read a little Freud and Kinsey for my schooling, and came to this conclusion; in reading Freud and Kinsey, you don't find out a great deal about either sexual or mental health, but you learn a great deal about Freud and Kinsey. More than you might want to know, actually. Boy-howdy.

Do The Lighten Up

In solidarity with Sean at the Blue Boar, as well as all my fellow doughy and out-of-shape bloggers (and readers) looking to better themselves, I am throwing down the cutlet, and am going public with a fitness plan of my own, starting today.

Diet is an important part of it, of course, but the BIG thing - the crux of the biscuit - will be exercise.

I normally diet pretty successfully using a low-carb plan that works for me. I've lost probably fifteen pounds over the last year that way, but my weight has been hovering stubbornly between 215 and 218, which is not where I want to be. I know from experience that my body responds very well (and surprisingly quickly) to physical exercise, but finding the time (now that I have a day job) and the right routine (challenging, but within reach) at the right price (free) has been tricky.

For one thing, I have a family with whom I only get to spend a few waking hours each evening (excluding weekends). Carving an hour out of that time every day to accommodate my exercise routine is a non-starter. I have also always felt a twinge of guilt about spending that kind of time on myself, when there are inevitably chores to be done or a checkbook to balance, or what have you. I so have to get over that. It's not selfish to look after your health. In fact, it may mean living a lot longer and feeling better in the meantime, which means as much to your family as it does to you.

There are a few chores that I can use to good effect in terms of fitness (mowing the grass, mopping, etc...) but most household chores won't really do as a cardio workout, which is what I need. My kids are also at that magical age (they're both teens, now) when "working out with dad" doesn't hold the same charm for them as it might have when they were six. Making it a family activity would mean probably me working out and them either trying hard to ignore me, or eating popcorn and laughing (that might sound like a cheap alternative to basic cable, but I'll pass).

The good news is that I have finally dug out and set up what exercise equipment I have in a spare room, and will be able to use weights to complement my cardio routine (walking & bicycling, indoors and out). Having mulled it over for a while, I think my best bet will be to wake up early and exercise before my morning shower. This will take some doing, because - as I have confessed in other posts - I am not a morning person. For a while after I get out of bed, I'm as dopey as a three-toed sloth mainlining cough syrup. But if I can manage to get to bed a little earlier, I think I can get myself up at 5:00 every morning. Walking will probably wake me up more quickly than normal, and that might even help to make my morning prayers more coherent. And speaking of prayer... if you can spare some prayer time for me, please pray that I will be given the self-discipline to stick with this.

I plan to exercise at least 5 times a week this way, in addition to maintaining my diet. My goal is to get below 200 pounds, and I hope to accomplish this in five weeks. I don't think that is unreasonable. I would like to get down closer to 190 eventually, but I'll be tickled every shade of pink to get below 200. I once asked my doctor to calculate my ideal weight, which he did, but his opinion was that if I hit that weight (172 pounds) I would "look like a Biafran"... guess I'm "big boned" (heh).

I'll be posting with progress reports as I lighten up. Incidentally, the title of this post is a play on the song "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & the Drells.

"And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint"

Sean at The Blue Boar is off on a new diet adventure, a circumstance with which I am intimately familiar. I'm one of the lucky ones, though, who has struggled with gluttony (not that this is Sean's situation, I'm talking about myself, here) and has managed to avoid paying any too terrible price for it in physical terms. I am overweight, but not so most would notice... but there are shadows looming, hints that the cost for the abuse of my stomach can't be postponed indefinitely; I now take blood pressure medication, my knees have begun to twinge, I am too easily winded.

In my younger days, as a nominal Christian, and even as a more committed, searching Evangelical, I saw this mainly as a health issue... something that ought to be addressed, but that was not really specially related to my spiritual condition. This is what I had been taught, or more properly, what I had absorbed from the culture and the media. Serious issues with weight were seen as primarily a physical problem, perhaps with a strong psychological or emotional element, but even that element was reduced to a matter of behavior modification, brain chemistry, enzyme imbalances or some such.

The idea of gluttony as a sin - one of the Seven Deadlies, according to tradition - had been completely deconstructed by the time I became an adult aware of such things. It went the way of the Index of Forbidden Books, which is a shame and a great disservice to those who struggle with their relationship with food, because there is a great deal of wisdom in this view of Capital "G" Gluttony.

By Gluttony I suppose I mean simply eating a good deal more than one needs. Not that there aren't occasions when this is okay... there are times for us to both feast and fast. Problem is, we Americans feast about every day and don't realize it, don't even think about it - at least this is the case for me. When I overeat (that is, binge... really fall off the wagon) it seems to happen almost without my notice. My mind is elsewhere and my hands and mouth are having a party. Well, except there's little joy in it.

It was only fairly recently (the last few years) that I began to really look at the mechanism of this process, this habitual movement of hand to mouth, and it came down to this; I see it, I desire it, I eat it. I don't think, I don't ask whether I should eat, whether this food should be saved for another meal, or for someone else, or even if I'm hungry - I just see it, want it and consume it. Sounds a great deal like Lust of the Eyes, doesn't it? Porn for the stomach. At least for those of you men who have ever struggled with porn (and that's most of us) this pattern ought not be too unfamiliar.

Then, sometimes it is more like Lust of the Flesh... the body is fine, but the mouth wants attention, wants to merely taste and chew for the sake of tasting and chewing... and lacking the discipline to tell my mouth to stop whining, I quiet it with a cookie. Or two, or five.

At bottom, it comes down to a sinful, self-centered response to Desire, and the mechanism is familiar; I want it, and I want it now. That's David and Bathsheba, that's Eve and the apple, that's... well, a lot of things.

In our time, though, the sinful aspect of gluttony has pretty well been dismissed. It's not that big a deal, nothing to get upset about, certainly nothing to (heaven's sake!) confess to a priest. It's a harmless sin, a sin so endemic to our culture, so transparent, so accepted that I wonder if it may be doing a great deal more spiritual damage than we think. Gluttony may send few people to hell, but in terms of weakening the will and preparing the way for greater and deeper sin, Screwtape could hardly ask for a better ally. Gluttony is, in our age of the drive-through and the all-you-can-eat buffet, a stealth sin, a nameless sin, and sin that is unacknowledged and unnamed can't be repented.

In this season of Lent, this touches on one of the really amazing advantages of good old Catholic confession; it lets us - makes us - name our sin, allows us to drag it into the light and lay it before Christ, where His grace can be brought to the battle. Adam named the animals in part to signify his authority over them. In the case of the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus commanded that the demons name themselves as he revealed his authority to cast them out. In a similar way, naming our sin is an important aspect of beginning to overcome it - through the Holy Spirit and in the grace of Jesus Christ.

A final note: " The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them." - 1 Timothy 5:24

For many who struggle with it, the sin of gluttony is manifested in front of everyone. The greedy, the liar, the pervert can often hide their sin very effectively from the world, whereas the glutton often wears the outward sign of his or her sin everywhere they go, and so are judged and quietly condemned. I have done this myself with a shake of the head and an inward "tsk, tsk", ("My GOSH, put down the knife and fork, fella..."). I have learned better. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more." - Mark 4:24.

Most Bloggers Ain't Joggers

Sean at The Blue Boar shares with readers his struggle to hit and maintain a healthy weight. It's a battle I suspect is not unknown to a lot of us blogger types - I'm just going way out on a limb and hazarding a guess, here. My day job involves sitting at a computer most of the day, a number of my favorite pastimes involve sitting on my can (reading by a fire, blogging), and oil painting isn't exactly an aerobic activity.

I have struggled a bit with extra weight, but have been blessed to have a pretty decent metabolism. None the less, I put on two or three pounds a year for 25 years and found myself (gasp!) at 230 pounds, standing 5'9". I not only ended up with high blood pressure, but the specter of the diabetes that runs in my Dad's side of the family also began to haunt me.

That's why I started the low-carb thing, and it works very well for me, provided (like any program) I stay on it. The thing is, I find it easier to stay on the low-carb regimen for longer periods of time than other plans. I might cheat for a day or two, but then I am able to get right back on (usually... heh).

The most difficult aspect of low-carb is being around people who don't eat that way. At work I'm inundated with bagels, sticky buns, cake... all of which I have to take a pass on. But I'm used to it. The main thing is to stay away from processed white flour, processed sugar, processed rice, potatoes, etc... I don't consider this a fad diet at all. It's a fact that most Americans just eat way too much of these things.

My goal is to get back under 200 pounds and stay there, which will also require more exercise - a great excuse to go hiking more. The day I see a "1" as the first digit on the scale (please God), I will truly celebrate... with a steak, some steamed veggies and a premium beer.

This whole topic puts me in mind of some thoughts I've had over the last few years concerning the most forgotten sin in our society... gluttony. It seems that nobody takes it seriously as sin anymore, yet tradition has it as one of the Seven Deadlies. I'm going to throw in with Chesterton and allow that our ancestors were on to something important, here. Watch for an upcoming post.