I was at the SuperNastytm Discount Grocery store today and nearly went nuts at the bulk (ie candy and cookie) section. I had walked there, about 1 mile and a half, so I was pretty dazed, cold and tired. I just wanted a handful of bleepin' cookies!! It started getting me into a foul mood. I must have paced around for ten minutes, arguing with myself about whether or not I was "allowed" to have it.

But a few minutes later, I noticed that the store was unusually crowded. Then I remembered that it was the end of the month - disability/pension/welfare week. Then I noticed that almost everyone in the store was elderly. I noticed what they were buying - scary 99 cent no-name hot dogs, canned beans, and they were practically fighting like wolves over the day-old bread rack and the reduced produce rack. I wouldn't have fed my dog the stuff on the produce rack! It was nasty.

Then I just felt really thankful that I have the financial resources to *choose* food that was *good* for me. I emphasize "choice." I could have bought the candy and cookies if I wanted to, but I didn't.

My friends, we are not "deprived." We're lucky enough to be able to make good choices for ourselves!

Kristine...you make a very good point. Many people simply can't afford to make good choices for their bodies and the cold, hard fact of it is that high carb, high sugar foods are cheap and plentiful at least in the USA. Instead of feeling deprived, we should all be thankful that have have the financial means to make the better choice and maybe make your next donation to the food pantry some meat (if they happen to be able to store it). Thanks for a thought provoking post.

You are absolutely right.

We get awfully wrapped up in ourselves (which is normal and natural and not an entirely bad thing at all) but we are certainly prone to forget how fortunate we are. Even the bottom few percent of the people in the USA or Canada (or most of the countries that most of us are posting from) are better off in so many ways than the majority of the world's population.

If anything, that is both part of my disgust at myself and part of my motivation to do better. I have the opportunity to make healthy choices in situations where most people in this world have little to no choice at all. That I have so frequently chosen to do the unhealthy thing is a mark of disgrace that I must bear and that I must make up for.

wbahn: "Disgrace" sounds a little harsh on yourself... we eat how we were raised, and we were raised not only by our parents but our schools, our peers, and the media. Our society doesn't say, "eat your veggies and don't overindulge." It says, "eat Big Macs, Oreos, Doritos, Coke, Oscar Meyer Weiners and Budweiser. It's perfectly normal."

With reference to judging your past mistakes, I think it's Iyanla Vanzant who says, "You didn't know better. Once you KNEW better, you DID better." Bravo for doing better NOW!! That's all that matters.

Laying the blame on society only goes so far. At some point I knew enough to know that what I was doing was bad - and yet I kept on doing it. Which drives home the point in your second paragraph - once I knew better I failed to do better. And for that I bear guilt and responsibility - and I have paid quite a price for it over the last fifteen years.

But those mistakes are in the past and I can do nothing about them but accept the consequences, learn from them and move on. So now I have learned even more and, more importantly, made major shifts in my priorities and my mindset and so now I AM doing better.

And, as you say, that's what really matters.

I have been marries for 22 years and lived on a sheep and cattle farm all that time.
Until I began this WOE I NEVER appricated this lifestyle/my husband for the protein readily available to me.
I spent years as a vegetarian, although I still cooked meat for the family.
My husband has always been a keen hunter, there are fallow deer in the forest that boundries the farm, so as well as beef and hoggert we always have venison in the freezer.
He also has a small boat and is crazy about fishing so I have fish as well.
I am very very lucky indeed and I never knew it.
Many pepole I have talked about this WOE to have doubted they could afford to eat like this and I couldnt myself if i didnt get it all for free.
We are not at all wealthy ad meat is expensive.We dont own the farm but have been here for 18 years. Its 7.000 acres coastal and pine planation.
I couldnt do what my husband does but now I appriciate how fortunate I am that he can.
We are a lucky lot on this WOE.
We get to eat all the good stuff and leave out the fillers