Are You What You Eat

 Are You What You Eat

You are what you eat. I say that saying is bullshit. You are who you are based on many things other than what you eat. If you've been reading my blogs, you know what you have to focus on to become the great person you are. Diet has nothing to do with who you are. A healthy diet is about living a longer life. 

If you want to live longer and have less health problems, many books, media doctors and the internet all have recommendations for eating healthy. Some of them are good because you enjoy what you are eating. Some of them are horrible because you really hate what you're eating. Lastly some of them are bad for your health.

My favorite is the low carb Keto diet. Why because I love fish, seafood chicken and many other things you can eat that are Keto Friendly. Also, there are many choices of desserts that are Keto friendly. I found Keto friendly bars that taste great and don't have an after taste. Recently, we found an ice cream and cake mix that tastes like the real stuff. A great desert is important to me.

The Mediterranean diet is about the same as the Keto diet. High protein, high fat diet is a heart killer. Going Vegan sucks. I could never be on a diet that didn't have many of the things I love to eat. When you're in your 70s/80s food is part of your entertainment. Eating food that is good for you, controls your weight and tastes good should be your goal.

The only problem is that too many of us get nuts when we go on one of these diets. Either we get worried that we might have eaten something that wasn't on the diet or we go full out on the diet for a few months and then go back to eating bad again. It's not healthy for your body to go through those swings.

I love my Keto diet, but every once in a while:

I'm eating a great juicy burger.

Music=Memories=Memory=Happiness

 Music=Memories=Memory=Happiness

I grew up with music. I only liked the black groups - Pat Boone was not my style. I loved the disk jockey Jocko who would end his session saying: "I'm like a roach on a post - too smooth to move." The music and especially the beat, made me happy.

I had and have great memories from some of the songs. Some of the songs reminded me of the fun basement parties we had in my teens. Some of the songs reminded me of the girlfriends I had. Back in my day when you went steady, you had to have a song that was just for you and her.

Some of the songs reminded me of the horrible Vietnam days. At that time I hated the politicians who were drafting young people to die in an unjust war. My best friend's brother came back from that war and was never the same.

One song saved my mental health. That song was The Rose by Bette Midler. I was going through a stressful and financially difficult second divorce. The Rose's lyrics:

                                        "When the night has been too lonely

                                  And the road has been too long

                                  And you think that love is only

                                  For the lucky and the strong

                                 Just remember in the winter    

                                  Far beneath the bitter snows            
                                  Lies the seed that with the sun's love

                                  In the spring becomes the rose"

Those words (and the help from my therapist Bob) made realize that in the spring I would be loved again - and I was.

Did you ever notice that trying to remember where you were a year ago was difficult. However, remembering a song a year ago is easy. I have CRS (Can't Remember Shit) but I know at least two bars of hundreds and hundreds of songs. I guess it's the way the brain works and I like it

Lastly, most of the songs I remember remind me of happiness and love. The lyrics (like a line from the Temptations: "she makes a blind man talk about seeing again) are powerful and they say what was going on at the time, what was going on in the world, love lost, loved gained, and happiness. 

Hearing the songs I love makes me happy

Do You Look At Your Poop - I Do

 Do You Look At Your Poop - I Do

When a baby poops, most parents look at it in the dipper. Why, because they want to make sure there is nothing in there that is not normal. The baby doesn't care because they are not even sure they pooped. 

A child between 2 to 4 begins using the toilet. A parent of a 2 year old who gets their child to poop on the toilet believes their child is a star. The thing is that 2 to 4 year old child who poops on the toilet looks at his or her poop. Why? Because they believe they accomplished something great and the parent applaud them for their accomplishment.

By the time the child gets to10, pooping is just a daily routine. No need to look at the poop because they know what is in there and they aren't going to get an at-a-boy from their parents. This goes on until around their sixties.

Welcome to my world. Pooping is an event not just a daily routine. There are some like my father who had absolutely had no problem pooping until he died at 87. However, many of us old people have a problem pooping.

We combat our problem with pills, liquids, eating more fiber, etc. etc. When a good one happens, we look at what we accomplished. I'm probably unique, but I'm a looker. I even tell my spouse I had a good day.

Sooo, what does all this have to do with happiness? It all has to do with appreciation. With all the crap (another word for poop) going on in the world, we don't appreciate all we have. I appreciate life. I appreciate my wife. I appreciate my friends and relatives. I appreciate my house, my car, my surroundings and even:

A Great Poop.

How To Deal With The Loss Of The Presidential Election

 How To Deal With The Loss Of The Presidential Election

Before I offer suggestions on How To Deal With The Loss Of The Presidential Election, here is a personal response about the two candidates.

It kills me that the country I love could not find two people better than the ones running for this election. The fact is there ARE much better qualified people, but politics has shone it's ugly head. Why put up a guy that lies and is dangerous. Why put up a guy that is so frail, he probably won't make it four more years.

Neither one will create the respect the President of the United States of America has to have to win over the rest of the free world. Both parties should be ashamed of themselves. I'll vote on policy, not on the individual. I can only hope that If the candidate I hate wins, Congress will go the other way.

Sooo, How To Deal With The Loss Of The Presidential Election

*  Never stop loving the United States Of America. It has its problems, but where would rather live. If it's not the USA, get the hell out and go there.

*  The fact that the left and right media predict the end of our country is bullshit. Neither candidate will destroy this wonderful country.

*  The fear that one of the candidates will never leave office is also bullshit. Both are too old to last more than four years. We are not Russia. We are a democratic country. This fear will stop you from happiness. It will only lead to becoming depressed.

* Neither candidate will get the USA into a major war. Worrying about it is self-destructive. 

*  Your life, as you know it, will not change for the worse. Neither candidate will take away what you have now. Focus on the good stuff that's going on in your life because they won't take the good stuff away.

* Whatever bad comes from either candidate, we will turn it around for the good. It might take time, but the USA will prevail. We have lived through the bad times in the past and we will do it again if necessary.

Life Is Good - Never Forget It