You Are What You Eat (Revisited)

The originator of 'You are what you eat' was Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

His version was 'Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are'.

'You are what you eat' has come to into the English language by quite a meandering route.

In 1826, the French lawyer Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, in Physiologie du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante:

"Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es."
[Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are].

It's never, "You are what you drink," "You are what you shoot," or "You are what you snort." Of all the unhealthy habits that humans have been known to develop over a lifetime, eating is one that pretty much can't be cut from one's life. Oh, I suppose, technically one could get a PEG or an NG tube, but those are not meant for healthy people who could/can otherwise consume nutrition via mastication and ingurgitation.
The topic comes to mind because I suffer from a sort of eating disorder. I don't necessarily make the wisest choices and often throw caution to the wind when it comes to whimsical flights of fancy of the culinary sustenance variety. So, in order to gain some level of control over these handicaps, I weigh and measure pretty much everything that is on the menu and put on a plate or into a bowl.
I use the metric system metrics because, well, few people here have a clue as to how much any of that really is. I pay attention to the bottom line which--in my case--is the calorie count. Yes, there are other considerations such as sodium, fat, fiber, and carbohydrates, but KiloCalories are king when it comes to the old fashioned weight watcher.
"So how's that workin' for you?" one might ask.
I have lost 40 pounds. The loss, to date, has been over a period of two years. Sounds like a long time, right? It is and it was. But if I had not started doing it in June, 2021, I would be 40 pounds heavier than I am today.
So I should be happy, right?
Well, not so. You see, the weight doesn't always distribute throughout the body the way I would like it to. There is loose skin between my chin and throat, which is one of the reasons why I grow a full beard. And I still seem to put it all on the belly. The mavens or so-called experts try to encourage different forms of exercise. The latest tend is (weight) resistance training.
[ The following is taken from
Resistance training – health benefits ]

Examples of resistance training
There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether at home or the gym.

Different types of resistance training include:

• Free weights – classic strength training tools such as dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells.
• Medicine balls or sand bags – weighted balls or bags.
• Weight machines – devices that have adjustable seats with handles attached either to weights or hydraulics.
• Resistance bands – like giant rubber bands – providing resistance when stretched. They are portable and can be adapted to most workouts. The bands provide continuous resistance throughout a movement.
• Suspension equipment – a training tool that uses gravity and the user's body weight to complete various exercises.
• Your own body weight – can be used for squats, push-ups and chin-ups. Using your own body weight is convenient, especially when travelling or at work.

I have yet to begin any of this. My resistance to resistance training (ha!) is illogical. I have access to a completely free fitness center at work. I can use it after hours when it is empty. I also have access to a single stall shower which is also never used after hours. Truth be told, I don't like to sweat. I also don't like the idea of having to physically push against something that doesn't have an obvious or instant outcome. For example, I don't mind opening a vacuum-sealed pickle jar that no one else is able to accomplish. But lifting weights that leaves me exhausted and sweaty with a result of nothing other than having moved things around is not my idea of fun. I would sooner go out in the yard and pull stubborn weeds from the earth. They can put up quite the struggle in these here parts!
But pulling weeds doesn't seem to burn a lot of calories (judging from the appearance of most of the gardeners I have seen in these here parts).
"How much more do you have to go?" you might ask.
The numbers vary based on which organization is publishing them. Some organizations focus on age or frame size. Pretty much all of them separate the humans by gender; and yes one must either be MALE or FEMALE. Sorry!
According to the CDC, ( Assessing Your Weight ),
I should be somewhere between 125-160 pounds. I think I was 125 pounds when I was 13 years old. I'm not sure how attractive that weight would be on someone who is old enough to collect Medicare. But I could at least strive for something within the range.
Well, those are my musings for the revisit for today.