by Virgil Teague

Created on: May 26, 2008

A BIG FAT SOLUTION

You can hardly avoid the recent media attention given to the obesity issue here in the United States. Our "fat cat" lifestyles, enjoyed for so many years, are beginning to hang around our waists and our butts in the same way dog owners and their pets somehow begin to resemble one another: you live like this, you look like this.

Every winter, lacking the chores that keep me occupied in the shop or the yard, I add a few pounds. Come spring, I sweat it off in catching up: the trim painting on the house I avoided last autumn, cleaning up the shop where my last project left tools and debris spread around, trimming the dead limbs the summer storms left hanging and winter winds failed to drop, mowing and trimming and planting.

I consider myself fortunate; I tend toward a slender build. Well, medium build, at least. Five extra pounds is a ton for me; it makes me short of breath before I can get the brass button on my Levis fastened. Two years ago, I conceded I had a larger waistline - an inevitable aspect of aging, I think - but even my new trousers were a little tight by the season's end. I blame winter's dark days of sloth and sleep.

There is another factor that mitigates toward obesity for the public at large, however: it's the competitive nature of the restaurant business. You see it everywhere: twenty-four-ounce steak specials, up-sized portions at no extra cost, bigger entrees and desserts featured on every menu. Don't bother to get out of your car; we'll bring it to you.

A few days ago, I enjoyed breakfast with some friends at a place we've patronized almost as long as the doors have been open. Pressed to make a selection from no less than four dozen variations on eggs, bacon and toast, I finally pointed to a colorful photograph under the lamination and said, "I'll have one of those."

It turned out to be two eggs Benedict, each the size of a small waffle, each topped with a slab of sausage and a ladle's worth of sauce. Hash browns on the side, of course, and included in the deal was a large and tasty cinnamon and raisin muffin. I shudder to think what the caloric content totaled.

Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to survive colon cancer. In the process of adapting to some minor lifestyle changes dictated by an altered physiology, I've learned that I simply don't need as much food as I thought I did. It's rare for me to put in eight or nine hours of heavy physical labor, so my body simply doesn't need as much fuel as it once did - or ever did,

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