Fries With That Verse? Fries With That Verse?
Yes, I was very uncomfortable having to visit the dietician. I knew how to eat, I knew how to exercise, and I felt great. However, based on the results of my blood work as presented by my exceedingly health conscious family physician and the fact that I was always tired, my doctor cordially invited me to visit his close friend, the dietician. Now, after many delays and discussions, here I was sitting in the dietician's office surrounded by health food posters, bowls of fruit, and even an autographed picture of Euell Gibbons. Did I really need to be here?
"Good morning Mr.Notaberean" said the healthy, extremely fit man who glided into his office while munching on a granola bar, "What can I do for you today?"
"Well, I am not for sure, and you can call me Neb if you like." I said reservedly, not quite willing to accept the fact that I really needed someone to tell me what I should and should not eat. "My doctor referred me to you because he feels I am not eating properly. You see my blood work was not up to snuff and I am always tired, so I guess he wants me to get some professional advice on how to eat. Look at me, do I look like I need help with eating?" I said as I chuckled, hoping the humor might somehow relieve some of my apprehension.
"Let me check over your paperwork Neb. I am sure there is a good reason you were referred." the dietician mumbled while looking intensely over the red patient folder with my name on it. "Hmmm, it looks like you are not getting the nutrition you need. That's interesting, because I agree that you do look somewhat healthy, granted you could stand to drop a few pounds, but I think that's safe to say about most of us baby boomers. Let me ask you a few questions and maybe we can get to the bottom of this lack of nutrition issue."
"No problem" I said, ready to rapidly react with the right answers to any question my interrogator might ask.
"Neb, do you eat on a regular basis, I mean three solid meals a day?"
"Sure do", I replied, "maybe sometimes a little too solid".
"Do you eat dairy products on a regular basis - by regular I mean most every day?"
"Yes."
"Do you eat fruits and vegetables on a regular basis - each day?"
"Yes, but I thought an apple a day would keep me out of here!" I stated, trying to lighten the tone of the interrogation.
"Do you eat meat, fish and chicken on a regular basis - each day?" the dietician continued.
"At least one of them at most meals, except breakfast" I said.
"Hmmm, sounds to me like there should be no reason you should not be getting the nutrition you need." opined the dietician "Let me ask you this, could you describe to me an example of a basic lunch or dinner?"
"Sure" I said, "No problem. I typically have a meat entree, I love beef so I have it most often, along with a vegetable, almost always some potatoes, and every so often some fruit."
"Well, sounds like the foods you are eating are healthy enough, I wonder if there is another issue. Can you tell me a little about your food preparation habits?"
"Certainly, what would you like to know?" I said.
"How do you normally go about preparing your foods, do you steam a lot, do you grill a lot, do you fry a lot? I am just trying to get a sense of how your preparation might effect your health." The dietician's furrowed brow was becoming more furrowed with each question.
"That's real easy", I chimed, "I never have really spent much time in preparation of my meals. While I have always been concerned about eating things from the right food groups, I have always relied on others to prepare my meals for me."
"I think I am beginning to understand why you are here" said the dietician "Let me ask you one more question and we can get on with prescribing a diet to help with your nutrition issue. Where do you eat most of the time?"
"That's another easy one to answer" I said "I always eat out. Most of the time for lunch it’s a beef hamburger with lettuce and pickles or a chicken sandwich and fries with an apple pie from the local burger joint. However, I do change lunch up once and a while and either eat pork BBQ or grilled fish sandwiches. And to drink, I always have a big glass of chocolate milk or an orange soda with whatever I eat. For dinner, I am usually way tired, so I order out from Pizza Man. Did you know the deluxe pizza has ingredients from every single food group!".
As the dietician looked at me in amazement, I could tell there must have been something wrong with my answer.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, hoping that my final answers had not ended a seemingly good conversation on a negative note.
"So, let me get this right. You never prepare your own food, you never eat at your own house, and most of the food you eat is prepared with a focus on speed and taste vs. nutrition?"
"Yes Sir." I replied "I think you have it".
"Well, no wonder you do not feel healthy and are not getting the nutrition you need. Empirical studies have shown that when individuals only eat food prepared by others and never take a real interest in their food beyond just how it tastes, that those individuals suffer from what we in the profession refer to as Fast Food Fatigue and I think Fast Food Fatigue is what you have" the dietician stated matter of factly. "Most folks with this condition are really not that interested in getting better as they seem just too undisciplined to change their eating habits. In the short term they may make positive changes, but in the long term they tend to revert to eating only fast food. Unfortunately a diet of only fast food will never provide them the energy and nutrition they need to grow. They know that, but while they say they care, they really don't or they would change. If you are interested, I can share with the prescription for getting better, but if you are not interest, I can save us both some time."
"I'm interested, I'm interested" I said, half interested, half interested in not hurting the dietician's feelings.
"Okay, here's some guidelines you will need to follow:
- "You need to spend some time at the supermarket and learn to understand and appreciate food in its raw form. By understanding it this way, you can prepare it in a way that maximizes both taste and health."
- "You need to spend some time in the kitchen and learn to use and appreciate the tools of the cook. Food preparation is daunting at first, but once you prepare a meal or two on your own, I suspect you will really begin to enjoy the preparation and will begin to share it with your friends."
- "You need to understand that fast food is okay, but it should not constitute a majority of your meals. If you find yourself beginning to eat fast foods more often than not, work on spending more time at both the supermarket and in the kitchen."
"That all I am going to prescribe for you now", the dietician closed. " I think you should be just fine if you follow these simple guidelines. We can talk in six months and see how you are doing at that time, okay?"
"Great" I said "I will try it.
"By the way, I see a bible on your desk over there" I said as I pointed to his desk. Do you study the bible? I know a great study in Romans going on right now."
"No, I really don't study the bible" said the dietician as he walked out of the office, apologizing for his hurried departure to another patient "but I always read my morning devotion from my devotional book and listen to the preacher at Church. The devotion and preaching are from the bible, so I think I have the basis covered".
5:12:31 PM 
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