Wow, in a long life like mine, there are sure to be hundreds of thousands of them. There is probably one or two a day. I know of a few; not going to college, getting into debt, more family time, more attention to my kids when they were little, getting pregnant and married much too young. There are so many things I could have changed; but, had I changed them would something be different? Would one of my kids not be here? Would Ted not be here? I don't think I would like to take that chance. But, that doesn't mean I don't have regrets.
I think the biggest regret I have in life is one that I wish I could have or would have changed so long ago. I grew up in a time where life was meat and potatoes. It was what we ate. I am not saying it wasn't healthy, because it was - except the saturated fat that everything was cooked and fried in and the ratio of fat to lean. However, things were probably portioned a bit better than they have been in my life. But, I also was less than 100 pounds when I got pregnant with Crystal and skin and bones - I could eat an entire medium Pizza Hut pizza by myself and not even move a pound. However, I would go days without eating a thing - and not really notice that I hadn't eaten until I would get light headed and then have to think about the last time I had eaten. I would go days living on orange soda or cola.
I passed along alot of that unhealthiness to my own family, my children. When I cooked, I cooked with Crisco shortening. I bought hamburger by the bulk and it was the fattiest of fat. We ate desserts - a lot of desserts. We had a lot of snack foods around - Oreos, potato chips and lots of other crap. And we ate fast food - a lot of fast food. Vegetables consisted of corn or peas - not much else. If we had a salad, it was dripping in full fat dressing.
When I was suddenly single for a couple of years, my sister invited me to join Weight Watchers with her. I knew I was fat - but, I had absolutely no idea about nutrition, how to read a label or how any of that worked. I had absolutely no clue. The problem was, I was doing the same thing to my kids. When I went to Weight Watchers, I found out about portions and fat and fiber and drinking water. My knowledge has evolved from reading stuff on the internet and books. I lost a lot of weight and I kept it off for a long time. Yeah, I know I am fat again - but, at least I am knowledgeable. However, I am hoping my journey has enabled my kids to lead healthier lives. I worry about them alot. I want them to alter their lifestyles from what they learned when they were little and think about what that crap will do to them if they don't pay attention. To my kids: Use the knowledge to live a better life!!!
I think the biggest regret I have in life is one that I wish I could have or would have changed so long ago. I grew up in a time where life was meat and potatoes. It was what we ate. I am not saying it wasn't healthy, because it was - except the saturated fat that everything was cooked and fried in and the ratio of fat to lean. However, things were probably portioned a bit better than they have been in my life. But, I also was less than 100 pounds when I got pregnant with Crystal and skin and bones - I could eat an entire medium Pizza Hut pizza by myself and not even move a pound. However, I would go days without eating a thing - and not really notice that I hadn't eaten until I would get light headed and then have to think about the last time I had eaten. I would go days living on orange soda or cola.
I passed along alot of that unhealthiness to my own family, my children. When I cooked, I cooked with Crisco shortening. I bought hamburger by the bulk and it was the fattiest of fat. We ate desserts - a lot of desserts. We had a lot of snack foods around - Oreos, potato chips and lots of other crap. And we ate fast food - a lot of fast food. Vegetables consisted of corn or peas - not much else. If we had a salad, it was dripping in full fat dressing.
When I was suddenly single for a couple of years, my sister invited me to join Weight Watchers with her. I knew I was fat - but, I had absolutely no idea about nutrition, how to read a label or how any of that worked. I had absolutely no clue. The problem was, I was doing the same thing to my kids. When I went to Weight Watchers, I found out about portions and fat and fiber and drinking water. My knowledge has evolved from reading stuff on the internet and books. I lost a lot of weight and I kept it off for a long time. Yeah, I know I am fat again - but, at least I am knowledgeable. However, I am hoping my journey has enabled my kids to lead healthier lives. I worry about them alot. I want them to alter their lifestyles from what they learned when they were little and think about what that crap will do to them if they don't pay attention. To my kids: Use the knowledge to live a better life!!!
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