Food, food, food

As some know, I have health problems, mostly concerning an enlarged heart and high blood pressure. I’m a big guy, always have been to some extent or another and my weight has fluctuated up and down all my life. Thankfully, I’ve lost almost 90 pounds in the last year, but I’ve still a way to go.

One of things I found out recently is that I can’t cheat on my diet. Most people, those just trying to drop a few pounds or even 20 or 30 pounds, can cheat a little from time to time. I can’t. At all. At least not for a very long time. I discovered this the hard way over the holidays when I didn’t stuff myself, but I did have my fair share of the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls,etc. One day of bad eating for me means at least a week of not being able to breath and hardly being able to walk; it also means fluid building up in my body to the point some joints swell and my chest hurts. Even just one bad meal, or a candy bar, will just about incapacitate me for a day or two. I can’t drink soft drinks, not even the diet kind, but that’s no big loss to me.

But there are some foods I miss. And that’s really what this post is about, just to torture myself.

So, here are some of my favorite foods that I miss:

TheWhopper. Yes, from Burger King. I don’t generally like fast food, but the Whopper is my favorite fast food burger. I like the flame broiled char. For me, it’s perfect with cheese, lettuce, ketchup and mayo.

Milk.I love milk, specifically skim milk. I would give up beer before I’d give up milk. Oh, wait a minute, I did. I can have a little milk each week, but even skim milk has sodium in it, so I have to watch my intake. And I’m supposed to watch my fluids anyway.

Cheese.Keeping with the dairy theme, I love cheese. Any kind of cheese. Even that nasty, smelly stuff no one likes. Add a piece of fine bread, usually French or Italian or maybe sourdough, and I’m in heaven. Some of my favorites are Swiss, blue and the saltier Italian (parmesano reggiano being the most common). With very rare exceptions (there are a few low sodium types and brands), I can no longer have cheese. Which sucks.

Country ham. If you don’t live in Kentucky, you don’t know what country ham is. You might think you do, but you don’t. You might go to your local store and ask for country ham and they’ll give it to you, but it’s still not country ham. I’ve lived in three other states and traveled to more than half the other states, and in every single one of them the stuff called country ham is not “real” country ham. “Real” country ham has been salt cured and hung up in a smokehouse or a basement or someplace else dark and cool. That garbage called country ham in other places is usually just the same old plain or sweet ham you can get from a can. Don’t argue with me on this one. I will never believe otherwise.

Beer cheese. This is another one I’ve only seen in Kentucky. It’s a spicey cheese spread made with beer. Goes great with chips of any sort. Comes in a variety of spiciness usually.

Steak. Rare. Medium. Burnt. I don’t care. As long as it’s a dead cow, I love it. I don’t need a lot of extra sauce or anything. I don’t care what kind of steak or how it’s made, just as long as it’s dead.

There are plenty of other foods I like (good Mexican, mmmm), but these are just a few of my favs. Now go away and let me sulk while I eat my salad.