Portion

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.

Shrink Portion Sizes
Trying to lose weight is a very serious problem for millions of people. I never gave it much thought when I was younger and active all the time. Now as I’m getting older, if someone makes me laugh I can feel my stomach jiggling. Ho, Ho, Santa Clause, I am not! That was a wake-up call from the lobby in my brain. That is where my thoughts all lounge around exchanging notes on one revelation or the other. Anyhow, from reading my blog, I think my thoughts just stay in the lobby most of the time lately. There was one recent non-fattening, rumination. I’ve started to realize, maybe I have a weight problem.

No, not me, I’ve never had a protruding stomach before, why would it start now? A profile look in the full-length mirror solved that question instantly. That’s when I started to think about the portion sizes that I ate.

Cutting back on portion size seems to be one of the main topics when it comes to serious weight loss discussions. I have ruminated over the portion size for a long time now and I don’t seem to come up with a good answer. I tried a smaller plate but then I wanted to figure out a way to put side boards on it so I could pile the food up higher. Like the farmer did with his Old Wagon box years ago, He put sideboards on his wagon so it would hold a lot bigger load, very crafty, indeed. I cut a healthy baked potato into fourths lengthwise, for my sideboards.

I have always eaten the leftovers, it would be Bad Manners to eat them directly from the serving bowl. I guess that is why I came up with the idea of the sideboards. I never did consider throwing away the leftovers because that would be very wasteful. I think of Benjamin Franklin who said, “Waste not, want not.” I certainly don’t want to be wanting for anything in this day and age.

I have also considered exercise, as we get older we do need more exercise than one or two brisk walks around the old recliner. I can make it around the recliner once or twice a day quite well. When it comes to exercising I seem to run out of gas in a hurry and then the next day the pain reminds me, exercise requires using your muscles and now those muscles will be sore all day. That must be where the old saying use it or lose it comes into play. If you use those muscles over and over again they won’t hurt so bad the day after. A good workable exercise program does require a little butt-kicking, but if you don’t have someone there to kick your butt for you, kicking yourself in the butt to get started is a very hard thing to do. I have tried it, and I just end up on the floor and then I can get back up again.

I realize that is no excuse not to exercise, so I stand in front of the recliner now and do about 100 knee bends a couple times a day. The old knees are getting right back into shape, I can get up from a chair again.

I have purchased a set of pulleys to hang from a door top for arm workouts, also stretch bands to put around a door knob to do rowing exercises. You can purchase a low-cost arm bike that you can sit down at to do arm exercises like you pedal a bike, you’re just using your arms instead of your legs. If you live in an area where they have fitness centers you can join Humana’s Silver Sneaker Club and get a discount or use the exercise equipment free at different locations.

The insurance companies and the government would love to see all of us in much better physical condition than we are at the present time. I have to admit, it is a very worthy goal to work for. I have finally come to the conclusion the portion size is really the master key to this whole weight gain or weight loss problem. It isn’t rocket science or Scientific evidence of a black hole. Even if both of them partially described my ravenousness appetite.

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