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Getting On : Health
TOBACCO AND JUNK FOOD | from itsxena2u - Friday, March 19, 2004
accessed 1910 times Ok, We all know that smoking tobacco is bad for your health. It causes cancer, pre-mature babies, bad breath etc. I became a smoker about a year and a half ago. I'm not a die-hard smoker, in fact I hardly ever smoke except when drinking with friends. (Gasp, gulp, choke!! Did I just admit this before the whole world??)
I couldn't stand being around smokers and the smell of cigarette smoke made me nauseous. But I tried it one time at a party and I found it goes pretty well with alcohol. Now the smell doesn't bother me anymore. I never smoke in the house or in front of my kids though.
What I have noticed is a majority of ex-members who picked up smoking are girls. (At least in my area) I don't know of any guys who do, maybe just occasionally. Is this just a coincidence? Or is it a known fact that women smoke more than men? Does anyone know the statistics?
I don't know why we do it. Is it because we feel the need to "fit in"? Or maybe its a part of us that wants to rebel against everything we were taught were "bad" in TF? I know it can be pretty relaxing sometimes and help ease the nerves.
I wonder how many people still somewhat follow the "health rules" when it comes to eating refined foods and fast food? Some of my friends are health food "freaks" and others are junk food "junkies". I guess I'm a little of both. With my hectic schedule I find very little time to fix a nice dinner (from scratch) in the evenings. Besides, when I buy a bunch of vegetables they end up going bad in my fridge. I have a lot of pre-prepared meals in my freezer. (not microwave dinners) Lasana, teryaki stir fry, fish fillets, pre-seasoned steaks/fajitas and seafood gumbo. I also have a lot of canned and box food in my pantry which is very convenient as well.
My kids eat breakfast and lunch at school but I know the food they serve in public schools do not always have nutritional value, so I like to give them a good breakfast in the morning and send a snack with them to school. But how can you get the kids to eat scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast when they want "Reese's Peanut butter" cereal and chocolate chip waffles? Or give them apples and bananas when the other kids at school have Oreo cookies and Little Debbies? Not to mention all the other commercials that flood the kids minds during cartoon breaks! I try to have a balance and draw the line as to how much sugar and sweets we will consume in our home. I do not have soft drinks or candy except around Halloween and thats when "all hell breaks loose!"
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Reader's comments on this article Add a new comment on this article |  from gingersnaps
Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 07:43
(Agree/Disagree?)
I don´t smoke simply because my dear father-in-law died recently from lung emphesyema and I do have a four year old kid. I don´t because I feel like it. I eat pretty healthy when I can, but every once in a while i lose control a bit and glut out on the weekends. As far as booze goes, well,anything goes!!
(reply to this comment)
| from live_fast-die_young
Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 03:48
 (Agree/Disagree?)
Why do I smoke?
"Three of the four elements are shared by all creatures, but fire was a gift to humans alone. Smoking cigarettes is as intimate as we can become with fire without immediate excruciation. Every smoker is an embodiment of Prometheus, stealing fire from the gods and bringing it on back home. We smoke to capture the power of the sun, to pacify Hell, to identify with the primordial spark, to feed on the marrow of the volcano. It's not the tobacco we're after but the fire. When we smoke, we are performing a version of the fire dance, a ritual as ancient as lightning.
Does that mean that chain smokers are religious fanatics? You must admit there's a similarity.
The lung of the smoker is a naked virgin thrown as a sacrifice into the godfire."
That from Tom Robbins' Still Life with Woodpecker. I have it on my wall next to a batik from Guilin (China) of two people dancing around a fire.
(reply to this comment)
| | | |  From frmrjoyish
Thursday, April 01, 2004, 07:38
(Agree/Disagree?)
OMG!! How anthropocentric can you be? Fire is not an element, have you checked your periodic table latley?? Fire is not "a gift to humans alone", but a necessary process in the life cycles of many ecosystems and the organisms that depend on these systems, including us. We, in our collective human hubris may assume we have fire tamed and under our control, but every so often nature's had enough of this attitude and reminds us who's really in charge!!! Get a clue....and quit polluting my air!!!!(reply to this comment) |
| | From exister
Thursday, April 01, 2004, 13:08
(Agree/Disagree?)
Apparently live_fast_die_young still subscribes to the more primitive notions of medievil science as well as a little magical thinking. This is further evidenced by the fact that he is 19 and already fancies himself an English Teacher and a Journalist. Then again maybe he lives in Thailand and pays the rent by teaching English phrases and penning those really bad captions on internet porn photos. (reply to this comment) |
| | | | | | | | from xhrisl
Wednesday, March 24, 2004 - 05:05
(Agree/Disagree?)
Slimfast, a fruit yogurt, a coke and a cigarette----the “Breakfast of Champions!”
(reply to this comment)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | from Mydestinyismine
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 20:43
(Agree/Disagree?)
In Japan, all exmembers I know smoke and drink. As a kid and teenager I had no interest in smoking. But when I started working construction at 16 everyone else smoked and next thing I knew I was too. It's good stuff and makes me happy. I do have to deal with a low lung capacity now though so, I have cut down. I started drinking same time too and unfortunately due to too many nights of hard liquor my body can't handle it as much. When I left I also couldn't stop eating Ice-cream everyday. I guess I needed to catch up on all I missed. One funny and embarrassing thing that happened on my first date after leaving TF is: I took her back to my place and I had just gotten cable TV, which to me was out of this world, and was showing her a NHL game expecting her to be in awe but she only made a are you insane look. That was abit disappointing and the reason for her expression didnt come clear to me till a couple years later.
(reply to this comment)
| From Choc
Friday, April 02, 2004, 11:23
(Agree/Disagree?)
I couldn't stop eating ice cream every day either! I was shocked to find out that people just waltzed into a grocery and bought big tubs of the stuff and kept it in their freezer at home. Even more shocked that my relatives kept the stuff in the freezer and didn't eat it every day. I also spent some quality time during my first days in the USA with half-pound bags of those cute M&Ms...(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | From the night_raver
Friday, April 02, 2004, 09:13
(Agree/Disagree?)
Why does "took her back to my place" have to imply that Destiny is a dude? Is there an unwritten rule that the guy has to bring the chick to his place? If so, I guess I never found out, my place sucks so I generally go to their house. Even so, I dont get why would you take a chick on the first date to your place anyways when most chicks seem to have some sort of dependency issue? (contrary to what some here seem to think, this is not a phenomenon exclusive to ex-culties) I like my privacy,so it can be pretty annoying when they feel they can come over any time they want, then they get all bent out of shape when you brush them off cuz you want to be left alone. (reply to this comment) |
| | From frmrjoyish
Friday, April 02, 2004, 13:17
(Agree/Disagree?)
Hmmm!! It seems you and I have had different experiences with the opposite sex. You see, I've found that it's the men with the dependancy issues. Almost every guy I've ever broken up with has freaked out and refused to let me go. It's been my experience, despite what we read in Cosmo or Glamour, that it's the men who are constantly pushing the relationship forward and wanting more. I don't know if their behavior is due to sincerely wanting to be with me, or just macho BS about getting dumped!!! If the the former is the case, then why didn't they do what was necessary in order to be with me?? So maybe its the latter! I don't know, you guys confuse the hell out of me, either way!! :P(reply to this comment) |
| | | | | | | | | | | from Joe H
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 17:05
(Agree/Disagree?)
I smoke occasionally, normally when I drink. What I find interesting, however, is how often you use the word "we":
"I don't know why WE do it. Is it because WE feel the need to 'fit in'? Or maybe its a part of US that wants to rebel against everything WE were taught were 'bad' in TF?"
Speak for yourself! What's with all you losers that want to find the common thread that makes us one big happy family? If you want to psychoanalyze something, psychoanalyze yourself! Don't assume that your own convoluted mental processes and deep seated insecurities are shared by everyone else who happened to grow up in the same mind-fucking cult that you did.
Repeat after me everyone: We're all individuals! We have to learn to think for ourselves!
PS For what it's worth, here's why I think I smoke:
1) It feels good
2) It makes me feel cool
3) I have an oral fixation
(reply to this comment)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | from loch
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 15:25
(Agree/Disagree?)
Odly enough, when I was still in the group, I drank all the time, smoked whenever I could, and ate "junk food" when ever possible. That was only becasue I wasn't suposed to. Now that none of thoese things are "against the law" I'm not interested in any of them!
I have no desire to smoke, drinking is loosing it's interest, and I like eating healthy now. Odd.
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| from Jerseygirl
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 13:35
(Agree/Disagree?)
I agree with you! It is extremely hard to get kids to eat well. I have spent much time stressing about it and fighting through mealtimes with the kids. I think that all that pressure and stress during the one meal people usually eat as a family is probably more harmful than not eating a totally balanced diet. Besides, most of that force feeding stuff usually tends to remind me of TF, "Eat what is set before you".Usually I try to pick the lesser of the evils when it comes to junk food because lets face it: there is no escaping the junk when kids are around. Of course you have the parents who will claim that their kids only eat vegetables 24/7 and hate any unhealthy food, so good for them. The rest of us will have to settle for an occasional fast food meal and some less than healthy breakfast cereal. My kids pediatrician told me that I should do my best but not become obsessive compulsive for them. He also said that there are tiny yummy things called vitamins which were invented for just such a reason: to make up for the deficiencies kids may have due to a poor diet.
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| From Shania
Wednesday, March 24, 2004, 08:05
(Agree/Disagree?)
I think you are right. Although it is good to serve good food to your kids just for the sake of their health, if you forbid certain things too much then they are going to become much like we were in the Fam--where we tried to get it whenever we could and went into sugar comas for the first 6 months after we left. Kids always want what they are told they cannot have. My theory with my kids is that anything in moderation is alright. The occasional mars bar is okay, but from what I have noticed, if you don't buy it and keep it around the house, they will hardly ask about it. One thing I figured out is that if you take them to the grocery store with you (also known as the seventh circle of hell if you have more than one), have them pick out the stuff they like and you will find that there are some healthy things that they like for snacks and then try to keep those around more so than the unhealthy items.(reply to this comment) |
| | from tastypants
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 02:17
(Agree/Disagree?)
im 21 right now but i remember when i was 14 alot of the older kids in our home smoked and drank and got us younger kids into it, and i have been smokin since. yes we would use money from postering to buy smokes and liquer. the adults in the family are so nieve to what goes on. kids do whatever they want eat whatever and drink whatever. do they really think that when they send us out "outreaching" we actually just do that. hell no we go have fun, watch movies, fuck, drink, smoke, eat, play video games, whatever we felt like.
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| from banal_commentator
Monday, March 22, 2004 - 11:48
(Agree/Disagree?)
I am ashamed to say I started smoking cause I heard it suppresses your appetite. Don't even think that's true. And also to look like the movie stars from the glamour age. What a moron. Oh well. It also kinda gives you something to do.
(reply to this comment)
| | | | | | | from frmrjoyish
Monday, March 22, 2004 - 09:51
(Agree/Disagree?)
I smoked for about 6 years! I quit three years ago. I think it's a disgusting habit, but at the same time, I understand the calming, satisfying sensation it brings. I have a lot more energy, my clothes smell better, and I don't get winded as much as I used to (not to mention the amount of money I now can spend on shoes)!!! I think when we're younger our health is taken for granted, but as we get older, the toll smoking takes on our health becomes more apparent. If you only smoke occasionally, I urge you to stop now. It'll be much easier for your body to recover. As far as fitting in goes, I think it's a reason, but an extremely immature one.
As far as junk food goes, (didn't see anything in your article about it), I generally don't eat refined sugar or flour. They're useless calories and do nothing nutritionally for your body, although, I must confess to having several roasted marshmallows around the campfire this weekend :)! I also try to eat organic as much as possible and eat a mostly vegetarian diet. The diet I grew up on in TF is possibly one of the only postive things I can associate with that cult. It was pretty healthy where I lived, lots of tofu, fish, whole grains, etc.
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| From Ne Oublie
Tuesday, March 23, 2004, 06:58
(Agree/Disagree?)
I have never even had an interest in smoking: it's something which I consider to be not only unhealthy, but a waste of my hard-earned money.
As far as eating habits, I'm not one to take up any sort of diets or 'health food' programmes, but I would say that I eat pretty well overall. Because of that I'm happy to have the occasional McDonalds, Burger King, or Fish n Chips. I believe that my body knows what it needs, and therefore I will typically eat what I want to at the time. I'm no athlete, but I would say I'm generally pretty healthy. Living on my own I'm able to fit in the time to cook my own food. But there's no amount of health warnings or animal cruelty that will convince me to give up meat in exchange for a plate full of tofu and whole grains!(reply to this comment) |
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