FRACTURED FAIRYTALES

Once upon a time there was a quite chubby little girl named Goldilocks.  Goldilocks had the unfortunate habit of wandering away from home in search of cream puffs.  One day while on her puffy quest she became lost in the woods.  She was crying and hungry and trying to find her way home when she came upon a charming cottage. "Maybe they will have some cream puffs",  she thought.  She knocked on the door but there was no answer, so she pushed the door open and went in.  

She was very tired from her wandering.  There were three chairs in the room.  A great big one, a middle sized one and an itty bitty one.  She tried out the itty bitty one, but it was too small.  Then she tried out the middle sized one, but it also was too small.  But the great big one was just right.

She sat in the great big chair and noticed that there were three cream puffs on the table.  A great big one, a middle sized one and an itty bitty one.  First she ate the itty bitty one, but that was not enough, so then she ate the middle sized one.  This wasn't enough either, so she ate the great big one.  

Now even Goldilocks was stuffed, so she wandered into the bedroom and there were three beds.  A great big one, a middle sized one and an itty bitty one.  Remembering past experiences, she opted for the great big one right away and fell fast asleep.

Well, who should come home to their little cottage but three bears.  A great big one, a middle sized one and an itty bitty one.  They had been out for a walk before eating their dessert and were looking forward to their cream puffs.  

"Look", cried the itty bitty bear," my cream puff is all gone" .  "Look" said the middle sized bear, "mine is gone too".  The great big bear growled, "Who ate our cream puffs?"

They looked in the bedroom and there,  in the great big bed, they found Goldilocks, with cream still on her face.

So they ate her instead.

The moral of this story: If you're going to steal cream puffs from bears, make sure you have a get-away car handy and, for Pete's sake, don't take a nap first.

DO YOU FEAR BEING THINNER?

I'm sure that many of us who have struggled to lose weight think that is a supremely stupid question, but let's think about that for a moment.

Most human behavior is a quest to satisfy some inner – and usually unrealized – desire. In other words, we wouldn't do it if we weren't, consciously or unconsciously, getting something out of it.

Consider people who go from one abusive relationship to another. Why would they do this? Perhaps because it satisfies some inner need to be punished for a real or imagined sin. How often do you hear one of them say, “It was my fault. I deserved it”. NOBODY deserves it. (My opinion.)

The same theory often applies to those who are overweight. They are well aware that they are harming their bodies – and quite possibly shortening their lives – by carrying around those excess pounds, but they seem unable to correct the situation. Maybe they've found a reason. Is it genetic? A glandular problem? Lack of support from family members? Or is it something else?

What are they getting out of being overweight? Well, for one thing, it gives them an excuse for failing, for being depressed and then indulging that old pleasure center in the brain that is demanding a couple of Snicker's Bars. People don't expect as much from you when you're fat, so it takes some of the pressure off. You don't have to think as much about what you're eating. You just eat what you want, and usually what you want is something quick and easy and plentiful – like fast food and bags of snacks.

Being slender and maintaining a healthy weight is a lot more work than just eating mindlessly. The payoff is a healthy, longer life that is living – not just existing. The payoff is being there for your loved ones and feeling great every day. The payoff is being grateful for the wonderful body you have been given and loving life.

Pretty good payoff, huh?