I overhead an interesting conversation at the gym the other day. We were all sitting in the steam room and a man was talking to the lady sitting next to him. He said that he was originally from a small town in Mexico and that he had recently come to the United States to work. When he was still living in Mexico, a couple of his friends who had left to go work in the US the previous year, came back to the town to visit friends and family. He said he couldn’t believe how big his friends had become, how much weight they had put on in such a short time.

I was seated nearby and was enjoying my steam bath but there was one thing he said that caught my attention. He said that for most of his life living in that small Mexican town, his diet was mostly vegetarian and that his family only ate meat once or twice a week, primarily on Sundays or on special occasions. However, now that he lived in worked in a big city in the US, meat was commonly served with EVERY meal, EVERY single day. He said he thought this was the main reason the majority of Americans are overweight.

As I glanced down at the obvious excess weight that I was carrying, his comment struck a chord. It reminded me of when I was in the military living in Thailand. The typical Thai diet, as most oriental diets do, consists of lots of fresh vegetables on a bed of rice, with very little meat. In other words, primarily vegetarian.

Although no one loves a good steak better than I do, I decided right then that I needed to work towards reducing the amount of meat – especially red meat – in my diet and increasing the amount of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Meat should be a side dish, not the main course.

Sometimes it takes an overheard comment to remind you of what you already know – that better nutrition is the path to balanced health.

I hope you take the same cue.

Hiram

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