Lately I have been feeling like I am suffering from a new psychological disorder: Food Schizophrenia.  This disorder, I believe has been brought on by the combination of watching Man Vs. Food, Deep Fried Paradise, Best Thing I Ever Ate, etc then tuning into the Dr. Oz show and watching Oz himself gleefully hold up a human heart buried in a layer of fat.  Talk about mixed messages! No wonder I break out in a cold sweat every time I am deciding what to eat.  Do I go for the triple decker, bacon, extra cheese burger with a side of fries like Adam just ate OR do I steam some broccoli and cook some brown rice like Oprah did with Bob Greene?

It isn’t only the TV shows either… This schizophrenia is present during my morning news.  Right after the perky blond tells me childhood obesity is at an all time high and that a large popcorn at the movies will immediately clog my arteries (even without the orange liquid they call “butter”), the sultry brunette is in the kitchen with a Chef cooking a delicious macaroni and cheese with a pound of butter, three kinds of cheese & heavy cream.   I’m not even safe during the commercials! First comes a Jenny Craig ad with Carrie Fisher telling me how Jenny Craig is going to rewrite her life with smaller portions and healthy food, then comes an ad for Pizza Hutt stuffed crust pizza and it is only $9.99 for a large two topping!  Really, what is a sane girl to do?

Do I eat anything I crave, at anytime and let my health and figure be damned? Because, well it seems like all the cool kids are doing it; Adam Richman, Andrew Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain, the Food Network Chefs and all those people on the food paradise shows on Travel Channel.  Or do I start on a strict, health first regimen where I only eat unprocessed food that has at least 5 grams of fiber in it like Dr. Oz, the Biggest Loser trainers and that weird guy with the late night show on Oxygen?

So, what did I do? Stop watching TV, food programs in particular? NO! I live for my food shows.  Go on a fried-food and fondue binge that has left me prone and bloated on my couch? No, although, parts of that scenario do sound rather appealing.  I decided to eat in moderation. What a concept!  Yes, I do sometimes have a fried food feast, but then I try to balance it with healthy dishes full of vegetables and yes Dr. Oz, fiber.  It isn’t easy. And there are times I do eat more of the not so good for me foods.  But I look at it this way, if I can keep my eating more moderate and less schizophrenic, then I will live longer.  Which, to me, means the time to have even more meals…

So tonight I will have roasted broccoli & cauliflower with brown rice, but tomorrow I will go out to dinner and not picture the fatted heart from Dr. Oz when I put butter on my warm, sourdough bread.