Let's start with Fat Julia.

Last week, when I chose the adjective "fat" to modify the proper noun "Julia," I was admonished.

Not by Julia, mind you.

By others.

Julia knows she was fat in the picture I posted; we've discussed it often.

We've addressed that period, which I describe as "the fat years," many times.

And we've discussed my "fat years" plenty of times, too.

Occasionally, we touch on the aesthetic aspect of our collective fatness, but we usually discuss it from the health viewpoint.

Carrying around an extra 30 pounds of adipose tissue (aka body fat) is not good for humans; this is a fact.

However, when I used the term FatJulia® to refer to my wife, who, today, is ThinJulia®, some folks got pretty upset.

It was like I'd insulted her.

Which I did not.

I noted a fact (Julia was 30 pounds overweight in the photo) in the broader context of sugar being not-so-great to eat all the time.

But, here in 2023, we have the idiotic concept of "body shaming," and we have pro-fat influencers and even doctors who claim there's nothing medically wrong with being overweight.

I forget that we're not supposed to talk about it anymore.

So I shouldn't be surprised, I reckon, that the takeaway for some was, "OMG! Richard called his wife a FATTY! What an ASSHOLE!"

Defensive, much?

For clarity: The point was that Julia gained thirty pounds of body fat from eating processed food, of which sugar is the prime ingredient and culprit for our deteriorating health.

I'm passionate about it - and speak bluntly about it - because the food game in America is rigged.

Most of us don't know what we're eating.

Last night, in a conversation about this rigged game we play, I said about a particular granola brand, "That's just as bad as a donut."

"WTF? That's stupid," my friend said, "why would you even say something like that? That's just some alarmist bullshit."

The granola in question?

Nature's Promise Fruit and Nut.

Here's the breakdown:

-->Nature's Promise Granola:

Serving: A little over half a cup.

Calories: N/A (calories don't matter)

Carbs: 40 grams

Natural Sugar: 11 grams

Added Sugar: 3 grams

Total Sugar: 14 grams

-->Dunkin Donuts Glazed

Serving: 1 Donut

Calories: N/A (calories don't matter)

Carbs: 33 grams

Natural Sugar: 1 grams

Added Sugar: 12 grams

Total Sugar: 13 grams

So am I stupid?

Am I an alarmist?

I suppose, technically, I was wrong. The donut does have 1 gram more added sugar.

But, practically speaking, it's just as bad as the donut.

Especially when you consider the serving size.

Because most people don't eat only ~1/2 cup of granola at one time.

Just like most people don't usually eat just one donut.