The war on Kludge

I learned a new word today -- actually, I have heard it before and kind of had a vague notion of the meaning, but today, I actually took the time to look it up (via dictionary.com) to make sure I knew what it really meant.

kludge or kluge (klōōj)
n. Slang
1.A system, especially a computer system, that is constituted of poorly matched elements or of elements originally intended for other applications.

2.A clumsy or inelegant solution to a problem.

The definition reminds me of the phrase "cobbled together" -- it might work...but it ain't pretty!

This is what dieters all over the country are facing right now. A patched together food system. Whatever is "in" or "okay" or "healthy" right now, is what we're eating. Whatever isn't the health food du jour is "out" (as Heidi Klum would say). Whatever hasn't been specifically banned but isn't on the health list is kind of a free for all (that is what Americans are really eating -- because most of the other stuff makes us feel guilty because we are either eating it and we shouldn't OR we aren't eating it and we think we should)

So we are a land of diet kludge -- the exact definition of an inelegant and clumsy solution to our collective weight problem.

You know what really makes for elegance??? Simplicity. Having something do the work it was designed/born/bred to do -- that is elegance. Every had the opportunity to see a hunting dog out casting for pheasant? Your personal beliefs on hunting aside -- the dog is doing what it was born to do and having fun!

Why do we need complicated systems for how, when and what we should eat??? We were born to do this! We were born to enjoy it!! Have you ever enviously watched someone eat who didn't give a thought to calorie content, fat content, or what this meal might (or might not) be doing to their waistline? It can be a study in elegance. Doing (and enjoying) what they were meant to do.

Are your eating habits kludgy? What about your snacking in the evening -- grazing on this thing and the next in an effort to avoid (usually unsuccessfully) the food you really want?

Are you ready to give up the kludge and get back to the elegant solution?