Don't judge Paula Deen

I have terrible eating habits. That's not exactly breaking news, nor does it make me very different from a lot of people. What does tend to separate me from the pack is this:

I don't blame my problems on anyone but me.

"I was taught bad eating habits."

In fact, I was. My father (who is now so healthy he'll probably out-live me) didn't improve his habits until I was grown and out of the house. I grew up on a diet of Freihofers, fast food and salt.

"Eating right takes time and money."

This is also true. Go to the store and buy enough fresh food (veggies, meat, ingredients, etc.) for a week, and then buy a week's worth of processed food. What's cheaper, and faster/easier to prepare?

But those are excuses. You know it, and so I. If I want to eat better, I can budget the time and the money, and my diet hasn't been anyone else's choice in almost 20 years.

So I'm working on it.

But that doesn't change the fact that no one can blame a celebrity chef like Paula Deen for their weight problem. Least of all me, since I've never even watched her show.

It's not Paula's job to make sure kids eat healthier; that's for parents to do. It's not her job to make sure adults like me make better choices; that's our responsibility.

So why all the hate? Because she announced she's had diabetes since 2008? Seems to me a poor diet and little-to-no exercise were her choices to make - just like the consequences are hers to handle.

She kept her diagnosis to herself. So? Was it anyone's business? Not really. Her recipes are blatantly unhealthy - which, I believe she's admitted. OK - so all the adults watching had a choice: Eat the food and suffer the consequences - or don't.

Seriously - no clue this might be bad for you?

Now that she's gone public, people are questioning if she did it for the money. Um, yes - she went public for the money, because a pharmaceutical company is paying her to endorse their diabetes drug. If you already had diabetes and were using a drug to manage it, and they agreed to pay you to share that with the world, wouldn't you? I would.

Does that mean she endorsed an unhealthy lifestyle so she could purposely contract diabetes in the hopes she'd get an endorsement deal?

Yeah. And Jennifer Hudson put on all that extra weight so that some day she'd be good and famous and Weight Watchers would come a'callin'. And Valarie Bertinelli and Jenny Craig? Or how about Janet Jackson and Nutri System? Yup. Packed on a few pounds so someone would pay them take it off.

Right.

Paula ate bad food because she likes bad food. Turns out, so do a lot of other people, and she found a way to make money doing what she loves. That's not a crime.

She made bad choices, and contracted a disease. Some say fine - but she should change her habits, rather than use medication to control it. OK, Dr. Know It All - and what makes you so sure she hasn't changed her habits? Just because she cooks bad food doesn't mean she eats it. And maybe - just maybe - her body needs the medication now, but after improving her habits, she won't.

Think of it like having this conversation with a friend who just started taking anti-depressants:

"I mean, why can't you just snap out of it. Just choose to be happy. It works for everyone else."

"What's that, your body can't? You have a chemical imbalance, so you have to get help from medicine, until your body is able to work on its own?"

I'm not saying if she's right or wrong. Personally, I don't care either way. I'm just saying that no one should blame another person for their problems - and it's not a good idea to judge others until you have the whole story.

I mean, consequences can be a bitch. Just ask Paula Deen.

Oh - and ps, her restaurant in Savannah, GA is amazing. But don't eat there everyday. Duh.