Vegetables are what Food eats

I'm working with a nutritionist to revamp my diet. Today was day one. The rules are pretty simple. No sugar, no carbs, no dairy. As many vegetables, eggs, beans, chicken, fish, and Ezekiel bread I can manage. As a Texan I was raised with the belief that vegetables were fabulous . . . for feeding up the animals we would later barbecue. My mom always made the requisite side green, and often a meal had a side salad, or as an appetizer. But never the whole meal. Until now.

So today is Day 1. I headed to Whole Foods and loaded up on organic fixings. I piled up an enormous salad for lunch. Arugala, butter lettuce, carrots, green beans, clover sprouts, tomatoes, broccoli slaw, half a chicken breast. After the preschoolers swarmed I still ate enough to feed all of Watership Down. And afterwards it was as if I had eaten nothing at all. Arg!

Pic from the Flickr stream of Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis

"You'll be hungry because you aren't filling up on empty calories," he said. "You can eat more salad, or a piece of fruit to mix things up."

So now I am envisioning a future where I'm splitting my time between washing and checking vegetables (for bugs) and grazing. Moo.

No more quick quesadillas or rice and beans for lunch. No oatmeal or cottage cheese for breakfast. No lattes, homemade or Starbucks. No snacking on cheese or grabbing a few pretzels. Can I do it? I'm not sure.

It reminds me of the first Pesach I tried to keep. My friend and I were aflame with the fervor only a newly minted Baal Teshuva (new returner to Judaism) can manage. We knew that we couldn't eat bread and grain products for the week. In the university dining service that left us with only the salad bar for nutrition. For three meals a day. After three days I called my rabbi and between bawling, sniffling, and tummy rumbling I announced that we were dying. It was unnatural to only eat salad 3 meals a day. I felt weak, hungry, and my fire was dimming with each leafy bite. I didn't know if I could continue. The rabbi and his wife came to the rescue within the hour with platters of chicken, potato kugel, and other real food. Our Pesach was saved, our flame simmered on.

But no one will be riding to my rescue now. I won't have religious conviction to keep me from cheating or quitting. I'm not sure if the monetary loss invested in the nutritionist & the specialty foods will be enough. Please G-d there will be some results. If I'm gonna be eating rabbit food, I'd better see a little more bounce in my step!

I'm working with a nutritionist to revamp my diet. Today was day one. The rules are pretty simple. No sugar, no carbs, no dairy. As many vegetables, eggs, beans, chicken, fish, and Ezekiel bread I can manage. As a Texan I was raised with the belief that vegetables were fabulous . . . for feeding up the animals we would later barbecue. My mom always made the requisite side green, and often a meal had a side salad, or as an appetizer. But never the whole meal. Until now.

So today is Day 1. I headed to Whole Foods and loaded up on organic fixings. I piled up an enormous salad for lunch. Arugala, butter lettuce, carrots, green beans, clover sprouts, tomatoes, broccoli slaw, half a chicken breast. After the preschoolers swarmed I still ate enough to feed all of Watership Down. And afterwards it was as if I had eaten nothing at all. Arg!

Pic from the Flickr stream of Carly Lesser & Art Drauglis

"You'll be hungry because you aren't filling up on empty calories," he said. "You can eat more salad, or a piece of fruit to mix things up."

So now I am envisioning a future where I'm splitting my time between washing and checking vegetables (for bugs) and grazing. Moo.

No more quick quesadillas or rice and beans for lunch. No oatmeal or cottage cheese for breakfast. No lattes, homemade or Starbucks. No snacking on cheese or grabbing a few pretzels. Can I do it? I'm not sure.

It reminds me of the first Pesach I tried to keep. My friend and I were aflame with the fervor only a newly minted Baal Teshuva (new returner to Judaism) can manage. We knew that we couldn't eat bread and grain products for the week. In the university dining service that left us with only the salad bar for nutrition. For three meals a day. After three days I called my rabbi and between bawling, sniffling, and tummy rumbling I announced that we were dying. It was unnatural to only eat salad 3 meals a day. I felt weak, hungry, and my fire was dimming with each leafy bite. I didn't know if I could continue. The rabbi and his wife came to the rescue within the hour with platters of chicken, potato kugel, and other real food. Our Pesach was saved, our flame simmered on.

But no one will be riding to my rescue now. I won't have religious conviction to keep me from cheating or quitting. I'm not sure if the monetary loss invested in the nutritionist & the specialty foods will be enough. Please G-d there will be some results. If I'm gonna be eating rabbit food, I'd better see a little more bounce in my step!

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

Fat me wants to slap thin me!

Have you ever wanted to go back in time and slap yourself for something? That's how I feel these days. 

See, I grew up thinking I had a positive body image. I have curves and plenty of them and I was ok with that. I never obsessed about dieting like many of my friends. And this was even before JLo made it cool to have a JLo! See, Hispanic women are supposed to be hippy with a side helping of booty. I patted myself on the back for not turning my life upside down to change that.

It's now, 40lbs later that I realize that I didn't diet back then because I didn't need to, not because I accepted my body for what it was! I wasn't fat, I was a pear-shaped 0,2,4, or later 6. My BMI was well within the normal range and that's what really matters, not the size of the indentation on my fave chair.

Now I am dieting. Doing the Slimfast thing, using SparkPeople, exercising to lose weight instead of dancing for fun. Before I scoffed at diets, how annoying I must have sounded. Yes I am hungry and that does make me a bit edgy, yes I'd be a happier not to watch what I eat and care what the scale said, but I need to be healthy. I'll never look like a fashion model, unless looking like JLo or Ugly Betty (don't get me started!) comes into style again and I don't want to, but I do want to tell skinny me to shut up because she isn't comfortable with her body if she thinks there are parts she has to accept. 

Have you ever wanted to go back in time and slap yourself for something? That's how I feel these days. 

See, I grew up thinking I had a positive body image. I have curves and plenty of them and I was ok with that. I never obsessed about dieting like many of my friends. And this was even before JLo made it cool to have a JLo! See, Hispanic women are supposed to be hippy with a side helping of booty. I patted myself on the back for not turning my life upside down to change that.

It's now, 40lbs later that I realize that I didn't diet back then because I didn't need to, not because I accepted my body for what it was! I wasn't fat, I was a pear-shaped 0,2,4, or later 6. My BMI was well within the normal range and that's what really matters, not the size of the indentation on my fave chair.

Now I am dieting. Doing the Slimfast thing, using SparkPeople, exercising to lose weight instead of dancing for fun. Before I scoffed at diets, how annoying I must have sounded. Yes I am hungry and that does make me a bit edgy, yes I'd be a happier not to watch what I eat and care what the scale said, but I need to be healthy. I'll never look like a fashion model, unless looking like JLo or Ugly Betty (don't get me started!) comes into style again and I don't want to, but I do want to tell skinny me to shut up because she isn't comfortable with her body if she thinks there are parts she has to accept. 

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest