Why We're Fat...or at least I'm Fat.

One of my guilty pleasures is reading blogs; generally, they are mom blogs, written by moms. I am not a mom. And I read to get a taste of what all that craziness will be like. There is one blog I have followed, and they have recently moved to Korea...just like my friend Achilles! (And Achilles is so NOT a mom.) I read this recently, which I thought went along well with my weekend.


My second year teaching, I had a pretty brutal asthma attack one morning after the day before I was pulling ragweed out of my garden. I am allergic to ragweed. Duh! So I got tested for foods, at the same time as some other allergens. I learned I am allergic to wheat. And dairy. And oats. And oranges. And corn. And "fish mix", sounds like cat food. I blame my vegetarian diet for 6 years (Sophomore year H.S. to Junior year College). During that time, there was a lot of cereal, pasta, and orange juice. Perhaps I used up my lifetime quota. The doctor suggested an "Elimination Diet". For two weeks, I did not eat any of those things, and I lost 11 pounds. IN TWO WEEKS!

So this week, I am doing another elimination diet, maybe a little modified, but close enough. But seriously, I was just eating significantly healthier. I was eating unprocessed things. I ate a lot of fiber and vegetables. And avoiding corn and corn starch and corn syrup cuts out some serious sugars. And I need it. I was in the copy room today, and a teacher thought I was ANOTHER teacher who I think is significantly larger than I. I blame the hair. My back was to her. I am wearing a non form fitting skirt. I swear my ass is not THAT big!

Do I blame feminism, like the above linked blog mentions? No way. I blame my love for food, but also the expense of good food. My grocery bill yesterday, chock full of fresh vegetables, is evidence of this! Yesterday, I cleaned, did laundry, and of course, cooked a bunch of stuff. All after I spent almost 90 bones at the grocery store, and I am SINGLE people! I didn't even buy booze! But I did buy oatmeal.

So I made
Vegetable Soup, modifying an old Weight Watchers recipe I had.
Salsa, using the salsa recipe I have posted here before.
Grilled Vegetables, including zucchini, onion, red pepper, mushroom.
Brown Rice
Boxed Banana Muffins, "Just add Milk!" (I was craving, literally made this just so I could eat ONE. A waste of money, perhaps?)
Chicken Broth, which is currently chugging away in my crockpot as I type.

And I am going to quit my latest addiction at the same time...Vitamin Water. Wish me luck. There will be progress reports.