Fierce in Seattle: Stopping the insanity
It’s a wonder I don’t weigh 400 pounds. I love food. I love not only eating it, I love talking about it, reading about and shopping for it. You don’t want to be with me on a visit to Whole Foods. Well, unless you want to kick it for an hour or two. It’s really quite obnoxious. I become a bit agitated when a store staffer asks “can I help you find anything?” I really want to tell them the truth, which is “no, because I’m going to take my sweet-ass time looking at every shelf on every aisle.” I’m semi-obsessed with learning about new products, restaurants, poring over websites, cookbooks, I dive in to absorb it all. Since adopting a vegetarian lifestyle a few years ago, I have dug into my adoration even deeper. I want to discover everything there is to know and share it with the world. Living a life free of meat has enriched my health and spirit exponentially.
I recently created a new blog, Veg Out and About, as a way to connect to not only the vegetarian community at large, but to share thoughts and ideas to those who don’t know where to start. While my reasons for adopting such a lifestyle are rooted in animal welfare, the health benefits have been quite impressive on how I feel. This is what I want to share. I realize that creating a blog is just a small cog in the wheel on the interwebs, but ultimately, I would like my little kernel to grow and expand. With our American diets and lifestyles creating nothing short of a health crisis, I want to be part of the machine creating influence and change with positive, accessible methods. My biggest influence is Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. If you are a parent, most especially, you need to see this series now. It’s an amazing look at our public schools and their nutrition – well, lack thereof. It’s alarming, to say the least.
The force in this cupcake is strong...
And its no surprise how we all got here. We’re Americans. Better tends to mean bigger. It upsets me to no end when I see morbidly obese people in any sort of assisted mobile chair. There’s a man I see weekly on my way to work. He’s in one of these motorized seats, half of his legs exposed, feet in Birkenstocks. His limbs are purple from lack of circulation and his toenails needed a clipping in the 90’s. I can’t imagine having so little control over myself that I would need help walking, or even giving myself a pedicure. You can only blame so much on genetics, but we all have the ability to say no. We all have the ability to take control when we feel out of control. And while I sometimes feel I can eat my way to 400 pounds, I can stop myself after a second Trophy cupcake. I’ll think about a third, but I’ll stop. Not stopping, well, that would just be insane.
Is it wrong that the only thing I took away from this is “mmm, darth vader cupcake”?
Seriously though, the childhood obesity problem is a huge one. I know what my public school lunches were like, and I do not plan to let Betty eat that way. Jamie Oliver did a great service with that program. Hopefully they’ll bring it back next summer, since it really got people talking.
Amen! I remember the burritos that they served us in high school in the 80s that were like 1500 calories apiece & served to you in their microwaved wrapper. Nutritition at its finest!
I totally get it Kelli! Although I’ve never been morbidly obese, I woke up recently and realized that I had gained 45 pounds in the past 3 and half years. It was a huge shock, but I guess sometimes it can just get away from you without you even realizing it. But now I’m on a mission to lose all of it and more by my 30th birthday. Sadly, I HAVE done this before, but wish me luck anyway and I’m really enjoying Veg Out and About!
DUDE! I know! I gained 20 pounds in a year about 18 months ago. I was flabbergasted! Or rather, flubbergasted… I worked out hard & ate smart. You can do it too, with your super smarty pants menu planning!
I’m busting ass! 10 pounds gone so far! :-)
Yay, Delia! I’m finding that slow and steady wins the race…
Loving Veg Out & About. I want to live next to that market and when I can eat again, I’m loading up at the Whole (I could spend a million years/dollars there too) and cooking up some of your yummy posts.
Hot diggity soy dog, Amy! ; )
I was really excited to read a blog about cupcakes.
I have tried to be a vegetarian twice in my life. Once for a brief period around 16 where I did no research and ate lots of noodles and fries. Then again from age 19-22. The second time around I really did my homework and gave it all I had and for a while things were alright. Then things started going bad and they stayed bad. I went to many doctors and nobody could figure it out. That was until the day I broke and ate a burger. Three years without meat and the first thing I ate was a really good burger, afterwards I felt amazing! Later I learned that I am allergic to soy and my body requires high amounts of protein. No amount of cheese, nuts, beans, or soy will satisfy my natural chemical make-up.
Vegetarianism is great, I fully support it, but it isn’t for everybody. I still make many veggie dishes and happen to love some soy in small amounts, but I have to eat meat. I think what would be interesting and may just change many people’s minds about healthy eating is getting the vegetarians and the omnivores to come together and work out a suggested way of eating that easily incorporates both worlds. Make it less of an us against them mentality and more of a we are all in this together thought.
I promise to write a blog dedicated to cupcakes at some point, Kelly! ; )
I’ve heard stories like yours and am with you that we all need to get along & be dedicated to making positive, healthy choices. Being vegetarian and not vegan, there’s enough people out there who go out of their way to attempt to make me feel bad for occasionally going to town on a wedge of brie!
Kelly’s and Amy’s story make me wish that doctors would work an allergy work-up into your annual physical every five years, just so we know what our bodies need to work at their best.
Hey Kelly, very interesting points. I had no idea I was allergic to Soy until two weeks ago either. It’s frustrating that many regular MD’s don’t consider that allergic reactions might be the cause of problems. There’s a great article on HuffPo today about being a “practical vegetarian” which is kind of the cooperation you mentioned, that you might like.