Get ready to start your engines

Well, folks, today’s the day. I’m starting the “challenge“. After spending an ungodly amount of money at the grocery store yesterday, I think I have all the tools I need to begin this journey. Actually, that was part of my plan. I figured when I tell my husband the price of all this stuff, he’ll be in such a state of shock that he won’t even know what he’s eating for the next ten days. I am planning to post my weight at the beginning of this and then post what I weigh towards the end. I will also post if I do any exercise during the time so that if I lose a considerable amount, it won’t all be attributed to the eating.

We already hit a rough patch with giving something different to my kids. Yesterday, after my trip to the store, the kids were hungry. They hadn’t had much to eat that day so actually they should have been more like starving. They love fruit and they were clamoring for all the grapes and strawberries. I decided to fix them an almond butter and Crofter’s fruit spread sandwich on whole grain bread I got from the store that was acceptable (only a few ingredients, no corn syrup or sugar in it). First of all, the almond butter is amazing. I can tell I am going to have to fight myself not to eat it all the time. I like it more than peanut butter. Anyhow, I fix my self a sandwich and make them half a sandwich with a handful of grapes. I’m thinking “No problem, this should go over fine.” No such luck. They ate all the grapes and wouldn’t even try the sandwich. We were able to coax/cajole/threaten one twin into eating most of it, although he would not eat the crust, but the other one was perfectly content to sit at the table and just stare at his. He only took one tiny microscopic bite before declaring it a no-winner. Now, I will say, the bread was a little different to what we are used to. I can see why they call processed foods processed foods. Because what they don’t process in the factory, you process in your mouth! I felt like I was working out just chewing the bread. It was soft, don’t get me wrong, but my jaws were hurting. I am thinking that might be what turned them off to the sandwich because the almond butter and fruit spread was divine. I will say that the sandwich was filling. One was enough to fill me up for a while. I guess I am just going to have to keep giving it to them and eventually they’ll get so hungry that human nature will take over and they’ll eat it.

So I am planning on making homemade whole-wheat waffles today for breakfast on my brand-new waffle iron (yay!) and whip cream sweetened with honey. I am also going to put some berries and maple syrup on it. It should be something the kids will enjoy. I don’t know about Mr. Sawyers. I have a roller skating lesson to go to and then I get to come home a plan lunch. I still have no clue what to make. This all feels so uncertain. I never really have to think about what to make, I usually just grab something and fix it. This feels so foreign. But, as the well known philosophist Martin Payne would say “Ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it!”

So, yeah, here goes my weight. I tried to sneak out without telling it to you. It’s *coughing* 348lbs *cough, cough*.

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So I didn’t go shopping……..

I regret to inform you that I did not go grocery shopping yesterday. In fact, I had probably one of the worst eating days that I’ve had in about two weeks. I think I know the end is near…….

Anyhoo, I will be going shopping today. I am beginning to hear crickets in my refrigerator and that means it’s time to stock up. The good news is I didn’t have much food to begin with since it was coming around to being time for me to get groceries so I didn’t have much to throw out. A strange thing happens to me when I see money that I’ve spent in the trash. I get all woozy.

I am going to be researching some recipes today. Gotta have a game plan I guess. I don’t want to just buy a bunch of stuff and then go “Now what?”. I hate planning though. I am such a spontaneous person and I’d rather get a root canal than sit down and plan a menu for the ten days and find recipes and write down ingredients to buy. It all seems so, I don’t kow, tedious. I would rather be knitting or playing family feud on Facebook. But I digress.

I am not so much concerned about the children and I during the day. My daughter is breastfed and I don’t really cook for my sons when we are home. They ususally eat things like cereal, yogurt, fruit, PB&J sandwiches. On the rare occasions that I make breakfast we’ll have pancakes, made from scratch, sausage and eggs. I may have to make a few tweaks to what we consume during the day but not much. It’s dinner that I am worried about. That and Mr. Sawyers.

Ah, Mr. Sawyers. My darling husband. A man who once said that his idea of a salad is lettuce on his burgers. And he wasn’t kidding. He hardly ever eats vegetables. He loves fast food. He loves sweets. Oddly enough he is significantly thinner than me and actually weighs LESS than he did when we got married 6 years ago. Is this some kind of cosmic joke? I used to make vegetables when we first got married but I got tired of throwing an almost entirely full pot in the trash (the woozy thing again) when he wouldn’t eat them. So I just stopped making them. He is your quintessential “meat and potatoes” type of guy. When I told him about the challenge he said “That’s great, you’re doing it right?” I had to practically debase myself to get him to climb aboard with me (remeber the whole “two shall become one flesh thing”. Ring a bell?)

Another thing to call into consideration is we are African American. What does that have to do with anything, you ask? Everything. Let’s do a little experiment. What kind of people come to your mind when you think of people talking about “eating healthy”, “all natural foods”, and “no processed foods”? Usually white, upper middle class families with 2.5 kids in the burbs that drive hybrids. Either that or like long haired hippies who keep their pee in jars for their gardens……..whatever. What I’m trying to say is that you usually don’t associate healthy eating with the African American community. Our idea of a healthy meal is a fried chicken breast instead of a fried chicken wing. And because of this, we, as a people, are paying dearly.

My husband took a health class and the statistics were astounding for African Americans. We have the highest obesity rates (guilty), the highest mortality rates, we live less, we eat more, exercise less, we have the highest instance of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and we only make up 13% of the population. When my husband took the class, he began to really become gung ho about his health, started going to the gym more regularly, eating healthier. But this was right before the dreaded holidays, every dieter’s nightmare. I told him not to go crazy because it will make it that much harder for him to get back on the wagon but did he heed the advice of the wise, old, fat sage? No, and now he is back where he started, eating like crap. Maybe this challenge with show us that eating right is not only doable, but no that bad.

I mean there are still things I am leery about. We are no millionares and no matter how you slice it, the less processed the food, the more expensive. The process is what makes it so cheap. We live on one income, a very modest one at that, in a small, one-bedroom apartment in San Diego. Expensive-behind San Diego. We drive a 14-year-old Ford Thunderbird that was lovingly given to us by some dear friends at our church because we didn’t have a car for almost a year . And I wish I could say we had no car because we were trying to “go green”. We had no car because we couldn’t afford one. So shucking out extra money on groceries is no novel concept to me. But as a wise person once said to me, you either pay for it now in grocery bills, or you pay for it later in medical bills and/or funeral costs. Personally, I’d rather buy the $4 bread.

Well, I have rambled long enough. I am supposed to be mapping out my game plan, not rambling on WordPress. I will report the staggering cost later. Until then.

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The pros and cons

I am deciding to comprise a list of the good, the bad and the ugly. What I am dreading about this challenge and what I am looking forward to (is there anything?). So here goes:

The Pros:

Increased health

Lower Calorie Intake

Weight loss

Less harmful substances in my body

Ummmmm, yeah, that about sums it up for me……Can’t really think of anything else at this point……

The Cons:

NO SUGAR: I have and insatiable sweet tooth. Sugar is one of the things that keeps me from being suicidal and/or homicidal. I and countless others are alive today because I was able to get my hands on a pint of ice cream at just the right moment. What will I do without all of that sugary goodness???????

NO FAST FOOD: I am a drive thru regular. As I write this I am literally eating a spicy chicken sandwich, fries and a shake from Rally’s. I can’t imagine my life with out Taco Bell, Mickey D’s, and Jack in the Crack. Maybe that’s part of the problem…….

I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO HAVE TO COOK: What a novelty! I will actually have to prepare meals. I love to bake but I HATE to cook. I think it’s because it makes such a mess and 9.5 times out of 10 I am the one cleaning it up.

VERY FEW “QUICK FIX” OPTIONS: For those of us with kids I am sure you can relate to this. Sometimes you just don’t have the time to make a meal. You want to be able to just grab something, shove it in their mouths and keep it moving. I am really going to have to plan what we eat.

CHANGING MY SHOPPING: I don’t know about you, but I HATE grocery shopping. The long lines, the bags, just the thought of it makes me shudder. And now I am going to have to actually pay attention to what I buy, not just grab things and toss them in my cart in a shopping induced stupor.

That’s all for now folks, it’s past midnight and I have a handsome man to go cuddle up next to. More to come tomorrow as I share a little more about myself and all the chips stacked against me and as I go on my first shopping trip (eek) to start buying “real food”.

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