Not-So-Great American Tragedy

You wouldn't know from first glance, but I'm actually a really healthy person.  Kake has said on several occasions that it is one of the Great American Tragedies that I eat the way I do and am active as much as I am and am still not a size 6.

Eating 

First of all, when you are above a size 16, anything you eat is judged by those around you.  

I stopped caring about this years ago.  The truth is that I genuinely crave foods which are clean and from the earth.  This is my lunch from one day at work, which inspired me to be on this topic today:

It's great to have some people in your life who share your love for healthy things, whether it is running or other kinds of exercise, or eating clean foods.  I am fortunate to have a few people who care about what they eat, including my colleague Sara, and we share food all of the time.  

Me, every time Sara is working at the Baltimore office.  Or anytime I spot someone with brought-from-home lunch.  

It makes life a little easier for me to having someone who shares my passion for hummus or cheese.  I'll buy a whole family sized thing of hummus at Costco and not give one care about what others think.  Then I get to share with Sara and anyone else around me.

I just stopped by Target on my way home from work today to purchase some caulk and other things, and I wish I had the security footage of when I made eye contact with some hummus across the room. 

Me and hummus

I am pretty sure I was in a full gallop, then looked like I ran into an invisible wall because I had to self-talk and say, "Veronica! Control yourself!!" I was not there for hummus, but it's on my to-do list now.

Those who actually hang around me or have lived with me know that my eating preferences/intentions are clean.  When Melissa lived here, a few weeks after she first moved in, one night we were sitting to dinner, and she looked up at me, and with the most pathetic face, said, "Can we please stop eating vegetables?" I could not stop laughing. 

Melissa came to visit last week.  She came into the house, went to the kitchen, put her hand on the fridge door, and accurately predicted all that was in there - "Green, green, seeds, plants, what is that... hummus?  Why do you need a giant thing of hummus??  Gross!"

Typical Taco Tuesday with Melissa

Of course, Melissa and others also know that I'm normal and won't say no to other foods as well, but the point is that I know that I eat pretty balanced, so I'm not worried about the sideways glances. 

To this day, I still will send Melissa random text messages that say, "Why is there never any junk food in this house!!"  I get so frustrated at myself.  Just another thing I miss about having Melissa living there.  She sends me a bag of Doritos or gummies here and there, just to make up for it, I think.

I will say that my main problem is eating (in general) consistently.  I might eat one meal a day.  I've never been great at remembering to eat, and when I am traveling with someone, that is always something I have to keep in mind... that other people eat all day long.  

This is something which Kate has become used to reminding me about when we travel, and I am all-to-used to getting a fair reaction from her when I throw her a side-eyeing Chloe for when her food choices seem questionable to me, or when I find myself saying,"OMG you have to eat AGAIN?? We just ate like 6 hours ago!!" 

Actual video of Kake eating carbs

Physical

Running a house by myself is in and of itself an incredible amount of work, and I was just telling my friend the other day (she's into lifting) that I bet I could giver her gym-rat self a run for her money, seeing as how I have to carry a 250+ lb lawn mower up and down my porch stairs once or twice per week.

Add to that 1-2 days a week of just hiking all day through the woods whilst archerying, and the occasional additional hike or bike ride, and I'm actually pretty physical.  

One of my colleagues always says to me, "Do you ever just go home and watch Netflix and do nothing?"  This question comes after him asking me daily what I did after work the day before, and me responding with the inevitable, "Oh, I painted my ceilings and scrubbed the house."  Or, "I mowed the lawn and weed-whacked and then scrubbed the house."  Or, "I went to Lowes and bought half dozen bags of mulch... whist wearing business attire and heels..."

I am one of those people (TVW) who can't just do nothing on a weekend - not only would I be filled with guilt, but my body would actually go stir crazy. 

Friends (YOU)

I do want to give a shout-out to my friends who are healthy, and conscious that we are only given one body in which to vessel our souls.

I've watched a few of my friends make some very healthy life changes over the past few years, whether physically, emotionally, or circumstantially, and I want to just say that I get so proud of people for owning their lives.

I have a friend who has produced a whole little happy family in the past few years, and even with very little, she has made a very healthy lifestyle.  I have known her since we were in high school, and I have seen her go through some absolutely awful times, physically, emotionally, and environmentally.  I look at her now, and I am honestly, from the bottom of my heart of steel, filled with such joy and happiness and pride for her.  

I look at her and I see strength.  I see her taking care of her body by eating well and doing her exercise classes, and it's not about fitting into a bathing suit for a few months or anything - it's because she feels good and strong when she puts in the effort.  I see her making good choices for her and her kids.  In fact, I feel comfortable enough to just share what she said to me in an e-mail after I mentioned this to her:

"I do feel so much healthier and stronger these days. I love going to the gym when I can and being active with the kids. And it sounds super cheesy but I finally truly love and appreciate my body, and just want to be reasonably kind to it. Swore to myself that I wouldn’t expose my girls to the kind of self-loathing and weight obsession I witnessed from the women in my family growing up. "

So own your body. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself and feel healthy and strong.  Our bodies are amazing machines, and no one is going to take care of your body except you.  Listen to your body... listen to doctors, and peers, and people who know what they are talking about... but also listen to your own self living in there.    

Feel like a rock star.