On the up and up...

Hey Amigos,

Well, I went up this week. .8 lbs. I'm not in the least bit surprised. Disappointed? Sure. But not surprised. You can't eat like I did this week and expect to see a loss. I had at least 4 meals out this week (I keep thinking I'm forgetting one) and while I tried to be very careful there's only so much to be done when you're eating food prepared by others. Plus, I think I was weighed down with rage yesterday. I won't get into it, just wanted to mention that I'm sure it didn't help matters.

So since I know where I went wrong this week, I fully intend to make sure it doesn't happen again. I won't go out to eat this week (except maybe on Mother's Day, but it's hard to say because my mom is in NYC and won't be back until later on Sunday), and I'll probably have my usual weekend coffee with friends.

At my meeting last night we were talking about money saving strategies. A woman said she saves a lot of money because she doesn't buy or eat meat. That's kind of how I am (except, dang it, I wish WW or Lean Cuisine would make more vegetarian dishes...they're so easy and cheap, but I find that I end up eating some of the ones with meat just because that's what's there). I never cook meat at home, when I go out to eat I almost always stick with vegetarian dishes. I guess I'm sort of half assed about it, but it wouldn't be a huge stretch for me to become a full fledged vegetarian.

So then this woman continues, so what she really ends up saying is "I save a lot of money because we don't eat or buy meat. I go to Sam's Club and get ground turkey and we use that a lot. But we don't eat meat."

Huh?

So, what's turkey then...pastry? I think people forget, or don't realize, that it doesn't have to be red to be meat. Meat is flesh food. She's eating turkey flesh. That's meat, plain and simple. Something had to die to provide that.

I'm not all high-falutin' about it or anything. Like I said, I'm so half assed about it that I would be insulting vegetarians if I called myself one. But I do fully comprehend what exactly it is to eat meat.

Will I ever make the switch? I'm certain that I will. My biggest problem is family gatherings and such. My mother makes soups that make you weak in the knees; my sister-in-law is from Thailand and makes some of the most delicious food you've ever had. I love sushi and seafood. See, my thing is, I don't like buying or preparing flesh foods. They're expensive and messy and they stink. My dinners at home revolve almost exclusively around beans, legumes, vegetables and grains. And I never eat meat at breakfast or lunch. Eggs maybe, but never meat.

So if I just ate by myself every day, it'd be a non issue (as much as I like them I could easily give up the frozen dinners if I put my mind to it). But there's something in me that won't let me give it all up, at least not yet. I'll make the commitment some day, and this blog will be the first to know.

My week altogether has sort of stunk. It's had ups and downs, and the downs are winning. The weight gain was just the icing on the cake. But this weekend I'm going to collect myself and I hope things will start looking up.