Keep your Damn Tofu

I’ve been told I have to rethink the way I think about food. It’s merely fuel for our bodies, calories in, calories out. But for me, it is so much more than that! I love food! I love the way it tastes, I love the way it smells, I love the many ways it can be prepared! I love that you can cook chicken five different ways, and it tastes different everytime. I love that putting bleu cheese on a steak makes that steak MORE delicious. Speaking of cheese... YUM! I love the way food brings people together and how it brings comfort and happiness into our lives. I get the worst food cravings. I will have a yen for cheesecake and nothing else I put in my mouth is satisfying until I am eating cheesecake. The cravings happen most often with my mother’s cooking. She makes the best vegetable lasagna, the best enchilada casserole and the most delicious ricotta stuffed shells. It's a problem when I'm not living near her because she never writes down any of her recipes and so there's no way to make those dishes. I've tried, but its never the same. I have no doubt that self restraint with food is going to be my greatest challenge in losing weight. I love to eat! I love to eat food other people have prepared!


The challenge of maintaining healthy eating habits has never been a priority for me. This is especially true during the school semester. I am notorious for staying up late studying and then driving to fast food places to gorge on the tasty deliciousness of hamburgers or burritos and hot salty French fries at freakishly early hours of the morning. I know what time every place opens, and now that I'm living closer to the college, and closer to the 27/7 fast food places that cater to college students, it's going to be more tempting than ever. I know that I am going to need help with this, so I am setting up an appointment with the nutrition and fitness councilors at the Rec center to get a better idea of where my health is, and how to get it to where it needs to be. I’m absolutely certain that cheesecake will not be on the menu, which makes me sad. However, when I think about my mom not taking care of her diabetes and dad talking about death like it's enevitable and SOON, the sacrifice of cheesecake seems totally worth it. As long as I’m still allowed to have chocolate…