TheBanyanTree: Weight Loss Schemes

[Monique Colver]

At a time when I'm concerned about the bigger picture, which is access to
good food for people everywhere, since a lot of people, a lot of Americans
too, don't have access, I'm also finding myself focusing on what I eat, or
don't eat, and this is with a fridge full of food.



We've got everything in there.



My most hungry moment has been when I've forgotten to eat, and I say
something like, "I'm starving!" to my long suffering husband, when the
truth is, I wouldn't have a clue what that's like. And I know it, but we
all use terms hyperbolically, at least most of us, if you'd like to be left
out of that statement.



"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." That's just wrong, unless you're into
that. I try to be inclusive.



"I'm starving." Are you really? Probably not. If you were, I'd be happy to
get you something, so just let me know.



But many people are starving, or are eating a diet without nutrients,
because that's what they have available. I am not one of those people. I
never have been. I doubt I will ever be because I have a level of luck that
follows me around like a bright shiny cloud.



And many of us who are not in those situations want to lose just a few
pounds, or many pounds. It's like the work thing, except worse. The work
thing is that so many people are unemployed, and yet many people I know
work all the time, they work constantly, they do the work of several people
because of cuts in staffing, they do the work of several because they're
trying to provide a living for their families and feed them.



I don't know what to do with these disparities.



In the past few months I lost close to ten pounds, mostly because I was
eating less.



Actually, all because I was eating less. It certainly wasn't my increased
level of exercise, because there wasn't any. But eating could be
problematic, so I cut down, and weight went away.



Last week I had an organ removed. A small insignificant organ, but still,
it was a whole one. Yesterday I got on the scale for the first time since
then and found another five pounds had gone away since Friday.



FIVE POUNDS! And all I've been doing is laying around being useless.



I'm thinking my little gall bladder was bigger than I had suspected.



Of course, I haven't been eating much, because I don't want to upset the
delicate balance my digestive system is striving to attain. Sometimes when
I eat I have discomfort.



And still, my fridge is full of food. Today I received a gift of fruit,
which was awesome, even with all the food in the fridge, because fresh
fruit is not something we currently have on hand.



So 15 pounds down, no signs of starvation in my future, a fridge full of
food, and I'll eat because I get hungry, and I'll mostly eat well, and if I
don't, it's my own fault. It's not because I don't have access to good
food, it's because I don't make good decisions.



I have access to great food and I don't want it because I might have
discomfort.



And that's my first world problem. I don't know what it's like to be hungry
with no chance of food, so this is all I have to talk about. An ache in my
stomach that will likely go away any time now.



Needed weight loss, because let's face it, I was too fat anyway.



A life of privilege.