Low Fat Lovin'

Personally, I love all the low fat, reduced sugar, calorie cutting foods because basically it means that I can eat twice as much. There's indulgence without the guilt and realization that those twenty minutes sweating on the treadmill a few hours back were all for naught. As I observe my friends' eating habits, I notice their ability to eat "bad foods" in moderation--foods that I won't touch because I have no such self control. That's why I go for the individually wrapped, single serving stuff, like weigh watcher's chocolate cakes. I can have one every day and feel that chocolate hankering get satisfied. Put a whole chocolate cake in front of me and It's all over...I simply cannot resist that 2nd or 3rd slice. If it is there, I will eat it. I'm not a small portions kind of gal, and I have a feeling that I never will be, so I look for the "Healthy Choice" lables and pay less attention to the serving sizes. After all, a half cup of icecream? And those measely little single serving cups of Ben & Jerry's? Who are they kidding? I could eat 10 of 'em.

This prolonged holiday weekend has really taken a toll on me diet-wise. These past five days...oh wow it's almost been a week now...I've been indulging in gluttonous behavior the likes of which you've never seen and loving it! That is, I've loved it until now.

It all started with valentines day. That one wonderful holiday when you can wear pink and red at the same time and eat chocolate from sun up to sun down with no guilt whatsoever. See, the point is that that kind of behavior is only supposed to last one day. But apparently I just couldn't let go because the day after valentines I went straight to the leftover fudge. So I ate chocolate for breakfast that day, and for the following three mornings after. From there the indulgence intensified to consuming every sweet in sight, ansd in mass proportions. I'm talkin everything from hershey kisses to cupcakes to packages of candy hearts. I need an intervention and fast because it's just getting ridiculous! I've been getting these weird sugar headaches and painful stomache aches but somehow as soon as they subside, I'm completely refreshed and ready to start the process all over again!

I swore that monday it would be different. But not so. It must be the holiday thing. The worldwide excuse to indulge. But it's presidents day for goodness sakes! That's not a food holiday atall! Well anyway, I have high hopes for tomorrow and I'm gonna try very hard to turn over a new leaf.

Minimizing Your Muffin Top

When you think of a muffin, what do you visualize? When I think about muffins, I think of a cute little grandma and that song...you know the one that goes, "Do you know the muffin man the muffin man the muffin man oh do you know the muffin man...anyways...what you should think of when you think of muffins is obese people. Because sadly, that's exactly what the muffin man does. He makes you gain weight. Lots of weight.

When faced with a few breakfast-food choices, namely a donut, a cinnabon, and a muffin, the health-conscious gentleman or lady is more than likely gonna grab the muffin. It just seems like the healthy choice, with its blueberry chunks and lacking icing.

But we have been deceived.

The other day, while looking to grab a mid-morning snack at the twilight zone, I stumbled across the muffin shelf and eyed up a few different ones. They all seemed pretty small, and as my eyes searched the rest of the shelf they set on one gloriously good looking muffin. It was about the size of a medium sized apple, and looked like it might satisfy my hunger with its delightful banana nut flavors. I casually checked the back of the wrapper and was flabbergasted at the sight of 650 calories and the fat content...of which I can't recall the exact amount was equally shocking. Then I looked at the serving size which was a HALF of the muffin. A half! If I would have consumed that entire muffin (which I could easily have done with room for a second helping) I would have eaten over half of a days worth of calories! I would have had to skip lunch and to say the least I was not willing to do so. Nor was I willing to face the more frightening alternative of running it off. So to say the least I rejected that muffin and opted for a banana and a granola bar. I have a feeling they filled me up more than that muffin would have.

So if you've recently discovered the new and improved mammoth muffin at the Wilk and gave it a permanent home on your campus grocery list, I suggest you reconsider. Either that, or don't be surprised when you start packin on the pounds.

I never thought of myself as an iPod-loving person. I often see people walking down the street with headphones stuck in their ears and mp3 players stuffed in their back pocket, bobbing their head and paying little attention to their surroundings. There also exist those brave students who keep them in during class, as the thumping bass blares across the row of seats. I suppose I separated myself from the ipod-crazed stereotype since my headphones usually sit in my desk collecting dust. I much prefer my super convenient i-Home. With a quick click of the remote, nearly one thousands songs are at my disposal, to be shuffled exactly as I please while I eat, get dressed, etc.

But as days came and went this week and I saw hundreds of oblivious students lipsincing along with their favorite tunes, I grew curious. They just looked like they were having such a great time. Thus, one day in an effort to avoid disturbing my roommate while she studied, I dug into my messy drawer for my headphones and poured myself a bowl of cereal at my desk. As I munched and crunched with my headphones in, it felt just plain strange! Even though the volume was down low, the music felt too loud and heavy, like it was hammering on my eardrum...and on top of that my ears were suddenly extremely sensitive to my chewing, as my teeth ground up my cherrios. The headphones felt just like earplugs. I felt cut off from everything and everyone. And honestly, I felt a little uncomfortable and on edge...as if in the event of a fire I would be the only one who didn't hear the yelling. Anyway, I tried it all out for a few minutes until I couldn't take it anymore and at that point I wondered how everyone else did it. Maybe I'm just a little technologically slow. I wouldn't be suprised. But now when I see all those kids on the street walking around in a daze, I'm even more confused than before.