BulgingButtons

Not bad for a fat girl

Category Archives: Health


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Starbucks Success and a New Challenge: Fruits and Vegetables

fruits-and-vegetablesWell, I did it. I challenged myself to give up Starbucks cold-turkey and I did it. I haven’t been there since I issued the challenge, and I’m pretty proud of myself for that. So proud, in fact, that it actually feels good.

That good feeling got me thinking. What if I issued myself a new challenge each week? A healthy living challenge, like the no Starbucks challenge. If I could continue the old challenges while incorporating the new ones I could make some real progress.

Oh sure, these are things that I should be doing all the time, but the fact of the matter is that I don’t do them. Honestly, I was living a much healthier life back when BulgingButtons began than I am now. I don’t even want to think about trying to button up that red shirt you see at the top of the page. I have a feeling those poor buttons would pop right off.

I do like challenges, so here’s the challenge for the upcoming week: eat fruits and vegetables every day. That shouldn’t be too difficult, once I stock up on some. Maybe some baby carrots to dip in hummus and some apples to slice up. Oh, and it’s tangerine and orange season, so I might pick up some of those too, along with a couple of pre-made salads for lunch. I can do this!

If you’re someone who finds they don’t get enough produce in their diet, try it with me. Munch on some grapes or serve up some squash. Maybe add some peppers and onions to your marinara or better yet, try a veggie stir fry for dinner. I’d love to hear your ideas. Here’s to a healthy week.

 


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Quitting Starbucks Cold Turkey – Again

eccf_lI’ve come to the sad realization that with just one week of work in the 2015 calendar year under my belt, I’ve visited Starbucks no fewer than 4 times (or was it 6?) and spent no less than $30. In fact, I”m sure it was quite a bit more, since I had my son with me twice, and that ups the bill considerably. Let’s see, 52 weeks in a year times $30 a week equals $1560.00 . That’s quite a bit to spend on coffee drinks and pastries.

Still, I have a good job, and if I really want to spend $1560.00 per year on something I can, but this?  At the end of the year what will I have to show for that investment? My first response is “nothing,” but that’s not true. I’ll have the effects of a year’s worth of sugary, fatty drinks and pastries settling into my ever aging body. I don’t need that. I don’t want that. So why is it so hard to resist?

Now this isn’t an anti-Starbucks post. I love Starbucks. Too much. That’s my point. If I could handle it I wouldn’t have to go cold-turkey, but I can’t. For me, Starbucks is like some giant lab experiment and I’m the rat. I cheerfully get in line and hand over my hard earned money in exchange for items that I know are not beneficial to my health. Then I consume those items happily, temporarily satisfied until I begin to crave the next fix. Sometimes that craving hits the very same day, and yes, sometimes I give in to it the very same day. Too much is too much.

Unlike the lab rat, I have a choice. I can voluntarily leave the experiment. I have options. But damn, I love my Starbucks. I crave it. I don’t care about the money! I don’t care about the health issues! I just want my frappucino!

Oops, sorry. That just kind of came out. I can handle this. I can come up with better alternatives. I’ve done it before and I can do it again. Starting today I will avoid Starbucks. That extra $30 per week might just come in handy, and I know I’ll feel better after the first couple of days. I may even stop shaking as I drive by, after a few weeks anyway.

Now I’m going to brew a pot of tea to take in my thermos and fix myself some toast for breakfast. There was life before Starbucks, and there is life after it.


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To Cookie or Not to Cookie

I had a little trouble with the decorating

I had a little trouble with the icing

One of the best things about this time of year is the food, of course. And as you know, I love food. I particularly like sweets, as evidenced by my obsession with Hot Tamales candies, but I digress. This time of year brings all kinds of goodies, but the treat that says holiday time to me is a cookie.

I like to bake, but cookies aren’t my favorite thing to do. They tend to be really time consuming, and frankly I’d rather whip up a batch of brownies or a sheet cake and call it a day, but December calls for cookies, so cookies I shall make.

I have a few tried and true recipes that I’ve made over and over, and each year I choose one or two to bake. For many years I was invited to a wonderful cookie walk, and always came home with scads of treats, but then I got divorced, and since my former mother-in-law was the hostess I guess she thought it would be weird to keep inviting me.

It’s too bad, because she always had games too, with really nice prizes. I’m good at games, even Christmas themed games, so I would usually win. After the second time I kept my mouth shut. I think the other guests were a little annoyed that the one Jewish person in the room was winning the awesome Christmas themed gift each year. Still, I enjoyed the games and the secret knowledge that I knew the holiday better than people who had celebrated it their entire lives.

Fast forward to Christmas Season 2014. I’ve been invited to a cookie walk this weekend. I would like to go. I like cookie walks. I like cookies. I like parties. HOWEVER, I don’t need cookies, I don’t love making cookies, and I don’t know how many events I want to try to cram into my weekend. So here’s my dilemma, do I cookie, or don’t I?

Oh sure, I’m planning to make cookies at some point anyway, but if I don’t go there’s no pressure to get them done. On the other hand, I have some time to do them this evening. It will be festive. We can put on a Christmas movie or at least some Christmas carols while I’m baking. It will make the house smell wonderful, too.

On the other hand I really shouldn’t do the cookies, or go to a party to swap them for other cookies. They are counter-productive to my goal of making better diet and fitness choices. I know this, but at the same time I’m trying to cut myself a little slack over the holidays.

What I do know is that if I make cookies I will most likely go, but I will NOT make the same cookies I tried to do for Chanukah. They were most definitely a fail. A big, sloppy, embarrassing, yet delicious, fail. Oh well, they’re only cookies. I can always make more.