health | BulgingButtons

November 20, 2015
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If I Had a Magic Wand

Magic-Wand-Lower-Your-A1c Getting out of bed this morning, I realized that I’m on day four of feeling like poop. The hacking is getting worse, the eye that turned red yesterday is oozy, and the nose that keeps running is sore. Ugh.

“I wish I could just go back to bed.”

I shuffled down the hall to wake my son and noticed how disgusting his bathroom is. Spattered mirror, dirty sink, and God-only-knows what might be growing in the toilet and tub.

“I wish he would clean that bathroom.”

As I let the dog out into the yard, a cold blast of air greeted me. Great. I have playground duty this morning.

“I wish it were warmer outside.”

I fed the dog and filled her water bowl, careful not to knock over the glasses in the kitchen sink.

“I wish these dishes were done and put away.”

I glanced at the clock and realized that I could probably squeeze in a quick post, but I wasn’t sure what to write about.

“I wish I had better ideas.”

For inspiration, I clicked on my news feed. Stories of refugees, illness, poverty, and desperation filled my screen.

“I have no problems.”

September 18, 2015
by BulgingButtons 2 Comments

The Real F Word

Polite people don’t use the “F” word in everyday conversation, at least not usually. Unless, of course, the “F” word happens to be FAT.

It seems that perfectly ordinary people, who would never point out someone with a physical or developmental disability, feel completely comfortable commenting on how fat other people are. I find this so peculiar. If it’s not polite to say, “Hey, look at that guy, he only has one leg,” or “Check out that woman, she’s using sign language to communicate,” then why would it be okay to say, “Wow, that girl is really fat!”

It’s not just fat people either. Anyone who is “differently sized” is likely to be pointed out. However in our culture thin is seen as desirable, so there’s generally far less venom behind a comment like, “Jeez, she looks like she could blow away in a strong wind.” I’ve actually met women who might take such a comment as an affirmation that they’re doing something right.

The stigma around being fat is so deeply ingrained that fat people shame each other. I’ve done it myself, thinking, “Well, at least I’m not that fat!” But really, who am I to judge?

I try to keep an open mind, and to remember that each of us has our own struggles. What someone is going through on the inside, is impossible to know. It’s also impossible to know where they’ve been. It’s not my business or my right to know each person’s story. Who am I to decide if someone is “okay” being fat while someone else isn’t? I don’t get to decide, and frankly I don’t want to.

Living my own life in a way that is reasonably decent and healthy is enough for me. I have no desire to take on the problems of the world. Let someone else sort out who the “okay” fat people are, because I have no idea what the criteria would be. Response to medication? Imbalanced hormones? Depression? Genetic predisposition? The list goes on.

I don’t care what syndrome or genetic abnormality you might possess. I care what type of person you are. I would hope you feel the same way about me. You should be asking about the “inner” me, not worrying about my body. Isn’t it more important that someone is well meaning? Compassionate? Fun-loving? Loyal? Playful? Creative? Hard-working? All of these traits are worthy of scrutiny. Weight, size, and body fat percentage are not, and should play no role what-so-ever in determining whether we should be friends. Yes, I’m fat. Deal with it.

August 30, 2015
by BulgingButtons 4 Comments

Salad Days

“Super Foods” salad with about a gazillion ingredients.

I never actually understood that term. I think it means good times, right? As in, “ah, those were the salad days.” But I don’t really understand why. What’s so great about a salad?

Salads are a bunch of work. They takes lots of small bits of ingredients and toss them all together. All of those ingredients have their own needs, like the need for washing and cutting. It’s quite labor intensive, if you ask me, for not such a great reward. I don’t HATE salads. In fact there are several salads that I like a lot. Chipotle has a wonderful salad that packs in the veggies and protein and tastes great. So does Wildflower Bakery. In fact, most places that are salad friendly do, but the problem is that I usually want the OTHER good stuff that’s on their menus. Still, when I do order a salad, I usually enjoy it.

The issue is making salads at home. You have to buy all those different ingredients and by the time you’re done you have a massive salad fit for a crowd, or you have lots of leftover veggies. Either way it’s a pain in the neck. Thank goodness for Pinterest and the popularity of mason jar salads.

I was skeptical at first, but then I saw a few of my colleagues jump on the bandwagon, and they were eating delicious salads each day with just one prep session. I poked around a bit more on the internet and learned that, like everything else, there are different methods for prepping these salads. I decided to modify what I read and do it my way.

My own personal preference is to keep the dressing separate and add it when I’m ready to eat. I put the following pre-washed wide-mouth mason jars:

black beans (one can split, rinsed and drained)

Mexican style canned corn (one can split, rinsed)

sliced red pepper

chicken breast strips

lettuce and spinach to the top

This week I plan to add in sliced mushrooms. One week I had some leftover shredded cheddar, so I added that and it stayed good all week.

One day of prep is no problem. These salads are excellent for lunch, and they fill me up. Still, I’m not above purchasing a ready-made salad from the store, particularly if it has 27 different ingredients in it, like my “Super Foods” salad from Whole Foods. In the words of a famous internet meme, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”