In the latest issue of L.A. Youth, written by teens who are much tougher than I ever was, an 18-year-old writes about his struggle with weight and the difficulties finding healthy foods in his neighborhood. (The neighborhood is South Central LA's Watts.)The author is 5-foot-4 and weighed 180 pounds, so he wanted to lose 30 this year, quite a goal. So far, the kid's dropped 10 pounds, mostly by changing his diet, which isn't easy because his mother usually cooks a traditional, high-fat meal — "typical Hispanic food," he calls it.
Jackson is really skinny, and Sasha's losing what's left of her baby fat, but I understand the struggle of trying to find healthy food. Even though it's easier to find healthy options in sunny suburbia than in Watts, I understand where the author is coming from when he notes that "it’s cheaper to buy the crappy food."
For Lent this year I gave up dessert, which I've loosely defined as cookies, candy, chocolate, ice cream, and soda. I ate a smidgen of the Rice Krispies Treats that I whipped up over the weekend, though I'm unsure if that really counts.
It hasn't been easy, despite my occasional gorging on other, less bad-for-you food. Just out of habit, I'm used to grabbing some sort of snack after dinner, then another one later on. We give the kids a little snack before bedtime, usually a couple of Oreos. Sasha likes her Oreos opened and I usually eat the cream-less cookie that she ignores. In the fridge there's often a tub of premium ice cream (i.e., the pricier good stuff that we don't share with the kids) that I'll graze from throughout the day over the weekend. Or I'll just grab a handful of whatever's lurking in the cupboard.
As difficult as my sweets-fast has been, however, I expect things to be more difficult after Easter. I plan to eat goodies again but in moderation, and I think it's been easier to Just Say No than it will be to Just Say One Spoon Of Cherry Garcia And Not The Whole Container You Fat Pig.
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