Removed From Food

Tomorrow there is a potluck lunch for a colleague who is leaving. I was unsure of what to bring, so I opted to buy a packet of ready-to-bake sausage rolls. If I were my mum, I'd have made them from scratch. It suddenly hit me how...removed I am from food.

Let me explain.
Throughout most of my childhood I had the benefit of knowing about where my food came from. The first three years of my life were spent on a farm and orchard, so I knew that fruit came from trees and plants, and I knew that the animals in the fields would most probably end up on the dinnertable. My mum made her own bread.

As I got older and we moved from the farm to urban life, I still had the benefit of knowing where most of my food came from. We had a garden, and might I say very proudly that it was organic. To this day my mum still has incredibly rich soil thanks to composting, and bugs are kept at bay by birds who do their work and also benefit from the occasional fat worm when mum turns the soil. I grew up with the joy of shucking peas from their pods and watching our massive pumpkin patch grow to such a yield that often mum would end up giving a pumpkin to anyone who came to the door! She bakes all her own baking, makes her own jam, etc.

So how was it that I rebelled against the bounty of nature so spectacularly? I live out of packets, there are ingredients on said packets that would never be found in nature. I don't bake, and sadly there is no room for an organic garden in our little shoebox backyard. It makes me sad. I know it's not good for my health either.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

I know I haven't written for the longest time...my bad...but in my defense I have spent most of the month of September dealing with a 7.1 quake and several hundred aftershocks...so...yes.
The quake definitely had an impact on the way I eat. So too did starting a new job one week before the quake hit. The stress of both incidents coinciding meant any healthy habits were thrown out the window. Not to mention the fact that the cafe next door to my work sells the yummiest food!!!

I've been so stressed out from these events that I took to a LOT of comfort eating. But my body has seriously had enough. Thankfully the weather is moving towards summer here, which means longer, lighter, warmer days. I'm aiming to start walking home from work every day next week and also having an evening walk after dinner in the park because I can guarantee I'm not fit enough to re-launch into a heavy-duty fitness regime.

I'm sadly at my heaviest, BUT I have been dressing very nicely despite my larger size. I think I look incredibly snazzy at work, and thankfully I've found that when you find a cut that flatters or something that fits well, you buy that item in different colors or patterns! I've taken to wearing skirts which is something I've never really done but I do so because they are flattering for me and comfortable. If it wasn't for the fact that my health is so bad right now, I would stay the size I am. But unfortunately I am having health problems related to my size so I need to start getting back to health.

Another reason for me to commit to a more healthy lifestyle is cancer. Thankfully I don't have it, but recently my friends and their families have been having to deal with this killer disease and I don't want to be another statistic. So I'm going to do everything I can to cut my risk of cancer.

I feel positive. I know that it's going to be slow progress, especially because I am an emotional eater and a sugar addict, but I know I will get there and feel better for it.