Tuesday, February 12, 2013

HAPPY FAT TUESDAY!!


I love Fat Tuesday!! It's been one of my favorite holidays since senior year of college.  On that fateful Fat Tuesday, my best friend and I decided we didn't have enough excitement in our lives (or something) and decided to make a gluttonous feast, gorge ourselves, wrap ourselves in the tons of beads Robin's sister (mysteriously. uh huh.) had,  and then call everyone we knew and yell HAPPY FAT TUESDAY in a deep baritone voice. Ah, college.




















We know how to have fun
Ever since then, I faithfully participate in the festivities of this day (read: I use it as an excuse to eat a lot and still call people and yell HAPPY FAT TUESDAY at them:P).  This Fat Tuesday was no exception. I even got the whole lab in on it. It's really not that hard to convince people to eat a bunch of fatty food.  We had donuts for breakfast (I had TWO!!) and pizza for lunch.

I added the decor

These were all gone by the end of the day :P



Needless to say, we spent the afternoon in a bit of a slump. My body was like, what the what?! Unfortunately...I had a ton of work to do :-/ And on top of that...some plans got changed around and I had to go to yoga after work or miss it today AND tomorrow.

I couldn't justify that (dammit!!)-- so my pizza, donuts and I went to yoga. All I can say is ugh. I was barely dragging myself through the vinyasa flow. I honestly thought I was going to be sick at one point. I was lingering a little too long in downward dog. I was halfheartedly raising my arms above my head.

It was a good lesson.  A good lesson that eating this way is not for the all the time. It was interesting to feel the comparative effects on my body and energy.

So, tomorrow begins Lent. All the gluttony is out the window. It's time to settle into 40 days and 40 nights. (side note: doesn't that movie just really make you want to go to a laundromat? It convinced me that a laundromat was the PERFECT place to meet a guy. Turns out...laundromats realllly aren't all that romantic. Frankly, the majority of people in them are just kind of creepy.)

I'm not Catholic in any capacity (though strangely I ALWAYS wanted to be Catholic as a child. There's just so much pomp and circumstance associated with it all), but I like the challenge of giving up something for forty days and nights. I do it every year. It's even helped me break some pretty bad habits.

This year I'm giving up animal products. Historically, that's pretty much what was done. I've already been leaning towards a more vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.  I did a cleanse a few years ago that forbid any processed foods, meat, dairy or flour for 28 days. That was tough, but I felt great. Since I did the cleanse, I've really changed the way that I eat. I gave up my beloved milk and only eat meat 1-2 times a week. Sometimes I wonder if this whole 'clean eating/plant based' thing is just the new fad, but then I don't really think so.

I've been doing a lot of research lately. So much research that I feel I could start thinking about a degree in nutrition or something. It just makes sense to me. And today was proof of that. You eat crap...you feel like crap. So much of our society is sick or fat or whatever and I truly believe that can be traced back to the food we eat. If you haven't seen "Forks Over Knives" I highly recommend it. It's eye opening.

Ten years ago, heck FIVE years ago...I would never have DREAMED of trying to give up meat or cheese or eggs...but these days...I dunno. It speaks to me. So much of it. The intolerable cruelty that animals suffer because of it all...the side effects on health...the damage to the environment. All of it.

I had my last cheeseburger (I LOVE cheeseburgers :-/) tonight as a final cap to my Tuesday of Fat. Wish me luck for tomorrow, but for tonight??



LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!!


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