Echoes and Stars

I grew up in a home where meals were an event. Whether at home or at a restaurant, the meals we ate were important. So it is no wonder I plan whole vacations around meals and I am always wondering how to make the standard ham and cheese sandwich a momentous occasion. Part of this thinking about food is that food is just an amazing thing (Chicken Picatta and the Philly Cheesesteak exist?) and should be tried in all its forms and mediums. Within reason. Olives are for oil alone.

As Fall was moving into Central Alabama, we had our friends, Jason and Becky Edwards and Sean and Missy Dameron and their families, over for dinner one night. That day I smoked a pork shoulder, a chicken and some sausage. It was a feast complete with 4 different kinds of BBQ sauces. And while we talked, Becky was telling us all about this app on her iPhone which helped count calories. By now, I was on plate number three and I remember thinking, “An App may be just what I need to lose some weight…could someone please pass the baked beans. Again.” I started using the Lose It app the next day.

This morning I weighed myself and I have now hit my goal of losing 30 pounds. Actually I’ve lost 31. 188, baby.

So if you see me wearing the same things over and over it’s because my clothes don’t fit.  I used to wear pants that were 38 inches in the waist. Now I am down to a 34 which is smaller than when I got married. Clothes that were once a little too small now are too big. I have far more energy and I cannot explain it but my mind is clearer. And even though I quit running around Thanksgiving, I am still losing weight.

What has been great about this is how I have not had to see the food I love as the enemy. The zeitgeist of the day is to see food as the enemy. Actually, I was the problem. I just ate all the time and never thought about how much I ate. Now by moderating what I eat and telling myself to stop snacking (“Please, step away from the pork skins.”) I’ve been able to still enjoy all the foods I love.

While many decry the phenomenon, I think it makes absolute sense we would have so many shows and movies about eating and cooking food. Food is amazing. It is essential. And it is one of the most incredible of God’s gifts. Not only did he give it to us for practical reasons but he made it taste wondrous. We have taste buds. He not only gave us taste buds so we would smile and laugh so memories will be made over a meal but he also gave them so they can conspire with our mind so we can be taken back to another memorable time. It is all so magical. Hot wings exist.

Just writing this has made me incredibly hungry.