Ginger: A Pound or Twenty

For the record, I support the catchy blog title 100%. However, I have never, EVER thought of myself as a skinny. Even in high school, I remember reading a diet book for kids, vowing not to eat after 6 PM, and downsizing my meals.

Then, in college, I gained the "Junior 15" twice over. Oh no! I was overwhelmed... demoralized...loading up on vending machine snacks every night. Having Sporty -who pretty much defines supportive friend -as a roommate was the only thing that kept me from really going over the edge.

Somehow, I slimmed down a bit over the summer. Maybe it was the "going vegetarian" thing. Maybe it was the break from all-you-can eat cafeteria food. Who cared? I ripped up my "fat" picture and moved on. But then...



In 2002, I started school again. Uh oh. And, by now, my metabolism was slowing down. This time, I decided to be proactive and make some "lifestyle" changes. Riiiiight. There are only two reasons that plan ever made it off the ground. 1. My new hometown practically forces healthful living on you (hint: I moved to a coast) and 2. Peer pressure from a couple new friends.

Red, my boyfriend, has no problem with exercise, buys mostly organic food, and prefers a vegan diet. And yes. He's a local. Mimi, a fellow student-slash-kindred spirit, talked me into semi-regular workouts. With their help -and some virtual support from Scary, Posh, & Sporty -I saw the possibility for real change.

Alas.

The stress of writing the paper-that-we-no-longer-refer-to-by-name triggered a few choice habits (think eating ice cream by the pint). A year later, my Body Mass Index is almost >25. The numbers don't lie. Skinny isn't the right label for me -but I'm thinking about working on it! Now let me go order dinner. And maybe dessert from that new Jamaican place...