"May I take your order?"

Eating out is a part of life. And for some people, it's a much BIGGER part of life than it is for me right now. I've been in PA for 3 1/2 days so far, and we've eaten out (or at least out of the house) for at least 1 meal a day...although yesterday it was 2. Very interesting thing I've realized about Western PA...mostly every salad on the menu comes topped with french fries, cheese AND croutons. Actually, come to think of it, a lot of things come topped with cheese. For example, I ordered a cup of chili last night, which came topped with cheese. And as I picked off the cheese, someone commented on how I was taking the cheese off. Well, my salad earlier in the day had some cheese on it, and the salad I was having for dinner was going to have some on it too. No one really needs all of that cheese. And then she said, "Hmm. Well, that's why I'll never be skinny." I suppose it is all about willpower and mindset. A very wise lady I know, let's call her GI Jane, said that she doesn't get cheese when it's a "filler" item, in a burrito perhaps. You can't really taste it in there, so why bother? Good point, Jane. Good point. I'm trying to do the best I can out of my normal routine. But it's tough when restaurants do not offer very many "healthy" options, although I was surprised to find that Eat N Park (an old college favorite) had an "Eat n Smart" menu with many seemingly good choices.

I don't know if it has to do with where we live, or what, but it seems as though metropolitan cities are much more interested in healthy living than smalltown America. I don't think the idea of wheat bread or pasta exists in restaurants around here, so we'll just have to get creative. Today, after a rousing trip to Home Depot, we'll be lunching at Hoss's. OH yes. Readers, if you know what Hoss's is, I'm sure you'll remember the long salad bar full of junk, the heaping mounds of garlic toast and the unlimited ice cream sundae bar. (And yes, it is spelled Hoss's.) But, compared to the other choices I was given....Wendy's, Arby's, McD's, and maybe one other place, I felt this would be the best choice. I can get a piece of meat, be it chicken, steak tips, whatever and pair it with a nice baked sweet potato or some veggies...or both! WHOA! And get some stuff on the salad bar, actually creating a veggie-filled salad. I just know that I won't be able to stomach many more salads. Even in all of this "healthy" living, I don't really resort to salads very often. I find many other options. And when the salad is mostly iceberg lettuce, it's gets very uninteresting, very quickly.

Being in a familiar environment with a new mindset and attitude is a very strange thing. I don't really feel like I need to explain myself to people, but just go ahead with making my choices and hope for the best. Back in the day, we'd spend a lot of time eating junky food, going out for ice cream on the way home from whatever heart-attack inducing place we chose for dinner. And we'd stuff ourselves silly and then feel like garbage for the rest of the night. I was never able to just eat whatever I wanted and not let it show, like my friends. But I pretended like it didn't show. I didn't validate the fact that I was the problem. I couldn't admit that I was the reason i was so heavy. Sure, peer pressure is sometimes tough, but no one was force feeding me french fries and chicken fingers, or fried veggies and ranch dressing. I sucked down those large orders of ice cream with abandon. Thinking that I was invincible against it's deadly qualities, seeking only the sweet sugary taste on my tongue. Crazy.

My life has changed so much in the last year, even though for the most part, it really hasn't. I'm still in the same job(s), still living the same place, still basically doing the same thing....and yet, EVERYTHING is different. I am a different person. I think differently about things, I do things now that I never would have dreamed of doing a year ago. I realize now that I am a much more valuable person. I am stronger. I am able to speak my mind and feel as though what I have to say is of importance. I am stronger than the food that is out there. Not to say that I don't enjoy food, because I really do. But I want it to be GOOD. I don't want to waste my money on mediocre food. And sorry to say, that's what I've found out here in PA so far. There hasn't been anything I've had yet that I couldn't make at home and have it be much better. That's a bit disappointing. And it's sad because for so long, that's what I thought "good food" was. It's interesting how your tastes change. And how you realize that things being passed off as "food" are really, as Michael Pollan puts it, "edible foodlike substances".

My wise friend, GI Jane, (and EOB), have said that as we go on our journeys, we have become much more "judgy". We can't help but internally judge people as we see them order "food", and as they make the choices they make. Sorry, but NO ONE needs a Venti Caramel Frappuccino AND a sausage breakfast sandwich at Sbux for breakfast. That's probably at least 1200 calories already...and you haven't even hit lunch yet! GEEZ! I do a good job of keeping these thoughts to myself, but I definitely watch as I walk through food courts, restaurants. And I've also started to notice more and more overweight people. I see them everywhere. And I want to go up to them, put my hands on their shoulders, look them in the eyes and say "Life doesn't have to be this way.". Is that wrong? I want to help people. I know people don't want help. But I resisted for a long time...and once I found it, in the form of friends, family, books, I just want to pass it on. Life can be better than what it is now. You just might have to work a little harder than you thought to change things...