Broccoli Defense

So first I want to recount a funny conversation I had with my friend Jennifer. She IM'ed me the other day and it went something like this:
Jenn: So, you went to New York how was it? And what is the RACK?
Me: Oh yeah New York was awesome! And the RACK, well it's a long story, but it is a group of girls I have been friends with for a long time.
Jenn: Oh! I thought it was some cool new New York thing I didn't know about.
Me: Thinking: haha, we are a cool new New York thing...if only she really understood the RACK.....) Said: Yeah we had a great time though!


OK back on topic though. I really wanted to write a little note further explaining the broccoli comment (please reference the A's article "Quotetastic"). First of all I have always been the more "voluptuous" member of the RACK, and I am ok with that. Anne was totally right that the word broccoli didn't mean much to me until about August 2007. You see what happened was, I went to the doctor for an annual check up and she's like, hey let's check your cholesterol. And I'm all ok. Flash forward 2 weeks, I get the fatal phone call with my results. Turns out even at age 24 you can still have "very high" cholesterol. Not high, oh no friends, I surpassed the high category and went straight for the good stuff. There might have been a small freak out, including tears at work (ask my colleague/friend Lisa). Because of my mom and her history of weight related health issues, I took this super seriously.

Then, I started graduate school. Extra stress added to my life made changing my eating very difficult. Then 2 weeks after that, my mom had what we euphemistically call "an episode." Basically, she lost it, lost touch with reality. It was basically every child's nightmare. I live 3 hours away, what the crap am I supposed to do to help? I spent many many many hours on the phone with various family members at all hours of the day and night for over a week. It was rough to say the least. Eating better kind of got lost in the shuffle.

Then about a month later I flew to see the RAK in Memphis. Next to those girls wow I looked like a porker! So freaked a little more, and proceeded to ask many many questions about dieting, eating right, etc. I had this great plan, when I get home I will go to the grocery store, and that will be it. No red meat, lots of fish, lots of veggies, no French fries, etc. I was ready to go! Totally on the new healthy eating bandwagon!

However, life had other plans. When I got home, back to the routine, graduate school, live-in boyfriend, dealing with the aftermath of mom's stuff, it was just too much! Something had to give, so because of a pair of underwear left on the bathroom floor for a week it was decided the boyfriend had to go. I didn't really consciously make this decision, I just kind of freaked because of the underwear, and decided I didn't really want to be with him. Really, not because of the underwear, we weren't really great together anyways. But alas, we broke up. And we had 8 more months on our lease. Fun times! I got a bed, and we rearranged our 2 bedroom apartment to 2 real bedrooms with each having our own space. Sounds crazy right, living with an ex-boyfriend for 8 whole months! Well, it wasn't really that bad. We made it. Less fighting than when we were together, and a little more peaceful.

Shortly after the breakup however, I did get on track and started eating right. Lots of veggies, salmon, yogurt, etc. and NO red meat. (that’s hamburgers too)
And for my birthday I bought myself yoga classes! Let me tell you, I believe yoga got me through that still not so easy time. Yoga was 75 minutes away from the apartment 3 times a week, yoga was 75 minutes of no phone calls from family, yoga was my 75 minutes 3 times a week of pure, unadulterated Rachel time! It was fan-freaking-tastic!!!

Then before I knew it, I was ordering a bridesmaid dress 3 sizes smaller than I was 4 months earlier! And in August when I went for my annual check up, yes friends you guessed it, 30 pounds lighter! That might not seem like much, but let me tell you that I went slowly, and didn’t try to force anything and incorporated new things into my daily routine. Now, I am still doing it and it doesn’t seem like dieting, or I have to work out, or anything. It is just what I do. Like breathing. Yoga and no fast food and veggies are just a part of my life now. That’s new.
So, to make a short story long, that is why “I eat the shit out of broccoli!!"