Awkward...

Awkward is one of those words you write out and wonder if you are spelling it right, and it drives you crazy.

Haven't been posting because I have nothing to say. You don't want me to post when I have no clear idea what to post, because you are going to get something thoughtless that rambles much like this.

Had a delicious dinner last night of baked and breaded chicken strips. Used panko bread crumbs, italian seasonings... I had never breaded chicken before, so it was a lot of fun, really. Messy. It wasn't a very healthy recipe, aside from baking the chicken instead of frying it. Coated them in spices, then flour, then egg, then bread crumbs and parmesan. I have read that a healthy alternative to all that is to use yogurt at some point in this process, but we were out, so I said to hell with it.

Made enough to feed an army even after having a friend come over and help us eat it, so we will be having this for days to come.

Halloween was pretty neat, dressed up. I'm beginning to realize I have a real problem socially (duh) but particularly because I feel like I can't have a decent time unless I'm shitface drunk. I'm just so AWKWARD. Being plump is part of it, maybe, but only a small part. It's easy to blame your quirks on being fat, I guess. But I'm pretty sure I could be 130 pounds and still be completely strained in a social setting.

Brad and I are definitely happiest sitting around the house, serial watching tv, on our computers... every now and then I get an itch to be around people, to only be reminded of why I don't do that very often. My circle of comfort only extends so far. Inevitably, if I talk long enough around people, I'm going to say something off the wall the offends someone or makes everyone uncomfortable. But I'm kinda sick of feeling like I have to apologize for the social awkwardness and hermitting. I think I'm just gonna embrace it for a while and see what happens. Hahar.

And this is what you get when I have nothing to say. Gonna try to start the exercise this week. Blah!

HALLOWEEN!

Ok, so... it's Friday again. The official 'weigh-ourselves' day, despite the unofficial weighing every morning which we need to stop. We've been eating very well now since October 16. Brad started out at 264 and is now 255. Almost 10 pounds in 12 days! That's probably the best we'll see at this rate considering the shedding of the water weight in the beginning. At this rate meaning until we add exercise. So he has lowered his BMI from 39 to 37. Goooooo BRAD!

Now for the better half, moi. I started out at 211 and now I'm 203! My BMI has lowered from 36 to 34. And both of us have lost waist circumference, which is really great. I've decided today that we are not going to do the complicated waist, hip, chest, etc. Cause our measuring of it is just not very reliable. May keep doing waist, but I'm trying to uncomplicate this mess for my sanity.

I've also quit keeping track of calories. It was nice at first to see what we were capable of, but it was getting monotonous and repetitive. We have a very good idea now what we can eat and what we can't in a day. And we learned that we need to be getting much more protein. With that, we leave the calorie counting behind. But I did purchase a food scale so we can be more accurate with our servings.

But screw the numbers, we are feeling really good. I've felt so good I decided to go out and watch the East Carter Lady Raiders play in their state game Tuesday night. Didn't even know who would be there, just dragged Brad's butt out of the house and went. That is completely not like me at all. I just went and had my own private good time. Brad was a bit miserable, but that's Brad.

I've been calling and talking to people I haven't contacted in years. Just cause I feel good.

And I'm currently working on Halloween costumes for Brad and I (much to his dismay, but he said he would do it to make me happy as long as I don't go overboard on his costume). The funniest part is we don't even have any place to go to wear our costumes... minor detail! I'm sure something will come up. And if not, we will just have a wild and crazy night of role-play sex starring the queen of hearts and super Mario. Bow chicka wow wow.

So I feel really good. Which is a particularly good thing cause I'm having to taper my anti-depressant dose. Apparently my drug of choice has been causing cardiac arythmia. So if you are taking Celexa, you might want to talk to your doctor. Just sayin'. I guess a healthy dose 2 years ago is no longer a recommended dose now according to the FDA. Those guys... always watching out for me.

What? I'm not allowed to talk about my anti-depressant meds? Give me a break. Not a one of you could possibly be surprised.

Oh, and I need people whom I tell I am dieting to quit asking me prying questions that suggest YOU think I'm not being healthy about it. I haven't taken a diet pill my entire life. I've never puked my food back up on purpose. If I ever look like a skeleton feel free to stage an intervention, you have my permission. Now smile and walk away.

Motivation.

I need to motivate myself to start the exercise. It's coming, I've come thisclose to doing it for the past couple of days. And because I want to, which is weird. But I'm not QUITE there. Maybe collecting my thoughts will help.

What I miss about being thin:

• Not thinking about my weight.
• Going shopping and enjoying myself.
• Not being jealous of my skinny friends.
• Walking up steps without worrying that everyone is staring at me because I'm breathing like a horse.
• Running and playing with kids.
• Going out in public with confidence.
• Feeling comfortable.
• Not being worried about what the waitress thinks when I order cheese sticks.
• Crumbs landing in my lap, not my boobs or belly.
• Putting on socks without having to lay on the bed first.
• Running into people I used to know, and not wanting to run away.
• Taking a trip on an airplane and not feeling like my body was centrifuged.
• Not wearing control top hose, girdles, spanx, or any other torture devices.
• Bras with 2 hooks, not 3, 4, etc.
• Bring proud of my bubble butt. I had a really cute ass.
• Pleasing angles to my face.
• Wearing a swimsuit.
• Not always sucking it in.
• Eating to live instead of living to eat.
• Wearing cute underwear.
• Comfortably getting to those two empty seats in the middle of the movie theater.
• Wearing boots.
• Crazy, unbridled, make others blush, SEX.
• Shaving my legs without contorting my body or holding my breath.
• Not having to fight my way into a public bathroom stall. I swear they are getting smaller.
• Not wasting my brain power to generate clever comebacks for people who call me fat.
• Having my picture taken.
• Not feeling homicidal when a skinny person complains about their weight.
• This is more something I hate about being fat: the horrible tacky ass fat people clothes. Ugh. They are TERRIBLE.
• No attack of the insane huge upper arms.
• No back fat.
• Only weighing myself at the doctor.
• Sliding easily into restaurant booths.
• Sitting with someone on the same side of the picnic table. 3 years ago: Brad and I tipped one over on top of us at a park in Morehead. Yes, people saw.
• Only having one chin.
• Not limiting my hair styles cause they make me look fat-ter.
• Doing fun things without concern for the weight limits.
• Having a sweat-free ass. And under-boob area.
• Wearing out my jeans at the cuff, not between my damn thighs.
• Not worried about being "the fat girl" when I go out with friends.
• Painting my toenails.

Just to name several. lol

And of course, there is always the desire be desired, to be admired and pretty. That's a pretty vain reason, but it is the truth. It took health issues to wake me from my ten year hibernation, but I would be a damned liar if I said this had nothing to do with wanting to be cute. Sometimes we fat people get on our soapboxes and want to be respected and loved despite the obese BMI. We want more plus sized models, we want "big is beautiful" to come back into style, we want our ability to love our bodies before we want to be healthier. We want the media to stop making us hate ourselves.

We want a societal and cultural revolution before we want to exercise. No biggie.

These are just excuses to not take care of ourselves. And that is hard for me to admit. "Big is beautiful!" "I may be fat, but at least I'm not a bitch!" (In my case, I'm a fat bitch... lol). "At least I'm not skinny and starving!" "I'd rather be able to count my rolls that count my ribs!" There's cognitive dissonance at work for you. You don't like being fat? You have three options here. You can continue to hate being fat. You can convince yourself you don't hate being fat. Or you can work on being not-fat. Change your thinking or change your behavior. You shouldn't accept your weight so much that you don't work on being healthy.

Keep your reasons in mind.

"Taste Worth Dying For!"

Since I suddenly care about nutrition, some online articles and news snippets have grabbed my attention and I would like to share some of them here.

First of all, I believe it was my good personal friend Brian Williams who introduced this news segment on a Las Vegas restaurant "Heart Attack Grill". http://www.heartattackgrill.com/ For those of you who missed it, THIS IS NOT A JOKE! Go take a look, I'll wait...

...

... once again, not a joke, but pretty damn funny. And tragic. If you weigh over 350, and allow yourself to be weighed publicly in the restaurant, you eat FO FREE. I thought the 96er was for comedic purposes only. But no. But why not be honest? You have to give them credit there. And they call the diner 'the clinic' and the waitresses are 'nurses' and of course there is a doctor. These are sadistic geniuses. And don't screw with them. They will sue you.

I love America, I really do. Mainly because it's so entertaining.

Here's a lovely take on the Occupy movement:

http://fitbie.msn.com/eat-right/tips/occupy-mcdonald-s/tip/0

By the way, I love this Occupy Wall Street thing. I've always loved Europe, particularly France, for their protests. They bring people together, get people talking, and sound like lots of fun. Here in Grayson we should Occupy something besides port-a-potties. Any suggestions?

But back to fast food.

Places like McDonalds, Wendy's, Arby's, Hardees, Burger King... they are American institutions. They aren't going away. Because they are, for the most part, affordable, fast, convenient. My fatass doesn't even need to get out of the car. Our children recognize and can say McDonald's before they even understand they can call themselves by their own names.

Eating healthy is a damn chore, and our world doesn't go out of its way to make it easy. Healthy food is more expensive. More perishable. Harder to find. You slide down the fat slope easily enough, hit rock bottom, then have to climb and claw your fat way back up the other side. You know... when you can barely climb or claw anymore anyway. People want to get their panties in a wad over gay marriage, liberal media, loss of family values... when our real sin is gluttony. It feeds into everything else. It kills us. Good ol' population control.

So to those of you out there who are trying, good for you. Fight the system. Fight the strategic fattery. And next time you go to McDonalds for a meal, know that you've maxed out your calorie requirements for the day and then some, and all for a negligible amount of nutritional value. Go ahead if you want to, but don't act like you don't know! Cause I done told you.

And for the record, Ronald scares the shit outta me. Always has.

Over it.

We're going to pretend the last 24 hours never happened. No calorie counting occurred during this time. And that's ok. I'm already over it.

Had a fabulous time at Jeniffer and Lacy's wedding. At least I think I did. Woke up this morning at Jilda's, my tights had come off, and I have a very sore wound on the bridge of my nose, and photos of me with a garden gnome- and I don't remember how any of those things happened.

I remember everything up 'til those shots...

I don't think I ate anything terrible, I didn't even eat too much, but I put a real hurtin' on some beer.

Brad came down with the usual impending-social-event-allergies, and stayed home. Which works out because that meant I called him a lot, leaving crazy messages, which are the only clues I have as to my state of mind. There were even a couple of fights, making the event the best party I've been to in years, hands down.

He keeps asking what is for dinner and I just keep avoiding him. Because I decided early on today that not a single shit would be given about anything. I don't even care that he's in there cooking fish, which I hate. As long as I don't have to cook it.

Today's lesson: it's okay. Have fun. You're on a diet? Good for you. Don't beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon. And if you're drunk, you won't even feel it, so it hardly counts, in my opinion. I also learned that when you've been starving yourself, beer is so much more delicious.

And I still haven't changed clothes. Don't judge me.

Question

To the people who are reading along, and have their own fat stories to tell, I have a question that google is not answering to my satisfaction.

Why is it, though my body weight is going down, my body fat percentage seems to be going up? IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY!? Nah, I'm not hysterical over it, just confused. Makes me worry I'm not being as healthy as I think with this weight loss.

And different calculators say different things. The one I am using (and damn that math again... and the metric system) is basing the calculation off of height, weight and chest, hip, waist circumference. And being a lady, haha, it also asks for my wrist and forearm, for some reason. From three weigh ins, on the 16th, 18th and 21st (don't worry, I'm gonna do weekly from now on, just wanted to see) it gave me 28.45, 28.49, and 28.50 percent body fat, respectively. Brad's is similar. But this other calculator, which only uses gender, weight and waist size, puts me at 42% (which sure as hell seems more realistic. I thought math was supposed to be a constant and beautiful thing, so why aren't these calculators constant and beautiful, dammit!?

Google has yielded some vague answers, provided by fallible mouth-people, such as loss of water weight. But there was also something troubling, that maybe our bodies are tapping into muscle before fat for energy. How does someone control that shit, I wonder. If it's even true. So I need some feedback, friends. What is going on in here?

I have a confession...

Oh good lord, what is Erica going to say? Brad and Jilda are both holding their breath right now, I'll bet. Don't worry, it's nothing terrible... well, not THAT terrible.

First, a little background.

The first time was 3 and a half years ago, during our honeymoon. Not sex, oh, aren't you silly! The first time someone asked me when I was DUE.

We were in Eddie Bauer. A sweet old lady at the register. I had picked out two shirts (NOT MATERNITY, mind you) and out it came. And what I have to say to that, is SCREW THE ELDERLY. They get away with way too much obnoxious shit. I've gone back and forth over whether I should really have been pissed at this woman, and today I'm making it official, she's an ass-hat.

People can be fat. This is America, and we are surrounded by fat. Now, maybe when the elderly were our age, more women looked like they were starving and such, but if you can't get with the changing program, maybe you shouldn't be driving to work everyday. You are a danger to society. And my feelings. And, this was 30 some pounds ago.

We spent two hours after that sitting in the car while I wailed. I mean, I let loose. I was on my honeymoon. I was supposed to be happy. And I only weighed like 170-ish. Here's an idea... if you aren't CERTAIN someone has a human parasite in their uterus, keep your mouth shut. You too, old people. Not that they are reading this. They can't use the internet. Eventually, Brad dragged me into the Dixie Stampede. Yee-haw.

You just don't know how horrible it is unless it happens to you. Good for you if it hasn't.

Then it happened again, I don't remember exactly when. Maybe about 2 years ago? Maybe less. I'm at a local grocery store. Pill-head idiot I graduated with is cashier. Brad is with me once again. She says something to me, and I misheard her, probably because I wanted to. After some confusion, oh... wait a minute. She is saying congratulations. But I wanted to crawl under a rock and die. "Nope, just fat." That is what I have to say to people I know.

If I don't know the person, I've found it's a lot more fun to say "only 3 more months!" so at least we don't both walk away embarrassed. One old person wanted to know boy or girl and I said, I'm old fashioned, it's a surprise, which really tickled her old ass pink.

It especially sucks because well, I wish I were. I wish all this was just for that. Not the case.

Which brings me to the confession that while on our vacation last week, before fatpocalypse began, after eating mucho Mexican food and alcohol, I walked with Brad back up the strip to our motel... and didn't even TRY to suck it in. I let it all hang the eff out. And I developed a slight waddle. Hand on my back ever so subtly at times. I didn't have to fake being winded or bloated, cause I sure as hell was.

Warm smiles. Couples nudging one another as if to say, awww, look at that, that will be us one day. People got out of my WAY. Smiles smiles smiles. It was kinda cool, in an absolutely disgusting kinda way. Brad said, "yeah, that's funny... but you're going to cry yourself to sleep tonight." "Duh," I responded, and we laughed. It was better than making myself sick trying to suck it in. And I paid for it the next day with intense food poisoning.

Fat Photo Session

Ok, the post you've all been waiting for, the one I have been avoiding, and the one Brad has bitched about for a couple days now... the fat gallery.

And when I say Brad bitched, I mean *I* had to talk *him* into it. I thought I would be the one with the biggest problem... tee hee.

Cause it ain't pretty. I mean... look at how much SPACE we take up. It's almost impressive. It's embarrassing, but it's also reality, it's not like I can pretend myself unfat.

I'm not feeling the words coming very easily right now... maybe I'm distracted by the new cable or by starving.

But honestly we both feel like we are eating plenty every day. But since we switched out so much stuff for low-calorie versions, after we add it all up, we run to the kitchen for snacks to make sure we don't die. Seriously. Yesterday I had a total of 1100 calories after dinner, and about died of shock. An apple and some nuts later, I felt better about myself. So it's interesting that eating extra food now is making me feel better instead of like shit. It's all about perspective.

I did look it up though, and found that, as you probably know cause you don't live under a rock, it's recommended you get 2000 calories to maintain your current weight. But it is doable to go as low as 1200 for a girl, 1500 for a guy, in order to lose weight at a healthy rate (1-3 pounds a week). What blows my mind is that if I were doing exactly 1200, and also added exercise which we eventually will do, I can easily subtract 200 from that. It's all math. And I hate math.

I've found this website that cuts some of the math out for me: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/activia-cherry-yogurt-11407575 Cause I can put in what I know the serving size and calories to be, then cut it in half, or quarters, whatever. Stupid maths.

But counting calories isn't as friggen terrible as I thought it would be. I've rigged an excel spreadsheet, which isn't perfect and I get aggravated at it a lot. But seriously, filling it out 3 times a day, is about as thrilling and addictive as Farmville.

To be completely honest, I haven't thought much about nutrition today, but about politics and escaped animals. Maybe I need another blog... :)

Unexpected Results

Wanted to share some exciting news after only day 3 of fatpocalypse:

I've lost 5 lbs.

Bringing me to 206.5. Brad was 264 at the doctor last week, but is now at 258.5. Damn men and their superior weight loss.

I am attributing this to the following:

http://www.healthy-answers.com/a-salt.html

Pretty damn cool.

It lists brains as being high in sodium, so for once I feel sorry for those hypertensive zombies. Zombies are people too.

And dinner today was brought to us by Skinny Crock Pot .com. And by extension, Pinterest.

http://www.skinnycrockpot.com/black-beans-and-chicken-2/#more-418

I've talked Brad into a photo shoot tonight, should be pretty sexy! Stay tuned!

Strategic Fattery

I thought it would be fun to include a post where I share the hilariously bad foods we had been eating on a regular basis:

First and foremost, let me just go plum off about good ole homestyle cooking. Both Brad and I have wonderfully gifted-in-the-kitchen families, specifically his mom and my grandmother. It gives them a creepy pleasure to feed us... a lot. Often and in mass quantities. A homestyle dinner just isn't complete without tons of fried meat and at least 4 side dishes. And dessert. Why do our loved ones want to feed us so much, then complain about our poor health? And they get mad at us when they make enough food to feed an army and we don't finish it off.

But let's stream-line this process a bit...

Ground Hamburger

Whether it was hamburger helper, tacos, meatloaf or actual hamburgers, hamburger played a major role in 80% of our dinners. What is the main cause of high cholesterol? Animal fat. Particularly red meat. Particularly ground hamburger. At this moment, in our basement, we pretty much have an entire cow. Of course, we also had a dead wildcat in our deep freeze for the first two years I lived here and I didn't even know it.

Box Dinners

Macaroni Grill, Hamburger Helper, mac n' cheese, frozen stoaffer's, etc. The sodium and fat content in these foods is astronomical. You know those frozen healthy dinners you can buy, like Lean Cuisine and stuff? Insane amounts of sodium. It is actually recommended you only eat 2 of these things a week, and Brad ate them everyday for lunch.

Crackers

I am obsessed with crackers. Town House baked with sea salt and olive oil? Yes, please. Half a box in one sitting? Thank you. Ritz. Chicken in a biscuit. Club. Crackers crackers crackers. Sometimes I have some soup with my crackers.

Cheese

What did we NOT put cheese on? After we discovered pepper jack cheese, we literally put it on EVERYTHING we possibly could. String cheese. Grilled cheese. Mac n cheese. Cheese on potatoes of any kind. Huge homemade pizzas with tons of... cheese. At least 3 different kinds. Just writing about cheese right now is making my mouth water. Eden told me last night that dairy is absolutely terrible for you. We pretty much quit needing dairy once we are weaned from the breast. As she put it, "We don't need that shit because we are adult mammals." It's probably a government conspiracy. We can get all the calcium and vitamins we need from much better sources, like spinach. The cholesterol and fat in cheese just isn't worth it.

Pastries/Sweets/Cake

All the time. Apple pie. Enough said.

Mashed Potatoes

This will be my last confession, because it is the most shameful. You know those cups of garlic butter sauce you get with your pizza from papa johns? Well, we set them aside and when we make mashed potatoes... we totally dump it in with them. I'm not gonna lie, it's delicious. But I must also confess that I also put about 3 tablespoons of margarine in there. Plenty of milk. And sometimes I would ALSO put in a good two tablespoons of cream friggen cheese. All at the same time. Eden called that 'strategic fattery'. This post is dedicated to her.

And, check out this website, I'm planning on trying out many of the suggestions: http://www.greatist.com/health/healthy-recipe-substitutions/#

Adventures in Grocery Shopping

Well, the first day of the 'diet' had its ups and downs for sure!

But it wasn't nearly as hard to execute the plan as it was to plan the plan. Brad and I have never done well in a grocery store, and there was a time in our relationship that we feared Kroger would be our undoing. We went to Wal-mart, because the local store just doesn't always cut it. I just had in my head what I have read so far and compared A LOT of labels (while people stared at us, obviously annoyed, and I have to point out that one of the annoyed women had a toddler in her cart who was FRIGGEN HUGE). Just sayin'.

Brad got away with some stubborn crap that really irritated me, but I guess it's hard for someone to just flip the healthy switch. I mean, I admit I stared longingly at the cheeses. But come on. As a 'healthy snack' he chose to throw frosted mini wheats in the cart. Frosted. I just had to roll my eyes as he convinced himself in his weird logical yet self-serving way that it was the best idea ever. Then he insisted we get nuts in a can, as opposed to the cheaper bags of raw nuts in the baking aisle. He just knew those baking nuts had terrible things in them.

He doesn't think it's fair that I consider my friend Eden's advice and knowledge of food and nutrition as biblical fact. She may not be google, but the bitch KNOWS what she is talking about, she is wise. And if she says I'm right, then I'm right, dammit!

In our craziness we totally forgot several important things cause we just wanted to get the hell outta there.

Another hang up was sodium. I just take it for granted that sodium = salt = bad for you. Brad was convinced that sodium doesn't matter because "we have high cholesterol, not high blood pressure." In fact, our blood pressure is usually so low it's difficult to measure it. But yeah, I'm so sure that high sodium intake has NOTHING to do with high cholesterol... can you hear the sarcasm?

We substituted a lot of things, like Splenda instead of sugar, plenty of whole wheat rices instead of mashed potatoes. Apparently salsa on a baked potato is a good idea. Spray olive oil. Tons of fruit for snacks instead of chips and crackers. Stayed away completely from meals in a box, the chip, pop, cracker & frozen dinner ailes. Once we get the hang of it, I'm sure it will cut our shopping time considerably.

So we didn't kill each other in the end afterall. The kitchen is fully loaded. The bad stuff is gone. We have no choice. Which is safer.

In the beginning...

Ten years ago, I was 120 pounds. I could run a mile in just over five minutes. My lungs were healthy. I played sports. I didn't even have a 'pooch'. I was a very picky eater, but what I did eat I could put back plenty of, and it went no where. I loved having my picture taken. I was adventurous. My main concerns were getting into college and not getting pregnant.

This January, I will be 29 years old. I am 210 pounds. Walking up the stairs in our home winds me. My lungs... I don't even want to know. I've smoked cigarettes for ten years now. Sports? I have a hard time getting my nephew in and out of his car seat. I remember having a pooch... now it's a gut that gets me a lot of warm smiles because people think I'm knocked up. I will eat just about anything as long as it isn't healthy. I cringe when I see myself in a photo or a mirror. I don't get out much. My main concerns are getting along with my husband and trying to get pregnant.

Things have changed a bit.

For a long time now I've just rode the wave. My weight gain made me increasingly depressed and disgusted with myself, but not enough to do anything to fix it. I've just avoided myself. I avoid mirrors, pictures, swimming, getting out in public. I've hidden behind jeans and big t-shirts. I am constantly uncomfortable. I can only have a good time if I'm drinking and manage to forget what I look like. In my mind's eye, I'm still that cute and healthy 18 year old.

As 30 approaches, more thoughts come to mind that I find harder and harder to avoid. I want to live a long and healthy life. I want to spend as many happy years as possible with my husband. I want to have children that I can keep up with. I don't want to be a young widow, or to make my husband a young widower, or orphan any children. It happens everyday, and it has happened to people I know, and it literally breaks my heart. If a perfectly healthy person can go to the hospital one day for a cold and never come home again, I wouldn't stand a chance.

We've had some problems getting pregnant. I don't think I've ever been as happy as the day I peed on a stick and saw that plus sign. We lost the baby in March, a very 'run-of-the-mill' first pregnancy miscarriage. Since then, nothing. I'm obese. I smoke. Brad's obese. Conditions are not favorable. Maybe there is some other explanation, maybe I am just being impatient, but what kind of fool am I if I don't make the changes that I can to lead a better, healthier life?

So that is what this will be about. The main goal isn't to lose weight, but to be healthier, and hopefully weight loss will be a by-product of that. If I get in a particularly good mood, I might include photos. The fatpocalypse began today with throwing out some very high cholesterol, high fat, high sodium foods. Next we gorged on a "last meal" of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, stove top stuffing, and to beat all, a damned donut. After that, a painfully long trip to the grocery comparing food labels and avoiding the pop, candy, cookie and frozen dinner aisles. Then a toast to our efforts, an 8 oz. glass of chocolate almond milk. ALMOND MILK. More to come...