drop the needle in the groove

So between the end of coursework and a then a 16-day vacation, I pretty much undid all the weight loss from the spring.

Not all is lost, though: we rarely ate fast food on the trip, preferring instead to eat actual things. The problem is that Actual Things in the South aren’t necessarily healthy. I had forgotten how hard it is to eat vegetarian there. I wasn’t particularly trying, since I wasn’t going to pass up my yearly chance for decent catfish, gumbo, barbecue, and etoufee. But there were some days when I didn’t want it and was out with friends at Thai restaurants, and everything on the menu had meat in it. Tofu wasn’t even listed as an option. I asked for it at one place and ended up with four little cubes in a big plate of pad thai that was more like peanut butter linguini. The second time (in a different state), I didn't even ask. Just ordered green chicken curry, which required an interrogation by the waiter, who wanted to know if I was aware of what I’d ordered. (Yes. I eat it every other week, just usually without meat.) Two colleagues noted that Memphis is a hard place for a Jew or a vegetarian to eat, and I suppose they’re right. I ate lots of greens and black-eyed peas, but they all had some form of pork in them. The squash comes loaded with butter, and the okra is usually fried. (I’m the only person I know these days who likes boiled okra.) So I ate things that had some decent nutritional content, but they also came loaded with fat. No matter — I was happy, and I was conscious of what I was doing.

When we got back and finally ventured to the grocery store, all I was interested in was the produce section. And then this morning I had to go to the Farmer’s Market for the first time this year, and came home with more baby bok choy and tomatoes than was reasonable. The campus I’m working out of this summer is just made for a ton o’walking, and I’m getting closer to buying a bike (but ain’t there yet). My job (and the future of my career) depends on a large amount of ass-sitting this summer, but I’m going to work in some outdoor exercise whenever I can.