Today is National Ice Cream Day! Yes! Finally, a holiday that I can support without any reservations. Yes, I said that. I love Thanksgiving, but I tend to overeat when there are too many good food choices so I obsess about my propensity to overindulge well before the day arrives. Sometimes with so many relatives and close friends in close quarters for an extended period, with an abundance of food and drinks, there may be a bit of drama. I love Christmas too but figuring out what to buy, traveling, making the schedule work and the associated costs can all be stressful. After I learned the truth about Santa Clause, since then, Christmas pretty much has lost most of its sparkle. But, National Ice Cream Day?! What’s not to love?
My favorite dessert is ice cream. Always has been. I love the creamy texture and the way it cools my mouth when I take a bite. Since I know it’s not a healthy option, I try to exercise moderation when I eat it, unless I am treating myself for some major feat or accomplishment, you know like waking up that morning and realizing that I am an adult and another day has come in which I find myself blessed yet again to be able to afford a sundae. That’s really all it takes for me. Love it. But allow me to share what happened today.
I already told you in earlier podcasts and blogs that my husband Nashid is a health nut. I live in the same house with him. My Earrings Off! co-host Teresa is also a health nut. I spend quite a bit of time with her also. I met Teresa through Nashid. I say they are health nuts because both of them read about health stuff (supplements, nutrition, disease prevention, etc.). Because of their influence I read a lot about those topics too. The difference is, when Nashid and Teresa read about something and discover it is good for them, after researching it to determine that it is something they should add, they each will usually act to incorporate this new thing into their health regimen. They will take things and eat things that taste like bark, has no flavor, no sugar, no taste. They go all in. I on the other hand, will read the same information and after doing the research will also conclude that the new item would benefit my health; however, if I taste it and it tastes like bark, I am not taking it. No, that’s wrong, if I look at it and it looks unappetizing, I don’t care what it is supposed to do, I am not taking it. Not gonna happen. I kid you not, I am like a child about it. Nashid has had to stand over me more times than I care to remember with something he has convinced me to try, just saying over and over “Lou, just swallow it. Lou, take it!” I glare at him and get it down, but I never touch it again and I don’t take anything else he suggests for a long while because I remember that both he and Teresa are an odd breed of human.
Anyway, on Sunday we went to get ice cream. Nashid asked early that morning if I wanted to go after dinner. Crazy question, the answer is always yes. Of course all day I know I am eating an ice cream sundae later, so I intentionally restrict my calories so I have some to burn on the coming treat. You may read that and say, that’s no big deal. Well, it is for me. I’m learning to work this health thing in a way that is manageable for me. That’s my advice for you too. Find what works for you. I’m making small changes in my diet to make room for what I love by decreasing in areas that I can do without. I know you are thinking that it still won’t matter if I take in too many calories for the day. You may be asking, “Well Lou, how many total calories are you eating each day?” To which I respond with the following four words: “We aren’t that close.” (I say the same four words to my physician when she asks this same rude question. I don’t care if she is a health professional. I also keep telling her that she doesn’t need to know my weight and she keeps being nosy [and insistent] about that too.)
Seriously, look at your meals and see what you can tweak and uh…get some ice cream today to celebrate National Ice Cream Day and your new (ahem) commitment to health. And if you see me in line, in the words of Tabitha Brown "Mind ya business!".
