I'm writing an article about a food fight at the high school. This is news? Gimme a break. I'm embarrassed to even call kids and parents and talk to them. How ridiculous.
Speaking of food, I seem to be losing this fight. Even my underwear is too small now. I bought all my bras over 20 pounds ago. Ouch. What is my problem? Do I have an eating disorder? A bad habit? An oral fixation? (Don't answer that one.) I hate having so little control of how much food I pack into my ever-expanding belly. In the past, I've only lost weight by drastically reducing how much I ate, like to 1000 calories a day, and drastically increasing how much I exercise, like to 1000 calories a day. I hurt so much now, though, it's hard to exercise. I still haven't recovered from the last time I tried, in December, and all I did was walk on the treadmill for 40 minutes at a 1 percent incline at 3.3 MPH.
I don't want to face a lazy, flabby future. I've got that as my present. I'm too young to be in this shape.
10 comments:
Well...
You sure aren't alone. But that probably doesn't make you feel any better.
a) what kind of food fight? i wouldn't discount that quite so quickly. we had a great story earlier this week about some kids at a suburban high school who (foolishly) posted photos of themselves drinking on facebook and the school found out and suspended some of them from athletics and other extra-curriculars.
the kids' response? THAT'S AN INVASION OF PRIVACY. HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT OUR FACEBOOKS!
b) here's how you lose weight:
1) write down every single thing you eat. everything. every mento, every cheerio, everything.
2) drink lots of water.
3) try to limit your portion size.
it took me a year to lose 25 pounds this way, but i have kept most of it off for almost 10 years.
most of it. not all of it. but most of it.
Nah, RC, it doesn't make me feel any better. But thanks for trying.
Laurie, the food fight took place in December. It lasted 10 seconds and involved 12 students out of the 350 present. Last week, 10 had court appearances for disorderly conduct. They were given fines of $293. School action was suspension of 4-5 days. It seems like a long time to be suspended to me. It was the decision of the police to charge. They have an officer in the high school. The amount of the fine was determined by the city.
Anyway, parents are pissed at how lengthy the suspension was and how expensive the fines given it was just a food fight. A messy food fight, though, that took hours to clean up and stained the clothes of others not involved. Collateral damage, eh?
The school wanted the students to be treated as they would be had they done something like this at a mall food court.
So, I talked to the principals, but the students and parents just want to put it all behind them and move on. It was a long time ago now, especially in high school time.
On the one hand I think, yeah, what they did was wrong, and publishing the consequences might be OK. I also think food fights are just part of high school and hardly worthy of newsprint. This is a community paper, and it's old news at this point.
I asked the principals if they would change the way they responded to such situations in the future, and they said they wouldn't. I forgot to ask if there were repercussions regarding athletics or other activities, and I have a message in to the principal.
Now I'm going to peek at the story at the strib if I can find it.
I am with you on the weight issue. It sure can be an up hill battle. Dieting and exercising are the only options. I have a gastric band, but even then I have to watch what I eat and the last kilos are hard to get rid off. I do like my chocolate after all.
As someone who has fought the "food fight," Amy, I can tell you there is no easy fix. But I can tell you, as hard as it is, it's worth the battle. I'm so GLAD I got on the "eat less" program. The feelings I'm feeling right now are worth the struggle. I've gone from a size 16 to a size 8 and I can say it was VERY HARD to do. But worth it.
It comes down to doing some major portion cutting and not eating "off schedule." Call me for the details. What I like about my diet is that it tells you what to eat when. Very easy to do because you say, okay it's 10 am, I can have a cheese square or a yogurt.
You can do it, Amy! It's worth the effort!
I fight with food everyday. I try hard to wrestle it into my mouth and it rarely gets away.
Crystal xx
I do know how to lose weight in theory. I know all the tricks. I just can't work up the gumption to stick with it.
And it isn't just weight. It's health. I come from a family with a long, exhaustive history of health problems. I need to have a healthy heart. I need to stay trim to keep diabetes, hypertension and heart disease at bay.
And I want to feel better and move better. God, I feel like hell.
Irene, my dad always joked that "chocolate" was my first word.
CJ, I don't have to wrestle food into my mouth. It so willingly gets there.
Marcia, you're a size 8?! Holy crap. You looked fantastic at Sarah's wedding. Congratulations!
Hi Amy - popping in and leaving a post - I believe I lurked the last time I was here...
Tell Marcia she has to post her diet -
And Crystal cracked me up -
I've taken to listening to audio books as I do my 30 minutes of treadmill and 20 minutes of weights....it really helps to pass the time.
As a teacher, I winch at the words "just a food fight". My kindergarten students eat in our classroom and I work hard to teach them the particulars of:
1. Eat your healthy food before desert.
2. Be mannerly; no food fights here!
Teaching "please and thank you" and chewing with one's mouth shut are the basics.
3. Do not disrespect the food of your tablemates in word or action. Turning one's nose up at someone else's lunch fare is just plain rude.
4. Clean up your own mess, or at least try to do so. Spills happen, know where the paper towels and sponges are and help each other. I'll pitch in too, but they are expected to show initiative in the clean up department.
How does my classroom lunchtime rant fit into your post. Well, it is obvious that the punishment does not fit the misbehavior. How about having those kids clean up the cafeteria for 10 days? Although I disagree with the 4-5 day suspension and fine I hope that at least the pissed parents take the cost of the fine out their teen's earnings or savings.
Those young people should not get away with defacing their learning environment and for showing such little regard for food. I think this food fight has something in common with America's increasing childhood obesity. Are we so wealthy that throwing food in abandon and gluttonous eating are part of our inheritance to our youth? As to the losing weight Laurie's tips are precisely ones I would make. Also, if you drink alcohol, try giving it up. I can loose 4 to 7 pounds in about three months time that way (and I am only a weekend, moderate drinker).
Goodness, I have never had a first post to a blog sound so passionate. I guess you hit a nerve! (;
Hi, Teresa. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, the food fight did hit quite a few nerves. There are some strong feelings flying around this school district, and a lot of them are not particularly generous. I have pretty mixed feelings about printing that story. Public reaction has been mixed, too. Most people who've spoken out support the school for issuing the punishment they did – consequences, as the assistant principal prefers. Others think something more appropriate would have been to clean the cafeteria, as you mentioned, and others think it's ridiculous you get a lower fine for possession of weed than for spraying spaghetti sauce onto a floor. What bothers me is this: This happened a long time ago. People at the school have moved on. But now the community has to have their say, and they've been incredibly cruel in having it. None of them have their names in the paper, though, do they? They're certainly not helping to create a positive learning environment.
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