Sunday, September 5, 2010

Lost My Pants in Aisle 4

Well, the grocery shopping was completed yesterday afternoon. Halfway through, as I reached up to take something down from a shelf, I nearly lost my pants. That was interesting. I never moved so fast in my life - whew! I spent the rest of the shopping experience trying to stick my stomach out (there's a change!!), just to help me hold the pants up.

I'm going to take them to the cleaners (who does alterations too), and just have them take it in an inch, and hem them up an inch too. I'd rather spend $8 than to have to buy another pair of pants just yet.

Back to my "vegan" shopping experience. Can you believe, the hardest thing to find was simple old BARLEY? I love BEEF barley soup, especially in the fall and winter, so I don't think of barley as such an odd thing to shop for, but the manager had to finally locate some. (I don't suppose this 21-day kickstart program has beef barley soup though. haha)

I had to get several things from the health food store. I was not surprised to see a lot of college kids and 60-year old hippies in the place, but I was very surprised at how many "everyday" people were in there too.

I was the largest person in the place, of course. No surprises there.

The health food store was foreign to me. Usually, when you walk into a grocery store (ANY major chain grocery store, in any part of the country), there is a familiar look and style to the place. This was none of those. But, it isn't about the store. It is about the products they carry.

My first impressions? The picture of the whole grain vegan waffles (on the box) even look cardboardy. Still, I'll reserve judgement for when I have to try them. I also bought something called "soy yogurt" while there. I like yogurt. Normal yogurt. So we'll see ...

Most of the regular (familiar) grocery store shopping was spent in the fresh produce area, with a little visit to the frozen food and grain/legume aisles. I enjoy fruit, and I certainly seemed to buy a lot of it this trip. The Kickstart site had us buy a much bigger variety than I would otherwise bother with: apples, bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, peaches ... all for one week. Usually, I'd get maybe two different fruit, so I can see variety won't be an issue.

But what about vegetables? That is, of course, my primary reason for trying this out. I want to learn to incorporate more veggies.

I think my first myth has been popped. I thought vegetarians ate veggie-laden, vegetable-heavy diets. However, the list for vegetables wasn't half as long as for fruit. So, either they are breaking us meat-eaters in slowly, or they don't seem to eat that many more vegetables than we do. We shall see if I still think that way next weekend.

Anyway, shopping done, and pants held up with one hand, I made my way home and my refrigerator and pantry are now stocked for tomorrow's first day.

Today, I'm wearing an old pair of stretchy pants (the ones with the elastic waistband). I wanted NO surprises in church this morning.

The AP wires are saying the Christchurch earthquake created a new fault. That is amazing ...

I wonder if Australia is just trying to pull NZ closer. Everyone likes kiwi.

15 comments:

  1. To me, soy yogurt is really really similar to regular yogurt. But if you don't like the 'taste' of soy, you probably won't like it at first. A lot of people say when they try to drink soy milk, that it has an aftertaste. I have been drinking it so long that I don't notice it and I love it. I think maybe it's something you adjust to. :-)

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  2. I give my clothes to a gal at work, she had a lap band and has lost 85 pounds, yeah her!!! but it is sad to see my closet shrink and I still have 18 pounds to go, so I don't want to invest a lot in clothes, kind of feeling like a bag lady lately, maybe I will shop a tiny bit.... feels good, sad and exciting to give clothes away that don't fit any more

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  3. For me, when I get "elephant butt" (pear shaped, so they don't really fall off of me) that's when I know I need to change sizes. I've taken favorite pants to the cleaners to have them altered, way cheaper than buying new. There is a FANTASTIC thrift store near me and I think I'll go there the next time I go down a size! Congrats!

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  4. Blubeari (love that name!) - I tried soy milk for the first time about a month ago (blogged about it here, in fact). I went with the chocolate lite version ... and I love it. I've also tried the almond milk (I like that too, but it actually takes more getting used to for me). I am hoping I will similarly have an easy time adjusting to soy yogurt. I bought a variety of flavors, so if one doesn't work for me, maybe another will. I'm glad for your input! It makes me less intimidated. Are you vegetarian? (She asks, hoping she found a knowledgable blogger who can answer the occasional question.) Karla - It must seem strange to give away clothes. I'm not there yet, but I hope to be - one day! With a mere 18 lbs to go, I vote you go and buy one or two new outfits, ones that fit you. You deserve it, plus it is nice to leave the bag lady look occasionally. LOL I'm proud of you!

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  5. Thanks for the kind words, Wii Fit ... and I am going to use your thrift store idea! Well, eventually, anyway. Right now, I doubt they'd have the size I'd need. I'm going down, but I'm still out of range of most women. Funny, how thrift stores and consignment shops all have an abundance of small sizes, and much less of the larger sizes. LOL Thanks for the idea!

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  6. Oh, that's funny, Ann.
    Great news, actually.
    They'll kick you out of a store
    down here for "sagging."
    Where the pants are so far down,
    all you can see are the boxer shorts.
    Glad it's going well for you.

    I had a vegetarian friend once.
    We ate anything - that just wasn't meat.
    Cokes, candy, you-name-it.
    So yeah, it doesn't always mean healthy.

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  7. That's GOT to feel good lol. I notice how much looser things are, but nothing falling off yet! I got a big butt, and even though it's smaller and firmer than it used to be, it's still BIG and holds the pants up. I personally can't WAIT till my pants fall down!!! Haha, I hope it's at home, but I'll be so happy I probably wouldn't care where I was HAHA!!!

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  8. I gave you an award on my blog! :-)

    And I'm not a vegetarian, but I did attempt being vegan for about 30 days. It wasn't for me, but I discovered some of the best foods while I did it, many of which I continue to eat as an omnivore! :-)

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  9. Thanks, Blubeari, for the kind words and the award! If I only pull out of the vegan trial diet a few foods that I will continue to eat as an omnivore - I will be very happy for the experiment!

    Tina, I'm not so sure "wouldn't care" would actually apply. LOL It felt nice after the fact, but for a moment, I thought I'd have a heart attack. LOL

    Anne, excellent point! Jellybeans are vegan. Doesn't mean they should be on anyone's "go to" food list while dieting though. You are wise beyond your years! xx

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  10. Oh that is a cool NSV if I ever heard one, almost losing your pants reaching up a shelf. Oneof the coolest I have heard. Wishing you well as you embark on your veggie journey.

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  11. That is hysterical and awesome...you've lost weight and someone hasn't told your wardrobe yet. It is funny when we start feeling embarrassed about our clothes fitting too loosely!

    Enjoy it. Good story.

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  12. Hahahaha! Awesome story!
    GL with the yogurt- let us know what you think!

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  13. What a wonderful - albeit potentially embarrassing - non scale victory!
    Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement the last couple of days. I really appreciate it and it helped me immensely to know I wasn't alone in this fight.

    Hugs,
    Mary

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  14. Thanks, Patrick! Although, it didn't feel so "cool" at the moment ... I appreciated it more afterwards.

    Clyde, I know, right? Funny! I will 100% be sure to wear the pants in my update photo (holding them upright, of course) so you can see how much room I suddenly had in there.

    Tanya (cute profile photo), thanks! I hope if one flavor doesn't do it for me, another will. I will definitely post my impressions.

    Mary, You are welcome, but it is always heartfelt. What amazes me, the more I read, is how truly similar all of our struggles have been. There seems to be a universal set of experiences that we share, though individual circumstances vary greatly. What a world we live in! It is comforting on one level, but it is also important that we help support each other. I know you'll be there for me too. And I will have a time when I will need that support - we all go through it. xx

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  15. I love the title of this post...hysterical. I'm right there with you Ann. All my pants are falling off. It's the best feeling. I think it's time for us both to be thinking about shopping for some new clothes. Woohoo.

    Kimberlynn

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