The Bane of a Happy Cook

I love to cook. I love food. I love my kitchen. All three things combined make me terribly happy, particularly when preparing meals for people I care about. Digging my hands into flour, kneading dough, harvesting herbs for a stew, chopping vegetables, and frosting cupcakes all bring me joy and an amazing calm. I am probably at my best when spending long hours in the kitchen. But there is a downside….

I insist on tasting things I make, particularly if they are newer recipes or creations. I will not serve something sub-par, or if I do out of desperation I hang my head in shame while my family consoles me. But those tastes, those final products, all that wonderful glorious food seems to attach itself to unwanted places on my body. This wasn’t always the case, but age, metabolism, menopause and a slowdown in physical activity have made the area between by waist and knees a prime target for (sigh!) fat.

Much to my family’s dismay, I have drastically cut calories. They are amazed at the small amount of food I now intake. I rarely serve desserts at Sunday dinner anymore, and should I feel the need to bake, I do so and then package it up to send up to the my son’s butcher buddies, my husband’s workmates, or various family and friends. I can no longer fill my cake domes with goodies for the taking. I just cannot have it in the house, which makes me terribly sad. Everyone who visits knows where the goodies reside and an empty counter means empty tummies. I hate that others have to suffer at my expense.

So, one of the reasons I have not been posting is that I have embarked on a personal renewal program. I started by constructing a diet that would work for me, and 8 weeks later I was down almost 7 pounds. I began taking walks several times a week, mostly by  myself, but occasionally with Brilliant Daughter or Mr. B.

Two weeks ago, in an effort to ramp up the weight loss, I  consulted a doctor and began a medically supervised weight loss program. I also added yoga to my regimen and am making more of an effort to work with some light weights (to deter that unsightly upper arm flap).

I’m almost halfway to my goal and to a closet full of clothes that have not fit in some time. I am feeling lighter, stronger and better able to resist temptation. Unfortunately, my cooking creativity has gone by the wayside for the moment, but I know this is just temporary, much like the empty cake dome.