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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
6:36 PM
I think after four months in Florida I am now fully qualified to make certain observations about the average Floridian. I live with two of them and spend quite a lot of time with one at work, and I have discussed Floridian unique behaviors and habits at length with other "visitors" here in Florida. Of all their strange and mysterious ways, we visitors tend to agree that their most bothersome behavior (and the one that bothers and affects me the most) is their obsession with health.
Granted, I think it is extraordinarily important to be physically fit and eat healthy. I probably don’t think about it nearly as much as I should (although now I do, as you’ll see after reading this post), but I am quite thankful that I do not err on the other extreme either. Floridians tend to do just this.
In Ohio, whole days passed quite happily without my thoughts ever once wandering toward what I should or should not be eating. Trips to the grocery store lasted half an hour at most, and even though I was careful to balance the "healthies" with the "unhealthies" I rarely studied nutrition labels for any length of time. Guilt rarely penetrated my mood if I skipped a day at the gym, and I observed both those skinnier and heavier than me with indifference.
Florida is a different world. It’s hard to remain unaffected when day after day conversation in the apartment revolves around calorie counting, healthy food prep, and exercise regimes. The glares and raised eyebrows I get when I choose to prepare myself a bowl of ice cream are disconcerting at least, and discouraging at worst. Discouraging, I mean, in that I’ve actually put the ice cream back in the freezer and retreated to my room to dream of the ice cream I could be eating.
A trip to Panera with one Floridian friend ended in deep depression, as this woman knew exactly how many calories were in each food item and made sure I knew it, too. If you know me at all, you know that I deeply love Panera. I used to go there after especially long, trying days to cheer myself up. Now I’m just depressed after I eat there, because all I can think about are the calories I’ve just consumed...
Grocery shopping now takes me 1.5 hours, because I have to read every single nutrition label. Anything over 300 calories doesn’t go near my shopping cart. For awhile I went to the gym every single day, spending close to an hour on an elliptical. I quickly burnt out, especially since my evenings were then shot. It was depressing - coming home from work, going to the gym, coming home, showering, and then going straight to bed. There was no time to enjoy the blissful Florida winter weather, not too hot but delightfully temperate. Only exercise, exercise, exercise, and guilt, guilt, guilt.
Never in my life has my self esteem regarding my weight been lower. I think there is such a thing as being too health conscious... it’s a little self-absorbed, don’t you think? I don’t know, maybe I’m being too sensitive. All I do now is that I’ve seen a definite change in my attitude and shopping habits, and not necessarily for the better.
I think the challenge will be to find the right balance. I haven’t gone to the gym once this week (to be fair though, I am sick), and I’ve been a bit indulgent in my dessert choices. Maybe I should start going three, maybe four times a week, and pack the chocolate pudding in my lunch every other day. Still, one of the many reasons I look forward to returning to Ohio is to escape this Floridian obsessive health insanity. Hopefully it hasn’t done too much damage. :P
P.S. I love how earlier this evening I lamented how much I was craving ice cream, and now two of my roommates have left to go get some without inviting me along. Glad to know I’m not invisible or anything.Labels: exercise, Florida
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