A very silly NSV

I was visiting my parents last fall and we went to Ikea. As we walked around, I saw a giant print that I loved -- a simple black/white image of a woman with overlayed text that said "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti" -- a quote from Sophia Loren.

I've always loved pasta. During culinary school & my time as a professional chef, it was my number one thing to cook -- somehow it just makes sense to me. I love making fresh pasta, cooking it, pairing it with things, and of course eating it. So this posted seemed just perfect! My apartment is completely covered in art, every wall has a different piece on it that I've carefully chosen & gotten framed..... other than right above my kitchen table. That wall was empty. So, I got the print, and I got a frame, and I hauled it all the way home from Philadelphia to NYC and....

then I got self conscious. I was the heaviest I had ever been and I felt deeply uncomfortable in my body. Instead of the initial lightheartedness I felt towards the print, a celebration of curviness and a love for food, now it felt like a declaration of what had gotten me to this overweight body.

So it sat in my closet. And sat. And sat.

And in January, fed up with deeply trapped in a body I didn't like, I found MFP and I started logging every single day. As I said, I was a chef so getting creative with my food was exciting instead of a chore. I discovered how much protein scallops have, how few calories zucchini has, how 5 grams of butter is really enough to cook almost anything, and how easy it is to work chocolate into almost every day of eating.

And, because I was now logging all my food, I started eating more spaghetti. I ate it with browned garlic and butter and parmesan cheese, I ate it with sausage and spicy tomato sauce, I ate it with broccoli pesto, I ate it with mussels, I ate it with baked chicken and basil, I ate it in the most luxurious form of mac & cheese I've ever made. I ate it, and logged it, and realized that I can eat pasta, often, happily, and still lose weight.

I've lost 20 pounds since January. I feel great in my body. I'm not done, but I'm happy with how I look & feel.

I remembered the print, stuffed way back in my closet, and decided that it was time to hang it up. Yes, I DO owe this body to spaghetti! This curvy, strong, healthy, happy body. Thanks for that, spaghetti : )

Here's a pic of the poster, hung proudly above my kitchen table, and a couple of me within the past few weeks. I don't have any super good body ones, but both of these have to do with food -- one of me at the greenmarket, my second home, and the other at my very favorite restaurant.