Muffin tops are in

Which is good news for me I guess as I struggle to lose a few pounds. I've been working out several times a week and I've cut down my calories but my damn stomach still looks fat.

People always tell me how tiny I am (well, maybe not as much lately). But the definition of "tiny" seems to have changed a lot since I was in high school. I remember there were only a handful of overweight students in my school. Now overweight seems to be the new norm. And obese seems to be fairly normal too. If you ask me, it's an epidemic that we're all going to pay for in the not so distant future. More hypertension leading to more diabetes, heart disease and who knows what else. Our healthcare system is going to pay the price.

You know what has also changed since I was in high school? Clothing sizes. Stores like to lead consumers to believe that they are skinnier than they really are. This is wrong in so many ways. I often fit into a size 2 at The Gap. How exactly is that possible? There is no way in hell I am a size 2. What does that tell the kid who fits into a size 8 who actually has a weight problem?

Before baby boy was in the picture I decided to stop eating processed food. In a couple of months I dropped 10 pounds. Tells you something, doesn't it? Processed food is just plain evil. And it's everywhere. I'm always amazed at the crap people have in their grocery carts. It all comes out of a box or a can. It's full of sodium and sugar. The "lunchable," devoid of any nutritional value, has replaced the apple and carrot sticks that kids bring for lunch. Match those with a granola bar (they aren't healthy people!) and a juice box (packed full of sugar) and suddenly it makes sense why teenagers are now sporting those trendy muffin tops. Not to mention that many of them don't get enough exercise....

So why am I telling you all this? Because tonight I saw hundreds of overweight teens shoveling crap into their mouths at "The Ex". It kind of freaked me out and made me think about my own eating habits. I'm just as guilty of eating processed food as anyone else. I think my weight issues have a lot to do with my food choices which are not always the best.

I think I'm going to cut processed foods out of my diet again (except occasionally on weekends) and see what happens. Wish me luck!