Half Assed Fitness

Well, not my own personal Hell. It's the Hell of anyone watching their weight or trying to lose; all you can eat, all the time.

I am currently living on a military installation and we basically eat in a chow hall. It's not quite as basic as that sounds but almost. Part of the employment package includes housing and food. This means free meals. There is a sign on the wall that says "Feel free to come back as many times as you like - just make sure you get a clean plate". Well let me tell you, the majority of the people here are taking full advantage of this "benefit".

I have been hyper-vigilant since I got here. I'm glad I'm armed with the knowledge of the the weight loss equation. If I didn't know it, I would be FAT, FAT, FAT in a very short amount of time.

One of my first purchases once I got here was a scale. I can't ensure I won't gain weight if I don't know how much I currently weigh and keep a close eye to make sure any fluctuations are just that and not an incremental climb up the numbers.

One thing that impressed me was that at the very least, they are posting the calorie count next to most of the dishes they provide. Not all of them and a lot of people seem to be unaware of why that number is there but I appreciate that it is provided. One of the big problems with the whole scene is that they give you a giant spoon to dish up your food with. In many cases, one scoop is more than twice the posted serving and calorie count. Since the main goal is to move people through, I doubt that is something that can be changed.

I am really considering offering a "calorie awareness" class or something. I don't know yet if people really don't understand how in control of their size they are or if they just don't care.

As an additional observation, the folks who are here with their families do not get free food from an assembly line and overall they are much slimmer than the folks that eat in the chow hall. I think this screams to the portion control problem and needs to be addressed.

I'm still very new here but I will keep my eyes peeled for opportunities to help where I can. For now, my main goal is to set a good example and not gain any weight. That's my goal anyway!


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