Empty Fridge, Skinny Body

List your top 5 grocery store items.

Trigger warning: this post discusses weight loss, calorie restriction, and body image. This post also contains some toilet talk, sorry in advance!  

Sparkling water is essential, to have some manner of enjoyment when you’re on a restrictive diet. It has no calories, that is so blessed! Wegmans sells like 20+ flavors within their own store brand, and the bigger names like LaCroix and Spindrift are all great as well. They come in bottles and cans of various size, I drink it everyday. Tea is another drink with 0 calories but I had to narrow the list to five grocery items and it’s a warm day as I’m writing this (in December!?) 

Plain tofu block is so important, because the human body apparently needs some kind of protein to stay alive and functioning. No animals are killed to make this one, it costs about $2 for 4 servings, for some reason it really pisses off right-wingers that food made of soy exists at all, so I love to eat it. Of course it can be seasoned and cooked to become more delicious, but in this blog post I assure you that eating it plain-style will help to more quickly shave off excess weight. It can be heated by any method you prefer, in the oven or microwave, on the stove top, it’s so versatile (and it’s safe to eat uncooked from the package too, FYI). Soy sauce and rice vinegar have negligible calories, most hot sauces too, but for those on a hard-mode weight loss challenge won’t need them.

Kimchi is a Korean food, it’s mainly made from cabbage and carrots. It has chili peppers in it and is somehow fermented. It’s kind of like sauerkraut, if you’re unfamiliar, but kimchi is better in my opinion. It has more color and a more interesting texture for sure. It’s important to have some kind of vegetable nutrients, so this seems to fit the bill. It has enough spicy liquid that it can give flavoring to that boring plain tofu I just mentioned, too. They really go together.

Chia seeds and Milled Flax are hard to explain. I’m not a nutritionist or foodie, obviously. They are two things mixed together that somehow become more healthy than when consumed individually (they are sold separately, but I buy a blend of both). It contains vitamins/minerals and fiber, as well as some amount of protein. There isn’t much flavor at all, it’s like a bland cardboard taste when it’s plain. I’ve heard it suggested to add juice or another drink to it but you’re on your own with that experiment. I mix it in a glass of water with a straw to continuously stir and drink (it wants to settle into the bottom of a cup). It looks like dirt and mud, but contributes to a feeling of “fullness” that is apparently helpful towards digestion.

Tamarind can be eaten straight from the pod or processed into a paste or drink (how I usually do it). The flavor is very strong and it’s sour on its own. Tamarind is a natural laxative, but it works differently than the more well-known prunes, for reasons I cannot explain (science). I’m not going to get into too much detail about this, but the first time I ever tried some (straight from the pod) it made me poop in a way that I felt my stomach and other intestinal areas were completely emptied, and it was amazing. It was not like diarrhea, and I’m not going to say anymore about that experience except I highly recommend it.

Conclusion: These five foods are more than just groceries; they’re tools I use to stay in control when my body feels out of my control. While the journey to feel comfortable in my skin is an ongoing challenge, having staples like these helps me feel prepared and empowered to take small, meaningful steps. 

To anyone reading this: whether or not weight is a concern for you, I hope you find a way to nourish yourself—body and mind—that feels right for you. If that includes sparkling water and tamarind, we’ve got something in common.