Life comes first

Statistics say that nearly every woman in America will at some point in her life be on a diet of some kind. That means every woman has at some point looked at herself in the mirror and thought, "Crud." But more than that, it means every woman has at least tried to pass on the cupcakes, said no to second-helpings (which is hard if the first helpings were made by an Italian woman) or chosen cheerios instead of fruit loops.

These types of decisions are brutal. Made ten times worse when you find yourself at the Del Mar Fair, haven of delicious, lethally tempting foods (expensive, also, but that adjective is less on-point).

Now, I rarely go to the fair. Maybe once every three years or so. My family used to be involved in 4-H so we'd go a lot when I was a small child to show our pigs (yes, you read that right), but that was ages ago. Truth is, there's something magical about the fair that is just hard to describe (although, let's be honest, "chocolate covered bacon" is a good place to start). Gorgeous exhibits, almost-funny vendors, pig races and monster truck derby, livestock and cowboy hats, sawdust and lemonade and sunburned faces. And, of course, the Ferris Wheel, lit up like a firework, towering above a colored labyrinth of games that are impossible to win and rides that are impossible to afford.

But the reason people go to the Del Mar Fair is to eat. The BBQ ribs, the turkey legs, the funnel cakes and ice cream miracles, the chocolate covered bacon and deep fried zucchini are all part of what makes the fair the Fair.

I was wandering around an art exhibit when I noticed a painting of a young woman looking at herself in the mirror. Even the unsteady brush-strokes couldn't mar the look of familiarity. Everyone knows how it feels to see their reflection and scrutinize it - whether it's your face or your life's choices or your haircut or your attitude. We are our own worst critics (sometimes that's a good thing).

But the painting very clearly depicted a shriveled, skinny woman and the mirror reflected someone very large. Sad.

It became a little clearer to me why some of my friends are overly concerned with other people's eating habits (though I still stand by my opinion that society is just too judgmental in every direction). More often than we realize, our personal goals take a dangerously high priority in our lives. And I'm not just talking about wanting to be "skinny" (whatever that is). I know people who are die-hard health nuts who do everything by the book and are careful to exercise enough to balance out what they eat and eat what will help them exercise better, etc. Breaking routine: unthinkable. I know people who are study-nuts! Always putting books before buddies. I know a lot of people who don't put life first.

I won't be the one to assume or judge (you all already know how I feel about judging!) but I'll definitely be the first to say: I needed a little life in my diet.

So I ate red-velvet funnel cake and had ribs and frozen lemonade at the fair. I even had an ice-cream cone dipped in chocolate and a plate of bacon pasta. No, it was more than one ounce. Today I'm back to my fruit and my food scale.

Life doesn't come in one ounce portions. It's not fat-free or sugar-free or dietary. Generally, mixed in with all life's broccoli, there are chunks of chocolate-chip, deep-fried, probably-will-kill-your-pancreas goodness. Eat it up. No regrets.