Fat Americans

I'm not a small guy. Anyone who has ever met me knows this. However, this last weekend, I had an experience that made me feel skinny. My wife and I were given free passes to eat at the Kitchen buffet at the Lumiere Casino. This, I must say, was quite the experience. The buffet costs $28 per person, which seems pretty ludicrous. The reason for the steep price became evident as soon as we walked in. There was a huge line of huge people all clamoring for something around a corner. What was this pot of gold that everyone wanted a piece of? Crab Legs. King Crab Legs.

I'm not kidding when I say that it was all-you-can-eat crab leg night, and boy were the people at the Kitchen Buffet excited! There were probably anywhere between 18 and 30 people in line for these things at any given time. The quantity of people wasn't the only thing that surprised me- I was shocked by how many of these things people were taking. I saw people literally with arm loads of the 2 foot long legs, walking briskly back to their tables, acting like they were foraging before going into hibernation for the winter. The shock was compounded even further when I saw one lady with a freaking soup bowl- not a ramekin- a SOUP BOWL full of butter to slosh over her legs (her crab legs, although to get out of those pants, she may have needed the butter on her real legs as well).

The wifey and I tried a couple of the legs- they were overcooked, underseasoned, and generally pretty bad. Definitely not good enough to cause the hysteria in the room. We looked around the room and noticed that there was literally one person in the room that could be described as "fit" or "thin". He was eating sushi. Everyone else was somewhere between "big boned" and "disgustingly obese".

This brings me to a bit of an emotional point- in the year 2010, I have made it my goal to focus on my own health and fitness. 2009 was my year to get my wine career to the next level, which I accomplished by earning my CSW and my Certified Sommelier degrees, starting a blog, and starting a wine consultation company. I will keep writing Sippin' Saint Louis, because I love this industry, and I love teaching people about these things. I will also probably start another blog to track my health progress over the next year. I want to do this thing right- not some "Greatest Loser" contest, where I lose a bunch of weight, just about kill myself over the course of 30 days, and gain it all back. Instead, I just want to focus more on my caloric intake, the origins of what I consume, and a consistent exercise plan.

I hope some of you all care enough about me to be supportive. The rest of you all, no worries, I will still be around, having a glass of wine or two.

Cheers!