Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Thanks, I Needed That


I came across the picture above and thought I'd share. You know there are a lot of web sites out there that talk about food. We are obsessed with food, aren't we? We want to know how it makes us fat, how it makes us healthy, which foods have the most calories, which foods are better for our [insert body part here], which foods are going to kill us faster, and on and on and on and ON!

The more I read about foods, the more I see the same theme come through.... "Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants" says Michael Pollan. "Eat like the thinner person you want to be"stated by Russ and Jeff of Fat 2 Fit fame. You don't have to eat like a caveman to eat right. You don't have to count calories for the rest of your life. You don't have to exercise till you drop, hour after hour, day after day. You can eat meat. You can have ice cream. You can eat lettuce or feed it to your pet rabbit. Living healthy and maintaining a proper weight really isn't rocket science.

I look at it this way; to weigh what I should weigh I needed to learn how to change my lifestyle. I needed to balance out my foods...to eat real foods, not processed ones. I needed to learn portion control. I needed to learn to plan for meals, and emergencies, and cheat days (that really are not cheat days). I needed to make it a point to build some sort of exercise into my daily life. It couldn't be just now and then, but real on purpose exercising every day. Some days were easier than others and some days dragged out. Some days I felt like going all out for a five mile hike and other days I could barely make myself get out of bed....but I did. Whatever I choose, I choose to DO it, not just think about it. 

I needed to accept that I would eat more than I should sometimes. I needed to allow for stressors in my life and to not use them for an excuse to pig out on chips and chocolate. I needed to realize that I needed a support mechanism to help keep me motivated. I needed to learn that because I had been obese for most all my life, that becoming a non-obese person would mean that I had to think about what I was choosing to eat on a daily basis. In other words, I would have to think about food more than thinner people did because it was not second nature for me to think thin. It has gotten easier but I still need my crutches. For now I need to count calories and step on the scale to be sure I am  thinking right in my head. Someday, I really do hope to have this all be more second nature. I think I can make that happen too.

It isn't just a lifestyle, it is the lifestyle I have chosen. It has become a lifestyle I rather enjoy! I am STILL amazed though, that this has happened...this massive weight loss...in fact, I am thrilled that it has! "Who IS that skinny lady in the mirror?" She's becoming one of my best friends.

I sure am glad I didn't have to rely on a magic pill. Most magic is an illusion. This new me, is very real and no one can take it away from me unless I let them. I don't plan to. I earned my diamonds. I am keeping every single one of them!

Till next time, walk on friends, walk on....

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