Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Guest Post: Never Giving Up

5 years ago, I hit rock bottom.  I was fat, miserable, depressed, and sick. I just didn’t care about myself.  Today, I'm still fat but I'm not miserable, depressed or sick any more.  I finally broke free of the vicious cycle I was in.

3 years ago, I started to teach myself how to eat.  Seriously.  I thought I would be even happier if I was skinny. I learned about counting calories and understanding that you must expend more calories than you take in to lose weight.  I found there are two ways to reduce your calorie intake.
Artificially, by eating reduced calorie processed foods or by eating naturally low calorie foods such as fruits and veggies.  Not wanting to give up the things I love, I started out with reduced calorie versions of all those yummy things.  They turned out not so yummy.  Did I lose some weight?  Yup.  But then I discovered I got more bang for my buck eating naturally low calorie foods.  Even better, I discovered that I felt better, both mentally and physically, when I ate unprocessed foods.

Five years later, it’s 2013.  I feel pretty darn good.  Many of my previous health problems are non-existent.  Have I lost weight? About 55 pounds and counting.  But on this journey, I discovered a few things I wasn’t expecting…
•Skinny does not equal healthy.

•Healthy food does not equal low fat, low calorie

•There are lots of weird, scary things in processed food

•When I feel good, I actually enjoy physical activity

•My taste buds are trainable

•When I feel good about myself I don’t care what other people think about me

I still struggle every day.  2013 has been particularly difficult for me as I try to deal with some digestive issues since getting a stomach virus over 6 months ago.  I haven't lost any weight. There are points where I want to give up and go back to my old ways.  Trying to be as healthy as possible can be exhausting at times.  Sometimes I wish I could hit up the closest fast food restaurant rather than spending an hour in the kitchen cooking a meal. However, I know I can't quit.  Quitting means returning to the life I left behind.  Quitting means getting sick again. Quitting means being miserable.  I won't go back.
There are so many ups and downs when you take the first steps to getting healthy.  In the end, the ups are WAY better than the downs.  I may take a few steps backwards every once in a while but I will always make sure I have more steps forward in this journey.

Mandy


 

10 comments:

  1. -wonderful story of the struggle that so many of us deal with! Thanks for sharing!
    Jane

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  2. Read your post. Thank you for being honest that it’s not easy and that you struggle everyday. This is what our life looks like. We struggle everyday.

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  3. So many people who want to lose weight fall for the reduced calorie marketing. Thank you making the distinction between natural low calories foods and reduced calories processed food. I struggle with weight loss for ages, and it took me a while to realize what you posted here.

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  4. I loved reading your post because I can relate. I have had an issue with about 30-40lbs for many years. I have done diligently what I'm supposed to do to obtain results, but it’s on and off for me. Sometimes I lose more, sometimes I lose less. Sometimes I gain! It’s so frustrating.

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  5. Amanda, good for your for recognizing that processed food is actually "crap"...yes your taste bud are very trainable. I wish everyone would realize that "low fat/low cal" does not mean it's good. The best eating we can do is clean and real food...get comfy in your kitchen and start creating and cooking with fresh, raw and real..You think you feel good now? You will feel even more amazing...great job on your journey. We all take a few steps back and when that happens..I tell myself and others to "re-group"...just stop, look around, check yourself and re-group...:)

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  6. Thanks Mark for sharing my story! Lots of great feedback! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside : )

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    1. You’re welcome Mandy. You are inspiring and your strength is amazing. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really like your post.

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  7. Great post! It is true that so long as we feel that we are adequate we tend to care less about what others think of us. More often than not we imagine others having similar opinions about us as we do, and if you feel negatively about yourself then you presume others do too.

    Something else that I would like to highlight is what you said regarding processed foods, and how you felt better when you do not eat them. Personally, whilst I may crave the taste of a good McDonalds burger from time to time, nothing beats the satisfaction of knowing that you've eaten something healthy and avoided the temptations around you.

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  8. Your story is inspirational and very helpful. And that thing about feeling happier and better when eating unprocessed food is very true. I have come to experience that myself.

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  9. Your guest posts are always amazing. The list of findings is an eye opener. I am going to reduce unprocessed foods as well. Thanks a lot for this brilliant post.

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