I love Sweets #2

Trying to get healthy was not as much a process as a finding my way, and it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of trial and error. I got a bunch of books from the library. Since this was quite a while ago the what to eat page would not be what you would find today, but they  gave me ideas.

I must admit I was not a complete beginner. I studied at a place where they discussed good eating. Back then, I decided to go vegetarian and cut back on starchy foods. I allowed myself three or four tablespoons of brown rice or pasta at lunch and dinner and was doing all right.

One morning I woke up with my body screaming for a hamburger. After much thought I decided to give in and went to a local restaurant with a great reputation. I was glad I did. Obviously my body needed something from that burger and it never happened again. I went from a size 12-14 to a size eight. That lasted one year.

I moved to Florida and it started all over again. I knew what to do but the anxiety of being there alone ( I had family but they were busy and there were no friends) and going into a brand new job made me feel deserted. Everything I did before went down the toilet and my weight increased and increased until it was close to one hundred eighty. I had to do something.

There is a picture of me at one of my mother’s parties and I when I saw it, I couldn’t believe how heavy I was. How much fat made the dress so tight that it creased all over and I almost couldn’t breathe. I went back to my original plan. This time I changed only one thing a month and started losing weight. Seeing the scale move down gave me the lift I needed to keep going.

I learned that I had to eat lots of vegetables to satisfy my hunger. That every time I had too much pizza or bread or pasta I gained back a few pounds. I lost ten pounds a year until I was down to one hundred forty. At a much slower rate I lost more and am now a happy one hundred twenty-five pounds. It feels like this is where I should have been all my life.

Happy because I feel like I’m in the right body. Have energy. Feel well. It’s not the number on the scale but the knowledge that both my body and I feel like we belong where we are.      If you are having problems with food let me know. Eating Disorders was my specialty.