Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Skinny on My Weight

Weight...Doesn't every women worry or maybe even obsess about this??  I use to be one of those women.  From a very young age, weight was an obsession for me.  The desire to be thin and look good was always at the fore front of my mind.  I'm assuming I got this from television or maybe even magazines.  I can remember in the third grade documenting my weight in a journal and writing what I wish I would have weighed.  Which is sad, really.  A third grader should never even be thinking about weight.

As I got older, weight always consumed my thoughts.  I had uncontrollable cravings and I'd always get so mad at myself when I 'gave in' to these cravings.  My weight fluctuated constantly and I never felt as if I was in control of the weight battle, let alone my food.  In one year I gained 40 pounds.  I remember thinking of my next crash diet.  I thought I was doing everything right.  I was drinking diet coke and munching on 100 calorie packs and fat free cheese!  I spent many nights crying myself to sleep over my weight.  Looking back, the answer seemed so simple, but at the time I was caught up in a terrible eating lifestyle.

There's this big movement right now about embracing the big women we are (along with reality TV shows).  I'm not sure how I feel about this. I truly believe we are in the middle of a health epidemic.  So many people are overweight today because of the convenience food around them. Those foods are making us overweight.  High Fructose Corn Syrup is in a lot of our processed food, which doesn't fill us up like it should and is so much more potent.  In fact, HFCS makes us hungry (double whammy!).  We really can't win when we ingest Corn Syrup - so, if weight is an issue for you, my advice would be - BACK AWAY FROM THE HFCS! :)  

I tell you my weight struggle because I think a lot of people look at me and think I've always been thin and weight has never been an issue for me.  That is so far from the truth.  For the first time in my life, I feel completely in control of my food choices.  In my last post I stated I no longer have food cravings.  This has brought me so much freedom.  I don't crave pretzels like I once did (pretzels use to be an obsession for me).  I also HAD to eat chocolate.  My husband and I would do ice cream runs 3-4 times a week.  Who was in control??  Even though I thought I was, I most certainly was not. 

By switching to a whole foods diet and cutting out gluten, we are happier and we feel better.  I no longer look at the scale and wonder what number is going to pop up this time.  I weigh myself about once a month just to check in. I eat what I want to eat without guilt.  Since I no longer have cravings, I choose when I want to eat dessert or treat myself.  Eating a piece of pie is such a treat for our family because we don't have that food around a lot.  If I let Jackson get a cookie, that's probably one cookie or sweet treat he'll get all week.

I guess the whole purpose of this post is to let those of you who battle weight know that I KNOW what you are going through.  I know what it's like to look at the scale and want to shed 20 pounds, but every time you weigh yourself that number doesn't move.  I want to encourage you to look towards a lifestyle change rather than going on a diet.  Start cutting out processed foods and focus on eating fruits and veggies (and no more HFCS!).  Nourish your body with whole foods.  If you don't know if it's a whole food ask yourself, "Did God make this?".  There are no fruit roll up trees, my friends.

I felt very compelled to write this, so I'm sure there was a reason.  Wishing you much health this Holiday week!

No comments:

Post a Comment