Me, once again unafraid of the camera!
Spending Christmas Eve in the Emergency Room is not
something I recommend. However, due to
the stomach flu that has been circulating this holiday season, that is exactly
where I found myself. Though I was far
too ill at the time to fully appreciate it, I received a gift that day. The triage nurse asked me what I weighed, and
as I have lost a significant amount of weight recently, I was unable to tell
her. She put me on the scale and I
realized I had lost fifty pounds! Even
through my nausea-induced fog, I registered that! Fifty pounds!
I now weigh a whole five pounds more than I did in high school! Unbelievable!
I want to share with you how I ended up in this place (the place where
thighs no longer rub together and skinny jeans have been embraced with
abandon), but first let me describe the bumpy, rutted, washboard of a road I
travelled to get here.
I have lived with pain for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I was seeing doctors and having
bone scans to determine why I had pain in my hips that was so bad, it would
cause me to collapse. I don’t remember there
ever being a time I didn’t struggle with pain in my back or in my knees. I never really thought too much of it until,
working as a police officer, pain and weakness in my hands made it difficult
for me to grasp my service weapon. I
knew it was time to figure out what the problem was. Myriad doctors later, I was told that I have
Fibromyalgia, as well as some sort of “mystery” auto-immune disease that no one
is actually able to pin down.
Being out of work and going from an extremely active lifestyle
to a mostly sedentary one sent me into an emotional tailspin. I could no longer participate in many of my
favorite activities. I felt trapped and
completely useless. My beautiful cottage,
in which I took so much pride, now became a gilded cage. Unfortunately, the toll was not merely
emotional. I began to put on
weight. Always somewhat self-conscious,
I quickly lost every bit of confidence and did my best to become
invisible.
Fifty pounds later, my life underwent a complete
about-face. Do not stop reading this
post when you read the next sentence, because there is so much more to this
life change that want to share with you.
In 2012 I became a vegetarian. I
am not implying that vegetarianism was the sole reason that I lost the weight
or that you need to become a vegetarian in order to do the same. This was simply my first step on a road to a
much healthier me. Now, for me, the
decision to become vegetarian was one of compassion. Don’t misunderstand me....I was an unabashed
meat-eater. I had never before considered
a vegetarian diet and surely would have scoffed at anyone who dared to suggest
it. Fortunately for me (tender-heart
that I am), I learned what actually goes on in our nation’s meat industry, and
that was that.
Because I was now required to reevaluate my family’s diet,
to ensure proper nutrition, I had to take myself off auto-pilot when it came to
grocery shopping. This was the most
important change, I believe, I have ever made in my life. Do you know that studies have been conducted
that show women who scrutinize labels in the grocery store weigh less (an average
of 8 pounds) than women who do not? Now,
eight pounds may not be all you need to lose (it certainly wasn’t for me), but
it seems like a pretty decent reward for simply paying attention….something we
all need to do. There are so many
issues related to our food supply now, it is crucial that we attempt to
understand what we are consuming and feeding to our families. We have all heard, to some extent, concerns
about pesticide residues in and on our foods.
But, most people are unaware of all of the chemicals that are
intentionally added to foods, or the disturbing ways in which foods are being genetically
modified. Consumers are frequently misled
by statements such as “All Natural” (which means absolutely nothing, as there
is no regulation of the phrase) and “Added Fiber” (which, it turns out, is
usually wood pulp). The more that I looked at labels, the more
distraught I became. The more I researched
the ailments from which I suffered, the more convinced I was that they were
not simply a result of bad luck or genetics.
The foods that we eat affect us in way that I had never considered, and I
was determined that, though I could not reverse any damage they had already
done, they would do no further damage….to me, my husband, or my
step-daughter. I began buying organic
options, whenever possible, and cooking meals from fresh, whole ingredients. I limited the amount of processed foods we
consumed and did away with junk food, altogether. Because we were now vegetarian, almost all
fast food was out of the question. Now,
you may be thinking that this sounds like a diet of deprivation, but you would
be surprised. What I found, as my diet
became more and more healthy, was that because my body was receiving the
nutrients it really needed, it didn’t crave all of the crap (sorry, but that’s
really the only word for it) it didn’t.
My sweet tooth is legendary, let me tell you, but now I never crave
sweets. Now, if there is a dessert present, I usually don’t want any. If by some chance, I actually want to join in
(say, at a birthday party), I don’t have to feel bad about having a piece of
cake, because I know that everything else I eat is so healthy and so much lower
in calories. And all you have to do is
look at the recipes I have shared on my blog to know that my diet has nothing
to do with deprivation. We eat wonderful,
delicious, hearty food. And we eat a LOT
of it. I have never tried to control my
portions. I eat as much as I want. Because I am eating veggies instead of meat
and whole foods instead of processed garbage, I can eat until I’m stuffed and
still lose weight.
This is not a “diet.” It is not a fad or a gimmick, and
should not be treated as such. This is a
way of life. It is a commitment to your
health and the health of your family. Come
off of auto-pilot. Do your research. Scrutinize labels. Use my recipes. Limit meat consumption. Eat whole foods. Cut out fast food, junk food, and as much processed
food as you can. I cannot promise that
you will lose fifty pounds. I cannot
promise you will lose five pounds. But I
can promise your life will change for the better and you will be a healthier
you.
If you have any questions or want any guidance concerning
this way of life, please message me on my facebook page: The Garden on
Townville. I will be more than happy to
answer questions, provide information and resources, or simply offer support.
