Food, Glorious Food

 I love to eat.  A lot.  Co-workers have always known they could come to me when they were hungry and needed a snack, because they had seen my "pantry", where I kept a stash of food in my desk.  Someone forgot to pack a lunch?  No problem.  Melissa has soup and Cheez-Its, cookies, snack cakes, popcorn, and who knows what else.  Plus all the processed stuff in the freezer.  Ugh.  I'm embarrassed to admit that there have been times when I have gone days without a single real serving of vegetables, and probably very little real fruit, either.  Shameful! 

I've made several attempts throughout the years to "get in shape" and to be healthier, but I always end up sliding back into my old habits and ending up right where I started, if not worse. I knew of course that I needed to eat "healthy" too, and not just exercise, but I just couldn't quite grasp what that truly meant.  So much that I thought was healthy, wasn't. Quite a lot of it shouldn't even be called food! And apparently I thought I could eat some healthy food, some crappy (okay, a lot) food, and do some mediocre exercise on a "regular" basis, and that would be enough to get a rockin' bod and be healthy. Turns out it's not that easy.  It's true what they say; you can't outrun or out-exercise a bad diet.

Last year something clicked and I finally realized how bad my diet was and determined that I would give up sugar.  I did amazingly well for almost two months, and I felt great.  I was shedding weight almost effortlessly.  It was amazing!  It was a lot of work for someone who was used to the heavy convenience afforded by highly processed foods and take out.  I had to plan meals out in advance, do my grocery shopping more thoughtfully, and do so much prep for snacks and lunches for work.  Do I think it was worth it?  Definitely! Unfortunately, I have a lot of triggers that lure me to junky food, and one weekend I fell off the wagon and then tumbled down a very steep hill into what I like to call my "food rebellion".  I never quite recovered and am now trying one more time to get my diet in check.  I'm sure it will be a little bit easier this time since I have a better idea of what I'll be up against, what my trickiest triggers are, AND I know some of the great benefits I'll be reaping.  Not just things I've read about or heard about, but benefits I've already experienced once before.  I learned things about my past mistakes and failures, so I'll be better equipped to handle this round.  I even know that if I fail again, I'll just get back up again and keep on trying.  

I have nephews and a niece.  I'd like to be able to hang out with them doing healthy, active things, not just on the couch watching TV or playing video games.  I've always been a big fan of Frisbee.  It would be nice to be able to play that the way I used to!

Have a fun and playful day!

~Melissa