The Road to Healthy

I think I am going for a record with number of blog posts this week. I started thinking about this one after I laid down to go to sleep the other night so I decided to go ahead and get it out there. 

A little more about my journey thus far....

Growing up I was horrible eater. I was very picky and only had a limited list of things that I would eat. I have always been a cyclical eater.. I eat the same few things over and over until I get sick of them and then I move on to something else. At this point, it is probably due to laziness just as much as anything else. Every week I try to psych myself up for meal planning...I look at all the pre-made weekly planners on pinterest and consider printing some. This has gotten better in the past year but the thought of figuring out a million ingredients that I have to buy for the week still completely overwhelms me. I think I shall list "meal planning" as one of my weaknesses in every future job interview.  All of this to say, I love to eat. I hate to plan meals. I never cared about what I ate growing up....Calories? eh. Nutrients? eh. Balance? Overrated.

That all changed right after I started college. All of a sudden my stomach started hurting ALL the time. I started getting sick after eating all the time. It literally started to rule my life. I lost friends because they were either a) tired of me talking about my stomach hurting or b) tired of me blowing them off because of my anxiety about my stomach hurting. I spent months planning my life around available bathrooms. I don't know if you have ever been really sick and stuck in a car....but just the thought gives me nightmares still. Eventually I "cured" myself by eating only safe foods. Primarily Fritos. I lost a lot of weight fairly quickly (and no 
 I don't recommend the fritos diet). After a few trips to the doctor and nutritionist, we figured out that I have Celiac's Disease and needed to go gluten free ( ah ha! The fritos diet makes sense..I love you corn!). My stomach and intestines were so damaged by that point that I also went dairy free for a few months since dairy is hard to digest even with healthy insides.

I rarely think about being gluten free anymore. It's been seven years! I can't believe it.

Another health issue that I have always struggled with is Candida...This is all probably TMI, but you are here on my blog so you must care a little. I got oral thrush often as a baby and really struggled with whole body Candida (Yeast) infections pretty much from then on. Finally, after a couple of rounds of other "mystery illnesses", I decided to really focus on cutting my sugar intake. I LOVE sugar. My body does not. I still treat myself to sugary treats when I really want them but in my every day diet I try to stay away...getting my sugar from natural sources like fruit. Now I know that "fake sugar" products are really bad for you but a girl has to satisfy her sweet tooth. I highly recommend sugar free pudding. One step at a time.

After making these two changes, I have to say that I feel so much better. I've made little baby steps from then on (still making them) to really eat to live. I don't want to be that person who gains weight, goes on a diet, goes off the diet, gains weight, and so on and so forth. I want to eat what I want in moderation. I want to eat to fuel my body for the day. I don't want to step on a scale every day. I want to live a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes this looks like ice cream for breakfast..followed by a little extra exercise and good clean food the next day. I'm learning to love exercise and not feel guilty when all I can fit in is thirty minutes. It's about balance.

I try to keep this illustration in mind in all parts of my life...