Is it Hard?

Alright, so I am not above a double entendre as an enticement to read my stuff.  But your head was in the gutter, too.  Actually, I hear the above quite often.  Only in a dietary context.  The conversation goes like this: "You are doing great!  I am so proud of you!  I love food like you do.  It has to be so hard!"  My reply is always the same. "The funny thing is, it hasn't been that hard at all."

I thought it might be when I was about to start.  I wondered silently to myself if this would be the time it stuck.  Could I make good decisions every day?  Could I do it long enough to change my habits?  What I found out was that a switch had gone off.  I made a binding agreement with myself that I deserved a better life and everything else was secondary.  Add to that a dash of self-respect to uphold that decision and each day became a no-brainer.

Being a lover of all things food immediately makes one wonder how you can lose such a large amount of weight and keep it off.  I haven't proven anything yet, because I still have 102 lbs. to go and then keep it off, but truth of the matter is that loving food is a tremendous asset.  

As long as I can remember, I have been thinking about my next meal the very second I put down the fork from the previous one.  Being equipped with the proper tools to prepare amazing food makes all the difference in the world.  I still look forward to every meal.  These days I look forward to them even more.  Before, too many meals meant tossing down unhealthy grub that I had little to do with creating.  Fast food and take out were the staples of my existence   Today, I take time to plan out most meals, get my creative juices flowing and add culinary flair to something that nourishes my body and lets me eat myself thin.  It satisfies me on two levels.  Sure it takes a lot more effort, but I'm worth it.

It usually takes much more time to do things right, but in my mind that is where we have gone wrong as a society.  Our hunger for immediacy has taken over our hunger for good food and we've learned to settle.  We choose convenience over our well-being.  America is growing more and more obese as a result.

There will always be temptations and challenges.  The hardest part of the process is making that initial decision for permanent change.  After that, it's not hard at all.  It's just your way of life.

Cya tomorrow,

M

What I ate today and how I exercised:

Breakfast ~ Multi Bran Chex cereal w/fresh fruit and almond milk

Lunch ~ A Chipotle Garden Burger on a whole grain sandwich thin w/avocado and lite chipotle mayo

Dinner ~ Rotisserie chicken breast w/a large side salad of mixed greens, carrots, avocado, sunflower seeds and homemade chipotle lime dressing

Exercise ~ I am going to get on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes before bed