Imagine my surprise!

I remember asking other people, "What is your secret?!" trying so hard to understand why despite my best wishing and praying that they weight wouldn't fall off....and now other people are asking me the same question. I know now that the answer was junk food and being constantly sedentary, however hindsight is always 20/20 as they say. Well, this past month I dropped another 13.2 lbs, and lost 7.5" overall! (All of the inches were lost in my abdomen, waist and hips as I've been belly-dancing around the house. Belly-dancing is not for the weak of abs, that is for sure as I've lost 3.5" in my abdomen alone!)

It hasn't always been easy, and there have been major slip ups along the way. I've fallen off of the bandwagon, rolled into the gutter, fell down the sewage grate, floated along in the...well, you get the point, right? It's not easy being conscious of what you eat but eventually your choices become habits. Those damaging old habits get replaced with new habits, and sitting down to a giant bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch becomes okay because you don't DO that kind of thing once a day, every day.

I know, all the diet guru's out there are probably dying a little inside. We're not supposed to reward ourselves with food, but if food is something we really love, it seems natural that we might use that to lead ourselves on. I don't like to think of myself as being on a specific diet any longer. I eat what is good, healthy, and 'right' for me to eat. I eat the food that fuels my body, satiates my hunger, and gives me the body that I long for.

I don't eat pizza. I don't eat fried chicken. I don't eat hamburgers and french fries. No chips, no meatballs, no loaded baked potatoes. I don't eat ice cream sundaes. And I have a feeling that it's impossible for me to eat these things and be able to lose weight. I had to give it up, but not everyone is capable of giving up the emotional crutch that they've found inside the double-deep fat fried potato skins, or slice of chocolate cake. It's hard to give those crutches up, but I believe it is impossible to lose weight (and keep it off) if we don't make health-conscious decisions to do what is right for our bodies...always with room for the occasional Cinnamon Toast Crunch though, otherwise life would just be no fun!

There are some people that complain they can't lose weight despite diet and exercise. I can't bring it to myself to point out that although olive oil is probably healthier than, say, lard, that it is STILL oil. And even if you exercise like a mad man/woman on drugs you'll never manage to lose weight if you consume a half bottle of oil per day. It's so hard though to change the way we look at food. Nothing in this society is moderate, nor is it understood that 'healthier' does not mean 'eat at will and to excess'. America needs to step back and take stock of the preservatives, sodium, additives, dyes and chemicals being added to our food...it's disheartening the amount of trash I put into my body for so many years unknowingly all the while thinking I was being 'healthy'. :(

So, all of that food rant to come to my final 'secret'. I eat CONSTANTLY. Whenever I am hungry, day or night, I eat. I don't cut calories, I don't do anything drastic, and I have barely exercised with all the holiday insanity. I feed my body good, honest, food. I limit grains to one cup per day of whole grains only. I don't eat cheese which is mostly all fat and sodium. I don't eat meat because it is, in my opinion, not a healthy thing to eat when I have beans as a perfectly digestible alternative. I eat as many fruits and veggies as I care too, and I don't eat anything containing artificial sweetener, preservatives, or other garbage chemicals.

My choices aren't for everyone though. My choices are for me and me alone...and the choices you make should be the same! Do it for you, whatever 'it' is, and stick to your resolve even if you find yourself floating in the gutter some days. It's a long, hard road..but every road comes to an end sooner or later!

Eggs out. xx