Blogging Up a Q&A

I recently put the call out to friends and family to send me any questions they might have about my weightloss journey. The reason why was simple: Other people think of things and ask questions that I might never think to ask of myself! My blog serves as a daily journal of sorts, and I really wanted to get a few things recorded in here. So without further ado:

1. What part of your body are you most pleased with the change of and why?The part of my body that I am most pleased with the change in is actually a tie between my neck/collarbone area and my thighs. My neck used to always look so huge and fat, my face looked swollen sometimes. Now I have a collarbone and I really love the look of it - and yes I'm aware that probably sounds silly...but the collarbone has been nice to see. I'm really happy with the change in my thighs. They used to be everything one can imagine from a morbidly obese person's thighs: Wobbly, jiggly, blobby and not good. I often felt as though I had two honey hams hanging out in my trousers. I hate my thighs very much and now they are much better. The toning and overall weightloss has done wonders for them!
2. What is the single most important thing to your successI'd consider my discovery of Eat to Live to be the single most important contributing factor to my success. I'd consider my readiness and willingness to change to be the most important baseline factor. Without the willingness I'd not have started, and without Eat to Live I never would have learned how to actually nourish myself and develop a healthy relationship with food.
3. Do you feel like you will be satisfied once you reach your goal or that you'll want more?I have recently been thinking about my goal weight of 135 lbs. I keep looking at BMI charts and comparing my figure to the numbers there. I know that BMI is not entirely reliable, but I've decided to make it to 135 lbs and then see if I might prefer how I'd look at 125 lbs (or a number between 125 and 135) better. My goal is 135 lbs, but where I go after that will depend on how I look and how I feel - I'm open to change.
4. What foods do you wish, to the point of feeling you are depriving yourself, you could eat? I'm not just asking about unhealthy choices, but any food.
   I actually think this question is rather telling. Most people assume that in order to lose weight one must deny themselves and cut out entire food groups. The truth of the matter is that I cut out everything non-vegan for 6 weeks, and now that I'm done the 6 weeks I have whatever I want! I don't eat meat as a moral/personal choice  and I don't eat dairy due to intolerance so that's not something I miss too terribly. So...ultimately my answer is: Nothing! I eat whatever I want.
5. Do you not choose foods based on their ingredients / manufacturing processes? IE if you were not in America would those foods / dishes be OK to eat
   I tend to choose foods that are organic (preferred), non-refined (preferred), not full of preservatives (preferred), gluten and dairy free and as close to natural/raw as possible. I tend to not eat things with aspartame and such rubbish in, and will make other choices where I can. Sometimes though I just want an artificially sweetened big-arse cup of diet coke and don't care.  8/10 times I'll eliminate something as a valid choice if it's crap. The other 2 times it's open season.
6. What do you miss most about not living a healthy life style?Not a damn thing. I was fat, bloated, unhealthy, feeling depressed and poorly. I could only shop at plus sized stores, I was miserable, I was withdrawn, I couldn't run, I had asthma, everything was bad. The only solace I had was eating a box of chicken nuggets if I wanted to - killing myself and making all my problems worse. Nothing. I miss nothing. I don't know how anyone could.
7. Is the physical change the best thing you've gained or the sense of accomplishment?The sense of accomplishment is the best thing in that I feel I can do anything. No, I KNOW I can do anything. The sky is my limit because I was strong enough to take my life back!
8. What is the hardest part of living in a non-healthy family - Both from before and now?The hardest thing is knowing what dreadful crap is in the food you're eating but still finding yourself unable to stop. Knowing that you're choosing to feed it to your children, knowing you're setting them up for failure. Knowing you're poisoning your husband just as fast as you're poisoning yourself. That's the hardest part of living in a non-healthy family. After that? Sometimes there is a lack of support. Sometimes I have to cook two meals. The result has been an overall healthier approach to everything about life though so we don't really do 'unhealthy' anymore!
9. What are five things you'd like to accomplish or experience between now and your goal weight?Sky diving, rock climbing, half-day kayaking, hiking a very difficult trail, and skiing.
10. What made you choose the goal weight you did?It was the upper-end of the weight for my BMI. I figured my bone structure is a little thicker than most so a higher weight within healthy confines would be the best choice for me. I'll refigure my weight if I get to goal and decide I'm still feeling too big or too small!
11. What's your favorite meal that you've discovered on this journey."Crap in a pot" is my favourite meal and I eat it about twice a day. It's tofu, peppers, greens, onions, carrots, tomato, potato, whatever I have on hand thrown into a skillet and warmed. It's really quick, tasty and takes no time at all to prepare.
12. Do you eat any junk food? Or is it all off limits? If not, how do you stop from indulging?!I eat junk food semi-regularly, nothing is offlimits. I just make the best choices I can, when I can. I know the calories in that kind of food and although an occasional treat (once a week, if I care to?) is fine...I also know the work it takes to get rid of it. I keep from indulging by knowing that junk food is essentially poison. A little bite from a venemous snake might not kill you but if you get bit straight on the vein and sit there while it does its thing you will surely die. That's how I feel about junk food. I never deny myself anything - ever. That is the path to failure...but I keep a healthy respect for junk food as much as any hiker would keep a healthy respect for snakes and scorpions lurking in the grass.
13. What keeps you motivated to continue?I've come this far and I know I'm worth it. My health is worth it. My children are worth it. Doing anything less and I'm robbing myself blind....I've earned it. That's what keeps me going.
14. Do the stretch marks get better?They fade with time but they never go away. They never get better. What has been done will not be undone. A stretch mark is your skin torn past the point of ability to stretch, scars are left in the wake. The only way to get rid of them permanently is to get surgery in my opinion....but I wear mine like battle scars. I'm proud of every one <3

Ive been doing a lot of growing at the same time I've been doing a lot of shrinking! :)

Eggs out
xx