The More I Learn, The Less I Know . . .

Let's face it, eating healthy is not easy in today's society. In fact, it's darn near impossible. Food - and large quantities of it - are thrown at us from every direction. It's everywhere. On TV, in magazines, on the radio, on billboards - and it's not going to get better. We have to make the choice to stick with one diet plan for a longer length of time then five or ten minutes. This includes saying no to all of those food fests shoved in our faces.  Sabotage can come from anywhere, but the key is ourselves.

When I made the choice to have surgery, it was so that I could change my lifestyle for the better. To be honest, I didn't have the will or the strength to say no to what others threw at me. I knew more about nutrition than your average fat girl, but I ignored everything I knew for five minutes of pleasure. The surgery gave me the will to get through that. It made it so that, essentially, I HAVE to say no. I couldn't eat a cheeseburger if I wanted to!

It makes me sad when I see people "give up" on their lifestyles and give in to temptation. And then they justify it. "I barely ate anything today, so this is within my calorie count" or "Oh, I haven't had this is so long, one's not going to hurt . . ." And then the cycle begins again.

To be honest, bad food is bad food and your body is going to react to it in a bad way. Something one of my favorite chefs, George Stella said really hit home with me: "Starving yourself all day so that you can order a pizza and still stay below your daily carb limit isn't going to work for you in the long run. A small chocolate candy may have the same amount of carbohydrates as a cup of broccoli, but these foods are so fundamentally different that it makes counting them seem inane." (George Stella's Good Carb Family Cookbook, 15) I can't tell you how I nodded my head in agreement and had to share this passage with my husband. It's one of the cycles I threw myself into - "Oh, I'm under my points today, I can have a snickers bar!" or "Hmm . . . If I eat only carrots today I can have fried chicken tonight!" No WONDER at best I was maintaining at 285!

I am finding that the more I learn, the less I actually know. Low carb, for example, does not always result in ketosis if you're eating the RIGHT carbs (fruit, veggies, whole grains). But the key is IN MODERATION. Low calorie doesn't mean nothing but lettuce and carrots all day long. Meat is essential in a low calorie diet because of the amount of protein it contains. And justification is justification no matter how you look at it.

So, here's to the end of my cycle. I am so glad it's finally broken.

Tomorrow is my 6 week appointment with Dr. Veninga. I am so excited for him to see where I'm at right now, and to get some of my burning questions answered. My prayer is to this week be released for more vigorous exercise and do be able to finally get in some AB WORK!!

PS School has started today for the kids so look for more frequent posting! And don't forget to visit my weekly VLOG on YouTube. Post comments, ask questions, and don't forget to like and subscribe to my feed!