If I Can Do It, Anyone Can

You CAN feel better than you do now.  How do I know?  I used to feel like many of you feel now.  I used to be tired all the time.  I made excuses on why I didn't have time to work out.  I ate whatever I wanted and continued to eat past the point of being satisfied.  I used to feel overwhelmed about nutrition and food choices.  I used to feel guilty about the food choices I was making.  I used to feel horrible after my meals.  I used to make some good choices and some really bad food choices.  I was looking at food in a completely wrong manner.  I used to look to food to make me happy when few other things in my life gave me the pleasure that food did.  I was on a downward spiral of deteriorating health. 

As I mentioned above, food used to be one of the only things that made me happy.  I will be the first to admit that I was a food addict.  My life revolved around eating food in XXXL portions. At restaurants I used to order 2 entree items plus a salad or appetizer. Casie made me stop because she was embarrassed, but I would just make a sandwich before or after we went to 'fill me up'. The food I was eating was destroying me, sapping me of the life I wanted and deserved. I felt ashamed and disappointed that I let myself go. I was eating moderately healthy, but I was eating a lot of nutrient poor foods in large quantities.  For awhile there, I lost the will to make a difference in my own life.  I knew what I was doing to myself was not only unhealthy, but was killing me. 

Over time, I began to realize a number of things.  I started to appreciate that even though I exercised that I couldn't just eat anything and everything that I wanted.  I realized that I was setting a horrible example for my patients and my children.  I learned that I had to incorporate exercise AND healthy eating for my body to respond the way I wanted it to.  I had to reverse many years of bad habits and doing things the way my stubborn self wanted and thought I should do things.  I did things my way for decades and I realized that "my way" was taking me down the path of self-destruction.

 I needed to make a change, a transformation.  I had to make a stand and commit to complete alteration in my thoughts and actions.  I drew a line in the sand and told myself that enough was enough.  I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.   I thought about what I needed to do, I committed to a dramatic change and put a plan into action in a short period of time.  My approach was aggressive in that many things that I used to eat were not just to be eaten in reduced portions or in moderation, rather a good portion of my dietary menu needed to be eliminated.  I elected to make changes that allowed food to be my medicine and not my poison. 

The food I eat now enables me to enjoy a lifetime of happiness and health.  I just had to flip a switch in my brain to accept that what I was doing to myself was harm and that I deserved better than that.

You deserve better, too.  Start today by accepting that you need to change.  Create a plan and stick to it.  Come back to this blog daily for motivation, recipes and ideas of how to transform your life.  If I can do it, anyone can.