Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

For the last two weeks, I have completely transformed my way of eating. I have been eating mostly spinach salads with chicken for lunch and dinner, or meats with vegetables, and snacking on fruit or vegetables with a protein source (yogurt, cheese, peanuts or sometimes peanut butter). No desserts, very little sugar (the kind found in the fruit, yogurt and peanut butter). Small portions on small plates. Stopping when I’m done with the small portions and eating no more than that. Eating every two or so hours so my blood sugar doesn’t crash below normal. Drinking mostly water, but also SoBe green tea, coffee, and hot tea.

Oh. My. God.

I can’t tell you how LIGHT I feel, how unencumbered by sugars and fats. I’m never uncomfortably full. I’ve lost 5 pounds in a week. If I took the time to exercise more, I’d lose even more. The difference in how I feel is AMAZING. I mean, I knew in my brain that yes, if I would eat better, I’d feel better, it stands to reason, yada, yada, yada. But until I experienced it firsthand, I didn’t take it seriously. It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle change.

I’m a seasoned junk food junkie, having grown up being able to eat anything I wanted and still be a toothpick. We had good, healthy food in my house as a kid, but when I became an adult, I took full advantage of being able to eat fast food whenever I wanted to. I didn’t have to eat broccoli ever again if I didn’t want to. I could have chocolate cake for breakfast if I wanted to. But hitting my 30’s has made my metabolism slow down, and now...I can’t DO that shit anymore! It’s been so HARD for me coming to that realization. I’ve been fighting it like mad. I thought I couldn’t enjoy food AND be healthy, because all the food I enjoyed was bad for me. As a kid, I didn’t reach for carrots or oranges like my sister used to—I’d reach for chips. But now I’m seeing that I’m totally free to choose to eat chips, but there’s a consequence if I do—I’ll weigh just a little bit more, and have a little bit higher blood pressure and cholesterol level, every time I choose them. And since that scares the shit out of me, I’m choosing to let the chips go.

And I’m cultivating an appreciation for the way fruit and vegetables and moderately-spiced foods taste. It doesn’t have to have a gallon of salad dressing or mounds of salt or sugar to taste good. With our ketchups and mustards and ranch dressings smothering our food, how can we taste the actual flavors themselves? Simplicity, baby—it’s more than just a sewing pattern!

And I know that a reformed junkie is the worst thing in the world, so I’m not preaching a damn thing to anyone. I’m just saying, this has been my experience, and I’m so surprised and shocked to find...that it’s COOL.

So a big thank you to all of my family and friends who already eat this way and are shining examples of how good life can be when you choose goodness for yourself (you know who you are).