Forward Movement Magazine SUMMER ISSUE 2016 | Page 49

AS I BECAME
AN ADULT,
I LIVED ON
A DIET OF FAT,
SUGAR AND
STARCH...
THAT WAS MY
MENTALITY...
AND THEN MY
BODY REVOLTED
AGAINST ME.

I’d stay in a squat to dry my hair and brush my
teeth.  Are you picturing this with me? 
I was so frustrated.  How could I have my cake
and wear pants too?  I decided I should, of course,
be smart and count my calories.  I’d gained a lot
of weight in about 6 months so my OB/GYN suggested tracking my calories (he also said to ease
up on my cookie diet, but I pretended he didn’t
dare say that).  I found a free online program and
was on my way.  I decided to reduce my caloric
intake to 1,500 calories a day (it sounded like a
low enough number to drop some lb’s).  I tracked
Let me pause and say I love my mom. And she everything I ate and even ate some green foods. 
taught us early to eat a lot of protein and live on Every night I was still able to have my dessert bean overall healthy eating plan. But the sugary pat- cause it was still under 1,500 calories.  This plan
tern became ingrained early for me. I remember lasted a whole week.  Maybe it was actually 5
delighting in my Oreos as a little girl; shoot, they days.  Why?  Because tracking calories is tedious. 
still are delightful.  And we were the “cool house” And because I felt restricted (I should insert that
when my friends came over as we had a plethora of I’m the baby of my family and feel the need to
junky cereals to enjoy. 
never be restricted or told no).  It was complete
As I became an adult, I lived on a diet of fat, sug- torture.
ar, and starch.  I didn’t really drink water or enjoy
Super long story short, my friend Emily sugvegetables.  Yes, I want the bun on my burger.  Yes, gested a better way to eat.  She said I didn’t need
I want 3 bowls of Frosted Mini Wheats….for lunch.  to eat less but eat more (my jaw dropped).  She
Yes, a row of Oreos after dinner makes sense.  And said I didn’t have to count calories (my smile widall was well in my world.  I had no limits because I ened). She said my pants could fit again (my heart
was not overweight.  That was my mentality.  I was danced). 
relieved that I needed no restriction.
This was more challenging than I thought, beAnd then my body revolted against me.  My cause I wanted a magic pill, a quick fix.  I wanted
pants were angry with me and saw no reason to it to be easy and fast.  But what I embarked on
slide higher than my knees.  The only exercise I was a temporary pain for long-term success; I just
needed were squats and lunges I thought, as I didn’t know it yet.
played tug of war with my jeans.  I’d take a showI suffered and struggled and white-knuckled
er then beg those pants to come up, up, up; then for at least 7 days.  I was eating hardboiled eggs