Get Healthy

There was a time when I would eat whatever I wanted.  I'd prepare meals that tasted wonderful, but were full of fat or unhealthy ingredients.  I would eat sugary treats every day, telling myself I earned them.  Looking back now, I can't help but roll my eyes, shake my head and think about how stupid it all was.  I was never really obese, but after my surgery I dropped 20 pounds pretty quickly.  I had to be careful what I ate because part of my small intestine was removed and digestion wasn't as easy as it used to be.  I learned that greasy and fatty foods were really hard on my system and at times, even made me violently ill.  I now know that this was the best thing that could possibly happen to me.  It really opened up my eyes. When my 6 weeks of recovery was over I put on my awesome kickboxing gloves and got back into the groove of things. Cardio kickboxing (which I love), hitting the punching bag, riding the exercise bike and even doing a little weight training.  Jacob and I did a complete overhaul of our fridge and pantry contents.  We still buy some goodies for the kids from time to time, but we no longer eat junk and we eat very few processed foods.  We only eat out on rare occasions and we avoid sweets, except for treating ourselves to York Peppermint Patties (my favorite) on the weekends. I have more energy, I feel much healthier than I did before my surgery, and I don't miss all that unhealthy food, at all. In fact, most of it just tastes gross to me now.

I had an appointment with my doctor on Monday and he said my weight was perfect and I was at a "great healthy weight."  He talked about how even if you're a little overweight it is so unhealthy. He talked about all the risk factors and how you might not feel unhealthy but you are. We talked about how if you eat healthy consistently (Life style changes, NOT dieting) and exercise and get rid of the extra weight (and keep it off), you have more energy, you are more alert, and your body will be healthy and you will live longer and be more active in your old age. He talked about all the hidden risks with eating unhealthy food and how people will be overweight but argue that they're not.

I want to be healthy and now that I've had a taste of it, I like it.  This is our new life.  What's even greater is we're teaching our kids to eat healthy and exercise.  Eating in a restaurant or grabbing fast food is now a big treat for my kids because we no longer do it all the time. We feel younger, we feel healthier, we have more energy, all of those risk factors (diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, liver issues, etc) are no longer a concern because I'm no longer overweight.

It's a great feeling.  I don't miss the junk food and I'm happy with our new lifestyle and I LOVE that I have my doctor's support and encouragement!  Here's to a long, happy and very healthy life!!