Through Thick and Thin

Growing up in the city, there were many ways I loved to have fun and exercise. I enjoyed playing in local parks, running around with friends, ice skating, rollerblading, skateboarding, swimming, biking and more. I was considered skinny. I ate whatever I wanted and was active in exercising, so I was not concerned about my weight.

Then it happened in my early 20’s, I had a car accident that prevented me from exercising the way I use to. My back and neck pain took several months to fully recover. As a younger woman, I always felt really strong.  But after the car accident,  I began suffering from depression, anxiety and frustration. It was painful and I had difficulty walking, and was not able to exercise the way I used to.  My coping method was emotional eating and as a result, I gained weight.  When I recovered from my back pain and was able to get back into the sports I loved doing, I was able to lose the weight I had gained.

As I became a bit older, my metabolism slowed down and consequently I started gaining weight. I ate whatever I wanted like fast foods, pizza, pasta, soft drinks, etc and had to exercise very hard to maintain my physicality. I am sure everyone can relate to when experiencing upsets or heartbreaks, the coping method is emotional eating.  Well I started noticing when I was upset, my lack of sleep, stress; my weight gain had cause my body to be in pain in various places. I also felt sluggish and was in a mental fog – forgetting everything from one minute to another. I knew I had to take better care of myself.

I tried a few diets and they worked for awhile, but I eventually went back to eating unhealthy and gained back the weight. It took me a while to finally learn that what I eat is important. To fully understand as a woman/women we are emotional and process our feelings differently from men. And my eating habits were not only causing my weight to increase, but also really affecting my moods and approach to life.  I needed to shift my mindset in thinking my diet isn’t just a diet, it is a lifestyle.

One winter I noticed that even though I didn’t exercise much, I lost the weight by eating healthy with fruits, vegetables, protein, some carbs and healthy snacks. My attitude was actually pleasant. I decided to become a vegetarian for awhile.  I limited the processed foods, fast foods, and soft drinks, especially fructose corn syrup. The result was I maintained my weight, my allergies were reduced, thought more clearly, handled stressful situations with ease and my body moved faster.

This sounds great I know.  Then I overdid it again with exercise for years and ignored other areas of my body that needed attention. I began going in and out of being a vegetarian, vegan to meat eater and back again.  I decided to look deeper to see what was bothering me and realized there were some issues of the heart I was still holding onto. I held everything in, while all of my friends thought all was well, always smiling.  Then I had a few health scares.  So I went back to what worked.  Being a vegetarian.

The next time I encounter an upsetting/depressing situation like a fight with friend or loved one, breakup with a boyfriend, joint pain in any form, I will stay positive. I have learned who I am and and still learning the best ways to eat.

Other habits I have developed along the way are mediation, reading inspirational material, listening to feel good music I really love; emotionally connecting with my family, friends and loved ones; and physically by exercising and getting enough sleep and eating healthy. Having a positive mindset is important and it is especially important for me to love and honor myself.

What’s your journey?