I Stopped Dieting

It’s been 5 years this week since I started my health journey. And I definitely didn’t get it all right. My “success story” would tell you that I lost 100lbs by diet and exercise alone. But it leaves out the nitty gritty. It leaves out the times I exercised for guilt. The times that my healthy choices were more fear-based than health-based. It doesn’t share about the meals I skipped when I was stressed out and barely functioning in life. It wouldn’t dare talk about the food I spit out because I’d felt guilt on my lips. It doesn’t show the pressure I felt on my body to be perfect. It doesn’t physically show my mental health journey to where I am now. 

I knew I needed to change my lifestyle to get healthy. Dieting was a piece of that. But there HAD to be an exit strategy. But nobody advertises that to you. I had to stop dieting and start living. I had to change my fear of weight gain into a positive reflection on food and my body. I had to stop being in a relationship with eating that left me feeling like I had to “cheat” on it. 

I stopped dieting, and my body didn’t freak out and gain back 100lbs. I fluctuate within a 10lb range and I actually don’t care too much. I like feeling healthy. I like eating a plant based diet. I like exercising (even when I hate exercising). I love knowing that my health is not tied to a number. 

More importantly and most importantly – I like me. And these 5 years…messy, right, wrong and all the in-between got me HERE. So I will be grateful for this path. I will be grateful for this body. I will treat it kindly in every way I learn how. 🙏a