Dear Food,

You’re like an ocean wave crashing against a sand castle that was meticulously created for hours on the beach. You came crashing back into my life and swept part of the castle that I built with my own hands. My sweat and tears. Hours spent on me washed away with the morning tide. So, I took the plunge, and I’m headed to dry ground.

When you need help in your yard, you hire a landscaper. When you need help running electrical, you hire an electrician. When you need help eating, you invest in a Nutritionist. Seems simple, so why didn’t I do this years ago. I’ve struggled and had a super, unhealthy relationship with food. I’d definitely peg myself as an emotional eater. If I’m sad, I grab a bag of plain Lays. The crunch of the chip and salty taste mixed with grease is un – bee – lieveable bliss. I may even add them to my sandwich, so I can enjoy the crunch after the bread – – mayo and plain lays in between. If I’m stressed, I eat brownies. And, not just a brownie. Psffff, I warm two brownies in the microwave, top them with two giant scoops of vanilla bean ice cream, and then drizzle chocolate syrup over the top. THAT’S a brownie. If I’m happy, I’ll knock out a bag of tortilla chips like someone is trying to grab them from me. And, I look around to ensure no one is watching before I turn up the bag to make sure I don’t let the crumbs and salt go to waste. Then, I go into the kitchen. I’m on a clear mission, to find more of you. More Food. When will you stop?

I worked my tail off last year. I peddled my little heart away on a Peleton bike , then switched to lifting weights by joining PowHERfit. I ate more nutrient dense food, and I dropped 30+ pounds. I say 30+, because I didn’t start weighing myself until I was 173 ish. I hit 140 Winter of last year. 1 – four – zero! I’ve never let the scale define me. Wait, yes, I did. But seriously, I was one, proud chick. I could see my belly button again. I didn’t have to sit down to put on my shoes. I had one neck, not two. I didn’t have to wear a back brace to work in the yard. And, I could wear a normal sized bra, like one they sell in regular stores that wasn’t special ordered. Good-NESS. Ladies that are blessed, I feel ya sisters, why don’t they make cute bras for us that are sold inside Vicky Secrets? The ladies are always sweet, as they tell me they are out of that size, but they can order it and have it delivered to my house or available for instore pick up. No more of that wasted time! My back quit hurting – like zero back pain. Sugar was under control, because I didn’t eat fast food, 24/7. Not knocking every fast food restaurant as I know a lot have healthy options like a salad now. I’m just not that chick that goes through a burger joint and orders a grilled chicken salad. Um, no thank yew, I’ll take a double quarter pounder, large fry, diet coke, and a hot fudge sundae. Ya feel me?

So, I took the plunge. I have been following some healthy ladies and gents and reading about their success. By the way, I ditched the scale, but now I’m up ten pounds. Once I weighed myself, the trigger inside my head screamed – DO – SOMETHING – NOW! You have worked – WAY – TOO – HARD! STOP – THE – MADNESS! So, I’m at 150.0 yesterday and today, because I’m weighing myself again. I want to gain muscle, shed some fat, and be more lean.

I’m going to blog about my journey with a Nutritionist. I went with who I trusted for learning how to lift weights. One of the ladies used Add Nutrition https://www.addnutritionllc.com/, and I saw her incredible journey which had me sold. Then, my Coach’s journey was inspiring too. I’m not seeking advice from a little skinny chick (no offense, I used to be this chick in my early twenties) that doesn’t understand what it’s like to have minimal muscle and make unhealthy food choices. I watched a reel (little video) of her journey and my mouth dropped. She walked my same path, and then got lean and strong. Heck to the Yeah, Bishes, SIGN – ME – UP!

Yesterday, I told myself that since I didn’t have my marching orders, that I was going to eat whatever I wanted. So, I ate yesterday like it was the Last Supper which included one cheeseburger, large fry, four piece chicken nuggets with Hot Mustard (Holy Smokes ya’ll, Micky D’s has THE 90’s Hot Mustard sauce back – yikes, YUM) medium Diet Coke, two pieces of pepperoni pizza, and 1 piece of Everything pizza dipped in Ranch mixed with Frank’s hot sauce.

15 hours into day 1, and I have not swayed. I am not restricting myself. I’m incorporating more protein, more fiber, more good carbs, more vegetables, more water, and if I want any of that other stuff – – well, I can have it. I’m just not having it for every. single. meal.

Today was a success for me. My Coach, Shalena, IG handle is @redfitforever gave me every tool I needed to be successful. I tracked each meal today, and I’ll share more about that once I half way know what the heck I’m doing. I don’t want to steer anyone wrong right now. For now, I’ll leave you with this, it’s 9: 15 p.m., and I still have 29g of protein and 52 g of carbs to eat which is about 263 calories. I did go over on my fat intake by 9 grams, so I’ll try to hone that in tomorrow. And, I don’t have to track macros forever, this is a building block to learn what food is made up of, so I can build balanced meals. I love Math, so learning the formula behind food, is liberating. And, if you hate Math, it’s ok. I use My Fitness Pal, so it does the Math for you. Today, I weighed everything I ate, took a picture of the food scale, wrote that on a piece of paper, uploaded the photos into the Healthie app, and then typed it into My Fitness Pal. Call it over the top. I call it focused. I’m going to conquer you, food.

Love,

One hungry b

#weightlossjourney #fitness #fitafter40 #nutrientdensefood #leanmuscle #womenweightlifting #transformation #beforeandafter #glowup