Eat Right = Love Shopping

So I've never been much of a girly girl (well except when I was young...loved dresses so much!). But when I started gaining weight, my outfits became more boyish, and I struggled with dressing stylishly. I hated shopping. I also had a hard time food shopping...I'd just buy what I wanted to eat: chocolate and hot pockets. I knew I needed to eat healthily, but I didn't know what foods. I hated shopping.

But now that I'm learning about what foods make me feel healthy and energetic, it's a lot easier to go shopping. Now that I know what I can eat it's easier to plan for meals. Now that I've lost weight, clothes shopping has become easier too. Even though I'm not at my goal weight I still feel much more comfortable in my clothes.

It's all due to eating what makes your body happy: and I don't mean what satisfies your cravings. One of my favorite quotes is "Find the way of life you love, then have the courage to live it." For me, the life I'm discovering has made me free. First my religion as a member if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints allows me to rely on my Savior, Jesus Christ. This brings me a lot of peace. Since I've been able to learn to forgive myself, I've found that I don't worry so much. That lets me focus on other things.

Second: learning to eat correctly has helped me learn how to be free of my food addictions. I've been learning that what I want isn't always what my body craves. The food I want fills me, helps me reach my fitness goals, and helps me want to exercise. The food my body wants makes me feel nauseous, keeps me tired, sabotages my health goals, and wastes my budget.

I rarely impulse buy a banana, but when I do it only costs me $1.50 (at the super expensive college store) and 90 calories (10 minutes on the treadmill), whereas when I breakdown and buy the rocky-road fudge I lose $5.50 and it has about 435 calories...40 to 50 minutes on the treadmill. It costs me a lot more, in time and money.

Some fudge now and then is fine, but every time I walk past it? Really? I don't need that. I don't like to feel like I'm not in control, and for a long time I was controlled by food. Now I'm slowly breaking free. Some days are better than others, but it's a gradual process. Yet, even though I feel like I have a long way to go, things have gotten better!

I love going to the store now. Sometimes the larges I grab are way too big, and the mediums fit just right...I love when I overestimate my size. It means I have changed more than I thought. I love trying new foods! I buy gluten free crackers, fruits and vegetables that I haven't tried before, I live on Pinterest, it is a great resource for new recipes.

Some days shopping is still stressful, but now I'm coming to enjoy it more and more, because now I know what I want, and I'm not fighting all the chocolate that surrounds me. I've already said no, and I stick to it. :)

Change one aspect of your life for the better, and the whole of your life will get better. Seeing that in your life is the coolest thing!

- Shayla

SLENDER