A Quest for Health
There is nothing in this world quite like being a fussy eater who is trying to get fit and healthy.
I’ve gone on a few different diet plans over the years. I’ve successfully lost 60+ pounds in the past with nothing but calorie counting and exercise. But I’ve always gained it back because the way I’ve gone about it has never been sustainable. I’m starving myself, or forcing myself to eat foods I hate or that take way too much effort to cook. Being single, cooking for one can often feel like a waste of time and effort when a cube of Ramen or a box of Mac and Cheese takes minutes, tastes amazing (let’s be honest, carbs are addicting for a reason), and frees up my time to do other things.
Then there’s life to also complicate matters. I work every weekday and sometimes weekends sitting at a desk in front of a computer in an often times high stress job. The last thing I want to do is allow food to add another level of stress to my life, so the restaurants surrounding the office lure me in and spell a recipe for waistline disaster. And we haven’t even discussed the fact that I am probably one of the most picky adults that you will ever meet, surpassed only by my younger brother.
So I’ve spent my entire adult life fluctuating between a pant size 12-20; weighing in at 210.4 lbs at my heaviest.
I’ve tried the short cuts. Garcinia Cambogia made me tired and irritable all the time, and didn’t help me lose a pound. Apple Cider Vinegar was like taking a placebo; it had no effect at all. Even marketed diet pills have done nothing. For me, no short has ever proven to even effectively assist, let alone actually function as a short cut.
I have a slow metabolism, a strong carb addiction, particularly with fried and salty foods, and a bad habit of alternating between forgetting to eat altogether, and then binging on 4k calories in a single meal. I’m also cheap. I was raised on boxed “meals” as my main foods, which has me accustomed to spending $1-2 or so per meal. Real food can be much more expensive per meal, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing or when you’re buying pre-made “diet” meals and carb alternatives.
So what’s a girl to do?
The easy answer: find a diet and exercise plan that I can maintain long term and that doesn’t bust the bank.
This blog marks my quest to do just that.