Stacy's Life Challenge

This morning I was craving cereal so I decided to go to the nearby market and get some delicious Kashi. I like Fiber One products but the reason I always opt for Kashi is because their cereals are also packed with Protein, which I am realizing is just as essential (as Fiber and Fruit) in the morning. I paired my cereal with some Soy Silk Fiber Plus Milk and a Fresh Banana.


Last night I decided that I want to eat fresh and delicious foods, which I do already but I have been feeling tired often and sluggish and I know it is because of how often I eat packaged foods. I remember a while back I was watching the BBC Hit Show, You Are What You Eat and the host and founder Jillian was saying to an overweight woman that if she died it would take her body months to decompose because all she ate was packaged foods which stayed in the body for months and months. Opposed to fresh foods that only stay in the body that day...It definitely got me thinking then. And I found myself thinking of that this morning as I was deciding what to eat.

I'm tired of being tired. I want fresh foods and I want my body to be happier and healthier. Though I am already healthy I think it is important to be the healthiest you can be. And right now that is what I want to focus on. I guess I am doing a two-week challenge of no junk food because I feel I have been reaching for it a lot lately. I have been overeating and still abusing food. I haven't binged in about two weeks...which is really good for me. But whenever I eat sweet, sugary foods (or very salty foods like tortilla chips) I can't get enough of them. I just want more and more and more. It's really difficult for me to admit that I have a problem with food but I do. Actually, it's not difficult to admit. That's the easy part. The difficulty is admitting that it isn't about the food, but about me. I need to be mind healthy first before I do anything, which is also a part of my two-week challenge. (But obviously it will take longer than two-weeks. This is a life challenge.)

To be completely honest, about a week ago I went to a Overeaters Anonymus Meeting here in New York. It was after I went to Yoga to the People. I went because I felt I was having a difficult time with food and still abusing it and I wanted to talk about it among people who had the same issues. It was good for me to go. I felt very supported and was really taken care of. I have not been back but it is definitely something I am thinking about returning to. They have books and step-by-step packets to help you on your journey to a better and healthier you.

I have a fear of food. I fear that there won't be enough of it for me, I fear I'll be lost without it, I fear it will make me overweight, I fear giving up sweets and fattening snacks especially because I'm scared I can't live without it. But I can. And when I realized that I have a fear of giving up fattening foods, it made me realize that I should. I'm addicted to it. And I don't want to be addicted to anything, especially things that are unhealthy for me. So right now I am distancing myself from unhealthy, overloaded snacks. It needs to be done.

It's just like when someone is in an abusive relationship, you need to cut it off immediately and find new people and activities that take the place of it. If not, you will probably go back to that relationship because it is all you know. So, I have other activities I can do besides eat and abuse food. We all do. But if I do not watch it extremely carefully, of course I will go back to my abusive relationship because it was what I am comfortable with, it is all I know.

It is all about loving yourself and living for yourself. As my friend told me: It's about you. It isn't about other people. So, I'm putting me first and loving me first. This is my life challenge.

If you are interested in attending Overeaters Anonymous Meetings just go to the website at www.oa.org/. Click on Find a Meeting and type in your city and they will find a meeting near you. It's really great.