SUGAR-FREE, FAT-FREE, LOW-CARB, LOW-FAT, NON-FAT, NATURAL FLAVORS, WHERE DO I BEGIN?!?

Lots of women, I know, lost weight for their weddings. I didn’t put much thought into it, but my dear loving mother, who has always had my best interest at heart, did as was evident when she purchased my dream wedding dress in the size of a miniature me. I packed my mind with dress visualizations and my purse with a miniature food scale and a calorie lookup book then I jumped, full throttle, onto the “lose weight for wedding” bandwagon.

MY UNSTUDIED, UNCONSCIOUS FAST PACED PLAN TO SUCCESS

I was on a calorie-based diet and as far as nutrition was concerned, I felt my bases were covered if I made sure that I ate a little from each food group everyday. I had little time for exercise since I was a Research Supervisor by day and a Wedding Planner by night. Many evenings I opted to use my calorie dinner allotment on 100-calorie packs of cookies, since they were perfectly packaged, measured and tasty. The weight was coming off and my visualization of me in my wedding dress was becoming a concrete reality. Before long, I had managed the consecutive string of low calorie calculated days  necessary for fitting perfectly into my miniature dress and honeymoon teeny bikini to boot! Boy, did I feel like the vision of success!

THE REALIZATION THAT NOT ALL CALORIES ARE CREATED EQUAL!

Within a short time, my entire focus shifted to the all important countdown of 40 weeks to due date. Yessiree, I was on the baby-growing track! I became consumed with visions of delivering optimal health to the precious life growing within my embryonic sac.  Previous to becoming pregnant, I had never thought about pesticides, dyes or artificial ingredients. Now, I was determined to become a passionate scholar and ardent activist of nutritious consumption and the effects of food on one's body and mind. I knew that there would never be a time for prepackaged, fake food again.

MY NEW LIFE PLAN

I began my day cleansing my liver with warm lemon water, sprinkled with cayenne pepper to aid digestion and pep up my metabolism. I switched out all of the useless drinks I was consuming. I started shopping only the perimeter of the supermarkets and buying all my produce locally and organically from the Farmer’s market, then began growing my own fruits and vegetables. I got rid of my microwave, eliminated all my prepackaged ready-made meals in favor of real food, only allowing products containing up to 5 ingredients to be consumed at our table.  No longer was I unconscious about the value and purpose of what I consumed.  No longer did I hold any credence to my previous belief that a calorie was just a calorie.

THE RESULTS

I gave birth to my first, then second and, within no time, a third healthy child. I have never felt so fit and strong as I do now. Such a vast contrast from the bag of bones people said I looked like on my wedding day. My girls are healthy, active and smart as a whip. Nutritious calories will continue to fill my body as I am surely going to need all the strength I can muster for when my precious girls become tenacious teenagers!

WHAT I MAINTAIN AS BEST PRACTICES

• Switch out beverages for water, organic tea or coffee and green drink
• Buy produce locally and organically from Farmer’s markets or grow your own!
• Eliminate pre-packaged meals and concentrate on real food based meals using 5 ingredients or less
• When supermarket shopping, shop the perimeter of the store for the freshest food
• Avoid additives, preservatives and dyes
• Check ingredients carefully and do your research!