This is possibly one of the most personal blogs I have written to date. I have been doing a lot of thinking going into this blog post. It has hit me during this Whole30 that I am no longer the person I used to be. My view on food is so completely changed that I have a hard time remembering how I used to eat. Thanks to some friends, I have been able to piece together what I used to eat. I can’t believe how much I have changed, if you had told me even a year ago I would be eating not sugar for three months of the year {so far} in 2014 I would have openly laughed at you. Last year I couldn’t do this. It’s amazing how you can change can’t to can. So much of this is in your mind, being open to new things, trying new things and saying yes more than you say no.

Here is a side-by-side of what I ate when I was at my heaviest weight to what I eat now. It’s shocking, really.

 
Heaviest weight

 Breakfast

Reese Bites

Sprite

Starbucks latte and breakfast sandwich

Nothing

Cereal

Peanut Butter & toast

Oatmeal

 Lunch

Nothing

Pizza

Microwave meals

Salads from Wendy’s

Panini’s

 Dinner

Stir fry

Baked chicken

Instant potatoes

Packaged rice

Broccoli

McD’s Asian salad

Snacks

Chocolate

Popcorn {movies}

Ice cream

Hot chocolate w marshmallows

Cupcakes

 Oils & Flavourings

Butter

Olive oil

Canola oil

Soy sauce

Oyster Sauce

 Alcohol

Martini’s {monthly}

White wine

Weight now

Breakfast

2 eggs/chorizo/veggie scramble

Leftovers from dinner

Full fat latte

Lunch

Chicken or pork or red meat {preferable bison}

Green beans or broccoli or cauliflower

Salad w almonds and sugar-free dressing

Sugar-free applesauce

Banana w almond butter

Dinner

Chicken or pork or red meat {preferably steak}

Green beans or broccoli

Cauliflower rice

Instant potatoes {occasionally}

Spaghetti Squash

Plantain Chips

Snacks

Plantain Chips

Spaghetti squash {post WOD snack}

Ice cream {occasionally}

Oils & Flavourings

Coconut Oil

Ghee

Olive Oil

Fish Sauce

Coconut aminos

Alcohol

None, I can’t handle it in my system anymore

At my old weight I would frequently go to movies and have popcorn. I would eat out a lot and binge drink at my friend Allison’s house.

Now, I sometimes go to the movies and I periodically get popcorn, but it hurts my stomach. I still eat out 2 times a week, but I order according to my goals {as you know!}. I no longer drink at all.

I remember distinctly having the Reese Bites and Sprite every Monday when I worked for Blockbuster. It was my breakfast as I made space on the new release wall for the upcoming releases for the week. I did this a good chunk of the weeks. I sometimes would have different chocolate, but it was a large bag and I ate it all. Other times I wouldn’t have breakfast at all because I wasn’t hungry. Then, due to the fact that I worked in stores that were not very busy, I was alone in the store for hours at a time and I was hard-pressed to have lunch. Some days I wouldn’t eat all day. If I did bring lunch, it was an instant lunch that was low in fat and had a lot of carbs in it, usually by Lean Cuisine. Dinner was the healthiest dish of the day, where I would cook stir fry’s or bake chicken. I ate a lot of instant rice or potatoes. I also ate out and would drink when I ate out. I also would once every other month or so party with my friends and binge drink. Every Saturday for lunch I would eat hot dogs and popcorn, I kid you not. I honestly thought that with my good choices at night, that the other choices were “ok”.

Now I know the difference of eating a Lean Cuisine meal and making my own meal from fresh ingredients, using good fat, grass-fed protein that isn’t chock full of hormones. This change took years to happen and if I did anything too extreme, I would binge eat in defiance.

I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to change my eating habits and to heal both mentally and physically. It is a gift and I plan on inspiring those around me to join me in the world of healthy eating. I was lucky enough to have people along the way to help and inspire me and it’s my honor to help anyone who wants my help.