What I eat. Part One.

Let me begin by saying: it's ME saying these things! Me, the former fat girl, eating, loving and preferring healthy foods! It's like a miracle. No, it's not like a miracle, it is a miracle. I'm so grateful that I found something inside myself that led me down this new path, because it's a much better place to be. And I plan to keep going, because I love this path.

Let's face it, it wasn't fruits and veggies and whole grains that made me fat. Last night, I ate a few yummy dates to satisfy a sweet tooth. Not chocolate--dates! And since my friend T and I semi-accidentally splurged at work yesterday, I had shirataki noodles for dinner (these, too, are a miracle; more on them in a bit).

What I eat has changed a lot since the beginning of this Odyssey. I hate being this sort of cliche, but yes, I had been on the diet merry-go-round for many years, trying lots of different programs, jumping into the path of every magic bullet I could find. And yeah, they all worked, briefly.

Some programs are absolutely ridiculous, like the cabbage soup diet. Please introduce me to someone who permanently said goodbye to more than thirty pounds by eating cabbage soup.

I love food. I love to eat. But my tastes have changed, and now, I love good foods more than junk food. They make me feel good, nourished, satisfied. Sure, I still eat french fries now and then. But I always split the order with a friend, and we make sure we never finish all the fries.

Oh, speaking of fries, here's a TIP: Destroy the food! When out to eat at a restaurant, once you have eaten enough to satisfy yourself, destroy the food! Put your napkin on your entree plate, or put your salad plate on top of what is left of your dinner. Otherwise, you might say "Oh, I'm full!" and ignore the food for a minute or two, but then you'll pick at it. So do what my friends and I do: Destroy the food!

That's kind of a foreign idea, isn't it, to destroy the food? When you're fat, you want all the food, and second helpings. You never, ever destroy food. You eat it till it's gone, and your belly is half sick. Does that feel good? No. Everything about it is painful. The need, the want, the feeling of being out of control. And of course, the after-effects: the tight pants, the larger sizes. It's a horrible cycle. It occurs to me that fat people must be very brave, because it's a very scary ride. And stayed on that ride for many, many years.

I have a new life now and I plan to continue discovering the new me.

What I eat...to be continued...

Stuff I love!
Shirataki noodles--a miracle. They are a substitute for pasta--with nearly no calories. Yeah, no calories. There are two types: those made with and those made without tofu. The tofu version have a few calories, I think it's 20 per serving, with two servings per bag. Isn't that fabulous? You can eat a whole bag of something, two servings, for 40 calories! And they have fiber, too!

You can find the tofu version in grocery stores with a natural foods section. They're in the fridge near the cheese. The other version has to be ordered online. A simple google search should get you to a site.

Drawbacks? They're not for everyone. Packed in water, they're a little mushy, like very well done pasta. They also have a slightly fishy odor when they first come out of the package. Rinse them well, then boil them for just a minute. Dry fry them for a minute to remove excess water, then top them with whatever sauce you like.