I truly understand what you are going through. I struggled too and I know how you feel. I empathize with your continued battle to lose weight and keep it off.  It is a womans’ curse! I know how much you want to wear your clothes comfortably, attend social events and have energy to exercise. I know what “feeling fat” feels like. The frustration of working really hard and losing weight only to gain it all back a few months later is extremely exhausting.  I was there once and I get it! I struggled with my weight, feeling defeated, and lacking confidence.

Growing up my after school snack was often several Oreo cookies with full fat milk. If I dragged the chair over to the cabinet I could reach up and open the Lays potato chips remembering I could not eat just one. In the morning I had a choice of Apple Jacks Life cereal and on weekends my breakfast consisted of 2 fried eggs in corn oil or butter with 2 large glasses of orange juice from a concentrated can and buttered white toast with a lot of strawberry jelly. I remember not liking my soggy and oily vegetables. My memories of holidays include Crisco crusted cherry pies and tables covered with loads of unhealthy greasy foods and lots of sweets.

No wonder by age 25 I already suffered from high cholesterol, sugar addiction and severe acne on my face. Doctors told me heart disease and diabetes runs in the family. Well, I wonder, is it my family’s poor food choices with years of eating processed foods?  Or is it simply my family genetics? I now believe it is all the same. I am genetically predisposed to diseases because of the unhealthy diet that was fed to me.

After giving birth to my beautiful daughter I struggled to lose the 40 pounds and did it in some of the unhealthiest ways. I tried HCG- Low Carb – Paleo- Weight Watchers – Jenny Craig- Do any of these sound familiar? I lost the weight but the calorie restriction and high saturated fats drove my cholesterol up to a very scary number of 600. I looked fit on the outside but felt very unhealthy inside.

I became vegetarian initially but then I read the book “The Starch Solution” by Dr. Mcdougall and switched to a whole foods plant based diet. I have been eating a whole foods plant based diet for three years now and not only has my weight stayed consistent at 127 -129lbs, but I feel amazing! I have boundless energy, I never go hungry, and I feel more confident and happy with myself and my body than I ever did when I was dieting. I cry with relief.