Back to the "Old Me"

It took a lot of guts (no pun intended) for me to post these "before and after" pictures. I did it hoping that humbling myself might inspire (or scare) someone else to better health. I've been tall and lean most of my life and that was my self image. So it took me quite a while to realize I no longer was. I'm physically active but I love food. I love to cook food, to photograph food, to experiment with new food combinations. Most of us enjoy using food to celebrate , to commiserate, to fill time, to spend time . We like to eat whether we are happy or sad, bored or busy, stressed or relaxed. There is always a reason to eat and it doesn't necessarily involve hunger.

My ultimate motivation to get back to the old me was health. I knew I didn't look my best, it was harder to find clothes I enjoyed wearing, my favorite sports took more effort and on and on. But when it came right down to it I'm in my fifties now and I just want to be as healthy as I can be.

Once I resumed eating with more focus on nutrition it was actually easy. My favorite foods are all the nutritious ones. The hard part is sugar, but I've been increasingly satisfied with substitutions and portion control. It's habit. My goal was 30 lbs in 3 months and I lost almost 40 lbs in 4 months, keeping within 3 lbs for 4 more months. And counting. The big SECRET? Decreased portions, increased activity. No secret at all.

I encourage comments but don't say, 'you look good' because this is about good health. I'm old enough to know the value of it!

P.S. Have you ever mixed a little cake mix with some water and eaten it with a spoon? No? Uh, yeah, me neither.