Food 101

If you've been following this blog for any length of time (and by the way, if you have? GOD BLESS YOU because really, I've just been nattering on for YEARS now) then you know that I have a complicated relationship with dieting and food and my body. It's a thing.

If you're my friend on Facebook (and you should be if you are not! Why are we not friends already? Get on that!) then you also know that I recently started an anti-inflammatory diet and I've been going on and on about it.

I have done a lot of stupid fad diet bullshit weight loss ridiculousness in the past.  Like, okay, almost all of them. Weight Watchers? Did it. Nutrisytem? Did it. Low carb? Did it. Low fat? Did it. Deal-a-Meal? Did it. Slim Fast? Did it.

Oh, and I also had an eating disorder, but that's another story entirely.

All I've ended up with was an empty wallet and an effed up metabolism. That's what I got. I couldn't follow them successfully. There are many many reasons for that, I think, but the underlying one is simple: I was tired of living my life in a way that revolved around what I weigh and my screwed up relationship with food, so when I was on a weight loss oriented diet plan I would eventually rebel because the anxiety of having every single bite weighed and measured and calculated and accounted for was worse than just being fat.

Now you are probably thinking, but you JUST said you were on an anti-inflammatory diet. YOU SAID THE D WORD. What's up with that?

It's not really a diet, though. It's a lifestyle change, and it's a lifestyle change that I am making for health reasons. Losing weight (and I am, I will be honest) is secondary to the fact that I am trying to improve my allover health. I have been feeling terrible for some time, and if there's something I can do to feel better that doesn't involve taking more medication, I want to do it. I'm tired of feeling horrible.

The interesting thing -- at least to me -- is that by subtracting the "COUNT ALL THE CALORIES WEIGH ALL THE FOODS" portion of the program, I don't have a hard time sticking with it. I don't feel deprived by my inability to eat bagels. I'm not super sad that I can't drink diet coke anymore (well, I'm a little sad). I feel ... great, actually.

Losing weight is a side benefit to changing things for the better, and that doesn't suck. Not even a little.

Who knew?