Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

Have you ever heard, "You can't have your cake and eat it too"? Coming from someone with a cake obsession, I never liked that saying... What is the fun of having a delicious cake in front of you and not being able to enjoy it? The saying implies that you cannot have everything you want, but why not? My philosophy is that you CAN have everything you want. Disclaimer: you may need to do some things that you don't want also...

In High School, once my little-kid metabolism slowed down, I steadily gained weight. I was somewhat active, but I was eating much more than my body needed in both health and junk food. I tried many diets from liquid meal replacements, no meat, no carbs, etc., and nothing seemed to work. I started to think that maybe I was just incapable of being fit...

In College, my activity level slowed down drastically as I no longer had my regular after-school activities. I also no longer had the luxury of eating my Momma's delicious home cooking, so cheap sodium-loaded noodles, chips, and cake snacks were the classic alternatives for my meals. My chocolate obsession also grew now that I lived on my own and could eat as many sweets as I wanted without having to share or admit how many I had eaten. As the weight continued to pack on, I was getting more frustrated with how I physically felt and looked.

In my 3rd year of College, my roommates and I lived on the far side of campus where bus transportation was offered, but I decided to walk to class since I was tired of being tightly squeezed into a non-AC bus. After all, it was only about a 10 minute walk to class. I passed the time by calling my friends or family to catch up with them. I found the short walk to be quite refreshing, and I loved that I was keeping in touch with my family better. I also started to be more conscious of my money as I was trying to become more financially independent. When I went out to eat, I realized that I was usually full after eating only half of my meal which meant I could box the rest up and eat it as a second meal the next day. For the price of 1 meal, I could get 2? Sign me up! Little did I know that those 2 innocent life changes- walking instead of riding and watching my portions- would change my life forever. When the weather changed and it was time to wear shorts again, I was confused when my favorite pair just fell right off... "Maybe they weren't washed when I last wore them and were stretched out? Oh well, I'll grab another pair." The same thing happened though... "Have I lost weight?", I thought. After going through many of my summer clothes, I realized that something was different, and after thinking about it, everything made sense. 

How could I have been so ignorant when I was trying to lose weight before? Did I really think that by eating the same large portions I was eating and not increasing my physical activity that I would be able to get fit? The small changes I did make caused me to lose 15 pounds in 3 months, so that summer I decided to focus on an actual workout plan with the hopes of seeing further results. I started off by adding a fast-paced 30 minute walk to my morning every day, and little by little, and only when my body told me I was ready for more, did that walk turn into a steady run that I still do to this day, 5 years later. 

I went back to school that fall an additional 25 pounds lighter making my total weight loss over 8 months about 40 pounds. I had never felt better physically and noticed a significant increase in my daily life activity level, found that I was well rested after 7 hours of sleep, and was more alert in my classes. Was this real life? After years of trying what I thought were the right ways to lose weight, by cutting out foods that I loved and would miss terrible while on those diets, the true secret was really as simple as portion control and physical activity. The person who I thought would never be physically fit was now lean and healthy, and that increased my mental health exponentially. 

You probably think that I have really missed tending to my sweet tooth for that last 5 years then, right? Well, cutting out desserts would not have made me mentally happy, and I probably would have binged like crazy once in their presence. I make it a point to enjoy those pieces of cake, scoops of frosting, or chocolate candies every single day. I eat very healthy and in the correct portion sizes for my body throughout the day, and at night I reward myself with a satisfying amount of some kind of sweet. I save this for the end of the night because your body needs food that will fuel you throughout the day, so sweets would only give you a temporary sugar rush followed quickly by a sugar crash; however, at the end of the night, your body is simply going to sleep and no longer needs substantial energy. It does, however, need a good brushing of the teeth ;)

So, there you have it. Tend to your sweet tooth by having your cake AND eating it too... Just don't forget to also tend to your body's needs of activity and healthy foods. My motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle is chocolate. What is the "chocolate" in your life?