Beginning of My Relationship with Healthy Food Choices

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My journey with the passion in eating healthy started one morning when I looked in the mirror and said “I don’t really like how I look and I want to do something about it”. This was in 2011. That very day, I decided I would take actions to lose weight and learn to eat better. I remember the very first book I read. It was “Belly Fat Cure” by Jorge Cruise. This book, however simple was enlightening to me. EXCITING new information! It opened my eyes with what I was doing…. Let me give you an example. I had heard dark chocolate was good and I had a sweet tooth, so it was a habit to pop in a little Hershey’s dark chocolate with almonds, in my mouth after each meal (Who can relate to me? 😊). How many of us know how much sugar that little piece of heaven has and what the definition of “dark chocolate” really is. You will be surprised… These new learnings made me more curious on what I was doing.

I have this pain on my right shoulder and I have never been able to get rid of it. I think I have had it since 2006. If you must know, I had a terrible accident where I was hit by a car while crossing the street on June 6th, 2006. Oh funny thing, this was 6/6/06 and I remember telling my friends that 666 is a bad day –  I guess I invited that to my life.

Anyway, back to my shoulder pain, I learned so much in the book about bursitis and connection to foods we eat, especially sugar. So, what did I do? I made a decision to quit sugar for 3 months. The first step in making a change is deciding.

NO SUGAR!!! I mean ZERO sugar!!! Not even fruits – I was shooting for 15 grams of sugar a day and I was counting even sugar in a tomato to get there. The book talks about S/C (Sugar/Carbohydrate) value, helps you track the amount of sugar and carbohydrates you consume each day. Your daily goal is 15 grams of sugar and six servings of carbohydrates, which equates to 120 grams. Do not count foods with fewer than 0.5 grams of sugar. I followed this for a month and I was exercising for 30 minutes   4 times a week.

I dropped over 20 lbs in 3 months with this. I was sleeping better, I was subconsciously eating better and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I decided then that I would help others understand how to lose weight and establish healthy habits and always go for better option when they have a choice. I believe we call this, willpower (more about willpower in a separate post).

What I have realized seven years later is that, when you decide, you get rid of all other possible paths, and when obstacles come, you are able to go around, or jump over to get to the destination.

Over the years, I have read hundreds of research papers, books, and tried many things personally to understand impact of food in my life. I have gone through a Nutrition Coaching Certification program and worked with many people to help them eat better. I have so many exciting stories and experience to share. Every time I talked to friends and people I meet about my journey and what I know, they encouraged me to start a blog and share this with people. I know that everyone who is reading this has something they want to change or try or simply curious on what kind of choices should we make everyday regarding food and healthier lifestyle.