Letting Yourself Go: Confessions of a Foodaholic

For anyone that knows me, I am known to go to the extremes in everything I do, and it has done a number on my body. When it comes to health and food, it doesn’t help that I’ve always been from the live-to-eat, not eat-to-live school of thought; therefore, my weight yo-yos with the events in my life. In undergrad, I gained the “freshman 15.” While adjusting to the new challenges of academic and social pressures, it was easy to indulge with friends during late night study sessions. After growing tired of my tight fitting jeans and shallow breathing, it was time to “snap out of it” and I began spending hours swimming countless laps until finally I brought myself back to my “healthy weight”. Until I thought I met the One…

My first serious long-term relationship began as promising as any romantics could have hoped for. I lost weight because we didn’t really eat so much as consumed each other. After the love settled in I began to let myself go just like the many who let themselves go when in a serious relationship. My bad eating habits returned and my exercise routine diminished. After looking at myself in the mirror one day, I realized I had to do something about the way I looked because “comfort weight” was not the look for me. So back to the gym I went.

“It’s all about balance” is what my dietician says. I now understand balance is a concept that is to be applied universally in my life. I recently experienced another similar version of my previously mentioned relationship. I met a guy, got in a relationship, and again started packing on the weight with my new beau. We’ve built a comfortable home life and I find myself happily domesticated. When I noticed I no longer enjoyed taking photos and I could kind of see my cheeks in my peripherals, I knew it was time for change. Again.

I hope third time’s a charm and I am able to break my yo-yo cycle as I caught the “symptoms” earlier on (6 months into the relationship). I enjoy looking good and feeling good about myself, and I don’t want being in a relationship to compromise that. It is a conscious decision that we make to not let ourselves go when we have someone by our side.

Photo found on http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristapalmu/6772800206/in/photostream