About the title...

Well, I survived the weigh in and, in case you're interested, I stayed the same. So I'm still at 262.8 pounds, but that's ok. Considering I am feeling very bloated (ladies, I think you understand what I mean) and I splurged a little last week, I'm pretty happy. I do believe I will have a loss next week, but we'll have to wait and see.

I named this blog 'Don't eat that!' not because it's a witty title (although it is rather witty) but because it is a phrase I heard quite a bit from the time I was 12 until I turned 18. You see, I was not a chubby child. I wasn't skinny, but I wasn't a super chubby kid with the fat face and fat arms. I guess I was somewhat normal in my weight and size. Then I turned 12 and started puberty. That's when everything my metabolism came to a grinding halt. I started to grow taller and I started putting on a lot of weight. I did not change my eating habits to match my metabolism. As the weight began piling on, I began hearing phrases like: "Jennifer, don't eat that", and "You really shouldn't eat that", and "Do you really need another serving?" from my parents, grandparents, and other concerned relatives. I guess they thought saying things like that would help motivate me to put down the bag of potato chips or the bowl of ice cream, but it didn't. You see, I didn't hear the "don't" part. What I hear was "eat that". The more I was told not to eat something, the more I wanted to eat it. The more I ate, the worse I felt about myself. Pretty soon I just stopped listening and got to the point where I am now.

I am no longer a teenager and I have begun to realize that I want to make changes to my lifestyle. I have started exercising more, spending more time outdoors being active than sitting on the couch, and I've started to change what I'm eating. I am no longer devouring an entire bag of potato chips or a half-gallon of ice cream (I've never consumed an entire half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting, but I have eaten one of those Ben and Jerry's containers). When I realized I wanted to change, I began to change. It didn't matter what people said to me before, no one can make you do something. You have to decide you want to do it yourself. I also have supportive people around who say things like: "so what if you ate that candy bar, tomorrow is another day and you will make better choices" or "you look great, keep it up". Taking out the negative has helped me view things in a more positive way (and has helped me to feel a lot better about myself).

So everyone, eat what you want! If you are trying to be healthy, then eat what you want in moderation. Just remember to drop the negative, it will really help keep things positive!