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"I will be happier once I'm skinny." That's the thought in most women's minds. That nothing feels as good as skinny does. That happiness only comes with a model figure. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's FALSE.
Now if you know me on a personal level you may be saying, "Tif, shut up! You have been a twig all your life." This is true for the most part. Growing up I was really skinny. So skinny that I always wished I would gain weight. I had the worst chicken legs ever, and everyone made fun of me for it. I don't think I weighted over 100lbs until halfway through high school (and I'm 5'6). It wasn't until I hit 23 that I started my up and down weight battle. Now, I'm not over weight by any means, but I'm not a comfortable weight either.
The picture above was taken two years ago. I had been yo-yo dieting and taking diet pills for months. This was my thinnest since high school. Did I feel good? Was I happy? No. I was tired all the time, had no motivation to do anything, and I was depressed. This was not the right way to go about things. This was not healthy, and my body was trying to tell me that.
Up until the past year I thought being skinny would make me happy. I wanted to look like I did when I was in high school. I found out this year that this was not the key to happiness.
I made the choice during Lent to eat vegetarian for 40 days, and that is how I discovered that being healthy makes you happy. Making the conscious choices to eat what is good for my body is what makes me happy. Food can affect your mood and you body in many ways. I feel happier when I know I have gone through my day eating what is good for my body. I don't binge when my day was full of healthy choices. I also don't feel bloated, weighted down, tired, or depressed.
Changing my eating habits was not an easy venture. It's something I did slowly, and eventually it became part of my life. Now I would rather choose happiness and feeling good over the loaded chili cheese fries. However, I do treat myself on weekends (without binging). If I don't let myself enjoy the "bad stuff" every now and again I will feel completely restricted. That feeling of restriction leads to binging for me; and binging leads to depression.
So YOLO! -- Why not make it a happy and healthy one?
