I call this next post the roller coaster years because that's what it felt like.  This post has taken a bit to write because even thinking about it, my mind is all over the place. So I apologize now if I ramble a lot. I was so messed up. Dealing with all the issues I was dealing with and ending high school.  I had no idea who I was or what I wanted.  I landed myself in a very hostile relationship that I could not get out of.  Physically I could, but mentally I could not let go. Bring me to 21 and I am pregnant.  The thoughts are racing through my head, "how am I going to handle putting on weight?"  Funny thing is, I didn't starve myself at all throughout my pregnancy. It was like the switch went off and I knew I needed to be healthy for this baby.  However, I did count every calorie I consumed and exercised my whole pregnancy.  I had a good pregnancy, gained the healthy weight needed and it didn't bug me.  However, it may have to do a lot with the fact that I barely showed I was pregnant.  I was 8 months pregnant and still wearing a lot of my normal clothes.  Those who knew that I didn't eat a lot, bugged me and gave me crap because I must of been starving myself.  I was so mad!! I wasn't but nobody took the time to notice.  Anyway, fast forward to after baby and the starving myself began again.

    Over the next 10+ years, I was up and down.  Low self esteem, eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, abusive relationship, etc all contributed to a miserable life.  I would get depressed, complain about myself, start a workout routine, quit the routine, complain, be depressed. What a miserable cycle.  I was lost.  Starving myself (for days) finally did come to an end in University (about 9 years ago) with the help of a really great friend who just understood me.  She never judged me, always trying to boost my esteem and helping me out.  I started eating a lot healthier and realized that I did need to eat to be healthy.  But if I had something to do (like swimming), I wouldn't eat until after it was over. So my eating disorder was not as extreme as it was but it was still an issue.

    I focused more on my body and what was wrong with it.  I picked apart everything, my mood still depending on how I felt that day. I always talked myself down, always! Again, I would start the cycle of attempting to get in shape.  I didn't stick to anything!  A lot of things factored into me failing.  I would just throw together whatever workout I thought of, wasn't consistent, didn't have a plan, expected to see results too soon and would get discouraged.  I complained but did nothing about it.  But as I was getting older, my body started changing and it scared me.  I no longer could get away with being "skinny" and having that false idea that I was healthy and in shape.  I had ignored myself for so long that I couldn't see what was happening. I should also mention that in the later part of this time period, I went vegetarian and a couple years ago I went vegan.  After being vegan for a few months, I lost 13 pounds.  13 pounds that I didn't even realize I had put on.  But after losing those 13 pounds, those old feelings rushed back into my head.  I was so happy to be back at a weight that I was happy with, I was scared to gain it back.  That is when I realized, I really do still have an issue and need to do something about it!


Stay tuned for Part 3
 
        I am writing this blog series to share with you how my journey started and where I am today. So here goes..........


    I remember the exact comment that was made to me back when I was 11 years old (grade 6) that changed everything for me.  It was a relative of my step grandmother who made the comment. She compared my size to her granddaughter's and said that we were the same age, but SHE was much slimmer than I was.  Who knew that 1 comment would turn my life around.  I think it affected me so much because I was "shy", had low self esteem and was not very happy.  I was your typical average sized 11 year old girl.  Looking back now, there was no way I should of been concerned about my size, but at that time, it consumed me.

    I started reading magazines, reader's digest, prevention, etc.  There was always little ads in the magzines that were directed at weight loss.  There was one ad that stuck out to me, a young girl who felt desperate and mailed out 12.00 cash for a diet book.  When that book came, I hid it and read it front to back.  I weighed myself, measured, counted calories, burned calories, etc.  Whatever it took to be "skinny" I was up for it.  Then the comments started, "you are so skinny, you should eat, you can eat that, I wish I was skinny like you" and so on.  I loved it.  I was getting noticed.  The more I heard it, the more it justified what I was doing to myself.  But it became so much that to me,I was never good enough.  I always saw myself as "fat".  I would pick apart every inch of my body. Who I was became dependent on how skinny I felt.  Every day, my mood was set by how I felt about my body.  A bad day would make me moody, depressed, irritable and lonely.  I would hide so that I did not have to be around people because I was always thinking that THEY are thinking about my weight. 

    Once I got to high school, I was barely eating. I weighed myself every day, counted calories because I could never go over 1000. That was the initial number I set.  Because I didn't feel sick, I reduced my calories even more.  I would never let my weight go below 100 lbs because to me, if I went below that number, I would get sick.  As long as I stayed in my range, I considered myself healthy.  I would consume a number of calories and go burn it off right after eating.  I exercised a lot and barely ate. I look at it now, how did I function?? I wasn't functioning very well at all.  I was unhappy, moody, depressed, tired, etc. I planned out what I would eat, when I could eat, how I would burn off any extra calories, etc. My focus wasn't to be healthy, it was to be skinny.  I ate a lot of junk: McDonald's, pizza pops, huge Costco muffins, etc. If I knew that I would be eating something like that, I wouldn't eat all day (or two) knowing that I would be consuming  a higher number of calories.  I was sick.  I may not of looked like the typical anorexic person, but I was. I didn't want to look sick because then people might of caught on, even though there was very obvious signs.

    I look back now and think, wow, was that ever a lot of unhealthy effort I put into my body. It's exhausting just remembering all of it.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my journey.