Lifestyle change is hard! There I’ve admitted it. Normally things come to me so easily, I never really struggled with school, I can schedule myself and make the most of my time, I am an absolutely dynamic mother, I can get myself together pretty quickly in all areas of my life EXCEPT this damn weight loss journey! Y’all let me be completely honest, I like to eat! That’s it! I like to eat rich, savory, sweet, spicy foods that will save your soul, while punishing other parts of your body. I can get up and workout every single day (it’s actually in my schedule), but turning a cheek to the deliciousness that is the foods I love, I am losing the battle or at least that’s how it feels.

This isn’t new to me. I’ve known my whole life that food is emotional for me. When I’m happy I eat and do my little food dance, when I’m sad I eat, when I’m mad I eat, you get it food for me is emotional. I fell in love with the thought of eating something I wanted to eat at a very young age. Whenever we would eat all of the food my mother placed in front of us we would then get to pick a snack. My favorite snack was a Nutty Buddy! I know then I began to equate the love of those forbidden foods as a reward. Now don’t go blaming my mother, I don’t. It was a choice as I matured to continue to use food as a reward or as a soothing agent. This was a choice I made and that choice has followed me into making some unhealthy choices that have put my health at risk. In my mind I always rationalized that I’ve never been a skinny girl, so it doesn’t matter what I eat I’ll always have some weight on me. I told myself you work out so BOOM there’s your balance, you’re still healthy. In actually maintaining or starting your wellness journey takes so many parts working together that the slightest altering of one can strongly impact the others. 

I started a Facebook group “Hot Mommies Get Healthy” in which I hold myself and others accountable for reaching their goals, especially the ones pertaining to their health. This is where I begin to hold myself accountable for my food choices. I’d be a hypocrite to tell other people to get their acts together while stuffing my face of all the delicious treats I can find. This group makes me put a mirror up to myself and really look at my relationship with food and my health. I see other women who look like me and who don’t look like me struggling with the same things I am and it feels great to not be alone. Now that we have formed our tribe it’s time to hold each other accountable for getting our lives right. For me being thin has never been a goal, I want to be healthy so that I am around to enjoy my life. Once I was able to really form that statement about my health I then began to explore my relationship with food.  I now keep a food journal in which I monitor what I eat and why. If I am snacking because I am bored that will be revealed in the pages when I go back and reflect on the week. I then make notes to adjust myself to do something else to occupy my food thoughts. 

This has not been an easy journey, with the help of my hot mommies and the determination I have to live my best life I know I will be successful in reaching my health journey goals. 

What’s your relationship like with food? What do you struggle with in your health journey?