How Annabel Lost 150 Pounds

July 2, 2010   7 Comments

Today, Annabel from Feed Me I'm Cranky is posting about her weight loss process. She is really inspiring and I hope you will follow her blog.

Here is Annabel!:

I want to thank Snack Girl for giving me the opportunity to guest post. It is an honor since I truly admire her passion and zest for living a balanced and healthy life full of dream-conquering and world domination! ;)

I feel like one of those silly ice breakers we have to play in school or at corporate meetings is due here. So, I’ll tell you three things about myself – two facts and one fiction for you to guess:
1) I have a twin.
2) I used to be nearly 300 pounds.
3) I’m a little off my rocker.
Ok, so maybe all three are true. You’ll just have to find out! :D

When thinking about what to write for this post, I was a bit stumped. All I could hear was Hamlet’s famous rhetorical question: “to be or not to be?” Is it odd that Hamlet’s voice parades itself in my head? Well, you should see his company!

Anywho, I’ve decided I’ll share some of my own “to be” s when it comes to my health. To be healthy, ya gotta:

Break it down. If someone had told my 280-pound-and-unhealthy old self that in order to get healthy I would have to stop eating all the foods I loved and get an exercise-wheel likea Hamster, I would have stuffed my face with another Big Mac and told them to screw off.

Thankfully, I realized that I could break down my health goals and take it step by step and pound by pound. Looking at the big picture is great and necessary, but fixating on it can be overwhelming.

Get your learn on. I know it’s hard for us health gurus to imagine a day when we did not know how to read nutrition labels or which foods to eat, but I hold on dearly to my memory of that ignorance! Sound weird? Well, I’ve got to keep myself in check - assume you know everything and you learn nothing.

Try new things. This definitely ties in with learning new things. The more research I do, and the more I grow as a healthy person, the more I want to experiment with new foods, new exercises and new healthy lifestyles.

After 6 months as a vegetarian, I’ve recently decided to try out veganism. Healthy people love to exercise their bodies, and, for me, exercising my mind and my choices is just as important!

Accept the things you can’t change. If you’ve ever been to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting (don’t ask), or known someone battling an addiction, you’ve probably heard him/her mention that accepting what he/she could not change is a big part of getting clean.

Why? It’s hard for us type-As (*cough*) to accept things we can’t change. “That’s defeatism!” is certainly something that would pop in my head. But when you think about it – it’s a big, crazy, world out there and trying to change and control everything can leave you feeling like Atlas with the world resting on his shoulders.

You can accept that some things are out of your control and also empower yourself to strive to change all that you can. It’s a delicate balance, but one worth refining for the sake of your mental and emotional health.

Be your own advocate. Welcome to adulthood womp womp. No one is going to patrol what you eat, how often you exercise (or if I need to change the oil in my car! Crap, I need to do that!), etc. And the government certainly isn’t going to do it either.

You know all those cute little check marks and “heart healthy” symbols you see branded on your packaged goodies? Be skeptical and do your research. Don’t like what you see?

Think your grocery store skimps on the organic produce? Do as Michael Pollan, author of Food Rules, says and “vote with your fork.” How you spend your money tells companies how they can make money and, you know what, if it seems organic and healthy foods will make them money, they’ll offer more of it!

This is definitely an area where you have control and can make big changes with your small actions.

Think holistic. Ever feel like you’re suffering from healthy-lifestyle-ocd? Yea, me too. That’s when I remember that health is not about looking this way or only eating that but about looking straight ahead at myself in the mirror.

No, I’m not advocating vanity, silly! I’m saying that it’s your life story you’re writing, so accept and appreciate your back-story, your pace, and where you want it to go. Remember, at the end of the day, when it comes to “to be or not to be” you should always be yourself.

And with that, my friends, I am a cornball!

Your turn, please comment! Tell me three things about you – two that are true – and let me guess the facts and fiction! Also, give me your own “to be”s when it comes to health!

<3, Annabel from Feed Me I'm Cranky