My Life in Rehab-What’s It Like?
My Life in Rehab-What’s It Like? For the past 1 1/2 months I have been in rehab. First, let me start by stating it’s not what you think. Growing up as a child, I always had a negative relationship with food. Food was not my friend; food was my enemy. I constantly heard the following: “Just eat less”, “You have such a pretty face if you only had a body to match it”, “With a body like that you will never get married”. I guess somehow people thought that if they said those things to me it would make me want to lose weight. It did the opposite. I ate more and more and lost control of my eating. I was always hungry….
My Problem
As I think back to my childhood, I remember always being told I ate too much. Honestly, I was always hungry and couldn’t eat the smaller portions my family and friends ate. Those portion sizes just didn’t fill me. I knew my mother was watching how much I ate and so I dared not overeat because I knew she would say something. I didn’t want to have the talk about my weight.
Many nights, I would wait until everybody was asleep and sneak food into my room. Then, I would stuff my face until I was full. Then, I hated myself for doing that and promised myself I wouldn’t do it again. The truth is it became a cycle that went into my high school years and beyond. Food was not my friend it was my enemy.
I Won’t Eat and I’ll Exercise
My entire life I had been told just eat less and exercise. So, when I finished grad school at almost 300 lbs. that’s exactly what I did. Then, I had children and I gained some of the weight back. I thought no problem I know what to do, “I won’t eat and I’ll exercise”. This time it didn’t work and so the 7 year struggle began to lose all the weight from my pregnancies. This time it was the doctors telling me to eat less and exercise.
The truth is if you focus solely on calories and consume fewer calories than you burn your will lose weight. But the quality of your weight loss will suffer if you ignore the macronutrients. Inadequate protein, inadequate fat, and inadequate carbohydrate intake can negatively impact your body. Little did I know this is what I had done to my body. I messed up my entire system from all the dieting and lack of giving my body the right amounts of nutrition.
My Life in Rehab
For the past 1 1/2 months, I have been a member of Beyond Fit Mom. I am learning that food is not my enemy. It is here to fuel my body. I am working on developing a healthy relationship with food. I am trying to learn to not to focus on quantity as much as quality of food. All my life I have been told eat less and now I am being told to eat more to lose weight. I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around the concept but I am doing it.
To ensure that I am fueling my body properly I log how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats I eat daily. I never realized I wasn’t giving my body the correct amounts it needed. Some days it feels like all I do is eat. My caloric intake was upped to 2,000 calories a day and that was scary for me. What was even more shocking is that instead of gaining weight I am actually losing weight because I am giving my body the correct amounts of protein, carbs, and fats.
One of the things I love about this entire process is that I am teaching my kids how to look at food in a different way than I did as a child. I am not telling them don’t eat so much. I am making sure they are eating healthy and nutritious food that tastes good. They eat until they are full.
My son likes the food I am preparing and likes feeling full and so he has asked to take lunch to school. The food is so yummy that his classmates ask him for food. Earlier this week, he was even asked to share his after school snack and shake because they all loved it. The best part was all of it was healthy and filling!
Happy Birthday Stud Muffin
Today, I want to share with you one of my kids favorite recipes. These muffins are delicious and nutritious and are full of protein. This is a perfect snack to have in your home and if you need a small gift for family or friend. This recipe was shared by Kate Horney of Beyond Fit Mom. I made some changes to make it my own.
These Pumpkin Spice Protein Muffins are delicious and you would never think they are healthy. Look how adorable they look in this clear container I picked up at my local bakery. Then, I simply added a bow, created a Metal Embossed Tag with Perfect Peacock Craft Metal Sheet, Scarlet Red Craft Metal Sheet, and the Happy Birthday Stencil and took my love for crafting into the kitchen.
Ready to Make these Muffins?
Download the recipe and tutorial for the tag below
Are You Struggling With Food? Leave Me a Comment
Add Some Dazzle to Your Crafting Starting Today!
Order Add a Little Dazzle Craft Metal Sheets today! It鈥檚 easy and simple. Just click on the link below and you鈥檒l be taken to the 100% secure payment page.
Dear Monica,
You are SUCH a beautiful woman – thank you for writing such a transparent post! I also struggle with some of the issues that you and the other ladies shared, but whether or not we struggle with food or something else – we all have challenges, and often underneath it all, there is a common ground for us to support, uplift and bless one another!
I continue to be blessed by your blog, and I invite you to share this post – and any other posts and projects you’d like – at our Inspire Me Monday and Friendship Friday parties at Create With Joy!
(They are open all week so feel free to drop by at your convenience!)
Have a blessed week!
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Crafty hugs,
Dawn
DesignsByDragonfly {blogspot}
Great project! Thanks for sharing the recipe. The muffins look yummy. How did you add ‘stud muffin ‘ to the stencil?
Thanks Donna!! Instructions for adding the Stud Muffin are given in the pdf tutorial. Enjoy! 馃檪
Thank you for sharing….. I think you look wonderful… I have been trying to exercise with my son this new year he is helping a lot the other day we had the same conversation in a way I have been told by doctors I need to eat more but feel then I am always eating and not losing weight. It has always been a struggle for me also. Keep up the work you are doing and sharing with us. I will keep working with my son and watching for your post.
Cathy,
Thanks so much! It really is difficult when we have been conditioned our entire life that the reason we are overweight is because we ate too much. Then, we are told just push away from the table, exercise more, and it will fall off. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Many times we have damaged our hormones throughout the years with all the yo yo dieting we have done. Instead of having our bodies work for us, we are having it work against us. In rehab, I am learning to get my hormones in check and take a different approach to my eating and exercise routine. It is a real change but I want to be healthier. I will be sharing more about Kate and what she does and it may be something you would want to look into. It has been a lifesaver for me. Hugs and hang in there!! We are all in this together. Monica
I feel your pain. I know I am not eating right and since my husband passed away in October i haven’t cooked but maybe a couple of real meals. I am eating fruits but very few veggies. It is so much easier to grab something on the run. I just don’t know how to cook for one person. But I know I need to get it figured out.
Sharon,
I am sooo sorry to read that your husband passed away. Please know that I care and am praying for you. May God comfort you and strengthen you in the days ahead. May He be your guide as you find new meaning. Love and hugs!!! Monica
It seems that we focus on the image of a person rather than on the heart that is hidden under that image. God’s blessings on your road to a healthy recovery. It sounds like you already have made great strides.
Bonnie,
That is so true and I think we have all been guilty of that at some point. This not only applies to issues of weight but with everything in life. It is easy to judge the shoes somebody else is walking in when we aren’t walking in them and forget to extend grace. Then, life takes us through valleys that teaches us lessons that allows us to extend grace to others later in life. There is nothing like walking in those shoes to understand what somebody is going through. Hugs! Monica
I’m glad your story is getting out there…a great healing step. I also eat a prescribed amount of carbs, fat and protein with each meal. I track my progress free with my fitness pal app on my phone. It really helps to see where you need to focus. I can eat all the things I love with little tweeks here and there. So glad you and your family are doing so well.
Roberta,
I am using My Fitness Pal, too. It is incredible when you realize how little of carbs, fat, and protein you are eating. It was actually a shocker for me as I thought I was eating much more. What I realized is I wasn’t eating the filling foods full of the nutrients I need. Yes, I also love eating all things with tweeks here and there. My kids love the muffins and doughnuts are another favorite. Actually, I don’t think there is anything they haven’t liked. The secret is in making it taste good. 馃檪 Hugs! Monica
Hi Monica: I am a stress eater and by the looks of me, I am and have been under a lot of stress! I love your crafting ideas. I just have not splurged yet to obtain some of your amazing metal sheets. These muffins look wonderful and I adore sweet potato or pumpkin muffins that I make but these look and sound even better. Where do you find the vanilla chai protein powder? I have never used a protein powder but am willing to give it a try as I need to up my protein some days. I need to make some healthier snacks for myself and my husband.
Chris,
I find that I am a stress eater, too. You can order this protein powder online or find it at Walgreen’s. I am going to share how to use this in your coffee. I really encourage you to try it. I have more recipes I will be sharing with crafting and cooking that will be using this product and you will love it. Email me if you wan to chat. Hugs Monica