I've struggled with my weight my entire life. There, I said it. I've always been heavier than I should. I've always eaten things I shouldn't. I've dieted and failed, dieted and failed again, dieted, failed, given up, and dieted again. It's been a life long challenge for me to lose weight and an seemingly impossibly goal to maintain any significant weight loss -- until now.
When I was in Chile, I was baffled at how clean they eat. My host mom never served a meal without a salad. Salad dressings were a foreign (and expensive) luxury. Most salads were lettuce, tomato, occasionally carrots, simply dressed with lemon, salt, and olive oil. Lunches and dinners were homemade and amazingly balanced. Eating out was horribly expensive. My host mom never bought sodas, juices, or sweets.
I was shook.
Food has always been my comfort. Sad? Let's eat. Happy? Let's eat. Bored? Let's eat. It was the crux of my weight problem. I knew this, it always had been and still, I couldn't beat it. I like to think I'm a strong minded person. I tend to be rather stubborn, occasionally bordering on the bull-headed side, but this was the one thing in my life that I couldn't overcome -- until now.
There was things that my host mom made that I really liked and there were things that she made that I really DIDN'T LIKE, but, I ate them nonetheless. I had no car to seek out other options. Eating out was too expensive to do very frequently. Thirst had to be quenched with water from the tap. And if I didn't enjoy my meal, too bad, it wasn't meant to be enjoyed, it was meant to be nourishing and filling (which it always was).
Over time, I began to make my peace with meals. I was less fussy over textures and appearance. I was more willing to try things I'd never tried before. And if I like it, great, if I didn't, that's okay, at least I wasn't hungry anymore.
I didn't think much of this coming home. I was definitely ready for American food, but I hadn't realized how much I'd changed. First of all, I lost 16 pounds in Chile, even though I didn't set any specific weight loss goals for myself on purpose, knowing my focus needed to be adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language. Coming home, I've lost 10 more pounds and I'm sticking to my weight lose goals I do have without concern. I drink more water than I ever have, meals don't necessarily need to be the absolute most delicious thing I've ever ate anymore, they need to be satiating (which they always are).
I'm no longer in Chile but I can't help feeling that Chile will forever be in me. I'm better because I went, I'm happier because I did it and I survived and I thrived!
Here's to Chilean Allison, she's pretty cool.
When I was in Chile, I was baffled at how clean they eat. My host mom never served a meal without a salad. Salad dressings were a foreign (and expensive) luxury. Most salads were lettuce, tomato, occasionally carrots, simply dressed with lemon, salt, and olive oil. Lunches and dinners were homemade and amazingly balanced. Eating out was horribly expensive. My host mom never bought sodas, juices, or sweets.
I was shook.
Food has always been my comfort. Sad? Let's eat. Happy? Let's eat. Bored? Let's eat. It was the crux of my weight problem. I knew this, it always had been and still, I couldn't beat it. I like to think I'm a strong minded person. I tend to be rather stubborn, occasionally bordering on the bull-headed side, but this was the one thing in my life that I couldn't overcome -- until now.
There was things that my host mom made that I really liked and there were things that she made that I really DIDN'T LIKE, but, I ate them nonetheless. I had no car to seek out other options. Eating out was too expensive to do very frequently. Thirst had to be quenched with water from the tap. And if I didn't enjoy my meal, too bad, it wasn't meant to be enjoyed, it was meant to be nourishing and filling (which it always was).
Over time, I began to make my peace with meals. I was less fussy over textures and appearance. I was more willing to try things I'd never tried before. And if I like it, great, if I didn't, that's okay, at least I wasn't hungry anymore.
I didn't think much of this coming home. I was definitely ready for American food, but I hadn't realized how much I'd changed. First of all, I lost 16 pounds in Chile, even though I didn't set any specific weight loss goals for myself on purpose, knowing my focus needed to be adjusting to a new culture and learning a new language. Coming home, I've lost 10 more pounds and I'm sticking to my weight lose goals I do have without concern. I drink more water than I ever have, meals don't necessarily need to be the absolute most delicious thing I've ever ate anymore, they need to be satiating (which they always are).
I'm no longer in Chile but I can't help feeling that Chile will forever be in me. I'm better because I went, I'm happier because I did it and I survived and I thrived!
Here's to Chilean Allison, she's pretty cool.