I Was My Own Worst Enemy......

Food?  How did food become so many things to me, it was my center of social situations, it was how I dealt with the stress of moving and getting married and leaving the Gianna I knew back in Indianapolis, it was my entertainment when I was bored, it was my comfort when I was sad, it was my reward when I was happy or when I felt accomplished.  Does this sound familiar to any of you out there?  I started to wonder, was I controlling my food, or was my food controlling me?

After weeks of intense workouts and not seeing any fat loss, my trainer Al, was confident that my lack of visible success was due to my diet.  I was sabotaging my hard work with my eating patterns and my choices.  I sat down and really looked at my dietary habits and realized, I was my own WORST enemy!

The new look of the pantry

When Cecil and I finally moved into our home, I was so excited to bust out my culinary skills on him as he joked I only knew how to make one dish, Salmon cakes with spinach and dill sauce.  Apparently, I only cooked for Cecil twice while in Indianapolis and both times I cooked Salmon.  I vehemently deny this and was determined to prove I was worthy of my Italian heritage.  I began cooking almost every night and I am not just talking about the main dish.  I prepared an appetizer, gourmet salad, the main course, sides and sometimes dessert!   This was all fine and dandy, except for one sticking point, Cecil was never home before 8:00pm.  That was my downfall.....I would barely eat all day and therefore my metabolism would get sluggish and ineffective, then when Cecil would finally be home to join me for dinner and we would have very little time to eat before it was time for Cecil to then, hit the hay.  

Fudge Ice Cream, really?

Our schedule was insane, and not something my body was used to.  Our routine calls for the alarm to go off for Cecil between 4:00-4:30am, alarm for me at 5:30am (although Cecil swears all I do all day is sleep, whatever!), work, home by 8:00pm, dinner until 8:30pm, then bed between 8:45-9:00pm.  The life of a Company Commander!  I never have been keen on going to sleep right after eating dinner and Cecil's body can handle this schedule better than mine.  I tried to resist bed at 9:00pm, but Cecil is very persuasive.  It was either go to sleep with Cecil or miss spending quiet time with my husband.  Every night, I chose my husband.  

Does that look like stuffed shells?

Well, today, that all changes.  I have been boasting about my diet plan and it finally began today.  Nutrisystem, here I come.  I have heard some amazing success stories from family and friends and of course, Marie Osmond, so I decided in the pit of my frustration to give it a try.  Along with the success stories, I had also been warned about the horrible taste of the food.  I swore the reason it worked so well was because no one could actually stomach the taste to get it down.  I have to say, I was wrong.....this stuff was actually good.  Now, compared to the photos on the packaging it looks like dog food, but it had great flavor.  The best part is....I am so full, it was hard to get all the food in.  I have never eaten this much in one day since I used to hide cakes in my car in high school, haha.

Hey diet, track this!

I admit I was skeptical about what this would actually taste like, but I am excited to see what the other dishes have in store for my taste buds.  Today it was oat cereal, ham and been soup, stuffed shells, salads with balsamic vinegar, a ton of fruit and veggies and ice cream...tomorrow, who knows what will be on the menu!  I feel that I have all the pieces finally on the table and ready to complete the puzzle of the improved, me.