The Climb

I have appropriately titled my first blog after Miley Cyrus's song "The Climb".  My entire life has been surrounded by food; at age five I started soccer at the YMCA, at age six I was put on weight watchers and working out to Richard Simmons VHS's , drinking Slim Fast at age eight & ten years of age. I was the poster child of America's ever growing child obesity. Not once did I ever think about diabetes, heart disease, heart attack, or stroke. I knew how to clean my plate, indulge myself on sneaking food from the fridge or pantry when no one was looking, and keeping my belly full. I also have to add my Grandparents were and still are damn good cooks!!

         All through my middle school and high school years, my weight fluctuated due to emotional comfort I found within food. Seemed no matter what I did or how hard I tried, I was unable to find peace and stability within my life. A broken home, teasing at school, trouble I got myself into, Youth Ministry I realized was a popularity contest which was a part of a church. I had friends in school, I mostly hung out with the punk, goth, emo kids because they seemed to understand me and for once I felt accepted. Surprisingly, never ONCE did I rely on or try any drugs or alcohol while in or outside of school. Food was my drug of choice and my ultimate high was singing competitions, talent shows, and karaoke.
         In 2006, I had finally hit rock bottom. A horribly failed relationship, broke my ankle, totaled my dads’ car, death in the family, screwed over by Georgia Perimeter College, my dreams of becoming a singer shot down. I was so low, I felt like the scum under a person’s shoe. I found serenity and wisdom within a women’s crisis class at a church through a loving lady Mrs. Betty. Through 2007 and 2008, my life began to pick back up. Won Lilburn Idol,  bought my own car with my own insurance, started school at another college, Started dating again, eventually moved out of the dads house, started living at the granddad’s house, and found a job at Waffle House because it was close to home and assumed I didn’t have to pay for groceries. Life seemed to be great!
            However, my body began struggling with the apparent happiness surrounding me. My weight was rapidly increasing due to stuffing my face at my granddads, my work, and with my boyfriend at the time. Between snacking on Fudge Rounds & eating almost the entire menu at Waffle House, I engorged myself on food.  During this time I never saw a problem but I did notice the standard “FAT” problems. Larger clothes, joint pain, foot pain, back pain, sloth like behavior, shortness of breath, stretch marks, sleep apnea, and severe snoring were all becoming common occurrences to my daily life. Then soon to follow was a rain cloud, to remind me my relationship wasn’t lasting and now I was a 240-250lb blob.
           Now that I had ended my relationship with my Jerky X, who would want me? Surprisingly, I met Kenny a week later. He found me gorgeous even when I was at my biggest. Ten months of dating and long distance traveling between Carrollton, Ga & Lawrenceville, Ga. We decided I would quit my job at Waffle House and move in with Kenny and some roommates in Carrollton, GA. During the time we were dating, I had experienced some symptoms I had never felt before. Tingling and numbing sensations in my arms & hands, Cold and tingling sensation deep within my brain, Rapid heartbeat when sitting still, heart flutters, tightness of chest, dizziness, fatigue, chest pain, sweaty hands and feet, eyes were glazed over. A majority of these symptoms occurred after I had consumed too much salt or had consumed too much food in general. I began my elimination diet to figure out what triggered these episodes.
            Like a many Americans I lacked health insurance. Finding the main source of my heart episode was an elimination diet. Chocolate, high amounts of sugar, high amounts of sodium, canola oil. At the time I was working for Ross as a stock team person, and while at work I had suffered one of my heart episodes. I had suffered a major heart episode New Years Day while traveling back to Carrollton on the interstate, due to eating my mom’s highly salted turnip greens. The New Years Day episode was nothing like the one I was suffering through at work. I rushed myself to the Carroll County ER. I was immediately hooked up to an EKG machine, blood work was taken, afterwards I was monitored for an hour by the ER staff. This was my wake-up call!
            The ER found nothing wrong with me, even after my heart was racing, tightness and sharp pain in my chest, sweating in my feet and hands, the coolness feeling deep within my brain, shortness of breath after taking several steps. I was recommended to a cardiologist, who would further their study on my heart. For 30 days, I would wear a heart monitor. Nothing major was found, but an occasional heart murmur. I was frustrated! A $3,000 trip to the ER, to tell me there was nothing wrong with my heart? These Dr’s are Quacks!! This can’t be!! Either way, I knew if I didn’t do something drastic to lose the weight I was going to die.
            It has been two years since my scary trip to the ER; refraining from certain foods was easy, for I had developed a food phobia. I have refrained from foods containing high amounts of sodium, high amounts of sugar, Chocolate, Pre-made processed foods, many non-organic edible products, and canola oil. The fear of another heart episode is ultimately my weight loss secret. But I have also come to the conclusion why I ate the way I did. One:  money; Two:  emotional reasons; Three:  Lacking knowledge about processed foods; Four:  I didn’t care about my health.
            Before I wrap up this blog let me say “You are what you eat!” I would like to continue to share with the world the benefits of a life style change. Not a Diet!! Diets are made to be broken. I want people to know if you can afford to buy fast food every day, you can afford to eat good food. America was programmed to think they were getting a great deal when they buy a processed McDonalds hamburger off their value menu.
            Whatever a person is going through, I’ve been through hell and back. But I look at this entire experience as a blessing in disguise! Seems like we all have to go through things to finally see the big picture.
Thank you for reading my blog!
The Rogue Foodie!