Farmgirl Paints: my weighted past & a give-away!

When I was a little girl I remember my momma always being on a diet. Her side of the family struggled tremendously with obesity, and it was just the norm for her to be trying something new...to be working on herself. I don't remember the names of them. Heavens back in the day who knows what silly diets they had, but I do recall watching her once chew an enormous bowl of popcorn, and then spit it out after every bite. It makes me sad to think about that now.

As an adult my weight has fluctuated. At one point I weighed more than my Honey! I know!! And you wonder why I keep a close eye on it (#operationzipthosepants). The difference between how I grew up and what we do in our home now is that weight is not discussed. We talk about being healthy...we focus on eating right and moving. We limit sugary sweets, fast food and provide plenty of good stuff to snack on.

Back in the day I don't know if they really knew what to feed us. Seriously Twinkies, Ding Dongs and junk were the norm in my house. My honey grew up eating powdered sugar donuts and hot chocolate for breakfast. He wore Husky jeans...remember those?? Hmmmm wonder why he's so disciplined now?? That husky tag must have scarred him for life;)

I never really liked how my body looked growing up. Obesity ran in our family and I had to really watch it not to fall into that category. I remember hating on myself at my 8th grade graduation. I wasn't even heavy, but I remember crying because of how bad I thought I looked:(

In high school I thinned out, only to gain it all back in our early years of marriage. Have you ever heard of the Master Cleanse? I used to take laxative teas and drink a strange lemonade/cayenne pepper mix to detox and shed weight. Not the best method by the way. All of that to say most of us have some sort of history with food. Most of us have experienced a diet and/or not been happy with our body image. Maybe even done something extreme or dangerous to lose it.

I'm in a different place than I was all those years ago. I don't look at myself and feel sadness or hatred. I look at myself and feel love. Sometimes I get frustrated because my weight doesn't respond to what I'm doing, but it's out of a caring place. I want to eat right and exercise, not only to look good and feel comfortable in my clothes, but because I love my family and want to take care of myself for them. I also do it because I'm aging and I want to be healthy and not struggle with disease.

It can go either way for people...this desire to lose weight. It can obviously become an unhealthy obsession and take over their lives. My friend Emily Wierenga struggled horribly with anorexia. She's one of many of my friends who've experienced an eating disorder.

Emily has written an amazing book called Chasing Silhouettes. I'm so very proud of her for using her history...her past...to help others. It's a valuable resource...if you or someone you love is hurting in this area. She's offering one copy to a reader, but I'd like to encourage you to purchase a copy for your school, church, youth group etc...

You can buy it HERE. Her story could help so many. To enter the give-away just leave me a comment telling me your history with food. Any twitter, facebook, blog post etc...gets another entry:) Thanks for spreading the word.

Have a blessed day.