What I Eat In a Day

Let me start off by saying I absolutely love food and love going out to restaurants.  I could eat all of the pizza and cookies in the world.  I have a big family of New Orleans women who love to cook and love to feed people (which is usually me).  When I was younger, I wasn't super conscious about my diet and it led to me going through an overweight phase.  This is something I eventually grew out of as I got older and got into sports, but I've always had trouble keeping my weight down.  The medicine that I take to control my seizures slows down my metabolism and makes it hard for me to lose weight, so it's a constant battle. 

This caused some major body insecurities for me as I started competing in pageants because I couldn't even come close to obtaining the amazing figure that all of the women I competed with had.  I became very over-conscious about everything that I put into my body and would deprive myself of carbs and other things in hopes of slimming down.  A healthy diet is essential to staying seizure free, so I was really putting my condition and my body at risk.  Needless to say, it was unhealthy and something needed to change.

Over time, I learned that what you eat to stay healthy isn't a "diet" - it's a lifestyle.  I had to make the lifestyle choice to become healthier.  After working with my doctors and many trainers, I've developed an eating routine that is healthy while still being enjoyable and sustainable.  I've also learned to not be so hard on myself when it comes to food.  Don't get me wrong, I still indulge every now and then (sometimes too frequently), but it's all about knowing your limits, staying on track, and powering through it. 

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