I wanted to share this journal entry/blog post I wrote a few years ago so that anyone who might be in the same boat as I was will first of all know that you're not alone, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Doing a 30-Day Detox is great, but nothing will truly change unless your whole outlook changes.  It's very easy to get wrapped up in all the wonderful results you see after this detox, but it's also very easy to go down the wrong road after, so this is for you if you are obsessing.

How I Stopped Obsessing Over What I Ate & Became Happier and Healthier

It wasn't too long ago that I would visit my food login dashboard every night and start logging food I hadn't even eaten yet, scrutinizing every gram of fat, calorie, protein, sugar, carb - you name it, I obsessed over it.  

A few things happened:

Short Term:  I was unhappy and mean to myself, trying to find some way to lower my carbs and up my protein to get it just right.  I would come home starving and tired, scarf something down (because by that point I didn't care), then do it all over again.

Long Term:  I gained weight and developed an unhealthy relationship with the idea of food.  Even though I was working out three or four times a week, the amount of stress I put on myself was enough to cancel out all the work I did at the gym.

Does this sound familiar?  Lets turn this attitude around and become happier and healthier right now!

Starting a New Chapter

Before I could change anything artificial, it was important to refocus my energy into a more positive approach and learn to love what I have and not what I want.  So I started a workout routine that I actually enjoyed doing, got myself a Fitbit for Christmas and learned how to cook meals that tasted good...not "healthy".

By being in an almost meditative state during my workouts, I am better able to understand my body and know what it needs rather than what it wishes for so that I only give it nourishing foods instead of whatever has the most protein.

Once I changed my perspective on my body and fitness, it was time to take a really good look at what I ate, how much I ate and how I ate it.

What I ate wasn't a huge issue, although I'm kidding myself when I think I wasn't eating tortilla chips on the couch at 9pm right before bed and having almost 600 calories worth of snacks during the day.  

These days, I may still be eating 400-600 calories of snacks, but I'm not coming home feeling starved - and you know why?  Because instead of eating popcorn or chips, I started eating homemade fruit salads or roasted veggies or a piece of dark chocolate.  All real foods with real nutrition.  I stopped planning so much and just packed my lunch bag with simple, real, whole foods.  Now my skin is healthier and I feel better.

The biggest obstacle was how much I ate.  As much as I thought I was being good, portion control was out of control.  As I mentioned earlier about being in a meditative state, I learned how to listen to my body and stop before I'm stuffed.  I recommend spending at least five minutes every day in a quiet room either stretching, sitting, lying down and closing your eyes or any other quiet activity and just relax!  You'll feel better after day one!  Just remember to leave the phone, tv and computer out of it!

How I ate food was also a big challenge.  I usually felt rushed, stressed or bored when I ate, and now I try to treat food, even snacks, as an event.  I sit, relax and enjoy every bite.

Keeping Up

Remember that to eat healthy and stay happy, you've got to change it up once in a while!  Make a healthy batch of cookies or grab a latte or have a burger!  

Once you cut out the other crap, you'll start to forget it even existed.  Just don't deny yourself and know that as long as you're eating real & whole foods, you're getting the right nutrition and your body will be happier because of it.