A Mini Diet Makeover Story

By Paula G.

At first I found it a bit intimidating… write down everything I put in my mouth for a day! How could this possibly help me? I know I’ll just be criticized for my not so well rounded meals!

The most difficult part was keeping track of what I ate, but by keeping a pad of paper where I put together most of my meals (in my office) made things much easier. I hadn’t been feeling 100% lately with my energy up and down. I was always tired and fatigued. I was still eating a lot of processed foods (low carb, sugar free) as well. After submitting my diet and questionnaire, I patiently waited for it to be scrutinized as I knew I had some bad snacking habits and had recently stopped following the Atkins way of life.

There was actually no scrutinizing at all! Meri said my diet wasn’t too off course. She gave me some quick, easy recipes and wiser food choices. It took a couple of weeks of still not feeling great before I went to see my naturopathic doctor (I hadn’t implemented any changes from the mini diet makeover yet). He suggested a blood test and instructed me to keep a food diary. Go figure! Luckily I had already done this for Meri. My blood test was back before my next appointment so we had ruled out any serious disorder so now my food diary was more important than ever! He said it had to be something I was eating!

I started to take things seriously after that. I went back to the recommendations in my mini

diet makeover and followed up with a few e-counseling sessions with Meri. I started to follow the guidelines that were given to me and low and behold, 1 month later I was feeling better already. I started to watch my portion sizes which was very new for me. I was eating up to 18 ounces of meat a day! When I decreased my portion sizes and started to eat the right balance of foods I found I wasn’t feeling hungry at all! I didn’t need the processed sugar free snacks for my sweet tooth and I added brown rice and black beans back into my diet as well. I had not had these foods in months! I had so much energy that I was able to exercise at least 3-4 times a week. I even started to jog and I hate running. My inches slowly started to drop.

I realize now that I needed to be ready to make a lifestyle change. I am doing that now and it is so easy. I don’t find myself spending more time preparing food or shopping for it. I am also

not putting all that “grab and go” processed food in my body. I feel great!!! I am aware of my body and my health for the first time ever, and finally doing it the right way!

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