Morgan Davidson

4/6/2013
English 1010
Charlotte Howe
Transformation B Means !f Eating
"ood is a ver #owerf$l thing% it is more than &$st something to s$stain
life' (t )rings #eo#le *loser together and *an *hange o$r moods and )odies in man was'
D$ring the wee+ in whi*h ( logged everthing ( ate and dran+, ( started to reali-e a lot
a)o$t mself that ( had never tho$ght a)o$t )efore' .t first ( noti*ed the amo$nt of
sna*+ing ( do from da to da was a lot more than e/#e*ted' To me it seemed li+e onl a
little )it, )$t after seeing it on #a#er, and on the My Fitness Pal a##li*ation on m #hone,
it was *lear that half of m dail *alori* inta+e was *oming from m sna*+s' This was
indeed a s$r#rise' ( wo$ld never have g$essed that all the *ho*olate, )la*+ li*ori*e, and
other goodies were adding $# so 0$i*+l' This made me *$rio$s as too what other
#atterns or ha)its ( had while eating and the how these things were affe*ting me'
.s ( *ontin$ed to anal-e m food log, ( noti*ed the different feelings ( had felt
with *ertain meals' ( had logged good, #ositive emotions whenever the meal was
#re#ared at home and with m )ofriend 1teve' 2henever ( ate o$t, however, ( logged
feelings of regret, si*+ness, or an overl st$ffed feeling li+e a Than+sgiving t$r+e' This
made me thin+% was the food ( was *ons$ming o$tside of m home #a*+ed f$ll of fats,
s$gars, and a lot of )$tter, or was it all in m head3 The so$r*e of this ill feeling ( got was
fr$strating me' 2hat was ma+ing me feel this wa and wh had it never affe*ted me in
ears #ast3 Then it hit me, ( had *om#letel *hanged m diet over the #ast five ears or
so, and generall *oo+ed most of m meals $sing little )$tter, salt, or s$gar' ( *o$ld no
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longer dive into a #late of ma* n4 *heese and )e satisfied, or en&o the sweetness of a
Cost*o *ho*olate m$ffin witho$t a #ri*e to #a% the #ri*e )eing a )ell a*he and an ill
feeling for the rest of the da' M )od had )e*ome $se to a m$*h healthier diet' This, )
all means does not )other me, )$t rather s$r#rises me'
( then too+ a loo+ at the feelings ( got when ( ate m normal diet' The sweet
treats, in moderation, where 0$it satisfing, as well as the )eer' 2hen ( overdid it, ( no
longer felt good a)o$t *ons$ming s$*h things' Even when ( ate meat and whole grains, (
noti*ed a differen*e in the amo$nt ( was eating' 2hen ( ate the right amo$nt for m )od,
( was ha##, f$lfilled and ver *omforta)le' 2hen ( overdid it and woofed down too
m$*h, ( started to get that $nsettling f$ll feeling again' This was a )ig reali-ation for me
as well% ( never #aid attention to what was *a$sing me to feel this wa' ( had alwas &$st
)r$shed it off and *ontin$ed on with m da, not thin+ing a)o$t how the food ( &$st ate
was affe*ting m )od'
M diet now is signifi*antl )etter *om#ared to how ( $sed to eat' ( now eat a
variet of foods, *onsisting of vario$s meats, vegeta)les, fr$its, n$ts and grains' !f
*o$rse there are the small ind$lgen*es s$*h as dar+ *ho*olate, !dwalla )ars, )la*+
li*ori*e, almond )$tter and hone sandwi*hes, 5irl 1*o$t *oo+ies, )eer, and other t#es
of ad$lt )everages 6sa+e, and sangria7' These things in moderation were 0$ite deli*io$s
and didn4t have too m$*h of a negative im#a*t on m diet' ( staed awa from most
#ro*essed foods, with the e/*e#tion of a few items' The !dwalla )ars, altho$gh #a*+ed
with vitamins and minerals, (4m s$re are highl #ro*essed along with *ho*olate, +efir,
veggie *hi#s, and 5irl 1*o$t *oo+ies' ( was s$r#rised that the amo$nt of fr$its and
vegeta)les ( ate o$tweighed the amo$nt of #ro*essed foods' ( had a ver wide variet of
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fr$its in*l$ding, )ananas, straw)erries, )la*+)erries, a#ri*ots, mangoes, avo*ados,
tomatoes, lemon #l$ms, and )lood oranges' The vegeta)les in*l$ded #otatoes, onions,
as#arag$s, garli*, s#ro$ts, lett$*e, s#ring greens, *arrots, -$**hini, sweet mini #e##ers,
m$shrooms, *a))age, +ale, &ala#eno, and )o+ *ho' 5inger was among these items as
well, )$t o$ *an4t reall *onsider it anthing )$t a root'
8re#aring m own meals, or #re#aring them with someone else, is definitel the
wa to go' ( was so m$*h ha##ier eating at home with 1teve than ( was anwhere else' (
tr$l saw a differen*e after logging m emotions and reading )a*+ thro$gh it' ( en&o a
good, heart, home *oo+ed meal, whi*h in the end not onl *$ts )a*+ *alories, sodi$m,
and fats, )$t also saved me 0$ite a )it of mone' ( estimated m total *ost for the wee+
was right aro$nd 912:'34' This was higher than normal )e*a$se ( ate o$t more than (
$s$all do' That was reass$ring after loo+ing at different families aro$nd the world and
their *osts' ( fo$nd ( eat 0$ite well and for fairl *hea# too'
!verall, ( was glad to *om#lete the log and find that ( am not as far from m goal
of health eating as ( tho$ght ( was' This gives me a )oost of *onfiden*e to *ontin$e to
do well and slowl *$t o$t #ro*essed foods and things that are not )enefi*ial to m )od'
( was also reass$red ) the feelings ( had while eating at home, whether st$ding or
sharing a meal with m )ofriend, ( had a #ea*ef$l, f$lfilling, and #ositive e/#erien*e' .t
wor+ ( felt a )it r$shed, and generall ate alone, whi*h led me to feel a )it lonel and
an/io$s' ( en&o *om#an when ( eat and ( also en&o m meal more when it is a healthier
o#tion #re#ared ) mself or someone *lose to me' Eating is more than &$st a wa to
s$stain life, eating is an e/#erien*e that *hanges o$r moods, )odies, and tho$ghts'
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Thro$gh eating we *an dis*over things a)o$t o$rselves we didn4t reali-e and *an also
)e*ome *loser to those aro$nd $s'

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