When I was three years old, my parents took my sister and me on an adventure! We were going to live in Costa Rica as missionaries. Being so young, I couldn't understand a lot; but, I did understand a few things: I loved the culture and language, I loved being an MK, and I loved FOOD! We ate a lot of cultural food: beans and rice, fish, plantains ( I still call them platanos), and sometimes the delicious water fresh from the coconut. We moved to Ecuador after that, and I remember that going grocery shopping and eating at traditional restaurants were some of my favorite parts!
When we came back to the US, I realized that I had my own American culture, BBQ and Tex-Mex are the BEST! But I also started to gain some weight too. My mom introduced us to healthy ways of eating, and explained the THM plan to us. I was NOT happy. Where is the real milk, mom? No more white biscuits? I thought it was a "diet", you know, six weeks of torture and then back to normal. But, I realized that eating healthy food was doing more than slimming us down, it was HEALING us.
I, however, took it to the next level. I've always had a round face, and I thought that losing weight would change that, I never decided to start maintaining weight. I lost way too much weight, and my body wasn't liking it... my parents really helped me come out of my delusion. God and my family are the most important things to me, and now I understand that health is more important than body image.
It's not easy to admit failure, but if God allowed me to go through something like this, than it must have happened for a reason. Maybe to share it with you... If only one person needed to hear it, that season of life was completely worth it. This doesn't mean I don't still struggle, I do. With continual prayer, and faithfulness to the end... this is a fight worth fighting. You don't have to be stuck in an unhealthy lifestyle or mentality, people want what's best for you...if you're in denial, talk to someone. It took me forever to work up the courage to talk to someone; if it takes you a year, by the end, you will have still done it.
All of that being said, everyone has their own struggles and journeys, my parents' is one of weight loss, mine is one of growth. What's yours?
PS: Here's actual footage of me in NYC before 'Rona. Best trip ever!
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