Journey to the Land of Green Stuff!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a picky eater.  Always have been.  You also know that I am a VERY independent thinker, and I don’t like to try or do new things unless it’s MY idea.  If you ask me to “just try it” – 99.9% of the time, you’re going to get a big fat NO from me.  I have dealt with two things my entire life:  the fact that I am quiet and the fact that I don’t like lots of foods.  People will try to coerce me into talking more and eating new things, but I resist every single time.  If I don’t have anything to talk about, guess what?  I ain’t talkin!  If I think something looks gross and don’t want to eat it, I’m not going to!  Call it stubborn if you want, but that’s just how I operate!

When I started boot camp last year – I was cuhLUEless about how to eat.  I had been on weight watchers a thousand and one times, tried diet pills, tried slimfast shakes, yeah...all that fun stuff.  Well, I remember very clearly the few days leading up to a huge change in my eating habits.  I was attending Eugene’s outdoor camp at the time, and he told me I needed to get a meal plan from Kristina.  My first thought was...a meal plan? ugh! I’m not paying for that crap! The last thing I want is another person trying to tell me how to eat! ... Then after a few more camps I kept hearing Eugene say things like “you can’t outwork a bad diet...nutrition is just as important as working out...make sure you go home and get protein...”- I started to wonder if this eating different stuff was worth it.  So I emailed Kristina.  I almost laughed when she requested that I send a list of food likes/dislikes because my list of dislikes would be a mile long.  A few days later, I received my meal plan.  It had things on it like green beans and broccoli...uhhhh gross!  

So instead of eating them, I substituted with buttered corn (oops).  A couple weeks later, on a cold morning at 5:30am, Eugene asked me how things were going, and I told him I was struggling with the vegetable part because I didn't like any.  I mean, the only way I was eating a veggie is if it was fried okra coated in gravy alongside my chicken fried steak and taters!  He looked me straight in the eye and said, "You are going to have to start eating some greens."  He explained that they had vitamins and minerals in them that I needed.  I was devastated.  I did NOT want to eat any green crap!  He told me to start with baby spinach.  So I did.  I don't like salad dressing, so I figured out that if I coat it all in lime juice, it helps cover the flavor and I can get it down.  Then I started trying steamed broccoli.  Then Kristina told me to try brussels sprouts.  HA!!!  I bought the frozen ones and let me just say, those mushy things smell like feet and are NOT TASTY!  So I did some research and started roasting the fresh ones, way better!  

Once I started eating the green stuff, a few things happened.  My fluff started to melt away, and I had more energy from eating balanced meals.  I also had a lot more gas (sorry if that’s too honest, just keepin it real).  After 27 years of not touching, licking, smelling, or even THINKING about touching green veggies, I have realized that it is essential to eating healthy.  Not only will it help you shed the fat, there are also lots of beneficial reasons to eat veggies, here’s just a few:

-reduces risk for heart disease, obesity and diabetes
-may lower blood pressure and decrease bone loss
-helps reduce cholesterol
-helps keep skin and hair healthy
-aids in tissue growth and repair

I am still learning how to eat veggies, very slowly, and at my own pace.  As of now, the only green veggies I will eat are baby spinach, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.  Eventually I will work my way into more veggies, but I am pretty dang proud of myself for eating the green stuff I eat right now!!!  If you're like me and are a veggie-hater, DON’T GET DISCOURAGED. You just have to think of them as your new friend, introduce yourself slowly, and take your time to get to know them.  Salads are NOT the only option!  You can learn to eat certain green veggies, and you can still make progress towards getting healthy.  Don’t let your lack of love for veggies get in your way of eating healthy.  Trust me y'all, if I can learn to eat veggies, YOU definitely can too!!!