Dread gripped my heart and gut as I stepped onto the scale in the Navy’s Physical Fitness Office. Breath held, I waited for the official weigh-in, then taping, my arms raised shoulder length, sucking in my post-partem stomach to the best of my ability. Defeat. I failed. My heart was so sad as I signed the piece of paper that acknowledged my failure to meet the Navy’s weight standard. All the crash dieting and avoiding sugar and carbs wasn’t enough.
After binge eating all the things I’d avoided, including delicious Aloha Macs I’d avoided since landing on the Island of Oahu, and pizza, I picked myself up, and started over. Logically, I started with our diet. Activity and cardio doesn’t erase a poor diet. I renewed my focus on quality food, and with that meal planning. With a three year old and one year old, working full time outside of the house in the Navy, and a limited budget, the struggle was real, but the fight was worth it.
Years later that fight is for quality food, fueling our work well, and using food to be our best is still worth it.
The tools I learned as a relatively new mom – meal planning and whole foods, food, as medicine, still serve me today.
