There's No "Fat" in "Diet"

When I got my gallbladder removal surgery, the surgeon told me that I would probably go back to being completely normal afterward, and that I could eat whatever I wanted a month after. Well, lately I've been feeling generally under the weather almost every day. My digestion has been dreadful. So I made an appointment with my doctor to get advice and figure out what's going on.

I learned that most people who have the surgery cannot handle digesting fats the way they could before. It was the fat in my diet that was making me so ill all the time. It's great to know what the culprit is, but it's hard because now I have to give my diet a major overhaul.

I grew up loving fast food. I ate anything sweet, fried, in a box or bag. My entire diet was built around carbs and junk food. I'm embarrassed to admit I've never tried squash, or eggplant, or plums, and I'm frightened to. Even strawberries don't taste good to me unless they're drenched in sugar. In short, I have years of bad habits and mindless eating to push through. And I don't really know where to begin.

I've started reading nutritional labels, and I'm shocked at what I see. It's like the world is against those of us wanting to eat right. All the popular foods I grew up with are filled with terrible things. There's even trans fat tucked away in foods I eat daily. I admit to feeling a bit discouraged, but I won't give up. The key here is trying new things, trial and error. I need to experiment and find new meals to incorporate into my routine. My taste buds are trained to enjoy the processed foods that are so bad for me, but taste buds can change.

When I started this blog, I knew that I would have a lot of work to do. But I didn't realize exactly how much work and emotion go into changing your life for the better. I feel inadequate, like I don't have it in me to do this. I feel sad, scared and tired thinking about what's ahead. But I'm even more tired of being sick every day. I'm tired of sucking in my stomach all the time. I'm tired of taking the "easy" way out and sacrificing the life I've always wanted in exchange for a safe illusion. I can only take it one day at a time and have faith that with God's help I can do anything.