MY HONEY POT: DAY ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?

The last time I had six pack abs, I was five years old, had short polka dot swim runks on, and was posing at a lakeside man made beach where the gritty sand just didn't feel right on my skin with a smell of the blue-green algae lake water misting in the air. As I grew older my athlete appetite followed along,  I began to indulge in the world of binge eating. When you are an athlete at a young age playing sports all year long and then exploring the city as a lone wolf on a bike, you begin to engage in the challenges of re-fueling and replenishing. I fight fat cells, have always have, and always will have it is in my Irish genes. As my years grew, my height grew, my ear lobes (from tugging) grew, as did my waistline. I come from a famous Dutch baking family and love love pastries, goodies, breads, and desserts, but also have a salty tooth and love cheeses, meats, chips and pizza. As a child in school I was big and was teased here and there. It wasn't a teasing though that really effects me today, or drove me to depression. What I did though to make sure someone didn't tease me again, was I would sock them in the mouth and/or look them in the eye to tell them to stop. Since I was one of the bigger kids at school, this really didn't happen often since the kids at my schools knew their respected boundaries and the places I went to school were filled with pretty good kids. As I began to grow I continued to eat and began a battle with my weight. I think once you get into a BATTLE and people around you join in on that battle (ie. mother) then the issue gets even worse since there is a constant focus on it. Here in the USA especially as this battle gets worse and people get addicted to certain types of food and eating, then the depression sets in, you get heavier, and then some just GIVE UP. In my case my mom did her best to introduce alternatives, less food, and of course healthier choices. My weight really never got too out of hand since I had people around me that cared, but there were times that I would look in the mirror or see myself in pictures and really feel ashamed and/or uncomfortable. Once I left my mom's house when I was in sixth grade and moved to my papas, then it got a lot worse since he was not a healthy eater, didnt know how to cook, and mostly at take out. Today his still doesn't cook, eats out, but eats more cautiously/healthier at restaurants NOT FAST. Its all about education and understanding how the body absorbs nutrients and the cycle it leads. Once I began drinking, then alcohol came into play with my weight, There are certain foods that I love to enjoy, and certainly still binge eat. Once I entered into puberty, started smoking cigarettes, and grew about 6 inches I dropped close to 30 lbs in my junior year. Once that happened my world changed and I stood tall in so many ways. For the next ten years I went up and down using drugs and alcohol. After college my weight peaked at 226, but in the last 4 years I have declared my body sacred, giving up all drugs and alcohol, and these past 6 months became a dedicated vegan. I also have practiced yoga for the past 8 years and discovered long distant running. Its all about discovering and creating YOUR OWN balance in your life to maintain and sustain a healthy world for yourself. Educate yourself, get control of your metabolism, sweat, hydrate, keep moving, and really understand the way for you to feel completely good about yourself. Even though I still have my little honey pot, I choose to focus on how I feel, and not so much on what I look like. Keep Smiling- RVB