The "Why" behind all of this

For awhile now, I have known that my gallbladder will be a problem. My maternal aunts and my mom all got their gallbladders out in their 20's. I am 21 and I know that even with a good diet, I will soon fall victim to gallbladder problems. Lately, I've been experiencing pain in my abdomen and some digestive issues. I know that it's not a coincidence. The last straw, if you will, was when I experienced a vasovagal episode during a bowel movement accompanied by intense pain in my side. It was intense and scary and I know that I need to change my diet not only because I want to fit into my clothes better, but because I want to be healthy.

My diet in the past has consisted of a lot of fast food, a lot of soda and simple carbs. I usually eat fast food at least once a day on a typical day, and I have eaten it 3 times a day before in the past. Not uncommon for a college student, that's for sure, but that's not really an excuse anymore. The biggest challenge for me in all of this is going to be learning to prepare healthy meals utilizing vegetables. I didn't grow up in a home where we cooked every night - I grew up in a home where eating out was the norm; fast food for lunch and a nicer restaurant for dinner. The extent of our "home cooking" was frozen food, Manwich, canned soup and the ocassional roast or taco/quesadilla thing.

I didn't really know what "eating healthy" meant until I took a Nutrition class in college. I am thankful that I learned a lot in that class and had a wonderful professor that made it easy to learn. Although eating healthy does not come easy to me, it is now something that I am confident that I can do with a little work.

One of the another hurdles in this whole ordeal was getting my boyfriend, who from here on out will be referred to as "A", on board. For months, I have been talking about making changes to our diet and he has been quite resistant to it. However, when I laid it all out for him yesterday, told him that this is something I have to do or I'm going to wind up in the hospital doing emergency surgery on my gallbladder sooner than I should, I think he finally got it. He's not going to make as dramatic lifestyle changes as me, and that's okay. He is supporting me in what I am doing and helping me to learn how to cook healthier things for dinner, if nothing else.

Yesterday I began my new lifestyle change, which is eating healthier. Me and A, went to the store and bought $65 worth of groceries, which consisted mainly of veggies, fruit and grain products. I'm in the process of planning out a weekly "meal plan" which will hopefully incorporate more healthy food items into my diet. For those who are reading and are curious to know where I am getting my ideas from, you have to thank KateC and her meal plan. I think it is an amazing place to start and that is where a lot of my groceries bought yesterday originated.