I’ve been catching up on some episodes from one of my favorite– most inspiring shows– on Hulu. It’s called “Extreme Makeover: Weight loss Edition.” It’s about morbidly obese people taking an entire year to lose half their body fat. It’s incredible and inspiring and I end up bawling like a little baby each time I watch an episode. It makes me think that if that person can lose over 200 lbs in one year, I can certainly lose 20 or 40 or how ever much I need to.

But one person on the show said something that really stuck with me. She said, “I’ve been killing myself with a fork.” It’s crazy to think about how much of an impact what we put in our bodies has on the entire picture. It’s not just even looking good or looking skinny. It’s the heart disease, it’s the thyroid problems, the infertility issues, sleep apnea, high cholesterol. You name it– what you put in your body to fuel yourself really does impact your future health and quality of life.

So, I’ve been cooking super duper healthy for Hubs. I promised him I would and he’s been really receptive. I even cooked an amazing vegetarian meal the other day (which I can’t wait to blog about), and he loved it!

Well today we ate fast food on the fly. I figured it would be a nice treat considering how healthy we’ve been eating (I’m talking seriously having salads everyday to start our meals to increase our veggie intake, etc)— but NO. I was waaaay wrong.

After eating a seemingly innocent meal from Cook Out, one of our favorite places from college, I have been on the couch for hours with the WORST stomach ache of my life. Maybe my healthy cooking seriously cleansed my system and is now pissed I let this crap in. I don’t know.

But then it hit me (well, mainly because I turned on Hulu while curled up in the fetal position on the couch and the only thing on was more “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition”)—it is that sort of food that causes so many problems for people. Sure, I’m not eating it everyday– but why eat it anyway? If it’s making me feel like this, it’s obviously not a good way to fuel myself and a sorry excuse for dinner.

Food is pleasurable. It’s something a lot of us turn to. But when you think of that fork as a weapon and the grease and high fatty foods as the ammo, it makes you stop and think: Wow. What am I doing to myself?

I am no where near big enough to be on that show. But that doesn’t mean I’m the epitome of health either or deserve a parade for my living life at a sem-normal size in a mediocre way. If anything, I’m extra motivated to keep going with living a healthy lifestyle and trying to cook healthy alongside of daily workouts. My parents said they’d buy us an elliptical sometime next month as a belated wedding present and I CANNOT wait. That is my favorite piece of equipment that I used to use all the time with my gym membership before I moved here pre-wedding.

While being healthy and weight loss is a combo of food and exercise– I’m still going to make sure I dedicate a good amount of focus on making good choices with food. Because even if I can’t get that workout in, what goes in the body affects everything. And I will NEVER kill myself with a fork.

Have you ever thought about food being a silent killer? How do you make good choices?