4 lb. Chocolate Amazing Grass Giveaway!

After struggling with some eating issues back in High School, my first turning point was when I began recovery during my first year of college. Since then (almost 8 years ago) I have maintained a healthy eating motto and remained committed to staying healthy. However, after graduating college and beginning an office job the exercise part of this lifestyle began to slip. This past New Year’s I made a resolution to become more dedicated to being healthy. I made a pact to run my first race, a 5k in June and have been training ever since. I used to be someone who HATED running but now I look forward to my morning runs along NYC’s East River. Watching the sun rise and the city come alive is a great way to start my day!

My turning point was moving to a new country, and realizing that I had to deal with my emotions as emotions, not through food!

no real ‘turning point’ but I guess when I was a freshman in college i walked into the dining hall for lunch one day and decided to never eat meat again. It’s been 10 years and I haven’t looked back since!

Foodie blogs are a turning point for me. I discovered you through a friend and it has been life altering! Thanks for sharing your recipes and advice. YOU make ME glo!

My turning point was in freshman year of university (last year). I vowed not to gain the freshman fifteen, but somehow by Christmas time, none of my pants fit me anymore and my shirts were all too tight (too many chocolate almonds :) !!)

I have taken off the weight now (and then some), and feel healthier than ever!

No turning point for me, just enjoy staying fit so much :)

Walking around during the day (through the office, to/from lunches, etc) makes me feel great. It is a nice way for me to feel like I’m getting in some physical activity even while I’m working. I also feel great when I’m eating lots of veggies.

My turning point was seeing a picture of myself and didn’t recognize me. I gained 15lbs my first year in college and kept it on for a few years. Being thin was not the goal, I wanted to be energetic and healthy….how my body responded and slimming down was just extra benefit.

I would love to win the Amazing Grass products, I can’t affort it at this moment.

I’ve actually just recently hit that point. I can’t believe I’ve let myself get to where I am. I have several reasons, some medical which I don’t care to post to the public…even just in a comment. But regardless, I am that that point now and am trying my darnedest to turn things around completely. It’s hard because I’m still in the “break-the-habits” phase, but it’s coming along!

My turning point was having roommates in university and realizing that I always overate .. and kept eating .. and kept eating. I do love food, but must learn that everything tastes better in moderation and everything tastes better when you have an appetite for it!

I also LOVE these products!

My turning point was when my boyfriend (now husband!) and I were out to brunch at one of our favorite spots. We had gotten in the habit of eating out EVERY meal! Every meal! Weekdays, weekends, all the time. Besides being expensive, we had both gained weight. At brunch that particular day I happened to have taken a health magazine from work and was flipping through it. In it, it had a whole week (or maybe a month-can’t remember) of healthy meals-breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. I looked at my boyfriend and said “I think we could do this”. He agreed and since then we both exercise almost daily and eat healthy, delicious meals made at home! We still have days where we splurge and when we just don’t make it to the gym but overall our lifestyle has completely changed. For the better! Neither of us can believe we once ate out so much. Now, when we do, we really enjoy it because it is special.

Making a change can be hard but the benefits are amazing!

My turning point came when I graduated from college and realized all the activities I was involved in were ending. I found it’s much harder as an adult to meet people and get involved. Exercise became more of a hobby that I enjoy and set goals for myself instead of just something I did to look good. I feel strong and motivated so I can hit the pavement even after a tiring day.

My turning point was when I developed kidney stones. :( I never drank water because I hated how full it made me feel. Sounds ridiculous to me now, but it was a HUGE wake-up call. I’m happy to say I’m well on my way to a happier, healthier life :)

Truth be told is that my turning point was this blog! I found OSG via a personal finance blog and have been addicted ever since! Now read about 10 food blogs everyday and gain knowledge and inspiration from them all the time! I started to use some of the recipes and then fell in love with GM’s! I am over weight and I knew that I did not want to ‘diet’, what I needed was a lifestyle change. This blog and among others are helping me make that change one healthy/tasty dish at a time!

Thank you OSG!!

My turning point to a healthy lifestyle was really your blog! I can’t wait until the Toronto Womens Half!! =)

One day, after several years of miserable dieting and deprivation, I realized that no matter how low my weight was, it would never bring me happiness. No matter what the number on the scale was, I would never look like a Victoria Secret model or some leggy 6’0 Brazilian bombshell. I was wasting my time and my health for something I could never attain: thinner. Because you could always be thinner. Once I reached my goal, if I wasn’t happy, I just figured it was because I wasn’t thin enough, which would of course necessitate a new, tougher goal.

Since then, health has been my goal, and I have never looked back. I am so much healthier and happier.

I really hope I win because I’m dying to add these to my newest addiction that you turned me on to: green monsters!

My turning point came about 3 years ago when all of a sudden my already plus size pair of jeans wouldn’t button. I walked into Lane Bryant to get an even BIGGER size and broke down in the dressing room. Just a few years earlier, I had been at my fittest and the weight crept on. Instead of constantly comparing myself to what I once was, I decided to take action and not get discouraged for having to start from square one. After 3 years, I am happy, healthy, and feeling better than ever!

So excited for this giveaway!

I, like you, gained alot of weight in college and didn’t like how I felt. I decided to lose the weight and started to watch what I was eating and to work out. However, when my sister got diagnosed with cancer at 28, I really start to eat better foods and to work hard at being as healthy as I could be without taking the fun out of eating! That’s what has brought me to today — very happy and healthy!

My turning point was reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. I was at a healthy weight, but I wasn’t eating well. I consumed a lot of processes “diet” foods and didn’t even consider eating locally. After finishing that book (in 2 days!) I found our local farmer’s market and began eating as locally and organically as possible. Living in Las Vegas is a challenge, since not much grows here, but I’m making every effort I can. This year, I also planted peach and pomegranate trees and tomato and pepper plants in my backyard.

I guess the biggest motivator was seeing a very unflattering photo of me with what looked like a triple chin. I decided to stop convincing myself I looked okay and was happy with how I looked. That was about 2.5 years ago now.

Reading blogs like OSG has helped me continue on and never look back!

There was never one big turning point for me. I just have always had a passion for being healthy, active and eating good.

my turning point was seeing myself in a full mirror for the first time in a long time, and I didn’t recognize myself! I had been prescribed 2 steroids for a recent diagnosis, coupled with wearing yoga pants everyday I didn’t see the difference in clothes not fitting! I was “depressed” about the health diagnosis, and recovering from an injury I was inactive.

wow, wake up call, as I had always been very active, fit and healthy. I was already following a vegetarian lifestyle and eating pretty “clean”. I cut out alcohol, added necessary supplements and began strength training to repair my knee injury. I began walking every day, some days the pain would stop me after 5 minutes, some I’d be able to walk 60! I made a point to be active each day until it was routine.

A year or so ago I started incorporating Green Monsters, before I knew they had that name! I was using other greens and proteins, but YOU introduced me to Amazing Grass! :) It is my favorite, and I would LOVE to win this. I have never won anything! :)

I still visit your blog each day, lately it is to see #1) your new layout / logo! and #2) the gluten free bar! YUM!

thanks for the continued inspiration and for this opportunity for Amazing Grass!

My turning point was seeing my husband lose weight and create a six-pack! He was the cross-country running coach and was losing weight, and looking mighty fine while I was doing pilates for only 20 minutes a day and calling it a ‘workout’!

It was more of an inspiration than me feeling bad about myself. When I told him the way I feel, he started running with me after practice, and started weight training (he’s an ex marine, so our weight training sessions are hard!). He started cooking really healthy (yes, he does all the cooking :) and we started ordering Full Circle Farm for fresh, organic produce (here in rural Alaska, we don’t have a store so everything is ordered through online).

Thanks for the wonderful blog! I come here for inspiration every single day. Thanks :)

-Tory

My turning point was when I finally realized that I had to eat better and learn what my trigger foods were in order to keep my Crohn’s Disease in remission. I started reading blogs like yours and Carrots N’ Cake, Kath Eats Real Food, etc. in order to learn more about nutrition and fitness. Now I am addicted to reading food blogs and learning from them! I agree with Tory above–I come to your blog and others for inspiration every single day.

I can remember thinking I was “fat” from as early as 10 or 11 years old. I wasn’t really overweight, but I had some really skinny friends and was constantly comparing myself to them. As I went through junior high and high school, I always had body image issues and compared myself to others…always hating the way my body looked, but never knowing how to change it healthily. My family wasn’t particularly unhealthy, but I don’t think my parents knew much about nutrition and exercise, so I didn’t really have that background. I gained a bunch of weight my first year in college, and kept struggling to keep that under control. After living in Brazil for a year and a half, I gained another 30 lbs. and came back at my heaviest weight EVER. I was disgusted with myself when I looked at pictures and could not believe I had let my body get that way. I joined the gym the day after I got home, and started to figure out the whole exercise thing. When I returned to school, I decided to get my degree in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Fitness & Wellness Management. I wanted to have a healthier lifestyle and have the knowledge to help others as well. I graduated almost 3 years ago, and while I still struggle with body image and eating issues at times, I am in the best shape I have been in in my life and I eat SO much healthier. I discovered healthy living blogs about a year ago and love that I continue to learn so much!

Sorry this ended up so long…it was hard to summarize it all! I would LOVE to try Amazing Grass!!!

last summer was my turning point. it wasn’t so much about my body but about the types of food i was eating. i had read jillian michael’s book called mastering your metabolism. in it she had discussed how processed foods are messing with our hormones. i started to do research on this and was FASCINATED. then food, inc came out. shortly after i read michael pollan’s books in defense of food and the omnivores dilemma. my diet drastically changed. i stopped eating so many processed foods and switched all of my dairy and meat products to organic. i also tried to buy veggies local/organic whenever i could. it wasn’t till this past december (when i graduated college) that i started to focus on my body. i don’t drink as much alcohol any more. i also have a lot more time to go to the gym! i take yoga classes regularly and just recently started running. my goal is to run a half marathon in january.

My health turning point was when my father passed away from cancer at the young age of 50. His diagnosis could have been prevented from a healthy lifestyle. I now try to make healthy choices every day and live life to the fullest!

My turning point was when I move to CA from MI and envied that active lifestyles of everyone around me. I began walking to work each day and going to the gym in the afternoons to break up my day (Luckily I had a 24 hour fitness in my building!) Then I began bringing my lunch and cooking at home more. Eventually I stopped going out for drinks 4 out of 7 nights and limited it to 1-2 nights out per week. I still go out a couple times per week, but I don’t stay out as late and usually limit myself to 2 drinks.

I had my epiphany years ago, at the end of my senior year of high school. I was 5’3, a sickly 80 pounds, and ate essentially nothing, for fear of getting ‘fat’, as I had seen myself to be before high school. Friends, family, and school professionals thought there was something seriously wrong – and they were right, but for some reason I couldn’t hear them. One day my mother came into my room crying and pouring her heart out to me about my weight and disordered eating, as she had just gotten some of my test results back from a recent doctor’s appointment. My doctor had basically told her to panic about my health. Seeing my mom the way she was that day made something click inside me – that I was not only hurting myself but people that I loved. It was a long, hard struggle getting to where I am now. I still struggle with my relationship with food but I know I am stronger and healing!

Of all days – Thanksgiving 2009!! I know what you are thinking, “everyone feels icky about their body on Turkey Day”. No, my friends, this moment came BEFORE I even arrived at my parents house for the feast! I ran a Thanksgiving Day 5K that morning and was feeling very accomplished, very healthy, and totally entitled to eat to my heart’s desire later that day. After showering, I started trying on outfits for the day. Nothing fit. Nothing looked nice. Everything was tight, uncomfortable, or too casual for the holiday (think yoga pants…this is how desperate I was getting). At that point in my life, I considered myself to be a generally healthy, active person who thought I was pretty fit but could use some improvements here and there. And, I know people have bad days but I beleive that I finally saw myself differently that day. It was as if I was looking at a stranger that had alot of work to do to help her body. I was NOT as healthy as I had thought; I really didn’t exercise enough; and my food choices were low calorie focused and POOR! So, aside from totally ruining my guilt-free Thanksgiving Day calorie feast, I vowed to turn over a new leaf. I started reading healthy living blogs for the first time (Thank you, Angela) and stopped counting calories!!! Yipee! I have totally overhauled my diet and exercise plan and have never felt better. Oh, and I threw my scale in the garbage and bought a (pink!) tape measure. So technically, I have no idea if I have lost any weight but the measurements are looking better and better all the time. Thanks again for your contribution to my journey!! :)

My turning point was first the scale, which motivated me to hit the gym, then when I started training for a half marathon I knew I was going to have to overhaul my diet to keep my body properly fueled.
Now, healthy living blogs and all their advice is what keeps me motivated and moving forward!

My turning point was realizing that skipping breakfast in the morning only caused me to gain more weight. I started eating breakfast and lost 10 pounds. Now I cannot function without a good and hearty breakfast to wake me up in the morning; my day feels odd and unnatural without one. Moral of the story: Skipping meals does not a skinny person make!

My turning point was when I overheard two sweet elderly ladies at the church my husband ministered at whispering, “Is she expecting again?” :(

They were adorable and excited, wondering if it was true, and I? Was humiliated. My baby was almost a year old. So I began to make better choices that very second- we were standing in line for potluck! :) I chose one main dish, normal portion size, one salad, (again, normal portion) and one dessert. And I drank water. And I got full! Started pilates, walking on my treadmill, began running… and almost exactly one year later, I was at my goal weight of minus 50 pounds!

Thanks for this giveaway- it was fun tripping down memory lane (even though it’s a bit of an “ouch”!) in the hopes of winning!

Something that makes me feel healthier every day is being part of the blog community! I have obsessed over health and nutrition for such a long time but I never followed anything properly because of my disordered eating and difficult life events. Blogging and talking to others about health has helped immensely with my emotional well-being, which transfers to all other areas of life. Also, eliminating animal products is something that really helped me to deal with physical health concerns.

My turning point happened a few months ago. I was 8 weeks pregnant with our first baby, and miscarried. It was devastating to both me and my husband. I know that it was nothing in my power that caused it to happen, but it definitely reminded me of the importance of life. Life is so precious, we should be treating our bodies, relationships with everyone around us, and the earth with more care. Eating right, exercising, and focusing on my “glow” has really helped me through this time. I want to be extra healthy when we start trying for another baby!

I love this blog and the inspiration, ideas, and laughs I have gotten from it. :)

Thanks!

Mary

After my first year in college I did not feel wonderful about myself anymore. I had gained some weight but was eating unhealthy and just felt gross. I asked my coworker for tips on how to eat vegetarian for a week as a “healthy cleanse”. When the week was over, I felt so good I decided to keep going until I wanted to eat meat again. I was vegetarian for six months and it has kept me on the healthy track every since!

A turning point for me was when my boyfriend proposed to me this past December. I want to get healthy, not only to look good for the wedding, but so that he and I both can love each other for many, many years to come.

my turning point was a picture. i was horrified at how I let myself go. that’s when i realized that something had to change.

My turning point came over 20 years ago when a dear friend of mine who had just lost her mother to cancer, wrote me a letter letting me know that she was afraid for my health, that she loved me and couldn’t face losing me as well. At the time I had VERY disordered eating. The letter was so heartfelt. It was the 1st time someone close to me had the nerve to approach me about the issue.

I cannot express how much it meant to me. She was so brave to do it. I cried and cried just to know that I meant so much to someone. I’m tearing up right now thinking about it.

Long story short – I got help. Started seeing an amazing therapist. It took time, and it wasn’t always easy, but I dealt with my issues, and was able to make new healthy habits. I still have some hard days, but I just have to think of that letter, and it gives me the strength to do the right thing.

Hey A! Been reading for about 3mths and love all your insights! First comment posted online EVER:

My turning point was my daughter. It had nothing to do with my weight or my clothing size. It was like a switch went off in my brain and I realized that I wanted to be the best role model for her that I can be. I had been thinking about all the pressure that women are given to be “perfect” and I thought to myself that my daughter was already perfect and wondered how I could raise her to believe this herself. Then it dawned on me that I needed to show her. I needed to be living proof that being healthy inside would make her glow on the outside, physically, emotionally, and mentally. So I started down the road of clean eating and exercising. It’s been about 6mths and I feel wonderful! It’s still a learning process and I’m learning more everyday. I’ve lost 10lbs, but that wasn’t my goal. My goal was to be healthy and strong! I want her to grow up seeing me as healthy and strong and happy and that is what matters! My sweet little angel, who just turned 2, was my turning point and continues to be my inspiration in everything I do.

shopping at my favourite store and no longer being able to fit into the clothes! my wieght had creeped up too much and it was time to make a change i refused to shop in the plus sizes!!

Hi! My turning point was when I was in college.. I was eating mac and cheese, ramen noodles, mcdonalds, you name it cheap, I ate it cheap ;) My mom intervened and said “i have never seen you so unhappy and so… unhealthy”. From that point on, I knew I needed a change! When a mom tells you things like that, you know its serious…. I lost that 25 college lbs and never looked back!!

My turning point came when I had the opportunity to go on my first ever vacation, my first ever time out of the country and I nearly turned it down because I would be the “fattest” person out of the group. I realized my weight was holding me back from doing the things I really wanted to do in life and that’d I’d become a prisoner in my own body. How depressing!

Since then I’ve lost 50 lbs. :)

My turning point was when I met my boyfriend. He is super healthy and helped me understand that you need to pay attention to your health even at a young age. He made me see that eating well and exercising are ways you honor your body and aren’t just chores that need to be done. Now we have the best time exercising together and finding great recipes for healthy versions of things we like to eat. It makes me happy that we are both interested in being active and healthy together.

Turning point came when I accepted that there are certain foods that don’t serve me. My world opened up to all the amazing foods I CAN eat, and I discovered so many wondering flavors and my creative juices really got rolling! I am now thankful for being gluten-free and (mostly) dairy-free!

My turning point is when I found out my coworker had run more than 20 marathons. I thought to myself if she could do so many I should be able to do one. That was more than two years ago. Yes, I did finish my first marathon in January this year. Ever since then exercising has become a part of my life.

I’m not sure when I went from a healthy, fit teenager to someone who was easily 15 – 20 lbs overweight, eating for comfort and fun mostly, but my big turning point was when I spent my spring semester abroad in Turkey in college. I was surrounded by new amazing foods and while I still firmly believe in indulging on vacation and trying new foods, I wasn’t on vacation. I was living there! In 6 months I gained about 20 lbs and just felt terrible. The more I gained the more I wanted to eat. WHen I came back I started to really eat healthier and that’s when I found Kath’s blog and then everyone else’s great healthy eating/exercising blogs which were really key in helping me make lifestyle changes that really turned my life around. Thanks blogs!

My turning point came when I realized that people in my family started getting sick.. COPD, Heart Attacks, Strokes, Cancer and none of then were taking care of themselves. Most of them smoke, eat mostly unhealthy foods, and live off of Mountain Dew. I decided I wasn’t going to end up that way and have made very positive changes in my life, I exercise atleast 5 days a week and eat more natural, organic foods. Although I wasn’t overweight I now have more muscle, energy and just feel all-together better everyday.

My turning point was not being able to fit in most of my clothes and not wanting to look at too many photos of myself :).

My turning point was pretty devastating at least to me. I couple of years ago I was on the train and was offered a seat. At the time I wore a hoodie with pockets which could have been mistaken as if I was pregnant, but I definitely wasn’t. Thank goodness for that day though, because I’ve lost 30lbs since and am on my way to being a fit and healthy person.