As someone who has constantly dealt with self-image issues, I am here to tell you what I wish I had known 10 years ago. Hopefully I am not the first person you have heard say that counting calories is not a simple way to be successful in the dietary department, but I am hoping that I am able to explain the reasoning behind this hypothesis fact.

In high school, I was overweight. I didn’t know what foods to eat, and like most busy families, we ate almost all processed foods. Why? Because it’s easier and less time consuming to prepare. Instead of buying and slicing carrots, we would eat already peeled and sliced baby carrots. Instead of eating an apple, I would eat apple sauce. Instead of cooking my own chicken, I would eat pre-cooked, frozen chicken that I could microwave. Why make lasagna, when you can pull one out…