Side effects of healthier eating

I've noticed a few things since I started eating healthier, and wanted to share.

I've been heavy all my life. I remember I was 200 pounds at 5'1 and twelve years old, and I was so unhappy. It was a constant gain driven by easy access to chips and soda and fast food twice a day, and it didn't get better until I left for college. I'm now in the high 130s at twenty four years old and 5'6.

In the last few years I've made steady progress on my weight. I dropped to 180 by saving half my meals as leftovers... 160 by learning to cook most meals at home... 140 by cutting out soda/sugary drinks and reducing sweets and desserts to once in a while instead of once a day or more. I also eat a ton more vegetables; I add spinach to pretty much all meals, especially pasta. I throw in some broccoli and bell peppers and carrots to stews and chicken and rice dishes. I add zucchini and onions and whatever is handy to scrambled eggs, etc.

I also started eating only twice a day, skipping breakfast and eating only lunch and dinner. I've counted calories on and off, but what is sustainable for me is just adding as much vegetable volume to a dish as I can and reducing my portions intuitively.

During this last bit, I noticed a few big changes that effect my daily care routines.

1. The biggest one for me is how much cleaner my teeth look and feel. I no longer get that grimy, chalky feeling on my teeth between brushes even though I haven't changed from brushing morning and night. I was ashamed about my teeth for a long time, because as a kid I had tons of cavities and didn't brush my teeth more than once a week until I was in high school, when I started brushing twice a day.

2. I smell better. We all smell ourselves at the end of the day, don't deny it. A quick sniff in the armpits to check out your BO level is all it takes. Since making these changes, the sweat smell is still there (I have a relatively active job) but I don't smell the weirdness I did when my diet was more poor. My spouse commented on this too without me mentioning it, so I don't think I'm crazy.

3. My nails and hair are growing longer, stronger and fraying less. I've had long hair for years, but people usually didn't comment on it because it always looked a mess with split ends and fraying even when trimming regularly. Now I don't have to trim it as often and it's silky, long and doesn't fray as much. My nails don't chip and peel every other day, so keeping them looking nice is awesome!

I originally only wanted to be "skinny," but now I just want to be healthy and encourage my family to find better eating habits as well. My grandma has lost 60 pounds in the last two years at 75 years old and 5'2, and my uncle has lost 40 pounds in six months at 5'7 and has introduced better eating to his family and kids as well.

These are the biggest side effects I've noticed with weight loss, and mean more to me than even fitting into smaller, cuter clothes sometimes. What have yours been?

submitted by /u/Critteria
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