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The diagnosis was terrifying and overwhelming. I had a chronic illness. Then I was told something that was meant to be encouraging but instead, added more horror to my world. I could help control the severity of my fatigue and other symptoms, as well as my overall health, by committing to a healthy diet. I'm shaking right now just thinking about it.

You see, my name is Yvonne and I am a Junk-a-holic. Sweets, meats, salty things, starchy things and all things processed were my main food groups.

Monday's dinner, drive-through.

Tuesday's dinner was with my best buds, Ben and Jerry.

Wednesday was a healthy night that consisted of something frozen and microwaveable.

Thursday, processed pasta, the cheesier the better.

Friday was about being social; dinner out with friends.

Saturday, takeout pizza of course.

Sunday, combo night, leftover takeout pizza and leftover takeout from Friday.

I was not completely hopeless. I knew that my five foods groups were not the food pyramid the experts recommended. The people in the know (everyone) insisted that I get serious about my diet.

I am, but it has been a long and bumpy road, fraught with many nutritional errors and setbacks. Along the way, I learned some shocking things. Please allow me to share them so you don't make the same mistakes I was making. Reading Shape magazine is not enough. You actually have to do what the articles tell you to do.

1. Reeses Chocolate Peanut Butter Pumpkins are not actually made from pumpkins and, thus, are not good for you.

2. Similarly, a Mounds candy bar does not count as two servings of fruit. If you get the king size bar, however, and eat the whole thing, it does count as half of one fruit serving.

3. This one is really confusing. Just because you buy something at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods Market, it does not mean it is 100 percent healthy. Some of their items may actually be only 60 percent healthy.

4. Also frustrating: not everything in the yogurt section of the grocery store is good for you. For some reason, adding flavors, candy and cookies to various yogurts greatly diminishes their nutritional value. Doesn't seem fair, but there it is.

5. Some spices can add health benefits to your diet. Cinnamon is a classic example. Cinnamon is good for you. Yet the experts don't suggest sprinkling cinnamon on ice cream and puddings as the best way to reap the cinnamon benefits.

6. You need protein in your diet, and hamburger has protein. But big, fat juicy hamburgers are not that good for you.

7. You need dairy in your diet, and ice cream is full of dairy. Yet a big, fat ice cream sundae is not good for you.

8. You need grains in your diet, and bread is made from grains. But for some insane reason, fried bread dough is not good for you.

9. Finally, and this one broke my heart, raw cookie dough is bad for you and the calories DO count. I thought the calories didn't register until you actually baked the cookies. It is a cruel, cruel world we live in, friends.

Please try not to be too overwhelmed with these lessons. If you get too confused, you only need to remember one thing. If something looks super delicious, it's probably bad for you…

- Yvonne deSousa

Two years before Yvonne deSousa's diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a relative volunteered her to write an article for a local newspaper. Little did she know it was the beginning of a writing career. When MS threatened to turn her into a lunatic, she started writing more frequently and quickly discovered that writing about the insanity that is MS was helping to keep her sane. Her work has appeared on CapeWomenOnline.com and in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Finding My Faith and Something On Our Minds, Volumes 1, 2 and 3. Yvonne also writes a weekly blog and since finishing her book, MS Madness! A "Giggle More, Cry Less" Story of Multiple Sclerosis, she presents programs to help others use humor to cope with chronic illness.