Sometimes I forget to stop to remember, oh my gosh I am never sick anymore!
Before you ask I"ll just tell you, by sick I mean digestionally (word?) just so that's all cleared up for everybody :)
Side note.........it's like all my life when people would ask me what happens to me when I eat dairy. I would try to vaguely say, "um...I feel really sick". They then press it by asking more "What happens to you?"
DO THEY REALLY WANT TO KNOW?! I am sure they were just wondering if my throat was going to close up or something but anyways. The same applies here, when I mean sick I mean stomach sick.
It was really bad during my high school and college years, but probably peaked those first few years of marriage. Looking back it's like "duh, of course I felt awful, I was eating garbage!"
The thing was I wasn't eating garbage like most people probably think. It wasn't donuts, fast food, pizza, or that kind of junk all day. It was the food that still most American's think is the normal everyday food.
Here is how my diet looked at that time:
Breakfast: Cereal 2-3 bowls.
(keep in mind I eat a LOT of food, not sure why lol)
Snack: Something bready like a bagel, granola bar or wheat thins
Lunch: Sandwich or left overs with fruit and pretzels and diet coke
Snack: If I had time for a snack it would be a yogurt or whatever was in the break room at work or even worse........candy. Afternoon was my candy hour.
Dinner: Traditional American meals like spaghetti, bbq with bread and rice, anything whole grain and lower fat.
I stocked up on things that were whole wheat and whole grains and kept fats to a minimum by eating ground turkey, low fat cheese if any.
It's hard to know how that long process of several years got me to this place but through family and reading which led to more interest and more reading as well as observing changes in my family I thought I might as well try something. I was sick all the time and also anemic.
My first "leap" like many others was to try the whole gluten free deal. It was/is a trendy choice so I thought I'd try it. I got into it pretty easily since there are so many GF options. The problem is I started realizing I wasn't necessarily eating healthier, I was just substituting all the baked goods I usually ate wheat flower in with gluten free flours.
My sister in law made us watch Fat Head and I would have to say that was the beginning of truly understanding how backwards we have it. The "food pyramid" we've always been taught has so many things wrong with it.
I won't get into all the lies we are told and mass amount of chemicals and garbage we are eating in EVERYDAY food, BUT I hope you'll read more on your own and begin looking on the back of you food. Always aim for as little steps as possible between the ground/earth and your plate!
I always had been familiar with "good fats" like avocados and nuts but really didn't understand how badly our body needs fats. Turkey bacon finds no home here hehe :) I know it can be so hard to get yourself to eat something you have always seen as "fattening" but your body will need it especially if you take out major grains and sugar.
This change happened slowly for me. I learned more about my all or nothing personality! I am so the kind of person who wants to go ALL in, all organic, all grass-fed, etc. etc. Because the more you learn the more you want to do it all. But that isn't to say that there aren't huge hiccups for me even now. Our bodies are so addicted to processed and chemical filled foods. We have had them since we were kids and will always temp us because of the connection they hold. I find myself getting too lazy and I start eating wheat and lots of sugar again, and it gets even harder to stay away from them when I do this.
My diet is in no where near perfect at all, even now I am going back through a strict "detox" with my sisters of no grains or sugars. I don't do it to be skinny or legalistic, but because I feel too good while eating this way. If you don't believe me just try it!
Diet Currently (give or take):
Breakfast: Eggs and meat (ham -not lunch meat real ham, canadian bacon, bacon)
Snack: Spinach smoothie (almond milk, spinach, frozen berries, almond butter, chia seeds)
Lunch: Turkey "sandwich" lettuce wrapped. (Check out the full turkey breast at Costco, you can slice it), fruit, veggies, usually some Luke's organic chips with homemade salsa
Snack: Peanut butter with apple, string cheese, carrots and hummus
Dinner: We almost always eat some kind of meat (lots of chicken drumsticks since we aint scared of fat!), grilled summer squash, caprise salad --with full fat cheese of course!, sometimes rice or quinoa
Dessert: Something like this :) mug cookie without the sugar or chocolate chips
There are SO many ideas for eating cleanly. I know it can be WAY overwhelming at first but some of my favorite blogs are these:
I am never sick anymore and feel so so great. You would be amazed at how linked the food you eat is to that afternoon lull or an overall sluggish feeling :)
I'll write a post soon about eating this way with little kids in the house. Do them a HUGE favor and don't addict them to foods they will have to fight against later :) They will eat what you give them if that's all they have ever known.
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