Healthy Eating Influences

Let’s just say I haven’t done well with sticking to my healthy eating plan over the weekend.  I’m afraid that the scale shows it.  I am just amazed at the impact a day or two makes.  I didn’t eat anything “horrible”  a little sugar, a little gluten, and definitely did not drink enough water.  And I feel awful.  Bloated, nauseous, and already sore.  Woke up this morning very stiff and my hands were aching.  I don’t normally wake up like that anymore.  I just don’t want to believe that food has such an influence on my body, but it surely does.

It is my goal to eat a clean diet.  Free of processed foods, free of sugar.  I have felt lead to this type of lifestyle for a long time.  It actually started when I was pregnant with my first child.  Back then the book What to Expect When You’re Expecting was THE guide for pregnancy, and they had a companion book about nutrition, What to Eat When You’re Expecting.  The book promoted a very natural diet, and I went all in.  For the most part I followed that plan through pregnancy and breastfeeding my first two kids, around 5 years.  After that things started to go downhill for me and I wasn’t as faithful in eating right.

Whether going back to clean eating will solve all of my problems with fibromyalgia I don’t know.  But I do know that it makes a difference.  I want my body as healthy as it can be.  Here are some books that have influenced me over the years.  Maybe you will find some inspiration and support for your own healthy eating.  In my opinion all of them deserve a spot on your bookshelf.

The Makers Diet

I read this book years ago and at the time thought it was way to extreme.  Now I'm more sold on the idea of eating food as close to the way God made it as possible.

Made to Crave

I read this book last year and really didn't think much of it.  Then over the summer I joined a Bible study group where we followed the book and watched the videos weekly.  I LOVED it.  I also highly recommend the companion devotional book.

Food That Helps Win the Battle Against Fibromyalgia

Ok, I haven't read this one yet, but it's on my list.  I have checked out their web site extensively, and when I signed up for their newsletter, received a free e-book!

Perfect Weight America

This book is by the same author as The Maker's Diet.  In this book are the instructions to the cleanses that made such an impact on me.  On their web site you can sign up for a year of free support, and meal planning.

Beat Sugar Addiction Now

This book was an eye opener for me.  I had no idea how addicted to sugar I was.  Everyone needs to read this book, healthy or not, and break their sugar addiction.  (little tip from a friend, don't get the cookbook)

The links I have created are to each of the books companion web sites, full of free and helpful information to help you decide if each book is something that you want to read.  All of the books can be found used on Amazon, and most of them in Kindle edition.  Happy reading!!

 

Cleanse Day 10 - I'm Clean...now what?

I made it!  I wanted to do this 10 day cleanse for a few reasons.  I needed to jumpstart weight loss, I wanted to clean up my diet, and I wanted to see if it helped my fibro symptoms to eat better.  How did I do?

1.  I lost 6 lbs!
2.  I am really encouraged that I can now eat healthier!
3.  I am feeling really good!

I'd call that success.

So what now?  Well I've come up with a plan.  I have more weight to loose, so I'm still going to be fairly strict with my diet.  Since following this cleanse, I know I'll do well with the diet from Perfect Weight America.  I'll be in Phase 1 for awhile.  On their web site you can sign up for a FREE year of meal planning and support and plenty of other resources.  I signed up and played around with the meal planner, cut out all the icky stuff I know I wont eat (like fish and eggplant and their meal shakes)  I like that it's customizable.  I may not follow all of their recipes for lunch and dinner, but I have a good idea of what is acceptable and I can make that work for my family.  What is most important to me is that there are no processed foods.  I'm sure that is what has made the biggest impact on how I feel.  Which is very, well... clean.



To recap, I did the 10 day Perfect Cleanse from Garden of Life.  The instructions for the cleanse can be found in the book Perfect Weight America.  The author is Jordan Rubin who also wrote The Makers Diet years ago, in which he writes about his journey healing from Crohn's Disease.

Cleanse Day 7 - I think I'm getting used to this

Another good day.  I was thinking this afternoon I wonder what it will be like to eat other foods next week.  Trying to come up with a plan of what to eat next.  I'm really liking Perfect Weight America and think I might give that diet a try.

The last few days I have really noticed how things smell.  Like bread.  I just smell it while making the kids lunches.  I don't think I'll be eating white bread anymore anyway, but I've noticed that it is very satisfying just to smell it.  Same with pizza that I made for the boys the other night.  Just smelling it was fine.  And then while in the grocery store they were baking brownies.  Just stopping to think about those foods & smell & enjoy just that was enough.  I didn't take a bite, I didn't need to!

New fruit tomorrow, and YOGURT and fish!  (not a fan of fish, but I will stomach it for 3 days)

I am feeling really good today.  Not too tired, not much pain, my mind is very clear and I feel...well...clean. 

Cleanse Day 4

Had some internet issues last night, so wasn't able to post, but here were my thoughts;

Today was a good day.  Feeling not so tired (other than my normal Monday beginning-of-the-week tired)  Had some energy to get a few chores done.  Looking forward to tomorrow where I will have different fruit to eat (and yes, I already went shopping so no excuses) and NUTS & SEEDS on my salad!  Yum.

Cleanse Day 1 - Graperific

I've never done any type of cleanse or fast before.  This was a little scary for me!  I was worried I would be cranky, hungry, have a headache, not have the will power to follow through.
I prayed this morning for God to give me the strength for just today to endure.  And He has!  I'm in a great mood, I am hungry and have a slight headache, but confident that I have made it through Day 1 of 10.

The cleanse I am following from Perfect Weight America teaches that on day 1, I need to drink lots of water 3/4 oz per pound of body weight, and 4 meals of grapes (any kind, I got both) throughout the day.  Along with some special supplements that you can get at Perfect Cleanse.  It's a good thing I like grapes! 


I did alright during the day.  Around 4pm I was starting to get hungry and was worried that grapes for dinner wouldn't be enough.  It was just fine, even though I wanted what the rest of my family was eating.  

I'm feeling pretty good tonight.  My tummy is growling (for the first time today), but I'm heading to bed (it's just after 10) as soon as I finish the last of my water for the day, so I wont be tempted by leftover dinner or popcorn.  I'm looking forward to my mango for breakfast in the morning!  Night!

Diet – there’s no ing

A big part of my life that I know I need to work on is my diet.  It’s not that bad, but it’s not great.  For some reason after my last pregnancy 3 years ago I have had a hard time loosing weight.  The year before I got pregnant I lost 40 lbs.  Stress, counting calories and running, got me there.  I assumed I could count calories again, exercise and I would see the pounds fall off.  Well, that was far from what happened.  No matter what I tried, that scale wasn’t budging.  I had ZERO willpower.  The fatigue from fibromyalgia caused this cycle of wanting to change, but not having the energy to really do anything about it.  A couple of months ago I knew I needed a big transformation.  Not just a diet, not just counting calories, but I was being called to really change my eating habits.  No more processed foods, no more sugar, lots more vegetables.  Eating natural, organic, whole, clean foods is where I know I need to be.  So how do I get there?

I started by cutting out sugar.  I noticed after a few weeks my energy increased, and my pain was reduced.  But it was hard.  I failed time after time.  I would stop for a while, and then have a treat.  And well, if I had a treat, might as well forget about not eating sugar the rest of the day, or week.  The cycle would continue.

Same with counting calories.  I used an app, so it was super convenient.  I made sure to enter everything, every day.  Being so strict and seeing no results on the scale would send me out for a double cheeseburger and fries (and might as well add a sweet tea to that.)  At least it’s not soda right?  That’s the ONLY thing I’ve been able to successfully give up.

What did I do next?  Well, I asked for help.  From everyone.  A friend was on her own weight loss journey, so we teamed up and started meeting together to set goals and encourage each other.  I was in an online group for weight loss.  Another friend started up a Bible study group going through the book Made to Crave and I was in!  (look for a book review coming soon!)  I scoured web sites for different “healthy lifestyle” plans, and diets for people with fibro.  Paleo, the Anti-inflammatory diet, Food’s for Fibromylagia.  It was all quite overwhelming.  Then this week, I met with another friend who has successfully changed her family’s diet to RAW, vegan, gluten free.  Out of that meeting came peace.  She was a REAL person living with a healthy diet, depending on the Lord.  She showed me that it can be done, and it IS worth it!  Our health is worth changing for.

Check out my Good Eats board on Pinterest for the great ideas people have given me and more!

So here is my plan.  I’m going to do a 10 day cleanse starting tomorrow, Friday, August 17th.  Get my body to re-boot.  Get rid of all the toxins I’m storing, and after that, nothing but food that is good for me.  Made to Crave gave me so many tools to get through a change like this, I highly recommend not only reading the book, but finding others and going through the study with the videos.  Very inspirational.  There is even a devotional for daily encouragement.

The cleanse I’ll be following is Perfect Cleanse from Garden of Life.  I also got the book PerfectWeight America which includes all the instructions.  I’ll be posting how each day is going for the 10 days, so I invite you to come along on this adventure with me!

I’m not going to recommend a specific diet to follow.  I do encourage you do your own research and talk with your Dr. about diet and what is best for you.  Even though it seems overwhelming, I know it’s what is best for me, and you too!