Dietary Changes

At Christmastime I was feeling the effects of too many sweets and rich foods.  I told myself after the New Year I was going to get back to eating healthy foods and lose the few pounds I’d packed on in recent months.  I made it to December 26^th and said “Enough!” 

I started back to my healthier eating and was quickly derailed with a nice head cold.  After a week I was back to it.  I’ve always thought I was a healthy eater, except for my nagging sweet tooth.  I’m not overweight and I do manage to maintain my weight pretty well, most of the time.  Like most, I do struggle a bit between Halloween and New Years. 

After my visit to the doctor last month I read the information I’d been given, did a lot of research and explored all my options.  It is fair to say that for about two weeks I was consumed with research.  I discovered that the best option for my particular situation was to take a dietary approach. 

I decided to change my food consumption to a predominantly plant based diet.  There is a lot of science to back this approach up and, to me, it just made sense.  I eat very little meat, dairy, rice, pasta or bread and fill my plate with a lot of fresh raw fruits and vegetables. 

I am rethinking pretty much everything and am in the process of re-outfitting my pantry.  I want to:

·         Change the fats we use to olive oil, coconut oil and peanut oil.

·         Focus more on whole grains, legumes and lentils.

·         Significantly reduce our consumption of animal based products.

·         Improve the quality of our foods and pay closer attention to where they come from.

·         Steer clear of modified and genetically enhanced “food”.

·         Make even more homemade items so I know exactly what is in my food. 

It didn’t start out easy.  The first 2½ to 3 weeks were tough.  I didn’t feel good (as I realized later that my body was in detox mode) and I really wanted chocolate and cookies.  But now I feel so much better.  I’ve had a significant reduction in my symptoms and my energy level is back to normal. 

I got online and watch some videos on Hulu.com that really helped me better understand what I need to do and how to go about it.  Plus they explained the science behind it so I’d have a much better understanding of “Why”.  I’m one of these people that needs to know the “Why” of something before I am willing hop on board. 

The videos I watched are called: 

1.                   Fat, Sick And Nearly Dead

2.                  Forks Over Knives

3.                  Chow Down 

I am motivated to keep going and to see what my doctor thinks when I go back in a couple of months.  I think he’ll be pleasantly surprised.  I already am!