Powered by Blogger.

The Pain that Precipitates Change

>> 5.18.2013

Really it's only ever pain that gets us to change anything we do in life.  I can not think of a moment I changed my route/mind/attitude/diet, etc. without pain being present.  In our bodies pain is the God-given source that signals to us that change needs to be made.  In our lives, the same is true.

Recently, I attended a women's meeting during which nutrition was the main theme.  Several women brought items I've only thought were crazy...until lately.  Items such as fermented vegetables (eww-- doesn't the word "fermented" just kind of make your skin crawl?) and keifer (again, I don't know why we don't give healthy foods a better name like..."Twinkie 2" ;)  Anyway, our group that day consisted of some mamas who have been on a health-seeking journey for years and some mamas who had never heard of these items and some mamas who had heard of them...but were still skeptical of their application into their life.  The mamas who brought the items to sample and have wholeheartedly embraced the most wholesome eating life-style in our American world made it very clear-- before their pain events, they would have never considered eating this way.  They didn't know about the health benefits and didn't know how "do-able" it really would be to their life.

I have to agree.  I am much further away from where they are in the journey, but I too began seeking out a better way to eat due to pain-- very real pain that was inescapable.  If I wanted relief, my only option was to change my diet significantly.

Perhaps that is where you are today. Or, perhaps you, like so many around me, think they can handle the pain and it'd be a bigger upset to have to change their whole diets.  I'm not here to say it's been easy.  Everyday I find myself at a loss for hours which would aid in more prep for easier meal consumption later on, but it's a fight I have to continue to make.  And I encourage YOU to continue today if you have not already begun a journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Books I Recommend (That I Am Reading On This Journey)
Gut and Psychology Syndrome -- by Dr. Natasha Campbell- McBride (great information on how the digestive track can affect so much of your body's functions/thinking/behavior)
Nourishing Traditions -- by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig (great read on the appropriate place GOOD fats, protein, and carbohydrates need to have in your diet.)
Trim, Healthy, Mama -- by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison (the current dietary life-style I am using to lose weight and eat in such a healthy way as never before. "Love me some buttah!")


I used to think anyone "natural" (doctors, other health professionals, and everyday people) were crazy and tricksters-- who ever would believe my son's asthma could be healed significantly with food?!  Craziness!  Schmucks!  Turns out...it probably CAN be significantly improved by his diet as well as my children's eczema, my weight issues, irritability...and, of course, stomach pain. And if I can heal from the inside out, starting with good foods, why would I choose another way-- a way filled with medications attempting to do the same thing...only having to overcome an abounding mess of unhealthy diet going in on top of it!? Simply because it's not "easy"?  That's no excuse and I personally am leaving that one behind.  It will continue to be hard...but anything in life worth having IS work-- and good health, as much as it is up to me, is worth having SO THAT I am able to live an energized life IN ORDER to bring glory to God, love to those He places in my path and bring HIS NAME to the nations. 

Weight Update:  199.6!  FINALLY blew that 200 mark! (14 total pounds and counting!)

NOTE:  I DO NOT believe, nor advocate, that food is THE ONLY way to heal anything, including asthma, etc. and I DO NOT believe that regular doctors are "no good".  They are just practicing the medicine they have been taught but many personally living healthy life-styles that they know their patients many times are unwilling to live.  I also DO NOT believe that seeking out a healthy life-style for the sake of a healthy life-style is the end all.  Our health is only to serve us in order that we may best serve Christ and not be burdened with lack of energy, spending time and money in the drs office, unable to be physically fit to do the tasks to which He calls us.

Read more...

The Journey Continues...Progress Update

>> 5.04.2013

Okay, folks.  Here is my progress report--

In the three weeks since having been eating the "THM way," as many of the people following the plan from the Trim Healthy Mama call it, I have seen several good changes in my body. 

Weight-related:  lost 7.5 lbs (a good, healthy, inspiring amount for 3 weeks' time) and lost 4.5 inches. 

BUT WAIT-- it gets better, as I've just realized going back a bit in my blog.  I started in January at 212.8 and am now at 202.6 so I've actually hit the first nice feeling milestone: 10 pounds.  This is a healthy beginning.  Also, since January I've lost 10.25 inches all around which means that while the scale might not show the most results, all the time my body has been changing shape-- and that, my friends, is what getting healthy is all about.  I tried on a skirt that I couldn't wear in January and it fits now! (Never mind I don't want to wear a double-lined black full-length skirt in May that I would've worn in January, that's not the point!=)

Other Changes--
I've started waking up earlier.  This is weird.  I've never been a morning person and I suddenly find myself waking up and being able to start the day without an alarm (or, let's be honest, my husband saying, "I'm going to work now.") 
I've started falling asleep without any problems.  Also weird because, on average, it took me a good hour of laying down before I'd ever fall asleep.  Now I lay down, at the same time as before, but I fall asleep fast-- without any tossing, turning, huffing-puffing, etc.-- it's great!  I'm pretty sure that's the result of lack of sugar pulsing through my body b/c I'd been off of caffeine for quite some time without any changes in my sleep patterns.
I've made sourdough bread (a supposedly "safe" food for my IBS-- um, not true for me!) and my family likes it!  It's a combo of spelt flour (that I actually ground myself!! Very proud of this!) and oats (that were "properly soaked".)  Now, lest some of you think I've gone off the deep end-- I kind of have!  I'm also in the middle of reading Nourishing Traditions and LOVE the information I'm reading.  It is freeing; uncomplicating (that's not a technical word, I realize) all the health information I've ever read and it's filled with life-giving information!  No wonder so many people eating the typical American diet are so sick, over-weight, and in the doctors office ALL.THE.TIME.  I don't want this to be or my family members, so changes are needed!  And, thankfully, through the pain that forced me into all this research in the first place, change is happening!  I've got a long way to go, but I'm taking the right steps.

Caveat:  My IBS is still flaring up. (Sourdough bread was a complete no-no for me-- said to be easily digestible and good for those suffering with IBS, but it wasn't for me.  I still plan on trying to use it for my family though because it has many health benefits for them.) Sometimes it is a matter of eating a food I know I can't handle -- there are just so many yummy recipes from THM that include yummy berries and cream cheese and cottage cheese-- all of which are horribly bad for me right now.  But more often than not, the worst attacks come from sources I didn't know where going to bother me.  Still learning.  My next stop may be the GAPS diet...so if any of you have any information on how this has worked for you, let me know.  I need my gut to heal and I believe it is possible through the right foods.

What about you?  What changes are you making today that you know you need to make?  I'd love to hear about them!

Read more...

  © Blogger template Webnolia by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP