INTENTIONAL LIVING: HEALTHY EATING
Ice cream and french fries. Those are my favorite foods. No nutritional value, but it does bring happiness to my soul. I would be lying if I said I didn’t do a happy dance every time ice cream or fries touch my taste buds. When my husband doesn’t share his french fries, you can bet a fight will ensue afterwards. On the other hand, I must REALLY LOVE YOU if I share my own french fries. I LOVE my ice cream and french fries. insert happy dance
As I said before, ice cream and french fries have no nutritional value. If I lived on ice cream and french fries, I would probably weigh as close to a hippopotamus. A few weeks ago, I realized that my eating habits were awful. I started noticing changes in my body that were unwelcomed, acne, mood swings (but that can be due to a lot of things 😉 ), and it was an athletic attempt to get my jeans on. I realized that I had to start changing my eating habits. My body was giving me signs, but I was making excuses to have a treat…like a brownie, a glass of wine, a chocolate chip cookie, another glass of wine. I was doing more bad than good. I was going through so many changes in my life the past year, with my wedding, travels, my job, and buying a house. I kept saying “I deserve to celebrate” not putting into consideration how I was just building a pile of yuck in my body. I had to change.
I’ve known about The Whole 30 for a couple years. In fact, I bought the book two years ago with the intent to start it. At the time, I was working nights and I just couldn’t find the balance to plan meals. Fast forward to now, the timing was perfect and the only way to start was to do it. My husband wanted to join so I decided to start the day after Valentine’s Day (because we always go to Cracker Barrel for our date, and I was NOT going to miss out on my French Toast and hash brown casserole!) My sister-in-law and brother-in-law joined in as well as my mother-in-law so we had a team to lean on.
I actually read a few chapters of the book and purchased the “It Starts with Food” book that explains why exactly what you are doing with food choices. It gave me time to prepare and plan some meals. It was enlightening to read about how our body functions in relation to food and how what we eat is actually changing the signals to our brain. It motivated me to take initiative of my eating habits and rewire my brain.
Essentially, the Whole 30 is about eliminating sugar, grains, legumes and dairy from your diet.
It is basically resetting your body. Sugar, grains, legumes, and dairy can have negative effects on your body and mood. They can be related to your mental health, energy levels, even health conditions. By removing those food groups from your diet, the Whole 30 aims to make a healthy relationship with food.
So why is this important to you?
Because YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. You need to be mindful of what you put in your body because they can have good or bad consequences. Food is directly related to your health. The symptoms you feel from your body are messengers telling you that something is wrong and needs fixing. Be glad that you have the ability to detect those markers, because the worst is when you don’t get any signals and you end up with a heart attack. Heart Disease is the number one killer in men and women. Don’t let that scare you, let it motivate you to do better…eat better.
My Why
Everyone loves this. Why did you want to do this? Because I want to be healthy. I want to recharge my body with energy. I know the food that I’ve been consuming has been draining me. It has been taking away some happiness. I have health conditions to defeat. I want to learn how to cook. I know if I keep going down the road of ice cream and french fries galore I will clog my arteries. I want to be well informed and educate others about their bodies. I want to live long.
Today marks Day 7 of being on the Whole 30. The first couple days were alright, but since Sunday morning (Day 4) I’ve been waking up with horrible headaches. Until today! Mini wins 🙂 It’s amazing how much my body relies on sugar and now my body is trying to accommodate the fact that it will not be getting any sugar highs. I have noticed that I look leaner and my thighs aren’t rubbing against each other. I didn’t weigh myself at the start so I’m not sure if I lost any weight. I am so grateful that I’m not doing this alone and that my hubby, sister, brother, and mother in law are on this journey with me. St. Patrick’s Day marks Day 31 and you bet I will be drinking a mimosa that morning. I NEVER turn down an opportunity for a mimosa.
Until then, I’ll settle for a smoothie bowl and pretend it’s a mimosa 🙂
Cu-Tea Smoothie Bowl
1 Frozen Banana
1 cup coconut milk
a few blueberries
a spoonful of almond butter
Toppings: shredded coconut, blueberries, strawberries, and ground cinnamon
Directions: Blend ingredients and top with toppings. Easy peezy.
So how can you live intentionally with healthy eating? Like I said, be mindful of what you eat. You don’t have to take on the Whole 30, but try better when it comes to food choices. Exercise. Become informed. Take control of your health. Every morning, when you wake up with intention…wake up with the purpose of living long and happy.
“We need to build wellness instead of treating disease.” -Bruce Daggy
