Well, tomorrow I am officially going to spend Halloween starting to detox myself from all the crap that I usually put into my body. I feel very strongly about eating and drinking the right things, but always tend to get back into my old habits. By eating right I mean lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and making sure I include good sources of protein. I also am going to try to give up one of my favorite food groups, dairy, in an effort to help my migraine headaches. I've noticed over the years that I tend to get them more often when I am drinking lots of milk and eating yogurt frequently. I now buy organic as much as I can depending on availability and of course price. Drinking the right things also means giving up my beloved Diet Mt. Dew... If any of you know me very well, you know this is going to be very, very hard!! I've tried this countless times and can usually make it a week or maybe two and then I give in. When I was pregnant with Lily I actually did pretty well and pretty much gave it up except for a few here and there. Although, I did drink regular Mt. Dew while I was at work a lot, especially in the middle of the night. Then when I first started nursing Lily I knew that I really shouldn't be drinking it, so I did well avoiding it for a couple of months. Then I did some research and the consensus pretty much says that diet sodas are safe while pregnant and breastfeeding. So, I gave in and got back into my habit. So, when I found out I was pregnant with Caleb, I kind of tried to cut back, but never really did. Now I am nursing him too and continue to drink them. Okay, so you wonder what the problem is... The problem is that I know deep down that neither my baby nor I should be consuming artificial sweeteners nor that much caffeine, despite what most of the research says. I truly am convicted about this on a daily basis. But, I crave it so much!! I know that sounds rediculous to some of you, but I do I do I do!!! I crave the carbonation, the semi-sweet tast, and the caffeine. I've gotten so I feel like I need it in the mornings since my children consider 7 AM sleeping in and I also think that I deserve it when I'm at work, lol. I know my hardest part of not drinking it is going to be at work So, GMU girls, if you are reading this, please help me say NO!!
So I went to my favorite grocery store, Kroger, today and bought a huge stash of fruits, veggies, whole grains, dry beans, almond milk and nuts. I am on the fence about whether I want to be a vegetarian in the future or not. I have struggled with this issue for a long time. If I truly think about what I am putting in my mouth I get totally disgusted and don't want to eat it, but I also do a pretty good job of blocking it out when I want to eat something good!! So I know that doesn't really make much sense, but I think what I am going to try to do is avoid meat when I can and eat it when I don't have many other options. Of course Chris doesn't even like me talking about this subject!!! He is a meat lover and wants meat at every meal, so that is also factored into my decision. It would be very hard to make two meals every night that would suit both of our needs and wants. Although, of course being the loving husband Chris is, he says he will support whatever crazy decisions I make!! I know you faithful vegetarians want to slap me right now! I also have trouble with eggs if I think about it, but I really feel like I need eggs for the protein source. That is another concern I have about becoming vegetarian. I am all about making sure that I have enough protein in my diet.
So, you might ask why I am so passionate about eating the right foods? Well, it basically goes back to the fact that I believe that God has provided the very best for us in nutrition with the whole foods He put on Earth! God created our bodies and gave us the food that provide all the nutrients that we need to live a full and healthy life. God does not want us to feel run down all the time because we consume the processed food that modern technology has created. I know that some of it is SO good to my taste buds and I crave it A LOT. However, I also have eaten "right" enough to know that the food God gave us really has so much more flavor and texture than anything made by a machine. Why I settle for a processed cereal bar for breakfast instead of a sweet piece of fruit, I really do not know. But, I constantly find myself choosing the junk instead of the jewel all the time.... Is it because in my mind it is easier? cheaper? better? The answer to all of those is almost always no, not really. My mission is to change what I crave. I don't want to eat tasteless, nutritionally deficient junk. So, tomorrow is the day. I will celebrate the junk food holiday of the year by changing what I eat. Hopefully with the accountability of this blog, I will continue and do what I really want to do and change my eating habits for my lifetime. I know there will be times when I "cheat", but unlike the previous attempts at changing what I eat, this time I hope I can jump right back on track. You may have heard the saying "Don't live to eat, but eat to live" Well, I think that when you have the chance to truly savor the taste of the food that God has given us and consistently choose whole foods, then you get to do both!!
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