Over the past 21 years, I have dealt with some major health issues, including cancer 3 times, all rare & unrelated. What could have triggered this?
I had been unhappy with my weight for a very long time & had tried every diet known & I had even lost some weight but the problem with diets is that we see them as temporary until we lose the weight & then we go back eating the way we did before. No wonder I gained it back! I learned nothing!! I deprived my body of healthy fats, carbs, etc to follow a low or no carb or low fat diet. It doesn’t work!! I had to change what I was eating & putting in my body.
As a retired RN, I should know all this, right? No, most doctors & nurses are not taught nutrition in school. I started looking & learning & changing my lifelong habits into a lifestyle change – eating real foods! I know that sounds funny but it’s true. Look at what we eat – fast foods, processed foods (boxed & bagged) that all the nutrition has been processed out of & genetically modified foods. I know some of you will say “what’s the big deal with gmo – they have been doing that for years”. All I can say is look at the allergies in kids & adults, look at the rise of problems with kids that were not there years ago. Autism has risen greatly, ADD, & many other problems – kids are allergic to almost everything. Adults – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, strokes, heart attacks – look at what we put in our bodies! It’s no wonder!!
All I know is that, when I cleaned up my eating & started eating frozen or fresh veggies instead of canned, eating sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, brown rice instead of white rice, cut out breads (I know what you are thinking – 😳) & dairy (can cause problems in digestive system), cut out the pork (look at how pigs live & what they eat – yuck) & beef (except occasionally) & started eating chicken & only wild caught fish, I felt so much better. I had more energy, less brain fog, could focus better & felt like getting out & doing things & oh, guess what? I lost weight as a natural side affect of eating healthy. I went from a size 20 to a 12 & that’s where I am supposed to be.
Do I ever fall off the wagon? Of course I do – I’m human – I love pizza & pasta. I do eat that occasionally but then I am back eating healthy again. Not only do I feel better but I have the energy to get out & walk every day. It keeps my weight in check but also renews my soul getting out in nature.
We have control!! And it is never too late!! I don’t want to take pills to deal with something that I could have possibly avoided by eating correctly.
1. Look at what you are eating every day, whether it is a meal or a snack.
2. Is it real food?
3. Was it a living or growing food?
4. Choose fresh or frozen veggies (canned is loaded with preservatives)
5. Organic or free range chicken (no hormones or antibiotics)
6. Wild caught fish.
7. Limit beef to free range beef & no more than once a week.
8. Eat the rainbow ( foods of all colors , ie, red: strawberries; orange: sweet potatoes, carrots,, etc.
9. 1/2 your plate with veggies, especially dark greens; 1/4 plate of healthy proteins (chicken, fish); 1/8 healthy fats like olive oil, avocado oils, avocado; 1/8 heathy carbs: sweet potatoes, quinoa.
10. Avoid, as much as possible, the allergic foods like gluten & dairy.
Take you health back or, better yet, start before disease starts & learn to eat correctly. Teach your kids healthy eating habits.
Barb Fields
Arbonne Independent Consultant
http://www.barbarafields.arbonne.com
Content provided by Women Belong member Barbara V Fields
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