More Losses!

December 28, 2020December 28, 2020

More Losses!

I am very pleased to share with you the fact that I have lost another 25 pounds! That makes a total of about 85 pounds since I started changing my diet around 3 years ago. I’m excited!

Whenever I share my weight loss, people ask me what kind of diet I am on. I don’t know if I have said this here before, but I am not on any particular diet. Not Keto. Not Paleo. Not Vegetarian. Not anything that has been defined as “the way” to eat. What I believe has made the most difference is adding more fruits and veggies to my diet.

During one of my most recent stints in college, I learned to do without white sugar. Because it gave me a horrible case of brain fog, I would try to avoid it in all forms until after I took finals each semester. I think that created a level of discipline in that area that I really wasn’t planning on. Honestly, I just wanted to get done with school, so I did what I had to do! I found some great substitutes, too. I’ll write about that later.

There are a few things that likely made a small difference. One of them is my morning ritual of drinking green tea with lemon and honey before my coffee. I also try to do a juice-type fast at least once per week. That means that I try not to eat anything solid until at least it’s time for lunch. I drink juice or tea, but the juice is home-made in my juicer. Sometimes I have a smoothie instead, but that seems to be enough to get me through the morning.

At the end of last year, I joined the gym because it was free. Then flu season came and I actually got sick so I got a bit of paranoia about giving and receiving germs! Then the building got shut down because of some kind of structural issues. That killed it for me because I like to go early and the closest sister gym would have been 30 minutes away! Then the lock-downs closed them all. I probably got on the treadmill a total of 10 times during that 2 or 3 months, so I really can’t give credit to the gym for my weight loss. I actually don’t think I lost any weight during that time period.

I really think being more aware of what I put in my mouth has made the biggest contribution to me being able to lose weight. Exercise is good. Movement helps our bodies not to become stiff, among other things, but being careful of what I eat is what I believe has made the most difference for me.

The photo is a fruit salad that I often eat for lunch or dinner. This one had kiwi, watermelon and strawberries sprinkled with about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey. YUM!

January 28, 2019April 5, 2019

Healthy Fat?

The words “healthy” and “fat” have been separated for too long! Here’s an article that explains the basics without getting too deep into medical terminology. The bottom line is look for what is good and avoid the rest. BUT read this article to learn the truth!

The Simple Guide to Healthy Fats

October 14, 2018March 22, 2019

Milk Alternatives

I love milk. There’s nothing that tastes like it. But, to help myself on my journey to Natural Healing, I do use alternatives like Almond milk in my coffee. If you have a sensitivity to dairy, or you are simply avoiding milk, here is an article that shares about some alternatives that look like they are relatively easy to make.

What is Good Enough?

Not all produce is created equal. There are some that are more likely to be sprayed with pesticides that are known to cause cancer. Some just need to be washed thoroughly and others should be avoided unless you can verify where and how it was produced.

Here’s the standard list I found on several websites, but read the article for more information on how these choices were made:

EXCERPT:

Dirty Dozen

Ranked in order from the greatest to least amount of pesticide residue, these were the top 12 fruit-and-veggie offenders. Peaches came in first in the 47 types of produce tested. Buy these items organic whenever possible. Since organic foods can be pricey, offset the cost by buying these fruits and veggies in season when prices are the most reasonable.

1. Peaches

2. Apples

3. Bell Peppers

4. Celery

5. Nectarines

6. Strawberries

7. Cherries

8. Kale

9. Lettuce

10. Grapes (imported)

11. Carrots

12. Pears

Honorable mentions:

Other veggies that ranked high on the EWG list are collard greens, spinach and potatoes.

Clean Fifteen

These items contain the lowest levels of pesticides when grown conventionally. Listed from least to greatest, onion scored the lowest for pesticide content.

1. Onions

2. Avocados

3. Sweet corn

4. Pineapples

5. Mango

6. Asparagus

7. Sweet Peas

8. Kiwi

9. Cabbage

10. Eggplant

11. Papaya

12. Watermelon

13. Broccoli

14. Tomatoes

15. Sweet Potatoes

Salty Health

The general information about salt rarely takes this healthy choice into account. It’s almost like somebody’s hiding something. There is good salt and bad salt. Here’s a short list of the benefits of Pink Himalayan sea salt:

EXCERPT: Pink Himalayan sea salt contains over 84 minerals and trace elements, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron, so it does more than just make your food taste better.

Veggies for Detox

I’m still amazed at the many ways food can be used to heal our bodies. Removing toxins is one of the ways that these veggies help the process of healing. Having some veggies in your diet is better than not having any. There are so many different varieties that you could have something different every day.

if you are not a fan of veggies, i suggest you at least try something new every chance you get. You might need to try some of them more than once so that you can train your taste buds. Once I started working on doing that, I found that my body actually began to crave something fresh instead of craving processed foods!

This article has a list of the veggies that are the best at helping your body to get rid of the toxins that can hinder the process of Natural Healing.

Take what you need and save the rest for later! <3

EXCERPT Eating broccoli and other cruciferous veggies might just be a frugal way to combat the long-term health risks of air pollution.

Souping

One way to save time is to prep and/or cook ahead and then freeze some for later. It makes it easier to have healthy choices available when the time is at a premium. I was looking for ways to save my Chicken Vegetable soup and this is one of the articles I found. It’s about safety, but there are some good tips on how to use the preserved items, too.

Take what you need and save the rest for later.

September 11, 2018March 25, 2019

Healing by Souping

I use veggie soups to increase my veggie intake. I had no idea how easy it could be. Just eating more veggies can boost your energy and including animal proteins, from clean meat, adds flavor as well as a boost in nutrition. The meats don’t even need to be the major ingredient. I have found that left-overs will work just fine!

Get some inspiration at paleomom.com