Surviving life without sugar, artificial sweeteners and diet soda. Conquering addition for a better healthier me.
November 14, 2012
I'm Josie,
Mom, daughter, sister, friend, business owner, and sugar addicted stress eater..
I was 38 when I got pregnant with my daughter. The same week I got pregnant I had a skiing accident which led to a total ACL reconstruction of my left knee. The rigorous exercise program and healthy eating habits that I had followed for ten years was put on hold. In the years that followed, my fairy tale life of love, marriage, family, health and fitness, began to unravel around me. With that, I became a stress eater and sugar my culprit.
Fast forward … My daughter is 14 and I am 80 pounds over weight, I have tried every diet including the “Raw” diet without success. Today I am challenging myself to change; change my eating habits, change the way I feel about myself, CHANGE.... I will be blogging daily, starting with today, my 53rd birthday. I will share with you my challenges, some solutions I come up with, photos, recipes and each success. It is my hope and desire to make a difference in my life as well as the lives of everyone that visits me here. Thank you for supporting me. I am now publicly accountable to myself and each of my readers. Come back often to read and see how I evolve. My goal for this year is weight loss and wellness. My diet is simple, whole foods and nothing artificial! I am using experience, logic and you to keep me going.
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. – Lao Tzu
Some days are easier then others. I definitely over ate last night. To much brown rice with ginger, garlic and peppers. Even when it’s good for you, you can over eat. I’ve only felt stuffed twice on this journey and it’s a feeling I want to avoid.
My sister Rosalie shared a link yesterday in comments. I thought I would share it with you. “My Approach”
I’ve been thinking about cancer fighting foods so I thought I would share a few links that provide some suggestions for choosing foods rich in antioxidants.
Adding more raw food to your diet has so many health benefits. And so does enjoying your food and your life. So here are a few more yummy and easy raw recipes from my favorites list: http://www.spiritouch.com/en/recipelist.aspReplyCancel
I missed posting yesterday. Day 50 came and went as I spent the last two days sorting out some computer issues and re-arranging and cleaning my office readying myself for a new year.
I have always been a closet “want a be” health food fanatic. Like an alter ego of sorts, but I could never seem to keep it together for very long. Last year I tried to go 100% raw and I got very sick. Besides having stomach problems from it, I was having trouble putting sentences together. It was really strange. I was eating raw almonds and other nuts, drinking green smoothies and eating fruit and vegetables. After 3 or 4 days, I started to feel euphoric but it didn’t stop there, I couldn’t talk any more. I wrote to one of the “raw food” sites I was following and of course no one had any answers, if they answered me at all. On day 13, my stomach was burning, I couldn’t put a straight sentence together and I had to shoot a wedding. I made a decision to eat an egg and a piece of toast. Within a few hours, I felt back to myself. I can’t explain what happened. When I asked a few people who are “raw vegans” my answer was “you have to start off slow” or “It was to extreme for you”. I have no doubt that “raw” is heathy but I couldn’t try it again without expert supervision. Perhaps it will be one of my evolutions this year.. perhaps not.
Eating whole and natural foods seem to be working for me. I really feel so much better in so many ways just giving up sugar and artificial everything. I am sticking with raw nuts, legumes (beans), eggs, chicken, turkey and fish for protein, fruit and vegetables, and brown rice and potato’s of any variety. While I do eat a lot more raw vegetables, and drink green smoothies, I’m not apposed to cooking my food. When I think about it, 50 days without sugar and anything artificial is quite amazing to me. I was using somewhere between 3 and 8 Splenda packets a day, drinking 3 – 5 diet cokes a week and binging on sugar often. I even had friends from the USA send me boxes of Splenda for my coffee while living in Europe and indulging on Sachertorte (chocolate cake).
After 50 days, I feel so much better. I’ve lost a little over 20 pounds and while loosing weight is one of my objectives, living healthier, longer and feeling great is the key. When I realize food is meant to fuel and nourish my body, I eat healthy.
This is so well written. Thank you for sharing your experiences in such a way that is helpful to many. I’m totally enjoying your blog. Please keep writing.ReplyCancel
It’s really great that you made 50 days! I agree with the comment that going from all that sugar and soda and meat to completely raw vegan may have been too much to soon. I’ve been immersing myself in my new program at Integrative Nutrition. We have a philosophy called “bio-individuality”. Simply put, everyone is different. A diet or lifestyle change that makes one person healthy can make another person very sick. It’s important to find what works best for you. You are really on the right track and this blog is great too!ReplyCancel
I don’t normally make New Years Resolutions. When I have a life changing epiphany, that’s when I try and act on it, such as starting my 1 year commitment on my birthday and not putting it off a month and a half waiting until New Years Day. No that never works for me. But this year, I will make ‘being prepared’ my New Years Resolution. Making sure I have the right food around me has been working thus far, so resolving to commit to ‘being prepared’ sounds good to me.
What was on your kitchen table this New Years Day morning? I woke up to a cookie platter, chips, remnants of the previous nights party and a lot of fruit and vegetables on the end of the table.
I bet you look gorgeous, now. I believe, during this year you are going to develop new eating habits and new taste, and you will never want to be back to unhealthy artificial food.
Self portrait of a new you, please)ReplyCancel
That’s a great shot. When you think about it, the traditional cornucopia is always shown with natural produce, fruits and vegetables, spilling out of it. Every time I eat an orange instead of a cookie I feel so much better in comparison.ReplyCancel
Betsy -January 2, 2012 - 11:03 am
Me too. Lots of fruit here. And oatmeal.
I ditched the cookies and leftover cheesecake, did some sit ups and went for a walk. I’m going to join you coast-to-coast in getting healthier this year. Not a resolution, mind you. Just acceptance that I am ready to get back in shape.ReplyCancel
maggie Griffin -January 2, 2012 - 9:37 am
That looks wonderful! I think I’ll start the new year with a vegie salad topped with slices of broiled chicken breasts.ReplyCancel
I made breakfast for 5 people which included bagels and breads that I don’t eat and served them all with a smile from my heart. I had a plain omelette made with 1 egg yoke and 3 egg whites. It’s a good thing I am not romanticizing or missing the breads.
I was planning to keep it really simple tonight when a friend and his kids decided to join us for New Years Eve! So that meant a second trip to the store. On my first trip, I thought I might buy some organic blue corn chips and organic salsa and go off my plan just a little bit. As we made our list for the second trip to the store, we came up with one healthy alternative in addition to all the chips and snacks foods that were on the list. Homemade guacamole. In keeping it simple, we decided to have pizza for everyone while I had a few raw zucchini’s shaved and topped with marinara sauce. So far so good!
While I don’t think it was the best decision to have the blue corn chips, I did anyway and dipped them into the guacamole. I enjoyed every bite. I passed on everything else, including the pizza, diet coke and all sugary snacks. All in all, I made it though another holiday on track.
“Now that is commitment to a goal. Your awareness of when you are making a choice that is great or just second best is the difference that will ultimately result in your long term success. Instead of giving up and indulging in not so healthy meals you think about what would make a better, healthier alternative. I applaud your innovative thinking and your strength at self motivation.ReplyCancel
I used ginger on and off for years. I love it in stir fry and a brown rice dish that I make and of course with sushi. I knew it was suppose to be good for you but I like it, so the health benefits are only an added plus. I thought I’d look up exactly how good it actually is for you.
Thanks for the link to Health Benefits of Ginger Tea. It’s a really great tuber, I’ve always loved it for stir fry and soups. Now I will definitely add it to boiling water to make tea.ReplyCancel
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Adding more raw food to your diet has so many health benefits. And so does enjoying your food and your life. So here are a few more yummy and easy raw recipes from my favorites list:
http://www.spiritouch.com/en/recipelist.asp