I admit I was one of those irritatingly lucky teenagers when I was younger - I could eat whatever I chose and I just failed to put on any weight. I am sure other factors like nights on end spent dancing and the large amount of walking I used to do before having my own vehicle all contributed to my size, but no amount of takeaway or donuts seemed to make me gain any weight. Then I had my first child... and I settled.
Like many others I fell for the whole 'eating for two' rubbish and ate lots of everything. I was uneducated on food, nutrients and biology. I knew how to bake delicious desserts and big dinners and I definitely knew how to eat them too!
I gained the majority of my weight after my son was born 9 years ago. I was running a home with a baby, husband and four step-children all requiring looking after. This does not include all the in-laws who came for dinner regularly. I stayed at home the majority of my time, I cooked and I ate and I gained weight.
"Shall we do this diet?"
There was never really a moment when I decided that I was going to lose weight. I had now and then joined in with some fad diet with the girls at work once I returned or the local slimming world but in all honesty I never really took them seriously. I would think nothing of nipping to the supermarket and consuming a sneaky iced-ring donut and wash it down with an energy drink before casually returning to my desk with my ready-prepared salad meal deal with fruit and water. I didn't care about my size. I didn't consider that my poor health was related to my diet and size and I only really got involved in these silly diets to give the others the motivation they were clearly seeking to suggest the diets in the first place!
When I have lost weight it has not been by intention and this weight loss was no different. However, I did make many changes in my life that resulted in my body becoming healthier, a bonus of this was of course the weight loss.
Little Changes....
The first thing I did, the only thing I did for quite some months was that I stopped drinking energy drinks. I wont brand name, but there was one in particular that I drank many cans a day. I naively assumed that if you can buy it in a shop, if a child can purchase it even, then it can't be that bad right?! Wrong. Very wrong. Some of the ingredients that are put into some energy drinks are dangerous. If you are interested in knowing more about this, this video is a good place to start:
Once I realised quite how bad this was, I stopped drinking them. By changing nothing else, over the course of about 3 months I had dropped a dress size. I drank water instead for this time mainly but when I needed something sweet tasting I had fruit juices.
I went through a bad patch in my life in 2016. My marriage and family as I knew it ended and I was unwell with a mental health illness for quite some time, until quite recently actually. My physical health was poor too. I was under three different consultants regarding different physical problems. I knew I needed to get better and my friend suggested I look into 'healing with food' stories. So I did.
Having learnt a little about the things that are put into energy drinks, I was then educated on what other dangerous ingredients are put into things that we consume. It was water that concerned me the most initially. The negative effects of these additional ingredients that we don't need have a compounding effect.... like limescale... it builds up over time.
We need water to survive. All living things do. We cook with it, clean with it, swim in it and drink it regularly. It is important that the water is clean.
This was the video that convinced me to use a reverse water osmosis system. There are lots of affordable systems out there, some can be fitted to your pipes/taps, others are freestanding. A water distiller is also a good option.
All of my water has been filtered for the last year or more now and I believe that this has contributed to the improvement in my health along with these three supplements that I have been taking for the same amount of time:
Why do I take these?
1. Super Greens - These little green pills contain a natural blend of 100% organic Superfoods providing a variety of wholesome food nutrients. They boost your energy and metabolism naturally and are really good cleansing/detoxing.
https://www.evergreen.ie/synergy-natural-100-organic-super-greens
2. Bio-Kult - I only learnt last year that our bodies have trillions of live beneficial bacteria and that if they are unbalanced (which among other things can be from toxins found in the bad sugar we consume like Fructose/Glucose etc) it can cause problems like IBS, Diarrhoea, Leaky-Gut Syndrome and certain bowel diseases. These bacteria can have a huge impact on our health if they are unbalanced. Since taking Bio-Kult daily I have had noticeably stronger immune and digestive systems and my health complaints that were bowel and stomach related have improved greatly.
http://www.bio-kult.com
https://blog.paleohacks.com/7-signs-your-gut-bacteria-are-out-of-whack/#
3.CoQ10 - This nutrient acts as an antioxidant and is really good for the metabolism and the heart as well as protecting cells in the body. There are some conflicting reports on the benefits of taking this supplement so it is advisable to research it fully before you consider taking it yourself.
https://www.webmd.com/diet/supplement-guide-coenzymeq10-coq10#1
With my day to day eating habits I have made lots of little changes: Eat organic where possible - avoid those pesticides etc. / cut out fast food outlets / swap chips for quinoa or cous-cous, cane sugar for organic coconut sugar, use hemp milk / avoidfood with aspartame and any artificial sweeteners in them / instead of cereal with whole milk now its granola with hemp milk and coconut sugar - and it it so much better too!
I often make smoothies too - a great way of getting a multitude of things the body needs in one hit! I shall be posting my favourite smoothie recipes soon and what goodness comes from the ingredients I add! These have been a saviour for times of poor appetite too.
What I have learnt that is when your body is getting all the nutrients that it needs and the good more than outweighs the bad in terms of what you are consuming, then you will eventually be your naturally intended size. That may be bigger or smaller than you are now, but it will be the natural you!
How to do it easily?
Don't put the pressure of time on this at all. Just decide that you are going to make your body more healthy and try to fit in at least one educational video from the internet each day. Just search for things like 'what our body needs' and 'foods that heal' and also the negative ones sometimes like 'why should I not eat macdonalds' or 'what is aspartame' or 'the dangers of tap water'.
It shouldnt be intense. Just a small helping of information daily and gradually it will sink in and will change the choices you make.
In the mean time make an honest list of everything you consume for 7 days. Food and drink. Then choose one thing that you think might not be good for you and research why you shouldn't have it. Then find an alternative and put it on your shopping list for the following weeks shop. Perhaps do two or three more each week, just go at your own pace.
I am not here to tell you what is good or bad for you. I just suggest that you do what I do, research then decide yourself. I swapped milk chocolate for organic dark chocolate. It takes a few bars to get used to it but I enjoy it now like I used to enjoy the milk version. This change came following some things I read about dairy products.
The one thing that is really important to me is that I do not beat myself up on the odd occasions that I find myself consuming more bad food. Christmas time was terrible for this as there is a multitude of 'goodies' everywhere you visit! I have not banned myself from eating the things that I enjoy now and then. I have made changes to try and find things I enjoy instead or more that are a healthier and more natural option. As long as I know that I am consciously doing this at least 80% of the time, then whatever 'treats(poison)' my body has can be forgiven. Just don't be too stubborn about it. If a group of friends all want to eat at a fast-food outlet for lunch then I just do it on that odd occasion and usually it genuinely reminds me why I don't eat it anymore because I can now taste the badness when I eat it).
Looking at all the ingredients of every packet is very time consuming, that is another reason why it is important to do this gradually, just slowly learning whats good and bad in the products you buy and where to buy the best ingredients. Then make a note. I found a supermarket that sells lemonade without bad sugars and sweeteners in so I make a note and whenever I am at that store I pick up a few bottles.
Cooking from scratch is good practice too. If you put it in and you have bought organic ingredients then there is not much opportunity for any nasty's to be making their way into your meals!
If you like this post please upvote / share / follow! Happy New Year Steemians!