Family

In January of this year, my youngest daughter started on a medical journey. It all shook us hard and made me take a close look at the food that was going into our bodies. When your child is diagnosed with a rare disease and it revolves around food, your life indeed changes.

This picture was from January of this year.

This picture was from this past Saturday:

Can you see the changes? M and I both have officially lost 20 pounds. I’m so proud of M for embarking on this healthy journey with me. Her blood pressure was 150 over 80 at the first of the year. This was not good at all. This past week, her blood pressure was 110 over 74. Isn’t that amazing? By now, you probably want to know what all we have changed in our diets.

First off, no drinks are allowed in the house. We all drink alkaline water that we purchase each week from our local health food store. Four gallons usually last us about 5 days. Other drinks of choice include boiling water for herbal teas and Madi will drink cold green tea as well.

Secondly, we eat all natural foods. No processed foods are allowed in the house. The diet we follow is more along the lines of the paleo diet. Giving up dairy was a big positive for me. After being diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer earlier this year, I did my own research to see what could cause gastritis and bleeding ulcers. I am now gluten free and dairy free. I still drink my coffee each morning but add the SO Delicious Coconut Creamer. M and my husband still have some dairy, mostly in the form of different types of cheese. At first, I thought I would miss dairy but do not miss it.

Thirdly, fresh fruits and vegetables along with almonds are our go-to snacks. When I said “our”, I mean Madi and I. My husband is not a fan of fresh fruits of vegetables so his go-to snack is all natural peanut butter. If a day goes by without my natural roasted almonds, I start craving them. My sugar cravings are completely gone. It’s amazing, friends! Your body feels so much better and your overall mood toward life is much more positive.

Each week, I will buy blueberries, strawberries, apples, cucumbers, celery, and peppers. My weekend consists of cutting or chopping up the fruits and veggies to put them in individual containers so it is easy to go to the fridge for a snack. I cook from scratch three meals a day. You may say, “you are too busy to cook from scratch”, but that is not the truth. I work full-time, go to school, homeschool our girls, travel to lots of doctor visits and still find the time. Finding the time is key. Organize your week, meal plan and make the time.  Exercise is non-existent for me at the moment. This is where I need to do better and incorporate a type of exercise into my day. If I am lucky, I will squeeze in a walk in my neighborhood each week but it is definitely not on a regular basis. We do have a gym membership at my work that I really want to strive hard to use more.

With all that being said, just look at what eating healthy can do for your body. Get in the right mind-set and say you are going to do this for your family. Stop buying junk or processed foods. Don’t bring it into the house anymore. If you don’t buy it, your family will get in routine of eating healthier.

Let’s see what the next six months will bring for our family in our “more healthy” life journey.