Be honest, how many of you saw the title of my post and wondered if I had been guilty of doing something terrible? ;) Well, truth be told, the answer is yes and no. I am guilty of something but it's nothing you would typically attribute to the word "detox".
As you may have read in my nutrition posts, I feed my children very healthfully: no dyes, additives, preservatives or chemicals of any sort and as much organic as our budget will allow (the majority of the time anyway). Yet when it comes to my own diet, it's another story. You see, I love food. All food. Italian food, Greek food, Mexican food, healthy food, junk food, fruits, vegetables, carbs, protein, dark chocolate, candy, cookies, cakes, you name it...I love it all! Unfortunately, I have not been disciplined enough to feed myself in the same way I feed my kids. I will eat a salad of mixed baby greens, roasted beets and asparagus sprinkled with goat's cheese and roasted pecans for lunch and then when the kids go to rest time have a bowl of dark chocolate M&M's with a diet coke! How nuts is that?
In recent months I have come to realize that I am truly a sugar addict. I need it three times a day and my cravings are growing increasingly intense. On top of that I have not lost a single pound since the day I had my miscarriage and I was five pounds over where I need to before before I even got pregnant. Now when you are 5'3" on a good day, those extra pounds really, really show. Add to that, 40 is closing in fast and a perfect storm is brewing. I need to take charge of my eating and now - and I have been saying that for over a year.
Enter my dh and our physician. Dh has been on a low dose of blood pressure medication for several years now. It is very hereditary in his family, and now his cholesterol is starting to slowly creep up as well.
Let me digress and tell you about our amazing physician. He desires to treat all patients from a standpoint of wellness. He wants to see his patients get well and get well naturally, not just to keep treating their ailments with more pills. What unique perspective, huh?! He was an MD in a traditional type practice, but when he was unable to treat his own son's asthma with conventional medicine he began to look into natural cures. And that changed his life and subsequently his medical practice. His practice is now referred to as a "Wellness Clinic" and he employs a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a massage therapist and has a several programs like healthy cooking classes and field trips to teach his clients how to navigate the mine field that is the local grocery store.
Now back to my story...Our physician encouraged dh to start a 14 week "Wellness Program" to lower his cholesterol and blood pressure and lose extra weight. It all starts with a ten day detox. Day one, meat and all grains except brown rice are eliminated. Day two rids of dairy. Day four eliminates nuts and seeds and day five you say good bye to legumes. Then you are down to fruits and vegetables until day 10. On top of that you take supplements and "medical food" mixed with water (and it tastes just as yummy as it sounds - Blech!) to help your liver and kidneys function more efficiently to fully detox all the chemicals and sludge out of your body and specifically your GI tract.
I decided to do the detox with dh for two reasons: support him (We are talking a man who typically doesn't get his daily servings of fruits and veggies in a week's time - maybe a month - and now he has to eat nothing but fruit and veggies!) and kickstart my own wellness plan. And boy did it! I no longer crave sugar, at least physically crave. The mental cravings are another story altogether; I expect to be fighting them for quite some time. Sigh.
I also took a test at our doctor's office to find out how many calories a day I am burning, my percent body fat, how much water I am retaining and how effeciently my cells are working. For the next 12 weeks I am on a plan that will restrict my caloric intake to lose these extra pounds, yet still get my daily servings of fruits, veggies and protein, and to teach myself proper portion control (something that is so skewed in America due to insane restraurant servings) all without sugar. Phew!
I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I feel like I am learning to cook all over again, and I thought I cooked pretty well before. I am learning to use tons of herbs and spices for flavor rather than unhealthy fats, marinades or sauces that typically have crazy amounts of calories and/or sugar. How to provide more balanced meals that include no more than four ounces of meat and very limited carbs but with tons of lentils and beans and vegetables (and not just corn, the staple veggie for my boys). And the journey begins. Oh and if you have any good suggestions for bean or lentils, please pass them on! :)
As you may have read in my nutrition posts, I feed my children very healthfully: no dyes, additives, preservatives or chemicals of any sort and as much organic as our budget will allow (the majority of the time anyway). Yet when it comes to my own diet, it's another story. You see, I love food. All food. Italian food, Greek food, Mexican food, healthy food, junk food, fruits, vegetables, carbs, protein, dark chocolate, candy, cookies, cakes, you name it...I love it all! Unfortunately, I have not been disciplined enough to feed myself in the same way I feed my kids. I will eat a salad of mixed baby greens, roasted beets and asparagus sprinkled with goat's cheese and roasted pecans for lunch and then when the kids go to rest time have a bowl of dark chocolate M&M's with a diet coke! How nuts is that?
In recent months I have come to realize that I am truly a sugar addict. I need it three times a day and my cravings are growing increasingly intense. On top of that I have not lost a single pound since the day I had my miscarriage and I was five pounds over where I need to before before I even got pregnant. Now when you are 5'3" on a good day, those extra pounds really, really show. Add to that, 40 is closing in fast and a perfect storm is brewing. I need to take charge of my eating and now - and I have been saying that for over a year.
Enter my dh and our physician. Dh has been on a low dose of blood pressure medication for several years now. It is very hereditary in his family, and now his cholesterol is starting to slowly creep up as well.
Let me digress and tell you about our amazing physician. He desires to treat all patients from a standpoint of wellness. He wants to see his patients get well and get well naturally, not just to keep treating their ailments with more pills. What unique perspective, huh?! He was an MD in a traditional type practice, but when he was unable to treat his own son's asthma with conventional medicine he began to look into natural cures. And that changed his life and subsequently his medical practice. His practice is now referred to as a "Wellness Clinic" and he employs a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a massage therapist and has a several programs like healthy cooking classes and field trips to teach his clients how to navigate the mine field that is the local grocery store.
Now back to my story...Our physician encouraged dh to start a 14 week "Wellness Program" to lower his cholesterol and blood pressure and lose extra weight. It all starts with a ten day detox. Day one, meat and all grains except brown rice are eliminated. Day two rids of dairy. Day four eliminates nuts and seeds and day five you say good bye to legumes. Then you are down to fruits and vegetables until day 10. On top of that you take supplements and "medical food" mixed with water (and it tastes just as yummy as it sounds - Blech!) to help your liver and kidneys function more efficiently to fully detox all the chemicals and sludge out of your body and specifically your GI tract.
I decided to do the detox with dh for two reasons: support him (We are talking a man who typically doesn't get his daily servings of fruits and veggies in a week's time - maybe a month - and now he has to eat nothing but fruit and veggies!) and kickstart my own wellness plan. And boy did it! I no longer crave sugar, at least physically crave. The mental cravings are another story altogether; I expect to be fighting them for quite some time. Sigh.
I also took a test at our doctor's office to find out how many calories a day I am burning, my percent body fat, how much water I am retaining and how effeciently my cells are working. For the next 12 weeks I am on a plan that will restrict my caloric intake to lose these extra pounds, yet still get my daily servings of fruits, veggies and protein, and to teach myself proper portion control (something that is so skewed in America due to insane restraurant servings) all without sugar. Phew!
I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I feel like I am learning to cook all over again, and I thought I cooked pretty well before. I am learning to use tons of herbs and spices for flavor rather than unhealthy fats, marinades or sauces that typically have crazy amounts of calories and/or sugar. How to provide more balanced meals that include no more than four ounces of meat and very limited carbs but with tons of lentils and beans and vegetables (and not just corn, the staple veggie for my boys). And the journey begins. Oh and if you have any good suggestions for bean or lentils, please pass them on! :)
2 comments:
Great work! I've been guilty of the same thing -- feeding my kids better than myself. Your doctor sounds great!
Kellie
I know I'm a bit late posting this, but its been a while since I visited your beautiful blog! We like to combine lentils with spinach and for extra flavor, add a bit of our favorite sausage. A little meat adds a lot of yummy! I love how easy lentils are!
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