I just heard on the radio this morning... that the Federal Govt... for the past 60 years, has been using about 800 different pesticides on ALL our fruit and vegetable crops... and that the CDC or some oufit out there... is looking into those pesticides being the reason for ADHD. YA THINK????
Holy Cow!!! Why on earth do they think Cancer and Diabetes, and a host of other horrible diseases are so prolific these days? OUR FOOD SUPPLY SUCKS!!! Our choices are KILLING US!
So the radio program talked about how buying Organic needs to become the norm... but the majority of Americans can't afford to buy organic anything... and if given the chance to buy fruits and veggies or buy junk... junk is the clear choice...
That news made me so sad.
It is more expensive to buy organic. It just is. And it's WRONG...
IT'S WRONG THAT A 2 LITER OF SODA IS 69 CENTS THIS WEEK in my grocer's weekly flyer.
69 CENTS!!!!!
How can green tea or water compete with that? Why don't they just GIVE IT AWAY... and continue the downward spiral of health and vitality in our country? Why? Because they don't have to. They make it up in volume... millions are ADDICTED to Coke and Diet Coke, Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper.. and it won't stop.
You should have seen the display of animal like behavior last year when I was running our local Baseball League Snackbar, and I ran out of Dr. Pepper one night... I thought one hag was gonna grab my neck and strangle me...
over a SODA CAN!!! It was like her entire world was ending... sooo very sad.
I have this overwhelming need to change the school lunch programs all over the nation. I'm nobody... but I want to do something. On my new menu, I've added a lunch making service to my repertoire...and you know what? It's the MOST POPULAR part of my menu. Moms everywhere are yearning for healthier, tastier alternatives for their growing kids. French Fries, Pizza and cardboard chicken AREN'T LUNCH... it's POISON!
Last night... and an away baseball game, my oldest son was hungry... and went to the snack bar. He came back with two bags of trail mix. I was pleasanly surprised and told him so. He admitted he chose them because he knew I would approve and not give him grief about it... but he knew I would have if he come back with a dish of Nachos or a hot dog...
He knows me so well...
When we got home, he told me he was still pleasantly full from all the raw nuts and dried fruit he ate, and that he was glad he had chosen better for himself, even though it was because I was there. He said he thinks he would have had a sour stomach and felt sick if he had chosen the junk food.
I feel like my work is starting to influence them. When a 16 year old admits he was glad he had chosen better... SOMETHING has to be working... so I don't care that he only chose well because I was present... at least for that snack... he was healthier for it.
Be that light for your kids too... and watch Food Inc, the movie... and write your congressman about changing the school lunch programs all over the country to good, REAL, unprocessed foods... our kids very lives depend on it!
Showing posts with label Pep talk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pep talk. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Mama's!!! TAKE BACK YOUR KITCHENS!!!
I know I hound. I know I preach... I know I sound like a broken record... but times are dire for kids and their diets... There's way too much out there to entice and beckon to people to "eat this", "It's healthy cuz it has one grain in it" and "isn't this a pretty colored drink?... drink me!"
Mama's... YOU are in control of your kitchens... EVEN IF YOU AREN'T HOME!!!! If you are the one buying the groceries... YOU are the one in control... WHAT YOU BUY... ENDS UP IN YOUR CHILD... and if your child isn't as healthy as you'd like him to be... CHANGE YOUR BUYING HABITS...
Look... I'm one of those Mom's that couldn't care LESS if my kids want a certain sugary cereal, or a prepackaged, 54 gram of fat, HORRENDOUS Lunchable, or Pop Tarts... "because they like them"... No Freaking way! EVEN BEFORE our new way of eating... I have never, ever purchased a box of Pop Tarts. When my boys were little... and the commercials for those foods came on the TV... mine would make snide little comments about how mean I was that I won't buy them, and how much they wanted them... It all fell on deaf ears...
Just because I have a weight problem... doesn't mean my kids need to have one too.
I've never been a soda drinker... but my husband sure was... and he would buy liter after liter of Pepsi, or Moutain Dew and stash them in our backyard fridge... the kids, as they got older...wanted to drink it too... and when Mom was gone... out came the glasses and the pop.
Hubby and I had a long, loooonnnng looooooooong "talk" about how what we eat and drink directly affects and influences our children... not to mention the empty calories and intestine and kidney eating effects of drinking sugary, fizzy drinks... As my husband's job became more demanding, and he spent more time at work, and I was able to take over FULL control of the shopping as the kids got older and I wasn't breastfeeding a baby anymore... the soda drinking has come to an abrupt HALT... I even got our Pediatrician involved and asked him to use some scare tactics about soda and eating junk food too often to help dissuade the kids... and it helped...
If you want your kids and grand kids to eat heathily... STOCK YOUR HOUSE WITH HEALTHY foods... it's that simple... Talk to your kids about calories, and making them count, and talk to them about how our kidneys work 10 times harder to filter soda and sugary juices, and we only have 2 kidneys, and if one shuts down... life can be hard...
Tell them how much better they'll do in school by eating more fruits and veggies, and to only eat junk food on Birthdays and major holidays... with lots of healthy stuff mixed in... Tell them how many less tummy aches and headaches they'll have by eating good food. Tell them how they won't break out in zits as often as kids who eat junk a lot. Feed them positives like that... and you'll start to have good eaters.
Our goal to have good eaters shouldn't be to just have kids that eat whatever is put in front of them... because waaaay too many parents are feeding their kids processed, junk from a box, can or pouch... but to have kids that make good choices...even when faced with a bad choice...
I want my kids to choose water over soda... fruit over chips... homemade over processed... yogurt over ice cream... MOST of the time... I know it's unrealistic to have them choose the best ALL the time... but good habit making is a long arduous process.. that is totally WORTH the time... because the time it takes to do it and do it well... ADDS YEARS TO THEIR LIVES!!! Good... healthy... never have to see the Dr. years.
So Mama... get out your pen and paper... and make a list of things you want your kids to eat on a regular basis... AND BUY THEM! Now... remember all those other things you USED to buy...that they loved? The chips, Cheetos, soda, Pop Tarts, Lunchables, sugary cereals, sugary oatmeal packets, Gogurts, Fruit Roll ups... etc???
DON'T BUY THOSE... really. You'll hear some whining... some crying... and maybe some unkind words... but chalk it up to DETOXING. Those food are ADDICTIVE for a reason... they are DRUGS.. and HORRIBLE for your kids... And please, please, please, please, please... NO ASPARTAME, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYPUP, SPLENDA, OR TRUVIA.. for the kids...
Buy grapes, and melon, and frozen fruit that you can whiz up in a blender, and whole grain crackers and REAL cheese, and good peanut butter and all fruit jams, and REAL meat... not the junk in the shrink wrap...
Sound expensive? Think again...your grocery bill and your medical bills will GO DOWN... and so will the mood swings, and acne, and weight gain, and fatigue. You will see bright eyes... energy... better hair, good teeth, self esteem, looser clothing... and better grades...
Mama... its up to you... it always has been. If you are wondering why the kids aren't as healthy and slim and energetic as they should be...it's because of the pantry... plain and simple...
Let me know if there is any way I can help you... email me...I'm here...
Mama's... YOU are in control of your kitchens... EVEN IF YOU AREN'T HOME!!!! If you are the one buying the groceries... YOU are the one in control... WHAT YOU BUY... ENDS UP IN YOUR CHILD... and if your child isn't as healthy as you'd like him to be... CHANGE YOUR BUYING HABITS...
Look... I'm one of those Mom's that couldn't care LESS if my kids want a certain sugary cereal, or a prepackaged, 54 gram of fat, HORRENDOUS Lunchable, or Pop Tarts... "because they like them"... No Freaking way! EVEN BEFORE our new way of eating... I have never, ever purchased a box of Pop Tarts. When my boys were little... and the commercials for those foods came on the TV... mine would make snide little comments about how mean I was that I won't buy them, and how much they wanted them... It all fell on deaf ears...
Just because I have a weight problem... doesn't mean my kids need to have one too.
I've never been a soda drinker... but my husband sure was... and he would buy liter after liter of Pepsi, or Moutain Dew and stash them in our backyard fridge... the kids, as they got older...wanted to drink it too... and when Mom was gone... out came the glasses and the pop.
Hubby and I had a long, loooonnnng looooooooong "talk" about how what we eat and drink directly affects and influences our children... not to mention the empty calories and intestine and kidney eating effects of drinking sugary, fizzy drinks... As my husband's job became more demanding, and he spent more time at work, and I was able to take over FULL control of the shopping as the kids got older and I wasn't breastfeeding a baby anymore... the soda drinking has come to an abrupt HALT... I even got our Pediatrician involved and asked him to use some scare tactics about soda and eating junk food too often to help dissuade the kids... and it helped...
If you want your kids and grand kids to eat heathily... STOCK YOUR HOUSE WITH HEALTHY foods... it's that simple... Talk to your kids about calories, and making them count, and talk to them about how our kidneys work 10 times harder to filter soda and sugary juices, and we only have 2 kidneys, and if one shuts down... life can be hard...
Tell them how much better they'll do in school by eating more fruits and veggies, and to only eat junk food on Birthdays and major holidays... with lots of healthy stuff mixed in... Tell them how many less tummy aches and headaches they'll have by eating good food. Tell them how they won't break out in zits as often as kids who eat junk a lot. Feed them positives like that... and you'll start to have good eaters.
Our goal to have good eaters shouldn't be to just have kids that eat whatever is put in front of them... because waaaay too many parents are feeding their kids processed, junk from a box, can or pouch... but to have kids that make good choices...even when faced with a bad choice...
I want my kids to choose water over soda... fruit over chips... homemade over processed... yogurt over ice cream... MOST of the time... I know it's unrealistic to have them choose the best ALL the time... but good habit making is a long arduous process.. that is totally WORTH the time... because the time it takes to do it and do it well... ADDS YEARS TO THEIR LIVES!!! Good... healthy... never have to see the Dr. years.
So Mama... get out your pen and paper... and make a list of things you want your kids to eat on a regular basis... AND BUY THEM! Now... remember all those other things you USED to buy...that they loved? The chips, Cheetos, soda, Pop Tarts, Lunchables, sugary cereals, sugary oatmeal packets, Gogurts, Fruit Roll ups... etc???
DON'T BUY THOSE... really. You'll hear some whining... some crying... and maybe some unkind words... but chalk it up to DETOXING. Those food are ADDICTIVE for a reason... they are DRUGS.. and HORRIBLE for your kids... And please, please, please, please, please... NO ASPARTAME, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYPUP, SPLENDA, OR TRUVIA.. for the kids...
Buy grapes, and melon, and frozen fruit that you can whiz up in a blender, and whole grain crackers and REAL cheese, and good peanut butter and all fruit jams, and REAL meat... not the junk in the shrink wrap...
Sound expensive? Think again...your grocery bill and your medical bills will GO DOWN... and so will the mood swings, and acne, and weight gain, and fatigue. You will see bright eyes... energy... better hair, good teeth, self esteem, looser clothing... and better grades...
Mama... its up to you... it always has been. If you are wondering why the kids aren't as healthy and slim and energetic as they should be...it's because of the pantry... plain and simple...
Let me know if there is any way I can help you... email me...I'm here...
Friday, May 7, 2010
Cheater, Stealer, Bad Food Eater!!!!
Cheating...
Such an ugly word. It conjures us visions of philandering spouses, moving one space more on a board game on the sly, and eating something we KNOW shouldn't be eaten. But wait... is eating a bad food really CHEATING? Who is getting CHEATED? Is it maybe STEALING? I mean... Bernie Madoff... MADE OFF with billions of dollars of other people's money... that's called STEALING... but some say he CHEATED them out of it... yeah... they are probably right...
So... for eating's sake... CHEATING and STEALING are the same thing... Agree or disagree?
We are grown ups. WE can make choices for ourselves. We know how to read. We have mirrors. We feel guilt. We know the difference between right... and wrong. We know that eating Twinkie is bad... and eating an apple is good. We know we should be drinking water and green tea, and not Mountain Dew and Iced Caramel Frappacino's.
Sooooo... why do we do it? Why... do we undermine ourselves? WHY DO WE CHEAT AND STEAL from ourselves? What? How can I say such things as we are CHEATING AND STEALING from ourselves?
Simple.
When we make bad food choices... for whatever reason... "I was at Bunco, and the only food there was junk food" or "All my friends wanted to go to lunch, and they were all having nachos... and I did too" or "My son ordered fried chicken fingers... and I just couldn't let them go to waste... and I only ate 3 fries... so I was "good"."
we are cheating ourselves of nourishment. We are cheating ourselves of being able to wear that smaller size. We are cheating ourselves of feeling good all the time.
When we make bad food choices... we are STEALING time from our lives. We are making SURE that we won't live as long or as well as we possibly could. THE WORST PART? In my book... the absolute WORST thing we can do?... is MAKE BAD FOOD CHOICES AND SERVE THOSE CHOICES TO OUR KIDS... to me... that's CRIMINAL. When we know better, and choose to serve the "convenience" foods anyway... we are STEALING and CHEATING our children of their lives too. Once we know better... we need to DO better.
My kids are finally getting used to it... but in the last 9 months... I've sort of been a little "fanatical" about what goes into my kids mouths... After shopping for the Snack Shack initial food stores for the baseball season... and after READING the ingredients (science experiment) of the Nacho "cheese" box (that by the way... NEVER has to be refrigerated... hmmmmm)... I've become even MORE crazy controlling about the food they eat...
I've begun to see fast food and canned, boxed and processed food as poison... REAL POISON. I liken that junk to Crack Cocaine... I really do.
At first... my kids balked...and kicked and screamed foul... but now... if they do happen to eat the junk... they get SUCH horrible stomach pains and indigestion. They feel lethargic, and sleepy. They have begun to FEEL their food, instead of just eating it... and when they CHEAT... and they do... they don't like it. The CHEATING has been less frequent these days... their bodies have LOVED the fuel from fresh and homemade foods, and have begun rejecting and purging the bad food. HALLEUJAH!!!
I have cooked homemade for them for the past 16 years... We eat IN waaaaaaaay more than we eat OUT... but I wasn't as vigilant about the types of food and drinks allowed in my home as I am now. The Food Police on ANY show can come in my home and I wouldn't bat on eye...Bring it on! BBBBUT!... my kids are still rebeling a bit...
It's REALLY, REALLY hard to be a kid, and have been allowed to eat bad food in the past...and to completely change now... especially with the kids at school eating junk on a daily basis... BUT... it makes kids stronger in the end. When my kids share their good food, especially to the kids making the most noise about "eating healthy"... and the kid LOVES the healthy food, and WANTS TO BUY IT OFF YOUR CHILD... it gets easier for my kids.
I preach to them that the food I pack for them is fuel for the day and for practice... Slim Jims, pizza, and soda ARE NOT fuel... it's drugs. Plain and simple. Doritos, Cheetos, Ding Dongs, Fruit Roll Ups, etc... ARE DRUGS... Just like Pot and Crack and Alcohol. They are addictive... and they are hard to quit (okay, not as hard as some... I'll grant you that)... but when the CDC says THIS generation is the FIRST generation that WILL NOT live longer than MY generation...WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!!! When kids are getting Type 2 Diabetes at 3 and 4... THERE IS A PROBLEM...
Just because kids are thin... DOES NOT mean they are healthy. WE are the keepers of the food. WE are responsible to feeding and caring for our kids... IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO STOP THE CYCLE OF processed, easy, boxed, squeeze cheese foods...
Let's not CHEAT our children out of the best health they can have. Let's feed their bodies, minds and spirit... with an abundance of natural foods... I know, Mom, it'll take a little longer in the kitchen... and it'll INconvenience you... but aren't your kids worth it?
Such an ugly word. It conjures us visions of philandering spouses, moving one space more on a board game on the sly, and eating something we KNOW shouldn't be eaten. But wait... is eating a bad food really CHEATING? Who is getting CHEATED? Is it maybe STEALING? I mean... Bernie Madoff... MADE OFF with billions of dollars of other people's money... that's called STEALING... but some say he CHEATED them out of it... yeah... they are probably right...
So... for eating's sake... CHEATING and STEALING are the same thing... Agree or disagree?
We are grown ups. WE can make choices for ourselves. We know how to read. We have mirrors. We feel guilt. We know the difference between right... and wrong. We know that eating Twinkie is bad... and eating an apple is good. We know we should be drinking water and green tea, and not Mountain Dew and Iced Caramel Frappacino's.
Sooooo... why do we do it? Why... do we undermine ourselves? WHY DO WE CHEAT AND STEAL from ourselves? What? How can I say such things as we are CHEATING AND STEALING from ourselves?
Simple.
When we make bad food choices... for whatever reason... "I was at Bunco, and the only food there was junk food" or "All my friends wanted to go to lunch, and they were all having nachos... and I did too" or "My son ordered fried chicken fingers... and I just couldn't let them go to waste... and I only ate 3 fries... so I was "good"."
we are cheating ourselves of nourishment. We are cheating ourselves of being able to wear that smaller size. We are cheating ourselves of feeling good all the time.
When we make bad food choices... we are STEALING time from our lives. We are making SURE that we won't live as long or as well as we possibly could. THE WORST PART? In my book... the absolute WORST thing we can do?... is MAKE BAD FOOD CHOICES AND SERVE THOSE CHOICES TO OUR KIDS... to me... that's CRIMINAL. When we know better, and choose to serve the "convenience" foods anyway... we are STEALING and CHEATING our children of their lives too. Once we know better... we need to DO better.
My kids are finally getting used to it... but in the last 9 months... I've sort of been a little "fanatical" about what goes into my kids mouths... After shopping for the Snack Shack initial food stores for the baseball season... and after READING the ingredients (science experiment) of the Nacho "cheese" box (that by the way... NEVER has to be refrigerated... hmmmmm)... I've become even MORE crazy controlling about the food they eat...
I've begun to see fast food and canned, boxed and processed food as poison... REAL POISON. I liken that junk to Crack Cocaine... I really do.
At first... my kids balked...and kicked and screamed foul... but now... if they do happen to eat the junk... they get SUCH horrible stomach pains and indigestion. They feel lethargic, and sleepy. They have begun to FEEL their food, instead of just eating it... and when they CHEAT... and they do... they don't like it. The CHEATING has been less frequent these days... their bodies have LOVED the fuel from fresh and homemade foods, and have begun rejecting and purging the bad food. HALLEUJAH!!!
I have cooked homemade for them for the past 16 years... We eat IN waaaaaaaay more than we eat OUT... but I wasn't as vigilant about the types of food and drinks allowed in my home as I am now. The Food Police on ANY show can come in my home and I wouldn't bat on eye...Bring it on! BBBBUT!... my kids are still rebeling a bit...
It's REALLY, REALLY hard to be a kid, and have been allowed to eat bad food in the past...and to completely change now... especially with the kids at school eating junk on a daily basis... BUT... it makes kids stronger in the end. When my kids share their good food, especially to the kids making the most noise about "eating healthy"... and the kid LOVES the healthy food, and WANTS TO BUY IT OFF YOUR CHILD... it gets easier for my kids.
I preach to them that the food I pack for them is fuel for the day and for practice... Slim Jims, pizza, and soda ARE NOT fuel... it's drugs. Plain and simple. Doritos, Cheetos, Ding Dongs, Fruit Roll Ups, etc... ARE DRUGS... Just like Pot and Crack and Alcohol. They are addictive... and they are hard to quit (okay, not as hard as some... I'll grant you that)... but when the CDC says THIS generation is the FIRST generation that WILL NOT live longer than MY generation...WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM!!! When kids are getting Type 2 Diabetes at 3 and 4... THERE IS A PROBLEM...
Just because kids are thin... DOES NOT mean they are healthy. WE are the keepers of the food. WE are responsible to feeding and caring for our kids... IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO STOP THE CYCLE OF processed, easy, boxed, squeeze cheese foods...
Let's not CHEAT our children out of the best health they can have. Let's feed their bodies, minds and spirit... with an abundance of natural foods... I know, Mom, it'll take a little longer in the kitchen... and it'll INconvenience you... but aren't your kids worth it?
Friday, April 30, 2010
Being "still'.
What a crazy, mixed up, emotional roller coaster of a week.
Little Johnny has been gone all week at Science Camp... and my Mama has been in the hospital... my house is a mess, I haven't been cooking much, and I hate worrying...
SOOOOO... I decided to just let go... and let God. Whew... that feels soooo much better.... Now if I can just keep from taking it back from Him... I'll be great!
I learned a lot this week. Not that I didn't know this before... but I'm an emotional eater... THE OPPOSITE kind... I don't eat AT ALL... when I'm stressed, worried or in a hurry... quite the contrary... I have no appetite at all, and FORGET to eat... imagine that! ME... forgetting to eat!!!
So... I now know why I've gained all this weight... I'VE BEEN TO DANG HAPPY! LOL! No... just kidding...
I am very, very, very well taken care of by my husband... which allows me to the opportunity to totally focus my energies on raising our sons, and being their Mama full time... and taking care of business on the home front...
Sounds great huh? Well.... you'd think...
BUT... that led me to put MYSELF on the back burner for a little too long... I was taking care of them, and NOT taking care of myself... THAT'S no way to be a good role model. To truly love others... one must first love herself... enough to take care of herself and make sure she is around for a long time... to see the fruits of her labor... I finally figured out... the hard way... that it does no good to raise good men... if I can't be with them when they ARE men... to enjoy the spoils of Motherhood and to one day enjoy grandchildren...
While my Mama was laying in her hospital bed, and I was able to be there with her all day, every day... I started to cry... Why? Because I was overwhelmed by the fact that I got the PRIVILEGE of being able to be with her, with no strings to pull me away like a job or little children who needed me... and I was overwhelmed with the gift I was given. Don't get me wrong... we do not live in a huge house, or drive brand new cars every other year, nor do we buy things on time, but we live within our means with no debt at all, and I got so emotional and weepy at the fact that I've been so taken care of by God and my husband...that I didn't honor those gifts by taking care of myself...
I am so happy to have finally pulled my head out of my proverbial butt!
God whispers things to us, and we have to be still to listen... and if we are running around, taking care of things, putting out fires, helping others all the time, and not helping ourselves a little too... he starts to SCREAM... and the screams can come in ways that MAKE us stop and reflect and just "be", so we can HEAR what's being said.
So this week... among the beeps, and whirring, and IV drips, and my Mama's gentle sleep, I heard the whispers...and the convictions, and the gratitude, and the overwhelming feeling of peace that I have so desperately been looking for this week.
It will all be okay. Mama will heal. She will be better than before. Johnny will come home safely, my new business will thrive. My sons will grow up to be great men... People that have hurt and wronged me... will get what they deserve... and I will lose the rest of this weight...forever...
It just took being still... for a little while. Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in ... breathe out... Close your eyes...
and just 'BE'.
It's a gift... take it.
Little Johnny has been gone all week at Science Camp... and my Mama has been in the hospital... my house is a mess, I haven't been cooking much, and I hate worrying...
SOOOOO... I decided to just let go... and let God. Whew... that feels soooo much better.... Now if I can just keep from taking it back from Him... I'll be great!
I learned a lot this week. Not that I didn't know this before... but I'm an emotional eater... THE OPPOSITE kind... I don't eat AT ALL... when I'm stressed, worried or in a hurry... quite the contrary... I have no appetite at all, and FORGET to eat... imagine that! ME... forgetting to eat!!!
So... I now know why I've gained all this weight... I'VE BEEN TO DANG HAPPY! LOL! No... just kidding...
I am very, very, very well taken care of by my husband... which allows me to the opportunity to totally focus my energies on raising our sons, and being their Mama full time... and taking care of business on the home front...
Sounds great huh? Well.... you'd think...
BUT... that led me to put MYSELF on the back burner for a little too long... I was taking care of them, and NOT taking care of myself... THAT'S no way to be a good role model. To truly love others... one must first love herself... enough to take care of herself and make sure she is around for a long time... to see the fruits of her labor... I finally figured out... the hard way... that it does no good to raise good men... if I can't be with them when they ARE men... to enjoy the spoils of Motherhood and to one day enjoy grandchildren...
While my Mama was laying in her hospital bed, and I was able to be there with her all day, every day... I started to cry... Why? Because I was overwhelmed by the fact that I got the PRIVILEGE of being able to be with her, with no strings to pull me away like a job or little children who needed me... and I was overwhelmed with the gift I was given. Don't get me wrong... we do not live in a huge house, or drive brand new cars every other year, nor do we buy things on time, but we live within our means with no debt at all, and I got so emotional and weepy at the fact that I've been so taken care of by God and my husband...that I didn't honor those gifts by taking care of myself...
I am so happy to have finally pulled my head out of my proverbial butt!
God whispers things to us, and we have to be still to listen... and if we are running around, taking care of things, putting out fires, helping others all the time, and not helping ourselves a little too... he starts to SCREAM... and the screams can come in ways that MAKE us stop and reflect and just "be", so we can HEAR what's being said.
So this week... among the beeps, and whirring, and IV drips, and my Mama's gentle sleep, I heard the whispers...and the convictions, and the gratitude, and the overwhelming feeling of peace that I have so desperately been looking for this week.
It will all be okay. Mama will heal. She will be better than before. Johnny will come home safely, my new business will thrive. My sons will grow up to be great men... People that have hurt and wronged me... will get what they deserve... and I will lose the rest of this weight...forever...
It just took being still... for a little while. Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in ... breathe out... Close your eyes...
and just 'BE'.
It's a gift... take it.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Calling the "fat" out...
Last night on Dancing with the Stars... I was dismayed. Niecy Nash... a lovely, voluptuous woman, by NO means morbidly obese, was the butt of a few fat jokes during the program...
Let me just say this... to all the people that think it's okay to tease someone about ANYthing that may be "wrong" with them,
"SHUT UP!"
Ahem...
I have news for Len, Chad and her partner Louie...SHE can make fun of her weight... YOU can't... It's just the way it is!!!
She handled it with grace and aplomb...and didn't seem to take offense to any of it... but inside... I know EXACTLY what she was feeling... EXACTLY...
When Len said... "Look, it's no secret you are an enthusiastic eater." and when Chad said his "food" comment, and when Louie mentioned he "Knows what Niecy must feel like" when someone tries to take her food away...
I CRINGED! Do they not hear themselves? The worse part??? MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of people were watching!!!
My Mama underwent knee replacement surgery early this morning... and I'm in the waiting room writing this... and when my Mama was being wheeled into the OR, a man, with the most visibly horrific warts and bumps all over his face and body was wheeled in her place, it was difficult to watch, but more difficult to turn away. That poor man... covered in huge, quarter sized warts from head to toe...I'm sure has heard some doozies in his time...
and I'm not trying to compare being overweight and dealing with unthinking, crude people, to being covered in warts and growths and being ridiculed... no... no comparison needed... the growths are much less the "norm"...
But what I'm getting at is... Does that poor man need to be REMINDED that he has those things? What does it do for the person speaking, to state the obvious? Does it elevate the speaker in any way?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I have mirrors. I KNOW.. all too well what my reflection is. I don't need reminders... from anyone. When I make jokes and commentary about my weight... I'M ALLOWED... YOU are not. Plain and simple.
Supermodels think they have stuff wrong with them. When they bring it up...it's a way of coping or dealing with the issue... when someone else does.. they get offended... it's just the way it is!
Whether fat, skinny, short, tall, warted, hairless, whatever... rest assured... that person KNOWS it.
I have a relative, that everytime she see's me she says... "You look the same Sandra!"... After a while... I got hip to the jive... at first I thought she was telling me I still looked young.. I don't see her very often... but a couple of years ago, she made that same comment, and turned around and mentioned that it "would take a miracle" to get me slim down. It hurt. It hurt because... 1. she has NO place to talk...not being thin herself... 2. She didn't ever see "me" she saw my "weight". She hasn't seen me since before I lost this 80 lbs... so the next time I see her, it'll be interesting... but words hurt...
I know it sounds like I'm being ultra sensitive... and maybe I am... but I believe EVERYONE can understand where I'm coming from... because we've all had things said to our faces that we just can't believe someone could say!!! I'm talking about grown ups... not kid speak... that different...
Making jokes about someone IS NOT the way to deliver care and concern about someone... its hurtful, rude and crass. Calling someone an "enthusiastic eater" SOUNDS like a nice way of saying "PIG"... but it's not.
Len... I give you a "1" as your score... Chad, I really liked you... until last night... you get a big, FAT "0" as your score...and Louie... well... you are just plain, well... I THINK you meant well... so you get a "4".
Class up... Dancing with the Stars... Carrianne and Bruno are no gems... but I'm surprised at Len... I hope they all apologize tonight...
Let's be kind to each other... let it be...
Let me just say this... to all the people that think it's okay to tease someone about ANYthing that may be "wrong" with them,
"SHUT UP!"
Ahem...
I have news for Len, Chad and her partner Louie...SHE can make fun of her weight... YOU can't... It's just the way it is!!!
She handled it with grace and aplomb...and didn't seem to take offense to any of it... but inside... I know EXACTLY what she was feeling... EXACTLY...
When Len said... "Look, it's no secret you are an enthusiastic eater." and when Chad said his "food" comment, and when Louie mentioned he "Knows what Niecy must feel like" when someone tries to take her food away...
I CRINGED! Do they not hear themselves? The worse part??? MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of people were watching!!!
My Mama underwent knee replacement surgery early this morning... and I'm in the waiting room writing this... and when my Mama was being wheeled into the OR, a man, with the most visibly horrific warts and bumps all over his face and body was wheeled in her place, it was difficult to watch, but more difficult to turn away. That poor man... covered in huge, quarter sized warts from head to toe...I'm sure has heard some doozies in his time...
and I'm not trying to compare being overweight and dealing with unthinking, crude people, to being covered in warts and growths and being ridiculed... no... no comparison needed... the growths are much less the "norm"...
But what I'm getting at is... Does that poor man need to be REMINDED that he has those things? What does it do for the person speaking, to state the obvious? Does it elevate the speaker in any way?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I have mirrors. I KNOW.. all too well what my reflection is. I don't need reminders... from anyone. When I make jokes and commentary about my weight... I'M ALLOWED... YOU are not. Plain and simple.
Supermodels think they have stuff wrong with them. When they bring it up...it's a way of coping or dealing with the issue... when someone else does.. they get offended... it's just the way it is!
Whether fat, skinny, short, tall, warted, hairless, whatever... rest assured... that person KNOWS it.
I have a relative, that everytime she see's me she says... "You look the same Sandra!"... After a while... I got hip to the jive... at first I thought she was telling me I still looked young.. I don't see her very often... but a couple of years ago, she made that same comment, and turned around and mentioned that it "would take a miracle" to get me slim down. It hurt. It hurt because... 1. she has NO place to talk...not being thin herself... 2. She didn't ever see "me" she saw my "weight". She hasn't seen me since before I lost this 80 lbs... so the next time I see her, it'll be interesting... but words hurt...
I know it sounds like I'm being ultra sensitive... and maybe I am... but I believe EVERYONE can understand where I'm coming from... because we've all had things said to our faces that we just can't believe someone could say!!! I'm talking about grown ups... not kid speak... that different...
Making jokes about someone IS NOT the way to deliver care and concern about someone... its hurtful, rude and crass. Calling someone an "enthusiastic eater" SOUNDS like a nice way of saying "PIG"... but it's not.
Len... I give you a "1" as your score... Chad, I really liked you... until last night... you get a big, FAT "0" as your score...and Louie... well... you are just plain, well... I THINK you meant well... so you get a "4".
Class up... Dancing with the Stars... Carrianne and Bruno are no gems... but I'm surprised at Len... I hope they all apologize tonight...
Let's be kind to each other... let it be...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Preaching to the Choir...
A friend of mine and I were talking on the phone the other day.. like we do every morning... and, of course, the subject came around to food.
The night before, I had made a boat load of fresh breadsticks, three kinds, and I gave her some to try. She has 5 young sons, so I thought they might love to gnaw on them during the baseball game...
She loved them... and informed me she and her husband didn't share at all with the kids... LOL... they kept them all themselves...
I was happy she enjoyed them. I'm starting yet another business, a meal delivery one, for busy moms and anyone that wants wholesome homemade food, with no guilt, and no talking into a box while in the car... and she and her family are my "taste testers".
She mentioned to me... that she admits that she sometimes makes the kids boxed dinners, or orders fast food for dinner... and she felt ashamed to say it. While I am proud of her for feeling ashamed... I did too, when I did it... it got me wondering how I come across to people... I didn't want her to feel like I was ever going to judge her or think she was less of a Mother because she does it. (We ALL have... it's a fact, no use lying about it.)
So I asked her... "Do I make you feel badly, or do you feel like I preach to you?"... she emphatically said "NO!... I learn from you and you are rubbing off on me, and I am starting to see that we can eat better, and the kids can eat with us, and I can make the rules... not the kids." Thank God. The last thing I want to do is alienate people. (however... I feel like... after a while if you know what you are making or buying isn't good, and you do it all the time anyway... then... in my mind... I'm probably gonna judge you... and feel sorry for your kids... just sayin')
Truth be told... I only talk about the way I eat or how my family now eats... when I am asked.. or when I blog on here... otherwise... I don't just blurt things out... HOWEVER... I can see, now... how choosing a healthier lifestyle can make others feel diminished or, you know what I mean... on the defensive... because of how I perceived her statement.
So this got me thinking... on how all of us... on our roads to healthier eating, better health, or weight loss, can help others feel comfortable in their own skin... without sounding preachy or "elevated".
Inevitably, if you've lost some weight, people will comment and ask how you've done it. A great way to say it... without delving into a dissertation on every morsel of food, every calorie counted, and every step taken... a quick, concise sentence will do...
"Thank you so much for noticing... I feel really great... I just decided it was time to eat well all the time, and to take care of myself, so I can take better care of others"
If that prompts a "what diet are you on?" question... instead of saying... "Oh DIEt is so WRONG... it's LIFESTYLE CHANGE..."
say instead... "Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, lean meats, large meal at lunch, fruit for dinner... that kind of thing."
You never know... he/she may want to know more... and you can either direct to this blog, or to the Let's Do Lunch book or website or start a great conversation of questions and answers...
In the beginning of ANY change in life... whether it be quitting smoking, eating better, becoming a Born Again Christian, kicking any bad habit... can be like a new world opening up. One just wants to preach to the world that 'this' way is the best way... and EVERYONE should do it... and one starts to sound like a Chihuahua on crack... talking incessantly, overdoing it... pushing the ideas on anyone with an ear. I am so guilty of it.
As time goes on... and it becomes more of how we live and breathe, and not so new anymore... it becomes easier to talk about without sounding like an insurance salesman that needs to meet his quota in 5 minutes... or the bonus is out.
I learned we have to love people into this way of eating. It is important though... very important to spread better eating to the masses... our very lives depend on it, but there is a way of doing it that will get better results... than just talking... it's also walking the walk... actually DOING what we say needs to be done...
It's true...actions do speak louder than words... and if we model good eating habits... our children, grandchildren, friends, parents, acquaintences, everyone will live longer, better, more healthy lives...
Peace.
The night before, I had made a boat load of fresh breadsticks, three kinds, and I gave her some to try. She has 5 young sons, so I thought they might love to gnaw on them during the baseball game...
She loved them... and informed me she and her husband didn't share at all with the kids... LOL... they kept them all themselves...
I was happy she enjoyed them. I'm starting yet another business, a meal delivery one, for busy moms and anyone that wants wholesome homemade food, with no guilt, and no talking into a box while in the car... and she and her family are my "taste testers".
She mentioned to me... that she admits that she sometimes makes the kids boxed dinners, or orders fast food for dinner... and she felt ashamed to say it. While I am proud of her for feeling ashamed... I did too, when I did it... it got me wondering how I come across to people... I didn't want her to feel like I was ever going to judge her or think she was less of a Mother because she does it. (We ALL have... it's a fact, no use lying about it.)
So I asked her... "Do I make you feel badly, or do you feel like I preach to you?"... she emphatically said "NO!... I learn from you and you are rubbing off on me, and I am starting to see that we can eat better, and the kids can eat with us, and I can make the rules... not the kids." Thank God. The last thing I want to do is alienate people. (however... I feel like... after a while if you know what you are making or buying isn't good, and you do it all the time anyway... then... in my mind... I'm probably gonna judge you... and feel sorry for your kids... just sayin')
Truth be told... I only talk about the way I eat or how my family now eats... when I am asked.. or when I blog on here... otherwise... I don't just blurt things out... HOWEVER... I can see, now... how choosing a healthier lifestyle can make others feel diminished or, you know what I mean... on the defensive... because of how I perceived her statement.
So this got me thinking... on how all of us... on our roads to healthier eating, better health, or weight loss, can help others feel comfortable in their own skin... without sounding preachy or "elevated".
Inevitably, if you've lost some weight, people will comment and ask how you've done it. A great way to say it... without delving into a dissertation on every morsel of food, every calorie counted, and every step taken... a quick, concise sentence will do...
"Thank you so much for noticing... I feel really great... I just decided it was time to eat well all the time, and to take care of myself, so I can take better care of others"
If that prompts a "what diet are you on?" question... instead of saying... "Oh DIEt is so WRONG... it's LIFESTYLE CHANGE..."
say instead... "Fresh fruits, fresh veggies, lean meats, large meal at lunch, fruit for dinner... that kind of thing."
You never know... he/she may want to know more... and you can either direct to this blog, or to the Let's Do Lunch book or website or start a great conversation of questions and answers...
In the beginning of ANY change in life... whether it be quitting smoking, eating better, becoming a Born Again Christian, kicking any bad habit... can be like a new world opening up. One just wants to preach to the world that 'this' way is the best way... and EVERYONE should do it... and one starts to sound like a Chihuahua on crack... talking incessantly, overdoing it... pushing the ideas on anyone with an ear. I am so guilty of it.
As time goes on... and it becomes more of how we live and breathe, and not so new anymore... it becomes easier to talk about without sounding like an insurance salesman that needs to meet his quota in 5 minutes... or the bonus is out.
I learned we have to love people into this way of eating. It is important though... very important to spread better eating to the masses... our very lives depend on it, but there is a way of doing it that will get better results... than just talking... it's also walking the walk... actually DOING what we say needs to be done...
It's true...actions do speak louder than words... and if we model good eating habits... our children, grandchildren, friends, parents, acquaintences, everyone will live longer, better, more healthy lives...
Peace.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Fallen off the wagon?
I get afraid to ask the friends that have started this eating plan with me, how they are doing. My fear? They will think I'm "keeping tabs" on them, or that I may scrutinize what or how they eat... And all I really want to know... when I ask... "How's it going" in reference to their food... is... are they satisfied? Are they making sure they aren't getting bored by eating the same things all the time, or are they just plain 'over it'?
Whatever their reason... I still have a goal and need to stay on plan for a variety of reasons. Does having friends and family on the same plan make things easier? Hell yeah... but not everyone has the same weight loss needs nor desire to completely change their eating habits...
Have you fallen of the proverbial horse when it comes to what goes into your mouth? Was Easter and all it's candy just too much for ya? Has preparing and chopping and cooking your own food lost it's luster? Have you started to resent eating your protein at lunch and then go to dinner with friends and family and resent that you can only have a salad?
If so... let me enlighten you for a bit... You can eat whatever you like. In whatever quantity you like. In what ever form the food comes in. Whatever time of day you like. It's YOUR life.
I love you, and want the best for you. If my way isn't your way... so be it. I hope you can take what you've learned here, and apply it to your life someday, if not now.
THAT being said... I have a bone to pick...
When I read whining on other websites from people that "can't" stay on plan, or "see a cookie and just go berserk with need and want", or "I slipped up today... I ate a candy bar, then a soda, then a tray of cookies, then a bag of chips..." and they whine about weighing in and not losing any weight... I want to smack them on the head with a freaking hammer! Really? What part of "cookies", "Candy bar", "soda" and "chips" didn't they understand in their weight gain?
Eating junk is EASY! It's everywhere. It's socially acceptable. Junk food is associated with being "happy"... until one sees the scale. Then... happy is nowhere to be found. Happy took a vacation. Happy food sucks.
I "get" having cravings. I understand being at a baseball game and wanting nothing more than to munch down on some nachos and wash it all down with a soda. I GET IT! I understand wanting a nice, hot cup of hot chocolate.
I totally see the need to feed when there is a buffet table full of delectable items so gorgeously and carefully decorated, one just can't resist... but RESIST I do.
Why?
Why don't I just "give in" this one time? Why not enjoy myself? Why not eat what everyone else is eating?
Here's why.
Being 80 lbs thinner FEELS much better than ANY food WILL EVER taste. AND... I am a bad food addict... and I know... like an alcoholic knows... that one day, or one meal, or one drink... won't be the last...
(I felt the same way after losing my first 12 lbs too... I just didnt want to gain it back...ever again!)
It's taken me 9 months to take off the weight... I venture to guess it would only take a month or two to put it all back on. It would be sooooooo easy. I still have about 100 lbs to go. Why ruin everything now?
I've had to change my view of food. I now eat to live... not live to eat. So feeling a little self conscious about munching on dried pears instead of nachos at a baseball game is fine with me. Ordering salad when out to dinner with friends and family if I've already eaten my protein for the day... is okay by me... Dinner with friends isn't about the food, it's about the company we keep. Eating a turkey burger everyday for a week is great... I don't have to think about it, it tastes great, and it's all done in one day... blessing!
If you've gone off the deep end... and you don't know how to get back... do this...
Tomorrow morning, eat a bunch of fruit for breakfast. Have some coffee... relax...
For lunch... eat a big salad with some chicken on it, or some fish... and all the fruit and veggies you can stuff in your face... eat and eat an eat...good food.
For dinner... eat some veggie soup, more fruit... or some fat free popcorn...
Then pat yourself on the back for getting back on plan... whatever plan is for you...
I know you are out there... you can do it... you can email me personally if you need help...
mamabella44@gmail.com
I'm here.
Whatever their reason... I still have a goal and need to stay on plan for a variety of reasons. Does having friends and family on the same plan make things easier? Hell yeah... but not everyone has the same weight loss needs nor desire to completely change their eating habits...
Have you fallen of the proverbial horse when it comes to what goes into your mouth? Was Easter and all it's candy just too much for ya? Has preparing and chopping and cooking your own food lost it's luster? Have you started to resent eating your protein at lunch and then go to dinner with friends and family and resent that you can only have a salad?
If so... let me enlighten you for a bit... You can eat whatever you like. In whatever quantity you like. In what ever form the food comes in. Whatever time of day you like. It's YOUR life.
I love you, and want the best for you. If my way isn't your way... so be it. I hope you can take what you've learned here, and apply it to your life someday, if not now.
THAT being said... I have a bone to pick...
When I read whining on other websites from people that "can't" stay on plan, or "see a cookie and just go berserk with need and want", or "I slipped up today... I ate a candy bar, then a soda, then a tray of cookies, then a bag of chips..." and they whine about weighing in and not losing any weight... I want to smack them on the head with a freaking hammer! Really? What part of "cookies", "Candy bar", "soda" and "chips" didn't they understand in their weight gain?
Eating junk is EASY! It's everywhere. It's socially acceptable. Junk food is associated with being "happy"... until one sees the scale. Then... happy is nowhere to be found. Happy took a vacation. Happy food sucks.
I "get" having cravings. I understand being at a baseball game and wanting nothing more than to munch down on some nachos and wash it all down with a soda. I GET IT! I understand wanting a nice, hot cup of hot chocolate.
I totally see the need to feed when there is a buffet table full of delectable items so gorgeously and carefully decorated, one just can't resist... but RESIST I do.
Why?
Why don't I just "give in" this one time? Why not enjoy myself? Why not eat what everyone else is eating?
Here's why.
Being 80 lbs thinner FEELS much better than ANY food WILL EVER taste. AND... I am a bad food addict... and I know... like an alcoholic knows... that one day, or one meal, or one drink... won't be the last...
(I felt the same way after losing my first 12 lbs too... I just didnt want to gain it back...ever again!)
It's taken me 9 months to take off the weight... I venture to guess it would only take a month or two to put it all back on. It would be sooooooo easy. I still have about 100 lbs to go. Why ruin everything now?
I've had to change my view of food. I now eat to live... not live to eat. So feeling a little self conscious about munching on dried pears instead of nachos at a baseball game is fine with me. Ordering salad when out to dinner with friends and family if I've already eaten my protein for the day... is okay by me... Dinner with friends isn't about the food, it's about the company we keep. Eating a turkey burger everyday for a week is great... I don't have to think about it, it tastes great, and it's all done in one day... blessing!
If you've gone off the deep end... and you don't know how to get back... do this...
Tomorrow morning, eat a bunch of fruit for breakfast. Have some coffee... relax...
For lunch... eat a big salad with some chicken on it, or some fish... and all the fruit and veggies you can stuff in your face... eat and eat an eat...good food.
For dinner... eat some veggie soup, more fruit... or some fat free popcorn...
Then pat yourself on the back for getting back on plan... whatever plan is for you...
I know you are out there... you can do it... you can email me personally if you need help...
mamabella44@gmail.com
I'm here.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Opinions are like butts... everyone has one...
Being overweight, in our society, takes some strength. Not physical strength… but mental, spiritual, and psychological strength. The average overweight person must endure a barrage of comments, quips, backhanded compliments etc… A person doesn’t even have to be morbidly obese to be ostracized, put down, or overlooked. A few extra pounds in any amount will surely bring about opinion after opinion about weight loss, the mental stability of the person, the willpower one just CAN’T possess, or there MUST be some hidden, underlying, seethingly horrid REASON for someone to be overweight… just like Oprah says…
Well… I beg to differ with Oprah… but I’ll get to that in a bit…
Truth… I don’t know ONE overweight person that wants to STAY being overweight. Myself included… It is not a condition that one desires to be in. Just like most smokers don’t WANT to smoke.. but do. Drinkers? They like their drink… I’ll stay away from that one… LOL.
There isn’t a day that goes by, that I don’t see myself in the mirror. I know… I see it… all of it. What I don’t need? What every overweight person DOESN’T EVER NEED? Is someone’s opinion of why we are overweight or what I mean is… someone that tries to “get to the bottom of why I am overweight”, or tries to foresee my future… for instance… “Oh girl… you are gonna die an early, terrible death… you are going to get diabetes, and have a heart attack, and leave those baby boys with no Mother…” Really? Holy cow… ever heard of being Hung by the Tongue? Why do people feel the need to put stuff like that out into the universe? HUH? Tell me! Ahem… sorry… got a little carried away there…
Last week, Howard Stern, made a rude comment on air about the “Precious” actress, Gaboret Sidibe, saying that she will “never get work again, because of her weight’. Really… did that HAVE to be said? Why is it… when a woman is completely secure in who she is… no matter what size she is… others feel the need to cut her down? I mean, have you seen the lovely Jessica Simpson? Does she look fat AT ALL to you? But what did they call her last year, while she was singing in her size 6 jeans? Fat? Yep.
Are the people writing and saying those awful things, perfect, behind their lenses and in front of their computers? I bet they aren’t!!! I bet they are pimple faced, scaredy cat maggots that have nothing better to do with their time than put other people down… to uplift themselves… presumably. We all know what Howard Stern looks like… and he has NO place to talk, which is precisely why he is behind a microphone, instead of in front of a camera… He lives in one huge glass house… huh? See… that wasn’t nice either… I shouldn’t have “gone” there… but that’s what his type of “journalism” breeds…
It broke my heart today… to see on the View… a woman that claims to have a webshow centered around her eating herself to 1,000 lbs in weight. There is supposedly a picture of her on her site, with no clothes on, in all her glory… WHY!! WHY!! WHY!! WHY!!!
That is NOT what I mean when I say that we need to be confident in ourselves and love ourselves where we are at… NO , NO , NO!!! That is NOT being confident and showing pride and having self esteem…!!! It’s showing herself as a freak show!!! It is so unbelievably sad… she has children. Is someone going to pay her to get to a thousand pounds??? Why?????
Everyone seems to have an opinion as to why someone is overweight. Oprah, whom I like, seems to believe that there needs to be a deep seated reason for all addictive behavior. While it might be true for some, I don’t believe it is true for all. Some people eat from boredom, or heartache. Some people eat because they have eaten a certain way forever, and never changed it as they got older, even though their metabolism has changed. Some people eat for pleasure. Not everyone had to have a bad childhood, or an abusive relationship, or any other sort of psychological problem to overeat… Some just see the food, and eat all of it. I don’t believe there needs to be a reason behind the weight… I just believe there needs to be a yearning to lose it, the right way.
I’ve never been abused, or neglected, or molested, or abandoned. I’ve never let someone else determine my worth. I’ve never allowed anyone else to define who I am. I’ve never felt like less of a person, for being more of a person.
I CHOSE to eat bad foods. No one was shoving it down my throat. No one was MAKING me eat, buy, or prepare it. It’s not the fast food restaurants fault, it’s not my grocery store’s fault… it’s not my parent’s fault… ITS ALL MY OWN FAULT!!!
Other people’s opinions of my life, or your life, or anyones life…should not be taken heavily. Try not to dwell on the “skinny” person’s view of what a “fat” person’s world must be like. Many times, if delivered in a caring, kind, compassionate way, an opinion can be lovely and heartfelt and well recieved… but often times, opinions are used as a way to elevate one party to diminish another… so the offending party can feel superior… for having control over their eating habits and behavior, and show you how out of control you really are…
If the “regular” sized people of the world can stop assuming that my life is one of obvious drudgery, loneliness, hatred, self loathing, hypocritical, one visit after the next to the hospital, days filled with oppression and crying… then I will stop assuming that your life is one big self hated, do I look okay in these jeans, Oh, I hope that guy notices my personality instead of my boobs, why is everyone staring at my zit, hey, am I prettier than her, oh my gosh, I am sooo hot… vapid life. It has got to be tough being so lovely on the outside, and so empty in the inside.
I am so glad my gorgeous friends aren’t empty in the inside… big, small, thin, fat, short and tall.. those I love and that love me… we see each other for who we are… women of substance… take-charge women that know where they came from and where they are going…that are way too busy to spend more than a normal amount of time primping in a mirror that lies about who we really are…
So… Opinions are like butts… everyone has one… but that doesn’t mean we have to listen to them.
Now go look in the mirror, and tell yourself you are lovely, and strong, and bright, and today.. you will follow plan and eat well… for you… not anyone else!!! Because you are worth it…
Well… I beg to differ with Oprah… but I’ll get to that in a bit…
Truth… I don’t know ONE overweight person that wants to STAY being overweight. Myself included… It is not a condition that one desires to be in. Just like most smokers don’t WANT to smoke.. but do. Drinkers? They like their drink… I’ll stay away from that one… LOL.
There isn’t a day that goes by, that I don’t see myself in the mirror. I know… I see it… all of it. What I don’t need? What every overweight person DOESN’T EVER NEED? Is someone’s opinion of why we are overweight or what I mean is… someone that tries to “get to the bottom of why I am overweight”, or tries to foresee my future… for instance… “Oh girl… you are gonna die an early, terrible death… you are going to get diabetes, and have a heart attack, and leave those baby boys with no Mother…” Really? Holy cow… ever heard of being Hung by the Tongue? Why do people feel the need to put stuff like that out into the universe? HUH? Tell me! Ahem… sorry… got a little carried away there…
Last week, Howard Stern, made a rude comment on air about the “Precious” actress, Gaboret Sidibe, saying that she will “never get work again, because of her weight’. Really… did that HAVE to be said? Why is it… when a woman is completely secure in who she is… no matter what size she is… others feel the need to cut her down? I mean, have you seen the lovely Jessica Simpson? Does she look fat AT ALL to you? But what did they call her last year, while she was singing in her size 6 jeans? Fat? Yep.
Are the people writing and saying those awful things, perfect, behind their lenses and in front of their computers? I bet they aren’t!!! I bet they are pimple faced, scaredy cat maggots that have nothing better to do with their time than put other people down… to uplift themselves… presumably. We all know what Howard Stern looks like… and he has NO place to talk, which is precisely why he is behind a microphone, instead of in front of a camera… He lives in one huge glass house… huh? See… that wasn’t nice either… I shouldn’t have “gone” there… but that’s what his type of “journalism” breeds…
It broke my heart today… to see on the View… a woman that claims to have a webshow centered around her eating herself to 1,000 lbs in weight. There is supposedly a picture of her on her site, with no clothes on, in all her glory… WHY!! WHY!! WHY!! WHY!!!
That is NOT what I mean when I say that we need to be confident in ourselves and love ourselves where we are at… NO , NO , NO!!! That is NOT being confident and showing pride and having self esteem…!!! It’s showing herself as a freak show!!! It is so unbelievably sad… she has children. Is someone going to pay her to get to a thousand pounds??? Why?????
Everyone seems to have an opinion as to why someone is overweight. Oprah, whom I like, seems to believe that there needs to be a deep seated reason for all addictive behavior. While it might be true for some, I don’t believe it is true for all. Some people eat from boredom, or heartache. Some people eat because they have eaten a certain way forever, and never changed it as they got older, even though their metabolism has changed. Some people eat for pleasure. Not everyone had to have a bad childhood, or an abusive relationship, or any other sort of psychological problem to overeat… Some just see the food, and eat all of it. I don’t believe there needs to be a reason behind the weight… I just believe there needs to be a yearning to lose it, the right way.
I’ve never been abused, or neglected, or molested, or abandoned. I’ve never let someone else determine my worth. I’ve never allowed anyone else to define who I am. I’ve never felt like less of a person, for being more of a person.
I CHOSE to eat bad foods. No one was shoving it down my throat. No one was MAKING me eat, buy, or prepare it. It’s not the fast food restaurants fault, it’s not my grocery store’s fault… it’s not my parent’s fault… ITS ALL MY OWN FAULT!!!
Other people’s opinions of my life, or your life, or anyones life…should not be taken heavily. Try not to dwell on the “skinny” person’s view of what a “fat” person’s world must be like. Many times, if delivered in a caring, kind, compassionate way, an opinion can be lovely and heartfelt and well recieved… but often times, opinions are used as a way to elevate one party to diminish another… so the offending party can feel superior… for having control over their eating habits and behavior, and show you how out of control you really are…
If the “regular” sized people of the world can stop assuming that my life is one of obvious drudgery, loneliness, hatred, self loathing, hypocritical, one visit after the next to the hospital, days filled with oppression and crying… then I will stop assuming that your life is one big self hated, do I look okay in these jeans, Oh, I hope that guy notices my personality instead of my boobs, why is everyone staring at my zit, hey, am I prettier than her, oh my gosh, I am sooo hot… vapid life. It has got to be tough being so lovely on the outside, and so empty in the inside.
I am so glad my gorgeous friends aren’t empty in the inside… big, small, thin, fat, short and tall.. those I love and that love me… we see each other for who we are… women of substance… take-charge women that know where they came from and where they are going…that are way too busy to spend more than a normal amount of time primping in a mirror that lies about who we really are…
So… Opinions are like butts… everyone has one… but that doesn’t mean we have to listen to them.
Now go look in the mirror, and tell yourself you are lovely, and strong, and bright, and today.. you will follow plan and eat well… for you… not anyone else!!! Because you are worth it…
Monday, March 8, 2010
Eat more to lose weight... IIIIi know!!!
Page 479 of The Doctor’s Book of Food Remedies by Selene Yeager…
Had a VERY important list. A list… that as I read it… I kept saying…. “Yeah!!!” ‘Holy Cow… uh huh!” “I KNEW IT!” The best part of that page, was the previous one that was titled…
“Overweight… eating away the pounds”. I’ve had this book for about 2 years now… and this was the first time I’ve ever noticed that page. I love this book. It’s easy to read, and big and juicy… and makes me smarter the more I read it…
But the most interesting part of this “overweight” section was the study done at the University of Australia where the scientists rated foods that keep us fuller, longer. Any food that did kept hunger at bay for a good long time, was rated over 100, and foods that make us more hungry, more often, were rated under 100.
Here’s the List…
Potatoes 323… fish 225…oatmeal 209… oranges 202… beans 168…grapes 162… whole grain bread 154… eggs 150… brown rice 132… see a pattern? All the good stuff… STAYS WITH US…
Here are the numbers for “other” “foods”…
Ice cream 96… candy bar 70…doughnut 68…cake 65… peanuts 84… chips 91… see another trend? The higher fat the food, the LESS SATISFYING it is.
Want to know what the over 100 foods have in common? FIBER… I can’t say enough how FIBER is the key to all weight loss, less cancer, less stress, less hemorrhoids, less weight, less of everything bad. Add a little bit of Olive Oil to the fiber or some flax seed meal, or wheat germ… and then all kinds of miracles happen within our bodies to help carry the vitamins and amino acids to the place within us that will most benefit from them…
The beautiful thing about my new way of eating… is the plethora foods I am eating every day. “DIEt’s” used to tell us to EAT LESS, DON’T EAT THAT, STAY AWAY FROM ALL FAT, NO… YOU CAN’T HAVE A NICE STEAK FOR A MEAL!… and all that junk… and we all know now that’s just all WRONG!
What matters is HOW we eat the food, WHEN we eat the food, AND CHOOSE WISELY the types of foods we eat. Yes, Cheetos and Doritos are going to make us fat… even eating a small amount… why? BECAUSE THEY DON’T SATIATE our hunger centers of our brains… they have so many chemicals in them that aren’t food, it CHANGES our brain signals to EAT MORE OF THEM… and then creates a pleasure center ‘memory’ of that food, and then we buy them over, and over, and over… ‘BECAUSE THEY TASTE GOOD” Blueberries taste good too… eat them by the BUCKET! I know… I know… Doritos cost less… don’t even get me started… medical bills are expensive too, so are heart and liver transplants… blueberries cost WAAAAAY less.
Eat grapes instead of chips….. eat watermelon instead of crackers……. eat saute’d veggies instead of a bowl of sugary cereal……. eat a sandwich with dark, whole grain bread and roasted red peppers, balsamic dressing, lettuce, cucumber slices, lean meat, mustard and pickles…. instead of a greasy, white bunned, full fat, mystery meat burger…
Eat your biggest meal, of the VAST ARRAY of gorgeous colored food EARLY IN YOUR DAY… before 4 p.m… and eat fruit until it’s coming out of your ears if you get hungry at night…
Do I sound like I’m preaching? yeah? GOOD! I am! I love you. I love me. I think we all deserve better than what we are being dished up. Our children deserve the benefit of our knowledge and our ability to make good food choices in our markets. Remember… every time we stand at the check out counter at the store, we are voting and telling our stores what to stock on the shelves… With each pass of the chips, and donuts, and sugary drinks, that makes that little “beep” sound when it crosses the scanner, we are letting our store know that we either choose the crap or the good stuff…
We need to start pulling a lot of bags of this… across that scanner… so the stores will purchase and require the BEST and PESTICIDE free living food for all of us to eat… and be able to pay for.
Had a VERY important list. A list… that as I read it… I kept saying…. “Yeah!!!” ‘Holy Cow… uh huh!” “I KNEW IT!” The best part of that page, was the previous one that was titled…
“Overweight… eating away the pounds”. I’ve had this book for about 2 years now… and this was the first time I’ve ever noticed that page. I love this book. It’s easy to read, and big and juicy… and makes me smarter the more I read it…
But the most interesting part of this “overweight” section was the study done at the University of Australia where the scientists rated foods that keep us fuller, longer. Any food that did kept hunger at bay for a good long time, was rated over 100, and foods that make us more hungry, more often, were rated under 100.
Here’s the List…
Potatoes 323… fish 225…oatmeal 209… oranges 202… beans 168…grapes 162… whole grain bread 154… eggs 150… brown rice 132… see a pattern? All the good stuff… STAYS WITH US…
Here are the numbers for “other” “foods”…
Ice cream 96… candy bar 70…doughnut 68…cake 65… peanuts 84… chips 91… see another trend? The higher fat the food, the LESS SATISFYING it is.
Want to know what the over 100 foods have in common? FIBER… I can’t say enough how FIBER is the key to all weight loss, less cancer, less stress, less hemorrhoids, less weight, less of everything bad. Add a little bit of Olive Oil to the fiber or some flax seed meal, or wheat germ… and then all kinds of miracles happen within our bodies to help carry the vitamins and amino acids to the place within us that will most benefit from them…
The beautiful thing about my new way of eating… is the plethora foods I am eating every day. “DIEt’s” used to tell us to EAT LESS, DON’T EAT THAT, STAY AWAY FROM ALL FAT, NO… YOU CAN’T HAVE A NICE STEAK FOR A MEAL!… and all that junk… and we all know now that’s just all WRONG!
What matters is HOW we eat the food, WHEN we eat the food, AND CHOOSE WISELY the types of foods we eat. Yes, Cheetos and Doritos are going to make us fat… even eating a small amount… why? BECAUSE THEY DON’T SATIATE our hunger centers of our brains… they have so many chemicals in them that aren’t food, it CHANGES our brain signals to EAT MORE OF THEM… and then creates a pleasure center ‘memory’ of that food, and then we buy them over, and over, and over… ‘BECAUSE THEY TASTE GOOD” Blueberries taste good too… eat them by the BUCKET! I know… I know… Doritos cost less… don’t even get me started… medical bills are expensive too, so are heart and liver transplants… blueberries cost WAAAAAY less.
Eat grapes instead of chips….. eat watermelon instead of crackers……. eat saute’d veggies instead of a bowl of sugary cereal……. eat a sandwich with dark, whole grain bread and roasted red peppers, balsamic dressing, lettuce, cucumber slices, lean meat, mustard and pickles…. instead of a greasy, white bunned, full fat, mystery meat burger…
Eat your biggest meal, of the VAST ARRAY of gorgeous colored food EARLY IN YOUR DAY… before 4 p.m… and eat fruit until it’s coming out of your ears if you get hungry at night…
Do I sound like I’m preaching? yeah? GOOD! I am! I love you. I love me. I think we all deserve better than what we are being dished up. Our children deserve the benefit of our knowledge and our ability to make good food choices in our markets. Remember… every time we stand at the check out counter at the store, we are voting and telling our stores what to stock on the shelves… With each pass of the chips, and donuts, and sugary drinks, that makes that little “beep” sound when it crosses the scanner, we are letting our store know that we either choose the crap or the good stuff…
From the looks of most grocery stores… we have been voting so badly… for so long… that the stores are now FULL to the BRIM with brightly colored bags of heart attacks and strokes… boxes of diabetes, and canisters of fat and water retention.
We need to start pulling a lot of bags of this… across that scanner… so the stores will purchase and require the BEST and PESTICIDE free living food for all of us to eat… and be able to pay for.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Self Image...Self Esteem
Have you ever thought… “If I just lose the weight… my life can begin”… or “Everything would be perfect with my life if I just lost the weight”. How about…”I don’t want to go anywhere outside this house until I lose this weight”. Ever? Come on… be truthful… have you?
We all have. You know it… and I know it… but is it true? Has it ever been true? NO… AND AGAIN… I SAY NO!!!! Everything will NOT be perfect when you are a size 2… Your life began at birth… not when you are the right size… and not living your best life isn’t going to get you any points upstairs missy…
I have been overweight and out of shape for about 13 years now. What’s the LAST place you think would be my most favorite place in the world…as a fat person?
Trying on clothes? Nope. Guess again.
A weight loss convention? Nope… guess again.
THE BEACH? YEP… that’s my favorite place to be in the entire world… and as a fat person… it’s usually the LAST thing people expect me to say. Why? Because… didn’t you KNOW? You can only love the beach if you can fit your butt into a bikini… otherwise… it’s not normal to go to the beach… when you look like me. I am required… as an overweight woman… to LOATHE any place that requires skimpy clothing. I am supposed to be ashamed… and afraid… and self conscious, and self loathing. (Hell to the NO… I don’t wear a swimsuit.. Oh gosh… NO!!!!)
A few times… when I’ve taken my boys for day trips to the beach… as I was crossing the boardwalk where all the joggers and cyclists ride… I’ve been honked at and yelled at and this was said to me… “Move over Fat A**!” or “Get your fat off the road, Bi***” I’m not kidding… actual people have actually said those things to me… and yes… in front of my kids. Such fun…
What the idiots didn’t realize I guess… was who they were dealing with, number 1, and that they had to turn around and come right back about 100 yards away.. so I would be seeing them again… real soon. If you haven’t guessed by now…I’m not one to let ANYONE talk to me or attempt to put me down without a fight… just saying.
Soooo… on these classy people’s (guys, girls have never said those things to me) return… I caught their attention. Once… and I’m not proud of this… {okaaay… maybe a little proud… okaaaay… A LOT proud} but it did happen… I grabbed a huge bucket of sand.. and hurled it at the cyclist as he was racing back by… yeah.. .he stopped… and came back around… and started yelling at me… until he realized I was the one he hurled the insult at… and put his hands up… and said… “I guess I deserved that… I’m sorry” I was shocked… I was ready for a verbal attack and some fist throwing if I had to. I was soooooo mad… and I just wasn’t going to let him do that to another person again. I told him to watch his mouth next time… that I bleed red… just like him.. and the next woman might not be so generous to only throw sand at him… AND THEN.. he says…”I was 200 lbs heavier a few years back… I should have known better”. HOLY SCHMOLY!!! That guy didn’t know it… but he taught me something… I WILL NEVER BE SO STUCK UP AND FULL OF MYSELF to put other people down… when I am at goal weight… THAT GUY… had self esteem issues… The only way he could rise above… was to put someone else down…unbelievable… and so what if he was fit and thin… HE WAS A TOTAL JERK!!! A loser!
Another time, the dude was with his kids when he hurled the insult my way… and on his return… his little girl fell and cut her knee up a little. I got my first aid kit from the car… and handed him a bandaid for her, but first I said… “I am sorry my fat has to take up your space, but your daugther needs a band aid and a father who sets a better example for her on how to treat others… Maybe she’ll learn it from me… that you treat people how you want to be treated… here… take the bandaid.. and apologize to your daughter for being such a class A jerk, and I hope she never has a weight problem with a Father like you.”. He just said “thank you” and nothing else…
Here’s why I mentioned those two idiots… and how I stuck up for myself
First of all…NO ONE has any right to think I am lesser of a person the more fat I have on my body. Second of all… I’ve never been one to just shut up and take anything off anyone…it’s who I am.
Ladies… YOU ARE NOT YOUR FAT. You are who you are… lovely, strong, smart, witty, inventive, curious, do-anything you put your mind to… WOMEN!!! Okay.. so there’ some extra padding here and there…
BUT YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELVES WHERE YOU ARE AT!!! YOU MUST… YOU MUST… YOU MUST!!! Otherwise… how is anyone else going to love you!
Self esteem is just that.. SELF esteem. No one can GIVE it to you… you must give it to yourself… otherwise it would be called “Other people’s esteem”!!!
I HATE the commercial on TV.. of all those overweight people saying what they would do if they lost the weight… “I would go visit my sister more”, “I would do this… or do that” GO DO THEM NOW!!!! Right NOW!!! Tomorrow is NOT PROMISED TO US!!! We only have today!!! It takes a long time to lose weight… if I had waited until I lost all my weight… I wouldn’t have gone to Chicago for 9 years in a row to have a great time at business conferences… or I wouldn’t have gone to Italy in 2006 for a month with my hubby and kids and Mother. I WAS THE FATTEST PERSON IN EUROPE when I went… and DIDN’T CARE!!! I was there… against the odds… doing once in a lifetime things… seeing and doing things people only get to READ about in books… with my kids, because life is way to short!!! AAAAANNNND… I lost 15 lbs there, because I ate like they did!!! (small breakfast, huge lunch, fruit at dinner). I’ve been to Alaska, and New York City, and Miami, and Canada, and Mexico, and the Carribean… FAT!!! Why wait?
Don’t get me wrong.. I am aware of what I look like. I am aware that I am not normal, and I do want to feel better and look better, and just be healthy… BUT I REFUSE TO PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD until it happens… I just REFUSE!
There are people left and right having the bypass surgeries and lap bands put in… and that is fine… great even. I just really hope they realize that losing the weight is going to be only one aspect of changing themselves. It changes the size of the stomach… but it doesn’t change ones mind… it will help them wear a smaller size waaaay faster than me… but in the end… self control, good food choices and exercise are still going to be necessary… and I hope in that time warp of weight loss, everyone learns to see themselves as more than a dress size, and more of a person with infinite potential, that has always been there… no matter what size she was.
We are worthy of love, care and devotion just as much as anyone else, and the most important person to get those things from is YOURSELF! Our bodies are God’s temples, and though some of us have abused these temples in one way or another… He will help us rebuild, renew and replenish it… for His glory… so we can share our adventure with others… but He wants us to love ourselves first… and treat what he gave us with respect and dignity.
What I said and did to those people at the beach may not have been the best choices… but I did feel compelled to do so… so my kids would see that we have to stand up for ourselves sometimes…
I will never forget what it feels like to be overweight… it will keep me grounded, and sympathetic, and hopefully nurturing to others. The one thing I know for sure… is that no matter what size I am… I am important… I matter… and I’m relevant… no matter what the media says… no matter what anyone says…
I want you to feel this way too… if you don’t already…
On we go to our wonderful journey’s shall we??
We all have. You know it… and I know it… but is it true? Has it ever been true? NO… AND AGAIN… I SAY NO!!!! Everything will NOT be perfect when you are a size 2… Your life began at birth… not when you are the right size… and not living your best life isn’t going to get you any points upstairs missy…
I have been overweight and out of shape for about 13 years now. What’s the LAST place you think would be my most favorite place in the world…as a fat person?
Trying on clothes? Nope. Guess again.
A weight loss convention? Nope… guess again.
THE BEACH? YEP… that’s my favorite place to be in the entire world… and as a fat person… it’s usually the LAST thing people expect me to say. Why? Because… didn’t you KNOW? You can only love the beach if you can fit your butt into a bikini… otherwise… it’s not normal to go to the beach… when you look like me. I am required… as an overweight woman… to LOATHE any place that requires skimpy clothing. I am supposed to be ashamed… and afraid… and self conscious, and self loathing. (Hell to the NO… I don’t wear a swimsuit.. Oh gosh… NO!!!!)
A few times… when I’ve taken my boys for day trips to the beach… as I was crossing the boardwalk where all the joggers and cyclists ride… I’ve been honked at and yelled at and this was said to me… “Move over Fat A**!” or “Get your fat off the road, Bi***” I’m not kidding… actual people have actually said those things to me… and yes… in front of my kids. Such fun…
What the idiots didn’t realize I guess… was who they were dealing with, number 1, and that they had to turn around and come right back about 100 yards away.. so I would be seeing them again… real soon. If you haven’t guessed by now…I’m not one to let ANYONE talk to me or attempt to put me down without a fight… just saying.
Soooo… on these classy people’s (guys, girls have never said those things to me) return… I caught their attention. Once… and I’m not proud of this… {okaaay… maybe a little proud… okaaaay… A LOT proud} but it did happen… I grabbed a huge bucket of sand.. and hurled it at the cyclist as he was racing back by… yeah.. .he stopped… and came back around… and started yelling at me… until he realized I was the one he hurled the insult at… and put his hands up… and said… “I guess I deserved that… I’m sorry” I was shocked… I was ready for a verbal attack and some fist throwing if I had to. I was soooooo mad… and I just wasn’t going to let him do that to another person again. I told him to watch his mouth next time… that I bleed red… just like him.. and the next woman might not be so generous to only throw sand at him… AND THEN.. he says…”I was 200 lbs heavier a few years back… I should have known better”. HOLY SCHMOLY!!! That guy didn’t know it… but he taught me something… I WILL NEVER BE SO STUCK UP AND FULL OF MYSELF to put other people down… when I am at goal weight… THAT GUY… had self esteem issues… The only way he could rise above… was to put someone else down…unbelievable… and so what if he was fit and thin… HE WAS A TOTAL JERK!!! A loser!
Another time, the dude was with his kids when he hurled the insult my way… and on his return… his little girl fell and cut her knee up a little. I got my first aid kit from the car… and handed him a bandaid for her, but first I said… “I am sorry my fat has to take up your space, but your daugther needs a band aid and a father who sets a better example for her on how to treat others… Maybe she’ll learn it from me… that you treat people how you want to be treated… here… take the bandaid.. and apologize to your daughter for being such a class A jerk, and I hope she never has a weight problem with a Father like you.”. He just said “thank you” and nothing else…
Here’s why I mentioned those two idiots… and how I stuck up for myself
First of all…NO ONE has any right to think I am lesser of a person the more fat I have on my body. Second of all… I’ve never been one to just shut up and take anything off anyone…it’s who I am.
Ladies… YOU ARE NOT YOUR FAT. You are who you are… lovely, strong, smart, witty, inventive, curious, do-anything you put your mind to… WOMEN!!! Okay.. so there’ some extra padding here and there…
BUT YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELVES WHERE YOU ARE AT!!! YOU MUST… YOU MUST… YOU MUST!!! Otherwise… how is anyone else going to love you!
Self esteem is just that.. SELF esteem. No one can GIVE it to you… you must give it to yourself… otherwise it would be called “Other people’s esteem”!!!
I HATE the commercial on TV.. of all those overweight people saying what they would do if they lost the weight… “I would go visit my sister more”, “I would do this… or do that” GO DO THEM NOW!!!! Right NOW!!! Tomorrow is NOT PROMISED TO US!!! We only have today!!! It takes a long time to lose weight… if I had waited until I lost all my weight… I wouldn’t have gone to Chicago for 9 years in a row to have a great time at business conferences… or I wouldn’t have gone to Italy in 2006 for a month with my hubby and kids and Mother. I WAS THE FATTEST PERSON IN EUROPE when I went… and DIDN’T CARE!!! I was there… against the odds… doing once in a lifetime things… seeing and doing things people only get to READ about in books… with my kids, because life is way to short!!! AAAAANNNND… I lost 15 lbs there, because I ate like they did!!! (small breakfast, huge lunch, fruit at dinner). I’ve been to Alaska, and New York City, and Miami, and Canada, and Mexico, and the Carribean… FAT!!! Why wait?
Don’t get me wrong.. I am aware of what I look like. I am aware that I am not normal, and I do want to feel better and look better, and just be healthy… BUT I REFUSE TO PUT MY LIFE ON HOLD until it happens… I just REFUSE!
There are people left and right having the bypass surgeries and lap bands put in… and that is fine… great even. I just really hope they realize that losing the weight is going to be only one aspect of changing themselves. It changes the size of the stomach… but it doesn’t change ones mind… it will help them wear a smaller size waaaay faster than me… but in the end… self control, good food choices and exercise are still going to be necessary… and I hope in that time warp of weight loss, everyone learns to see themselves as more than a dress size, and more of a person with infinite potential, that has always been there… no matter what size she was.
We are worthy of love, care and devotion just as much as anyone else, and the most important person to get those things from is YOURSELF! Our bodies are God’s temples, and though some of us have abused these temples in one way or another… He will help us rebuild, renew and replenish it… for His glory… so we can share our adventure with others… but He wants us to love ourselves first… and treat what he gave us with respect and dignity.
What I said and did to those people at the beach may not have been the best choices… but I did feel compelled to do so… so my kids would see that we have to stand up for ourselves sometimes…
I will never forget what it feels like to be overweight… it will keep me grounded, and sympathetic, and hopefully nurturing to others. The one thing I know for sure… is that no matter what size I am… I am important… I matter… and I’m relevant… no matter what the media says… no matter what anyone says…
I want you to feel this way too… if you don’t already…
On we go to our wonderful journey’s shall we??
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Plateau's... how to deal...
I’ve hit one. I was hoping I wouldn’t. I really didn’t want to… but I hit one anyway… What did I hit? A plateau, or in other words… I haven’t lost a pound in two months. THE GOOD NEWS? I haven’t gained either.
I think my body is saying this to me… “Uh.. Sandra… I’ve gotten rid of 70lbs… consistently… I’m taking a little break” I want to slap it and say… in the infamous words of Cher in “Moonstruck”.. “SNAP OUT OF IT!”… but alas…I can’t. I must wait. I must be ever vigilant.
I MUST NOT REDUCE MY REGULAR INTAKE OF GOOD FOOD… I don’t want my body to hoard the rest of the pounds… HOWEVER…I am going to try and break the plateau with some exercise. I haven’t done much exercise as of yet, and I think it’ll be much easier for me now. Sooo…. tomorrow… I will be doing yoga as a starter, some freestyle dancing around my house to loud music for 1/2 hour and more yoga to cool down…
Hopefully it’ll break this cycle.
I’m still eating all the right foods. I am over any cravings, I can be around all the junk food in the world and not be tempted… my resolve is still stealthy… I’m just not losing like I was.
What keeps me going is the metamorphosis of my body. Although I don’t yet LOOK like I’ve lost a lot of weight, (when you have as much to lose as I do, it’s not noticeable for a long time} I am still noticing that my pants are all baggy on me, and some blouses slide off my shoulders and my rings are all too big for me. So… something is happening. Maybe it’s redistributing. I don’t know… I’m just happy to have found an eating plan that never leaves me hungry or wanting more. It truly has become a complete way of life for me. I rarely think about it anymore, except when I write about it.
I’m dealing with the scale. We’ve made friends. As long as I don’t see the number increase, it will stay intact and not get thrown through a window. That’s how I am dealing with my plateau. My scale will face certain death if it gives me the wrong number.
I’m not complaining. I know I’ve done really well. I just really wanted to be down another 20 lbs by now. It will come… I know it will. I’m just impatient.
I think my body is saying this to me… “Uh.. Sandra… I’ve gotten rid of 70lbs… consistently… I’m taking a little break” I want to slap it and say… in the infamous words of Cher in “Moonstruck”.. “SNAP OUT OF IT!”… but alas…I can’t. I must wait. I must be ever vigilant.
I MUST NOT REDUCE MY REGULAR INTAKE OF GOOD FOOD… I don’t want my body to hoard the rest of the pounds… HOWEVER…I am going to try and break the plateau with some exercise. I haven’t done much exercise as of yet, and I think it’ll be much easier for me now. Sooo…. tomorrow… I will be doing yoga as a starter, some freestyle dancing around my house to loud music for 1/2 hour and more yoga to cool down…
Hopefully it’ll break this cycle.
I’m still eating all the right foods. I am over any cravings, I can be around all the junk food in the world and not be tempted… my resolve is still stealthy… I’m just not losing like I was.
What keeps me going is the metamorphosis of my body. Although I don’t yet LOOK like I’ve lost a lot of weight, (when you have as much to lose as I do, it’s not noticeable for a long time} I am still noticing that my pants are all baggy on me, and some blouses slide off my shoulders and my rings are all too big for me. So… something is happening. Maybe it’s redistributing. I don’t know… I’m just happy to have found an eating plan that never leaves me hungry or wanting more. It truly has become a complete way of life for me. I rarely think about it anymore, except when I write about it.
I’m dealing with the scale. We’ve made friends. As long as I don’t see the number increase, it will stay intact and not get thrown through a window. That’s how I am dealing with my plateau. My scale will face certain death if it gives me the wrong number.
I’m not complaining. I know I’ve done really well. I just really wanted to be down another 20 lbs by now. It will come… I know it will. I’m just impatient.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
What I learned this weekend.
After thinking about it for a few seconds, I came to the conclusion that ’she’ was either jealous of my new way of life, or scared of my new way of life. Mind you… I was NOT talking about my eating habits, or even mentioned it! (I know you probably think this is all I do, write, talk and eat food… but I really do have a ton of other interests too, and really only talk about it here… LOL)
On your particular journey, you are going to meet people along the way that will pick your choices apart and try to make you re-think your decisions. If you MUST brood about it afterward… please only allow about 1o seconds of it.. then move on. I have found that those that really love me, are embracing my new way of eating, and those that are threatened by it, aren’t around so much anymore… and truthfully, the naysayers arent missed.
People who say things like “I’m so proud of you” and “You are doing so great” are FOR you… and those that say things like “Ugh… you don’t eat bread? I could never do that” and “You know… fruit is sugar too” are AGAINST you. They either haven’t learned how to have an uplifting conversation, or are just self hating losers that can’t stand it when others succeed.
I know it sounds harsh… but you would NOT believe some of the stuff people have told me in the past 8 months…. AND I’M NOT EVEN THIN YET! Can you imagine what will happen when I’m at goal weight? I think I’ll carry around a notepad and start quoting the dumb nuts who think they are witty and smarmy.
I guess what I’m trying to say is… don’t let people get you down. Whichever weight loss path you are choosing, {{as long as it isn’t extreme or harmful to yourself}} stick with it, and don’t let others dictate to you. If you happen to be on the same plan as I am, remember how good you feel when you’ve eaten well, and effortlessly the weight comes off, and how you don’t have cravings anymore… and just keep the naysayers in your prayers…
I like saying this prayer… Dear God, if you can’t make my friends be nice to me… please make them fat!
JOKING… I’M JUST JOKING!!! Calm down… LOL! All in good fun…:)
Sooo… if you’ve overindulged today, tomorrow is a new day, a fresh new start… Monday’s… ya gotta love ‘em!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
"I want to lose weight... but there's so much temptation around!"
I’ve said that sentence up there before… you’ve said it too, if you’re honest. Have you ever noticed, that as soon as you start a new eating plan, or announce that you are on a new eating plan, ALL THE GOODIES THAT ARE BAD FOR US… come out of the woodwork? Co-workers start bringing in cookies, and bagels with cream cheese, big bowls of pasta are ordered for catering events, soda is everywhere??? Ever notice that? Ever wonder WHY all that stuff suddenly starts appearing???
I have a secret to tell you… You’re not gonna like it… Ready? Okay… here goes… ALL THAT STUFF HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE, YOU JUST DIDN’T NOTICE IT UNTIL YOU DECIDED TO EAT RIGHT!… See? I told ya you wouldn’t like it. Think about it… its true right? The same guy brings in the same bagels and cream cheese every week, or on Tuesdays, the Donut Lady brings in the 2 dozen donuts…etc… THE DIFFERENCE? You (we) know we can’t continue to eat those things and be healthy, so we decide to stop… AND THEN ALL WE WANT IS THE BAD STUFF!
For the ladies… remember when you first got pregant? Didn’t it seem like everywhere you looked after that… all you saw was pregnant women?
Listen. I’m a bread baker/caterer. Making stuff that I can’t shouldn’t eat IS MY JOB! It’s all around me.. every single day. Have I ever been tempted? YEP… as a matter of fact…when I first started Let’s Do Lunch, about a week into the plan… I STARTED CRYING OVER THE FACT THAT BREAD WAS NOT IN MY FUTURE EATING… CRYING… PEOPLE!!! Is food worth crying over? Nope… Did I cry over it? Yep! Was it dumb? Yep Am I over it? Yep… Was it irrational? Yep. BUT it was real. Before I started eating right, I never cried over something as small as food. I never even THOUGHT about bread… and truth be told, I didn’t eat a whole heck of a lot of it… BUT THE THOUGHT OF IT BEING GONE… was too much apparently for that moment in time. When I started this plan, BREAD was on my mind 24/7 for a few days. It was ridiculous!
I am here to tell you… that piece of pie, that sandwich loaded with mayo and bad white bread, that drive thru burger and fries… DOES NOT TASTE AS GOOD AS LOSING WEIGHT FEELS!
When you think you just can’t resist that piece of chocolate cake… that bowl of morning sugar cereal, that Latte loaded with caramel from the coffee shop… stop and think about how you will feel AFTER you eat/drink it. Will there be guilt? Resentment? Anger? Disgust? Will you go to the mirror and tell yourself what a bad person you are? YOU HAD BETTER NOT! You are too precious, too incredibly made, too special to feel those feelings… HOWEVER… if, after you eat the bad food item, you won’t feel as good about yourself… then TRY YOUR HARDEST to remember that you are doing this FOR yourself… not TO yourself… AND if you must give in to your craving… EAT THE TINIEST amount possible to curb the beast… then THROW IT OUT!
Cravings, “reasons to celebrate with food”, “just one cookie”, “just one martini”, feelings will come and go…
The trick is to be present in that moment… feel it… recognize it. Don’t berate yourself if you give in… MOVE ON.. and jump right back on the proverbial horse, AT THE VERY NEXT MEAL… NOT THE VERY NEXT DAY… Start doing well again… AT THE NEXT MEAL!!!
Let me know if you’ve experienced this before, and leave a comment or two..
I have a secret to tell you… You’re not gonna like it… Ready? Okay… here goes… ALL THAT STUFF HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE, YOU JUST DIDN’T NOTICE IT UNTIL YOU DECIDED TO EAT RIGHT!… See? I told ya you wouldn’t like it. Think about it… its true right? The same guy brings in the same bagels and cream cheese every week, or on Tuesdays, the Donut Lady brings in the 2 dozen donuts…etc… THE DIFFERENCE? You (we) know we can’t continue to eat those things and be healthy, so we decide to stop… AND THEN ALL WE WANT IS THE BAD STUFF!
For the ladies… remember when you first got pregant? Didn’t it seem like everywhere you looked after that… all you saw was pregnant women?
Listen. I’m a bread baker/caterer. Making stuff that I can’t shouldn’t eat IS MY JOB! It’s all around me.. every single day. Have I ever been tempted? YEP… as a matter of fact…when I first started Let’s Do Lunch, about a week into the plan… I STARTED CRYING OVER THE FACT THAT BREAD WAS NOT IN MY FUTURE EATING… CRYING… PEOPLE!!! Is food worth crying over? Nope… Did I cry over it? Yep! Was it dumb? Yep Am I over it? Yep… Was it irrational? Yep. BUT it was real. Before I started eating right, I never cried over something as small as food. I never even THOUGHT about bread… and truth be told, I didn’t eat a whole heck of a lot of it… BUT THE THOUGHT OF IT BEING GONE… was too much apparently for that moment in time. When I started this plan, BREAD was on my mind 24/7 for a few days. It was ridiculous!
I am here to tell you… that piece of pie, that sandwich loaded with mayo and bad white bread, that drive thru burger and fries… DOES NOT TASTE AS GOOD AS LOSING WEIGHT FEELS!
When you think you just can’t resist that piece of chocolate cake… that bowl of morning sugar cereal, that Latte loaded with caramel from the coffee shop… stop and think about how you will feel AFTER you eat/drink it. Will there be guilt? Resentment? Anger? Disgust? Will you go to the mirror and tell yourself what a bad person you are? YOU HAD BETTER NOT! You are too precious, too incredibly made, too special to feel those feelings… HOWEVER… if, after you eat the bad food item, you won’t feel as good about yourself… then TRY YOUR HARDEST to remember that you are doing this FOR yourself… not TO yourself… AND if you must give in to your craving… EAT THE TINIEST amount possible to curb the beast… then THROW IT OUT!
Cravings, “reasons to celebrate with food”, “just one cookie”, “just one martini”, feelings will come and go…
The trick is to be present in that moment… feel it… recognize it. Don’t berate yourself if you give in… MOVE ON.. and jump right back on the proverbial horse, AT THE VERY NEXT MEAL… NOT THE VERY NEXT DAY… Start doing well again… AT THE NEXT MEAL!!!
Let me know if you’ve experienced this before, and leave a comment or two..
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Chefs in lab coats with safety goggles....
The first thing people say when I tell them I am on a healthier eating path (because they’ve either noticed I’ve lost weight, or they notice I’m munching on salad or fruit at football games instead of nachos and hot dogs) is say… “Oh… man… in your line of work, I bet that’s really hard… all that bread you bake and all those cookies you cater.. all those weddings and showers you cook for… it must be really hard…”
PRIOR to this eating plan… when I was on OTHER diets… yes… that statement would have deflated me. It would have reminded me that I wasn’t eating the things I loved… that I wasn’t living my life OUT LOUD… that I was being deprived of something… BUT NOW? Now…after admitting my addiction to bad food, after eating in such a way that REVERSED all my ailments that I THOUGHT I had to live with the rest of my life… after eating EVERYTHING I LOVE, in abundance day after day… after SEEING and FEELING the results of a plant based, meat sometimes, eating plan, don’t worry about portions, eating plan… all I have to say to those naysayers is…
‘NOPE…I’m worth the time it takes to cook for myself and my family… I’m worth health and vitality… I’m worth eating the purest, most nutritious food available… It’s not hard at all… because I love myself enough to change my outer appearance to match my inward spirit and zest for life…”
Okay… maybe I don’t say ALL of that… but something like that, that gets my point across without alienating the well meaning person… and letting them know… that under no circumstances am I deprived because I choose to eat a huge bowl of fruit at a game instead of plastic, chemically engineered, food-like substances… then I smile.
I don’t really know how to express my discontent with our current food system… now that my eyes have been opened… now that I feel the enormous guilt about what I have chosen to put into my body, and worse, the bodies of my children and husband, my heart and mind are bursting with the need to share why CHOOSING to eat processed, packaged, boxed food-like substances will shorten lives. I shudder at the thought of what I have put into my childrens stomachs that MAY have adversely affected their health in one way or another.
Food coloring, MSG (which is akin to Satan, in my book), saccarhin and aspartame (Satan), soda, partially hydrogenated oils (Satan again) HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (Satan comes in many forms),modified food starch, “natural flavor”, cellulose gum, yellow 6, red dye #5, blue lake, guar gum, carageenan… THESE THINGS DO NOT SOUND LIKE FOOD! They sound like a science experiment and WE are the mice…
I’ll venture to bet… that those scientists in those “food” labs… DON’T EAT THE CRAP THEY MAKE… I’ll venture to guess… that they are probably WHOLE FOOD EATERS… because they KNOW what they are doing to our “food” supply AND WOULDN’T FEED IT TO THEIR DOGS! {{Did you know that DOG FOOD, has less preservatives and almost NO altered ingredients in it? DOG FOOD IS BETTER THAN HUMAN FOOD!}}}
When people condemn me for not eating bread… because it is such a staple food, and there are healthy versions of it… I chalk it up to their own fear of thinking they may have to give it up too. NOT SO… I always tell them that I DON’T EAT BREAD as a personal choice because my body does better without it…but my family does, and they eat only the bread I make myself whenever possible. Same goes for rice… I feed my family organic brown rice at lots of meals… because it’s GOOD for them. Many times, when someone puts down a way of eating, or tries to make excuses for eating the processed foods, it’s because they are afraid they may be doing harm to themselves… and they know it.. but it would require a lifestyle change, that they may not be ready for. THAT’S OKAY… I’m not here to shove anything down anyone’s throats… I don’t make anyone read this… it’s a choice…
I just know… that we have epidemics of childhood obesity, childhood diabetes, adult onset diabetes, autism on a huge spectrum, heart diseases, more cancer, more pills, more antibiotic resistant diseases, more obesity, more everything… AND I BELIEVE OUR ALTERED FOOD IS TO BLAME FOR ALL OF IT…
Yeah… I said it. Chemical companies are now the purveyors of our “FOOD”… I won’t have it. I won’t allow it in my home anymore. I’m done with other people, in labcoats, deciding when I will die, and of what disease… because of the food choices I’ve made… from the food provided in such abundance.
IT MAKES NO SENSE.. that one can buy a six pack of soda for $1.69, and bottle of juice costs $5. Why are cheeseburgers from a drive thru for a family of 4, $4, and a bag of fruit $10?
Why? Everyone needs to ask the question… and make themselves heard… Vote at the grocery store for real food.
A bag of grapes at the grocery store may cost $10, but the prescriptions and hospital bills acquired from eating CHEMICALLY MODIFIED, ENGINEERED food, COST’S A HECK OF A LOT MORE!
So when I get the “But fruit is so expensive…” arguement… I just say… “it may be expensive, but a long, healthy life is the trade off I’m willing to make”, it kinda shuts them up…
I haven’t had a cold… in almost 10 months… Before eating healthily, I got one every six weeks in the winter. Something is working. I want it to work for everyone!
PRIOR to this eating plan… when I was on OTHER diets… yes… that statement would have deflated me. It would have reminded me that I wasn’t eating the things I loved… that I wasn’t living my life OUT LOUD… that I was being deprived of something… BUT NOW? Now…after admitting my addiction to bad food, after eating in such a way that REVERSED all my ailments that I THOUGHT I had to live with the rest of my life… after eating EVERYTHING I LOVE, in abundance day after day… after SEEING and FEELING the results of a plant based, meat sometimes, eating plan, don’t worry about portions, eating plan… all I have to say to those naysayers is…
‘NOPE…I’m worth the time it takes to cook for myself and my family… I’m worth health and vitality… I’m worth eating the purest, most nutritious food available… It’s not hard at all… because I love myself enough to change my outer appearance to match my inward spirit and zest for life…”
Okay… maybe I don’t say ALL of that… but something like that, that gets my point across without alienating the well meaning person… and letting them know… that under no circumstances am I deprived because I choose to eat a huge bowl of fruit at a game instead of plastic, chemically engineered, food-like substances… then I smile.
I don’t really know how to express my discontent with our current food system… now that my eyes have been opened… now that I feel the enormous guilt about what I have chosen to put into my body, and worse, the bodies of my children and husband, my heart and mind are bursting with the need to share why CHOOSING to eat processed, packaged, boxed food-like substances will shorten lives. I shudder at the thought of what I have put into my childrens stomachs that MAY have adversely affected their health in one way or another.
Food coloring, MSG (which is akin to Satan, in my book), saccarhin and aspartame (Satan), soda, partially hydrogenated oils (Satan again) HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (Satan comes in many forms),modified food starch, “natural flavor”, cellulose gum, yellow 6, red dye #5, blue lake, guar gum, carageenan… THESE THINGS DO NOT SOUND LIKE FOOD! They sound like a science experiment and WE are the mice…
I’ll venture to bet… that those scientists in those “food” labs… DON’T EAT THE CRAP THEY MAKE… I’ll venture to guess… that they are probably WHOLE FOOD EATERS… because they KNOW what they are doing to our “food” supply AND WOULDN’T FEED IT TO THEIR DOGS! {{Did you know that DOG FOOD, has less preservatives and almost NO altered ingredients in it? DOG FOOD IS BETTER THAN HUMAN FOOD!}}}
When people condemn me for not eating bread… because it is such a staple food, and there are healthy versions of it… I chalk it up to their own fear of thinking they may have to give it up too. NOT SO… I always tell them that I DON’T EAT BREAD as a personal choice because my body does better without it…but my family does, and they eat only the bread I make myself whenever possible. Same goes for rice… I feed my family organic brown rice at lots of meals… because it’s GOOD for them. Many times, when someone puts down a way of eating, or tries to make excuses for eating the processed foods, it’s because they are afraid they may be doing harm to themselves… and they know it.. but it would require a lifestyle change, that they may not be ready for. THAT’S OKAY… I’m not here to shove anything down anyone’s throats… I don’t make anyone read this… it’s a choice…
I just know… that we have epidemics of childhood obesity, childhood diabetes, adult onset diabetes, autism on a huge spectrum, heart diseases, more cancer, more pills, more antibiotic resistant diseases, more obesity, more everything… AND I BELIEVE OUR ALTERED FOOD IS TO BLAME FOR ALL OF IT…
Yeah… I said it. Chemical companies are now the purveyors of our “FOOD”… I won’t have it. I won’t allow it in my home anymore. I’m done with other people, in labcoats, deciding when I will die, and of what disease… because of the food choices I’ve made… from the food provided in such abundance.
IT MAKES NO SENSE.. that one can buy a six pack of soda for $1.69, and bottle of juice costs $5. Why are cheeseburgers from a drive thru for a family of 4, $4, and a bag of fruit $10?
Why? Everyone needs to ask the question… and make themselves heard… Vote at the grocery store for real food.
A bag of grapes at the grocery store may cost $10, but the prescriptions and hospital bills acquired from eating CHEMICALLY MODIFIED, ENGINEERED food, COST’S A HECK OF A LOT MORE!
So when I get the “But fruit is so expensive…” arguement… I just say… “it may be expensive, but a long, healthy life is the trade off I’m willing to make”, it kinda shuts them up…
I haven’t had a cold… in almost 10 months… Before eating healthily, I got one every six weeks in the winter. Something is working. I want it to work for everyone!
Friday, January 22, 2010
I'm pro CHOICE and PROUD!!!
Ha ha ha!!! Gotcha! I will not divulge my political/personal beliefs on a food blog… ever…but that title was provacative…no?
HERE’S what I am PRO-CHOICE about… FOOD. We all have choices to make… every day of our lives. We choose which gas to fill our tanks with, we choose our mates, we choose what religion we are going to raise our kids, we choose brands of toothpaste… EVERYTHING in life is a choice, big choices and small choices. Some would say that life matters are BIG choices, and what to eat for dinner would be a small choice… but I beg to differ. (bet ya kinda thought I would… huh?)
Next time you go to the grocery store… do this for me… heck, do this for you… make a conscious effort to look at the produce dept. as a pharmacy.
Yes, you read that correctly… A PHARMACY.
Look at the lettuces, radishes, cucumbers, and carrots as the Metamucil or Laxative aisle.
See those oranges, lemons, cantaloupes, broccoli and cauliflower? Those are your new Antibiotics and Anti-inflamatory section.
Go to the bean, legume, apple and pineapple aisle, that will be your new diet pills that keep hunger at bay for a longer period of time.
We have choices. Lots and lots of choices.
Everyday, I see and hear commercials on TV or the radio for ailment after ailment and the pills that will cure it or help it… 20 years ago… WE NEVER heard so many drug commercials… it’s ridiculous! They want us to believe that there is a pill FOR EVERYTHING… when we have the capability to heal ourselves in our refrigerators! I’m not talking about big things like MS, Cancer and such… however, I do believe that making good choices severely lessens our likelihood of getting those diseases… but that’s another blog post.
I’m talking about, Acid reflux, incontinence, ED, allergies, morbid obesity… and a host of other things that MAY be helped with a better diet. My grandparents WOULD BE MORTIFIED to hear all that stuff on male enhancement and people peeing their pants… just so easily talked about on air…
Has anyone stopped to think that WHAT IS IN OUR FOOD IS … QUITE LITERALLY… KILLING US? Slow… painful deaths. I wish I had opened my own eyes sooner… so that I could have helped my children earlier in their lives… it’s been hard to break habits that have been cultivated for years. All these diseases… everywhere… have been multiplying in epic proportions… and THE USA is the worst culprit for it. OUR WAY OF LIFE is killing people in other parts of the world too, with the introduction of our FAST FOOD restaurants all over the globe…particularly one establishment with golden arches.
WE HAVE CHOICES…we can choose to make our own food, or we can choose to allow these places to flourish and dole out their poison.
I have a friend that doesn’t eat fast food… ever. She is a self proclaimed “food snob” and I use to think she thought she was so smart and uppity.. and you know what? SHE IS 50 AND A SIZE 4 and as healthy as Jack La Lane! She has NEVER had a weight problem, she and her husband make all their own food, for themselves and their own 3 kids, always have, and she doesn’t take any medications… and her mother lived to be 97 years old. I asked her how she does it… and her answer was simple.. “I NEVER EAT JUNK”. “If it has orange dust on it, or comes in a bag, or in a box, and not in it’s own wrapper, I never eat it.” They eat meat… on occasion. They drink wine… daily. They eat cookies and pies and cakes… THAT THEY MAKE FROM SCRATCH… and in moderation. She reads her labels, prays daily, and has been blessed with a wonderful life…because of the choices she has made in every aspect of her life… food in particular… she LOVES food… I remember being in Dallas with her on a business trip, and we were eating at a lovely restaurant, and her steak came, and as she dug in, she exclaimed, loudly… “I love GOOD food!” I love it too, but to hear a 110 lb woman say it… was comical, and thought provoking.
Her love of food was just another aspect of her life… not her total reason to live. When she was in the moment, she enjoyed herself… and indulged… within reason. A lesson for all of us. I, too, will be 50 and fabulous in 8 years, because of the choices I am making now… Won’t you join me on this quest?
Not eating fast food or processed food for the past 7 months has been the single best thing I have done for myself.. bar none. I want everyone who reads this to feel this way too.
Now… get in your car, and go visit your local pharmacy and pick up your vitamins, antibiotics, anti inflammatories, and go whip yourself up a delicious stir fry with them!
I know I jump around a lot when I write… thank you for bearing with me
HERE’S what I am PRO-CHOICE about… FOOD. We all have choices to make… every day of our lives. We choose which gas to fill our tanks with, we choose our mates, we choose what religion we are going to raise our kids, we choose brands of toothpaste… EVERYTHING in life is a choice, big choices and small choices. Some would say that life matters are BIG choices, and what to eat for dinner would be a small choice… but I beg to differ. (bet ya kinda thought I would… huh?)
Next time you go to the grocery store… do this for me… heck, do this for you… make a conscious effort to look at the produce dept. as a pharmacy.
Yes, you read that correctly… A PHARMACY.
Look at the lettuces, radishes, cucumbers, and carrots as the Metamucil or Laxative aisle.
See those oranges, lemons, cantaloupes, broccoli and cauliflower? Those are your new Antibiotics and Anti-inflamatory section.
Go to the bean, legume, apple and pineapple aisle, that will be your new diet pills that keep hunger at bay for a longer period of time.
We have choices. Lots and lots of choices.
Everyday, I see and hear commercials on TV or the radio for ailment after ailment and the pills that will cure it or help it… 20 years ago… WE NEVER heard so many drug commercials… it’s ridiculous! They want us to believe that there is a pill FOR EVERYTHING… when we have the capability to heal ourselves in our refrigerators! I’m not talking about big things like MS, Cancer and such… however, I do believe that making good choices severely lessens our likelihood of getting those diseases… but that’s another blog post.
I’m talking about, Acid reflux, incontinence, ED, allergies, morbid obesity… and a host of other things that MAY be helped with a better diet. My grandparents WOULD BE MORTIFIED to hear all that stuff on male enhancement and people peeing their pants… just so easily talked about on air…
Has anyone stopped to think that WHAT IS IN OUR FOOD IS … QUITE LITERALLY… KILLING US? Slow… painful deaths. I wish I had opened my own eyes sooner… so that I could have helped my children earlier in their lives… it’s been hard to break habits that have been cultivated for years. All these diseases… everywhere… have been multiplying in epic proportions… and THE USA is the worst culprit for it. OUR WAY OF LIFE is killing people in other parts of the world too, with the introduction of our FAST FOOD restaurants all over the globe…particularly one establishment with golden arches.
WE HAVE CHOICES…we can choose to make our own food, or we can choose to allow these places to flourish and dole out their poison.
I have a friend that doesn’t eat fast food… ever. She is a self proclaimed “food snob” and I use to think she thought she was so smart and uppity.. and you know what? SHE IS 50 AND A SIZE 4 and as healthy as Jack La Lane! She has NEVER had a weight problem, she and her husband make all their own food, for themselves and their own 3 kids, always have, and she doesn’t take any medications… and her mother lived to be 97 years old. I asked her how she does it… and her answer was simple.. “I NEVER EAT JUNK”. “If it has orange dust on it, or comes in a bag, or in a box, and not in it’s own wrapper, I never eat it.” They eat meat… on occasion. They drink wine… daily. They eat cookies and pies and cakes… THAT THEY MAKE FROM SCRATCH… and in moderation. She reads her labels, prays daily, and has been blessed with a wonderful life…because of the choices she has made in every aspect of her life… food in particular… she LOVES food… I remember being in Dallas with her on a business trip, and we were eating at a lovely restaurant, and her steak came, and as she dug in, she exclaimed, loudly… “I love GOOD food!” I love it too, but to hear a 110 lb woman say it… was comical, and thought provoking.
Her love of food was just another aspect of her life… not her total reason to live. When she was in the moment, she enjoyed herself… and indulged… within reason. A lesson for all of us. I, too, will be 50 and fabulous in 8 years, because of the choices I am making now… Won’t you join me on this quest?
Not eating fast food or processed food for the past 7 months has been the single best thing I have done for myself.. bar none. I want everyone who reads this to feel this way too.
Now… get in your car, and go visit your local pharmacy and pick up your vitamins, antibiotics, anti inflammatories, and go whip yourself up a delicious stir fry with them!
I know I jump around a lot when I write… thank you for bearing with me
Shopping Tips #1
If shopping were an Olympic event, I would be the Gold Medalist…for all other shopping EXCEPT grocery shopping…it is a necessary evil I do not enjoy. However, just because I don’t enjoy something, doesn’t mean I can’t be good at it, and teach others to make it palatable.
You’ve heard all before, go with a list and a budget, never go shopping hungry, bring cash and spend only that… etc… So yeah, do all that… it’s good advice… but I go just a little bit farther… Take from my list what you love, and leave what you don’t… if I can help make your experience a little easier, then writing this post was well worth it.
Make a master list of all the food you eat and like. EVERYTHING… right down to salt, toilet paper, cleaning supplies etc… when that list is done, separate which store you purchase items in… for example…
I shop for Toilet paper, lettuce, eggs, cukes, all fruit, frozen veggies and fruit, coffee, flour, sugar, spices, meats, etc… at Costco.
I shop for Salsa, yogurt, green onions, catering supplies, nutella, cabbage etc… at Smart N Final
I shop for celery, all organic produce, pasta, dried fruit, cream cheese, organic milk, flax seed meal, oat bran meal etc… at Trader Joes. and for quick shops, I go to Stater Bros. Do I go to all these places every week? Nope. But I like shopping at different stores for different things because of the prices, sales, and they are all in close proximity to my kids schools… so since I’m out there anyway…might as well shop at them. I know, I know… for someone who hates food shopping, I sure do make it an event… well, yes… but my JOB is providing the best I can for my family and myself, and to save a few bucks in the process so we can enjoy other aspects of our lives…
Use your receipt as your shopping list for the next shop. I love doing this. Receipts now have the description of what you bought, not just the price like in the old days…{remember the voting… they use this list for their own records too} so I just keep my receipts on my glove compartment, and take them out when I shop, so I know what I need to replace…
Stock up on great deals and freeze. I know this one is a no- brainer, but did you know you can buy cherries in season and FREEZE THEM… they are sooo delicious as a dinner in the summer when they are at their peak. I buy BUCKETS of them, freeze them on a shallow cookie pan and HIDE THEM from my family and take a bowl a night… kinda like grapes.. only waaaaay sweeter… Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew melons are awesome frozen too, just seed them and cut them up into small chunks and put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze, them put them into plastic bags… Lots of other fruits can be frozen too, and are way less expensive to do yourself, than buying that small bag for 5 bucks. I do the same with bulk meats and produce… saves a ton of money.
I certainly hope this helped you. If you have other ideas, please leave a comment and let me know!!!
You’ve heard all before, go with a list and a budget, never go shopping hungry, bring cash and spend only that… etc… So yeah, do all that… it’s good advice… but I go just a little bit farther… Take from my list what you love, and leave what you don’t… if I can help make your experience a little easier, then writing this post was well worth it.
Make a master list of all the food you eat and like. EVERYTHING… right down to salt, toilet paper, cleaning supplies etc… when that list is done, separate which store you purchase items in… for example…
I shop for Toilet paper, lettuce, eggs, cukes, all fruit, frozen veggies and fruit, coffee, flour, sugar, spices, meats, etc… at Costco.
I shop for Salsa, yogurt, green onions, catering supplies, nutella, cabbage etc… at Smart N Final
I shop for celery, all organic produce, pasta, dried fruit, cream cheese, organic milk, flax seed meal, oat bran meal etc… at Trader Joes. and for quick shops, I go to Stater Bros. Do I go to all these places every week? Nope. But I like shopping at different stores for different things because of the prices, sales, and they are all in close proximity to my kids schools… so since I’m out there anyway…might as well shop at them. I know, I know… for someone who hates food shopping, I sure do make it an event… well, yes… but my JOB is providing the best I can for my family and myself, and to save a few bucks in the process so we can enjoy other aspects of our lives…
Use your receipt as your shopping list for the next shop. I love doing this. Receipts now have the description of what you bought, not just the price like in the old days…{remember the voting… they use this list for their own records too} so I just keep my receipts on my glove compartment, and take them out when I shop, so I know what I need to replace…
Stock up on great deals and freeze. I know this one is a no- brainer, but did you know you can buy cherries in season and FREEZE THEM… they are sooo delicious as a dinner in the summer when they are at their peak. I buy BUCKETS of them, freeze them on a shallow cookie pan and HIDE THEM from my family and take a bowl a night… kinda like grapes.. only waaaaay sweeter… Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew melons are awesome frozen too, just seed them and cut them up into small chunks and put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and freeze, them put them into plastic bags… Lots of other fruits can be frozen too, and are way less expensive to do yourself, than buying that small bag for 5 bucks. I do the same with bulk meats and produce… saves a ton of money.
I certainly hope this helped you. If you have other ideas, please leave a comment and let me know!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The side effect of losing weight
Yes, I’m getting smaller. My winter coat from last year, that didn’t quite get all the way around me, overlaps halfway around me now… my wedding rings fall off me with just a shake of my left hand… and I am thrilled…
When I started LDL in July 2009, I noticed SIGNIFICANT bodily changes very quickly, within days of starting. Summer was always a killer time for me… being overweight in the summer is not pleasant. My feet, hands and ankles swelled to enormous sizes. I got cranky, I was always thirsty, and craved salt, and when I ate anything with a speck of salt, my body swelled with up to 10 lbs of extra water weight. I always said it feels like walking on hard jello all the time… my shoes never fit, my rings never went on in the summer.
Last summer was different. JUST THREE DAYS of LDL’s eating plan, and my cankles were ankles, my wedding rings fit, and I was starting to notice my feet weren’t swollen, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS OVER 105 DEGREES OUTSIDE! Why? Why was this happening? I was thrilled, but was curious too. It was the fruit. I was eating my weight in watermelon for dinner every night, and the next morning, I eliminated all of it, and ate more fruit in the morning. MY BODY was thanking me, and rewarding me for not eating salty, fatty foods.
I felt so good, I purged my entire pantry, that weekend, of anything processed. Boxes of crackers, bags of tortilla chips, pretzels, cake boxes, canned soups, dry soup mixes, virtually everything that had preservatives and unpronouncable ingredients in the lists… I drink only coffee, tea, and water now… EVERY single packet of Equal, Truvia, Splenda, etc… has been thrown out, it’s chemical garbage in my book, and I haven’t looked back.
Just a month after starting, my blood pressure was down 20 points, I had lost almost 20 lbs, my shoes were slipping off my feet, I was sleeping better, I had tons of energy, I wasn’t tired except at night, my hypoglycemia symptoms were gone, my hair grew faster and my skin looked healthier. It was a miracle. I spent one full day kicking myself for not doing something like this years sooner. It was SO SIMPLE! Fruit for breakfast, huge protein lunch and loads of veggies, fruit for dinner… I COULD DO THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE… no problem!!!
My ankles haven’t been swollen since July 2009. I’ve been famished exactly one time on this plan, and that’s because I forgot to eat breakfast, otherwise, I never get ravenous anymore.
I used to dread going to the doctor, and now… I CAN’T WAIT! I know my numbers are all in the healthy range, and I just need to keep losing weight. He used to tell me my only option was to have surgery, now, he loves this plan I’m on, and says it is very sensible. My Mom had {weight loss surgery}, and my little brother recently had it done 6 months ago… It’s just was never an option for myself. Ever. Nothing about it interested me. My Mom will tell people it was the best thing she ever did, but she won’t tell people all the complications she’s had from it, and how horrendous the first 6 months was for her. I am happy she is happy, but it’s not for me… ever. That surgery changes the size of the stomach, but it doesn’t really change the mind.
This plan, changes everything, mind, body and soul. I’ve made modifications for myself and my family. {NO processed foods of ANY kind, and my hubby and kids eat bread once a day, not me, I eat no bread, dairy or rice at all, ever} My Mom is now on plan, as is my MIL, SIL, Aunts, friends and neighbors. There have been positive changes for everyone…
What a blessing… to find a way of eating that meets the needs of so many…
Choosing our words carefully
I had a friend, that the second she found out she was diabetic, every conversation became a dissertation of what each of her meals contained, what she can’t eat, what spikes her blood sugar… everything became about Dale and her new condition. It was exhausting. It was boring. It got to the point that when we would go to lunch, and the server would ask her if she wanted a potato, side of pasta or bread, she would say, very loudly… “OH NO!!! I CAN’T HAVE THAT…I’M A DIABETIC!” It was awful… that poor server couldn’t have known that, and Dale made it seem like the poor girl was trying to kill her.
I had to have a “come to Jesus” with Dale one day… She had to know that her words were not helping her condition. I told her that just because she was a diabetic, she had full control over what went into her mouth, and each bite was a conscious choice. If she was going to live her best life, she needed to change how she saw herself, and how she ate. She needed to verbally, and quietly, announce that A. she was CHOOSING not to have foods that will spike her blood sugar, B. other people are just doing their jobs and offering her choices, and not trying to kill her, and C. she needed to banish the word “can’t” from her culinary vocabulary. She was an adult, and no one was forcing her to adhere to her new eating plan.
She saw the light… and miraculously, the “Diabetic Dialogue” stopped. She ate happily, kept her blood sugar under control, and apparently her husband had the same talk with her.
I was reminscing about her today… and I realized, that ANY change in lifestyle prompts that type of behaviour. I was guilty of it too.
In December, after a catering job delivery in San Diego, my family and I all went out to dinner. When the server was taking our orders, she asked me if I wanted potato, rice or whatever, and I answered, politely, but answered nonetheless “Oh… uh… no, I can’t have that stuff”. Do you think she cared AT ALL that I “can’t” have potato, rice or bread? No, she doesn’t… it didn’t need to be said… AND…it stunted me. Saying “I can’t” stunted my thinking and growth in my new way of eating. I was stifling myself. I announced, right after she left the table, to my Mom, kids and Hubby, that I was going to stop saying “I can’t”, and internally start saying “I choose” or ‘It would be better for me if I didn’t”. “I can’t” makes me seem like I am disobeying a direct order from the DietGod, and I’m doing something bad.
When we make a major lifestyle change, it may be difficult in the beginning to change our minds before we change our actual actions… but it’s worth it in the long run to remember to change our thinking early on.
Being positive in our self talk can make a world of difference in how we view the lifestyle change. What we say, how we say it, when we say it, can mean the difference between the lifestyle change lasting an actual lifetime, or just a little while.
Here are some words to change by:
1.Instead of “I can’t” …………..say… ‘I won’t”
2.Instead of “Ugh, I cheated, I’m a bad person”…….. say “I really need to eat better at my very next meal to get back on plan”
3.Instead of “I wish I was a size 6″ ….. say… “I can’t wait until I can slither into a size 6, or 10 or 12 or even 14!”
4.Instead of “Chocolate cake tastes sooo yummy… I wish I can have some…one slice won’t kill me”… say……”On my one year anniversary of my new lifestyle change, I am going to reward myself with a new wardrobe, so that chocolate cake can suck it!”
5.Instead of “I’m not allowed”…….say……”I choose not to”
This can be applied to virtually any aspect of life… except “the chocolate cake can suck it” that one is definitely for a diet plan…LOL.
So… the next time someone offers us something we know we shouldn’t have… we can just smile and say “No, thank you”… and know we are taking care of ourselves.
I had to have a “come to Jesus” with Dale one day… She had to know that her words were not helping her condition. I told her that just because she was a diabetic, she had full control over what went into her mouth, and each bite was a conscious choice. If she was going to live her best life, she needed to change how she saw herself, and how she ate. She needed to verbally, and quietly, announce that A. she was CHOOSING not to have foods that will spike her blood sugar, B. other people are just doing their jobs and offering her choices, and not trying to kill her, and C. she needed to banish the word “can’t” from her culinary vocabulary. She was an adult, and no one was forcing her to adhere to her new eating plan.
She saw the light… and miraculously, the “Diabetic Dialogue” stopped. She ate happily, kept her blood sugar under control, and apparently her husband had the same talk with her.
I was reminscing about her today… and I realized, that ANY change in lifestyle prompts that type of behaviour. I was guilty of it too.
In December, after a catering job delivery in San Diego, my family and I all went out to dinner. When the server was taking our orders, she asked me if I wanted potato, rice or whatever, and I answered, politely, but answered nonetheless “Oh… uh… no, I can’t have that stuff”. Do you think she cared AT ALL that I “can’t” have potato, rice or bread? No, she doesn’t… it didn’t need to be said… AND…it stunted me. Saying “I can’t” stunted my thinking and growth in my new way of eating. I was stifling myself. I announced, right after she left the table, to my Mom, kids and Hubby, that I was going to stop saying “I can’t”, and internally start saying “I choose” or ‘It would be better for me if I didn’t”. “I can’t” makes me seem like I am disobeying a direct order from the DietGod, and I’m doing something bad.
When we make a major lifestyle change, it may be difficult in the beginning to change our minds before we change our actual actions… but it’s worth it in the long run to remember to change our thinking early on.
Being positive in our self talk can make a world of difference in how we view the lifestyle change. What we say, how we say it, when we say it, can mean the difference between the lifestyle change lasting an actual lifetime, or just a little while.
Here are some words to change by:
1.Instead of “I can’t” …………..say… ‘I won’t”
2.Instead of “Ugh, I cheated, I’m a bad person”…….. say “I really need to eat better at my very next meal to get back on plan”
3.Instead of “I wish I was a size 6″ ….. say… “I can’t wait until I can slither into a size 6, or 10 or 12 or even 14!”
4.Instead of “Chocolate cake tastes sooo yummy… I wish I can have some…one slice won’t kill me”… say……”On my one year anniversary of my new lifestyle change, I am going to reward myself with a new wardrobe, so that chocolate cake can suck it!”
5.Instead of “I’m not allowed”…….say……”I choose not to”
This can be applied to virtually any aspect of life… except “the chocolate cake can suck it” that one is definitely for a diet plan…LOL.
So… the next time someone offers us something we know we shouldn’t have… we can just smile and say “No, thank you”… and know we are taking care of ourselves.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Eating out doesn't have to be difficult.
I get asked all the time, “Sandra, what is your most favorite meal?” My answer… all the time is… “Any meal I didn’t have to personally cook or clean up after, is my favorite meal.”
I love going out to dinner… at least I used to. My tune changed after attending my Food Handler’s Class, but that’s an entirely different story. From time to time, everyone ends up eating at a restaurant… fast food or otherwise.
I want to tell you here and now, you can make good choices at restaurants, if you want to. If you are of the mind that says ”Since I’m here, I’ll indulge now, and start back up on track tomorrow.” I’m here to say… “Why go off track, why can’t you enjoy a good meal out AND stay on plan?”
Here are some guidelines.
1.Instead of a potato (mashed, fried, baked or otherwise) ask the server to sub an extra helping of veggies, sans butter.
2.Having a salad? No problem. Ask to have the bacon, cheese and croutons removed and ask for more cukes, carrots and tomatoes instead.
3.Want soup? Stay away from cream based soups, and opt for the vegetable broth based soups or chicken noodle
4.Choose fish entree’s without batter, and stay away from anything with the words “Fried”, “Battered”, “Coated”, “Breaded” or”Smothered”.
5.Get your dressing on the side, and dip your fork into it, then into the lettuce.
6.Don’t be afraid to ask how a dish is prepared.
7.Tip well, always, but tip more when making substitutions and the server really comes through for you.
8.Drink water or iced tea with your meal, and drink an entire glass before the meal gets to the table.
9.When your meal arrives, immediately as the server to give you a “to go” container and put some into it before you start eating…(if the place has huge portions)
10.Don’t eat the bread… munch on some veggies instead, or better yet, have a piece of fruit or two before leaving the house, so you aren’t famished.
I went out to Chili’s today with my midde son. I had already eaten my protein for the day, three hours prior, so I opted for a “cobb” style salad, and asked for the bacon and bleu cheese to be taken off, with the dressing on the side. She was happy to oblige, I ate well, and enjoyed my sons company for an hour. These days, eating out isn’t about the food… its about the company I’m keeping… and it has made the entire experience so much more enjoyable!
I love going out to dinner… at least I used to. My tune changed after attending my Food Handler’s Class, but that’s an entirely different story. From time to time, everyone ends up eating at a restaurant… fast food or otherwise.
I want to tell you here and now, you can make good choices at restaurants, if you want to. If you are of the mind that says ”Since I’m here, I’ll indulge now, and start back up on track tomorrow.” I’m here to say… “Why go off track, why can’t you enjoy a good meal out AND stay on plan?”
Here are some guidelines.
1.Instead of a potato (mashed, fried, baked or otherwise) ask the server to sub an extra helping of veggies, sans butter.
2.Having a salad? No problem. Ask to have the bacon, cheese and croutons removed and ask for more cukes, carrots and tomatoes instead.
3.Want soup? Stay away from cream based soups, and opt for the vegetable broth based soups or chicken noodle
4.Choose fish entree’s without batter, and stay away from anything with the words “Fried”, “Battered”, “Coated”, “Breaded” or”Smothered”.
5.Get your dressing on the side, and dip your fork into it, then into the lettuce.
6.Don’t be afraid to ask how a dish is prepared.
7.Tip well, always, but tip more when making substitutions and the server really comes through for you.
8.Drink water or iced tea with your meal, and drink an entire glass before the meal gets to the table.
9.When your meal arrives, immediately as the server to give you a “to go” container and put some into it before you start eating…(if the place has huge portions)
10.Don’t eat the bread… munch on some veggies instead, or better yet, have a piece of fruit or two before leaving the house, so you aren’t famished.
I went out to Chili’s today with my midde son. I had already eaten my protein for the day, three hours prior, so I opted for a “cobb” style salad, and asked for the bacon and bleu cheese to be taken off, with the dressing on the side. She was happy to oblige, I ate well, and enjoyed my sons company for an hour. These days, eating out isn’t about the food… its about the company I’m keeping… and it has made the entire experience so much more enjoyable!
Processed Foods... they are truly KILLING us!
After watching Food Inc. I started to think. (Could you smell the smoke?) Corn is in EVERYTHING it seems. I was floored to see that even BATTERIES and CHARCOAL have corn in them…Really? Batteries???
I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt… that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are evil and should be destroyed… Sound like strong words? I’d post stronger ones if I didn’t sign this blog up to be “G” rated one. This country is making “food” that isn’t really food! There are scientists dedicating their lives to manufacturing things like texture, taste and looks of food, without any care about if the “food” they are making is toxic or not…as long as it feels and tastes the same as the original, we will buy it, because it’s on sale or just plain cheap! THIS HAS TO STOP!
I love those commercials and signs on the freeway that boast a beautiful Mom saying “This is my kitchen, and I say what my family eats.” If only that were TRUE! I am a Fat Mom, but my kids are no where near heavy or overweight. I have ALWAYS been the one deciding what foods they eat and what I will prepare… I didn’t nor do I care now if they love a certain junk food, I didn’t buy it. BUT being thin isn’t the only sign of health. The processed, boxed, prepackaged “convenience” foods are literally poisoning our kids. My sons weren’t allowed to eat hot dogs until they were 5 years old, and even then, it had to be Hebrew National. NOW? I have a coniption fit if I see a hotdog near their mouths. Those things are cancer in a tube. I have always known that whole foods are the way to go, but something stopped me all these years. Convenience. Well… I’m over it. I spend a great portion of my days now cooking and prepping food for my family. It’s my job. Their health is my responsibility…MY health is my responsibility. It’s my responsibility to get the word out about processed foods… READ THE LABELS… if you can’t pronounce easily EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT… DON’T BUY IT! If HFCS is anywhere near it…DON’T BUY IT! Stand up for yourselves and say NO to your kids… I don’t care how much they like the junk stuff in a box!!!
We wonder why soooo many kids are diabetic these days… convenience foods. Period. We wonder why little girls are having menstruation at 10… hormones in our meats and milk. We wonder why antibiotics aren’t working any longer… why we have so many flesh eating diseases… OUR FOOD IS TAINTED BY CHEMISTS, AND MONEY MONGERING CAPITALISTS.
I know I sound like a lunatic. I don’t care. We have to tell our food producers that we aren’t going to take it anymore. We are America! We should have the safest, most wholesome food in the world. We should feed ourselves the best and provide the best to countries that can’t feed themselves!
Instead of prescription medications… we should look at our organic produce department as our new pharmacy. We need to put Cancer Doctors OUT OF WORK by healing ourselves with good, pesticide free, non GMO food. Get rid of aspartame, saccarhin, artificial sweeteners in all forms. Europe banned the use of HFCS when it came on the market… they live a lot longer and healthier than we do. They don’t take nearly as many medications as Americans do. Their kids aren’t obese by 11.
I would rather my kids eat a cup of raw sugar than ingest any artifical sweeteners. It’s plain poison.
I am so thankful for the Let’s Do Lunch plan… it has opened my eyes to so many new and wonderful ways to nourish and feed my family and myself. I am truly an addict now.. to good, healthy food. Like I’ve said before… I just need for my outside appearance to catch up with my inward verve…
A lovely lady on the LDL plan wrote something her husband said, in a message to me… Linda, this one is for you… her husband said, “You either spend the money now on organic and good food, or you can spend money on a huge list of medical expenses at the doctors” or something to that affect… BUT IT MAKES SENSE!
Look into your children’s eyes. Aren’t they worth the very best in nutrition? Aren’t they worth long life? How sad that this generation is the first generation that is predicted to not live as long or longer than us. That breaks my heart… We HAVE to change those statistics… or we will outlive our children… that is the worst nightmare imaginable.
I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt… that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are evil and should be destroyed… Sound like strong words? I’d post stronger ones if I didn’t sign this blog up to be “G” rated one. This country is making “food” that isn’t really food! There are scientists dedicating their lives to manufacturing things like texture, taste and looks of food, without any care about if the “food” they are making is toxic or not…as long as it feels and tastes the same as the original, we will buy it, because it’s on sale or just plain cheap! THIS HAS TO STOP!
I love those commercials and signs on the freeway that boast a beautiful Mom saying “This is my kitchen, and I say what my family eats.” If only that were TRUE! I am a Fat Mom, but my kids are no where near heavy or overweight. I have ALWAYS been the one deciding what foods they eat and what I will prepare… I didn’t nor do I care now if they love a certain junk food, I didn’t buy it. BUT being thin isn’t the only sign of health. The processed, boxed, prepackaged “convenience” foods are literally poisoning our kids. My sons weren’t allowed to eat hot dogs until they were 5 years old, and even then, it had to be Hebrew National. NOW? I have a coniption fit if I see a hotdog near their mouths. Those things are cancer in a tube. I have always known that whole foods are the way to go, but something stopped me all these years. Convenience. Well… I’m over it. I spend a great portion of my days now cooking and prepping food for my family. It’s my job. Their health is my responsibility…MY health is my responsibility. It’s my responsibility to get the word out about processed foods… READ THE LABELS… if you can’t pronounce easily EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT… DON’T BUY IT! If HFCS is anywhere near it…DON’T BUY IT! Stand up for yourselves and say NO to your kids… I don’t care how much they like the junk stuff in a box!!!
We wonder why soooo many kids are diabetic these days… convenience foods. Period. We wonder why little girls are having menstruation at 10… hormones in our meats and milk. We wonder why antibiotics aren’t working any longer… why we have so many flesh eating diseases… OUR FOOD IS TAINTED BY CHEMISTS, AND MONEY MONGERING CAPITALISTS.
I know I sound like a lunatic. I don’t care. We have to tell our food producers that we aren’t going to take it anymore. We are America! We should have the safest, most wholesome food in the world. We should feed ourselves the best and provide the best to countries that can’t feed themselves!
Instead of prescription medications… we should look at our organic produce department as our new pharmacy. We need to put Cancer Doctors OUT OF WORK by healing ourselves with good, pesticide free, non GMO food. Get rid of aspartame, saccarhin, artificial sweeteners in all forms. Europe banned the use of HFCS when it came on the market… they live a lot longer and healthier than we do. They don’t take nearly as many medications as Americans do. Their kids aren’t obese by 11.
I would rather my kids eat a cup of raw sugar than ingest any artifical sweeteners. It’s plain poison.
I am so thankful for the Let’s Do Lunch plan… it has opened my eyes to so many new and wonderful ways to nourish and feed my family and myself. I am truly an addict now.. to good, healthy food. Like I’ve said before… I just need for my outside appearance to catch up with my inward verve…
A lovely lady on the LDL plan wrote something her husband said, in a message to me… Linda, this one is for you… her husband said, “You either spend the money now on organic and good food, or you can spend money on a huge list of medical expenses at the doctors” or something to that affect… BUT IT MAKES SENSE!
Look into your children’s eyes. Aren’t they worth the very best in nutrition? Aren’t they worth long life? How sad that this generation is the first generation that is predicted to not live as long or longer than us. That breaks my heart… We HAVE to change those statistics… or we will outlive our children… that is the worst nightmare imaginable.
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