Almost 11 years ago, after my oldest was born I was vastly
overweight, uncomfortable, unknowledgeable, and needing to change. I didn’t know very much, but through the help
of friends and the internet I started to learn what I needed to do, more than
go on a diet, was to change my diet.
Tater tots and steak sauce might be a tasty dinner but definitely *not*
the key to a healthy life. My husband
and I decided to start with small changes like switching from white flour
tortillas to wheat and taking away our precious potatoes and easy pasta. (Yes.
For several years, the potato was not welcome in my home. <gasp!>) We stopped buying our beautiful pre-made
calorie laden frozen chicken kiev’s, no more high-calorie juices, chips, and
white processed bread. We discovered *we
loved* fresh spinach, lean turkey, and refried black beans, among other foods. I lost my 40 pounds of baby weight as well as
that additional 20 that I <cough cough> might have needed to lose in the
first place. Little by little, over the
ensuing 2 years, we changed and we loved it.
Of course, now that I absolutely loved the new slim trim me, I did what
any sane mother of a toddler would do … I got pregnant again … On purpose. Here enters another 50 pounds of unwanted
weight; when a potato is the only thing that stays down- you eat it, and when
you want warm gooey chocolate chip cookies you’re husband knows he should go and
get them for you, even if you’ve had them every day that week. It was lucky for
me that I now knew what it was like to shed the pounds and feel so free. It took me about a year, but I managed to do
it again. (I’d like to take this time to
emphasize that I’ve experienced, roughly, 60-70 pounds of weight loss. I *know* it isn’t easy. I *know* what it’s like. I may vary within 10 pounds depending on my
health, but I’ve kept the bulk of it off!!)
I digress … Back to my story … After the original weight loss, I was
feeling footloose and fancy free! We
continued our slow education on processed food and what we might, perhaps, be
better off not eating. We had just
decided to start taking away “high fructose corn syrup” (among other things)
and were beginning to do things like add flax seed to our homemade pizza dough
and venture into the world of fish when we discovered that I had some major
food allergies.
I already knew that I couldn’t have shellfish (instant
anaphylactic reaction) or peanuts, but this … this was huge. Over the next couple of years, I discovered
that my world of can’t have’s included flax, fish, and nuts; the big one’s in
Omega 3 nutrition. Omega 3’s. I had been steadily adding *all* of those to
my diet! Y’know, those things that EVERY
person in the world of health and fitness that is worth their salt will tell
you that you *must* eat! What!? Wait!
There’s more! Flax, nuts, and
fish cause me distress but an additive known as vegetable gum is nearly as
scary as shellfish. Vegetable gum is a
real game changer and there isn’t much information out there about it. At first I read all my food labels like any
studious individual would. The Allergist
had told me to simply avoid fast food and sauces but I noticed I was still
coughing when I ate and very rarely seeing “vegetable gum” listed in
ingredient’s lists. I googled and
googled and googled and found nothing helpful.
Eventually, desperation and sheer determination finally led me to the
Wiki page that saved my well-being. I
wiki’d food additives and found a page listing common ones and a) what they
are and b) what is in them. It turns out
that vegetable gum is an ingredient *in* an ingredient; many, many ingredients;
41, to be exact. Vegetable gum is an
organic thickener and emulsifier. I
began to re-read those food labels and realized: It. Is.
In. Everything. We were lucky that we had changed our diets
so drastically over the years because that meant that there was no HUGE earth-shattering
food overhaul in our home. Of course
there were *some* revelations on certain items, but eliminating the hordes of
processed foods that we once ate and replacing them with more whole ingredients
had been such a stroke of genius that it bordered on massive cosmic
foresight. The more labels I read, the
more foods I avoided, the more I made from scratch, the better I felt. After I eliminated nuts, flax, fish, and
vegetable gum from my diet I realized that I felt great! I had no clue that I hadn’t been feeling well
before, but the difference was amazing.
Who knew that I only needed my inhaler when I ate something I was
allergic to!? Who knew that a person
could live without an upset stomach, heartburn, or indigestion!? Not me!
Needless to say this new discovery put a semi-permanent hold to our slow
and deliberate elimination of unnecessary foods because when so many foods are
taken out of the mix, you sometimes veer towards whatever the hec you can find
to replace them. Not to worry, though! An added bonus to my additive allergies is
that many of those “bad foods” are automatically eliminated.
The real problem was, is, and always will be: eating other people’s food and eating at
restaurants. I don’t like to be a pain,
a bother, or ask for/expect special consideration from people, so you can
imagine how fun I find it to hassle my server or party host. The other problem is that while I’ve come a
long way in my education of food, I have so very very far to go. The information out there, the quick tips,
how to’s, and try me’s are simply not as helpful as they should be. The average “top 25 things to eat for a
better you” is, typically, 50% useless for me.
I can’t eat most yogurts, can’t ease that ice cream craving by grabbing
a skinny cow treat, that salmon is not the best idea for me to ingest, and I can’t
eat most multi-grain breads. I *love*
my Eat Clean cookbook, by Tosca Reno, but at least half that book contains
items I’m allergic to. No, Tosca, I’m
sorry, but I cannot add flax to that.
Those gums might be great for most people to add to that recipe, but it
is, in fact, *not* healthy for me to eat them.
Shrimp? No thank you, I’d like to
live. Fish? Can’t trust that either. Nuts?
Nope, I’d have to be to eat them!
I have a family to take care of,
a house to keep clean, and a life outside of food, so I can’t be a gourmet all
natural 5-star chef, either. I need
easy, real, quick, delicious, healthy food with the occasional 5-star meal
thrown in. I do pretty well at it now,
but I think I can do better.
In addition to my crusade on healthier living through food,
I joined a gym 5 years ago. I only lost
about 5 pounds, but I shed nearly 2 pant sizes.
Now, I’m 35 years old and currently weigh what I did in high
school. A lot of people assume that
I’ve always been blessed with this, but I assure you I have the pictures to
prove I have not!! My health has taken
some hits and is *still* somewhat preventative of much of the working out that
I used to love but I’m trying to the best that I can. Most of my “super skinny clothes” don’t fit
right now and I’d sincerely like to turn that around. We’ll see if I can make that happen soon, but
I’m determined to keep trying. I see this as just another step on the ladder
I’m ever so slowly climbing. Only now,
I’m fueled by more than a desire to lose weight and be healthy. My family almost lost me, recently, and I
don’t want more close calls like that. Not
now. I want to be strong, alive, and
actively loving my family for years to come.
I don’t plan to stop reading other people’s philosophies and
ideas for healthy eating, but I’m also starting MY way of eating. This will record MY experiences and MY
thoughts. I plan to share MY ideas and
hope you will too! I have a lot to learn
still and you can learn with me, help educate me, or simply laugh and be
entertained
