The Breakup

It is with great sadness that we announce

 that 

Greg and I are breaking up...

with certain foods that is.

For the past week Greg and I have embarked on yet another health/fitness adventure. {We sure have done a lot of those since the beginning of the year, haven't we?} Only this one was spurred on purely by a desire to fight my fibromyalgia from within and not to lose weight. 

I'm not going to lie to you- I was frustrated after my 5k a few weeks ago. 

Yes, I know that running 3.1 miles in 36 minutes isn't bad. Yes, I know that my time was especially good given the circumstances surrounding my race. But I was still frustrated. I have been training for this race since January. I had been running it consistently at my desired pace {10 minute miles} and yet, I was thwarted once again by my fibromyalgia. And so I began to do some more research. I've discovered that fibromyalgia flare ups can be triggered by a number of different things and they are as unique as the person suffering from the disorder. Disruption in sleep patterns, stress and certain foods seem to be my primary triggers. So, after discussing the matter with Greg, we have decided that it would be best for us to break up with foods that were never meant to be apart of our daily diet in the first place.

Goodbye Starbucks White Chocolate Mochas

Photo Credit: Google Images

I will miss you, so...

Goodbye Chick- fil- A

Photo Credit

I miss your tasty goodness already.

Goodbye Dr Pepper

Photo Credit

You have been a part of my life for 20+ years. I think I will miss you the most.

We've learned over the course of this process that if you truly want to transform your body and gain optimal health, it starts with the food that you eat. If you put crap into your body- your body is not going to work right. There is no magic pill out there that you can take that will allow you to eat whatever the heck you want and remain in optimal health. I don't care what the label on the back says. Eventually, it will catch up to you. It may take years and years for it to happen, but it will happen. I know that sounds harsh, but it's the honest truth. I'm speaking from experience. 

Our kitchen has gone through a major makeover. 

We no longer have processed food in our house. 

No more refined sugar. 

No more grains. 

No more legumes. 

No more dairy. 

I cannot even begin to count how many confused faces we have received as we have described to our friends and family the transition we have made. No dairy? No grains? No legumes? But aren't those things good for you? No. They are not necessarily good for you. If our bodies have some sort of food allergy, it generally falls into one of these categories. Not always- but a good majority of the time. These foods generally do not have a positive contribution to your overall health. 

So then they quizzically ask, "Well, then what do you eat? We eat: real food. Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, healthy oils, nuts and seeds. Whole9 Living has been a tremendous resource for us as we have made this transition. I highly recommend reading it. Greg likes to tell people that when reading the ingredient label, if he cannot recognize it, pronounce it, shoot it, or grow it himself- he doesn't buy it.  

And we are already seeing results. My body feels better than it has in years. Greg has lost 9lbs and 2 inches around his waist. Our energy levels are sustained throughout the day because we no longer have spikes in our blood sugar. Our quality of sleep has improved. Our attention span is clear and focused. My seasonal allergies are no longer bothering me. 

Everything has improved. 

And that's just after 1 week!! I honestly don't know why I haven't done this sooner. It literally has been the best thing that we could have ever done for our health.

The last set of questions that we generally get from people are, "So how long  do you plan to be on this diet?" Our answer: "Ummm... forever. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change." Then we get asked, "Well, what if you are invited over to a friend's house for a meal and they don't follow all of these changes that you've made? Are you just not going to eat their food? Or what do you plan to do at restaurants or when you go on vacation?" Great questions! Our answer: "We are gracious guests and will eat what we are served. If there are healthy options available, we will choose those. We plan to not eat out a lot at restaurants and instead, make our own food, but when we do, we know what food items to look for and what food items to avoid. We understand that not everyone follows the same dietary guidelines that we do. We know that there will be occasions where we will eat something that is processed, or contains dairy, or any of the other foods that we  no longer eat. But that's just it- it's occasionally." 

So... yeah. We've broken up with certain food now. And I am SO glad we did! If you would like more information on Paleo living, email me and I will send you links to several blogs and other resources that I have found over the past few days.