UltraSimple Diet Week Results

The week before this last week I was following Dr. Mark Hyman's UltraSimple Diet.  I wanted

Fresh Salsa with Corn, Black Beans and Jicama

something that was kind of a cleanse and this diet was not only allergy-free, but it spelled every step out for me!  It told me what to eat, when, even down to supplements to take and a special stress-relieving bath to take (with epsom salts, baking soda, and lavender).
The first day was fine, I adjusted to the food and wasn't hungry.  I was craving sugar though.
The second day was more difficult as I had a headache and sluggish digestion (detox symptoms).
The next few days I just kind of got into a groove, although my digestion never really did normalize despite his many recommendations to help that (he's very thorough).
By the sixth day, I found myself craving things like avocados and nuts, which were limited on the diet.  That night I decided to go ahead and have a couple spoonfuls of refried beans, which I was craving!  Instead of sugar!  I was amazed that I thought eating beans was a "binge."  Of course they have fat (and not the right kinds; vegetable oils are being linked to heart disease- not butter and lard like everyone thinks) but they still aren't the worst choice out there.
So, after the weeklong diet my results were great!  I lost 4 pounds and about 6 inches all over my body (I measured my waist, hips, bust, thigh, arm and neck).  I was pleased with the results and so far have kept them off.
We have been still avoiding sugar, but I can tell too many carbs is doing the same things to me as before (affecting my complexion, and bloating which I didn't notice before are two examples).  So I have a good guideline and goals for going onward! 

Healthy Eating: 3 Weeks

It's been over two weeks (almost three, I believe) since my husband and I embarked on healthier eating for 2012.  Low sugar has been our main goal, and obviously no junk food, fast food, or desserts with the occasional less healthy meal (like pizza).  We have been replacing our desserts with things like banana-only ice cream (even chocolate!), and using stevia to sweeten things that would otherwise be full of sugar.
This week I am upping the ante again: I decided to follow Dr. Mark Hyman's Ultrasimple Diet.  It's a 7-day program that helps you detox from allergens and carbs, and helps your system "reset" from all the built up toxins.   He's been a guest on the Dr. Oz Show, but I just found his book somewhere online.
It's my first day on the program and although I'm not hungry, I'm definitely craving my normal carbs since I hadn't yet cut them out.  I was still having mostly whole grains, but now it's meat, veggies, and brown rice for a week (with some fruit and his "Ultrashake" recipe too).  It's helping me to remember it's just one week, and then I can have my oatmeal and other healthy things again that are not included in this cleansing period.  I can do almost anything for a week!  Especially when it's likely that I'll lose up to 10 lbs. and a few inches.  Can't forget to record my measurements tonight!

This was my dinner tonight.  It was chicken breast, lots of veggies, and brown rice followed by some berries.  Healthy and simple, with yummy seasonings (he includes recipes in his book).  I can do that!

Healthy Eating: One Week

 

It's been a little over a week since we started eating healthier by cutting out the excess sugar, and so far it's going well overall.  The fact that I don't remember exactly how many days it's been is a really good sign for me!  It's been really helpful to find a couple of recipes to transition me out of eating so many sweets.  I was really terrible, I'm realizing now- I was totally addicted!  I made some

One Ingredient "Ice Cream"

Is it too good to be true?  You can make ice cream with just ONE main ingredient?
Yes, and it's gluten, dairy, processed sugar, nut, and soy FREE!

The secret ingredient is

Yummy Salad Formula

Salads are something that takes more effort to prepare than I usually feel like doing.  Once they are made, though, they are so yummy!  I haven't found very many restaurant salads that are just the right balance of ingredients and yumminess.  I vote for homemade and will be doing much more of these now that I'm sticking to my healthy eating plan.

One salad I made last week is below:

It included Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, dried cranberries, chopped apples, pecans and feta cheese with a homemade balsamic dressing (Mama's Balsamic). 

Love my Tupperware salad dressing shaker with pour spout- store extra dressing for next time in fridge

I think a good rough "formula" for salads would be:

Greens + 1 or 2 veggies + nuts + something sweet (dried or fresh fruit) + homemade or all-natural dressing = a great salad.  

If you can eat dairy some type of cheese on top is yummy too.

Happy Salad Making (and then eating)
~Sally

New Year's Resolutions

My resolutions normally revolve around health- eating and exercise.  They usually don't last that long, unfortunately.
I somehow found motivation 4 weeks ago and started an exercise plan back then.  I joined a local, inexpensive gym.  I'm on the MWF during preschool schedule so I have two in school and one with me at the gym childcare.  Amazingly, it's been working out great so far!  I actually feel like it's a break in the day, some "me" time that I have been needing instead of an obligation.
I read on Pinterest that it takes 4 weeks to notice your own body changing, 8 weeks for family and close friends to notice, and 12 weeks for everyone else to notice a change.  That keeps me going!  I have seem some slight changes, but I haven't changed my eating at all.

Help!  I'm trying to stick to my resolutions!

 Until now.

Four days ago, my husband and I agreed to start a low-sugar, healthy eating plan.
This instills fear into my heart, and dread into my soul.
Ok, that is very dramatic, I know.  But I am scared to actually stick with this!  Scared to fail.  So ashamed of the amount of time I've been trying to do this, only to be drawn in again by the cravings and the treats.
I think I have accepted defeat too readily in the past few years.  Three kids in four years, adjusting to the ever-changing and always-demanding needs of little ones, I have hardly anything left to work on myself at the end of the day.
 
This time is different, though- we have drafted up a set of rules (although I am thinking of it more as a "covenant" since if I cheat, I would be letting my healthy eating partner down).
 After going through Lysa TerKeurst's Made to Crave Bible study at church, some of the root issues to my food addictions were addressed over the past few months.  That has created a great pathway to starting this plan with help from my husband.
This time, I am going at it with the knowledge that I need food from God (His Word- the Bible) everyday- even if just a "morsel"- something to start me on my faith journey for that day. 

I also have more thorough knowledge of what sugar is doing to my body- how it's affecting and causing the acne, the (mild, winter-related) depression, seemingly minor health issues that end up consuming so much of my time and my worry to cover it up, pretend I'm fine, act like it doesn't bother me. 

I know that during times of healthier eating and low-sugar consumption, my face was clearer.
I know that sugar and carbs affect insulin levels which in turn affect hormones throughout my body, I can't deny my part in causing this issue anymore.
But I'm still scared to deal with it head-on.  It makes me want to run away from the issue, to bury myself in other things, other snacks, other boxes of Christmas chocolate!

My supportive husband is amazingly offering to travel this journey with me- to pray with me along the way, to eat healthy too (which he wants to do) and to even take over simple meal preparation a couple nights a week so I don't burn out on healthy-meal-making overload.  What a blessing! 

So, here I am, starting a new journey with healthy eating.  I debated posting this on my blog- but I figured, there must be other people dealing with this issue, and what better motivation for myself to know people will be walking it with me and (hopefully) supporting me.  I'm on the fourth day and doing well, but still battling cravings :(

I've added some interesting health blogs into my sidebar.
And so far I've tried two or three recipe substitutions with no or low sugar, some with good results!  I can't wait to post those.

Happy New Year and may we all trust God in sticking with our new resolutions!

Green Smoothies

Green smoothies are one of the ways I get some super-healthy greens into our diet.
How else can a person eat a whole handful or two of super-tough kale or collard greens?  I know I can't easily do that!  I've tried making them into salads, but this is the best way to break the fibrous leaves down without destroying vitamins and minerals by heating them.

This might be the GREENEST smoothie I've ever made (Jan 2010).  And my kids liked it!  It helped that we called it the "Green Monster" or "Hulk" smoothie.

They don't always turn out green (you'll see what I mean below), but they're in there!