It's Baby Steps
You are what you eat. Got it? It really is that simple. I ignored that for a long time. In Anthony William’s latest book Life Changing Foods, he writes: fruits and vegetables aren’t some cute hobby for people to occupy themselves with until scientists discover the big guns that will save the planet. These foods are the big guns. Their life-changing power is on a whole different level that has yet been discovered.
Even when my body was screaming at me with excruciating stomach aches, to stop drinking coffee – I didn’t listen. I loved coffee—the taste, the smell, the morning ritual; the way my favorite mug felt in my hands. I didn’t want to give it up and, quite frankly, didn’t think I could. But one day my need to feel better outweighed my need for coffee and I found a substitute that I liked and that made it a lot easier to kick. Now I love my morning tea ritual as much as I used to love my coffee.
I used to eat ice cream on a weekly basis even though it clearly disagreed with me. My body did not waste time informing me of this. It started by whispering to me --small stomach pangs-- and when I didn’t listen, it screamed --those pangs became monsters that brought me to my knees.
Even when I thought I was doing all of the right things, I still didn’t seem to be healing. Bone broth, eggs, (GAPS diet), fish oil, high protein, low carb diets, the list goes on --the trial and error was exhausting and got me nowhere and often I felt worse. I didn't help that the information out there was confusing, overwhelming and contradictory.
So how do you start? Don’t underestimate the power of one small step. When you aren’t feeling well one small step may be what begins to turn everything around. Is there one small thing you are willing to do- even if it is the smallest of things? Find it and start there. Then, when you are ready, find the next small thing and before you know it, you are on your way. Soon you will be searching for more and more ways to be good to yourself.
Ask yourself-- Is there one thing my body needs right now that I haven’t been giving it?
I didn’t wake up one morning and change my entire diet. And many days it was 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. What really helped is when I changed my attitude -- that all or nothing way of thinking that almost destroyed me. I used to take “allergy holidays” - it’s Christmas, it’s Easter, it’s a birthday, we’re at the cabin -- the problem is it never ended. And that one day turned into the next day and the next and 5 days later I felt like crap. Then I would beat myself up and start over, again. I felt like a huge failure which didn't help. Be kind to yourself. If you fall down get back up and start again.
In the end, my food sensitivities and allergies became my guide to better eating. And when I ate better my body responded in a good way and I liked how that felt. The more I listened to my body the better I felt.
Below are some ideas to help you get started. Pick one (or a few) and start today.
1. Remove the “foods that make life challenging.” Anthony William lists them in his book Life Changing Foods--eggs, dairy, corn, canola, wheat, natural flavors. View every meal as an opportunity. If it feels like every day you’re starting over then you have to let go of the all or nothing thinking. It will take you down because you tend to throw in the towel with any wrong move and tell yourself you’ll start over tomorrow and that tomorrow never comes. Every meal is an opportunity When it’s all about feeling better, do you really have time to wait?
2. Read labels. I know, I know, this is nothing new but are you doing it? I can’t tell you the number of times I looked at the front label of a product and said yes, brought it home and my husband, the ingredients cop, found something nasty that I overlooked. Compare the ingredients of pancake syrup to maple syrup. Maple syrup has one ingredient. You won’t recognize or be able to pronounce most of the ingredients in pancake syrup. When you start to pay attention to labels you begin to see how many of the things you think are food are just sugar, salt, bad fat, chemicals and/or preservatives. None of that is going to help you feel better.
3. Start each day with a smoothie. I buy the majority of my smoothie ingredients at Costco. Each night I peel 2 organic oranges, add half a papaya with some of the seeds, squirt in the juice of a lime and throw it in the refrigerator. When I get up in the morning I add 2 cups frozen wild blueberries, ½ cup frozen mango, ½ cup frozen strawberries and a handful of spinach (I buy fresh and freeze it.) Blend and pour. It’s an easy, healthy way to start your day and takes only minutes. To make it even more powerful, add one tsp. each of barley grass juice powder, spirulina, and dulse.
4. Start your day with lemon water. Does a smoothie feel overwhelming right now? Then take a smaller baby step and start with lemon water. If you feel really ambitious do both. Squeeze a fresh lemon, organic, if possible, into 16 oz. of purified room temperature water first thing each morning. Lemons are antibacterial, antiviral and immune boosting. They aid digestion and cleanse the liver by flushing toxins out of the body.
5. Swap out vegetable oils for olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil. Everything else is a cheap fat substitute. Yeah, that’s right, contrary to what many believe, canola oil is not doing your health any favors but is easy to substitute. I use raw, organic coconut oil for low to medium heat cooking, avocado for higher heat and organic olive oil for salad dressings.
6. Upgrade your salt to Himalayan or a high-quality sea salt. Common table salt is highly refined and heavily processed. It also contains anti-caking agents and other additives. Real salt isn’t white – it’s been stripped and bleached. You still want to read the labels on sea salt to make sure the one you purchase is not refined.
Don’t get overwhelmed and start thinking you can’t do it. Even a small adjustment in how you eat can make a big difference. Everything you do is helping your body heal. If you still feel unsure about where to begin-- how about right where you are – that’s the perfect place to start.