Jump to content

Sugar Dragon Slayers


littleg

Recommended Posts

GGG--good thoughts about my increasing mileage. Hadn't thought of it like that.

And maybe this is TMI but we're all friends here. I had an IUD for birth control for 7 years, and didn't get my period. (It was AWESOME!) But I had it taken out at the end of July and still haven't gotten my period yet. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant, but I honestly don't even know if I can right now. I made an OBGYN appointment for sometime at the end of February to discuss things if this issue isn't resolved. It's the weirdest thing. I just don't know how long it would take for hormones to get out of my system. It has been 5 months though, so you think something would have happened! So long story short (which you know is never the case for me), I don't get my period and don't get PMS or really pre-menstrual anything.

And you know I always appreciate your two cents! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 440
  • Created
  • Last Reply

he said "this is a great movie snack - I don't know why we didn't try it sooner!" Millions of Koreans can't be wrong! 

 

 

I was just discussing this with my teenager & showing him the pic.  Is it crunchy?  Chewy?  We're so confused!   :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy New Year! I'm so grateful that doing the December Whole 30 led to us being friends! I feel optimistic - 2016 is off to a healthy start!

Yes, so glad we are friends! :)

Today has a different feeling to me than it has in the past. Usually January 1 is a day when I make goals to clean up my diet, exercise more or differently, get to a weight goal, etc. but after doing the Whole 30, I feel like I am already on the right path to health. By discovering the Whole 30 I feel like I could have possibly saved myself years of trying to find the right diet, struggling with weight (it's true that it gets harder with age and I'm still young but I'm already feeling it), over-exercising to counter the age-related effects, etc. Thank goodness for the Whole 30 and thank goodness for my new friends!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone cook with a pressure cooker? I use the crock pot a lot, and make Chilis on the stove, and use the oven for roasting veggies a lot, but I'm thinking a pressure cooker might decrease my cooking time. I wanted a sweet potato with breakfast and had to wait an hour while it baked this morning. Not a huge deal, but I'm usually hungry within 15 minutes of waking up. I had some coconut cream to tide me over. Anyway, I'm thinking about this one, which was recommended by nomnompaleo.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00FLYWNYQ&linkCode=xm2&tag=f05f-20

What do y'all think?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone cook with a pressure cooker? I use the crock pot a lot, and make Chilis on the stove, and use the oven for roasting veggies a lot, but I'm thinking a pressure cooker might decrease my cooking time. I wanted a sweet potato with breakfast and had to wait an hour while it baked this morning. Not a huge deal, but I'm usually hungry within 15 minutes of waking up. I had some coconut cream to tide me over. Anyway, I'm thinking about this one, which was recommended by nomnompaleo.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00FLYWNYQ&linkCode=xm2&tag=f05f-20

What do y'all think?

Ali - I don't have a pressure cooker, but I have considered getting one because of nom nom paleo and a few other blogs that mention using them. If you get one, please let us know how it works for you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good morning! 

 

So here is a reintro question for y'all.

 

Last night, we had friends over (for homemade pizza, which is our family specialty and which I haven't eaten in years. Hmm...). A friend brought a big beautiful salad and since I was finished with my Whole 30 & this type thing was part of my reintro plan, I decided to have some even though she had sprinkled in a little parmesan. I served myself a plateful before she put on croutons and the dressing she brought and put some leftover prime rib from Christmas dinner on top and used Tessamae's balsamic dressing and I was good to go.

 

So, now do I just observe for the next 2 days whether that bit of parmesan had any impact, or do I need to have a few more sprinklings of cheese on my salads (or whatever) today to increase the amount? In the future, it's likely it would be similar to last night, where just once in a day, once in awhile, there could be a small amount of cheese in a salad that I encounter and want to eat.

 

That was the only off-plan thing I ate yesterday. I had thought of having a NorCal Margarita to ring in the new year, but noticed that I really did not care a bit about having one, so I didn't bother. Maybe another time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sara, I would give it two days to determine whether that small amount of dairy has any effect on you. I think that adding more dairy today might confuse the picture. Without the addition of more dairy today, you can determine how just a small amount of cheese makes you feel, while everything else in your diet is kept the same. If no bad reaction, then you can safely know that a small amount of cheese in isolation is okay for you. If you have a bad reaction, then you will know that even a small amount will yield negative results. Then, you can determine what is worth it to you. If, however, you add more dairy today then that muddies the waters. Maybe you would be lucky and not get a bad reaction. But if you did then would it be from dairy, or would it be from having dairy two days in a row? Sometimes negative reactions don't show up right away and can take even a few days to show up--especially when eaten in excess or frequently.

Hope that helps! I hope you enjoyed the salad--sounds yummy! Tessemae's to the rescue! Speaking of, I just got my 6-pack shipment of Tessemae's ketchup in the mail two days ago. I am super excited about it, but discovered that the expiration date is April 2016--I am going to have to consume 6 bottles of ketchup in 4 months! Yipes!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sara, I agree that if you aren't planning to do a lot of dairy, just see how you do with this small amount.

 

HOWEVER -- I have been known to "forget" that we all feel so much better without it......  And suddenly find myself regularly buying things like grass-fed butter and also string cheese, cheese slices, etc -- for a camping trip or whatever.  "Convenient protein".   :rolleyes:

 

If you see yourself conveniently "forgetting" all of your suspicions about dairy -- I say LOAD UP and do a full re-intro of dairy, so you can really feel the full effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Whole30 Certified Coach

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Ali - buy the Instant Pot!!! What is $15 - it may not get back to that price any time soon... :)  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE mine.  I use it 1-2 times a week - the slow cooker was donated.  I used it a lot to make that SCD yogurt I loved and now I use it for broth, soup, tougher meat cuts (all I buy - short ribs, brisket, stew, cross shanks, heart).  Honest, the only thing I don't use it for is meat that is grilled or sautéed (like the taco ground beef I eat all the time <-- but I *could* do that in the IP because it has a sauté setting too :) ).  And I hope that appointment gets you some information - 5 months does seem like a long time but I never had one, so what do I know ;) ?

 

Sara and Brewer - dairy is so easy to overdo... :)  Sigh.  I've been eating it a little and I can see I may not be far from "ok, JUST butter... well maybe cheddar and parm and heavy cream... and well lasagna would be good".  Trying to just stick to butter!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GGG--good thoughts about my increasing mileage. Hadn't thought of it like that.

And maybe this is TMI but we're all friends here. I had an IUD for birth control for 7 years, and didn't get my period. (It was AWESOME!) But I had it taken out at the end of July and still haven't gotten my period yet. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant, but I honestly don't even know if I can right now. I made an OBGYN appointment for sometime at the end of February to discuss things if this issue isn't resolved. It's the weirdest thing. I just don't know how long it would take for hormones to get out of my system. It has been 5 months though, so you think something would have happened! So long story short (which you know is never the case for me), I don't get my period and don't get PMS or really pre-menstrual anything.

And you know I always appreciate your two cents! :)

Hey, Ali, back to this.  I'm not a health professional, but I think it's normal to take up to 12 months post-IUD removal to get your period again.  Not that that's in the literature!  They like to pretend you'll back to normal monthly ovulation and menstruation within the first 4-6 weeks after removal.  I mean, that thing was leaching a heavy metal (copper) into your body for YEARS.  Did it also release progesterone, or non-hormonal?  Did you have regular periods BEFORE you got it inserted?

 

I had a sort of similar experience with the Pill (BCP).  I took it for a full decade before we started trying to conceive.  I DID have a period about 6 weeks after I stopped taking the Pill but then they started getting farther and farther apart.  It had been over three months since my last period when I finally did conceive my son.  And I found out I was pregnant because I went for an ultrasound to try to figure out what was going on (no period but also negative pregnancy tests) - maybe you'll have to same experience when you go for your appointment in February...

 

Also, keep in mind that the demands of marathon training could also be suppressing ovulation.  You might have to balance that goal (running a marathon) with the goal of getting pregnant.  So, you could focus on the marathon running for now and if you get pregnant in the meantime, great.  If not, you can still focus on your race and then perhaps make some different decisions AFTER the race, especially depending on what your OBGYN tells you.

 

My final rant about the IUD is that I had one inserted about a year after my son was born.  The insertion was extremely uncomfortable and I had bleeding every two weeks while it was in place (the OPPOSITE of your experience, I guess).  I worked with my doctor (who is extremely PRO-IUD - typical, he's a man and would never actually experience it) to try to figure it out, and when I went for an ultrasound they found out it had perforated my uterus and was floating around in my pelvic cavity.  Yikes!  I had laparoscopic surgery to have it removed via my belly button and never did get my period naturally after the surgery before I started taking BCP again for contraception.  I would love to stop with the synthetic hormones, but that's a topic for a different time.

 

So there's my >$0.02.  Hang in there, sister!  Praying for you!

 

I was just discussing this with my teenager & showing him the pic.  Is it crunchy?  Chewy?  We're so confused!   :lol:

Chewy!  It's hard to describe the texture.  It's not rubbery, like raw squid.  It's not tough, like dry meat.  It's just..."chewy."  The flavour was so sweet I'm tempted to think they used sweetened butter, or added some other form of sweetener.  My Korean was not good enough to ask.

 

Sara, regarding the dairy reintro, I agree that reintros are tough to be really, really sure what caused what.  I felt fine throughout the day with my salted dairy butter added to M1 and M2 but shortly after eating the squid I had some abdominal distress and a not-great bowel movement (sorry if TMI; I think we're past that in this thread!).  But was it truly the dairy butter itself, or the squid, or the restaurant meal I had before?  I might do another butter day to see if I have a similar experience or I might do a different dairy day (yogurt).  It's hard to stay strict with being fully compliant and only adding one thing at a time.  So many off-plan foods combine more than one restricted food item!

 

Oh, and Sara, do you want the link for the video of my buttered squid experience?  I realized that I can PM it to you - no need for your e-mail!

 

Cheers!

 

Happy New Year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lauren, I don't know a whole lot about Mirena IUD but I do know that the hormone released is called levonorgestrel...whatever that is. I was having normal periods beforehand, and I weigh about the same now, and maybe a little more actually. I will ask my OB about the running and see what she says. Thanks for the tips!

(sorry if TMI; I think we're past that in this thread!)

Haha, agreed! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In other random news, my coconut aminos arrives today so I turned the last of my Sunbutter into fully compliant Sunshine Sauce. I've been having small nibbles of coconut butter out of the jar at each meal today (I'm hungry; my period is due next week, but I'm trying to keep starchy carbs low) - less than what would be in a packet, but at this rate the jar will be empty soon and I won't have another jar if I don't reorder. As much as having to order things online can be a pain sometimes, I realize it's also a blessing because I don't have to use any will power to bypass these products at the store. There would be a lot of Whole30 compliant temptations for me at a Trader Joe's! Mind you, the availability of other quality items would likely be more than worth it.

I think corn reintroduction is going to be tomorrow. Mainly because I want popcorn. Should I just do popcorn or give corn a fair shake by including it all three meals? I was thinking of adding some whole kernel corn at M1, homemade corn tortillas with masa harina at M2 and the popcorn during Graham Family Movie Night. Man, hear reintroductions, the most important part of the program, are darn tricky! On the one hand, in really only doing it for the popcorn. On the other, I'm still in a very structured mostly whole30 phase where it's easy to do reintroductions isolated from other foods...

Appreciate any thoughts. I guess I'm in the same boat as Sara with this!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think corn reintroduction is going to be tomorrow. Mainly because I want popcorn. Should I just do popcorn or give corn a fair shake by including it all three meals? I was thinking of adding some whole kernel corn at M1, homemade corn tortillas with masa harina at M2 and the popcorn during Graham Family Movie Night. Man, hear reintroductions, the most important part of the program, are darn tricky! On the one hand, in really only doing it for the popcorn. On the other, I'm still in a very structured mostly whole30 phase where it's easy to do reintroductions isolated from other foods...

Appreciate any thoughts. I guess I'm in the same boat as Sara with this!

I don't think corn usually has the nasty effects that dairy and gluten will cause, so I think a full reintro day would be fine. Do you have unbuttered popcorn?--the addition of butter might complicate things and muddy the waters if you do have a reaction. I have some freeze-dried corn that is pretty good on top of salads. It adds crunch!

I still have not reintroduced anything yet. I have thought about it but just haven't found anything worth it yet. Today is Day #37 for me. Whenever I think maybe I will want to try something off-plan, I think nah, I'll just paleo-ify a recipe (like the sushi bowl.) I'm toying with the idea of staying fulling compliant through January, mainly to do the January Whole 30 with the rest of the world. But I'm not committing to it, in case something comes up that I want to reintro. After my second Whole 30 I was scared to reintro anything until about Day 35 or so. That's not the case right now though. I just feel too good to reintro! Plus, since I am limiting nuts and crio Bru, those two things have kindof become my 'treats' so if I want something special, I can reach for those. It is interesting to me that when I eat something often it becomes less special and I take it for granted, but when I start to ocassionally eat certain foods mindfully and less frequently, all of a sudden they become special again. This is a sneaky tactic that I frequently employ when I start to take foods for granted. I don't eat them for a few days so that when I do eat them again it's a special treat. It's sortof like a reset.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll put ghee on the popcorn!

 

January is also the "nutrition" month of the Whole9 2016 challenge.  I decided that I'll continue with my reintros (which at this rate are going to take more than 30 days anyway) but my real nutrition focus will be to get my husband and son eating closer to Whole30 (or I guess I should say "closer to Paleo," since there is no such thing as "almost Whole30").  

 

For example, my son's "usual" breakfast is a bowl of cornflakes with whole dairy milk, a slice of multi-grain toast with butter and low-sugar jam and a clementine orange.  Pretty "healthy" by SAD standards, right? (Keep in mind my hubby is in charge of breakfast time because I'm already gone to work when they wake up).  And not super low-fat.  But of course, through the lens of Whole30 it's high in grains and sugar and completely missing a stand-alone protein source and NO vegetables.  This morning, he ate a piece of Paleo gingerbread cake (still sugar, but I'm guessing less overall than the corn flakes, bread and jam) with fresh sliced strawberries and a drink of homemade eggnog (with eggs, almond milk and coconut milk).  So no dairy, no gluten, no grains.  Not optimal, but definitely "less bad."  Tomorrow I will add some ham and eggs for protein and try a bit of veg (maybe broccoli; at a minimum I know he will do potatoes in the form of hash browns).  

 

For my husband, he's pretty attached to his smoothies, which usually contain whey protein, non-fat dairy milk, Greek yogurt and berries.  This morning's was 2 clementine oranges, 2 strawberries, beef collagen protein powder and a few spoonfuls of coconut cream.  Still fruit-heavy (and still a smoothie), but now dairy-free and with a source of healthy fats.  Baby steps!  Left to his own devices, hubby will have a bagel with peanut butter for lunch; today he happily ate shrimp stir-fry (with zucchini & bell peppers) with Sunshine Sauce served on brown rice (mine was on cauliflower rice).  

 

Let me know if you think this is even worth pursuing - I know you can't "force" someone to do a Whole30, but I'm hoping that small changes like this over time will have a cumulative impact.  Maybe my husband will start feeling so great that he'll be motivated to do his own Whole30!

 

He did just watch "That Sugar Film" with me.  I think the problem is that he feels (rightly so), that we already eat less sugar and fewer processed foods than the "average" family (true), but doesn't consider how much higher we could strive.  And I don't think he is sold on the dangers of gluten, refined grains, and especially not legumes (even the Whole30 camp seems to admit they're the most innocuous, except for soy).

 

Now, to get my hands on Keto Clarity.  I feel like Whole30 took me to one level (and still room for more TigerBlood when I get several weeks in a row without getting sick!); I want to see if ketosis can get me to the next level!  It hit me when you were talking about going to the library that I had completely forgotten about the convenience of public libraries (seeing as they are Korean here; the English-books are generally some textbooks and "classics" like Moby Dick or what have you). 

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, totally pursue helping your family with their health! It is baby steps. I am trying the same thing with my husband. His average day consists of eating either pancakes or a yogurt/granola parfait (about 3 hours after waking up), a Reuben sandwich with either chips or fries for lunch, a huge deli style blueberry muffin after work, and IF he eats dinner it's either summer sausage, cheese, and crackers, or something I made, like lasagna or chili with beans. And then he might have dessert, which is usually a few pieces of white chocolate truffles or a piece of pie. I have come to realize that although he does buy some of these foods for himself at work (the pancakes or parfait), and buys his own muffins and buys pizza once a month (which to me smells like vomit), I have become an enabler for his carb and sugar habits. I buy most of the groceries. I make the meals. Why am I doing this? Why am I allowing this? Why am I encouraging this by providing it? I told him recently that I am only cooking Whole 30 and Paleo and not buying snack foods or baking anymore, and that if he wants non-Paleo foods, that he is going to have to make them for himself. Harsh? Perhaps. But the enabling from my end has stopped. It's hard because I love him so much and I tend to show my love through food (I'm a good ol southern girl, y'all), but enough is enough. I know how unhealthy those foods are now, and my love has changed from providing these nutrient poor foods and baking for him to basically banning them from my shopping cart so he can fill up on nutritious foods. Fingers crossed.

Back to you! Sorry, I go off on tangents. I think you have some great ideas, and it sounds like your family members are already benefiting from your healthy eating changes. If you're willing to share, I wouldn't mind getting your recipe for eggnog. I know it's past the holidays, but I've never had paleo eggnog before and it might be a good time to try it!

I was thinking about how much money I saved by renting books at the public library. I have 3 nutrition books right now and if I had bought them from Amazon.com (even the kindle versions), I would have spent $30-$45. That adds up! If I read a book that I just love and will want to re-read then I will go ahead and buy it but for right now it's a good way to try them out for free before buying. $30 is $30!! That's money I could be spending on sugar-free bacon! ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good morning! A few thoughts to contribute to the conversation...

 

Lauren - I say it's definitely worth it to work on baby steps with your husband and son's diet. Think about the impact you can have on your son, especially! He's still little! Bit by bit, you can impact his thinking to where "it's just normal" that he eats primarily gluten and dairy free.

 

My kids were already big by the time I discovered Whole 30, so my approach has been that I have to lead by example rather than implementing something completely different by drawing a hard line. They are old enough that they are going to have to make choices for themselves, but I am working on educating them so that they might see what better choices are. I have watched friends try to force diet choices on their older kids and husbands and it usually doesn't turn out that well. When outside the house & away from mom, the kids (and husbands) go kinda hog-wild. I have a lot of room for improvement - I can do a better job of educating them and there are some items I want to stop buying regularly since I am the primary grocery shopper. I find it a challenge to find the line between moving in a positive direction and being the food-nazi ("we have nothing good to eat - EVER"). Ultimately, it seems that "buy in" is the key to long term change. As with ourselves, external rules don't last. But when kids are little, you have greater ability to determine what they think of as the norm.

 

I also agree that the reintro process is a little tricky. Going "whole hog" the way that the program suggests is probably the best way. We followed Whole 30 rules strictly while doing the 30 days, so why not with the reintros. I think. But there is the side of trying a small amount of something bc that would be the normal way it might show up in our food in the future. Idk.

 

Ali - what was your husband's response when you said you'd no longer buy or cook non-Paleo foods? Does he like the idea of moving toward a whole foods based diet? My husband says he feels better with more carbs, but when I fix my salads with proteins and fats, he normally wants to join me, so my example does end up having an impact. 

 

Last night, we went to dinner with some family who was in town and I got a bun-less burger and added avocado. No big deal. But - what was I thinking??? - I got sweet potato fries with it and ate them all. I know better than that. I need to keep the Whole 30/lower carb mindset - I think about all of this a lot of the time - I'm not sure how I spaced out like that. Just because fries are made from sweet potato doesn't mean they are a good choice. And I know that unprocessed sweet potato that I make at home with coconut oil is a heck of a better choice. Doh.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ali - what was your husband's response when you said you'd no longer buy or cook non-Paleo foods? Does he like the idea of moving toward a whole foods based diet? My husband says he feels better with more carbs, but when I fix my salads with proteins and fats, he normally wants to join me, so my example does end up having an impact.

He is supportive of what I decide and simply says I'm in charge of food. Even though he didn't state it outright, I am sure he is sad that I won't be baking anymore. We did talk about New Years resolutions yesterday and he said that he could probably snack less. I told him that by me not baking or buying snacks or treats that would help out a lot already. I am not going to force him to eat what I cook, and I am going to really try to make some yummy things that we both like. But since I am not cooking non-Paleo, I do feel kindof guilty if I make something he doesn't like. I feel like I'm abandoning him to fend for himself at mealtime if that happens. But I've got to stop the enabling. It's still new, so it's kindof a trial-and-error thing right now. Hopefully I don't come off as a Paleo nazi!

Does that sound harsh or extreme?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wanted to pop in and say that all of these small changes can and do add up to one BIG change.

 

A few years ago (just over 3) -- we thought we ate "pretty healthy".  We certainly ate healthier than any other family we knew.  That has always been the case, as I have been passionate about nutrition for ~14 years or so.

 

When I was introduced to the idea of "Paleo" by another bodybuilder online...  Well, it's hard to remember exactly what our eating was like.  It really is!  But I know we did go out to eat a lot -- both sit-down and drive-throughs.  I thought I was doing a great thing by buying only whole grain pasta, bread, and cereal.  We were already dairy-free because everyone's symptoms and behavior were better that way.  We did not keep a lot of "junk" in the house, and their Halloween candy lasted f-o-r-e-v-e-r and eventually got pitched.  BUT, I know that I was not a great cook, I was overwhelmed with feeding five people, and there had to be a lot of convenience foods going on.

 

We started with the book Eat Like a Dinosaur.   The pictures of the wonderful recipes drew my kids in, and I sold them on 30 days with no problem whatsoever.

 

That quickly turned into 6 solid months, where we all felt so good that we did not go to ANY restaurant -- not even once.  I also did not leave my kitchen in that time -- except to go to the grocery store, and then I was right back to the kitchen.   :wacko:   

 

Anyway -- I think where I'm going with this, is that we made a lot of those recipes ^ in the beginning.  A LOT.  And I thought we were doing great and feeling great.  And, compared to how we were doing before -- we were.  But we've made a lot of improvements since then (and also stumbled a few times).  I've learned a lot more about sugar (is sugar, is sugar, is sugar) and the HUGE importance of protein & fat to keep my kids satiated so their moods are stable and they are not hungry approximately every 25 minutes.  Lol.

 

So I guess I just wanted to give a shout of encouragement -- to keep making changes wherever you can, keep reading, learning, and improving.  Documentaries are a great tool -- obviously we've watched That Sugar Film, but also Food, Inc. and Fat Head ...  If I remember any others, I will come back and tell you.  My kids have watched these from a young age, and we really haven't had food struggles here.  They really do "get it".  I think they also trust that mom does her research, and if I tell you something, there is a good reason for it.  I explain a lot.  And (when I can handle the consequences), I allow them to make their own less-than-stellar choices, and we talk about it if those things made them feel or behave poorly.  As we all know, real life isn't about rules -- it's about making choices.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're not so good, but we learn from them and move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is supportive of what I decide and simply says I'm in charge of food. Even though he didn't state it outright, I am sure he is sad that I won't be baking anymore. We did talk about New Years resolutions yesterday and he said that he could probably snack less. I told him that by me not baking or buying snacks or treats that would help out a lot already. I am not going to force him to eat what I cook, and I am going to really try to make some yummy things that we both like. But since I am not cooking non-Paleo, I do feel kindof guilty if I make something he doesn't like. I feel like I'm abandoning him to fend for himself at mealtime if that happens. But I've got to stop the enabling. It's still new, so it's kindof a trial-and-error thing right now. Hopefully I don't come off as a Paleo nazi!

Does that sound harsh or extreme?

 

Ali - it sounds like y'all had a conversation and that's a good thing! Not harsh. Like you, I try to make meals that we all like and that fit in with Paleo-style eating - the way I believe is healthiest to eat. Everyone is happier if we have tasty meals! But sometimes, I try something new and it doesn't go over that well. Oh well. At times, my 14-year-old will make himself a quesadilla or a piece of toast after a meal that he ate less of (thus he is still hungry). I do concede to make rice for the family and rice pasta. I also buy bread for sandwiches. After all, they are not fat-adapted in the least, so they need something to keep them going. Not that I am happy about this, but it is what it is. 

 

I'm planning to show my 14-year-old and 12-year-old boys That Sugar Film before school starts again. I think it will impact them and help them to see how sugar affects their bodies. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wanted to pop in and say that all of these small changes can and do add up to one BIG change.

 

A few years ago (just over 3) -- we thought we ate "pretty healthy".  We certainly ate healthier than any other family we knew.  That has always been the case, as I have been passionate about nutrition for ~14 years or so.

 

When I was introduced to the idea of "Paleo" by another bodybuilder online...  Well, it's hard to remember exactly what our eating was like.  It really is!  But I know we did go out to eat a lot -- both sit-down and drive-throughs.  I thought I was doing a great thing by buying only whole grain pasta, bread, and cereal.  We were already dairy-free because everyone's symptoms and behavior were better that way.  We did not keep a lot of "junk" in the house, and their Halloween candy lasted f-o-r-e-v-e-r and eventually got pitched.  BUT, I know that I was not a great cook, I was overwhelmed with feeding five people, and there had to be a lot of convenience foods going on.

 

We started with the book Eat Like a Dinosaur.   The pictures of the wonderful recipes drew my kids in, and I sold them on 30 days with no problem whatsoever.

 

That quickly turned into 6 solid months, where we all felt so good that we did not go to ANY restaurant -- not even once.  I also did not leave my kitchen in that time -- except to go to the grocery store, and then I was right back to the kitchen.   :wacko:   

 

Anyway -- I think where I'm going with this, is that we made a lot of those recipes ^ in the beginning.  A LOT.  And I thought we were doing great and feeling great.  And, compared to how we were doing before -- we were.  But we've made a lot of improvements since then (and also stumbled a few times).  I've learned a lot more about sugar (is sugar, is sugar, is sugar) and the HUGE importance of protein & fat to keep my kids satiated so their moods are stable and they are not hungry approximately every 25 minutes.  Lol.

 

So I guess I just wanted to give a shout of encouragement -- to keep making changes wherever you can, keep reading, learning, and improving.  Documentaries are a great tool -- obviously we've watched That Sugar Film, but also Food, Inc. and Fat Head ...  If I remember any others, I will come back and tell you.  My kids have watched these from a young age, and we really haven't had food struggles here.  They really do "get it".  I think they also trust that mom does her research, and if I tell you something, there is a good reason for it.  I explain a lot.  And (when I can handle the consequences), I allow them to make their own less-than-stellar choices, and we talk about it if those things made them feel or behave poorly.  As we all know, real life isn't about rules -- it's about making choices.  Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're not so good, but we learn from them and move on.

 

Thanks for this, Brewer! Keep moving forward and making changes, bit by bit. They will add up. this is my intention. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...