21 Days to a Healthier Me (and Family)

I posted on Sunday that I was coming off of white starches and dairy this week.  A childhood friend asked what else I planned to do.  Well, I realized there wasn’t a short answer (when EVER do I have a short answer?) so I figured I wouldn’t try to make one, and just be thorough.

So this 21 Days to a Healthier Me is a part of my renewed commitment to a lifestyle of wellness and service.  As a Reiki practitioner I want to make sure I am fit to serve and fit enough to serve.  I began to think about what I put into my body and whether that was what I should be putting into my body and my family’s bodies.  I didn’t have an ‘unhealthy’ lifestyle, but I had a few strongholds.  Darned Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, Santitas Chips, Pepsi (after years of no colored sodas I went back and being from upstate new York and Pittsburgh, well Pepsi was the preference).  

I am not a glutton for punishment. I don’t believe you have to suffer to good health, because then you just wind up mad, frustrated, and counting days until you are free to resume your normal habits.  I am doing a phased in approach for the first 21 days.  I’ll continue on this for the rest of September and see how I feel. 

So Week 1: Cut out all caffeine and processed sugars (where reasonable). 

So I haven’t had any candy, Pepsi, coffee or even caffeinated tea since I started this on Sunday, August 22^nd.  The first day (Sunday) I had a splitting headache that rocked me all day.  Finally at about 6:30 I took about 400mg of ibuprofen and that helped.  It was much better the next day and by the third day it was barely noticeable.  

I was already away from high fructose corn syrup and trying to move from corn syrup as well.

Note: I had a teaspoon of regular sugar in my tea on 1 of the first 2 days. I still couldn’t get that detox tea down and so just left it alone.  I also discovered after having them that a snack I thought was pretty good had sugar listed on the package pretty far down.  Grrrr. They put sugar in everything.  

Week 2: Cut out dairy (milk, cheese, butter), white starches, and red meat.

Substitutes: Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, vegan or veggie cheeses and butters. I picked a Smart Balance-Light spread and Earth Balance Natural Buttery sticks.  I will admit the cheeses haven’t gone over well with anyone except for my unassuming and uncorrupted toddler.  I don’t even need to sub out red meat. I went without for almost 15 years and only started back when I was pregnant in 2011.

What about calcium?  Well Almond milk has 45% of the daily recommended calcium, compared to about 30% in regular whole milk.  

What about protein?  It is recommended that we have 36 grams of protein per pound that we weigh.  For a person of 150 lbs that’s 54 grams.  There are so many vegetables and whole foods that give as much or more protein that dairy.  Quinoa is my favorite. It is the perfect protein and can be made to eat hot or cold.  Oatmeal for example has 6 grams per ½ cup uncooked serving.  The veggie pasta I purchased has 14 grams in a 3.5 ounce serving.   And beans are another excellent source with sometimes double digit protein levels.  Other foods like kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and spinach hold their own as well with between 2 and 4. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread can add another 15.  With balanced planning protein is no problem.  Plus protein coming from vegetables and plants are easier for our bodies to digest.

Note: I planned to start this on Sunday, August 29^th but we went to the Braves game and surprisingly there was little that wasn’t either fried, white starch based, or cheese covered. So…I had cheese pizza and gave myself the “Special Event Pass”.

Week 3: Cut out meat (yes – no poultry, no eggs*, no fish, not even sushi)

This may be the hardest week, which is why I am saving it for last. I am hoping that seeing the changes in how I feel and how my clothes fit will keep me motivated.  I have already found some tasty looking substitutes from tofu.  I am not going to skip a meal that has an egg as part of the overall ingredient (such as a baked pasta), but I am not going to prepare an egg for breakfast.

So what am I eating? The coffee and sugar was pretty easy.  I began making some small changes last week in anticipation but when I removed the white starches and dairy I was looking in my pantry and fridge and was literally hungry.  So… we went to Chipotle for dinner and then to the grocery store where I scoured the “healthy and organic” selections.   My daughter begged me for a treat and so I bought sherbet.  Tonight I let her have some and before putting it back in the freezer scanned the ingredients and High Fructose Corn Syrup was one. Eyes rolled and my daughter ran and said she already licked it so I couldn’t take it.

I bought things like broccoli, kale, spinach, butternut squash, tomatoes, cauliflower, whole grain bread, peanut butter, sweet potato chips (the treat), trail mix, chick’n strips (not real chicken), the non-dairy butter, blue-berries, veggie pasta, veggie cheese, fruit leather for the kids, Kashi bars, almond and coconut milks, canned tuna, and organic turkey lunch meat.

I have a tasty kale recipe on my blog as well as one for a cold quinoa salad.  I made a different quinoa salad this weekend for my daytime lunch which was also tasty and that I’ll post later.  I just tried a modified macaroni and cheese but it didn’t fly with the kids.  Hubby’s away on business so I get to taste test on them.  My toddler just sat there and I asked him if he wanted it and he matter of factly shook his head and said “no”.   I probably will just skip the mac and cheese because there is pretty much no easy way to make it taste good without real cheese, milk, and eggs.

My dietary goal is to try to eat more whole, less processed, and consume fewer products that come down the corn line.  So I am decreasing and removing foods that contain corn, are fed corn, or fed corn by product.  That means that any meat I eat this week will be grass-fed or grain fed.  The Vegetarian fed says to me it probably is being fed corn.  Given what they are doing to the corn and soy and the subsidies they receive, I am not sure it is an industry I want to support.  But that’s another story.

When this month is out, my whole family should be healthier.  We’ll slowly add back in some things and see how we feel after a few days of having it.  If we don’t really miss it, we’ll leave it. When it’s time for a treat, we’ll have it.  

As far as exercise, my goal is to exercise vigorously for a minimum of 30 minutes at least 5 days per week.   Sometimes I walk outside if the weather is nice; otherwise I head to the YMCA’s indoor track and get into my groove.

When I was at Kaiser Permanente doing community health work, they kicked off an Everybody Walk initiative.  Just take that first step.  Even if it is just to the mailbox and back, then to a neighbors and back.  Then around your block.  You get the point. Just start walking.  I can’t run due to the beating I put on my legs doing track and field, but I can walk.  

Just this weekend, I finally watched a documentary I had wanted to watch for months called Forks Over Knives.  It is available on Netflix o see their website and if you get a chance and dare to challenge some long time thinking, check it out.

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