The Food Induced Stupor & Recovery Plan

As I sit here on the couch half-miserable from the sheer amounts of questionable foods I have eaten, I am reminded of the importance of diet.

I’m boated.  I’m swollen.  My jeans are tight.  I have muffin top.  I even feel like my neck is swollen.

Ugh – Stupid holidays.

I know it’s not the holidays fault.  I have no one to blame but myself.

And you know what? I am the one who can change it too!

I am currently sipping on a glass of water laced with raw apple cider vinegar because the damage has been done and it is my only relief.

If you ever have a sour stomach a tall glass of water with a shot of ACV should do the trick.

It all started the week before Christmas.

I was working at the pawnshop daily and dinner was a disaster every night.  If it wasn’t the week before Christmas, I suppose an InstaPot or CrockPot would have cooked for us, but since I was shuffling children around. baking cookies, and preparing for the enormous amount of food to eat on Christmas I simply didn’t get around to dinner.

DH was happy to provide for the family for the 5 day period – but it was far from healthy.  We ate Pub Food, Buffalo Wild Wings, take out and Mexican twice.

On top of the wining and dining, we were doing, I was consuming Christmas themed goodies on an hourly basis.

This came in the form of cookies, bourbon balls, peanut butter balls, Starbucks, gifts from friends and whatever junk happened to be loitering around the pawnshop.  We work with several vendors and for Christmas I think they all sent us a box of chocolates or gourmet cookies.  I swear, at one point there were a dozen different sweet goodies in the back of the store begging me to eat them.

Whatever happened to fruit baskets?

I defended my splurges in the name of Christmas Spirit as I shoved another bourbon ball in my mouth.

Have you seen this yet? —–

meme – from Instagram

This pretty much sums up Christmas.

All the splurges did catch up to me, but not like I thought they would.

I haven’t gotten on a scale, so I don’t know if my weight has changed.  I’m not really concerned about that.  It will take care of it’self as I return to a real food diet.  My main concern is how I am feeling.

I take for granted how good I feel when I eat healthily.  I have been raising most of my food for a long time.  It takes 2 weeks of junk food to remind me how far I have come and how good I feel.

The symptoms I have been experiencing from eating poorly:

1.  Bloating – My midsection is the first to show the signs of a poor diet.  It’s not that I’m gaining weight, it’s poofy.  Like I’m 4 months pregnant.  It’s so weird.  What is also surprising is how quickly the bloat disappears when I eat whole foods.
2. Hot Flashes – Yes, I am that age.  I am definitely in the midst of the change of life and am no stranger to hot flashes and night sweats.  The upside to this is that I hope to be through with this at a reasonably young age.  [Sorry if you don’t want to hear about the status of my uterus].  ANYHOW:  I believe diet plays a HUGE roll in our hormones and how we feel (especially as we go through the season of change).  When I eat clean foods I rarely have a hot flash.  When I eat at restaurants I will have up to 5 per night. 
3. Energy – I can definitely tell a difference in my energy level.  Eating meals filled with fresh veggies and grass-fed meat fills me up and energizes me.  After a big, unhealthy, meal I am exhausted.  I just want to lay down.  I don’t want to do anything.
4. Peeing at night – What the heck?  Why can’t I sleep through the night without peeing?  I really have no idea what causes this.  All I know is that if I eat junk, I will be up at 3am to empty my bladder.
5. Not sleeping well – When I eat bad, I simply don’t sleep well.  Between the hot flashes, night sweats and bathroom breaks, I am lucky to get any sleep. This makes my awake hours miserable too.  It’s hard to get out of bed in the morning.  I have low energy.  And I’m cranky.  Which is not fun for anyone in the house.
6. Weight Gain – I haven’t stepped on a scale, but I know that eating the wrong foods will take its toll on our weight.  If I haven’t gained weight yet, I will if I don’t change the way I am eating.

It Is Not Too Late! 

It’s Recover Time

Now that the holidays are behind us we can get back on track.

If you have been off track for a week or a decade, it’s never too late to change.  Our bodies are wonderfully made and want to be restored.  God designed our bodies to heal and be healthy, we just need to give it the right fuel so it can be restored.

#1:  PURGE

First things first.  Before change can happen – we must purge.

Go on and finish the cookies if you must – but when you finish, get rid of them.  And the candy and the chips and the junk food.  Give it away or toss it away or feed it to the chickens.  Get it out of the house.

A month ago I was on a rampage and wanted something sweet.  Just a bite.  Just a peanut butter cup from Trader Joes… or a piece of dark chocolate from Godiva… Heck, I would have settled for a Hershey’s Special Dark dipped in Organic Peanut Butter.

Anything Sweet.

I checked the pantry.  I checked the refrigerator.  I checked the freezers.

There was Nothing sweet in my house.

I stooped to begging my teenage children for something (surely someone has some junior mints hiding in a purse somewhere).

Nope.  I couldn’t find relief anywhere.

Then I said:  “Why don’t we have anything sweet in the house?”

My kids looked at me with that look.

“You.”  They said.

“Mom, YOU are the reason there is nothing sweet in the house.”

They were most definitely right.  And there is a reason I don’t keep candy in my house.

If it was here – I’d eat it.

I took a bath.  I brushed my teeth.  I drank a glass of water.  And I didn’t eat any candy.

Guess what?  The craving passed.  I didn’t eat any candy and I lived.

My point is, if it’s not in the house, it’s hard to eat. If it is here, I will eat it until it is not here anymore.

I’m bad.

I don’t know about you, but I am cleaning up and detoxing once again this January.

It just seems like the perfect time to get on a healthy track.  The holiday temptations are over and let’s face it, consuming fresh foods is exceedingly hard in January (in most areas).  There’s little to know produce coming in from the garden.  The farmer’s markets are closed.  The CSAs are planning for spring.  And the “fresh” produce sold at most supermarkets is far from “fresh.”  It may be uncooked, but it has traveled long, far, and contains much less of its nutritional value than it did when it was picked.

Since the foods we are consuming are somewhat inferior, its time to ensure that what we are eating is as good as it can be.  

So, get rid of all the treats, snacks, junk, and sweets.  It’s time to make a fresh start.

#2:  STOCK UP

Now that all the junk food is gone, stock the house with good food.  Give yourself plenty of good things to eat.  Dried fruit (sugar-free), nuts, lots of veggies, a variety of grass-fed meat, and other whole foods.

Challenge yourself to buy at least 11 different vegetables at the supermarket each week.  This will vary your diet, provide more nutrition and encourage you to try new foods.

#3:  START TOMORROW

Most people say, start today, but I know you need to go the grocery and explain to your body that the party is over and things are about to change.

#4:  HAVE A PLAN

It’s a good idea to write down 4 healthy ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinners (supper).  This will prevent you from eating something you shouldn’t because you can’t find anything to eat.

Actually, make the list before you go shopping so you can buy what you need to make your favorite real food meals.  You may want to consider joining the Membership Community for help in this area.  Members get menu plans, whole food recipes and tons of ideas for meals.

Already a member?

• Go to the Menu Plans HERE
• See Recipe Free Meals HERE
• Search all the Real Food Meals HERE (this is so great)

#5:  STAY TUNED

Part 2 of this post is coming in just a few days.

Part 2 will Discuss:

1. My expensive grocery trip
2. The 5 components to a healthy lifestyle
3. My plan for making good food choices day by day
4. The importance of consuming “super-foods” daily and how to do that
5. What I am going to be eating
6. How to get through a craving without blowing the contract

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You can!  We have 2 fantastic memberships to help you make a life change to real food.  Whether you want to grow all your groceries or just learn how to eat real foods and live healthier – we’ve got you covered.

XO,

Candi