Healthier Eating Check In!

It has been nearly a year since we embarked on our journey to healthier eating.  At first I referred to it as a diet.  But after a few months it quickly became apparent it needed to be lifestyle changes.  We have never really ate badly in hopes to stay ahead of the hereditary health issues we both face.  Over the years, we made minor improvements here and there.  But I always knew we could do better, especially since both of us according to BMI terms were considered overweight.  So I did what I always do and started researching different diets. I knew it needed to be a diet, because I do NOT believe in supplements of any kind. Ultimately I ended up buying some South beach Diet books.  With nutrition being part of my degree I understood the points the books were trying to get across so I ended up taking those of those ideas and I adjusted them to fit us. I adjusted the diet to also include as many foods as possible that were NOT processed, and also added in items that were gluten free (we did not go 100% gluten free). The first 2 weeks were what I considered a cleansing phase, eliminating all of the bad stuff and cleansing our bodies for a clean slate.  We eliminated ALL sugars, and stuck to only vegetables and proteins. Then slowly we started adding back in whole wheat/whole grains and/or gluten free carbs, and also worked to add in more fiber, and we worked to make it a way of life. 

With it being a year the question is, was it successful?  I would on many terms consider it successful, but in different ways for each of us.  For Jason….he actually lost close to 25 pounds, which is a huge success.  What was a bit disappointing was his results from his physical.  The good news is, he still does not need cholesterol meds (which is great considering 13 years ago he was told he would be on them by the age of 30!), but his cholesterol is not quite as low as we hoped it would be.  The numbers have improved, but he still needs to improve one set of numbers, which can hopefully be done by increasing the fiber (yet even more!).  So that is our hope.  Of course we know that the heart disease in his family is hereditary and there will be a chance that we can do all of this and he still end up on meds, but it’s a battle worth fighting. 

For me, I have mixed feelings on whether I would consider it successful.  I lost about 17 lbs., which is really not bad.  Now what my ideal weight is, and where my body seems comfortable are two totally different things. Ideally I need to lose another 13 to 23lbs to be in my ideal weight range.  But I would be happy with just another 5lbs. However, I have plateaued, and been stuck at this weight for about 6 months regardless of what I do.  At first I got frustrated, but then I noticed the inches were still coming off, and clothes were still getting bigger so I chose to keep focusing on that piece of it rather than pounds coming off.  Another success for me is my blood pressure is now right where it should be.  Before we made these changes, it had started creeping up (which is hereditary in my family). 

But what we consider most successful for the both of us, is the way we feel.  We both have more energy, and overall feel so much better. And we honestly attribute it to eliminating most processed foods, and being more mindful about what we are putting in our bodies.  I have had stomach issues for years, where just all of a sudden something I ate will set it off.  This new way of eating helped me realize what things actually set my stomach off (such as popcorn, oranges, and fatty fried foods).  Of course there are times where we give into cravings, or don’t have time to cook, and we eat “processed” foods or sugars or whatever the case might be.  In moderation we usually still feel great! But by not moderating what we intake “bad” food wise, we have learned that we will usually pay for it and NOT feel great for sometimes days afterwards.  But by occasionally giving in and not being 200% strict all of the time, it has helped us learn that moderation is key.

I should mention that we also changed up our work out routines to include more core body exercises.  We have always tried to be diligent about exercising, but we also decided to change up our routine to see if it helped. So diet wasn't the only key to feeling great! Exercise is also the key to healthy living!

I had a conversation with someone about a month ago who embarked on a similar journey a few years ago.  She calls in “mindful” eating.  And it made sense to me.  I called this a diet in the very beginning, but we quickly realized that it made such a huge difference in the way we felt that it needed to be lifelong change.  And mindful eating is the best way to describe it.   Overall I think we would both consider a success.  I am glad that we did it.  J