Back to a simpler diet

ack in 2006 around the time of my 25^th birthday I kissed processed foods farewell. I have always had an obsession with food and dieting and health, if you’ve met my family then you know where that obsession comes from. 2006 was a turning point for me health wise. I was very, very sick and very very tired. I drank at least 5 cups of coffee to make it through my very long days working as a personal trainer and was eating a lot of protein for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. My hair was falling out and at some point in time I developed a pasty white skin color.

I was lead to a doctor who put me on a detox, changed my diet, put me on neutraceuticals (large doses of vitamins) and Chinese herbs and changed my life. This was at the same time that I was looking into getting a Masters in nutrition. My experience with the detox and whole foods and vitamins literally changed my life. I had to spread to news so I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative nutrition in NYC. I discovered wonderful foods I had never even heard of, learned how to use food as medicine and gained a new perspective on how we should nourish our bodies.

Somewhere along the lines of getting married and wanting to cook for a husband with different taste buds I let processed foods sneak back into my life. My diet used to be one of 90/10 (90% of the time I would eat pure, unprocessed, whole foods and 10% of the time I wouldn’t worry about it). My diet isn’t what it used to be. My life isn’t what it used to be either. Now I have a husband and a baby and it feels like I have less time. I don’t have as much energy as I used to but that might be because Annabelle doesn’t sleep through the night yet.

There’s a lot of reasons I want to go back to the way I used to eat. I felt better, I looked better and I was healthier on the inside because I wasn’t putting processed junk food into my body. But most of all I want to be a good role model for my daughter and I just plain know better. So this is my pledge to eat like I should. I’m not going to cut out all processed foods overnight but I will change my diet, and my life.

I’ll share some of the changes I make and hopefully you’ll be inspired to make some changes in your life too. Here are some of the changes I’m planning on making: less processed foods, no more low or non-fat foods, eliminate artificial ingredients (anything produced in a lab), reduce dairy, discover new fruits and vegetables, use a larger variety of oils, drink kombucha, take my vitamins, eat goji berries, cacao nibs and hemp, eat congee, eat kimchee, eat a wider variety of whole grains (not whole wheat) and eat seaweed!!! There’s a lot of other changes I could make if I ate the standard American diet but I don’t.

These are some of the things I don’t really do and if I do they fall into the 10% of the time category so I won’t worry about it too much: eat fast food or deep fried food, eat white bread, drink soda or juice, use artificial sweetener. I already buy as much organic food as possible (especially the dirty dozen). I reintroduced my vitamix into my life and have been starting my days with delicious smoothies with spinach, kale, carrots and organic berries. Just that one little change has made me feel better and is probably what has started my cravings for deliciously nutritious foods.

I’m probably forgetting a few things but I’ll start with what I remember. Hopefully once I make some of these changes my memory will be a little better than it is now and I’ll remember whatever I left off this list.

If you want to change your life and feel better make some changes with me. And let me know what changes you make and the difference in how you feel.