We have about 25 women who have joined forces to encourage each other {via a facebook group} as we work to cut refined sugars out of our diets in 2013.
And it’s awesome!
The journey is always more fun together. The shared wisdom, chin-lifting & recipe ideas are just beginning to take off and I’m excited to see how we’ll be doing in a few weeks and months.
We all have different goals, guidelines and reasons for taking this on, but we’re uniting over this truth:
Refined sugar is dreadful for our bodies, it is highly addictive, and we gain nothing – except for fleeting satisfaction – from the consumption of it.
It is the sweetest poison. And one I no longer want to feel controlled by. The tables are turning, baby!
I want to be in control of my health, and that means being more mindful of what I put in my mouth. Of how I nourish my body.
As Ann Wigmore states, “The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
While the passion for health has long surged through my veins {I was doing nutritional coaching & personal training until I was 39 weeks pregnant with miss Bean, and have taught several health workshops in years past}, it has been over the past two years that this passion has slowly started to turn into a personal conviction.
Head knowledge is one thing – experiential, fleshing-out of ones beliefs in another.
And the startling thing is…you don’t realize just how bad you feel {read: exhausted, unmotivated, sluggish} until you start to feel really good. And you can work out until you’re blue in the face, and down energy drinks until it’s coming out of your eyeballs…but until you start to fuel your body with what it requires to function at it’s best – healthy, natural, whole (unprocessed) foods – you’re beating a dead horse.
One of the gals doing the Coming Clean in 2013 sugar detox with me asked what some basic guidelines might be, so here are some of the things we have incorporated into our lives:
* Drink more water, less juice/pop/coffee – I like to add a squeeze of lemon & a few slices of fresh ginger to mine in the morning (hot).
* Eat more fresh vegetables & fruits than you eat anything else – that includes lean meat, dairy and whole grains {which I believe are all good, in moderation}
* Eat as many RAW, WHOLE FOODS as possible (by focusing on what you should be eating, you’ll be less inclined to obsess about what you shouldn’t be eating)
* Seek out whole grains in your crackers, bread & cereals – avoid white, refined flour.
* Cut out refined sugars – they’re addictive & toxic to your system
* Eat more meatless meals – it’s healthier, easier on your system and more economical.
* Avoid MSG, Aspartame (and other artificial sweeteners), food coloring & trans fat like the plague (great article here)
* Eat out less, cook nutritious meals at home as much as possible (this is also modeling for your kids how to craft a healthy meal). Whenever possible – make it yourself (we make our own peanut butter, bread, yogurt, granola & more – it’s really not as hard as it may sound.)
* Eat more nuts & seeds (chia seeds are the bomb)
* Coconut oil is your best friend.
* Adequate sleep & consistent exercise are essential to a healthy lifestyle.
We’ve also started juicing (a fantastic way to get fresh, colorful veggies and fruits into your diet – and kid’s mouths), we often have smoothies for lunch, we sprout seeds & beans (clover, alfalfa, radish, red clover, mung beans and more!), culturing yogurt (if you like nearby and would like a starter culture, just holla), making our own soy milk, and for the past three summers, we’ve grown a herb and vegetable garden. We’re getting chickens in the Spring!
Just remember, baby steps are profound. Any positive changes you make in your diet and lifestyle, even if small (like cutting back on soda, or eating less fast food), are steps in the right direction!
But it requires action.
So commit to do something TODAY that your future self will thank you for.
I watched a fantastic documentary on Netflix last night, called “Hunger for Change”. It is one of the most inspiring, more balanced health documentaries I’ve seen. And I’ve seen – and enjoyed – a great deal (like Forks Over Knives, Food Matters & Food Inc.).
As I strive to cut refined sugar out of my diet (and that of my family), I was struck by the words of Jason Vale, the author of ‘Juice Master’ and an addiction specialist, in response to Jamie Oliver’s award winning TED speech:
“The challenge we have with food is – or in particular, sugar – it is illegal to give a child a cigarette, and so it should be…it is illegal to give a child alcohol…it is NOT illegal to give a child white, refined sugar or refined fats…food, as far as I’m concerned, kills more people than all drugs on earth combined. People know this, so why aren’t highly intelligent people not stopping? Because they don’t know the nature of the trap.”
We have got to get a handle on the way we choose to feed our bodies. We either NOURISH, or we DESTROY. It is a tremendous responsibility.
We would never dream of pouring a Mountain Dew and twinkies into the engine of our vehicles…and yet we continue to cram chemical-laden, neurotoxin-laced substances into our bodies – and those of our precious little ones.
But there is hope. And it’s as simple as the food we eat. And the food-like substances we choose to avoid.
You with me?
Print out these little encouragement cards (4 on 1 piece of 8.5 x 11 paper) and post them on your fridge, your mirror, your steering wheel…to remind yourself that vibrant health is possible, and that YOU are worth the effort!
Get these encouragement cards by clicking right here.
Some great websites & resources:
Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels, ya’ll!
*As always, please note that this is exclusively for personal use and is NOT to be reprinted for resale purposes. Feel free to share the link, pin it, or head over to Facebook and visit Simply Bloom.
