smoked pork shoulder and sweet potato hash browns
There is no one more unlikely than me to write this post. No one.
My entire life I have looooooooooooooved bread and all things bread-y. When low-carb diets first came on the scene, I thought people were losing their ever-loving minds. Give up pizza and pasta and pancakes? Eat a hamburger without the bun? Why? WHY? I just could not imagine being able to enjoy life in any way without my beloved bread.
As I lived into my thirties, however, I began to be troubled by some concerns. First of all, I never could shake the baby weight I gained with AJ. But beyond that, I began to take seriously the blood sugar problems I've had all my life when my dad was diagnosed with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has plagued my father's side of the family for years, and when he was officially diagnosed, it was a bit of a wake-up call for me.
For various reasons, the first few years after we moved here when Kyle started his new business were tough. We sorta ate our way through some depression and toward the end of 2010, we knew we needed to change some things. One of Kyle's close friends is a chiropractor, and he put us on the Ideal Protein diet. Kyle started it first because I was still living under the belief that a life without bread was a life not worth living, but eventually, I decided to try it, too.
The structure of the Ideal Protein diet was just what we needed. We had some products to help us not have to think too much about meal choices, and we learned how to prepare lots of vegetables. LOTS AND LOTS of vegetables. The first week or so was very hard. Not only were we not eating breads, but also no fruits, dairy, and other things that I found myself craving.
The most amazing thing happened, and it wasn't just weight loss. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't dozing off to sleep on the couch after dinner. I didn't want to just lay around all afternoon. I woke up with more energy and found I just FELT so much better during the day. I had no idea how bad the food I was eating was making me feel until I eliminated it from my daily diet. And when I did have a sandwich with bread or a big plate of pasta, I noticed immediately how bloated and lethargic I felt. Eventually, my mind understood how bad those foods made me feel and the thought of eating them lost their appeal. Many of my food cravings were gone!
When each of us had reached our weight loss goals (I lost fifteen pounds!), we eased off of the Ideal Protein program and into a plan that was more sustainable for the long-term. That's where we are now. Instead of focusing on carbs, we mostly focus on foods with low glycemic index. This is especially important to me because I know that with my family history, blood sugar is something I'll have to be mindful of the rest of my life.
We now eat dairy in a variety of ways - raw whole milk, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt are staples in our fridge. We eat a LOT of fruits and vegetables - both raw and cooked. We eat all kinds of meat - mostly grilled or smoked. Eggs, tuna, beans, and lentils are daily go-tos. For the sake of convenience, Kyle and I both have protein shakes for breakfast, and I usually do one for lunch, too. I know not everyone feels comfortable with something so processed and clearly not "real food," but it works for me for now.
We do some whole grains, but it's far less often. We both love oatmeal and occasionlly we'll have brown rice with dinner. Getting the girls to transition to whole grains has been harder. They called regular (not whole grain) spaghetti "real spaghetti" and they still love white bread. They do, however, eat a lot more vegetables than they used to, and fruit is a favorite for all of us.
As regular readers know, Kyle does most of the evening meal preparation in our family. I'll see if I can pin him down for some recipes. We were tremendously helped by the Grain-Free Meal Plans service from Cara at Health, Hope, and Happiness. Although her goal is to help families who are using following GAPS and SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) plans to promote health and healing for their children, we found that the emphasis on grain-free helped us transition into meal plans that would work for us. She does all of the work of preparing recipes and meal plans. We make her grain-free tortillas regularly and everyone loves them! Definitely worth the investment!
I have to be honest and say I got off-track quite a bit during the holidays. Now that I'm focusing on being open to healthy living, I've found my motivation again and it feels good to be back to the way of eating that truly makes me feel GOOD.
I still indulge a bit every now and again:
like when I had a Greek pizza at a girls' night out/baby shower for my friend Toni last Friday night. It was delicious! But it was a treat. I wouldn't last long on a way of eating that didn't allow me to enjoy celebrations and fellowship with friends. The great thing about learning how to eat what makes me feel my best is that I can splurge now and then and get right back on track.
So that's what healthy eating looks like for us. For now.
What's the biggest change in diet you have ever made?
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Speaking of food, January's featured sponsor A Simply Good Life has some ideas about how food plays a role in frugal, mindful, eco-friendly living. Check out her food category here!
