The Start

I started this blog to share my journey to real healthy living. 

Here's my story:

I started on a journey to improving my health and energy and that of my family.  In July 2010 my husband and I sought help for our daughter from the Vernon Hills, IL Brain Balance Program. As part of the program we were given customized nutritional guidelines to follow for her after they tested her blood (sent out to a lab) to find out what her food sensitivities were.  We were instructed to give her a whole food diet, eliminating certain foods that were a problem for her (and there were MANY...including...beef, chicken, turkey, dairy, eggs, peanuts.....and there were more).  What a challenge to be creative with food for her to eat.  Luckily she LOVES fruit and veggies more than anything else.

Growing up, my mom made most everything from scratch and canned fresh summer produce to have on hand in the winter. I ate well, was active in sports and felt trim and healthy. While in college I continued to be very active as I was playing volleyball, but the college diet was full of sugar and processed food. After college a full schedule of career and marriage meant that dinners were often the quick Mac n Cheese, chicken, pasta, rice and snacks. When our girls came along I had very little time to think about nutrition for myself which is where the weight crept up on me.  I used to say, "I should eat what I make for the girls!"

Without focusing attention on my own health and diet, I gained unwanted weight and felt lethargic. I had a hard time waking up in the morning, didn't feel like working out and spent all of my energy homeschooling the girls. In the afternoons I had no energy left to do anything but sit and read.  I realized that I needed more support and information to learn how to acquire and prepare whole foods that my daughter needed to eat on the Brain Balance program, while staying within my grocery budget.  I found a wellness and weight loss friend who taught classes in the area and signed up for her class where I learned a lot. 

The class helped me learn the benefits of eating a whole food diet. By the end of the nutrition class, eight weeks later, I had more energy and an initial weight loss of 17 pounds. During the class myself and other participants were challenged to eliminate gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other grains) and dairy to check for hidden food sensitivities that can sometimes hinder weight loss and lead to a host of chronic health conditions. After the three week experiment, I found that I was not sensitive to gluten or dairy (phew), but my body seemed to function better without gluten in my diet (darn).

I stopped buying pasteurized dairy and bought raw milk for our family.

Now.....I have lost a total of 59 lbs, I have tons of energy that carries me through the day homeschooling the girls with plenty of energy left to do a P90X workout or Jillian Michaels workout, clean, cook and do laundry. Before eating this way and taking off all that weight I had restless sleep and it even was starting to feel like I had restless legs at night. Now, on average I'm sleeping soundly at least eight hours a night with no restless legs. I enjoy eating three healthy filling meals a day that contain healthy whole foods with a snack here and there and I've pretty much cut out all grains as my body doesn't function well with them.  I love raw coconut oil and use it to make nearly most our meals.

I have found that keeping a simple food diary helps keep me accountable and think through all our food choices.  We all should do the best thing for our bodies and the commitment isn't very much when you break it down.  I found that my friends class provided all the fantastic information that has actually simplified my life and helped me feel better. Thank you to her for starting me on this healthy eating part of my life and thank you to Brain Balance for leading this path. I can't imagine going back.  I am most thankful to God for taking us down this biblical way of living.  I have learned to much on this journey.

Victory by Grace!!!!  And as my godmother always says....'Keep your fork!"