"Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food..." - Hippocrates
Although I'm fine with being fat from a physical appearance stand point and believe that fat is no less beautiful than thin, and will remain someone who actively campaigns love and acceptance of people of all sizes, I am not fine with myself being unhealthy and feeling like crap and taking a ton of pharmaceuticals. So, with that being said, I'm changing my diet.
Now by diet, I don't mean restricting calories, running on treadmills, or following some crazy formula of Slim-Fast and diuretics. I mean changing my food from the crap they peddle at drive through chains and the center of the grocery store in boxes with cartoon characters and instead fueling my body with whole, nourishing food that comes from natural sources. My goal is not focused on losing weight, but to reverse the conditions in my body that are keeping me from living a healthy, pain free, and medication free existence. If weight loss accompanies, which it may, then that's fine, but it is not the main goal. I do not want to undermine my commitment to love and beauty at every size or have this journey be taken as a change of acceptance of myself or any other. However, health is an admirable goal and I believe that one can truly acheive health at any size and being thin is NOT what makes someone healthy, nor is being fat what makes someone unhealthy.
OK, that stated, here are my goals:
1) I want to be completely off my blood pressure medication.
2) I want to be in better control of my bipolar disorder and able to take less medication, and ideally adjust my brain chemicals to the point that I can stop taking it altogether (don't lecture me, there's studies, it can be done).
3) I want to eliminate the plantar fasciitis that causes me immense foot pain.
4) I want to have better lung function to improve my singing.
5) I want to be able to keep up with my daughter while playing.
6) I want to be able to have a second child, medication and pre-eclamsia free.
7) Consistenly have BG (blood glucose) numbers in the "normal" range.
Here is how I plan to achieve these goals:
1) I'm completely cutting out processed food, with the exception of cheese, butter, coconut oil and EVOO. No more "crap in a box" or fast food.
2) I'm completely cutting out gluten, wheat, and all grain products, though occasionally I will eat long grain wild rice because it's actually a grass, not a grain and doesn't affect the body in the same inflammatory way.
3) I'm focusing on eating grass fed meat, lots of organic veggies, and organic fruit in limited amounts.
4) I will walk 30 minutes a day most days of the week. I will do some strength training a couple days of the week. I will rest 1-2 days a week.
5) I will read my Bible as my form of relaxing meditation to reduce stress and bring calm into my day.
6) I will do foot exercises and ice therapy to reduce inflammation in my fasciia on my feet, rather than resort to pills.
7) I will research herbal alternative therapies to my symptoms rather than settle for a prescription I know nothing about.
There you have it. That's the game plan. My plan is to measure my blood pressure and my blood glucose daily and to NOT measure my weight. I am avoiding the scale entirely and using my external signs of health rather that my gravitational relationship to the earth as my markers of success. If my doctor insists on weighing me, whatever, but for my own peace of mind and assessment of true health, I choose not to.
I invite you all along in my journey to better health and encourage you to work toward improving your own health and how that looks for you. I'm excited. I'm anticipating great upward changes in my health. Thank you all for your continued love, friendship, prayer and support. I couldn't ask for better family and friends. Be blessed and eat healthy!
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