Dietary changes
Since April 26, I've made some massive changes to my diet. I'm calling this an experiment, and so far it is going extremely well. My decisions were based on a whole bunch of principles. Lately, a lot of my friends seem to be cutting out sugar, and getting on exercise plans. I've noticed a lot more health conscious behaviour among my friends and it seems to be catching. I was also inspired by the fact that I haven't felt good about my body in a long time. Between ages 30-33, I gained a lot of weight. It's not weighing more than bothers me; it's being squishier. I used to be very toned and I want to be that way again. I like being in good shape. I've always been a person who likes to exercise and who feels best when I'm exercizing. I have noticed this over the year. I stepped up my dance classes this year by taking 2 classes a week instead of one, and noticed a big change in my moods. I started making sure that I was exercising more, and it did make a big difference for me this winter. So I'm also ramping up my exercise. I've recently reduced the amount of meds that I've been taking and I've been trying to supplement and manage moods and tendency towards depression with other things. This includes focussing on diet and exercise and possibly working on more cognitive techniques. I might go back to yoga or meditation or something.
I was also inspired because A and I watched all six episodes of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which looked at eating in North America. My eating habits are golden compared to some of the people featured on the show, but I still wanted to examine what I was putting in my mouth.
I think about food all the time. I read about food all the time, and talk about it all the time in my job. I think about eating habits, what we grow, what we produce and what's sustainable. I'm studying for my food security certificate, but my interst has led me to reading as much as I can about food. I know that I'm following a passion, because I continue to want to learn and read more and I keep on getting excited when I'm learning about food. I'm passionate and I'm following that passion! It's very exciting. As a result of reading, I started to think more about what I was eating lately.
Another inspiration came from my dad. My dad has severe eczema and has had to go on an elimination diet. He realized that he had a sensitivity to gluten, quit it and lost a ton of weight. (It wasn't just gluten, he had to cut out a lot, but gluten was one of the major things.) So I started thinking about how much gluten I was eating. Dad advised me to cut it out completely, but I didn't want to go that far.
I also got the idea from Mark Bittman's diet in "Food matters". He cut out a lot of processed foods and starches and was basically vegan until dinner, as he called it. He lost a lot of weight in the process. Other inspiration came from Rachel Cosgrove's book "The female body breakthrough."
I hadn't paid attention to how much of my diet was actually comprised of carbs. On some days, I would eat a bagel (and fruit) for breakfast, a veggie burger with fruit and maybe something else for lunch, and then pasta with tomato sauce and cheese for supper. Yikes! I was also eating about a small block of cheese a week. This was mostly due to sheer laziness.
So lately, here's what I did. I started eating breakfast again. Breakfast is fruit (I'm a fruit a holic and can't get enough), and usually some kind of whole grain porridge, like rolled oats, quinoa, etc. Sometimes I put yogurt in it, other times I put dates and soy milk. Since I've started eating breakfast again, I've noticed that my blood sugar fluctuates less. I recently read that people who skip breakfast tend to eat 40 per cent more during the day. I won't be skipping breakfast any more!
Then I usually end up eating leftovers for lunch, and some sort of veggie dish for supper. I barely eat any bread, and I don't eat very much pasta any more. I've shifted to a diet based largely on plants instead of starches. I eat a lot of beans and tofu (I'm mostly veg) and fish once a week. I've stopped buying cheese, and seem to be eating vegan a lot. I've tried to incorporate more brown rice, and whole grains.
As a person with low blood sugar, I have to eat frequently and I still do so. Once a day, I snack on a small bowl of peanuts and raisins. But I'm not having the crazy blood sugar trips that I used to when I was eating more starches.
I've noticed some other things. I'm not craving salt as much as I used to, and I'm more regular (TMI). My bloating last period was really reduced and my cravings and mood were better. I've also cut back on processed foods- junk foods etc, and I want them less. I don't want to drink juice as much; I'd rather just drink water.
I have to grocery shop and cook a lot more, and eating like this does take some planning. I've been eating out a lot less frequently. But I'm not buying cheese or bagels like I used to, and I'm not craving a lot of foods that I used to.
In the past 3 weeks, I have had the odd splurge too and I don't really feel deprived. Two days ago I enjoyed a Fat Franks veggie dog, I've had cake, and a veggie burger, and sushi. I do consume some sort of wheat product about once a day. I've changed to wraps instead of bagels, and just tried to reduce the amount of wheat that I've been eating.
I haven't really noticed a huge change in the numbers on the scale yet, but I haven't been doing this for a long time. I plan to keep it up, and we shall see where it goes. So far, I have no reason to stop because I feel really good. I haven't been doing this long, but I do feel slightly less squishy. We'll see how it goes. I plan to report back.
I was also inspired because A and I watched all six episodes of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which looked at eating in North America. My eating habits are golden compared to some of the people featured on the show, but I still wanted to examine what I was putting in my mouth.
I think about food all the time. I read about food all the time, and talk about it all the time in my job. I think about eating habits, what we grow, what we produce and what's sustainable. I'm studying for my food security certificate, but my interst has led me to reading as much as I can about food. I know that I'm following a passion, because I continue to want to learn and read more and I keep on getting excited when I'm learning about food. I'm passionate and I'm following that passion! It's very exciting. As a result of reading, I started to think more about what I was eating lately.
Another inspiration came from my dad. My dad has severe eczema and has had to go on an elimination diet. He realized that he had a sensitivity to gluten, quit it and lost a ton of weight. (It wasn't just gluten, he had to cut out a lot, but gluten was one of the major things.) So I started thinking about how much gluten I was eating. Dad advised me to cut it out completely, but I didn't want to go that far.
I also got the idea from Mark Bittman's diet in "Food matters". He cut out a lot of processed foods and starches and was basically vegan until dinner, as he called it. He lost a lot of weight in the process. Other inspiration came from Rachel Cosgrove's book "The female body breakthrough."
I hadn't paid attention to how much of my diet was actually comprised of carbs. On some days, I would eat a bagel (and fruit) for breakfast, a veggie burger with fruit and maybe something else for lunch, and then pasta with tomato sauce and cheese for supper. Yikes! I was also eating about a small block of cheese a week. This was mostly due to sheer laziness.
So lately, here's what I did. I started eating breakfast again. Breakfast is fruit (I'm a fruit a holic and can't get enough), and usually some kind of whole grain porridge, like rolled oats, quinoa, etc. Sometimes I put yogurt in it, other times I put dates and soy milk. Since I've started eating breakfast again, I've noticed that my blood sugar fluctuates less. I recently read that people who skip breakfast tend to eat 40 per cent more during the day. I won't be skipping breakfast any more!
Then I usually end up eating leftovers for lunch, and some sort of veggie dish for supper. I barely eat any bread, and I don't eat very much pasta any more. I've shifted to a diet based largely on plants instead of starches. I eat a lot of beans and tofu (I'm mostly veg) and fish once a week. I've stopped buying cheese, and seem to be eating vegan a lot. I've tried to incorporate more brown rice, and whole grains.
As a person with low blood sugar, I have to eat frequently and I still do so. Once a day, I snack on a small bowl of peanuts and raisins. But I'm not having the crazy blood sugar trips that I used to when I was eating more starches.
I've noticed some other things. I'm not craving salt as much as I used to, and I'm more regular (TMI). My bloating last period was really reduced and my cravings and mood were better. I've also cut back on processed foods- junk foods etc, and I want them less. I don't want to drink juice as much; I'd rather just drink water.
I have to grocery shop and cook a lot more, and eating like this does take some planning. I've been eating out a lot less frequently. But I'm not buying cheese or bagels like I used to, and I'm not craving a lot of foods that I used to.
In the past 3 weeks, I have had the odd splurge too and I don't really feel deprived. Two days ago I enjoyed a Fat Franks veggie dog, I've had cake, and a veggie burger, and sushi. I do consume some sort of wheat product about once a day. I've changed to wraps instead of bagels, and just tried to reduce the amount of wheat that I've been eating.
I haven't really noticed a huge change in the numbers on the scale yet, but I haven't been doing this for a long time. I plan to keep it up, and we shall see where it goes. So far, I have no reason to stop because I feel really good. I haven't been doing this long, but I do feel slightly less squishy. We'll see how it goes. I plan to report back.