AN EXAMPLE OF NO CORN, WHEAT, DAIRY, SOY, SUGAR
So I started a bit of a calendar challenge with you the other day…with a prompt to help you think about how you want to fill your calendar (month and year), with rejoicing at filling it with positive changes you have made in your life, your health and propelling towards your goals, your community, your relationships and what you’ve contributed to others’ lives or will you look back with regret. So we are going to focus on the rejoicing side of the equation. There are so many topics to tackle I had a hard time deciding where to start. But, it being the first of the year and a significant percentage of people will be tackling weight loss as one of their goals, I am going with food and fueling our bodies.
I will start with the good news first…..your diet doesn’t need to be blah, bland or boring! You want to fuel your body with high quality calories. Your best bet is to rid your pantry of foods that are processed. In other words, anything that isn’t in its whole form. I cleaned mine out several months ago and it was a purging to behold. Chips, crackers, pasta, flour, sugar, syrups, cake mixes, Crisco, pasta sauce, bbq sauces…. etc…etc…..gone baby gone! My husband was almost horrified. He grew up in a household where his mama made a buck stretch a country mile. It was impressive how far she could ‘stretch a chicken’. My mom too. We grew up on pasta. A weekly meal with mac-n-cheese as the main course, lots of pasta, spaghetti and casseroles made with pasta, canned soups and a few canned veggies thrown in to make it appear ‘healthy’. They did their best and we didn’t starve. That said-we were likely malnourished because a lot of what we ate weren’t quality calories, just calories. A lot of the convenience foods that they cooked their ‘healthy’ meals with were spiked with addictive additives made to make the consumer crave more. And in our family culture, the more you ate, the bigger the compliment to ‘mama’ and you can see how that could spiral to contributing to weight issues.
Throughout the years there have been all manner of crazy diets and of course I was a sucker for many of them. I did a version of Atkins, though not for an extended period of time because I simply couldn’t handle that much fat and meat. Blek! I started drinking diet sodas in high school when my mom discovered ‘Diet Coke’. Fizzy soda and no calories and glamour of course with the skinny model drinking it on commercials. We succumbed. I was drinking a LOT of diet Coke when I entered boot camp and thankfully that came to an abrupt halt……thank you United States Air Force. It was a good change. I have no idea where I would be now had I not changed that toxic-for-my-brain habit.
Tip of the day: YOU NEED FAT!!! You’re welcome. Yes, you need fat. 60% of your brain’s total weight is comprised of fat. Go fat free and make yourself stupid. Yes. I said it. Don’t deprive your brain of the fat it needs. Feed yourself, your brain, healthy fats. Walnuts, almonds, coconut oil, MCT oils, avocados and avocado oil, fatty fish-such as wild salmon (or supplement with high quality Omega 3’s if fish isn’t your thing). Cut fats that are bad for your cardiovascular system (yes the same system that transports all those nutrients good-or-bad, to your brain), that also transport vital nutrients to your muscles/organs. So cut the chips, fatty fried foods, cakes, donuts….all that food is literally poisoning your body and brain, taking your blood sugar and insulin production on a veritable roller coaster and hijacking your emotional stability with it. Think of yourself as ‘switching to high grade rocket fuel’ not ‘giving up or going without’.
Calories do matter-but it’s not just calories you want to be mindful of. You want calories that fuel your brain and body. High quality calories satiate your brain, decreasing cravings and resetting your tastebuds. For now, get some healthy fat into your diet. Doing that was a vital part of my successful switch-over to a healthier, fueling-my-brain-and-body nutrition plan. It cut cravings and made the transition very doable.
Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us. Get some healthy fat for your sweetie and you-check out some of my favorite treats… https://brainmd.com/brain-on-joy-chocolate-coconut-bar
To your health!
***always check with your health provider before starting a diet. I am not a licensed dietician or nutritionist.
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