Hey everybody! So, basically, I am going to attempt to record my efforts to eat healthier and live a healthier lifestyle. Hopefully this will inspire me to stay focused and on track, and hopefully it will inspire other people who come across this to get healthier too. I like to live by the rule that if I help just one person my life was not lived in vain. So please join me on my journey, and let's see where it takes us :)
Some things you should know about me: My name is Jessica. I'm 25 years old, I am 5'7" and weigh roughly 223lbs. According to my admittedly crappy home scale, anyway. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 10. My lifestyle is currently pretty sedentary. I work on my feet as a Barista (aka Coffee Slinger) but besides that I don't exercise really. I tend to spend my free time writing, reading, playing video games, etc. I have been overweight my entire life, for as far back as I can remember. From what I have been told, I really started packing on the pounds when I was about 3 or 4. By the time I was in Second Grade, so 7 years old, I was pushing 100 lbs. I'm pretty sure I exceeded that before I turned 8 and went into the Third Grade. When I found out I was a Diabetic about 3 months before my 11th birthday, I was in the 220's I believe. As a teenager I thinned out a little bit, proportionally at least, but I remained over-weight. Throughout High School my average jean size was about a 16. Over the last 7 years since graduating my weight has fluctuated back and forth a great deal between a relatively slim (for me, anyway) 170's up to the 230's. The smallest jean size I can remember fitting in was a size 12, and that was about a year and a half ago. Right now I am size 18, pushing 20. I am doing this blog, and I am making this life change, because I want to live to see my golden years, and right now I won't. My last A1C was over 13. If I don't make these changes, I am going to die young.
Some things you should know about my goals: My goal is NOT to lose weight. I sincerely hope that is a side effect of my actions, but it is not my main goal. My main goal is to get healthy. To eat foods that are good for me, nutritious. Not empty calories, not full of chemicals, not processed or full of preservatives. I'm not counting calories, I'm not cutting fats. This is absolutely not a weight loss blog. My weight I have come to terms with, and if it were not adversely affecting my health I can't honestly say I would care about it at all. In a nutshell my goals are to eat healthier, and to live a healthier and more active lifestyle.
My Plans: Like I said, my plans include cutting out overly processed, preserved, chemical-filled foods. So, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh meat, fish, poultry, etc are in. Anything that comes in a box, has a bunch of things I can't pronounce listed in the ingredients, or contains tons of added sugar is out. I plan to get stricter with my diet as I go along, hopefully cutting out any products with added sugar. Also, absolutely no artificial sweeteners. I want to retrain my taste buds to appreciate what food actually tastes like when it isn't drowning in sugar and flavoring. I also plan to exercise more often, even if it's just walking around the mall for a couple hours. As far as I am concerned any improvement over how I am right now is worthwhile. So if I go walk at the mall for two hours tomorrow instead of sleeping till noon, than that's great. Little steps keep adding up over time :)
So far: I started cutting things out on Tuesday July 8th, 2014. This first step was to stop drinking artificially sweetened diet soda and juices. I switched to all water. And that was really the only major change I made for two days. On Thursday we went and got a big haul of fresh vegetables and fruits. On Friday I tried my first cup of tea with no milk or any type of sweetener. On Sunday I had Iced Coffee with only milk. On Friday we made Chicken Salad with Avocado instead of mayo, and on Saturday we made Tuna Salad the same way. Sunday I tried Acorn Squash for the first time. Today we visited a local farm for some fresh dairy, and made homemade Turkey Burgers over a bed of veggies with homemade Kale Chips and Couscous for dinner. So far, so good. The cravings are in check. The 'Water Detox' I did for two days seemed to help a lot, although I have a feeling that a lot of people would need something more like a week for it to be really effective. It helped get me out of the habit of having something heavily flavored and sweetened constantly. And honestly, it is AMAZING how much better tea and coffee is without being sweetened. There are subtle flavors and nuances that are completely lost when you dump the sugar or artificial sweetener in. I can't believe I ever preferred them with the sugar now, honestly, and I can't imagine going back to sweetened drinks even if I loss my motivation for this lifestyle change. Coffee was the biggest surprise. I've always drank it just for the caffeine while hating the taste and doing my best to cover it up. But drinking it unsweetened (admittedly still with plenty of milk though) it has this wonderful roasted, nutty undertone that sugar just annihilates.
What's Next: Tomorrow we're planning a trip to walk around the mall since I am off work, instead of sitting around the house all day and sleeping in way too late. For dinner tomorrow I am making a Turnip Bake, which will be my first experience with cooking and eating turnips :) And on Friday I will be ordering my Maple Sugar supplies for natural, healthier sweetening power when needed.
What to Expect: Recipes! If we create something tasty, it will be posted up here asap! You can also expect to hear more about my personal health journey, how my blood sugars are doing, blood work results, etc. so that you will be able to see the effect this way of eating is having on me and my health. You can also expect to hear more about my philosophy concerning this lifestyle change, and why I am choosing the foods that I am.
One Last Thing: I am by no means an expert. This is my journey, and I will be learning throughout the course of it. So if you have health concerns, please make sure you are talking to and seeing a licensed professional :)
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