While it seems wrong to complain about losing four pounds, that’s sort of what I’m about to do. You may already know that last week our family finished the 10 Day Pledge from 100DaysOfRealFood. In short, it’s a commitment to eat and prepare dishes/snacks made from whole foods – only whole grains (no white or partial-white flours) and no refined sweeteners (choose honey or real maple syrup instead). There are more details, if interested, and I’ve posted all about them previously.
We did successfully complete the pledge, and I’ve decided to continue. My family will still make their own “out & about” choices, but the whole foods offerings at home are here to stay. Here’s why - - - the results are disturbing. We are eating LESS food and are hungry LESS often, because whole foods take longer for your body to breakdown and utilize than processed/packaged foods. Our energy levels are more constant and my sleep seems more restorative. I’ve lost 4 pounds in 2 weeks without concern for portion size, without exercise (that WILL come), and without being hungry. We’re eating butter on our homemade whole-grain bread, pouring half & half on our oatmeal, and making Alfredo sauce with heavy whipping cream for our brown rice pasta. Of course, we’re eating lots of fruits & vegetables too.
Isn’t another decade of greater obesity, higher cancer rates, more heart disease, etc. enough to convince people that something’s NOT right? Isn’t it obvious that there are layers and layers of lies regarding nutrition in our American culture? I suppose truths have always been out there, but - for me - they sure have been hard to find.
Here are a few blogs/websites that have helped me sort through the mess of information.
Wanting to be equipped with more knowledge, and not just my own opinions, today I started reading “Fateful Fork” (here’s a review) – (here’s the table of contents). It’s been helpful and revealing – timeless nutrition facts that sort through fads, and expose motives of corporate profitability.
There IS a small and growing national movement (backlash?!) towards and demand for simple whole foods, and I’m glad to finally be part of it! My depth of understanding is still slight, but I’m confident we’ve finally found the correct path – REAL WHOLE FOODS.
5 Let's CHAT!!:
CONGRATS on reaching your goal and on being four pounds lighter without trying! Now that our summer is slowing down, I am tempted to follow your lead. Although we are already very careful about the foods we choose, I'm sure our diets could be even healthier. Keep being inspirational; you just may win me over. ;)
You do make a good argument for changing how we eat. I'm just afraid my family would lock me in a closet and run to McD's! I'm thinking I'd need to start small with changes over time (with full disclosure AFTER mealtime). I'm gonna check out those books and see about getting started (slowly).
Tami, I could have written this post myself! I've been doing whole foods for about 10 days...eating less and less often, NO cravings (this one is huge!), sleeping less while feeling more rested and energetic, and...I'm down 3 pounds!
Congrats on choosing to continue...I hope I never revert back to my old way of eating. I posted a recipe for healthy homemade granola bars if you're interested.
http://mountainmorning.blogspot.com/2011/07/cant-believe-its-healthy-granola-bars.html
Blessings!
Brandi
I think making these kinds of lifestyle changes is so key for a healthier world. Foods like you're talking about taste SO MUCH BETTER than processed foods so it always makes me wonder why more people don't eat this way. Restaurants hardly even taste good to me anymore.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing the links...I am checking them all out. Good luck on this journey to greater health with your family. I love all your points in this post!
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