How to start a healthy lifestyle

[rnbwbrite]

I was responding to another post on the topic and figured the topic is important enough to merit it's own post.

I used to eat VERY unhealthy before my son was 10 months old. I had never eaten any vegetables at all and lots of wheat and candy and sugar. I started eating healthy one very small step at a time over the past 2.5 years. Now I eat the most well-rounded diet free from junk food and full of vegetables and fruit and healthy meat. I started only by eating one serving of vegetables a day. After a week of failing completely and two weeks of doing so-so, I added in another serving, so just one serving with lunch and one with dinner then. After a few weeks I added in one serving of fruit with breakfast. A few more weeks (and many setbacks later) I replaced one snack a day with fruit and so on and so on - one serving at a time every few weeks over a long period of time. I then went through phases of eliminating unhealthy food choices one food group at a time. Here and there I would make small healthy changes like using gluten-free flour in place of my regular flour, extra virgin olive oil for cooking instead of vegetable oil, eating hemp-milk ice cream instead of dairy, every so often replacing one small unhealthy thing with something slightly more healthy.  Today, 2.5 years later, I study health and nutrition and and added supplements to my diet and I feel great! No more anxiety or worry, depression and fatigue! A gradual lifestyle change is the best way not to feel overwhelmed and remain commited to  the changes you want to make in your life - you should try it!

Please feel free to contact me by personal message for more information and tips on how I made this amazing transformation!!

[Mom2BandCJ]

Good for you!  It's sad how few people relate their poor food choices to how they feel. 

If you truly want to feel well, you have to feed your body well - real food, not processed stuff!  And a little sun doesn't hurt either!

[rnbwbrite]

Yea! I really accelerated my progress when I read a book called The Mood Cure - about how diet and poor processing of meat and produce and grains can cause depression and anxiety. It was a great motivator to get me over that last step of not wanting to give up the foods I love. But when it became about me choosing to hurt myself with unhealthy choices, and I could see right away the mood difference when I ate high-sugar processed foods or that really helped me to make healthier choices. Our moods really effect the way we are with our children as well, and I'm a whole different Mom when I'm eating healthy and taking care of myself.

[Mom2BandCJ]

Quoting rnbwbrite:

Yea! I really accelerated my progress when I read a book called The Mood Cure - about how diet and poor processing of meat and produce and grains can cause depression and anxiety. It was a great motivator to get me over that last step of not wanting to give up the foods I love. But when it became about me choosing to hurt myself with unhealthy choices, and I could see right away the mood difference when I ate high-sugar processed foods or that really helped me to make healthier choices. Our moods really effect the way we are with our children as well, and I'm a whole different Mom when I'm eating healthy and taking care of myself.

You're so right.  Too bad more people don't make the connection about what they're eating and how they feel.

I recently gave up gluten and dairy as part of a detox I'm doing and I was stunned that within a few days all of my food cravings disappeared!  I love it.  Not sure if I'll add back either gluten or dairy on a regular basis.