Today I was supposed to turn a torqued work-out....but alas! I was drawn into my old fleshpot modus-operandi, and fell off the Pilgrim path. What was that all about? Okaaaaaaay...
Got up. Ate a grapefruit. Went to church. Went to a restaurant.....finding absolutely nothing on the menu that I could have, I succumbed to a baked potato. No butter. I ordered some red onions on the side - plain.
"It's natural, whole food" I says to myself; and it was until I glopped 1/2 a cup of sour cream on top. I had my own sea salt container in my purse, and I enjoyed the pepper, too. Drank lemon water. Sooooo, what's so bad about that?
Uh, what COULD I have done? I refuse to eat iceberg lettuce (tastes like aluminum foil) or dead, bland tomatoes, no high fructose corn syrup salad dressing for me. Well, I could have brought my own tea bag, ordered the baked potato, and a "to go" box. Eating half a portion! What a concept! Forget the sour cream....I am not a baby calf. The onions would have been fine.
Fast forward to dinner. Not being at home is always a challenge, if I am at a restaurant. Went to a Mexican joint and ordered guacamole and lemon water with a side of cilantro and onions. No chemicals. Perfectly natural. No sugar, no refined carbs, no chemical-laden meat; but of course, while making conversation with the DH, I followed his lead and had chip after chip after chip after chip, dipping into the salsa like a dipstick.
What could I have done differently to achieve success? Well, I could have fasted and watched him eat. Gotta get some practice on that one....OR, I could have skipped the chips altogether, poured the wonderful salsa on top of the otherwise bland guac and ate verrrrry slowly, sipping my lemon water all the while. I just need to program my mind differently. Axshully, I would be fine going to the grocery and having a cucumber and an apple. Maybe some pine nuts. Nice, neat, quick. Done. It's not too social, though even though it costs little, and I would have fuel for energy.
Well, hey. It did not stop there.We went to the evening meeting and were home by 10pm. Walking in the door there was the smell of the garbanzo beans in the crock pot. Hummus just does not taste the same when using canned garbanzos (chick peas). "You have to blend it all while the hummus is hot." I was taught by an old Lebanese lady way back in the 70's. So my DH and I talk while I put together the hummus. Of course, I cut up the whole wheat pita into wedges. I could just as easily cut up some veggies and had crudités and hummus. I mean. after all, I had gone a whole month and one week without bread, why start now? Uh, I was being social? Lame excuse! So, we sat there, and ate. AGAIN.
Went to bed. Could not sleep. My body's sayin', "Hey, ya fed me, alright? Is not food meant for fuel? Aren't we gonna do something, now?" Yup. It was 2am before I finally nodded off. And when I got up, my mouth felt parched, like someone had stuffed cotton balls into it. My belly felt flabby, not tight. I felt tired still. Definitely not ready for a good hearty work-out.
I hurried over to the scale. 163 pounds. Crum. How could I have gained 2 whole pounds in 24 hours????
Then, this verse came to my mind.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. And, yeah, I can hear you laughing, "That's not sin silly!"
Well, yeah, it is- for me. Overeating is the beginning of gluttonous behavior.
Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. NKJV
We forget how are bodies are designed,
and for what? For Whom?
And that food is merely fuel;
albeit a pleasure,
a pleasure divine.
Yes, eating is wonderful, but we cannot just sit around and eat all day, anymore than we can just sit around and read the Bible all day. The food is sustenance. The Word is The Bread of Life, and The Living Water. We are meant to WORK! That's what food is for, both spiritual and physical. In the same way that Jesus Himself and us become one through His Presence manifest in the scriptures, so the food we eat becomes the very cells that we are comprised of. Yeah! We are what we eat!
I need to remember that the natural things speak of the invisible, and the whole concept of eating in the fleshly realm, is a type and shadow of our feasting on the Bread of Life. "HE is my portion and my cup." Psalm 16:5. He wants us to have pleasure, and in doing it all His way, we get joy unspeakable and full of glory, we get LIFE!
It is when I attempt to fill my aching soul up with food that will not satisfy my "God-shaped-vacuum", that I am most prone to temptation. It is not necessarily the group setting, it is the quiet times all alone with Him where the Table of the LORD is set. He loves for us to participate, He is the Meal, we set the table, the time and the place.
So, how can I avoid falling down again? Well, firstly, I can have regular meals of feasting on God's Word to keep myself full to over-flowing in Him. Then, I can PLAN AHEAD for days when I will be out of my own kitchen. Bring some wholesome snacks, some tea bags, and for now, just avoid restaurants! Most of all I can ask the LORD to grace me with the power to flow in the spirit of self-control.
He is for us.
Let's give Him all that we are.
Let's live like He owns us.
"For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's"
1 Corinthians 6:20
I am taking time to pray for each one who is on this journey to health together with me. Hopefully, each one of you has a plan that you know works for you. Press on!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
No more Depression
Usually around this time of year, I am in depression mode.After whooping it up around the buffet tables on the holidays, I would finally crash around the second week of January. As the weather got colder, I would hunker down and hide. I did not want to see anybody, mainly;y because I felt like crum. I would drag myself out of bed in the dark, and be coming home from work in the dark. The state of the sky reflected my state of mind. I hated January and February. No sunshine, yeah, that was it! I read somewhere that if you don't get enough of the right kind of rays, then you would have a "disorder"....well, now! So I jumped into the S.A.D. box. Nice fit.
But this year was different. This is the year that God had said to get my house in order. It took me all year to clean out the closets and file drawers, but finally at the end of the year, I started getting my "house", i.e. this body in order. Cleanse, girl...cleanse! So this January, I have enthusiasm, energy and hope! It is by God's grace. He has given me the power to get through the de-tox, and the cravings are gone. I am satisfied with the parameters. I am fine without refined foods, chemicals and white junk. I do not miss the caffeine, either. It never helped. It hindered me. I move faster and more easily. I get things done. My ankles don't hurt by mid-afternoon. My head does not feel full of static and my sinuses are not grieving me. My joints are not aching and my bp is 117/68. I sleep soundly and deeply.
Life is coming into balance. I look forward to the work-outs...wow! I never thought that would happen! Even my husband has lost ten pounds!!! It's because I have been serving him more nutritious foods, and axshully creating an interesting lunch for him to take with him so that he can avoid the restaurant trans-fat trap.
I measured myself a few days ago. I had done that on December 10th, when I began this thing. And, guess what? I have lost 22.5 inches! It's a miracle! So today, I weigh 161 pounds with 26 more pounds to go. I weighed 128 at 19 before ever having children, so I thought adding a few pounds (135) would be fine. I am not at all rigid about it....We will see. It's the BMI anyway, not a number on the scale. It's about fluidity and flexibility, it's the mobility that counts. How I fit in my clothes, yeah, that's important, but having the energy to do whatever God calls me to do to help people, whenever. I have passed up so many prime opportunities to fully serve the Lord in my everyday life, and it was because I was too tired, too hung over from sugar, too full of snot offerings to do anything but try and get through my own problems, much less help someone else with theirs. I feel like Shelly Price looks...happy! I want to fill my life with color, and my atmosphere with praise to God for all the wonderful, wholesome foods He has given us to BUILD UP our temples, and not tear them down! Reminds me of a scripture from Proverbs that says that "A wise woman buildeth up her house, and a foolish woman tears it down with her hands". That's Proverbs 14:1.
I have a few tips to share about making life in the kitchen a bit easier.
Ginger Tea is a kick in the pants for colds and flu, and all kinds of inflammation. It has a spicy, Asian flair. When I go shopping, I always look for fat healthy looking ginger root in the produce section. If it is dry, shriveled. or moldy, pass it up. But this week, it was perfect at Brookshire's. I bought almost $7 worth. Cheaper than most packaged remedies, and so much tastier! I use it in stir-fry, dressings, all kinds of things.
When I got it home, I juiced it in my Champion Juicer...all of it. I poured it into a pitcher, and then into those cheap little ice cube trays that you can get at Dollar General, 3 to a pack. Then, I carefully place them into the freezer, and then anytime that I need some tea, I just put a cube of ginger into the teapot, add a packet of Stevia, and pour boiling water over it. Yum.
When making stir-fry, heat your Sesame Oil, add a cube of ginger from the freezer and a cube of garlic, and then your shredded cabbage and various vegetables and top it all off with some Bragg's Amino or Soy Sauce, add a bit of miso, maybe some cayenne, and you have stir-fry!
Here is how I do my garlic: Find a good movie, and sit down on the floor with a bag of garlic bulbs, and peel all of it, placing the cloves into a bowl. When the movie is over, put all the garlic into the Cuisinart (my DH calls it a "squeeze 'n fart"), add a healthy portion of Grey Celtic Sea Salt, and process until smooth. Put into ice cube trays, and place in freezer. The cool thing about this, is that the garlic is easy to spoon out of the trays, because the salt keeps it soft...and any recipe that I use garlic in has salt, too...so it works!
See ya next time! And remember to pray for Andrea Ivans! She is recovering from an accident that happened right before Christmas, her right(?) hand was seriously injured. Thank God it was not worse than that, but it has been painful, and difficult. Let's all pray for a complete recovery, with perfect mobility! By the way, if any of you are recovering from an injury of any kind, be nice to yourself, and nourish your body with anti-inflammatory foods and herbs. Sugary foods and those that create sugar quickly in your system are the same foods that produce inflammation.....remember, INFLAMMATION = PAIN!!!!!
Hey, maybe I will talk about that next time!
But this year was different. This is the year that God had said to get my house in order. It took me all year to clean out the closets and file drawers, but finally at the end of the year, I started getting my "house", i.e. this body in order. Cleanse, girl...cleanse! So this January, I have enthusiasm, energy and hope! It is by God's grace. He has given me the power to get through the de-tox, and the cravings are gone. I am satisfied with the parameters. I am fine without refined foods, chemicals and white junk. I do not miss the caffeine, either. It never helped. It hindered me. I move faster and more easily. I get things done. My ankles don't hurt by mid-afternoon. My head does not feel full of static and my sinuses are not grieving me. My joints are not aching and my bp is 117/68. I sleep soundly and deeply.
Life is coming into balance. I look forward to the work-outs...wow! I never thought that would happen! Even my husband has lost ten pounds!!! It's because I have been serving him more nutritious foods, and axshully creating an interesting lunch for him to take with him so that he can avoid the restaurant trans-fat trap.
I measured myself a few days ago. I had done that on December 10th, when I began this thing. And, guess what? I have lost 22.5 inches! It's a miracle! So today, I weigh 161 pounds with 26 more pounds to go. I weighed 128 at 19 before ever having children, so I thought adding a few pounds (135) would be fine. I am not at all rigid about it....We will see. It's the BMI anyway, not a number on the scale. It's about fluidity and flexibility, it's the mobility that counts. How I fit in my clothes, yeah, that's important, but having the energy to do whatever God calls me to do to help people, whenever. I have passed up so many prime opportunities to fully serve the Lord in my everyday life, and it was because I was too tired, too hung over from sugar, too full of snot offerings to do anything but try and get through my own problems, much less help someone else with theirs. I feel like Shelly Price looks...happy! I want to fill my life with color, and my atmosphere with praise to God for all the wonderful, wholesome foods He has given us to BUILD UP our temples, and not tear them down! Reminds me of a scripture from Proverbs that says that "A wise woman buildeth up her house, and a foolish woman tears it down with her hands". That's Proverbs 14:1.
I have a few tips to share about making life in the kitchen a bit easier.
Ginger Tea is a kick in the pants for colds and flu, and all kinds of inflammation. It has a spicy, Asian flair. When I go shopping, I always look for fat healthy looking ginger root in the produce section. If it is dry, shriveled. or moldy, pass it up. But this week, it was perfect at Brookshire's. I bought almost $7 worth. Cheaper than most packaged remedies, and so much tastier! I use it in stir-fry, dressings, all kinds of things.
When I got it home, I juiced it in my Champion Juicer...all of it. I poured it into a pitcher, and then into those cheap little ice cube trays that you can get at Dollar General, 3 to a pack. Then, I carefully place them into the freezer, and then anytime that I need some tea, I just put a cube of ginger into the teapot, add a packet of Stevia, and pour boiling water over it. Yum.
When making stir-fry, heat your Sesame Oil, add a cube of ginger from the freezer and a cube of garlic, and then your shredded cabbage and various vegetables and top it all off with some Bragg's Amino or Soy Sauce, add a bit of miso, maybe some cayenne, and you have stir-fry!
Here is how I do my garlic: Find a good movie, and sit down on the floor with a bag of garlic bulbs, and peel all of it, placing the cloves into a bowl. When the movie is over, put all the garlic into the Cuisinart (my DH calls it a "squeeze 'n fart"), add a healthy portion of Grey Celtic Sea Salt, and process until smooth. Put into ice cube trays, and place in freezer. The cool thing about this, is that the garlic is easy to spoon out of the trays, because the salt keeps it soft...and any recipe that I use garlic in has salt, too...so it works!
See ya next time! And remember to pray for Andrea Ivans! She is recovering from an accident that happened right before Christmas, her right(?) hand was seriously injured. Thank God it was not worse than that, but it has been painful, and difficult. Let's all pray for a complete recovery, with perfect mobility! By the way, if any of you are recovering from an injury of any kind, be nice to yourself, and nourish your body with anti-inflammatory foods and herbs. Sugary foods and those that create sugar quickly in your system are the same foods that produce inflammation.....remember, INFLAMMATION = PAIN!!!!!
Hey, maybe I will talk about that next time!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Andrea, the Catalyst of Epiphany!
Alrighty. Let's get on with the EPIPHANY already!
It all started on an excursion into town to run errands. First stop- Office Depot. That's when I saw her! It was the beautiful and graceful Andrea Ivans. I remembered her as a cheerful and over-the-top intelligent
(albeit overweight) customer service rep behind the counter at the copy center there.
Here she was looking all the part of a sparkley and petite fahionista! Her face shone with vibrant health, and her hair was so glisteny and bouncy, her eyes twinkling as can be! I stopped to express my curiosity, and Andrea kindly complied. Turns out she had read a small volume of practical health information and had commenced following the book's guidelines. Sounded simple. So I ordered the book and it's companion little "cookbook". The wee tome espoused practically everything I had ever known about how to get healthy in a neat little package. I hated the title of the book, and the raw language it utilized, but I had to admit that the "attitude" of the authors did get my attention, which was actually, "Why are you still stupid, after all the knowledge you have downloaded all these years? Huh? How long you gonna keep that up?
Yes, the title is "Skinny Bitch". It's about whole foods. Plant foods silly. As God created our bodies to consume. As in nourishing our cells with recognizable components to build up and not tear down our temples. It's funny, but the whole time I was reading the book, scriptures kept popping into my head! Like, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." I guess I had thought that God was just kidding when He said that. Also, the New Testament throws GLUTTONY in with all kinds of hellish sins, but we Americans just laugh that off and dig into our chemical laden "foods" and sugary junk, don't we?
Now the book advocates being a vegetarian. I am not going to close myself into that box, but I am not eating meat as often like maybe twice a week is a goodly pace for me. No more than 3-4 ounces at a time. For the first three weeks I had no meat. The Bible calls it a "Daniel Fast". I am definitely not eating any meat that is not organic. I do not need to put all those antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides, suicides or whatever into my body.
Here is the upshot: It took me 3 weeks of eating nothing but vegetables and lemons for my body to de-toxify. It was painful! I stopped craving after only 3 days, but I am almost 54 years old, and my body was glad to be receiving clean foods and was ready to throw off the junk that had built up in my system. I felt sick, but I knew that I was on my way to getting well. The worst of it came on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There I was in Dillard's trying on shoes in full-blown de-tox mode and feeling like crud.
But by God's great grace He kept me through it! On Christmas Day we were at a friend's home and I had the audacity to build a mondo salad and to create my own dressing, and not share it with anyone! I ate it all myself, skipping all the other foods. It felt a little socially rebellious, but really, nobody cared what I did or did not eat. Also, I was not there to do anything but enjoy my friends.
I kept thinking of the beautiful Andrea Ivans and my friend Shelly Price who was looking healthy and lovely as ever because of her exercise. I thought of my friend Jane Paris who looks strong and pretty from having lost the avoirdupois! I wanted to be free of the aches and pains and weariness of being overweight.....and be free to obey the Lord without thinking of MYSELF and my personal agonies....to truly serve others with joy.
I started this new lifestyle on December 10th, and I do not ever want to go back! Finally the day dawned when I felt good enough to do a work out! I started with Gunner Peterson's "Core Secrets" 20 minute routine, and have now memorized the video and have expanded it to more reps and more weight. Every other day. Just 3 times a week, and 40 minutes each time. I feel great! I have energy! I sleep so much better! I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I started out at 173 pounds, and now I weigh 163. Most importantly is not the number on the scale, but the inches lost and the energy I am gaining!
So here is my Base Salad, inspired by Jennifer Cornbleet. Find her on YouTube.
Cut some Kale out of the garden. Wash it. De-rib it. Toss into salad spinner.
Roll leaves tightly. Cut into chiffonaide ribbons.
Toss into a large bowl. Add 1/4 -1/2 tsp. of Sea Salt.
Massage, rub and play with it for 2 minutes.
It will be soft and sweet!
To this add some squeezed lemon, some Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil.
Add some spicy jalapeño, some tampenade, or chopped ripe olives, or pesto.
Add cut up vegetables, chopped apples, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, or
whatever suits your taste. I like to add thinly sliced cabbage or ripped up romaine.
See you next time!
It all started on an excursion into town to run errands. First stop- Office Depot. That's when I saw her! It was the beautiful and graceful Andrea Ivans. I remembered her as a cheerful and over-the-top intelligent
(albeit overweight) customer service rep behind the counter at the copy center there.
Here she was looking all the part of a sparkley and petite fahionista! Her face shone with vibrant health, and her hair was so glisteny and bouncy, her eyes twinkling as can be! I stopped to express my curiosity, and Andrea kindly complied. Turns out she had read a small volume of practical health information and had commenced following the book's guidelines. Sounded simple. So I ordered the book and it's companion little "cookbook". The wee tome espoused practically everything I had ever known about how to get healthy in a neat little package. I hated the title of the book, and the raw language it utilized, but I had to admit that the "attitude" of the authors did get my attention, which was actually, "Why are you still stupid, after all the knowledge you have downloaded all these years? Huh? How long you gonna keep that up?
Yes, the title is "Skinny Bitch". It's about whole foods. Plant foods silly. As God created our bodies to consume. As in nourishing our cells with recognizable components to build up and not tear down our temples. It's funny, but the whole time I was reading the book, scriptures kept popping into my head! Like, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." I guess I had thought that God was just kidding when He said that. Also, the New Testament throws GLUTTONY in with all kinds of hellish sins, but we Americans just laugh that off and dig into our chemical laden "foods" and sugary junk, don't we?
Now the book advocates being a vegetarian. I am not going to close myself into that box, but I am not eating meat as often like maybe twice a week is a goodly pace for me. No more than 3-4 ounces at a time. For the first three weeks I had no meat. The Bible calls it a "Daniel Fast". I am definitely not eating any meat that is not organic. I do not need to put all those antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides, suicides or whatever into my body.
Here is the upshot: It took me 3 weeks of eating nothing but vegetables and lemons for my body to de-toxify. It was painful! I stopped craving after only 3 days, but I am almost 54 years old, and my body was glad to be receiving clean foods and was ready to throw off the junk that had built up in my system. I felt sick, but I knew that I was on my way to getting well. The worst of it came on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There I was in Dillard's trying on shoes in full-blown de-tox mode and feeling like crud.
But by God's great grace He kept me through it! On Christmas Day we were at a friend's home and I had the audacity to build a mondo salad and to create my own dressing, and not share it with anyone! I ate it all myself, skipping all the other foods. It felt a little socially rebellious, but really, nobody cared what I did or did not eat. Also, I was not there to do anything but enjoy my friends.
I kept thinking of the beautiful Andrea Ivans and my friend Shelly Price who was looking healthy and lovely as ever because of her exercise. I thought of my friend Jane Paris who looks strong and pretty from having lost the avoirdupois! I wanted to be free of the aches and pains and weariness of being overweight.....and be free to obey the Lord without thinking of MYSELF and my personal agonies....to truly serve others with joy.
I started this new lifestyle on December 10th, and I do not ever want to go back! Finally the day dawned when I felt good enough to do a work out! I started with Gunner Peterson's "Core Secrets" 20 minute routine, and have now memorized the video and have expanded it to more reps and more weight. Every other day. Just 3 times a week, and 40 minutes each time. I feel great! I have energy! I sleep so much better! I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I started out at 173 pounds, and now I weigh 163. Most importantly is not the number on the scale, but the inches lost and the energy I am gaining!
So here is my Base Salad, inspired by Jennifer Cornbleet. Find her on YouTube.
Cut some Kale out of the garden. Wash it. De-rib it. Toss into salad spinner.
Roll leaves tightly. Cut into chiffonaide ribbons.
Toss into a large bowl. Add 1/4 -1/2 tsp. of Sea Salt.
Massage, rub and play with it for 2 minutes.
It will be soft and sweet!
To this add some squeezed lemon, some Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil.
Add some spicy jalapeño, some tampenade, or chopped ripe olives, or pesto.
Add cut up vegetables, chopped apples, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, or
whatever suits your taste. I like to add thinly sliced cabbage or ripped up romaine.
See you next time!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Continuing Story
Well, of course, Health Food Stores were a new phenomenon back there in the early 70's, and I was an avid fan, gleaning as much knowledge as I could, and endeavoring to implement as much as I could.
First thing to go was the bread....it just seemed like a filler food, something to fill you up, but with little substance. Sometimes my Dad would bring home these truly hearty and heavy dark brown loaves from some ethnic bakery...ahhh! They had a thick crust that was oh, sooooo satisfying to tear your teeth into! I do not remember seeing any white bread at our house, and once I had children, I began baking my own whole wheat bread for them...and me too, of course. But alas, I always felt fat when I ate bread...any bread. Fat and farty.
Then there was sugar. My Dad never let me drink it, and by the time I finally did at 16, I spat that fizzy stuff out, and never looked back. Not drinking soda of any kind has probably saved me from even more grief than I've alrady had. Anyway, back on the sugar- Every time I ate a lovely dessert, I would relish it like some kind of drug....because for me, that white poison was death, death, death! I could never have "just a little"....sure enough, the next day, I would crave sugar something fierce; and at the same time of day that I had eaten it the day before! Hmmmm. What was that all about? Even today, when I hear folks saying that they can just have "a little" dessert here and there - I just do not get it.
Next thing that I noticed would set me off was dairy. Milk, ice cream, cheese, pudding; sour cream, coffee creamer, it all made me fart! From what I had read, the flatulence meant that I was not digesting something properly. I found that if I ate plain yoghurt, I was fine. After consuming dairy, I ended up with excess mucus, fuzzy thinking, overwhelming weariness and a sluggish constitution. Not too fun.
What I did not know then, was that I was growing my own little yeast colony in my gut...all by myself! Involuntarily, no less! My insides were an ugly science experiment on wheels! Yup, the yeast in the bread, the glucose, sucrose, maltose, and the lactose and every other "ose" were feeding those little yeasts to the point of overgrowth. Gross! How did it get there, you ask? Well, I found out that the wonderful world of antibiotics, which had kept me from dying of infection from my internal injuries back there in the hospital, had not only killed off the nasty bacteria in my gut, but had effectively destroyed my healthy intestinal flora (the good bacteria) as well. The effect of this was chronic fatigue, sinus infections, weakness in my joints and mental, (yes, I said mental) confusion.All these things also caused me to gain weight easily, too, which I could not afford to do, since even a few pounds brought me more pain. As I aged, I started getting these bad rashes in my thoracic area and on my shins....how embarrassing! And it itches!
I began to learn the why of all these symptoms only a few years ago, and even upon learning that this was my condition, I pushed the information about CANDIDA ALBICANS, or yeast overgrowth to the very back burner. I took acidophilous capsules to reduce the yeast over growth, but at the same time I would eat the things that fed the yeast. Money down the drain, girls!
Well, just like in any area that I went floating down the River of De Nile in, my boat crashed....and of course it had to crash many a time before I would climb up out of that slimy River of De Nile and face my truth.
Tomorrow I will share my epiphany!
By the way, DENIAL is an acronym for:
Don't
Even
No (sp "know")
I
Am
Lying......to myself!
Recommended reading:
"Diet for a Small Planet" by Francis Moore Lappe
"Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit" by Adelle Davis
"Sugar Blues" by Patrick Duffy
"The Yeast Connection" by William G. Crook M.D.
on Amazon
First thing to go was the bread....it just seemed like a filler food, something to fill you up, but with little substance. Sometimes my Dad would bring home these truly hearty and heavy dark brown loaves from some ethnic bakery...ahhh! They had a thick crust that was oh, sooooo satisfying to tear your teeth into! I do not remember seeing any white bread at our house, and once I had children, I began baking my own whole wheat bread for them...and me too, of course. But alas, I always felt fat when I ate bread...any bread. Fat and farty.
Then there was sugar. My Dad never let me drink it, and by the time I finally did at 16, I spat that fizzy stuff out, and never looked back. Not drinking soda of any kind has probably saved me from even more grief than I've alrady had. Anyway, back on the sugar- Every time I ate a lovely dessert, I would relish it like some kind of drug....because for me, that white poison was death, death, death! I could never have "just a little"....sure enough, the next day, I would crave sugar something fierce; and at the same time of day that I had eaten it the day before! Hmmmm. What was that all about? Even today, when I hear folks saying that they can just have "a little" dessert here and there - I just do not get it.
Next thing that I noticed would set me off was dairy. Milk, ice cream, cheese, pudding; sour cream, coffee creamer, it all made me fart! From what I had read, the flatulence meant that I was not digesting something properly. I found that if I ate plain yoghurt, I was fine. After consuming dairy, I ended up with excess mucus, fuzzy thinking, overwhelming weariness and a sluggish constitution. Not too fun.
What I did not know then, was that I was growing my own little yeast colony in my gut...all by myself! Involuntarily, no less! My insides were an ugly science experiment on wheels! Yup, the yeast in the bread, the glucose, sucrose, maltose, and the lactose and every other "ose" were feeding those little yeasts to the point of overgrowth. Gross! How did it get there, you ask? Well, I found out that the wonderful world of antibiotics, which had kept me from dying of infection from my internal injuries back there in the hospital, had not only killed off the nasty bacteria in my gut, but had effectively destroyed my healthy intestinal flora (the good bacteria) as well. The effect of this was chronic fatigue, sinus infections, weakness in my joints and mental, (yes, I said mental) confusion.All these things also caused me to gain weight easily, too, which I could not afford to do, since even a few pounds brought me more pain. As I aged, I started getting these bad rashes in my thoracic area and on my shins....how embarrassing! And it itches!
I began to learn the why of all these symptoms only a few years ago, and even upon learning that this was my condition, I pushed the information about CANDIDA ALBICANS, or yeast overgrowth to the very back burner. I took acidophilous capsules to reduce the yeast over growth, but at the same time I would eat the things that fed the yeast. Money down the drain, girls!
Well, just like in any area that I went floating down the River of De Nile in, my boat crashed....and of course it had to crash many a time before I would climb up out of that slimy River of De Nile and face my truth.
Tomorrow I will share my epiphany!
By the way, DENIAL is an acronym for:
Don't
Even
No (sp "know")
I
Am
Lying......to myself!
Recommended reading:
"Diet for a Small Planet" by Francis Moore Lappe
"Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit" by Adelle Davis
"Sugar Blues" by Patrick Duffy
"The Yeast Connection" by William G. Crook M.D.
on Amazon
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