Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Our Food Journey - part 1, pre-kids



Growing up, I ate the typical standard american diet (SAD). While I didn't consider myself a junk food addict, I also wouldn't have said I was an ultra healthy eater. I ate all white breads, pastas, tortillas, etc. I loved sweets, though didn't overindulge too much. Fruits and vegetables? Well let's just say I wasn't the biggest fan. I got a couple servings a day, but rarely more.

Somewhere in college I gained a little interest in eating healthier. I took a nutrition class my first semester and learned to use a program that tracked what I ate and how I was doing nutritionally. I also had a suite-mate who motivated me with her massive salads for dinner every night. Living in the dorms my first two years, I tried to make healthy choices in the cafeteria. My biggest challenge though was that I simply didn't have a taste for "healthy" foods. 

When I got married I began to eat more spinach and made the switch from white pasta and bread to whole grain. At this point I knew I had a dairy sensitivity but had not given up on dairy completely because, well, I was in love! How could I live a life with no dairy?! Upon getting pregnant with my first child though I began to have lots of stomach and digestion issues. I got tested for allergies, had a colonoscopy and also got tested for Celiac disease. Everything came back normal but I didn't feel like everything was okay. So I did what I thought I could never do - I gave up the dairy because I at least knew the dairy was something I didn't tolerate well. I got more serious about taking out all white flour as well as processed sugar. The result? I felt SOOO much better! Just those few simple things completely revolutionized my digestion. And I even found that when I had those things in check, I could have dairy a few times a week or a sweet treat here and there and I tolerated it just fine. But if I cheated too much my problems began again. At this point I really thought we were eating super healthy, and I felt really proud of myself for the changes I had made. But I was soon to discover that this was just the beginning!

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