Mindset – it either makes or breaks us. I drastically changed my mindset about food … and health … and this is where it got us!
“You must master a new way to think before you can master a new way to be” (Marianne Williamson)
It started as a coupe of serious health issues, sparked by a pre-diabetes blood glucose level 3 years ago (my husband’s) and me living in constant pain. Within 24 hours we had purged our pantry and started our 10 day food detox as outlined in this post .
We continued with this strict food detox for much longer than 10 days due to how well it was working for both of us – my pain was subsiding and my husband’s BGL’s were stabilising in the normal range. In fact, we continued on a strict food detox for 60 days before starting to add our eliminated foods back one by one. I had to keep many of the eliminated foods out of my diet for many months – corn, quinoa and dairy were definitely not my friends for a very long time. After 12 weeks I wrote a blog post that you can read here .
I had serious gut issues and only once these were resolved could I tolerate some corn and some quinoa. The day I could add back goat’s cheese was one of my happiest “food” days – funny how the smallest of things become big things!
In the last 6 months I have managed to add fermented homemade yoghurt back into my eating plan. Regarding the nightshades – the only one I have successfully added back without causing any pain, is well-cooked white potato – I can tolerate a small amount a few times a month. I am happy with this as white potato is good as a resistant starch and has many health benefits.
When we started on this journey we were told it was totally unsustainable.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
After 3 years:
- I eat real, whole foods only
- I don’t follow a particular “diet”
- I avoid gluten and soy and some nightshade vegetables
- I eat whole fruit
- I don’t eat sugar
- I make everything from scratch
- I eat when I’m hungry
- I don’t count calories
- I don’t fear fat
- I eat many more vegetables than I used to
- I eat across the colours of the rainbow
- I eat fermented foods daily
- I eat nutrient dense food
- I eat and live mindfully
- I buy as much as I can from farmer’s markets and support local growers and producers
- I avoid the foods that I know inflame me and cause my pain to flare
- I move as often as I can
- I make sure I get at least 8 hours good quality sleep every night
- I drink good quality water
- I walk barefoot on the beach as often as I can
- I walk or sit in the sun as often as I can
- I don’t sweat the small stuff
- I enjoy my red wine
What we were doing before wasn’t working.
What did we have to lose by changing our mindset about food and health?
A lot!
In fact we lost 80kg combined weight in 3 years. How we did it is totally achievable. What do you need to do?
Change your mindset!