More Steps Forward... Less Steps Back...

It's all about choice. 
And once you make that choice, you have consequences. 

This has become the main point I preach on in my classroom (I teach Art part-time), in my home (mostly as it relates to the kids (I'm a near-new and very much still learning step-mom) but also making sure I'm setting that example - YIKES), and have to remind myself of constantly. 

Russ -my handsome and supportive and unconditionally THERE for me (never knowing what that means for him as I do tend to tackle a wide variety of projects) husband- noticed a positive difference in me within a few days of eating better, juicing, drinking tons of water.  Cool.  A step in the right direction (I have of course been noticing differences in my skin and lines and all that EW that comes with years, so that kind of comment is more than welcome!).

So my choice of eating better means I shop for groceries differently.  Another step in the right direction - although quite a bit of effort, and a little more time involved.  I buy organic when I can (check out the "dirty dozen" and "clean fifteen" on http://www.ewg.org/ sometime for info on the produce that should be bought organically if possible) which is usually more expensive.  That choice means I will not waste that food, that wasted food adds up to wasted dollars.  I will juice the most unlikely combinations of things just so they don't go to waste.  And if there happens to be a bit that rots, it gets composted and my soon-to-flourish vegetable garden will love me for it.  One hard-core raw foodie said he plucks off the mold, deals with the fermentation, sucks it up - it's was "live" food does...  He's hard-core, serious consequences...

I've learned that all these steps in the right direction are somehow keeping me on my path, holding me accountable whether I like it or not.  A few days into this I grabbed a Snickers and a diet Pepsi (I've mentioned this when talking about better diet, I apologize if you've heard this already) as my standard afternoon pick-me-up.  Within maybe 30 minutes I was busted, and had to deal.  I paid for that choice for about 3 hours.  Feeling a little dizzy, almost a little vision haze, almost a ringing in my ears - I can't really explain how I felt, but I would imagine that's how you feel when you're about to faint.  You know the crash after a sugar rush, that's your body telling you something.  My body was telling me I had some poison in my body (I CHOSE that little snack) and was dealing with the CONSEQUENCES until it got through my system.

Just a few days ago, running from one school building to another, I ran through the McDonald's drive-thru.  It was a warm day, and what's better on a warm day than ice cream.  A few minutes later, my pocket about $3 down and one M&M McFlurry gone, and I was off to my next class.  I got that dizzy thing again, realized I wasn't thinking the best or even speaking the best, correcting myself lots.  It seemed to last 3-4 hours.  Definitely a couple steps back.  Definitely not the best way to function for a class full of busy kindergarten artists!

McFlurry® with M&M'S® Candies (12 fl oz cup)

640  Calories  |  13g Protein  |  23g Fat (36%)  |  95g Carbs (32%)  |  190mg Sodium (8%)

 

Dr. Trumbower, the local OB/Gyn that taught me a lot about nutrition at a recent presentation broke it down pretty well.  In his talk, he mentioned that sugar feeds cancer.  Huh.  That's a pretty bold and a little scary statement.  Your body and brain know what to do with real nutrients -- protein feeds muscle, vitamins and minerals nourish your cells, water flushes out toxins and keeps things flowing, even fats and some sugars have their place in the diet.  But your brain doesn't know what to do with excess sugar.  It doesn't really know where to send it, and it can become an issue when something may already be imbalanced in your body.

My brain didn't know what to do with that sugar I had flooded my fairly cleaned-out system with - no, I'm not perfect but I'm better, I can feel it in lots of ways.  And a big boost of something that my body didn't need threw me off.  And I'm not saying I gave myself a disease from that Snickers or McFlurry.  But I've just realized lots of things - one being that my habit of desserts and excessive sugary treats were an addiction, to put it bluntly.  I almost prided myself that I never got sick off too many brownies or Girl Scout cookies, but kind of wished I did so I would know when too much was really too much.  And my self-inflicted rehab into better health has told me I'm doing some right things. Those old things I used to crave I now see as steps backwards and can result in less energy, heartburn, headaches, or years of indulging those old cravings could become pretty serious.  Dang.

Choices.  Consequences.  More steps forward.  Less steps back.  Guess I'm becoming a little hard-core myself.