I had flashbacks at the grocery store today! I’m totally overwhelmed! I read a million labels, put things in my cart, took things out, looked at ingredients, read the nutrition label, ahhhh, it’s like it’s my first time at the grocery store!
When I first decided to start eating healthy I read every diet book, health magazine and every clean eating website that I could get my hands on (and of course that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg). I looked at a bazillion, or what seemed like a bazillion recourses! I was so overwhelmed on what to eat, when to eat, what to buy and then what to do with all the information.
This all came back to me today as I left the house for Kroger (thankfully without the kids or I really would have gone even cRaZieR).
Back story is that my husband has had a few pretty serious episodes with bleeding ulcers, which lead him to spending days in the hospital each time and on the edge of getting blood transfusions and now on meds for life. He also has migraines that cause vomiting. Allergies. Severe asthma. High bad cholesterol. Low good cholesterol. I don’t know what else off the top of my head but his body needs an overhaul.
*Actually, side note, he gets a yearly health screening done at work and the last two years their suggestion to him was to hire a health coach! Yep, the husband of a health coach was instructed to seek the help of a health coach! Ba-zinga! I mean, he doesn’t want to hear me nag or take my advice but the professionals are leading him right to me!!
Okay, I digress. In a nutshell, he has all of these issues, he got an allergy testing done, he’s allergic to load of foods and now we need to make sense of it all!
Here are the results from my husband’s allergy tests. The 0 are A-oaky but the higher the number the higher the need to eliminate it! He was told to avoid anything 2 or higher.
I looked up ‘elimination diet’. Holy cow! It didn’t eliminate the confusion I was feeling at all! It amplified it! The diet that seemed most reputable was The JJ Virgin Diet. I had heard JJ Virgin’s podcasts many time and I have always loved what she had to say and actually agree with her on most things. (Click Here for a condensed version of what her diet is about.)
So, the JJ Virgin Diet is our plan of action for the moment. And even though we have a plan we are still in a daze at where to start and what to eat. I will not, however, let that get me down or paralyze me in getting my family fueled with the food that fits our bodies the best!
So what I have learned over the 8+ years of creating a healthier life and what I need to remind myself during this trying time of an elimination diet, the words of Tony Horton DO YOUR BEST, FORGET THE REST!
When at Kroger today, I went with the basics. I put things in my cart that I know my family would eat. I didn’t get too crazy with new foods. I added 2 new things to my cart and the rest was basically meats, veggies and fruit. I didn’t worry about new fancy recipes or fads. Forget the paleo, gluten free, vegan, low carb, high protein diets! I am thinking about the Farmer diet (Farmer as a last night, not as a profession…although sometimes to two are interchangeable! lol) I need to focus on what is best for our family and take it one step at a time. Stress will certainly not help our health!
Are there things you elimate from your diet? What are they and why? Just curious.