The challenge – to totally change my eating behavior to stop my lump growing and improve my overall well-being.
I always considered myself as a bog stock eater, plain, simple food. Very little processed or takeaway and very little sugar, so a reasonably healthy diet. Boy was I in for a surprise!
When I discovered the lump in my breast, I decided to go to a nutritionist to improve my body’s overall health. My goal was to stop the lump from growing and eliminate it. She was to treat me for the worst-case scenario.
My nutritionist put me on an eating plan of no grains or gluten, no sugars, no carbohydrates, no dairy, no meat, no chicken, no caffeine, no alcohol, and no processed foods. Just lots of seeds, nuts, vegs (no potato), lentils, berries, lemons, and fatty fish plus lots of supplements.
My biggest challenge has not been in changing what I eat, although that has been a challenge, nor is it sticking to my daily plan, although that too can be challenging some days. No, my biggest challenge is to think about meal plans, work out what I can eat, and then come up with new ideas, then cook it. I haven’t cooked for 26 years!
My husband does all our cooking and that has been a wonderful arrangement up until now. But with this new eating plan, I can’t expect him to take over the cooking for it too. He is just as much in the dark as I am when it comes to what I can eat.
Looking through recipe books and finding things I can eat and am prepared to try, is my new challenge in life. I have set myself a goal – to create at least one new dish or snack each week.
I have now made celery and lentil soup, which I have to say was really yummy. That surprised me. It was full of onion and celery, two things I normally avoid. I have also made protein balls with cranberries and yesterday I baked for the first time and made sweet potato brownies.
To help me stay on track, I have turned my yellow art journal into a food, recipe book. My daughter suggested I make notes on the things I try and give them a rating out of 10 so that when I look back through, I can see which ones I enjoyed and which ones I made changes with etc.
That gave me the idea to use my yellow art journal in a new creative way so now I am adding in images and little drawings to help keep me focused and inspired to stay on track.
I think that is the biggest challenge: making a lifestyle change and then finding a way to be excited about it so that it remains a lifestyle change. We are all good at trying new things for a short time but making it a long-term arrangement takes dedication and inspiration. We must hold a desire to make this the new vision of ourselves, to such a point that we can’t see our life the old way anymore.
So, that’s my challenge. Have you faced something similar? If so, leave me a comment as I would love to hear how you made it the new vision of you. Also, if you have any great recipes to share that fit my eating plan, I would be thrilled to see them too.
Stay FABuLous
Sharon Dawn