I think that, over the years, my relationship with food was pretty much standard - eating quick, snacking, massive love for chocolate and cakes, huge love for food overall, food always makes you feel better when things go wrong or are too stressful. Crisps, ready meals, carbs full blast, takeaways. And, when I was unemployed and on super minimal budget, Value food - cheap and nasty, but better than no food at all.
Until about 2 years ago - I started having belly cramps, more and more often and more and more uncomfortable (sometimes painful). At one point, it got so bad that I ended up in the toilets every 20 minutes - how embarrassing when I was at work.
I knew my diet was not, and hadn't been for many years, particularly good.
When my mum died two years ago, something clicked inside me and I made the conscious decision to eat more healthy - that roughly meant for me adding more fruits and vegs to my diet.
But the cramps did not subside. I didn't get it.
I started a food diary to monitor, every day, everything I was eating and drinking.
After a month or so, I started to identify foods I was eating all the time. It also kept me accountable for keeping up with my greens intake.
One of my colleagues suffers from coeliac disease and, when I mentioned my health problem, he immediately suggested to start an elimination process. I started with everything that had gluten. I replaced my bread and pasta (the main foods I was eating) with gluten free alternatives.
Little by little, the symptoms diminished. I still had the occasional cake or cookie and I was OK. Only for a short while though. I soon had to stop as, every time I was having a piece of gluten-based cake or biscuit, the symptoms would be back with a vengeance after only half hour to an hour.
This forced me to be even more aware as to what foods I was putting in my body. By carefully looking at the ingredients lists before buying, I realised that a lot of what we eat is full of chemical additives, most of them you can't even pronounce. I have now the rule that if you can't say it, there is a fair chance you shouldn't be eating it.
A lot of processed foods also have added sugar, adding considerable amounts into our bodies.
Sugar actually increases appetite - don't you find that once you've had a sweet, you want another one? Food companies, by adding sugar to our foods, make you want to eat more, and therefore buy more. It's a vicious circle and, in the meantime, you are endangering your health one step at a time. There is a reason why our century has known the biggest percentage of obesity in our history.
Being in my mid-forties, my health has become increasingly more important as the state of my health now will determine the quality of my life in my later years - and that's motivation enough for me to protect it as much as I can.
I started reading diets articles and there are so many diets - keto, paleo, vegetarian, vegan, meal replacement, eggs only, coffee, mediterranean, flexitarian, low carb and whole food, Atkins, DASH, Dukan, calorie restriction, high protein, carb cycling... So many you lose count, and a lot of them contradict each other. It is overwhelming and confusing, especially if you are unsure what to look for. What the heck are you supposed to eat to be healthy?!
Bearing in mind that what you eat accounts for over 90% of your health level and your body shape, it seems to me that this world out there in the media has got it all wrong.
Exercise, yes, but not an hour each day, exhausting yourself and damaging your body (torn ligaments, muscle pull and strain...) - overdoing it will take its toll on you - and especially when it only accounts for 10% of your body shape and state of your health.
You would think that talking to your doctor about it would help but, believe it or not, traditional medical training does rarely cover nutrition unless you specialise. So, no offense but What do doctors know about food? It was obvious to me that I would not get any genuine help there so I didn't bother asking.
I decided to start an online course on nutrition and, even though I'm only on Lesson 5, it has given me a good starting understanding on nutrients essential to good health and how the digestive system works. It has helped me to focus on the health of my digestive system, keeping it clean, and keeping away from the uncomfortable bloating symptoms (something I had suffered for most of my life).
I do not eat processed foods, foods with added sugar. I eat fresh or frozen foods, organic when I can to avoid pesticide traces.
I snack on nuts, yogurts and fruits, make my own healthy gluten-free snacks, go gluten-free all the way.
I ensure I include in all my main meals (breakfast - lunch - dinner) proteins, greens, healthy fats and carbs and, for my snacks (2 or 3 a day in between meals), at least 2 of them.
I don't use sugar, I replaced it with raw honey, only occasionally, on fruit salads, in warm milk, plain yogurt and porridge.
I don't buy ready-made sauces, I make them from scratch, and I use spices and herbs to flavour my food - especially with rice and pasta, quite bland if not seasoned.
I drink water throughout the day and during my meals, even though I am not a big fan. My trick is to infuse my water with washed fresh citrus peels or fresh herbs (I love mint leaves in water). I also drink green tea and herbal teas, as well as fresh orange juice (only for breakfast).
I also take good quality natural supplements to ensure all my nutritional needs are met (Nu U Nutrition Multivitamins & Minerals Formula, and Omega 3 Fish Oil).
The first thing I ingest when I get up (before eating or drinking anything else) is a mug of warm water (whatever is comfortable and not too hot to drink for you) with a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar (with the mother, which is the active ingredient). It cleanses your digestive system in no time. Additionally, the warm water - close to your body's natural temperature - prepares your digestive system gently. Nothing worse for you to start the day with a glass of freezing cold water. If the apple cider vinegar is too much for you, start with the lemon juice only and, after a few weeks, add the apple cider vinegar.
I have been doing this every morning for almost a month now and, not only am I super regular (sorry for the "too much information" here, however it is important), but also I don't remember feeling bloated a single time during that period.
I was worried at first as I have been on tablets for over 2 years for gastric reflux, so the acidic nature of the lemon juice and the vinegar could make it worse. It was not very pleasant the first few days but, so far, it has not affected me in that way. I even managed to cut down my tablets to one every other day instead of every day (something one of my doctors asked me to do over a year ago and I couldn't at the time).
I also balance my carbs intake and my healthy fats intake depending on the amount of activity I am doing or stress I am exposed to.
On days at work, I will increase my carbs intake and lower my healthy fats intake, whereas on a day off chilling at home, I will lower my carbs and increase my healthy fats.
Your body will burn carbs first for fuel as it is easier. Burning fat is more complex and require more effort, so this is why carbohydrates are the body's preferred energy source.
I am keeping all this up as it seems to be working for me.
I still have some belly fat I want to get rid of but I'm not rushing it. It will go little by little, in due time - I hope. I just need to fit in workout sessions (the 10% I'm not currently doing enough of).
So, all in all, I am quite happy that I have become gluten intolerant as it has opened my eyes tremendously and has forced me to re-focus my attention and awareness on the foods I need for my body to function at optimal level and protect my health in the process - a varied diet of natural foods.
And, by the way, if you are wondering about what happened to my love of chocolate, it is still very much vibrant- only I replaced the milk chocolate bars for 70% cocoa chocolate. And it makes me happy :-)
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