It's What's Inside that Counts

I am finishing up my first month {that went fast!} of eating cleanly and focusing my attention on healing my body. For the most part, I have enjoyed it. I used to eat small pieces of chocolate throughout the day, along with a decent amount of other wheaty-sugary-dairy {dairy-y?}  things, and now I never rarely crave them.

We did go on a mini vacation this past week to my home state, which was lovely. The only tough part was having the "right" food available to eat. I packed some, but not enough. I ended up eating too many things on my do not eat or you will die list. It is now time to BUCKLE down now that i'm back home.

On my No-No List:
Dairy
Wheat (Gluten)
Refined Sugars (organic honey is okay, and I've also used organic coconut sugar)
No cold foods or drinks
Nothing processed with any preservatives or chemicals
No coffee, minimal caffeine is okay via green tea

I'm adding one more to my  as much as I possibly can control...

No consumption of GMO foods!!! GMO = Genetically-Modified Organisms

This is a tough one- because pretty much every conventional grocery store food has either GMO corn or soy (in some form). The scary thing is that the US is the only country that is not required to label their products as being produced with GMO ingredients. If this doesn't change, I'm moving to Australia. {a girl can dream, right?}

GMO foods are altered by evil scientists lab technicians who infuse viruses and bacteria into the seeds. This makes them into "super foods"- they are pest resistant even before the use of topical pesticides. But at what cost?

In lab rats, the tests were unbelievable. The rats who consumed the altered foods developed genital abnormalities, had smaller babies, some even became barren all together. Read all about this HERE. 

Let's look at Kellogg's Corn Flakes, {for example}

Corn Flakes are a staple in many households. They are used for breakfast, maybe a quick snack, and if you're like me, you like to use them to coat chicken breasts before oven-baking. This picture is from openfoodfacts.org


Flaked milled corn (most likely GMO), sugar (white, processed), malt (made of GMO corn flour), salt, colour {excuse me?}, BHT {lost me there}, and then added vitamins and minerals.


If there's a better option out there, wouldn't you want it?


Now let's look at Nature's Path Organic brand's Corn Flakes. The pictures below were all taken by me.

I believe those pictures speak for themselves. I am going to do my very best to consume foods the way God intended food. It's just unfortunate that it's not the "normal" grocery store food anymore! Look for items that are all natural {but even All Natural items could still be GMO! So be cautious! Look for the NON-GMO Project icon}, organic, non-GMO...

It's what's inside that counts. It's what's underneath that we can't see that can really effect our lives. Isn't it like that in all aspects of life? Put good in, get good out. This goes for friendships, work, and yes- our diets.

The sweet tooth strikes again.

It's been quite a busy weekend! We had some family in town for my sister-in-laws graduation from law school, which was very fun. Of course there was a lot of food on the docket whenever there is an event like this, but I was able {for the most part} to keep it in check. 

There may have been a slight run-in with homemade funfetti cake. Oops. 

I have a sweet tooth. No doubt about it. So I decided I needed something that I could turn to when the craving seriously struck. Something that wouldn't make me feel like I just did the last 10 days for nothing :)

Cue: Double Chocolate Gluten/Sugar/Dairy free brownies. Ooooohhhh my. 



And just in case they weren't quite rich enough, a little smear of natural sugar-free peanut butter took these over the top. Deeeelish. 

I will add the recipe soon!

YUM.

I've really gotten into a grove of eating. I've never thought so much about what I put in my body in my life. I read every single label, and double check the label again before I prepare the food.

I'm on the lookout to avoid:
- wheat
- processed/bleached ingredients
- sugar (processed, including corn syrup)
- dairy

There aren't many things in the grocery store that don't contain any of the above. I was even trying to find bacon, but every single pack had processed cane sugar. I ended up finding some breakfast sausage without sugar- hallelujah!

Another thing I found today that make me {HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY}! Udi's Gluten-Free cinnamon raisin bread.

I've eyed the Udi brand for a while, but have never purchased their fresh bread. This was beyond delicious. It's made with brown rice flour, sweetened with honey, and has raisins and cinnamon.

Add some DELICOUS organic peanut butter....Yes. {Just, yes.} The ingredients for this are simply roasted peanuts and sea salt.

I'm in love with this combination! This kind of thing makes this diet seem possible!

Good for the Soul

I have been learning all about our qi. Our qi {pronounced "chee"}, focused widely on in Asian cultures, is the energy flow that is running through our bodies.

My qi is one of the things that I am trying to harmonize with this journey that I have begun. The idea is that everyone has a different body composition, and there are foods that either help improve or hinder the functions of the body. There are cool, neutral, and warm compositions.

I have a warm composition. Because of this, I have been eating "cooling" foods (green veggies, brown rice, banana), and staying away from "warming foods" (like pineapple, purple grapes, and wheat). The idea is that I will bring my too-warm body into better harmony.

Another way I am creating harmony is through spiritual meditation. {I'm about to get hippy up in hrrr.} Meditation can get a bad wrap, especially in religious circles. The meditation I'm working on is focusing on my life- the great things in it, thanking God for all of the wonderful things. It encourages looking into the future and seeing the desires of my heart. It allows me to deeply explore the dreams I have for when we have our child, and allows me to just breathe and be at peace.

This is the CD I use to focus. There is peaceful music in the background, and a woman walks me through different topics through a 20 minute session. When it's done, I feel light and happy- like I've allowed myself to enjoy the quiet, and to realize it's ok to dream about the future!

This is Ana.


 

We brought Ana into our home just 7 weeks ago, when she was 7 weeks old. She was so little then- only 5 pounds! {Think, the size of a football.} She has more than doubled in size since then, and is growing like a weed. Ana is a mini-goldendoodle. She's amazing. Simply the best dog we could have ever wished for. She is sweet, quick to learn,  and very playful. Ana has done something for me that she will never realize. She has been something for me to put my energy into, and given me so much love and satisfaction. I LOVE being a doggie-mom.

We have two other little ones, Tiny and Whodey. They were born together in the same litter, believe it or not! They are great, and have very distinct personalities. Whodey (the brown mainecoon) rules the house. Tiny (black and white) is gentle and sweet.

 

 

I'm so thankful for the God-given role of caring for our pets!

I made it through the weekend! A weekend that included a "binge day" for the hubs (see previous post), and then Mother's Day where we got together with my in-laws family for dinner!

I must say... Saturday I had a little breakdown, if I'm being honest here. A breakdown that was sprung on by pizza. I encouraged him to order pizza. It is, after all, a thing we'd typically do on a Saturday night. I was trying to be nonchalant about the whole matter, when inside all I kept hearing was "you're on this diet because you're broken. You're not good enough to get pregnant without weird desperate measures."

I cried out of frustration as I reheated my gluten-free spaghetti and asparagus spears left over from the night before. It was a quick pitiful cry because I quickly realized what I was hearing in my head, and recognized it as lies from Satan.

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44

Satan is full of lies, and it's easy to believe them. It's easy for me to look in the mirror and see all of my imperfections as reasons why I don't deserve something. But the Lord says:

'"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."' Jer 29:11

He's got my future all figured out. So why stress out about not eating pizza? I know that this diet and the other things that come with it aren't my ticket to pregnancy. I just have hope that if I'm faithful with it all, at the very least, I will be healthier for it. Healthier in mind, body, and spirit.

But HEY. I'm allowed to eat meat...and by golly, I am. Tonight I cooked myself a fillet Mignon. The hubs is in California for work- So I had a dinner date with me, myself, and I. And the puppy salivating at my feet the whole time. Ahhh, well. On to the next.

Yesterday was rough for me. I started this exclusion diet without being fully prepared (grocery-wise). I had decided I was going to dive into the Eastern Medicine approach to preparing my body for better fertility, and while telling the hubs about it, I said that I was planning to start my next cycle. His response was, "why don't you start now?"...and so I did. Not that he expected me to, in fact I think he feels kind of sorry for me about all of my dietary restrictions.

We have been in the habit of eating very well 6 days a week, and on the 7th day (usually Saturday) we have our beloved "binge day." We go out for bagels in the morning {and usually throw in a cinnamon roll, too}. We enjoy Five Guys or Penn Station for lunch. There are a few restaurants that are our favorites for dinner on binge day, including Outback Steakhouse or pizza. And lots of snacks and cookies in between.

This day keeps us "sane." We enjoy eating good ol' American "junk" food...and knowing that there is one day a week that we can enjoy it together has been fun. But now he has to decide if he still wants his binge day, and what it will look like. I know he is going to try to be sensitive to me- even though I told him to eat whatever he wants.

I'm not struggling with the idea of "losing" those foods tomorrow as I thought I would. I ate well today. Delicious food, and I felt satisfied and energized all day.

1. Breakfast: Brown Rice toast, with organic natural peanut butter (no sugar), and organic honey
2. Lunch: Shredded chicken, steamed asparagus {my puppy finished the three spears I was too full to eat}, and salad with strawberries and sugar-free balsamic vinaigrette
3. Snacks: Gluten-Free protein bar (peanut butter flavor), Sweet Potato Chips
4. Dinner: Salad with the balsamic, gluten-free pasta noodles, organic lean ground chuck, and homemade sugar-free marinara sauce

The marinara was just ok. Nothing too special... I thought it was a little heavy on the herbs.

All in all, a pretty good day. I plan to start incorporating more breathing exercises into my routine and really focus a bit more on the 'mind and soul' aspect of this approach starting next week. I need more time to re-read those sections of the book to make sure I understand how to do it correctly.

Time for bed. This plan calls for no less than 8 hours of sleep every night, and with our 13 week old puppy I know I will be getting up early!

Thank you, Lord, for the strength to make it through the day and not give in to a single craving. Not even a tiny one.

This is something I never thought I would be doing. I never imagined growing our family would be a difficult journey, but here we are! It’s been 14 months since we decided to start trying for our first child. There have been a couple bumps along the way, but nothing that would ever indicate to us that it would be taking {this} long.

I had stopped taking the pill a year before we began to try, and I began using my BBT every month as a guided form of birth control. So by the time we were ready, I knew my body. I knew my cycles. My charts showed a couple signs of hormonal imbalance, which I was able to remedy thanks to the help of vitamin B12, and a vitamin called Vitex. These helped lengthen my luteal phase from 9 days, to 12-13 days.

Luteal phase “fixed”…but still no baby. Multiple medical tests done on both myself and the hubs revealed no abnormalities. That’s a blessing, right?! Sometimes I find myself wishing there was something obvious that could be treated or fixed. At this point, there really is nothing more the Western Medicine doctors can do for me besides start me on rounds of hormone drugs or do exploratory surgery.

There has to be something else, I kept thinking. Something that I haven’t found yet.

 

{So here we are}.

 

I have decided to take the journey into Eastern Medicine’s approach to fertility. It is VERY different from what I am, or you are, used to. They focus on the inner being, and how to physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepare your body “to attract” your baby. 

After evaluating my “composition”, I have now made a list of foods that I CAN eat, that will help my body become more in harmony with itself. There is also a list of foods that I CANNOT have. Let’s get real here. I LOVE FOOD. I love to eat. I love junk food. I love sugar, ice cold tea, and fried things. But those are on my no-no list.

Foods I need to AVOID always:
- Dairy (except cottage cheese occasionally)
- Wheat (Gluten-free, anyone?)
- Bleached, processed foods
- Coffee or soda
-Refined sugar of any kind (I can only have organic honey, and in scant amounts)
-Iced or cold beverages or food (Everything has to be warm or body temperature. Preparing myself to order “water, no ice” for the next however-many months!)

So this is my journey. I will share my good days, and my bad. I will probably celebrate my achievements, and cry when I’m frustrated. But in all of it, when I’m wishing so badly that I could have ANYTHING with chocolate, I will remember that God sacrificed Himself for me. God sacrificed his {LIFE} so that I may live. I will pray when I’m struggling on my new Eastern Medicine diet, and remember that through Christ, I have the strength to do anything.

The nourishment that I am going to be giving my body, is that which I believe the Lord intended us to eat. Pure, organic, healthful foods. Looking for a miracle through healing, healthy, clean food.

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. {Psalm 5:3}