I have never been the type to eat unhealthy foods consistently. A McChicken here and there, but no hard core junk foods. Up until I gave birth I have always maintained my "ideal" adult weight. I realized at about 25 I would never be the 125 pounds of my teenage years {Shit, in order to be back at that weight I would have to give up more than 80% of the foods I love to eat} so I settled at 145 pounds. As I mentioned in a previous post we are trying for Baby Cruz #2 in the fall. I've began my detox/baby conceiving preparation process as of June 1 and since then I've notice a few changes to my body.
So here's the process I've begun:
- Prenatal and Omega-3s vitamins
- No more processed foods. Period. Point blank. {This is really hard to do eating foods outside of home}
- A minimum of 51 ounces of water per day. This is about three 16.0 oz. water bottles. At home I keep a pitcher of water with lemon.
- Aerobic exercise FIVE TIMES per week. Working on Manhattan I walk a lot.
- Mindful of the chemicals put on my skin (i.e., lotions, nail polish, deodorant, tooth paste). I've resorted to using shea butter for all moisturization, organic soaps and tooth paste (Dr. Bronner's and Tom's of Maine).
There is one major reason why I haven't dropped my 20 post-pregnancy pounds I've so desperately wanted to drop. In a word, SUGAR! Sugar is my enemy. I drink too much damn juice. I realized this after watching this movie D insisted I view. It was produced by a company called Beyond Diet. I've highlighted several key points from the video and realized immediately where my problem lies. The video begins by saying sugar is the #1 enemy followed by processed foods. Check out the video here. After watching I am more aware of food labels. I've always read labels looking for ingredients I can not pronounce (usually chemicals), but now I pay more attention to the nutrition facts (particularly carbs, sugar, and fats).
To eat healthy is not cheap! I don't shop at "box-club warehouses" for food because most of their foods are laced with a shitload of chemicals. My bi-weekly trips to the market are to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (every Wednesday and Sunday). On average I spend $150 per week on food for 2.5 people. That's $600 a month. Yeah, you thinking WTF that's too much. This is how I look at it: I want to be the healthiest, strongest, and leanest I can be. I would rather pay on the front-end with a large grocery bill than on the back-end with diabetes, hypertension, or high cholesterol being a constant companion. I've had intimate relations with how destructive these diseases can be on the human body. They are preventable, so I'm going to prevent them.
Highlights from the video:
Fats
Good
- Real Butter
- Whole Eggs
- Coconut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Avocados
- Raw nuts
- Trail mix
Bad
- Hydrogenated oil
- Canola + Veggie oil
- Margarine
- Fake butter
Carbs
Good
- Spelt Bread
- Rice Bread
- Millet
- Quinoa
- Sweet Potato
- Fruits + Veggies
Bad
- Pasta
- Cereal
- Bread (White, Whole Wheat)
What's Eating Your Skin?
Chemicals In Your Food
