The rest of my talk

This week, I had the neat opportunity to give a little 15 minute talk about our change to processed foods. It was for a small group of lovely ladies at my church. I tried my best to whittle it down and keep it to the biggest and most important stuff we learned, but it was sure hard to do that in only 15 minutes.

I told the class very important things health wise about eating white flour, white sugar, and processed vegetable oils. I wanted so badly to tell them the huge stuff that we discovered, and that it’s given us the most amazing health and wellness we have ever experienced in our lives.

After it was over, I had a lot of self doubts. I thought to myself', ‘ Oh, no. What did I just do? I just told these good ladies with honest hearts and good desires what their beloved sweets and flour products are doing to their long term health. I told them specific facts, about heart disease, what free radicals do from the cooking oils, and cancer. What if they just don’t want to hear that? What if they still love their brownies and pasta, and know about the damage it is doing to their health, and just don’t want to do anything about it? I just came in and rained on their parade. Maybe I should just stop sharing everything I keep learning. Maybe it would be better if shut my mouth, and hopefully not offend anyone who still wants to eat the way they have been.’

These thoughts were with me as I put the kids to bed, and collapsed into bed myself that night. Then, I got a sweet text from a friend who was at my class, thanking me for the info. It sure helped. I thought, ‘Oh, thank goodness. If it was to help at least one person, then it was worth it’. I then was able to go to bed with a rested soul.

People everywhere have their agency; the gift to make choices in their lives. What a blessing Heavenly Father gave us agency, and we are not forced to do anything. Just like sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone, they can choose to either accept it or not. The same goes with this food topic. I only want to help others. I’ve been on this food/holistic journey since July last year, and I keep learning amazing things that I never knew. I wish so badly at times that I could pick up the phone and call my Mom to tell her about it, but I’m sure she’s watching from heaven above. I keep seeing the results when the knowledge is put to the test, and it has been so wonderful, physically and emotionally. Once you learn something incredible, you can’t go back to your old ways and unlearn it, you know?

Here’s a few things that I didn’t have time to mention in the 15 minutes that I wanted to say:

• Even though we’ve made all these changes and eat different, we don’t do it 100% of the time. We still eat out at restaurants here and there, order Little Ceasers Pizza (because some days you just need a break from chaos and meal preparation! :), and I let the kids eat sweets and stuff at church activities and friend’s homes. Shaun still drinks his Gatorade. I believe its not good to be extreme in anything, but to just do your best. I almost always seem to indulge on the sweets offered at other places, but here’s the thing. When I do, I notice the change in my body fast. I feel everything slowing down. I get a headache. It stinks. So, even though I will eat white sugar stuff here and there, I keep getting that reaffirmation that really don’t want to.
• Shaun and I both experienced this change together. How wonderful it has been to be on the same page with my beloved hubby. He recognized how his body felt when he got off processed foods, and loved it. He witnessed the weight loss first and increased energy, which gave me the desire to start exercising consistently. He’s been totally on board with our eating, and I’m so grateful. At first, it was funny. I gave away so much of our food, and our pantry was pretty bare. He said to me “What are we going to eat?” to which I would reply “I’m working on it”. I knew I had to find new recipes, and learn how to tweak my old ones. I found new food blogs, and learned about new ways to prepare food. The ‘Aunt Jemima’ syrup was a hard thing to get rid of. Now, we melt butter and maple syrup together for pancake syrup. It tastes infinitely better than any store bought syrup.
• I touched on this lightly in the talk, but last year I experienced something amazing. I was by myself going to the library. I got out of the car, and thought to myself ‘I’m going to jog to the front door of the library.’ I began jogging, and couldn’t believe how weightless I felt. I looked at my legs wondering ‘Am I even moving??’ I was but it felt incredible. It seriously felt like I was flying, and that I weighed as light as a feather.’ I stopped at the door, looked back, and thought ‘What just happened?’. It was all in a matter of 12 seconds. This is what happens when you stop putting damaging food into your body. Your body can perform like no other. You’re not weighed down and sluggish. Now, when I walk it feels like I’m floating, and when I run it feels like I’m flying. No exaggeration. It took some getting used to. Makes me think of that article about the basketball star Kobe Bryant. He recently changed his eating to whole foods, and cut out fructose, and refined food. He’s performing better than ever, in an age way past his prime. You can check out the article here.

So, I hope I can be helpful to anyone who wants to learn about their health. I have learned so much, but it’s a continual journey. There still is so much more to learn, and I feel I’ve only scratched the surface. I get so darn excited about it. I love how I feel. I love my hair, and my new legs. It’s just stinking fantastic, it’s happened to plenty other people out there besides me, and can happen to you, if you have the desire. Thank for putting up with me, and please feel free to email me and ask as many questions as you’d like. It never is a bother to me:)