Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Food For Thought

I feel as though God has slowly been trying to teach me the proper way to care for my body. It's been a long road, but I think I may finally be getting it. The road started in a way that may seem easy enough; I stopped dropping acid. That was in 1997 (I think). I then stopped all hard drugs and finally quit smoking pot, but only because it made me paranoid and tired, not because I wanted to take care of my body, necessarily. That was in 2005, and yes, I was a Christian and a mom at that point. During this time, I was also battling alcohol, by no choice of my own. I gave up smoking cigarettes and only indulged in the occasional glass of wine while I was pregnant with Bird. After I had Bird, I was a breastfeeding mama so I tried to bump up my occasional drink without going completely haywire, but I realized that I just couldn't. At this point, I began to realize that I had a problem. One drink easily turned into 7 or 8. I didn't really know how to deal with it. I stopped hanging out with my friends and eventually even talking to most of them. I put everything I had into my baby and completely isolated myself. I prayed a whole lot and came to a point that I would actually become physically ill if I drank even a few sips of a beer. When I was pregnant with Bean, I had gestational diabetes and learned that my life was being run by SUGAR! The reality of multiple daily insulin injections really woke me up to the warning that gestational diabetes may be a precursor for adult onset type 2 diabetes. I vowed to change the way I ate and thought about food. I went on Weight Watchers and learned how to eat smaller portions and well balanced meals, and I had my last drink on September 22, 2007. When I got pregnant with Bunny, I was probably in the best shape of my life (not my lowest weight). I felt strong and although I wasn't on WW anymore, I had continued to apply some really good exercise and eating habits. With bunny, I wanted to have a homebirth, but if I had GD again, I would be considered high risk and would not be considered for a homebirth by the only midwife in our area who attended homebirths. I was suddenly thrust into a battle against diabetes. During that time, I learned a lot about herbs and the benefits of grinding my own wheat. With God's blessing, I narrowly beat the diabetes and was blessed with an amazing homebirth. That was nearly 4 months ago. Two weeks ago, I looked questionably at Beanbag when she said she "needed" to have a lollipop at 9:30 in the morning and I suddenly realized that it wasn't about me. I had been focusing all of this new found food knowledge on healing myself while continuing to allow my husband and children to become addicted to sugar and other unhealthy foods. I'm not going to let my children become a statistic. My children will not be counted as one of the nearly 24 million people who have been diagnosed with diabetes in the US. After calling, once again upon my Lord, I was led to read "The Maker's Diet". In 2 days I was halfway through the book. I know that we will not be able to stick to all of this diet all the time, but I plan on adopting many of the guidelines in our home. Sug is not yet on board, so I may be buying 2 sets of groceries for a little while, but for a family who doesn't have much money, I'm sure that won't last long and the Doritos and cheese doodles will be taking the hit before the organic fruits and veggies. We have been blessed with our own little Garden of Eden by way of fruit trees and fertile land and I plan on making good use of both. I am so thankful that God has provided a way for my family to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and I look forward to amazing results.

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