I have never understood food – what to eat, what not to eat, what the body needs and doesn’t need. Sure, I knew that fruits and veggies should be half your plate and you need 8-10 servings a day. I didn’t do it, but I had heard that enough to know. I knew that you needed a protein and a carbohydrate at most meals. But that’s about the extent of my knowledge. I kind of just ate.
When I was pregnant, my diet was a problem. I had ketones in my urine throughout the entire pregnancy, which was explained to me as that my body wasn’t getting enough nutrients. I was 180 lbs when I got pregnant, and topped out at 194 lbs, yet Illyana was born at 7 lbs 4 oz. I had borderline gestational diabetes. I tracked my diet, my ketones and my blood sugar levels and tried my best to do what I was supposed to do. It was hard and exhausting. I came out of the hospital, having had Illyana, at 150 lbs. That stayed off for the year I breastfed, despite me eating anything in sight. Then I went back to work, and quickly gained it all back, plus some. Four and a half years after having my baby, I weighed 210 llbs.
In 2019, Illyana was hospitalized for failure to thrive. She lived on milk with whipping cream in it for the majority of her calories. The advice was to eat the same meals, to show her how to eat. At some point, I stopped cooking two meals – one of me and one for her. I started living on the Kraft Dinner that she would eat. We stopped buying veggies at all because they would just go bad in the fridge.
In 2021, a friend suggested we try JuicePlus. JP+ is a whole food supplement. It comes in a chewable form and a pill form (and whole food based protein products). She said that once a body starts to have fruits and veggies, it will crave more. She said that sugar cravings would decrease. She said it would help bridge the gap between what we were eating and what we should be eating for fruits and veggies. Health benefits galore. What did we have to loose, we weren’t eating any! So we went ahead and ordered. The chewables took a bit to get used to, but I would snack on them and often Illyana will eat them. At one point, the rule became that she could have more candy after she ate her chewables. She was game and now likes them, although wont eat them daily. She even decided that the child dose of 2 chewables of each of the three flavors wasn’t enough, so now eats 4 of each Every day she does is a win though.
As for me, within a couple of months on JP+, I noticed I wasn’t reaching for my chocolate stash at 3 pm (still don’t, its now there for my coworkers). I was having less dessert. I had a bit more energy. We were sold. I signed up to be a partner and make a small commission on selling them. Turned out that selling it wasn’t something I really enjoyed despite believing in the product (still make a commission though, if I have inspired you!).
Fast forward to 2022. I weighed 210 lbs, the most I had ever weighed. I was eating ¾ box of kraft dinner 6 nights a week. I felt gross. I was tired all the time (this has long been a complaint of mine). I wasn’t sleeping well. Then all of a sudden, I started having gallbladder attacks. The ultrasound showed “multiple gallstones". The doctor recommended he remove the gallbladder. I was a bit perplexed by this, as I don’t eat at fast food restaurants often. But when I remember the rapid weight loss of pregnancy, which likely started the gallstone problem and that I lived on processed food, it makes sense. After surgery, a prolonged heartbeat interval has me being sent to another specialist. I decided I had to do better. I am 38 years old and do not want the rest of my life to be riddled with health challenges, doctors and specialists.
I signed up for Noom, a weight loss program that uses psychology to help make long term changes with your relationship with food. This program labels food as green, yellow and orange. Green foods are fruits and veggies and whole grains – you can eat as many foods in this category as you want. Yellow foods should be eaten in moderation. Orange foods should be limited, but are still necessary. This gave me some good understanding of foods I was eating. The first week of logging my food was mostly orange foods. Green foods fill you up longer and have less calories. This week I have been mostly in the suggested ranges, and have enjoyed a treat or two. While I do not think that this is the best way to measure calorie intake or the foods one eats, I appreciate the suggestions of what colours the foods are. I often double log, also using myfitnesspal (it would be nice if they talked to each other) to see how I did on protein and fiber content.
Now I am learning that oatmeal is a high calorie food but quinoa is low calorie. I had quinoa and homemade apple sauce for breakfast and will likely feel full longer than if I had made oatmeal. I had no idea prior to this. Now I have almost cut sugar from my coffee (actually, being home this month have no had coffee). I have a treat about once a week. In fact, the fruit JP+ chewable feels super sweet. I now prefer the veggie one, which was the hardest to get used to. This week I have bought eggplant, zucchini and avocado which are rarely on my shopping list. I have explored some new recipes. I have learned that my delicious melted cheese in a cheese bun sandwich is all in the orange zone – lots of calories without a lot of benefits. And I am often quite far under in calories but am not feeling hungry. I am going to try to cook more often, from scratch. I have learned that the processed meat I buy, while easy and fast, is full of added sodium and sugars.
I wont say that I have a good understanding of food yet, but I am appreciating the changed journey. Going back to whole, unprocessed foods is part of the key. Including more fruits and veggies is key. Its been easy while I am off work and have nothing to do. It is important that I find a way to continue it once back at work. Hoping that building habits while off helps once I am back. I finally feel like I am starting to understand my body and what it needs. I saw in the summer, how much energy one can have with some good nutrition and exercise. I felt like the Energizer Bunny. One night I played a game of soccer and then came home and went for a run because my body still wanted to move. Who is that person?!?! That is who I want to be. I want to make myself healthier. I want to be able to play with my daughter and not be on the sidelines all the time (I have hated this month of being sidelined). I want to live a good, long life.
The time to change and learn is now.
