I grew up on Oreos and Pepsi. I did eat a cooked veggie every night with supper, and I occasionally ate fruit, but most of my diet consisted of processed, chemical-laden, and sugar-laden food. There was no reading of labels or caring about what was in the “food” I was eating.
And there were no thoughts of exercise. I was blessed with a very high metabolism, so I literally ate whatever I wanted to eat and was as skinny as a rail. My cousin called me Skinny Minny. Although my father exercised every day, I never saw a reason for skinny me to work out.
Things changed in 2002. I was pregnant with my first baby, and I started reading a few pregnancy books. They all talked about what not to eat: artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial flavors, caffeine, foods drenched in pesticides, nitrates, and more. I thought, “If these things are not good for my baby, they must not be good for me either.” Right in that moment, my journey toward better health began.
I started reading labels. I stopped drinking soda. I stopped buying food with artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives. I started buying some organic fruits and veggies. Baby steps.
I started reading more about healthy living, and I became more aware of the dangers and side-effects of drugs. I opted for totally medication-free labor and delivery when my children were born. After their births, I continued my healthy diet, and I nursed my son for 15 months and my daughter for 16 months.
In 2006, a friend invited me to a health presentation at her house, given by a retired pediatrician. My son was 3, and my daughter was 6 months old. The doctor gave many practical tips on better nutrition for families, and he talked about a nutritional supplement called Juice Plus. The Juice Plus concept made sense to me, so my kids and I started taking it. This was another huge step toward better health for us.
The next step was exercise. My metabolism slowed down a lot when I was about 30. I knew I needed to exercise to be healthy, but I finally wanted to exercise to get some extra weight off. I had tried walking some, but I wasn’t consistent with it. I tried aerobics videos, but my energy was sapped after those work-outs. After I weaned my daughter in 2007, I tried the aerobics videos again–a set of three videos from The Firm. I had been taking Juice Plus for a year, and an amazing thing happened. When I exercised, I had tons of energy, and I felt great! Juice Plus really made a difference in my energy level, stamina, and endurance when exercising and just in everyday life. So exercising is part of my regular routine now.
Currently, I am focusing on eating less red meat; more fish; and more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. My goal for the next six months is to read some books on a more varied diet and trying out more vegetarian/vegan recipes. I also recently discovered the overall-health benefits of chiropractic, and that has brought many exciting changes to my health. I’ll be posting about that soon!
My goal is to encourage readers to start a journey with a destination in sight–a destination of better health. If I can do it, anyone can. It just takes baby steps. If you have already started your journey, I hope this blog will encourage you to keep striving toward that goal of better health. I am by no means an expert. I’m still new to this myself, but I try to learn and apply new things every week that will move me toward that ultimate destination. I look forward to learning from you too!
To read more about why I am passionate about good health, click here.
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