I do so many things out of habit. I don't even know why I do some of them because if I really stop and think about it for just a minute it really makes no sense! This journey to health and wellness has ups and downs. Some days I work really really hard, make good choices, and go to the gym. Other days I am doing good to stick to the few new habits I have made.
SODA!
Soda! This has been a crutch for me since High School. Sometimes I wish I had never even been introduced to the stuff. It full of chemical compounds that taste yummy in the moment but don't satisfy your thirst so you drink more....and more... and more. When I first started with Plexus, I cut down my soda intake but didn't stop it all together. I certainly didn't crave it like I had before plexus but I still CHOSE to have one a day, grab a 20oz on a round trip or have one with dinner out. I recently shared on facebook about how my cousin challenged me about my soda drinking. We had been at the beach all day. I had taken waters and soda. We had done some sight seeing and were headed back to our cabin when we stopped for dinner. My cousin and his sweet girlfriend both ordered water. I ordered water for the kids. I CHOSE to order a soda for myself. That's how the conversation came up. He shared that drinking water helps you enjoy the various flavors of your meal that are other wise missed due to being covered up by soda. This gave me food for thought, it has obviously stuck with me. Why was I drinking soda? Even more silly is that I generally saved my soda drinking for when were out. I rarely had it home unless we were having a get together. One Sunday out to lunch, my husband and I reviewed our bill. We realized that our lunch bill would have been under $30 had he and I both just ordered water. As I thought more and more about it, it occurred to me that I was paying 2 or 3 dollars for soda at a restaurant but wouldn't pay 99 cents to buy the bottle at the store! What was I thinking?? I am proud to say that it was in that moment I realized I no longer need my crutch. Water is good and refreshing. Tea is alternative when I want something different. I made the mistake of taking a big swing of soda at home one night eating pizza. It felt like corn syrup running down my throat....well... that's really what it is anyway. YUCK! Not for me any more! 4 weeks, One Month...NO SODA, not going back either. I am officially free from my soda addiction.
Easy, Boxed Baking
OK! Here is another "habit". I would spend the 4 or 5 dollars at the store for the boxed pancake and biscuit mixes. Have you read those labels? I have really gotten more and more into reading the labels. We have a really tight grocery budget and when you need enough food for 2 weeks for 6 people sometimes things have to be left. I like biscuits with some meals and I love making pancakes for my kids on lazy mornings. I started really looking for recipes. I started experimenting with different ingredients. Flour, Baking soda, Baking Power, salt, maybe sugar, Water or milk, and sometimes eggs, with varying amounts are the main essentials to waffles, pancakes muffins and biscuits (and many other yummy things). Hmmm. I can say all those ingredients. I always have all those ingredients. Why was I spending 4 or 5 dollars for something extra that I already had on hand. I know flour isn't the greatest for you, but i have switched to unbleached flour. Gross anyway--why would we bleach our food?? I barely bleach my clothes! So a little extra effort, a little more planning for me is totally worth it. Baking from scratch makes me feel good about what I am putting on the table.
Unwillingness to Try
I am stubborn. If you know me, you know I am stubborn. My husband has teased me over our nearly 14 years of marriage that I make up my mind about things before I really give it chance. Especially when it comes to food. When he and I first met, I always ate plain, boring things. Didn't even really add condiments to sandwiches or experiment in anyway with food. If you ask me, I have come along way. I have found several things, probably more, that I always thought I hated and it turns out I really don't. Hummus is the first thing I discovered. I really didn't think I liked it. Its color is kinda yucky and some of the labels don't sound so appetizing to me. However, I tried it one day because a friend was raving about it. I really liked it. I find that I prefer garlic flavored. I have even been attempting to make my own. Why not? 80 cents for a can of chick peas makes a portion big enough to span several lunches and gets my kids (and me too) eating raw veggies as snacks! The other thing is in the category of raw veggies. Tomatoes, Cabbage, and Green peppers, things I always tolerated but never thought I liked. This summer, growing my own tomatoes has changed my mind about tomatoes. YUM, Fresh from the vine for salsa, soup and just to eat! Good Stuff! Cabbage is something I started 'tolerating' because my husband wanted to make it for his Irish side of the family family reunion one year. Then he started making it at St Patrick's day. Every once and a while we would eat it with dinner. The other night i was making said dinner and had bought a HUGE head of cabbage. So I sliced it up and found a recipe for oven roasted Cabbage! OH MY HEAVENS, Straight from the oven it was like candy only healthy! Soo good and now on my grocery list each time! At work, I have watched a few of my coworkers (okay, friends) eat RAW GREEN PEPPERS! UGH! They always offered them to me and I would turn up my nose. They would roll their eyes at me and keep on eating. Peppers to me indicate spicy and I don't care for overly spicy things (probably all that bland eating!). Well.... last night I was making homemade pizza. I cut up the green peppers small cause that's how i like them on pizza, but ended up with more than half the pepper left. I thought for a moment, and took a leap. I took a small bite. Next thing I know, I have eaten the entire leftover half and I LIKED IT! WOW! If only I would try things more often!! What else have I been missing?!?!
Thanks to my new found taste buds, I am getting excited about re working my garden this summer. I went with safe things last summer. This summer I am going to open up my world a little more. I am so grateful for plexus slim and the way it has helped me over come addictions to foods and re-worked my body and taste buds so that I actually CRAVE good for me food. I am not perfect. I still enjoy a treat now and then. That's the point right? Health but not deprivation. Food for fuel, not for managing stress and emotions. Living life to LIVE, LAUGH and LOVE. Loving myself more and more each day along this journey! Finding my joy and happiness in relationships with God, Friends and Family and sharing it with others.
Welcome February, you are going to be a great month, I just know it!
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