The Second Week

I got through the first week, and by the end of it I was feeling pretty good!  I also felt like I COULD do this!  That first week I survived with eating enough (of what I could eat) to prevent hunger, and made sweets that I could have to deal with my sweet tooth.  I didn't worry about how much I was eating, but what I was eating.  It was my way of making sure I stayed on it.  There's not much more likely to sabotage a new way of eating than hunger and a sweet tooth, right?  But, as I ate right, I started feeling less hungry and I was needing less of the sweet stuff.  I did work very hard to eliminate every bit of the white stuff ~ because if I'm going to go to all this effort I might as well do it right!  What good is it to cheat if it means that we really won't know if it worked?  So, I've been determined to make this happen!  If I can do this... anyone can!!  

As I worked through the second week, I was finding that I was adjusting to these new eating habits.  I felt better, and knew that it felt good to eat good.  There's something about eating really healthy foods that promotes eating healthy foods!!!  Maybe that doesn't seem to make sense, but it was true for me.  I like knowing that what I eat is good for me.  There's NO GUILT!! :)  Hmmm... there must be something to that!  I've always felt that if I was going to eat it, then why feel guilty about it!  But, is that reality?  Now, the other thing is that I was learning what really was good for me and what I thought was good for me and found out it wasn't.  For example, granola bars.  Find a packaged granola bar, and you likely will find High Fructose Corn Syrup in it.  Yes, there's lots of good stuff in a granola bar, but it's cancelled out by the HFCS.  Not that it's a terrible choice compared to many other things... but it's that poison in it!!  Researchers are started to find out that many medical problems are related to HFCS.  I will post a link to how HFCS is made.  It is used commercially as it is cheaper than sugar and honey.  HFCS has been used to stretch honey, illegally, in products.  I have a friend who's son is so allergic to it that he has to completely eliminate it from his diet.  If he has a soda, he is miserable for hours.  Someone said that "if your grandmother doesn't recognize it, it's probably not good for you."  I think there's something to that.  If we eat naturally and eliminate all processed foods, then we are much better off.  Those chemicals affect us physically, mentally and emotionally.  Many chemicals make us want more... yes, addict us!  The amazing thing is that when you eliminate white sugar and white flour, that removes almost all processed foods.  So, in effect, you are eliminating a lot of other chemicals.  Nitrates, food coloring, preservatives, etc. 

I found that by the end of the second week, I was eating mostly vegetables and meat for supper.  I felt like I could reduce the amount of carbs (potatoes, rice, etc.) I was eating, as I really wasn't very hungry any more.  I was happy with meat and vegetables.  Breakfast usually consisted of oatmeal, of a variety of flavors, or toast on whole grain bread made with honey, and butter and honey on it.  Some sort of fruit accompanied each meal.  That was plenty.  By-the-way, watch out for some of the packaged oatmeal.  The best packaged oatmeal I found was in the organic section, of course.  Costco has a big box of it, called organic, and I could eat some of those.  Lunch was a variety of things for me.  I can access a kitchen at work, so I could heat up leftovers from dinner the night before.  Or, if I didn't feel like that, I took a PB & honey sandwich on whole grain bread (made w/ honey).  One day I had a wonderful sandwich with leftover chicken.  At some point I will try to list things that I bought that were OK, and recipes I found that I enjoyed and would make again.  Since I'm going through this process, I might as well share, right?!!