The Quest Begins - 30 Day Challenge

Okay,
  I will post more as it comes to me, and as I have time, but after much consideration, Dr.'s appointments and  donating so much of my blood to science, we have decided to make some changes around the Funk household.  Mainly dietary changes.  I've been struggling with allergy and digestive issues for so long and now have been performing some of my own research into possible treatments.  One thing keeps popping up all over, gluten-free and grain free living.

I know there are a lot of people who will disagree that this is unhealthy or silly, but I am going to give it a complete try, in fact, Michael and I both will.  He is doing this with me.  We are doing a 30-45 day trial of going 100% gluten free, and virtually paleo.  If you don't know what paleo is, see some of the sites below.  A lot of them are blogs of people who have been helped by this type of eating and have been relieved of their nagging symptoms.

http://whole9life.com/start/

http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/p/about.html

http://balancedbites.com/

http://www.againstallgrain.com/about-me/

http://wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains-are-killing-you-slowly/

http://www.elanaspantry.com/getting-diagnosed-with-multiple-sclerosis/

One thing about this type of eating that stood out to me, was that it is so healthy.  You are only eating real food.  And it is so nutrient rich.  Instead of eating the empty carb and sugar calories, you are getting fiber, vitamins and minerals.  You also completely stabilize your blood sugar, minimizing insulin spikes.  Mainstream nutrition has lead us to believe that we need to eat grains for B vitamins and fiber, but vegetables and fruits provide way more fiber and vitamins than any grain.  I know all the posts and research I have linked are blogs and may not necessarily be "ordained" websites and bodies of knowledge, but that is because these people are going against conventional thought.  Already the government is recognizing that the old pyramid is not a healthy way of eating and has switched to a plate, where they are saying that half of your food intake at every meal should be fruits and veggies, with a 1/4 protein and a 1/4 starch (grains).  Link Here.

And I want to say here, that I am not looking for an argument.  If you do not agree with me, that is okay, but please keep your comments to yourselves unless they follow Ephesians 4:29.

Michael will not be as strict as the paleo version, because he does not currently have any digestive issues, but I will be cutting out virtually all grains and dairy as well.  We have talked and talked about his for awhile, and yes, it is restrictive, but if being healthy was about ease, then 36% of America would not be obese (CDC).  And that is just obesity, that does not include just generally being overweight.  And I am no way judging these people, finding time to exercise is hard and losing weight is even harder.  I am just saying that it is much easier to grab a pizza for dinner then it is to bake some chicken breasts and cook some fresh broccoli and butternut squash on the side.  It is also much cheaper...

So there is my nutrition rant.  I will share more about what has got me to this point in future posts, but last night Michael and I started out quest for eating real food by stocking our fridge with a ton of yummy fruits and veggies, various squashes, meats, yams, almonds, and seeds.  And we purged our cabinets of saltine crackers, graham crackers, white noodles, tuna helper, and packaged breakfast cereal.

And then we made an amazing breakfast.  We baked up a pound of sausage and put most of it in the fridge for later meals.  We then sauteed spinach, mushrooms, and onions with eggs and added a little bit of sausage.  (Fat is not the enemy! I will post on this sometime soon too)  We both ate two eggs each this way.  Delicious!!

Challenge Day 1 - Breakfast

This is not the Atkins diet.  You want to focus on veggies, good starches, and fruits before you dive in on the protein. You still need to follow portion sizes.  Like eating only a servings size of steak (deck of cards) instead of the whole steak.

And we may do a little cheat occasionally.  This is not a diet, but a lifestyle change.  After the very restrictive initial 30-45 days I will try to introduce dairy and gluten-free grains back into my diet and see how I feel.  Then I may be able to pinpoint what is causing so many issues.