You are what you eat!

I'm sitting here writing this blog while I enjoy a delicious crunchy snack. Chips? Pretzels? A granola bar? Cookies? Nope! SNOW PEAS. They are amazing! Sweet, satisfying and I can eat a million without any negative effects on my shape.

Speaking of shape, I am writing this to anyone who is frustrated with theirs and can't seem to figure out what to do. That's been me for the past 5 years. I guess I can't count the two in there while I was pregnant. I do not recommend you focus on getting your shape back while you are carrying a baby. But I don't plan on having more, so NOW'S THE TIME!!

Can you relate? You know you need to work on shedding the "great unwanted" but you just don't know where to start? Or you've tried and the pounds just won't come off? Well, it finally dawned on me the other day: YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! I was watching "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" last night and the lady of the week weighed 456 pounds but get this: SHE WAS MALNOURISHED!! All that food and no nutrition. So her body stubbornly held on to food trying to search for small amounts of vitamins and minerals. She was eating fast food almost exclusively, and the times she wasn't she was eating processed, quick and easy microwave meals. She was miserable.

Food isn't the enemy, it's the KIND of food that kills our dream shape. So, I have been learning so much about eating more and avoiding certain foods like an enemy to my body. The enemies I am learning about are:

1. Sugar - it raises your insulin, signaling the body to store fat. It's also processed, so your body doesn't know how to process it well.
2. Fake fats - margarine, veggie oil (not olive oil or coconut oil, they are awesome). Again, the body sees these and says, "huh?"
3. Chemicals - they overload the kidneys and liver and keep them from doing their job.
4. Processed foods - These are loaded with sodium, sugar, chemicals and trans fats - all of which are harmful to the body.
5. Many breads, crackers and baked goods - The body reads these just like sugar and again the insulin goes up.
6. Fruit juice - same problem - sugar! Even natural juice is just too much sugar for the body.

Another enemy is dehydration. I must give myself a constant flow of good clean water to keep my organs functioning well - as we have all heard, we are about 80% water anyway. I forget that so often.

We have been created by God to eat whole foods in good portions. If it's from the ground it's probably good for me. The least amount of steps it takes from the earth to my mouth, the better for my body.

It's been so satisfying to eat this way in every way. It's been fun to see the pounds come off too!