“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” ~Lao Tzu
After much thought and rumination, I’ve come to a conclusion…I’ve gotta get my shit together when it comes to my health – physical, mental and emotional…enough is enough! Time to get off my fat A….literally, and get it done.
Please don’t go all “woo-woo” on me, thinking I need to be wrapped in cotton and told it’s o.k., that I’m a good person and should be nice to myself…I get that. And, I don’t need that. What I apparently need is a swift boot in the glutes that are so out of shape!
If you read my previous post about my rebelling belly, you know that as I get just a tad bit older (56 years old in June 2019), the more my body seems to be fighting back. I’d like to blame it all on menopause, but the truth of the matter is I haven’t taken good care of myself in a long time…not really. I haven’t exercised like I should or centered my emotional or spiritual well-being, and I’ve sure eaten an awful lot of garbage foods. Well, as they say, payback is a bitch and she’s come a-callin’.
You know, it’s funny…year after year when I go for physicals my lab work comes up in good shape. I’ve always had lower blood pressure and resting heart rate, and it’s a rare occasion either of those are off and it’s usually when I’m running late for my appointment! Really, the only thing that changes…slow but sure, is my weight. Some years up, some years down…just like a freaking yo-yo…but it’s slowly climbed to an ugly peak.
The Vicious Circle
Now, I know many health experts will say it’s not just the weight, I need to look at my overall picture of health. Reality is, the more weight I have on the more issues I have with my joints. And then, I let myself get caught in the vicious circle I’m in right now. My weight goes up, which puts added strain on my joints. That makes them hurt a lot…all the time, which means I don’t exercise so I don’t exacerbate the pain. Then the weight goes up…rinse and repeat.
The good news is I don’t have a family history of any major illnesses like high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes. Cancer, thankfully, is “far enough away” in my family tree to not be considered a direct risk. I do have a long maternal history of joint and back problems and arthritis…and I’m following closely in my mom’s footsteps.
In my 30s, I had random incidents of my back “going out.” No way to explain it, except to say I’d walk crooked a few days then be right as rain. That’s also when I first started having my knee pain and subsequent scopes. In my 40s, my back incidents started to accelerate, accompanied by a random funky hip issue. At one point, my hip was so bad I could barely get out of bed.
Going to Hell in a Handbasket
In my 50s, my feet and ankles started acting up, probably an outcome of foot surgery in high school and college, my funky knees and back. I’m super careful about what shoes I wear, so when I thought I had an odd case of shin splints (see above about no exercise), I landed myself in the ER with terrific leg pain I couldn’t control. After ruling out a blood clot, an MRI of my back showed I have moderate spinal stenosis from L1 through S2.
Couple all these fantastic physical ailments with my rumbly guts, and I make one heck of a shitshow. Time out for the following disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL OR NUTRITIONIST. THE FOLLOWING IS MY OPINION ONLY. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR OWN PERSONAL PHYSICIAN OR NUTRITIONIST.
My Plan
So, here’s my plan. It’s somewhat of a conglomeration of a couple different eating styles that I’m going to cobble together to give me the most flexibility while keeping it clean, whole and as much organic as I can find. Here’s how it’ll look:
Week 1 – I’m starting with a basic “detox,” meaning I’m getting 100% rid of everything processed. My meal plan will include high protein focused on eggs, fish, shrimp, heavy on non-starchy vegetables, lentils, quinoa, and limited fruit. I’m staying away from oranges and orange juice for right now, and will try them in Week 3 to see if the acid is what bothers my stomach. No dairy, no coffee (GASP!), no soda, no bread. I will eat an organic rolled oat breakfast bar, a delicious recipe I modified slightly from www.bakingyouhappier.com. My challenge will be the fish as I’m not a big fish lover. Odds are pretty good I’ll default to eggs, shrimp and quinoa for my protein boost.
Week 2 – I’ll do more of the same, and layer on chicken and turkey, brown and wild rice, farro, and wheatberry.
Week 3 – I’m going to carefully layer on greek yogurt and see how it goes. I sometimes get rumbly guts from yogurt, but I don’t know if it’s because of what else I’m eating. On another day, I’ll try some cheese. I haven’t decided what kind, but I’m leaning toward Swiss as it’s a milder cheese. I’m also going to layer on my homemade, spelt bread and lean pork (loin or chop). Finally, I’ll try 1/2 cup of orange juice one day, 1/2 a whole orange on another and see if they bother my stomach.
Throughout, I’ll be switching to iced, unsweetened green tea and plenty of water. As always, I’ll be taking a probiotic, multivitamin, and a few other things that I prefer not to list. Again, I’m not a nutrition expert and don’t want to give any impression that I’m an expert on supplements.
At this point, I’ll see how I’m doing to determine if this eating style is “livable” for me, and more importantly, see how I feel. I realize I’ll run into times where I won’t have control of what’s available to eat, work situations in particular. But what I know about myself through all the ga-zillion “diets” and eating plans I’ve been on, writing out a meal plan for the week, then sticking to it will best help me get in the groove. While I’m not much for journaling, I will be launching into a daily journal to not only track what I’m eating, but how I feel, what my day was like, cravings (or lack of), and anything new I learn about my mind, body and soul.
Meal Prepping
I know that when I get home from work, I’m sketchy with taking time to make a meal. So, I’ve spent a day meal-prepping. I’ve talked with a lot of people who just don’t like to meal prep. They think it’s too much work. I, on the other hand, would rather spend an afternoon cooking and portioning for the week, and save a ton of time during the week. It also keeps me “honest” – I don’t want to waste anything that I’ve prepped, so it keeps me on my plan. When I prep, once I have my groceries in hand, it only takes me 2-3 hours, depending on what I’m prepping. I plan out my actions so I’m most efficient, and line the cooking up in an order that maximizes oven use. My Week 1 Prep was as follows:
- Write my meal plan and make grocery list. Shop only for what I need!
- Wash and cut raw vegetables; portion so they’re ready for cooking (I currently can’t eat raw because of my braces….boo hoo! I prefer them raw!). If you’re really in a pinch, or hate cutting/chopping, aim for frozen vegetables. Nothing easier than dumping from a bag!
- Wash fruit and portion out into single serving sizes – berries, bananas, cantaloupe, apples. Again, if you’re in a pinch consider buying pre-cut fruit trays.
- Make breakfast bars
- Make egg frittata
- Make lentils
- Make quinoa
- Portion out shrimp to five freezer packages (6 shrimp each)
- Roast beets
- Roast enough veg for 2 meals
On the Menu
So, while it looks like I have a “bunch of stuff” on my menu, truth is by doing the above steps, I can whip any of the following together in very short order. I’m big on flavor, so each will have plenty of herbs and spices to boost the flavor. I’m working on getting all the recipes pulled together (I don’t often work from a recipe, so I have to try to figure them out so others can make!), so keep checking back.
- Egg frittata loaded with vegetables
- Quinoa, cucumber, cherry tomato salad with lemon infused olive oil
- Lentil salad with chickpeas, black beans, cherry tomato, cilantro
- Wild+brown rice with dried cranberries and basil, drizzled with lemon-infused olive oil
- Chili lime shrimp
- Shrimp tacos in bibb lettuce leaf
- Coleslaw with avocado “mayo”
- Breakfast bars
- Cauliflower & sweet potato “riced” fried rice
- Baked herbed haddock with lemon
- Tuna “salad” with brown rice noodles and avocado “mayo”
I hope to get several of my standby recipes out here. As I go along, I’m going to tackle “health-ifying” some of my favorite, definitely not healthy recipes to see if it can be done! Stay tuned….Thanks for following along…I appreciate your support. If you have a great, healthy recipe you just love, please do share it in Comments below!
