The Why

I mentioned what we normally eat, but I didn't mention the why.  Processed foods became a huge concern to me in recent years.  Have you read an ingredient label lately?  Most everything on it, I can't pronounce, much less tell you what it is.  This concerned me greatly because I like to know what I am putting in my body, don't you?  It's worrisome that a lot of these ingredients have nothing to do with food, they were created in a laboratory somewhere by a scientist!   I especially want to know what I am putting in my kids' bodies, since they were starting with a clean slate.  That's when we started trying to eat more real food.  Food that has been minimally processed or altered from it's original state.  I read in a book that if your grandmother wouldn't recognize it, you shouldn't eat it.   On one of my favorite websites- www.100daysofrealfood.com  suggests eating foods with 5 ingredients or less.  The funny thing is, you can find a lot of things that meet this criteria.  Even Triscuits meet this criteria!  Another great source I've found is www.heavenlyhomemakers.com .  The Weston A. Price foundation has a great website with lots of resources on it, and a great book on the subject is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.  I know eating real, whole foods seems a lot different from what we are used to these days.  The trend is towards low fat, no fat, etc.  If these diets were so successful though, why are so many people still battling weight issues?  I personally think it's because while those diets may work for a spell, they aren't realistic for the long term.  I can tell you that in high school I followed a strict no fat diet and did lose a bunch of weight.  The problem was I felt awful.  Most recently, I have a desire to lose weight and be healthier overall.  However, I wondered how I could possibly do it when I wasn't going to go back to eating all the icky low fat things that are on the market.  Then I found an awesome book call A Life Unburdened.  The gentleman who wrote it lost a LOT of weight after giving up dieting on all the low fat/no fat stuff.  He instead followed a real, whole foods diet and began exercising.  The regular diet allowed him to feel full and satisfied, and he was able to achieve a healthy weight.  I can't remember how much he lost, but he weighed over 400 lbs. when he began and is a normal size now!  I think that gives everyone hope that it CAN be done. 
I have been excited and enjoying exercising daily with my kids, and I think that will be the key to getting healthy again.  It is hard work pushing 3 kids in a jogger stroller! 
So, that is where we are.  Trying to exercise and eat whole, real foods the way God made them.  I try to steer clear of the middle grocery aisles as much as possible.  I know that is where a lot of good deals are, especially with coupons.  It's not really a deal though if it's detrimental to our health.  My daughter is especially sensitive to foods.  She gets belly aches a lot, especially if she eats soy or soy bi-products, and we all know what those artificial dyes do to her!  I don't know if I'd believe all of that unless I witnessed the affects on her with my own two eyes.  It is a real eye-opening revelation. 
Of course, we allow ourselves grace when we still eat the occasional Happy Meal.  We are just doing the best we can-which is all any of us can do!