Tag Archives: food truth

Food Aversions

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This third baby is taking a toll on my diet. I swear I can’t eat anything without getting nauseous. With my second baby I was sick for maybe a month and it went away. But this time around it’s stretching a lot longer.

Strangely enough, the only things that don’t make me sick are: Ice cream, a tortilla with peanut butter, avocado toast, milk, pizza, cheese and vanilla cheerios. You’d think milk products wouldn’t be easy on the stomach and would make me sick. But weirdly enough they don’t bother it!

One strange food aversion I’m having that I had with our second baby is with chicken. I can’t eat chicken cooked at someone’s house. It literally makes me start gagging. I can’t even cook it myself without feeling sick. But I can eat chicken from a restaurant! There’s something about the smell of it cooking in the house that makes me sick. Since I can’t smell the chicken being cooked in the restaurant, it doesn’t bother me.

The first three months I was really battling with food. But now I’ve found a few items I can eat regularly with no major issue. So every day, I eat pretty much the exact same thing. I actually don’t mind it much because I’m a creature of habit and love schedules. I’ve always had my meals planned out days in advance so I’m not doing too much different than my usual other than being limited on foods.

This is definitely proof that every pregnancy is different! I’m learning as I go with each one!

Diet pains

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Ever gone on a diet and felt achy during it? Sort of those body aches you get just before you actually get sick? Well, that’s not uncommon. So what causes it?……

When you eat unhealthy foods for a while, your body builds “immunity” to these junk foods. That’s why you don’t feel any major discomfort after having eaten them for weeks, months or years. Once you remove these foods from your diet, your body can actually go through withdrawals. Your body became addicted to these foods so it’s a shock to it when you remove them. Symptoms can include body aches, anxiety, exhaustion, irritability, jitteriness, and tiredness.

A lot of people who get these symptoms while dieting feel like their diet isn’t working due to the symptoms they experience. What they fail to remember is that dieting isn’t easy at first. You have to get your body into a routine. They often feel this discomfort, get discouraged and immediately want to feel comfort. They remember how junk food was a comfort feeling for some of them, so they go right back to eating it.

Don’t get me wrong, I eat my fair share of junk food. However, I eat it in moderation. I may eat a burger and fries for dinner one night. But all my meals before that are healthy. I don’t do an entire day of eating terrible. If I do eat terrible one entire day, my body goes into a shock and I actually get an achy, tired and uncomfortable feel. It’s one I can actually feel in my muscles and stomach.

There is what I call the “diet hump.” For me it’s always around week 3 or 4 of my diet. I start to feel achy and I get tired and discouraged. I think to myself how much I hate this feeling and I just want to lay on the sofa with a box of pizza and Chinese food. But once I push past those thoughts and a few days of the achy, tiredness passes, I feel better. Things get easier after that hump. My diet becomes more of a routine and easy to follow. I don’t crave unhealthy foods as much. My body actually feels stronger after.

Diet and weight loss is not easy. It honestly takes a lot more mental work than people realize. It’s not 100% physical when going on a diet. You have to keep yourself on track and not let what may be withdrawal symptoms, set you back if they come on. For me a lot of “self talk” is involved. I tell myself regularly “I can do this.” It’s a lot of mental pushing. But it’s worth it on the end. Especially to wake up feeling better every day. Having my stomach feel clear and not heavy and bloated. To not have my joints an muscles ache when I try to get up or sit down. With two kids under 3, I need all the strength and energy I can get from this body!

Food battle

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I’m not kidding you when I say the only actual “meal” I eat during the day is dinner. I literally have no free hands to make myself a meal during the day. It’s a battle just to cook dinner at night. If it weren’t for my youngest taking an evening nap, giving me time to cook, we would probably be eating takeout every night. 🥠

With my first child I was able to make myself breakfast, lunch, etc. I only had him to worry about. Throw a second child into the mix and a “real meal” is almost non existent. 🍽

One child is crying wanting to be held, the oldest is pulling at my leg, the dog just pooped on the carpet, someone is knocking on the door……literally that is how my day goes. And it always seems to happen all at once, the minute I decide to get something to eat. So grabbing a granola bar or a protein bar is the best I can do 99% of the time.🍫

I’m doing my best to make sure I get enough calories in each day. But sometimes it’s hard. There’s only so many granola bars you can eat before you just don’t want to eat. And yes I keep easy to grab items in my fridge like fruit, carrots, etc. But not all of that transports easily from room to room. I’m not kidding when I say the minute I try to get myself something to eat someone needs a diaper change, the dog poops on the carpet, a child is climbing up on something he could hurt himself on, etc. 🍎

I’m not complaining by any means. I know this stage will be short lived (I hope). But it does sort of suck at times. I literally look forward to the weekend when we go to our golf club for lunch and someone cooks a meal for me. Then for dinner we get takeout and again food is cooked for me.

Children and sweets

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I’m pretty particular about what my child eats. I give a little here and there. But one thing I don’t budge on is sweets. I personally believe we introduce candy and sugars into children’s diets at too early of an age. Most doctors and dieticians will recommend waiting till a child is at least 4 before introducing them to candy and sweets (longer if possible).

Hard or chewy candies are a choking hazard, and giving your child other treats like chocolate can contribute to poor eating habits as they grow up.

Candy is chock-full of empty calories, and you want to make sure your child eats more nutrient-packed foods. Because eating habits and tastes are learned early, what you offer your child now will affect them for the rest of their life.

Your child will figure out soon enough the appeal of sweets, but you can help them make smart choices. If you want to give your cold something sweet, safe and healthy options are fruit, yogurt, frozen yogurt, pudding, etc.

Help your child learn healthy habits early in!

Get Your Iron!

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You’re supposed to keep up your iron levels when pregnant. So what better way than a steak from Del Friscos! Ok yes there are other sources, but when this is an option you know I’m going to take it!

Women need 18 mg per day of iron. Pregnant women need about 27 mg. An 8oz filet contains roughly 4 mg of iron. Spinach, oysters, broccoli and legumes are great sources of iron as well if beef isn’t your thing.

Unfamiliar with what iron does in the body? Here’s a short explanation…..iron is a component of hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that helps transport oxygen through the body. Iron is also necessary in helping maintain healthy skin, hair and nails.

Keep your body strong from the inside out! Make sure you’re getting the proper amount of iron each day!💪🏻

Fighting disease or feeding it

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Everything you eat either fights disease or feeds it. Did you know that sugar is like fuel for cancer? Cancer feeds off sugar therefore fueling rapid growth of cancer cells. Cancer cells uptake sugar at 10-12 times the rate of healthy cells.

The most simple forms of sugar are single molecule sugars, like glucose and fructose. This is why refined carbs like white sugar, white flour, soft drinks, etc should be limited or avoided for anyone with cancer.

(There is also evidence that some cancer cells feed on amino acids or lipids.)

Understanding how your body works and what works best for it are SO important. Help your body fight against illness and disease by feeding it things that support it.

Food battle

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“Are you going to be a picky eater tonight?” Or “why aren’t you eating that? The amount of times I’ve heard these……🤔

Why are we so critical of what other people eat or don’t eat? I’ve battled with a food allergy for almost 10 years now. I’ve gone to dinner at peoples houses and not been able to eat much of anything because they served something I’m allergic to. I’ve gotten better about letting people know ahead of time. But I used to be so shy about it that I wouldn’t eat. A people assumed I had an eating disorder because I wouldn’t eat. Little did they know, on my way home I was eating the protein bar I had stashed in my car and would wolf down everything in my fridge at home!

There have been other times where I had to pick around food in hopes of eating something without getting sick. I’ve been called a picky eater because of this. I don’t really think a food allergy qualifies someone as a picky eater. It’s not really their choice to have a food allergy. If I could get rid of it I would! It would definitely make life easier when eating out or at peoples houses!

Rather than assume someone has an eating disorder or brand them as a picky eater, why not give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they have a food allergy! Or maybe they just don’t like what you’re serving. 😂 I think we as a society need to work on being less critical. We also need to worry more about ourselves and less about what other people are doing (in some cases).

That scary word…..”Fat”

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I’m sure people are going to think I’m ridiculous for saying this, but I wish we could rename fats, from food, something else. Yeah yeah I know it sounds stupid. But a good majority of the general public sees that word and freaks out. I think it’s due to the word association with the word body fat. We define fat (from the body) as connective tissue that stores cellular fat. Or….the yellow blob stuff that we see in pictures in ads and learned about in heath class.

Body fat is not the same as food fat. Will fats from food make you fat? Yes and no. It’s all about portioning and eating the correct fats. If you eat a proper amount of fats, you can make it work to your advantage. With that being said, I’m referring to fats from avocado, olive oil, eggs, etc. NOT fats from things like Doritos, pastries, sugary drinks, etc. Should you completely avoid the “bad fats” all together? Some would argue yes. I say no. That’s what cheat meals are for! I don’t recommend consuming them every day but on occasion is fine! If you can completely avoid them all together, more power to you! I however want a greasy burger and pizza every so often. 😉

Fats are a good thing! Let’s stop being so scared of them! Use them as fuel for your body and don’t feel bad about consuming them, when they’re the good kind. Eat your avocados every day, and eat those eggs! They are fantastic for your body. Just make sure to portion things out properly! Figure out how much fat is recommended for your body per day. Once you understand the fat amounts in each food, you can portion things visually and it becomes really easy! Let’s get back to enjoying foods (especially ones with FAT) and not being scared of them! 🍴💪🏻

The breakfast blame game

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I had a friend tell me she doesn’t have time to make breakfast so she skips it, makes a coffee and heads out the door to work every day. She blames this on why she’s starving before lunch and ends up eating horrible the rest of the day, therefore causing her to gain weight.

So here’s the thing……YOU decide what goes in your belly. We really can’t blame anyone (or anything) but ourselves for the choices we make. That doughnut at your office does not literally call your name every morning. 😡

If you know you battle to eat good during the day and breakfast is something you are clearly struggling with, you have options…..

1. Premake your breakfast the night before to save time! Make a to-go container of Greek yogurt with berries. Or try overnight oats and mix in a few of your favorite items like fruit, chia seeds, almonds, coco powder or almonds!

2. Wake up earlier!!! Seriously there are so many breakfast options that take less than 5 minutes. Things like avocado toast with eggs, peanut butter toast with banana, or even a protein shake with fruit and spinach mixed in. All of these take less than 5 minutes to make. Set your alarm to go off 15 minutes earlier so you have time to make the food and eat it.

You have options! When I was a teacher I had to be to school at 6:30am to be at my morning duty spot at 6:50am, then class started at 7:30am. Not to mention I had a 20 minute drive. Making breakfast at 5:45 in the morning was just not an option for me. Well, it could have been but I’m not the best morning person when it’s THAT early. 😂

I always pre made meals. Sometimes I made these egg muffins that I would just pop in the microwave and eat in the car. I used muffin tins to make them every Sunday (recipe will be on my blog next week). Some days I would just hard boil eggs and leave a bowl of them in the fridge to grab and take to eat while at my duty spot.

Stop making excuses and do something! If you want to eat better and your problem starts with breakfast, then fix it! Small changes make a big difference! 💪🏻

Note: Yes I know there are diets out there that encourage breakfast fasting. But this doesn’t work for everyone. Especially her if she’s repeating the vicious cycle of eating bad daily because she’s hungry from not eating breakfast. Some people lack the self control ability to do a breakfast fast and not destroy the rest of their day after.

Sometimes a salad isn’t what it seems…..

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Food can be VERY deceiving. People see certain meals and because there are healthy items in them, they automatically think it’s a healthy meal. What we often forget is the added sauces and things that completely kill the meal. For example, my dinner last night was an ahi tuna salad. It has seared tuna, arugula, mango, tomato, noodles, avocado, almonds and a ginger dressing. Doesn’t sound too bad right? Take a look at the nutrition breakdown:

920 cals

64g fat

60g carbs

33g sugar

36g protein

Notice how high the calories and sugars are! 920 calories in ONE serving. Just because it’s a salad does not mean it’s going to be healthy. The little items like dressing, noodles, and the avocado jack up the sugar, fat and calories drastically! Yes things like avocado are great for you. But in the proper amounts. If you removed the dressing, noodles and cut the avocado amount in half, you would see a drastic drop in these numbers

By no means am I telling you to not eat certain things. Im just encouraging you to be cautious. Enjoy a salad like this every so often. But I wouldn’t recommend it daily. As I said before, just because something has healthy items in it, that doesn’t make it healthy for you. Know what you’re eating! Don’t be afraid to be high maintenance at a restaurant and ask to remove things or put dressing on the side. Especially if you’re trying for a healthier option. You can make restaurant meals work for you and your diet!

Happy eating! 🍴😉💙