So once we got home from our Christmas travels in Kentucky, the Watkins started a dietary journey. Josh has had some heartburn issues...nothing like he has to take prescriptions or anything, but it is bothersome to me how often it is an issue.
I do believe that diet can be used to help our bodies, so I did a little research on what diets are helpful for those that have heartburn. I saw plenty of the typical foods to avoid, but I knew we needed to try something better than that. I found several accounts of people going paleo/whole 30/gluten free, all with good effects for heartburn issues.
Now let me just say, we love our carbs. We do ok on trying to keep our meals balanced and not horrible for you, but we don't normally eliminate anything in particular from our eating habits. Our biggest downfall by far is sugar. That being said, I decided to start us on a paleo/whole 30 type deal, but please know, I'm not following anything super duper strict. Nor have I read any in depth literature about it. But we are avoiding processed sugar, grains, dairy, and gluten. In terms of sugar intake, we use some raw honey or 100% pure maple syrup here and there, but try to avoid it everywhere else.
Guess what. That's hard. Do you know how much sugar is on things that it doesn't need to be on?! I found it in a spice blend which was called "Garlic and herb grill spices"...number one ingredient? Sugar. SERIOUSLY?! Should have been labeled "Sugar spice blend for your chicken."
Anywho, we started on Wednesday January 4. By the time I actually post this we will have completed 1 week.
Here's what I've found:
(1) I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY!!!!!!! I can't say that I felt bad before. Lots of people say that. I wasn't plagued by anything necessarily. But I noticed very quickly how much more energy I had. And we cut our caffeine intake in half (we have young kids, we will not torture ourselves with zero caffeine.)
(2) I have been full longer inbetween meals. I still snack, don't get me wrong. But they are better snacks, and I don't feel bad about it.
(3) Almond milk in tea or coffee is pretty tasty. I even made some Paleo hot cocoa with water and some almond milk and it was really nice.
(4) Food tastes better. I was marvelling at the amazing taste of plain celery tonight. And earlier today I couldn't believe how sweet my carrots tasted, plain! A honeycrisp apple was so sweet it tasted like candy.
(5) I still need dessert. But dessert doesn't have to be key lime pie or cheesecake. It can be paleo fudge or skillet bananas. But life is too short not to give yourself a healthier option of dessert. I have adjusted to these "desserts" and am satisfied. Josh is not convinced, although he is kind of liking the paleo fudge.
(6) Josh's heartburn has already decreased in a week's time. It is not totally gone, but it is better. We have to give it more than a week to see how it goes though obviously.
(7) In one week's time I am down about 3 pounds. Josh is down about 4-5 pounds. Weight loss is not our goal necessarily. Josh is glad to lose some, but I was already pretty much at my body's happy weight. I just want to be healthier and I think it is helpful to see how cutting down on sugar and over processed carbs can affect your weight. It's just a nice experiment to see.
(8) Eating well is expensive!!! I hate that about being healthy. Really wish we could all get our act together so food that is good for you doesn't cost so much more. However, we don't have lots of easy options for eating out, so our "Restaurant" budget will go towards whatever extra we need for groceries during this experiment month.
We are going to try and maintain the eating plan through the end of January. Maybe even round it off for a full 30 days and wait until Feburary 5. After that we will see if we try a couple food groups which I still believe are fairly healthy (for example, brown rice...or using small amounts of cheese) but checking to see how they affect Josh's heartburn levels. Then we can pinpoint what might be some specific triggers.
Wish us luck!!
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