Healthy May

Found on Sarah’s Pinterest

I’ve been inspired by friends from church who are making healthy eating decisions this month.  Todd and I and I have decided to eliminate grains and added sugar from our diet for the next few weeks – from now through May 21st.  The main reasons we’re doing this are to get in better shape before summer and detox from sugar for health reasons.

Let me just say a couple things….I am not considering this a diet.  It is an eating plan that I have wanted to try for awhile but couldn’t commit to it.  Sugar is really not good for our bodies in any way, so I’m getting rid of it for a few weeks to see how I feel, work on balancing my hormones, helping my skin, etc.

Also, I know I don’t really need to lose much weight – I’m not trying to.  But, we can always improve our health, and let’s be honest, our bodies.  I’m still not in the shape I’d like to be in since having Davis.  I’ve been working on that by exercising more, and this can help that as well. (I really just want to feel comfortable wearing shorts and bathing suits all summer!!)

Here are the general “rules” we’re going by: (This is based off of a mix of Maximized Living and a little bit Paleo)

• No grains
• No added sugar (including honey, agave, artificial sweeteners, etc).  We will use some Stevia in our coffee
• No white potatoes, but we’ll probably eat some sweet potatoes
• Use dried beans instead of canned beans as much as possible
• Very little dairy.  Todd will probably eat more than me, but I’m trying to eliminate most of it to help my skin.  I will put a little organic milk in my coffee and will occasionally (rarely) have some organic, full-fat cheese
• Healthy fats. Raw nuts/nut butter, avocado, low-mercury fish (like Pacific wild-caught salmon), and healthy oils (olive oil, virgin organic coconut oil)
• Alcohol in moderation, and nothing with a very high sugar content.
• Grass-fed/cage-free/wild caught/organic meats and fish(as much as possible)
• Basically ANY vegetable, and lots of them! (besides white potatoes, see above)
• For fruit I will try to eat mostly berries and granny smith apples (they have the lowest effect on your glycemic index) but I will include some banana and possibly pineapple or mango in our smoothies
• Dressings and sauces: GF soy sauce is allowed, as well as salsa (as long as it’s preservative-free; we love the Trader Joe’s Salsa Autentica); hummus (we’ll keep eating the Trader Joe’s Original Hummus, Tahini Free); I will make my own salad dressings and will plan to use lemon/lime juice and herbs to flavor salads and meat
• Water. Lots and lots and lots of water!!  Adding lemon juice helps!

We already do a lot of these things, like buy mostly organic, cook with healthy fats, buy organic/cage free/wild caught, and I typically make my own dressings and marinades.  I haven’t eaten hardly anything with gluten since January 1st, and Todd has been eating much cleaner lately as well.

I have a huge and growing passion for eating healthy, but this will not be easy.  But really, most things we do to better our lives are hard. I’ve said this several times here, but I’m so addicted to tortilla chips.  Those are going to be difficult to resist! Ha!!

If you’re interested in eating more clean, here’s how I can help.  Below I’ve posted my meal plan for the first week.  This will help keep me accountable, and write a grocery list.  This also gives me a section to plan the food I will need to prep, and the workout I’m planning to do each day.  I will aim to post 2 more of these to finish out the 3 week plan.

Also, I’m going to include everything from this eating plan under the Clean Eating category to my blog.  In the right column of my blog, you can click on the drop-down menu under categories and select that one to see recipes and tips that I post.

I hope this is helpful to someone!  I know it is at least helpful in keeping me accountable, now that I’ve made it public.  Wish me luck. 😉 Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me (sevenlayercharlotte@gmail.com) or comment below.

Thank you for reading!