Sorry I don't have time to post much lately, but I had to share this blog article, it's just simply amazing. How many people still do not realize that there is a connection between food and health?! I can't believe we miss this. After all, why do we call healthy food "HEALTHY food?" What does that mean? Most people don't even know what that means. It's such a profound, novel idea that healthy food can actually make you healthy. Meaning, your body can actually work the way it was created to work. Wow!
Anyhow, quick update on me. I am looking forward to my fourth half-marathon in 4 weeks. Triathalon season starts soon, and the first one I am looking at is in May. My husband wants to get swimming too, and try it, but we need a better road bike. We'll see what this summer has in store for us.
My kids are doing great. Homeschooling is going well, except I can tell my son's curiosity and passion for learning are decreasing. Even playing piano which he used to love so much and do voluntarily, has now turned into the standard daily task that must be endured. Is it age, or is it because he eats so much dead, processed food now? (If you are new to my blog, I realize how silly that may sound. But last year when he was eating nearly all raw food, he was literally much more ALIVE, excited, passionate, and content.) He is growing up and not as easily fed fruits and veggies. It makes me sad... It's been on my mind and I am thinking about what degree I could force his diet. If it is clear to me that it makes a big difference in his mentality, then it would be worth it -- it would not be a breach of freedom, it would simply be necessary "medical" procedure, like treating any other dis-ease.
I am now very athletic, working out an average of 1 hour every day. I have been doing various things at the gym, including a 2x/week swim class, kick-boxing, cycling, zumba, and eliptical machine. I took a break from running but the past couple weeks getting back in, for this race season upon us! I am considering training for a full marathon this summer, but depends on if I can arrange childcare to do the long runs, and I don't want to commit until I do a few 18+ milers and see how much body responds.
My daughter is now 2-1/2 and still my little princess. She's about 25 lbs (rough estimate) and still nursing strong, but we're about to change that. Next week we'll begin night-weaning with her sleeping with Dad and cuddling to wean off nursing next to me throughout the night. Then transition her into her own bed. I love co-sleeping and I'm all about attachment parenting, but I must confess, it will be so nice to "have my bed back" and just be able to sleep soundly through the night. Night-nursing a toddler can be challenging simply because of their size, so the height of her head requires a tricky position for my lower arm (can anybody relate?).
I have had a couple cycles now since I started menstrating again. The periods are very, very light (no products required) but I realized that might just be how the body starts back up (would love to hear your experience with resuming post-partum menses, if that's not TMI for you!) Anyhow I cannot tell if I am ovulating - haven't taken temperature, but the mucous is just very scattered. But that's how it was when we conceived last time--not matching the textbook mucous pattern--so it could be fine. What I'm saying is, I don't know if I am fertile, and I don't really care... We aren't trying to conceive just yet. Probably this summer.
My own diet has been very... "flexitarian" lately, which is a good guilt-free way to say you can't handle a strict vegan diet and you are flexible with cheats! (Really. That is a new diet out there.) I have put on a bit of weight, my body fat is up to 20% which isn't bad, but I need to be cautious not to get any heavier. Besides, I am not stick thin anymore, even a year ago since I started working out because of the athletic build I now have. Anyway, I am going to go for these long runs, so my diet needs to be better. I feel pretty good overall still, but I see how it affects my performance.
I ate 80/10/10 raw for almost 5 months last summer and then gradually worked in some low-fat cooked foods. I started eating some processed food (or, foods I don't tolerate well, like rice and cane sugar) around the holidays and then settled into a nice pattern of whole-foods at home, and some cheat foods on the side (still eating 50% fruit). To be honest, I don't feel at all guilty about my eating habits. It's somewhat of an exploration. I have been really happy to find that my time on 80/10/10 has appeared to heal my body, as afterward I could eat reasonable cooked meals without the HCl/enzymes I used to require. I maintained a flat stomach until I started eating my allergen foods. I am getting more and more convinced that the best thing you can do for your diet, or the most profound impact, will come from identifying food sensitivities and avoiding those foods. Raw/vegan will help further, but not as dramatically and the single step of avoiding sensitivities and allergens. Even in the article I posted above, it sounds like the main difference was her gluten-intolerance--she is obviously a celiac with her diarrhea and psychological problems, which are two huge symptoms in kids with neurological problems who can't tolerate gluten/dairy.
Like I said before, I haven't been posting much on this blog because I started working full-time from home. My focus shifted and I am no longer all about food, the way I used to be. Now I feel much more balanced. I am conscious of the way I eat, but not to an extreme degree (not anal about it, not black-and-white and obsessive the way I was for a few years). I read lots of various entertaining and enlightening things, not just crunchy health-nut stuff, the way I used to. I am focused on raising my kids (homeschooling requires a lot of attention) and focused on my fitness (you need to make fitness a priority if you are going to get to working out on a daily basis). I am a lot happier now. I enjoy being integrated into society rather than fighting society, which I was doing. So I am happy to say this experience has been a success, as I have learned so much through my experiences being a health-nut and have come full circle. So my posts may be infrequent, but I am still here -- finding "NEW LIFE" each day and living after truth balanced in all regards. I will keep posting any exciting news I have to share. Hope all is well with my readers as you pursue your own goals!
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3 comments:
Hey stranger :p
Sounds like you are doing well. Just wanted to mention my thoughts on Rychen with homeschooling/diet. Sounds like a normal kid to me, most kids hit that age where they would prefer more junk food, less food, not eating at all along with not wanting to do school. Even us adults think something is fun and exciting for a while but it wears off.
I find myself doing a lot of supervising as a parent now that the boys are 6/7. It involves lots of choices that I can live with (apple or orange? vs candy, chips or fruit?) and making sure that their school work gets done. There is a fine line in balancing letting them make choices and realizing that they are young and God gave them to us to form. That doesn't always mean choices. God didn't say you may covet your neighbor's wife or not... He gave us commandments. Our kids receiving orders are similar and teach them to respect and obey parents which is the first step in obeying God. A good reason He gave that as one of the commandments. The challenge comes in the applying there of.. by force or with love? The median is ideal.. I'm working on finding that! I end up being more dictator like. Balance is not my forte ;) We all have our things to work on. Hopefully it will even out soon. Oh and I have a pink my little pony here that I believe is yours.
Everything sounds great, I don't know you, but Im very proud of you and happy for you. About your son, I know you believe in attachment parenting and I do too, but in my opinion you are still the wiser one. You have lived longer and know more about life. You know that processed food is a no no, and you see how it is affecting him mentally. I really think you should stop feeding it too him. A little tough love just has to happen sometimes. Trust me he will eat it if you make it clear that he has too. Tell him he can no longer have that type of food and why. Tell him you know he doesn't understand and thats ok, sometimes in life things will happen that we don't agree with, but that are the best for us. Then tell him that he can pick which fruits and veggies he will eat and you two can come to an agreement. Tell him if he refuses to do this then you will be forced to make him eat what you want him to eat, and he wont like it, BOTTOM LINE, end of story. His health is on the line, you have to make him eat properly. I believe his behavior is a combination of the food and just natural child rebellion. He is growing into himself. He may not enjoy piano anymore, sometimes we as humans change our minds. he might be frustrated if it is becoming less fun and more challenging. Ask him how he feels about piano; then ask him why does he seem to not like it. if he says because it harder now and less fun, tell him that you understand. tell him that he must realize that with everything comes challenges no matter how much we enjoy them. Tell him that it would not be wise for him to quit because then he his creating a habit of giving up when things get too hard. Ask him is he is just bored. If he says yes, tell him he can stop piano after he picks another focus; whatever he picks he is stuck with and must follow through with it no matter what, so he better pick wisely or keep piano. This is because he needs to understand dedication even when things get tough. I wish you luck with your soon, and if you take my advice I hope that it helps.
I cannot stress how strongly I disagree with Vegan Fashionista in her statement: "Tell him if he refuses to do this then you will be forced to make him eat what you want him to eat, and he wont like it, BOTTOM LINE, end of story."
The most recent study in getting children to eat healthfully is completely against forcing a child to eat anything they don't want to.
The way I interpreted your statement, Annalise, is that you'd stop offering foods that you find he doesn't do well with, not necessarily that you'd shove broccoli down his throat! lol
This post makes me happy! It sounds like you really have a balance in life. It makes me chuckle to hear you call yourself a healthnut because sometimes I would think that when I read your posts that you were more extreme than I could ever be and people think I'm a healthnut.
I know with piano there are plateaus and rough patches as one's skill level increases and just to stick with it until a new level is mastered. As he gets older maybe a new instrument will peak his interest in music the same way piano had. Piano is such a great instrument for a child to learn and to use to learn to read music. But it's not necessarily everyone's best instrument. Best of luck with everything!
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