Project Real Food: Objectives

Now that I've outlined why I want to do this, what I hope to have accomplished at the end and what brought me to this point, I should probably jot down what changes I'm looking for.

1.  Increased energy levels.  I'm continually tired.  Like, always.  Now I'm also a mom to three kids three and under, one of whom is a baby who still wakes through the night, so it's not that surprising.  But I've heard so many people rave about their increased energy levels when they removed sugar from their diet, ate better, exercised more often and were getting all the nutrients/vitamins their body needed, so I'm at least a little hopeful that I'll see some improvement.

2.  No more weight struggles.  I've had three kids in four years, so to say that I'm happy with my body and my weight right now is laughable.  Pregnancy is not kind to my waistline and unlike some women, neither is nursing.  I don't lose weight from breastfeeding.  In fact, my body hoards weight while I breastfeed.  I've been stuck at almost the exact same weight since three days after Landon was born.  That's torturous and so unfair if you ask me.  I'm hoping that eating better will help me shed this baby weight.  So many people I hear swear that weight becomes a nonissue when you're eating only organic, whole foods and giving your body all the nutrients and vitamins it needs.  I've gotta say my fingers are crossed that this holds true for me.

3.  Relief from pain/dizziness.  I've had some funky health problems going on lately.  Lots of dizziness, some days to the point of feeling drunk.  It comes and goes and I've mentioned it to the doctor.  I have a nagging fear of developing an autoimmune disorder, and this chronic pain and dizziness isn't quieting my fears.  My mom has multiple sclerosis (and she found out when she woke up one day so dizzy that she described it as feeling drunk...sigh), my Grandma had rhuematoid arthitis (and osteoarthritis) and was diagnosed with lupus, my aunt has Graves disease, all my aunts have arthritis, another aunt has Type I diabetes, etc.  When I mention this to doctors, they generally flinch and tell me to be very cautious of this as I get older.  As noted in this article:

In his foreword to The Autoimmune Epidemic, Dr. Douglas Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, says that 'there is no doubt that autoimmune diseases are on the rise and our increasing environmental exposure to toxins and chemicals is fueling the risk. The research is sound. The conclusions, unassailable.'

I've also been struggling with my allergies in the past few weeks.  I haven't had allergy issues since my childhood, so this is new (and uncool).  I know having a baby can change your body, so I'm aware it could just be that, and I also know this is a particularly harsh allergy season, so I'm not holding my breath on seeing improvement here.

4.  Relief from skin disorders.  I've got eczema, though it's pretty mild.  My kids have severe eczema, although Ben has mostly grown out of his.  We've found Arbonne to be a big help, and it's definitely better than steroid creams that doctors in the past have prescribed because of the potential side effects, but I'd love to be able to treat from the inside out rather than slathering something on the already weakened, painful skin.  Prevention always seems like a better option to me.  Eczema is on the rise, so much so that it is now considered the most common chronic disease in the pediatric population in the western world.  This, from Weston A. Price, really gives me hope:

In trying to understand eczema on a deeper level, the first issue to address, as with all allergic and auto-immune diseases, is the fact that the antibodies that cause auto-immune reactions are made against foreign proteins that have found their way into the bloodstream. Whether we are talking about foreign food antigens (food allergies), or auto-immune reactions, the issue is not so much stopping the toxic skin reaction that results in the eczema, but rather sealing and healing the gut in order to stop the leakage of foreign proteins into the blood stream, either from food or other sources. Healing the micro-flora of the gut, healing the micro-villi of the gut, and stopping the absorption of antigenic proteins is the key to stopping the vicious cycle that results in chronic eczema. All of this points to the GAPS diet (Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet), the modified traditional diet, to start healing the gut and restoring the micro-ecology in our GI tract. From a epidemiological perspective, when we moved away from our traditional diet, with its emphasis on lacto-fermented foods, good fats, bone broths and properly prepared grains, we created the situation that has allowed chronic illnesses like eczema to flourish.

As for my kids, there are lots of things I'm looking for.  Both older kiddos have, er, intestinal problems.  Like I said above, all three have eczema.  Ben's behavior could stand some improvement.  But he's also three, so I have no idea if I can expect that.  I just know I've read a lot about how drastically children's behavior improves when their diet improves, and how much correlation there is between behavioral disorders and processed foods & sugar.  Ben has been complaining every day of stomach pain (to the point of tears) for a few months, so we took gluten out of his diet a few weeks ago and he has only complained of a stomach ache twice in that time, rather than the daily complaints of before.  Landon has pretty awful skin and he's a very gassy kiddo who has not had a "normal" baby poop since he was a few weeks old.  I'm hoping improving my diet might improve his issues, too.

That's all I've got for now.  I'm sure other things will come to mind over time, but that's where I'm at and I'll definitely update the blog-a-roo if I see improvement in any of these areas over the course of this whole project.  If anyone is following along (ahem, a whole bunch of people said they were but I haven't heard anything since, YA'LL), let me know what changes you're looking for.  :)