My Nutrition Journey - Part 1 - Becoming Vegan

We left off talking about the documentary that made the biggest impact in my life - "Forks Over Knives".  Again, I highly recommend watching this documentary, even if people talking about being vegan and having whole food plant based diets scares you.  Bottom line is, I didn't feel great and if changing my diet could help me, why wouldn't I try it.

This picture above was taken at a musical festival and it was my big gorging out party to myself before I was going to become Vegan.  The thing that resonated with me the most about the whole food plant based diet was that I believed our bodies were never meant to eat as much meat as most people do.  I was a meat, dairy and potatoes kind of person.  And the meat portion of my meals was the main portion.....by far.  I hardly ever ate vegetables or even fruit for that matter.  So I needed to get myself out of the rut of eating so much meat and dairy.

The additional documentary I watched at this time was "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead".  It followed a guy who changed out his diet to only be juice (mostly vegetables) and how it made amazing changes to his body.  So I too did a 4 days juice cleanse, in fact it's how I started out my journey to become vegan.  I will admit that juicing is a really hard diet to follow, and it probably isn't needed for most people.  The amazing thing it did for me, was to kick my soda habit.  After 4 days of juicing I haven't touched soda again.  I used to have to have at least one can/glass a day and now it's been 4 years.  When soda accidentally gets mixed in a drink, I can tell immediately and it's way too sweet for me.  Since that 4 day juice cleanse, I have tried a few more times to do a reset and juice again, but I haven't been successful.  I was extremely tired and had headaches during the juice cleanse and since I still have children to take care of and work too, it just doesn't happen.  People claim if you make it past 4 days you start to feel amazing, I can't personally vouch for that.

Taking meat and dairy out of my diet forced me to try new kinds of food and figure out what I liked.  Honestly taking out cheese was the hardest part of the process, and the part that I cheated on the most (still do).  I cut out almost all meats and fish/seafood.  Only eating chicken on very rare occasions.  I also cut out over processed and refined flours/breads and replaced them with whole grain options.

I can't remember exactly but I followed this diet for about a year.  Jesse also joined me on the journey.  It helped me to loose the pesky baby weight I had put on with all three kids, and Jesse really slimmed down too.

The problem was - I didn't feel much better.  I was still tired all the time and I was still getting migraines.  I did realize that the few times we tried to eat meat again, I felt absolutely awful afterwards.  My stomach could not process red meat or pork, it would leave me doubled over in pain.  I took that as a sign that taking meat out of my diet was a good choice, but I still needed to find more answers.

Also on a more vain note, I had lost the baby weight, but my body was definitely in different shape than before I had kids.  I had problem areas that it seemed like no matter what I did, the fat wouldn't go away.  On the outside I probably looked healthy, but on the inside I didn't feel healthy.  I also still had three young kids and finding time to workout just wasn't happening.  So I started doing more research.

I came upon a book and phenomenon known as "The Elimination Diet" which lead me to the second part of my journey.

Laundry Room Reveal

The laundry room is officially finished.  Don't I look so happy to be doing laundry now?!!  We had some functional and aesthetic concerns in this room.

Our laundry room is actually located between our kitchen and family room.  When we changed all the flooring in those rooms to be the wood grain tile, we planned to carry it into this room too.  The current flooring was a beige tile floor that was actually falling apart, so we had to replace it regardless.

The old cabinets were original to the house and a poor grade wood/plywood, so we planned to tear them out.

We had differing opinions on how we would replace them.  Originally I wanted to paint and reuse the cabinets we had torn out from the kitchen.  My husband wanted all new cabinets.  When we tore down the cabinets we found some lovely wallpaper, an abandoned light fixture in the ceiling, and an abandoned vent in the wall.

With all that going on, we decided to order new cabinets from IKEA so we could get the exact size we needed to cover up all the existing surprises we found.  We created some shelving in the middle to house our laundry detergent.

The original hookups for the washer and dryer were placed so that with our particular washer and dryer the doors opened into each other.  We could adjust the dryer door so that they opened in the same direction, but I really wanted them to open opposite so that we had a clear path from the washer to the dryer.  That meant changing the location of our washer and dryer and creating extensions for the hookups.  Let's just say it was a little more work than we thought.  Functionally it works great now.

We also wanted the washer and dryer up on platforms so that it was easier to load and unload laundry.  Jesse created a very solid wood structure platform for them to sit on and then I stained it to match the flooring.

My favorite feature of the new laundry room is how we decided to tackle the drying rack.  We had originally mounted a shelf with a rod to dry our clothes.  That shelf made the room feel claustrophobic when doing laundry.

So we now have a hidden drying rod in the cabinet.

That's a wrap on the laundry room.  Now we will just continue to work with the kids on doing their own laundry, they are both getting pretty close to accomplishing this goal.

Florida Family Vacation

We were able to take a trip to Florida over our kids spring break.  It really was a great trip.  I've always commented that a vacation with kids isn't really a vacation, its just a regular busy life with different scenery around.  This trip made that statement false.  Although we are going to have to address the elephant in the room.  We left Bella at home.

Oh Bella.  I'm aware every day how much we have to do for you and how our schedules have to revolve around you.  After 10 years we are "used to it", it is our norm after all.  What I didn't realize until we went on this trip without her, is how much is changes the dynamics with the other two kids.  They still had their moments of sibling fighting, being tired and cranky, etc.  But with both parents able to be around to defuse the situation and not getting our energy taken up by Bella, it was a lot smoother.  I had a moment mid-trip when I realized, this is probably how most families function, and I'm going to admit, it's a hell of lot easier than our lives.

It makes me feel really guilty to say that from now on I would like to take our family vacations and leave one member of our family at home.  Facts would tell me that Bella is a creature of comfort and routine and likes to be home.  She also doesn't like long car rides, and a plane ride would be near impossible with her.  Not to mention we have taken her on a few vacations and she is usually only slightly happy for one of the many days we are gone, and cries/fusses the other days or while in the car.  So I should probably let the guilt go, and as long as we can find caring people to watch Bella, Bella would probably choose to stay home anyways.  Thanks Grandma Judy for staying with Bella and being the person who for the future will probably watch her for us!

Now if you would like to hear a short recap of our trip......keep reading.

We woke the kids up at 3:30am and got on the road.  The hope was that they would fall back asleep for a little while.  Reality was that they did not.  In the end, I still liked the early morning drive versus the late night one, but maybe not quite as early as 3:30am next time.

We stopped in Nashville hoping to find something to do for a short break.  It was rainy and cold so we stopped at an indoor garden area.  I quickly researched an authentic Nashville bar to eat lunch but when we got there we noticed it was busy and there were absolutely no kids in the whole downtown area, so we kept on driving.  We made it to Atlanta that evening to spend the night (about a 12 hour car ride for the day).

The next day we woke up and drove the remaining 6 hours into Orlando.  We stayed with a friend...thanks Lindsey, and socialized with her family that day.  On Sunday we woke the kids up and told them we were headed to Disney.  They had questioned if we were going to go, since they knew it was in Orlando.  Luckily they kept asking if we were going to Disneyland and I could honestly tell them we were not.  We spent a full 9am-9pm day at Epcot.  We walked all over that park, multiple times.  I think we walked around the worlds 3 whole times plus some.  Oliver loved collecting the passports and some of the rides.  Gray wanted to meet all the Disney princesses.  Jesse and I got to enjoy a few drinks.  What I learned at the end of our day at Disney is that even being there 12 hours we did not have enough time to see everything, and that my daughter Gray is definitely going to be more of the risk taker/thrill seeker over her brother.

Monday we left Orlando and starting traveling towards the beaches near Tampa.  We ate in the Clearwater Beach area and then headed South until we could find a place to park.  We ended up getting to Indian Rocks Beach and spent a few hours there.

The kids loved the beach.  We also were spoiled enough to find a house that had its own heated pool on Anna Maria Island, one block from the beaches there.  We arrived Monday evening and immediately the kids wanted to swim.  The island only had a few restaurants and by the time we went out that evening to try and get dinner, everything was packed, so ice cream for dinner it was.

The next day was one of those 72 degree cloudy days that ended up being the best day for the beach.  Although we did a bad job keeping up with sunscreen and all paid for it later...sorry kids.

They did such a great job playing (Dad joined in on the playing too) I was able to read an entire book at the beach that day....bliss.

That evening we did an early dinner at a beachfront restaurant.  It was delicious and the views were great (although it did not take a good picture).

The following day was more of the same.  Beach in the morning, pool in the afternoon, early dinner (this time out on a pier restaurant).  Gray took a quick nap through dinner, so we were even able to go out for the sunset on the beach that evening.

The next day we had to pack up and head home.  We realized that we were 21 hours from home.  I really wanted to stop in Memphis so we made it our goal to get there that evening.  It was about a 14 hour drive.  Hindsight, that was probably a little too far to drive.  The kids really did great with the car trip though, can't complain at all.

In Memphis we visited the National Civil Rights Museum, which is located in the original hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.  This really was a well done museum.  Oliver is 7 and he did fairly well there, although Gray (age 4) really did not want to be there, and they messed around some which was embarrassing.  Gray had thought we were going to a children's play museum so she was grumpy and wanting to just run around the whole time.  The pictures crack me up because in the first one she is pretending to be pouty, but the rest she is full on pouty.  The last picture we took, she wouldn't even turn around for the camera.

We also stopped at a wonderful park to let them run around and get their energy out before we got back in the car for our final 7 hour leg.

I really enjoyed the little bit of Memphis that we got to see, and hope to go back again someday.

It really was a great trip like I mentioned earlier.  I planned the whole thing just 5 days before we left, and I think we really lucked out being able to stay with friends, get Disney tickets, and get the house we did on Anna Maria island.  The kids are already begging to go back and asking if we can make plans for this summer.  If only money grew on trees kids.

My Nutrition Journey-Background

I posted this picture for a couple of reasons.  Anyone old enough to remember a time before selfies, when you would be on vacation and no one was around and you would have to take turns taking pictures of each other by the landmark?  It makes me laugh to look back at pictures.  

This picture was taken at the end 2004. This is probably around the time I first started to notice a problem.  I was tired all the time.  It would take me a year or so, to finally feel bad enough to go into a doctor to see if there was a reason for my tiredness.  I took some blood tests and no results came back.  So I sort of dismissed it and went about my way.  Needless to say, soon after I was pregnant with my first child.  My tiredness then had a place to blame, on being pregnant and then eventually on having a baby around.  A high needs baby.

It's now 2010 and I am still extremely tired and my husband is convinced I might have sleep apnea.  I start to wonder about the link of depression and tiredness. Even with everything going on with Bella, I don't really feel depressed, just tired.  So again I head to the doctor for some bloodwork and a sleep study.  The sleep study comes up empty handed, but the blood test shows I have the Epstein-Barr Virus.  The prognosis is that I will have times that I feel really tired, and nothing can be done about it.

Fast forward a few more years and now we have two more kids.  All the kids are through the baby stage and for once we are getting sleep during the night.  In fact I make it a priority to get at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep every night.  And I am still continuously tired....ALL OF THE TIME.

This is when I first start researching the internet for causes of being tired all of the time.  I landed on some interesting information about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  The tale tail sign is that no matter how much sleep you get, you still always feel tired.  There is also some new research suggesting it has to do with getting a virus (such as Epstein-Barr) that never really goes away and your immune system is continuously fighting it.  As you know I like documentaries, so I just recently watched one called "Unrest" (on Netflix), which was directed and starred by a someone who has chronic fatigue syndrome.  It shows more of the very severe cases, people who can't get out of bed.  There still is no real cure, or even much research going on for this disease.

The realization of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome fell in line with the diagnosis I had gotten from the doctor of having Epstein-Barr virus.  In addition to being tired all the time, I have dealt with migraines all my life.  I had been told to keep a headache journal to see if there were triggers and I never really took the time to do it.

The year is now 2015 and I was also getting interested in nutrition.  Like everyone else I heard about the sugar epidemic and how everything had too much sugar.  I started watching some documentaries and stumbled upon one that had a great impact.  It was called "Forks Over Knives".  This again is available on Netflix, or you can even rent it from your local library.  I highly, highly, highly recommend this documentary.  This documentary started me down the path to try and fix my problems using nutrition.

To be continued...….

The Functional Point

Here was our laundry room before we started the remodel, back during the New Years holiday.  We are so close on our laundry room remodel.  So close that it's fully functional and we can't seem to get ourselves to work on it.  I'm hoping next week we can officially post a reveal.

In other news:  Anyone else's mood totally shot from all this "winter weather"?  I just can't seem to function as a normal person anymore.  I recently read this interesting article from Goop about seasonal affective disorder.  I definitely think I have most of these symptoms and in the future would really like to look into finding things to look forward to in the winter.  I just think for now, the winter means being cooped up with all the kids.  If we can get passed the "kids are ALWAYS sick" phase of life, I think making sure we have a trip planned in the winter could be a great thing to look forward to.  I keep trying and trying to get everyone to want a trip instead of presents for the holidays.  Maybe this next year will finally be the year it happens.

These last couple of weeks I had lots on my plate for school volunteering.  I wound up signing up for more than I had expected too.  I don't mind helping out at school at all.  But I definitely feel stress when things keep piling up.

I've read articles that a part-time job for a mom can be the best option.  In the past I've pushed myself to work full time (and that was way back when we just had one kid) and with all of Bella's special conditions, it was just too much.  So I went to part-time.  I've tried to stay home each time I had another baby, but I would only make it a couple of months and would actually need the sanity break from my kids, and working was a good solution.  I had to stay part time because there is no easy answer when it comes to care for Bella.  So I am a slave to the school and Bella's schedule.  I've been lucky that my career has allowed me to work part time.  And as working remote gets more advanced, I can even work from home some days.

For me, there are two downsides to working part-time.  The first thing is that you don't ever really feel part of a community.  You are not a full time -slave to the job, employee.  You can't take the big projects, or the promotions.  You have to turn down the social experiences.  You also are not a full time stay at home mom, that can schedule playdates or mom dates.  That doesn't have to worry about working.  You have your feet in both worlds, so you try your best to be part of both worlds.

Secondly you have even more things on your to do list that you have to decide the priority on.  I really struggle with this.  What should I spend my hours on today.  I am paying for daycare so every hour is costly.  To make the most money I should be working.  I also need to run errands and it's much easier during the daytime and without additional children (not to mention impossible if Bella is around).  The house is a mess and should be cleaned.  I should also throw in a couple loads of laundry.  Oh and everyone has been complaining about nothing to eat, so I should really make a home cooked meal today.  Oh I also need to pay bills, maybe I can sneak that in too.  Hey, I also promised to work on myself and fit in yoga everyday.  A shower would be nice too.

The list goes on and on.  And to be honest lately, it seems like prioritizing a to-do list is pointless anyways, as the kids are usually home because of holidays, snow days, or someone is sick.  It's been a never-ending winter.

Conscientious Closet Purging

I have a fairly large closet and I have it packed to its seams.  In fact I am also using part of Jesse's closet and the guest bedroom closet.  Not too mention a few bins for off-season, or just can't part with clothes.  I know I have a problem.  In fact fast-fashion is my problem.  I am always wanting something new to wear, and justifying that if I don't spend a lot of money on it, it makes it okay.  It's not surprising either that fashion trends are continuously changing, so that if you want to stay on top of it, you constantly need to be buying new things.
I watched a documentary a year ago that really made me think about what we are doing.  It was called The True Cost, if you clink the link you can watch a preview of the documentary.  It is also currently available on Netflix.  If you enjoy buying clothes or just like fashion in general, I urge you to watch it.

It definitely made me think about how I don't need to constantly be buying clothes.  In fact this year I have made a promise to myself that I won't be buying any clothing for myself and trying to really think about the clothing I purchase for my children.

The documentary has also been stuck in my head as I think about what I want to get rid of in my closet.  It claims that most of our donated clothes get shipped to other countries and then what they don't want ends up in landfills.  When I think back to my trips to our local thrift stores looking for costumes, it makes sense that most of the donated clothing looks like it's from the 80's or 90's.  In other words, they seem to have plenty of stock that is extremely outdated.

So while purging my closet would most likely make me feel better in the short term, if I was going to get rid of clothing I would really like it to go to an organization that could use them.  While I don't have the perfect answer for this, we have donated in the past to women's shelters and are currently looking at taking our donations to a Kansas City homeless shelter.  I can tell you that in volunteering at a thrift store a few years ago, we would keep the best stuff to put out on the shelves and send the crappy stuff to the homeless shelters.  I think it would be nice to take the nice stuff to the homeless shelters, but I have no idea if they need it either.

I haven't been following the true Marie Kondo method of dumping all my clothes on the bed and then seeing what sparks joy.  Instead I have been slowly going through all the places I have clothes and being conscientious about what I keep or don't.  So I have begun amassing a pile of purged clothing that is living on the guest room bed.  I have started three piles.
1.  Pile to donate
2.  Pile to tailor
3.  Pile to think about

So let's look at a piece I went ahead and tailored today.  It all came from an inspiration photo I had saved awhile ago.

As I was trying on older pieces of clothing today, I came across this old black sweater.  It's definitely more than 10 years old when the style was more fitted.  Also as a side note - today is a snow/ice day and my kids are home.  Which means I haven't done any hair or makeup today.  Also I may have hired my 7 year old son to give me an honest opinion about whether I should keep things or get rid of them :-)

I figured this sweater would be a great piece to turn into the inspiration piece.  I attacked it with a pair of scissors cutting the side seams apart and then I took an old button down shirt of my husbands that was too small for him, and hacked off the top part.  It literally took me less than 5 minutes to sew the two shirts together....and here is the after.

Now if the kids could actually go to school, this would be the perfect outfit to wear for casual Fridays in the office.