In a funny turn of events, I have recently taken meat products out of my diet. Gone vegan, some might say, if not forever, than at least for a while. I was was at a party of vegans after a church book study at a friend's house a few weeks ago, and I was prodding around trying to get some information from everyone. I should preface this by saying we are BIG meat product eaters in this house. We seldom have a meal that does not rely on at least two or three of the following: milk, ranch dressing, sour cream, cheese, eggs, and meat. My husband usually eats only meat and cheese, with a salad thrown in there every now and then (swimming in ranch dressing, bacon, and different cheeses of course.) So anyway I am asking a bunch of questions... why? Because I have wanted to make this change somewhat for a while. I have had health issues pop up that I am trying to irradicate, as well as I am thinking ahead to the future of my health. So I say at the table, all the while eating this amazing vegan pizza, and chips with this to-die-for vegan "cheese" sauce, that I have a family of seven. It is very expensive to feed us all. Switching over to non-meat products would be even more expensive. And this man says to me, words that brought a wave of epiphany through me, "You don't have to add anything to your diet. All you have to do is remove things. You don't have to go out and buy meat and cheese substitutes. You can just take that stuff out of our diet and eat without it. You can get your protein and calcium from the other foods you are already eating." Or something similar to that. I do not have a photographic memory for words. I realized that he was right. If I wanted to remove the high saturated fats and the hormones and preservatives from my diet that the meat products are providing to me, I could just remove those foods. So that is what I did. I recently got a couple books from the library about recipes and such. I have a few more on the way. So when Brenda asked me the other day if I wanted any of her smoothy that she was making, and I told her, "No thank you. It looks great but I am choosing not to eat meat products right now", it spurred a host of questions. We have talked for a few days about why I am eating the way I am. Coincidentally, BTW I am also gluten free, and will remain that way until I am ready to introduce that back into my diet. Then yesterday, Brenda asked me if I wanted to try her food, but she caught herself and said, "Oh that's right, you can't eat that food." That was a great teachable moment for me. "I can eat that food, Brenda," I said. "I am choosing not to today. But again thank you for asking. It sure does look good."
Yesterday Brenda suggested that she wanted to be on my diet and try it out. We had another big talk, which goes like this. My eight year old thinks her hips are too big and she would like to lose some weight. Yes of course, changing to foods with less saturated fats might cause a drop in weight. In fact it most likely will, considering how much cheese, ice cream, and high fat foods she eats. She might switch her food habits and realize she doesn't get skinny. Some people just don't have bodies that are heathy when they are skinny. And it is the healthy that is important, not the skinny. She is scooping straight from the ice cream container as we talk. But there is something more important in this, I tell her. I am not on a diet. I am changing my diet. When you are on a "diet" there is an end in sight, usually a poundage end. Then the diet is over and the weight goes back up, and so the yoyo goes... up and down, up and down. But really diet doesn't mean to eat less and lose weight. Diet means, what I eat. Will I probably eat meat again? Well, yes I probably will. In fact I have been thinking about the future of eating a moderate amount of meat products every now and again, but I don't SEE that in the distance yet. Because I have over saturated fatted my body, and I am concerned to get back to healthly living.
Although I am typically thin, I eat like a food junky. I gorge and crave. My father in law is typically a thin man too, but he has had heart problems for years, and a couple heart attacks under his belt to boot. That is not where I want to be at his age. More importantly, I have not been a very good example of health for my kids.
Where is all this coming from suddenly, you ask? Church, for one, is giving me grand ideas of abundance and happiness. Go figure, I am getting this from church. But I am. I just love going there and sitting in the services. This week I heard how God is like a GPS system. This has been the theme for the last couple weeks. First, you need a destination. Somewhere you want to get to. Then you tell the system where you want to go, and it sets out to tell you how to get there. If you miss a turn or turn too soon, it doesn't tell you how stupid you are. It doesn't criticize you for the choice you made. Instead it says... RECALCULATING. Then it begins to steer you back to the road you wantto be on. Sometimes you turn on a road and it will tell you, TURN AROUND. But never does it get mad or frustrated at you. It just patiently continues trying to get you where you want to be. And when you get back on track and you are going the right way, you know what it does? It is silent. It doesn't speak up again until you are close to your next turn in the road, when it reminds you that you are going to turn soon. This is what I want for my whole family. I want to be the patient GPS system that steers my family where they want to go. I don't want to be that judging and frustrated mom anymore. It is inspiring to go to church and hear the Reverand up there talking about MY LIFE. So I keep going.
Having this big change I am working on, something else is happening. My husband told me the other day... Well I should say that I have this friend, whose attitude does not support me right now. She is not the positive uplifting spirit I need. But I have brought a new supportive friend into my life that has been instrumental in guiding me toward change I want to be. So my husband tells me the other day that she and I will not remain friends much longer and do I know why? It is because of C, my new supportive friend. And although that is not true, it somewhat is. Not because of the way my husband thinks. But because I want people in my life that support who I want to be. C is one of those people. My other friend is not. I have wanted to change the way I am with my family for a long time, and really just a change in the way I am. I have wanted to live more aware for some time now, and have not known how. But I am getting there. And so unfortunately I am leaving some stuff behind. That is ok, I am also pulling some new stuff in.
So how is this related to homeschooling? We will have to wait and see, but I know that it is. Enough of this rant. Marley sees zombies. I must go hide with her. This picture is Bret making a smoothy of her own. She is so inspired by Brenda's recent yearning to cook.
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