12/14/2024
Some people don't believe they can go sugar-free, but you absolutely can! I did it for 2 years during a health crisis, and came out feeling better than ever! I follow a modified version of this now, but overall, it was a great place to start.
Here are some tips for a gut-friendly lifestyle:
Read the ingredients of everything you eat. Look up the effects of the ones you don't know. It makes it easy... Self-control, setting & keeping boundaries is essential. (Also easier if the whole household does it together. Assigned cupboards or baskets you don't touch helps for housemates who aren't willing.)
After a month or two of removing artificial sweeteners (including refined sugar), preservatives & gluten from diet, you won't crave it. (Removing artificially-sweetened toothpaste helps & so does a parasite cleanse.)
[Some people might argue that we should be able to eat all foods. But every body and healing journey might look different. And the available foods today are not what they were even 30, 20, or 10 years ago. (Hopefully this will change soon in North America, with new rules against toxic ingredients, GMOs, and mRNA!)]
A food prep day is essential. Veggies, proteins & healthy fats (paleo diet) are key. Keeping lots of cut-up veggies in the fridge, humus, boiled eggs & nuts made it easier to make healthy choices.
I started my day with fresh squeezed organic lemon juice in hot water. Focus stayed on berries, but other fruits were eaten too (natural sugars are different than artificial) but not as often. Grapefruit juice was opted over orange. (Opt for 100% juice only & limit it; filtered water should be the staple of your liquid life! Organ-supportive teas are important too.)
Eggs w spinach, avocados & tomato made for nice breakfasts. Smoothies had frozen spinach & blueberries, a non-whey sugar-free protein powder, chlorella powder & filtered water (sometimes plain greek yogurt, milk kefir, frozen cherries, raw eggs, banana).
Harty soups & salads (w nuts, h**p hearts & berries) made good lunches.
Lean meats, fish & stirfries became faves. I still ate gluten-free pasta & brown rice & opted for quinoa, lentils, beans & other legumes for variety. I chose sweet potato over potatoes, no ketchup, & enjoyed exploring fancy honey mustards. I kept corn chips in my diet for salsa & guacamole snacks.
Sweets included yogurt bowls, chia seed desserts & baking. There are lots of baking recipes with apple sauce & bananas instead of sugar. The Sugar-Free and More shop in Red Deer is also a good resource for special occasions.
As for family gatherings where I knew sweets and no-nos would be present? I always kept snacks in my purse, that I ate in my vehicle. I didn't show up hungry. I opted for healthy choices. Veggies, nuts, etc. Sometimes, I brought my own (and culturally, this might be rude to some, but if they love you, they'll understand that healing is a priority!)
Good friends asked about diet before inviting me for meals, and they enjoyed getting creative. If other people had fancy drinks, I brought kombucha. (Lemon in hot water is still my go-to drink at restaurants!) And I just got used to saying: "No thank you!" often. What a good practice in boundary-setting! The longer I kept the good habits, the better I felt, and the easier it was to say no.
This way of eating and living became a lifestyle for me, and I really began enjoying the food God created while benefiting from not eating all the things that were not created by Him (preservatives, artificial sweeteners, refined salts, oils and sugars. By the way, you need real salt in your diet! Celtic, sea, himalayan or mineral salts are good choices.)
A healthy lifestyle starts with making healthy choices one step at a time, one day at a time. The better you feel the easier it becomes. Feeling better, and thinking clearer is worth it! ❤️
