Inside My Pantry: What's Inside Yours?

I've shared with you things that you can find in my pantry--both the good and the bad.  I've shared a little bit about how to look for healthy foods in the store, and the one thing that I hope that you'll do more than anything is start researching for yourself!  Having the knowledge allows you to make those changes in your home, and that is power.

So what other things should you look for or know about?

I'm so glad you asked. ;)  Food is fuel.  So we need food to help us survive.  But eating the right foods is important.  If we eat the wrong things, we usually feel like junk.  Basically when it comes down to it, when you eat junk, you feel like junk. If you don't feel physically amazing, then you're doing it wrong!

   

Each physical body is different.  I can be sensitive to foods that you feel fine eating.  I know what foods cause an inflammatory response in my body, and I try to omit those from my daily diet so that I can feel my best. 

What is inflammation? 

Think about it this way...remember when you were a kid and you would fall down and skin your knee?  Before it healed, it usually got red and swollen.  Sometimes it got infected.  That is the body's way of trying to heal.  It becomes inflamed in order to heal.  Inflammation is not a bad thing.  It becomes a bad thing when we have inflammation long-term, or chronic systemic inflammation. 

If you have aches, pains, and medical issues, then you could possibly have inflammation in your body and you didn't know it.  Are you struggling with any of these? 

 

If you struggle with any of these, have you tried figuring out the root cause of it?  Have you altered your diet to see how the food you've been eating has affected you? 

Some of the most common inflammatory foods are listed below.  These foods are causing aches and pains and other medical issues that we probably wouldn't even think were related to what we eat. 

 

About five years ago, I started having this pain in the side of my legs when I walked.  It started when I was still taking college classes, so I would notice it as I jetted across campus.  I kept feeling it any time I wanted to take a walk--I like to walk.  I'm not a runner.  It would frustrate me to no end because I wanted to be active. 

I decided to try and figure out what was happening, and I did a sugar detox.  I took sugar out of my diet and all grains as well.  In about 3 days time, my legs were completely "healed."  I was shocked.  After some further investigation, I now know that grains have a direct effect on the pain in my legs.  I can take Scout on walks without having to worry if I can keep up with him or not.  It was simply amazing. 

If you're dealing with some of these issues, I would definitely suggest doing an elimination diet.  This is why I am so passionate about Whole30.  Whole30 helps you take the inflammatory foods out of your diet for 30 days.  Then you slowly reintroduce those foods to see how your body reacts with them.  I learn something different every time I do a reintroduction.  I am more aware of my body's reaction to these foods, and I can make better decisions based on my experiment--my body. 

Give it a try!  I would encourage you to do so to see if you can alleviate some of your aches and pains!  Also, please reach out if you are interested more in the Whole30 program or have questions about it.  I love helping others get started with it! 

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Inside My Pantry: Other "Weird" Foods

Today I want to share a few other things that are in my pantry that might be different that what you're used to seeing in a pantry.  These are some of my favorite things that I have discovered in my four years of being on this crazy journey.  I will admit that it's taken me awhile to try some of these things, but I do love them!

First, we have ghee.  Oh how I love ghee, and if you stick around long, you'll find that I use it for a LOT of things!  This is a dairy free substitute...basically it is butter, but all the dairy components have been taken out of it.  This is my favorite kind:

If you can't find ghee or you'd rather make your own, then this next item is for you.  I really like Kerrygold Butter.  This is a grass-fed butter, and you should be able to find it in your local grocery store.

I also like to cook with Coconut Oil.  I use it to stir fry my veggies and sometimes even cook my eggs.  I look for an unrefined option.

Coconut Aminos is a great substitute for soy sauce.  I use this in the Asian dishes that I make or even my stir-fry.  I learned just a couple years ago that I am sensitive to soy.  So when I found this, I was excited!

As far as my "emergency food" stash goes, I always keep Larabars and Rx Bars on hand.  These are made from real foods, both sweetened by dates.  I keep one in my purse just in case I find myself in a bind and getting hangry.

Shredded Coconut is a great option for recipes with oats as an ingredient.  I like keeping these in the pantry so I can use them in my Shakeology balls.

 

As an option to potato chips, I found Nut Thins!  They are a "less bad," I would say.  My husband really likes these and I feel good about letting him have them in his lunch.  There are all kinds of flavors, so find one you like!

Sea Snax are definitely something that would be considered "weird."  It took me awhile to try them, but as their tagline says, they are "strangely addictive." They are perfect to satisfy the salty craving and there's even a little crunch, as well.

Another thing you can find in my pantry is kombucha.  Now...the first time I tried this, I thought it was disgusting.  I would say that it's probably an acquired taste, but I gave it another try and I wasn't disappointed.  My favorite it GT's Synergy Trilogy.  This helps promote a healthy gut.

Along the same lines, I always always always have my Shakeology in my pantry as well.  This helps promote a healthy gut, and it has some great superfoods in it that help with my PCOS symptoms.  I drink the vegan kind, as dairy and I do not get along. ;)

Check out this video as I share in a little more detail what you can find in my pantry and why I have these things:

Inside My Pantry: Baking & Cooking

One of the biggest oppositions that I get when talking about eating healthier is the new ingredients that come with it.  I'm not sure if it's fear of new ingredients or the idea of actually making the purchase or what exactly it is.  But I am faced with that argument from a lot of people.  It's okay!  I was resistant to the idea at first, too.

As mentioned previously, you cannot outrun a bad diet.  You have to change what you're eating if you want to see success.  With that comes the perhaps overwhelming task of cleaning out your pantry and stocking it for success.  When it comes to baking and cooking, it can be tricky and maybe you feel like you don't want to have to change the flours and sugars that you use now.  Maybe you just aren't sure how to use them or how it will change the taste of some of your favorite treats.

I will let you in on a little secret of what not to do.  Do NOT go out and purchase all the "alternative" flours at the store.  This is exactly what I did, so I can give you an insight of why you shouldn't do this. ;)

When I was ready to change over my flour, I literally went out and purchased five different kinds of flour:  almond, coconut, white rice, tapioca starch, and potato starch.  I found that I used two of the kinds more frequently than the other.  So ultimately, I wasted money.  If you aren't sure what you will use for cooking and baking, it's okay to only purchase one at a time.

In my video below, I share what I use most frequently and how I can use them in both baking and cooking:

My top flour suggestions are:

Almond Meal 

Coconut Flour

Quinoa Flour

Chickpea/Garbanzo Bean Flour

Brown Rice Flour

*If you have a food sensitivity or allergy, please make sure you choose the right option for you.

Almond meal is simple to make if you can't seem to find it in the store.  All you need is raw almonds and a food processor.  Just make sure to keep an eye on it or you'll be making almond butter pretty soon!

Sugar is something that was hard to give up.  We live in a society where everything is sweetened.  We want our strawberries sweetened.  We want our coffee and tea sweetened.  But all of that sugar isn't healthy for us, and actually, strawberries by themselves are fairly sweet when our taste buds adapt.

I know that this was the biggest change for me.  I threw out the white sugar and started using a couple of different options to replace it.  Some of my favorites are:

1. Honey--make sure it's local and raw.  Raw honey is almost never processed, so you're getting the real deal.
2. Stevia--again make sure to research this.  There are a lot of products out there that are processed.  You want either the green leaf option or extract.
3. Dates
4. Coconut Sugar--this is a great option for baking.  It's a 1:1 replacement ratio, so no extra calculations are needed!
   
   
   
   
   
5. Maple Syrup--look for a Grade B.
   
   

Do your research.  Find recipes that use these products before you buy.  Experiment with new recipes until you find something that suits your fancy! What will you start using?

Inside My Pantry: Condiments

One category of "food" we may overlook easier is actually the condiments we put on our food.  I don't know about you, but I love to eat ketchup with my fries, fried potatoes, hamburgers, and many other things.  But for a long time, I didn't think about what the ketchup was actually made of!

I was really disappointed again when I went through all the condiments and dressings and saw how many I had to throw out because there was added sugar and ingredients that I didn't feel comfortable with. But I was also realizing for the first time that added sugar was in everything.  It was frustrating at first, but as I learned more about what was in the bottles inside my fridge, the more I realized what I was actually putting into my body when I used those things.

Now, here's a little disclaimer.  There are cleaner versions of ketchup and bbq sauce out there, and yes, I have tried them.  However, my taste buds were not accustomed to those tastes yet.  The Standard American Diet has tons of added sugar in it and our taste buds want everything we eat to be sweet.  So when I tried these two things that I made, I didn't like them because they weren't as sweet as I liked.

So in that moment, I told myself that I could splurge on those condiments as long as I didn't use them at every meal of every day.  Fast forward to now, and I rarely use ketchup or bbq sauce.  I've found other things, like avocado or guacamole, to be really delicious on my hamburger.  I don't particularly miss ketchup or bbq sauce, but I'm sure I would have a different opinion on the cleaner versions now since my taste buds have changed.

My husband does like to eat mayonnaise, but I have found a cleaner version to make, which tastes better than the stuff you buy at the store.  I will share that recipe a little later.  One of the things that we all know to be healthy is a salad.  If my husband comes home and says, "Hey! I ate the healthy option today, and it was a salad," I always ask what he put on it.  Yes, salads are great because we get a dense dose of veggies in that meal, but if the greens are doused in dressing, it doesn't end up being that healthy.

In the video below, I share my favorite vinaigrette dressing that doesn't have added sugar in it.  (It does have raw, local honey in it though.)

Here are the links for the Vinaigrette Dressing and the Homemade Mayo.  Enjoy!  And let me know if you try them!

Inside My Pantry: Real Food

Clean Eating.  Real Food.  Whole Food.  Processed Food.

What do those things even mean?  If you're just starting your health journey, I'm sure you are probably a little confused.  I know I was!  I couldn't understand all the differences, and it took a lot of my own researching to figure it all out!

Let's take a little closer look at what that means and what it can mean for you!  What is real food? What is whole food? Well, those terms can be interchangeable.  All it means is food in its purest form.  Some examples include:  fresh fruits, fresh veggies, lean meats, even dairy can be a whole food.

When we are aiming for a healthier lifestyle, we want to eat as many whole foods as we can.  These are the foods that are going to have actual nutrients in them that our body needs.  You want to eat more of these types of foods than processed foods.

What are processed foods?  These are going to be the packaged foods.  They will be found in the aisles of the grocery stores.  So things like crackers, cookies, canned items, soups, noodles, and other items in the middle aisles are processed.  They generally are full of preservatives and things our bodies don't recognize.

A key to navigating the grocery store is to stay around the perimeter.  The freshest foods will be found in the perimeter of the store.  If you need to head down an aisle, that's fine, especially if you're slowly making over your pantry.  But make sure to read your labels.  Know what is in each product that you pick up.  If one brand has less ingredients than other, choose that one.  Try to find products that don't have added sugar.

If you don't know what an ingredient is use your phone to google it!  I do this all the time!  If I find that it's not something I'm comfortable with putting in my body, then I'll try to find a different brand that doesn't have that ingredient.  This may take you a bit of time the first several times you go to the store, but you'll soon be able to recognize brands and specific products that you deem as "safe."

The more you know and learn, the more empowered you will be to make good decisions for your family!

Check out my video below.  I give you some more examples of the kinds of things to look for in the grocery store!  

Taco Seasoning

Taco Seasoning 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Chili Powder

2 tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

Add the ingredients to a bowl and mix well. 

Store in an airtight container.

Dairy Free Ranch Seasoning

Dairy Free Ranch Seasoning

Ingredients:

1 tsp Sea Salt

2 tbsp Dried Parsley

1 1/2 tsp Dill Weed

1 tsp Dried Chives

2 tsp Garlic Powder

2 tsp Onion Powder

2 tsp Dried Minced Onion

1 tsp Black Pepper

Directions:

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix well.

Store in an airtight container.

Inside My Pantry: Spices

I am not the food police.  I am not perfect in my eating.  Life is short to eat perfectly all the time.  But I do have guidelines for myself that I follow.  I have done research and I have learned a lot through the Whole30 program.  I can't ignore what I've already learned.  I have to put that into practice.

I cannot tell you what you should stay away from.  I can only share what I've learned along the way, in hopes that you will do your own research, understand where I'm coming from, and make informed decisions for your own family.

With that said, I shared yesterday that I think sugar is dangerous.  Studies have proven that sugar is more addicting than cocaine. Say what?!  So I personally think that we should do everything we can to limit the amount of sugar that we intake!

But....that can also be overwhelming.  So I thought about everything that I consume, and the first thing that I ended up changing was my spices.  That seemed like it would be easiest to do and wouldn't be too stressful. It also wouldn't break my pocketbook.

I went through my entire collection of spices and threw out the ones that had sugar in them.  I couldn't believe how many had sugar as an added ingredient.  It was disappointing and made me realize that I need to be paying more attention to the stuff that I put in my body.  I decided that I would make my own taco seasoning, and I would use dried herbs as much as I could in seasonings.  I wanted to know that my seasonings were clean.

This video explains my process in more detail, and I show you how I make my own taco seasoning!

As mentioned, here are some of my favorite replacements when it comes to spices that I love:

I love the Flavor God seasonings! These have replaced many things like: hamburger seasoning and marinade, steak seasoning, pork chop marinade, veggie seasoning, etc!  I use the Everything seasoning for pretty much everything! I love the Garlic Lovers seasoning for pork chops, veggies, and sometimes steak as well. One that I like to use on occasion is the Chocolate Donut seasoning. Yes, it's as amazing as it sounds!  You can use this to flavor some oatmeal or put it in your Shakeology balls!  These have clean ingredients, and I can feel good about using them!

While the Flavor God can be pricey (but totally worth it and they last a long time), I know not everyone will want to purchase those right away.  Some other options include the Mrs. Dash seasoning line, which you can find at your local grocery store or online as well!  These are 2.5-ounce bottles, as opposed to the 5-ounce bottles that Flavor God has.

Another spice that I really like is the Steak Seasoning from McCormick.  I "accidentally" found this seasoning when I was looking for something quick when I was doing a round of Whole30.  I was surprised that I already had this in my spice collection, and I've kept it in mind when I am visiting family or on vacation!  I know I can find it just about anywhere!

--->Here's a challenge for you today.  Go to your spices and start looking at the ingredients.  If any form of sugar is in that list, throw it out!  Then start finding spices that you know will be good for your body! <---

Here are my taco seasoning and ranch seasoning recipes.

Inside My Pantry: Ingredients

Now that we've covered the fact that you will have to change your eating if you want to see results in your weight loss, we can move on to how you can change your pantry.  It may sound scary and overwhelming, but I promise you.  It doesn't have to be!

I think the one thing that we can all agree on is the fact that sugar doesn't have a place in our diet.  Or at least, we don't feel good when we consume tons of sugar.  I hear so many people say they need to eat "low carb," usually meaning no sweets, cakes, cookies, etc.  While I may not fully agree with the statement that they need to eat "low carb," I do agree that we need to limit the amount of processed sugar we consume.  We have to have carbohydrates to survive.  But we need to familiarize ourselves with healthy carbs.

So how do we figure out what has sugar in it and what doesn't?  How do we decide what to keep in the pantry and what to throw out?

We have to learn to read labels.  We have to know what we're looking for!  We have to be informed so that we can make the best decisions for our family.  So what are we looking for?  Since sugar is a huge problem these days, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the names of sugar. Unfortunately, sugar has over 50 names.

While that probably seems like a daunting task--learning all of those names--I promise that it will get easier!  You also will learn what products and brands that you can trust along the way.  When I first started, it took forever to go through all the products that I was buying at the store, but with practice and knowledge, I feel confident at what I'm buying and feeding to my family.  Don't get discouraged. 

Here are a couple of items that I have in my pantry currently.  Normally, we are taught to look at the little graph that has the Nutrition Facts on it.  If you are counting your macros, I'm sure that it would be helpful.  But for me personally, I think it's more important to count the ingredients in the food.

If we are looking for only sugar in these hamburger buns, you will want to look for the added sugar in the ingredients list.  High Fructose Corn Syrup is listed here in the list.  So these hamburger buns have added sugar in them. There's a whole host of other things listed here that I can't even pronounce.

There are many foods you think may not have sugar in them but really do.  You have to be careful if you are wanting to eliminate added sugar.  Make sure you start recognizing the names of sugar and deciding if those things are really worth feeding your family.  You can always find a better alternative. 

Inside My Pantry

One of the most common questions I get asked is, "Do you have any healthy recipes that are all 'normal' ingredients?"  I often chuckle because I'm not really sure what they mean by "normal."  Maybe it's because I've done a few Whole30 rounds?  Or because I try to eat Paleo-ish when I'm not doing a Whole30?

I've been on my fitness journey for almost four years now.  That's a long time.  But what I wish I had known from the very beginning is how important nutrition is to weight loss.  I think that it would have saved me a lot of time and heartache.  So I am here to help you with your journey, and I want to tell you this:

Nutrition equates to about 80% of weight loss.  Working out is only about 20%.  You CANNOT out train a bad diet.

Yikes, right??

You cannot expect results without changing what you eat!  You just can't.  So over the next few days, I'll be sharing the common ingredients that I have switched from "normal" to "abnormal."  Or rather, maybe I should say I switched from less healthy ingredients to more healthy ingredients.

I want to give you some tips on how to get started with a pantry makeover.  I want to give you some "health hacks" that make healthy eating easier for you.  I want to share with you some tips and tricks that I have learned over the years as I have been on my journey.  Maybe your journey won't have to be as long and hard as mine has been for me.  I want to share some of the "science-y" things behind why I switched ingredients.

I hope that you'll join me over the next few days as I give you the advice that I wish I had been given when I started this journey.  I want to make it as painless as possible for you.  If you have questions along the way, feel free to reach out!  I'm always happy to help where I can.

Finding Food Freedom: Now

I feel it important to share where I am at in the process of finding my food freedom now.  Technically, I am living in food freedom.  I've been able to choose what I want to eat when I want to eat it.

It has been a learning process of not feeling some of the past emotions of guilt or shame when I want to allow myself to indulge in a treat.  In a way, I have had to retrain my brain to grasp the concept of "it's okay to have this."  I'll admit that I'm still not fully there with my thoughts, but I do know that anything worth having is going to take work and time.

In January, I completed my Whole30 Reset.  From there, I went into the "unknown," as I like to call it and lived in my food freedom.  I went on vacation and did very well with my food choices.  But slowly, bad habits began to creep back in.  I knew that I needed to do another reset to get my habits back on track.

This time, however, I did not choose to do the Whole30 Reset.  I actually had a friend who asked me to do The Ultimate Reset with her.  I told her I would, and it was perfect timing for me.  So I'm currently in week 3 of my reset, and next week I will be back to the "unknown."

I have realized a couple of things about myself while doing this reset.  It's always important to be paying attention to your habits and what goes well and what goes wrong.  I've noticed that:

1. I do better with a thorough meal plan.  I like to know exactly what I'm eating and when.
2. I definitely succeed when I meal prep my meals.  If I don't prep, I find myself headed out to a restaurant or grabbing something totally not on my plan for the week.

So I will definitely be adding those things to my food freedom journey from here on out.  I am a lot better at meal planning, and I have really slacked on the prepping until this Reset.  I am excited to get back into the swing of it, though.

I know what foods affect me adversely, but I'll still be adding things back into my diet very slowly.  I've been eating a vegan plan for a couple of weeks now, and while I won't be vegan for life, it was definitely good to be eating some different foods than what I'm used to eating.

So that's where I'm at right now.  I'm a work-in-progress.  I know that the more I wander into my food freedom, the quicker I will be to realize when I get off track too far.  I'll be quick to realize my need for a reset, and maybe my resets will get fewer.  We will see!  

Finding Food Freedom Forever

So, Beth...you've been talking about this "food freedom" thing forever now.  What is it?

I'm so glad you asked.  I can't wait to tell you!

Since completing my very first Whole30 in November of 2014, there have been many resources released since then for the program.  All I had was the book It Starts With Food to go from for my first round.  It offered me the guidelines of the program and a few recipes.  But I was mainly on my own, trying to figure out what to eat.  Now, there are four total books that have been released by the co-creators of the program.

The most recent of the four was released last fall.  I knew that I wanted to read it, but I still wasn't sure I wanted to give Whole30 another try.  If you watched my story, you know that it took about 6 months or so before I was completely ready to get my nutrition on track and fight my binge eating.  I dilly-dallied around until then.  I was fighting my excuses.  I was fighting the thoughts in my head.  Ultimately, I was fighting Satan.

But in October, I gave Whole30 a shot for the fifth time.  It was hard, but I completed it.  I felt empowered by the end of the 30 days.  But then I went on a cruise, my birthday happened, and the holidays were busy.  I maintained a level of healthy eating, but I probably had more treats than I should have.  So in January, I gave Whole30 yet another shot.  But this time, I decided to read Food Freedom Forever.

You guys.  It rocked my world.  Seriously.  I hadn't even made it out of the Author's Note before I got my highlighter out and started marking it up.  This book was exactly what I needed to read!  I had been wondering if I was a "chronic Whole30'er," if that's even a term.  I had wondered why I was doing so many rounds.

Did I forget something while doing the program?
Have I not learned what I've needed to learn?
Is it just because I can't get my act together around food?
Am I really being that controlled by sweets?

To some extent, I felt like a fraud.  I had been singing Whole30's praises, but why did I have to do so many rounds?  Why couldn't I just eat this way forever?

And then....I read this book.  In my head, Melissa and I are best friends and she wrote this book to me because she knew what I was dealing with.  Here's what she said:

"No short-term dietary intervention--not even the Whole30--has the power to completely and permanently overwrite decades of less-than-stellar health habits and a dysfunctional relationship with food. And even if it did, when stress enters the picture, those cravings, bad habits, and dependence on comfort foods inevitably return with a vengeance."

Oh my goodness gracious!  YES!! Thank you, Melissa!  And THEN, she says this:

"So yes, part of the Food Freedom plan includes you falling off the wagon, because you will, and I want to prepare you for that."

Okay...so I'm not a fraud.  I'm normal.  It happens.  It's part of the process. Thank goodness!! Honestly, there were parts of this book where I literally wanted to cry because I felt that she was speaking right into my soul.  It was like she knew where I had been and where I want to go.  She wrote this book so that I could have a plan for my food journey.  Okay, so maybe she didn't, but it sure felt like it.

So what's the plan?

1. The first step in the plan is to do a reset.  This is a 30-day structured reset.  You know exactly what you'll be eating and what you won't be eating.  You can choose the Whole30 or you can design your own.  I will probably always choose Whole30 because I'm so familiar with it.
   
2. The next step is the reintroduction phase.  This phase is deliberate and may take a while.  You have to reintroduce the foods that you took out while doing your reset.  This allows you to figure out how your body reacts to them.  Then you can plan your food freedom plan after that.
   
3. What foods do you have a negative reaction to?  Will you keep them out of your meal plan? Will they be "worth it" to have as a treat every once in a while?  You have to figure that out for yourself.  Each of us is different.  We might not tolerate the same foods.  This is something you have to really decide on your own.  But nothing is off limits.  You just have to work through questioning yourself if it's going to be worth it.  And have a plan...get right back to your meal plan after that.
   
4. Live in your food freedom.  Own every decision you make.

That is truly an overview of the plan.  She goes into more detail in the book, which I would highly suggest reading if you struggle with your relationship with food!  But one question she does address in the book that I think is definitely worth highlighting here is about moderation.

Can't you just eat in moderation?  She says:

That's nice in theory...but if that concept actually worked for most people, we'd all be happy, healthy, lean, and fit, because we've all been trying to moderate for decades.

  So in short, it really takes a while to undo all the bad habits that we've picked up along our life journey.  It takes a while to better our relationship with food.  For me?  I'm still learning.

Finding Food Freedom: Why Whole30?

When I figured out what I was doing to myself--the binging--I knew that I needed to get my nutrition in check.  So I went back to what I knew.  That was the Whole30 program.  I already knew it was awesome, and I knew that it would help me get my life back.  They had come out with a few more resources since I had done the program last, so I was excited to see their improvements.

So what did the Whole30 program do for me?

It allowed me to get all of the foods that may have been having negative effects on my body out of my system.  By eating lean meats, healthy fats, tons of veggies, and a bit of fruit each day, I was slaying my sugar dragon.

You crave what you eat.  So when I was allowing myself to shove tons of sweets, gooey treats, and bread in my mouth, I was craving those things later.  In turn, I told myself I couldn't have those things and then I'd find myself binging on them.  It was a horrible cycle...one that I couldn't seem to find a way out of until I threw off every single excuse I had about why I couldn't do another round of Whole30.

Detoxing and getting all the processed junk out of my body was difficult.  Yes, I had headaches and there were times I didn't feel so well.  But after the first few days, I started feeling better.  I started sleeping so well at night, and I woke up rested.  I suppressed my sugar dragon to where I didn't have cravings for junk.

The Whole30 is also designed to give up the scale and tape measure for the 30 days.  Being able to do so, freed me from seeing a number.  It freed me from the idea that I have to weigh or lose a certain amount.  I was feeling so much better in my own clothes. I had more confidence in myself.

Meanwhile, I was still in the Word every day and spending quiet moments with God.  I was also reading other personal development books to help encourage me along the way.  I developed a plan to help me once I was finished with my 30 days.  I will be sharing that plan tomorrow, so I hope you'll come back and join me then!

Food Freedom Forever: More Resources

Growing up in a Christian home didn't mean that I was automatically a "good Christian girl."  Yes, I loved God with all my heart, but I had a lot of learning and growing to do.  It was when we lived in St. Louis that my faith was really tested.  I had been living life for myself, really.  I think that I liked to think that I was living for Jesus, but looking back, I wasn't.

I believe that we all go through various things in life that bring us to a defining moment.  Mine happened to be the point when Granny passed away.  I remember so vividly driving across the state of Missouri, just praying that she would still be alive when I made it home.  I was crying out to God because I knew that I was living my life without Him and that's why I was so lonely.  I knew in that moment that I needed Him.

I had never had a "quiet time" before.  I didn't know what it was like to wake up each day and spend it with God.  Instead, I made excuses for why I couldn't get out of bed early.  I made excuses for why I couldn't spend time with Him during the day.  I had a 9-1-1 relationship with Him.   When I was in a jam, I prayed to ask Him to help me.  How selfish.

In the fall of 2015, I joined a Bible study that changed my life.  I didn't realize how badly I needed it.  It was set up to where I could answer questions every day of the week between the days that we met.  So I started there.  I sat down for 20 minutes or so a day and just began the day with God.  Whoa.  That changed my life.

As I was spending that time with God, I slowly started to hear Him speak to me.  At one point, I was nudged towards my bookshelf full of books I had yet to read.  I had this book sitting there...it was one that I had read before, but I guess I didn't need it as bad as I did right then.

What I didn't know was how this book was exactly what I needed to read.

Made to Crave was a pivotal book in my relationship with food.  It was a book that helped me see beyond my struggles.  It helped me see that my faith DID go with my fitness.  It helped me realize that God needed to be number ONE .

I realize how wrong and messed up my priorities were.  I realize how messed up my mindset was.  Satan tries to get us where we're weakest and he used my weaknesses to his full advantage.  But no longer will he continue to win that fight.  For I am victorious because Christ is on my side!

To hear more of my story, please check out this video: