Let's be totally frank:
When I get stressed out and go into reaction over the twists, turns, and other directional moves my life can make, I eat foods that do not support me.
Further totally frank:
When I ziz, I eat fries, and lots of 'em.
And lately it's been going in waves. I'll eat in a way that helps me feel amazing, and then I'll get into my head about things and down the emotional and dietary trough I go. While I will never give up indulging on occasion - lately, it's been a little bit out of control. Like, I almost had myself convinced my Orange Julius was a healthy option while looking at my fries and doing this:
Out of the blue one morning, I realized I felt like I smelled like a drive-through and felt like I had been soaked in grease. I felt - - saturated. That's the word. So I restocked and in one day overhauled my diet, all the way back to my most virtuous days five or six years ago. I totally took myself out of thinking I would need to ease back into smoothies with flax seeds and eating lots of kale and spinach. Potential for bloating be damned, I just hauled off and did it.
And I feel *amazing*. It's been eight days, and I feel like a new person. My thoughts aren't as muddled, I have more energy, and a lot of the lingering soreness and stiffness from all the injury stuff is *gone*. Just *gone*. It left within just a couple of days. Granted, I caved in to the siren call of Little Caesar's Crazy Bread last night, but so what? I didn't earn it, there are no points, it wasn't a reward for being virtuous. I wanted it - so I had it and will have a yumtastic blueberry smoothie this morning like nothing ever happened.
A little more about those smoothies - I have fallen in love with frozen blueberries and flax seeds. For reals. I take a couple of spins on these depending on the time of day or if it's a meal or a snack, but for the most part, I follow a super-easy basic smoothie principle. (I call this "Grimace in a Glass". Not that it makes me grimace - it's the COLOR of Grimace. You know, the walking giant eggplant who hawks MacDonald's.)
Frozen blueberries - about a cup, sometimes more
Almond/coconut milk blend *or* coconut water (this one's post-yoga) - to fully cover the berries, plus a little more
Flax seeds - about half a tablespoon. Not too much, though, or they will turn your smoothie to Jello!
Sunflower butter - a good tablespoon-sized dollop
Honey - optional
Sometimes I add a scoop of berry-flavored Amazing Grass.
Put it in the blender and whizz the bejeezus out of it. Boom - you're done. Drink up! (Put it in a glass or not - I'm not here to judge.)
My biggest discovery through all of this, though, is that getting back to this way of eating hasn't put a dent in my amount of free time *at all* - if anything, I have more. How's that? I have more energy and focus, so I get more done in less time. No joke! (This has been a HUGE bonus for me! )
So if you've been struggling with cleaning up your diet a bit and think you don't have time - try! Grab the big bags of frozen fruit and some basic smoothie supplies. Let yourself do the best you can with what you have, and be honest with yourself about how much time you're willing to invest. Dust off the bread machine and bake your own bread overnight or while you're working on a project. Just do it - and tell me how it's going!
