Hello everyone and a very happy year to you all! May you  2020 be a year filled with love, peace, health, and happiness for you all.

Welcome to my eighth blog.

For those of you who were lucky enough to go away, I really hope that your holiday was everything that you wished it to be. Our family had a very busy, wonderful, fun and social time road tripping around the country to three beautiful places. It was a manic and exciting holiday and we actually had to come home for a rest! Note to self for the end of this year; quiet time to rest and prepare oneself for the year ahead is mandatory.

I have been doing a great deal of reflecting in the quiet times we did have and felt that as my first blog of the new year, it would be great to share some of the lessons I learnt last year. One of my biggest learning curve years ever.

Prepare yourselves, it’s the naked truth!!

1. I have learnt to back myself when it comes to learning and studying. After finishing my diploma in nutrition with distinction (sorry had to include that) I realized that I can still do this. You can teach an old dog new tricks and as a result, so many opportunities have opened up for me.

 

2. I am going to use the word diet now, but my definition of it is the way I habitually eat.

 

3. Flip! The habits that I want to make stick and become permanent are actually so very hard to establish. I think I have it, then I fall off the wagon and feel that I am back to square one. However, small differences, like I seem to have to dust myself off a little less and climb back on a little more easily and start again, with less guilt and remorse. Perhaps, it was possibly a little unnecessary to take a large packet of soft eating wine gums to bed one evening whilst on holiday and proceed to demolish the whole packet whilst reading my Hello magazine. Maybe the reading of said highly intellectual and inspiring magazine was, in fact, the greater of the two evils.

 

4. My 80/ 20 rule of eating for 80 percent nourishing and 20 percent treats was an epic and dismal failure whilst on holiday. I gave in to every temptation of chips, desserts, sweets and chocs. What I did do, though, was to include as many veggies, salad, fruits, seeds, and nuts, whenever I could. I also noticed that I ate slowly most of the time and stopped eating a lot of the time, when I felt full – habits that are starting to become ingrained.

 

5. Spending time with friends who have adopted the vegan way of eating was really cool. As long as you allow time for preparation, you have a certain amount of learning and creativity surrounding the making of the food, together with knowing where to shop, this eating plan can actually be sustainable. At the moment, this is not for me, but it’s early days on my long and winding road, so who knows where it will lead me. I still call myself a flexitarian (a proper word for those who have not hung onto my every sentence), which means that some days I will eat chicken, other days fish and perhaps egg and dairy and then other days just legumes. I try to vary what I eat too. Perhaps it is a cop-out, but it is sitting well with me at the moment.

 

6. For those of you, who have so kindly and sweetly asked for “my recipes”, thank you, but there are none and there will not be any for the foreseeable future!!! This foray into winging or tweaking the cooking of plant-based recipes has basically been an unmitigated disaster!!! Ask my family!! We all have such easy access to so many beautiful and talented people out there who have produced tantalizing and tasty cookbooks available in all sorts of forms. In fact, I believe our world is actually saturated with scrumptious veggie meal recipes so why on earth would I waste my precious time trying to improve on this or develop my own?? Definitely not… at the moment.

 

 

7. I haven’t eaten red meat for almost six months now and I feel no different. I actually am not sure why I am doing this. However, I started this for my health and will continue to do so for the next while. I plan to have a blood test soon to assess my cholesterol levels and other pertinent vitamin levels and then will reassess the situation. There has definitely been some FOMO whilst watching family and friends indulging in juicy tender and gloriously fragranced red meat that has been braaid to absolute perfection and for the most part ethically sourced, but I have not indulged. I content myself with some tasty chicken or a veggie burger. This jury remains out on this for the foreseeable future.

 

8. Getting a little personal about my gut health, I honestly have noticed that on the days that veg, salad, fruit, and some nuts or seeds have not been a large part of my every plate, my bowel actions changed, and not for the better. Think you all know what I mean, so I shall leave it at that.

 

 

9. Oh, my word! Exercise is so vital for my sense of well-being, endorphin release and general feeling of contentment. Be it walking, slow jogging or gentle short stints of hiking, I need it and actually love it, even though sometimes it is also quite tiring!! I also benefit fantastically from the outdoor exercise. This is not brain science, I know, but the more in tune and in touch with my body I am the more I realize its importance. I have been addicted to my treadmill for many years, but now I need to combine my indoor activity with some outdoor exercise. I am also hoping to begin some outdoor meditative processes like yoga. Let’s see.

 

10. More and more, my family are my everything. I feel that I am the luckiest girl in the world to have chosen the perfect husband for me. He seems to be able to fix or sort out or help with any and every problem, issue, sadness or worry that I have. He also puts up with my displaced anger and frustration and accepts the outbursts and does not judge. I also am so very grateful for my three amazing, incredible and awesome sons, who have become the most outstanding men. I am beyond proud of them all.

The five of us being together is my biggest soul food and as this together time gets less, I devour and cherish every moment we have and place these times in my ever-growing memory bank. We have so much fun, so many laughs and so many interesting chats together. I love our more recent pastime of playing word and (quickly finished and exciting) board games.

 

11. I have learnt that we all have a cross to bear. No one person’s life is perfect and to judge and compare can only make you feel horrid in the long run. It also benefits no-one, least of all me. I am a very critical person, and this does not serve me well at all. Something else for me to work on.

 

12. I have also come to the realization that as much as you would desperately like to, you can not protect your children from disappointment, sadness, and loss. It’s their life, their journey and their learning curve. Sjoe, but this is so flipping hard!

 

13. My relationship with food and my body is definitely becoming based on the deepest self-care that I can give myself. This is difficult at times, but the steps forward are getting more and more. I am definitely being kinder and less hard on my internal self and trying not to be Polly The People Pleaser all the time. It’s hard, often, but I do see baby changes becoming more regular. I have a wonderful life coach who has given me awesome tools in order to be able to implement these changes over time.

 

 

14. Some mostly lasting and pretty sustainable changes I have made since going on the journey of my best eating plan are: drinking fizzy drinks seldom (sadly I still really like the taste of this poison when I do indulge), eating so much more varied veg and dark green leafy veg, berries, seeds, nuts, legumes (and mostly loving the taste of all of these), drinking so much more water and now green tea (getting used to the taste of the latter), eating less cheese and milk (feel better for this), eating more nourishing whole grains (I used to think these were forbidden) and I am definitely now assessing for the most part what goes into my body and trying to make it whole foods.

 

15. I understand now that I am rather hyper and hectic, and this is so positive, as long as I direct this energy, I feel this will benefit my health. I am hoping to use this energy to tune into my body and its needs more and more. I am learning more and more about wholefood, food preparation and shopping smarter. It’s vital for us to take care of our amazing bodies. This can only benefit my health and vitality. I have also started a breathing regime which is helping keep me centred . I struggle with regular continuous sleep and this is an area that I really need to spend time on, finding ways to rectify the situation and establishing good patterns. I think I have counted all the animals that went into Noah’s Ark, 2 by 2 and then again. Sadly, to no avail.

 

 

16. I feel so blessed and privileged to be surrounded by the most wonderful friends who add so much to my world and my life. The support and love and generosity of spirit we received as a family last year, and ongoing, made me realize that in spite of all the difficulties, pain and suffering going on in this tumultuous world of ours, there are so many folks out there making it their purpose to live and make it the best place it can be.

 

17. I would be lying to you if I said that I have stopped thinking about food often. I am still very critical of my body and my eating, but it is just getting a bit better and I am becoming gentler with me and more accepting of me, at times, and these times are getting more frequent. It’s about the ongoing adjustment and assessment and management of the whole that is important to make these lasting changes.

 

 

18. Through all of this searching and learning and soul searching, I believe I am ready to start chatting to teenage girls and boys and advising them about the importance of nourishing and caring for their bodies externally and internally. I believe that my wealth of experience with food and eating can help them to establish good lifelong and firmly entrenched habits that can serve them forever.

 

I am over the moon excited about the year ahead and really hope that you all will be part of it.

My sixth tip.

 

Try to be flexible, open-minded and versatile when it comes to your eating. Today you may fancy a chicken fillet with a green side salad, tomorrow a boiled egg on whole-wheat toast and then on Sunday, it may be a tasty piece of fish with some steamed vegies. Monday may be the day that you need a piece of chocolate cake. Some days you may feel the need to snack through the day whilst on others you may prefer to sit down for three delicious meals.  Avoid regimentation and rules and try to tune into your body’s food needs and desires. Enjoy all that you eat!

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to chatting to you all soon.