New Year = New You!? New Year = New Resolution? Why not say, New Year = New Opportunities! It’s a chance to start something you’ve been putting off and take your life into your hands. For me (and I could even say us), it was to improve the way we eat and to try to get anything processed out of the house! How is this possible? We go to the store and it appears that everything that is available is in some way, shape or form, processed! I did a lot of reading and research on how we could minimize processed food and eat cleaner… and I will share the results I came up with!
When I share with some people that we want to eat cleaner and try to minimize processed foods, I receive an eyebrow raising look with the questions– WHY? You cook, so you are already eating non processed foods! Technically, even though I cook and have a blog mostly dedicated to what I test in my kitchen, I still use some convenient meals that are prepared and things that are processed. So, I started this research for 2 main reasons:
Reason #1 – I recently had my birthday which means also my yearly medical… and let’s just say that I am no longer in my 20’s! I gain some weight and it was proposed to me that I be put on weight loss medication. I refused and asked if there were any alternatives… and there was one – stop my anxiety medication (which is a weight gain culprit) & align my diet. Therefore, reason #1 was to lose weight… I know, it sounds like a New Year Resolution!
Reason #2 – I have so much to look forward too! Both my kids are in their 20’s and both left the family nest to start their own lives. I want to be able to see them grow older, possibly have their own kids and see them grow. I also have a wonderful husband I want to grow old with. Therefore, I need to be in the best shape I can be.
What did I learn?
As I was searching and reading (or even watching YouTube videos), I was always circling around the same result – lower your sugar and carb intake! BUT HOW??? Carbs and sugar are everywhere!
Cutting refine sugar is easy… stop adding it to your meals and replace with other sources, like honey. As for cutting carbs, I found 2 easy ways to cut our intake – increase our protein & fat intake, and cut the foods that are not grown in nature.
I can hear you now… so you are going KETO? Not really! PALEO? Nope… It’s mostly a mix of both… so I call it KEPA LOL!!!
Protein & Fats
The protein is easy! Lean meats, chicken and fish are all part of this category. However, we are lowering our intake of legumes and they are higher in carbs. This does not mean that we are cutting them out from our diet, we are simply lowering our portions and adding on a low carb side.
As for fats, we changed the type of fats we are consuming. Instead of cooking with vegetable oils, we now use olive or avocado oil. We also substituted margarine for butter. We also increased the quantity of avocado we eat .
Just by making these small changes, we feel full longer and have a tendency not to eat between meals… which is one of the main weight gain cause.
Cutting sugar and carbs, and increasing protein and fats are the bases to KETO.
Vegetables
Does this mean that we are not eating fruits? No, we eat fruits! However, this is another source of food that can be high in sugar, depending on the fruit. We did not cut all fruits from our diet, only those that are high in sugar. We eat a lot of berries since they are high in antioxidants.
As for vegetables, if it grows in nature and is edible (bases of PALEO), we are adding it to our diet. If we are able to grow it ourselves, even better (another reason why we started our microgreens & sprout journey).
These are the changes we made, based on 2 different types of diets – hence why I am calling it KEPA –maybe I should market it!
As I continue in this journey, I will share with you some recipes tested in my kitchen on KETO and PALEO focused snacks and meals. These are 2 new categories that are being added to the blog!!!
Is it giving results?
Time will tell and I will keep you posted – so far, I am 5 pounds down! Is it because I managed to go off my anxiety medication (more to come on that journey in a future blog) or is it because of the changes we made to our meals? Is it a little bit of both? I can’t say for sure! The only thing I can say is that currently, it is a change of lifestyle. I look at every labels before purchasing something that is pre-packaged.
If you are thinking of making a change, are trying to lose weight, or you simply want to take a healthy spin on your lifestyle, I strongly recommend to start looking at what you put in your grocery cart. Take the time to read ingredients and nutrition facts of what you put in your body. You are worth it!!
