Mood Foods

I almost gave up! Changing my eating patterns was more difficult than I thought. Dairy hasn't been too difficult, but gluten is in everything. I started out the first two weeks with daily meal plans. My third week was mostly planned. But on Friday, I had a bowl of oatmeal in the morning and didn't take any leftovers from home to work with me. It was a busy morning, and by 12:30 I was so hungry I didn't care what I ate. I forced myself not to give up and I had a Greek Salad with chicken from Panera Bread. It wasn't enough. By dinner time I almost made the decision to quit. I didn't give up though, and I'm glad I didn't. Planning and perseverance is the key to success.

Some of my favorite gluten free, dairy free bars.

First goal starts today. If you’ve ever looked into going on a diet, you’ll have found out as I did that there are a lot of diets out there, and most are focused on weight loss rather than general health. I have come to the conclusion that most diets have their flaws and no diet is right for everyone. There are, however, a few things that most of us will agree on. We should limit deep fat fried foods, fast foods, processed foods, sugar, and alcohol. We should eat more fr...uits, vegetables, high quality proteins, and healthy fats. Where we see controversy is over gluten, dairy, high protein, no animal, mostly animal, and/or GMOs. Added to the fact that we have crazy, busy, active lives and trying to stick to any strict diet could cause more stress and unhappiness than they are worth, so we quit or don’t ever start. My goal is to test three different theories of diets for 5 weeks on myself to see if one makes me feel better mentally and physically without being a huge hassle. Diet 1 Dairy and gluten free The two foods I decided to eliminate from my diet for the next 5 weeks are dairy and wheat/gluten. These two foods have been argued over for many years about the impact they have on our health. Some say that going gluten and/or dairy free are big fads and most people have no problem with them. On the plus side dairy adds two essential nutrients, Vitamin D and Calcium to our diet. These two nutrients play a role in our bone and muscle health, as well as our immune system, reduced inflammation, and mental health. Others say dairy is meant for calves, not humans, which is why humans are intolerant of the milk protein, lactose, or become intolerant later in life. Wheat has iron, niacin, thiamin, and fiber. But wheat has been genetically altered (GMO) and processed so much that the food manufactures must add these nutrients back in to breads and cereals. Many nutrition researchers say that taking gluten out of their client’s diets reduces inflammation in the body and decreases aches and pains. They also say that a gluten free diet reduces general fatigue, mental fatigue, lack of focus, bloating, and other GI issues. I’m going to test this out on myself. My diet will include a lot of fruits and vegetable, grass fed, free range, non-hormone, no antibiotic, animal protein, non-gluten organic grains, nuts, berries, and minimal sugar and alcohol. Diet 2 Ancestral diet based on my 23 and me DNA test Diet 3 Removing sensitivity foods based on my blood test

I recently turned 51. Wow, I said it! I can also say that I’ve been feeling fairly good both physically and mentally, but I’ve been wondering of late if I can improve on my energy, body aches, mental clarity and focus. With that thought in mind, I have decided that I am going to make myself the subject of my own little experiment on dieting and their affects. I am going to compare three different common dietsEach one will last a total of five weeks. At the beginning of ...each diet, I will fill out an evaluation on myself rating everything from aches and pains, GI issues, sleep issues, mental clarity, energy level, PMS bloating, cramps, and breast tenderness, and anything else I want to improve in my life. At the end of the diet, I will re-evaluate myself and run a race to evaluate any performance changes. My first diet will be posted and starting on July 16th with a 1/2 marathon on August 19th. Until then, I will continue my research for the three diets I think will give me the best results, and be the most realistic to maintain without overly burdensome cooking and eating routines. See more

Reminder, the "5 Week Upgrade Your Diet" starts on Monday. If you are still interested, please sign up by Sunday morning. I will be sending out information about week #1 on Sunday afternoon. http://moodfoodhealth.com/shop/

One of my favorite green foods is Broccoli. Wash, steam for 8-9 minutes, sprinkle with himalayan salt and cracked pepper.

5 week, "Upgrade Your Diet Challenge" starts October 2nd. Go to www.moodfoodhealth.com for more information.

Tonight's Dinner