you are what you eat.

One of my first posts on this bloggy-blog was about my health. Today, I would say I am about 90% healthy on a regular basis...that's pretty dang good. However, that 90% is completely based on what food I choose to put into my body. About six months ago, I started journaling what I ate and how I felt. 

I also had just gotten botox injections in my esophagus to help it take a chill pill. It gave my rough looking, acid-eroded esophagus a chance to heal. I didn't want to take it back to the place it had been, so I started making notes about food. 

Just a note, I only wrote down what I ate. I did not count calories or fat or anything. I know with my  past how addictive this can be. It was more of a "I ate this food and it made me feel like this" kinda thing.

Foods that I should at all costs avoid: red meat and lunch meat. My body just cannot simply process red meat. If I do happen to eat it (which has been like once), there is not a happy ending. Lunch meats have a ton of preservatives in them and they just don't make me feel good. I am not sure why, I should probably look into that.

Foods that I can eat sparingly: other meats like chicken and pork. If I have to eat meat(like when I am out with my grandparents and there is nothing else but a plate of lettuce on the menu), I choose these two. However, I will only eat it if it is grilled or pan-fryed. Also, foods with a ton of preservatives make me feel strange.  I usually try to watch my dairy intake as I am partial lactose intolerant but it's usually the last thing I will eliminate. 

Typically, this is how the menu goes for my day. In the morning, I make a smoothie with flavored greek yogurt, a whole banana and whatever other fruit we have lying around. I typically get three servings of fruit outta this one meal and get a ton of protein from the greek yogurt. Note: I never have and never will be a big breakfast eater. If I am more hungry I typically ate oats or granola to bulk the smoothie up.

For lunch and dinner I interchange things. The most popular things I eat are fish, spinach, carrots, roasted broccoli or potatoes, brown/whole grain rice, brown/whole grain pasta and many types of beans. 

How do I know this diet it working for me? For the past two weeks, I've been working for LeadershipNow. They get amazing food for their events, so I decided to just eat what I wanted. Most days, I would eat some what of the same things I usually do. However, others, I ate meat. I felt like crap. Alllll of the time. It's amazing how one meal can set your body off for days. 

I also don't really watch my snacking.  I've been eating foods that are more dense and typically make me more full. And, because I do so well on my meals, I give myself some slack with snacks and feel less guilty about eating them because of it. Gosh darnit, if I want ice cream, I'll eat ice cream.