Part two of my wake-up call came a few days after the swim and dive meet. I was on day three or four of working out, and I was feeling a little stronger. I felt fully dedicated to making this change a permanent part of my life.
One of my daily weaknesses is watching Oprah. I actually scan Oprah's schedule every Monday and pick out which shows I am interested in for the week. I sat down to watch a few days after the meet, and little did I know that this episode would change my life. The show was about the documentary Food, Inc. Oprah didn't go into great detail on this show about the contents of the documentary, but I was intrigued enough to find it on Netflix and bookmark it to watch that night after the kids were in bed.
Richard (my husband) and I watched Food, Inc. in a state of shock and disbelief that night. Neither one of us were prepared for the horror that we saw on the screen. Richard owns an ad agency, and one of his biggest clients is an agriculture firm. He's seen the feed lots and dairy farms in Kansas, but even those visits didn't make it any easier on him. I guess he never realized when driving through the feed lots what was really going on there. Admittedly, he didn't drive through them with his eyes peeled either, but I guarantee that he will next time. We both felt so betrayed and cheated after we finished the film. I didn't feel like I could trust anyone to prepare my food again after that. I found myself questioning every piece of food that I put in my mouth. We were in for big changes.
We woke up the next morning and started making a new grocery list. We agreed that we would no longer buy any meat or dairy that was not certified organic. We also decided that we would buy as much produce as possible locally. I googled the dirty dozen to figure out which fruits and veggies should be organic to reduce pesticide intake.
With a made-over grocery list in hand, I hit up Earth Fare later that day. It felt so good to be in a store with so many great options, and I felt awakened, as if I was eating consciously for the first time in my life. I left feeling uplifted and optimistic about my journey towards a healthy life.
If you haven't watched Food, Inc., I highly recommend it. I think the term eye-opening doesn't even begin to describe this documentary. I will admit that many parts of it are hard to watch, but I also feel like we all need to know what we're putting in our mouths and how our food gets from the farm to the store. The hardest part was not the realization that I was putting horrible things into my body all these years, but the fact that I was feeding these things to my children! The guilt was almost unbearable.
I'm still trying to decide what tomorrow's post will be about, but I'm thinking that I may write about my first run on the treadmill and how I started my running addiction.
I'm also going to try to put my daily menu in my posts. I'm hoping to provide a good example and to create a diary of sorts to look back on. If you are wondering, and I know some of your are, I do track my calories on thedailyplate.com. If you are looking to get in shape and track your workouts and calories, this is a great site to get your started. I must throw out a plug to all the great girls over on the The Nest for helping me find that site and for all the wonderful inspiration they have given me.
TODAY'S MENU:
Breakfast- overnight oats with mashed banana, blueberries, blackberries and a drizzle of honey with a cup of coffee with half and half and a little honey for sweetness
Lunch- whole wheat pita stuffed with pinto beans, avacado, tomato, low-fat mozzarella, brown rice and a small side salad with balsamic vinegar
Dinner- Cooking Light's Turkey Bean Soup with a side of broccoli
Snacks- Fage 0% with fruit on top and cucumber slices with homemade hummus
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