Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Food for thought: Gluten, organics, sugar, oh my

My head is going to explode.

I warn you that this post might be a bit of a rambling rant.

All of this clean eating is starting to hurt my head. I mean, it's good. I'm trying. But jeeze, every time you turn around there's more to learn and at what point do you say, enough?

The other day there was a report on 60 Minutes about the toxicity of sugar. 


Everything sucks for you. It's annoying.  Everywhere I look now, I see "poison." Soon I'm going to be down to a little bit of organic kale, topped with some chia seeds and served with a few raw almonds… and then I'll really have no friends because that kind of person is about as interesting as unground flax seeds.

Where does it end? Do you have to be vegetarian? What about vegan? If you're not then do you do dairy? Eggs? Where does your meat come from? And what if you want a treat? What do you eat?  

I gave up most gluten and my tummy has still been feeling a little wonky the last day or two.  I have to make the appt. with the GI - we'll see.

Went to Whole Foods today and spent more on six items then I used to spend on 2 weeks worth of food. 

I'm hungry, my head hurts. Maybe I'm 'detoxing?' 

All I know is sometimes I miss the days where I thought I was healthy because I ate a Lean Cuisine frozen meal, a non-organic apple, and a little fat free pudding for lunch, swigged a light beer or two at happy hour and "only" smoked 5 cigarettes that night.  

Oh the good ol' days.

Now I admit I am an obsessive person. So I don't like to half-ass things and I guess that's why I'm abnormally becoming aggravated and consumed with this. It's just confusing. And expensive. 

Eh. I don't know. What do you do? Am I just a nut-ball? I mean maybe it's my extremes. Somewhere between a Whopper, diet coke & fries, and organic, sprouted wheat there has to be a happy place to live - no?

XO
Jen






12 comments:

Emz said...

you're so freaking awesome.

I try my best to eat "clean" 6 out of 7 days. But I am a burger girl. I like my weekly burger from IN-N-out.

I love the "don't like to half-ass things" comment. you rock. I get cha on that. why do something half way? But I also say . . . ya got to live a little every now and then to.
Yes, I'm glad I could stop by.... AND drop an essay sized comment that makes zero sense. sorry. ;)

you are awesome.

Jennʻs Adventureʻs said...

I think it's a "Jennifer" thing because I'm an extreme chic, too. In it to win it. All or nothing. etc. etc.

I'm sort of in the same conundrum as you, maybe a few steps ahead. Fact is, ignorance WAS bliss and we can't unlearn this information.

Everyone has to make the best choices for themselves and his or family. Eating clean, buying organic, restricting your diet -- it's not easy!!

Every little bit helps, so give yourself credit where credit is due. It began with your research, and I commend you for that:)

Frickin' Fabulous at 40 said...

I consider it a victory when I have a fruit AND a vegetable in the same day, forget about them being organic! My lifestyle has improved vastly and I just can't push myself to go there, yet.

Unknown said...

Well thank you for all the comments - I just took a run and I feel way less crazy and these comments really rocked.

Sigh.

Doing the best I can, I guess…

Linda, you crack me up! ;)

Jenn - totally a Jenn thing - huh? I hear ya sister.

Emz, you always make me smile and your comment makes sense to me!!

Amy said...

I'm going through the same thing right now, wondering how much is enough. I also tend to be obsessive about things. Then I wonder if I go all out if I'll ever eat the things I love again. So I try to moderate myself when it comes to such things.

Unknown said...

It certainly is easy to get carried away with it all… and now I have all kinds of new things to beat myself up over… CRAP - my celery isn't organic!? It's on the dirty dozen list!? And so on ;)

Jamie said...

OOOOOh, I totally feel ya on this! The overwhelming-ness (um, probably not a word right?) of it all makes me nauseaus. So I just take baby steps. Healthy is hard! (And expensive!) Heck, just look at it as a hobby... haha!

christina said...

I am 100% with you - I just got on the no processed foods, no artificial sweetners, minimal dairy and gluton. OMG first its alot of work - guessing it gets easier. And OMG it is so much more expensive. I go to Wegmans to get my produce and can easily spend 50-70/week just on produce. I cant wait until the farmers markets open!

Christina
http://last-weight-loss-journey.blogspot.com/

*~*~* Tracy said...

Before my youngest outgrew the worst of his food allergies, we spent a butt-load on food...dairy, corn, gluten free food is crazy $$$.

I try to balance it...I want to be fit and healthy *and* I want to have fun. Living on just organic celery and chia seeds is not fun. An occasional pizza and beer is.

I figure as long as the healthy stuff far outweighs the crap (and I can still zip my jeans), it's all good!

Anonymous said...

I think you have to find a balance and that is different for everyone. I struggle with the same thing. My husband is reading a book about a vegetarian eating plan and then he has a Paleo book and you could find many, many differing opinions on what to eat. I try to eat as close to the natural ingredients as possible - less processed food. But it's hard and I feel best when I listen to what my body wants.

Overhauling-Me said...

I think there are phases. Just three months ago I was in the phase of junk food being my menu. Now I'm just trying to add freggies and cutting out sugar and chips. I must be reaching the next phase because I'm starting to think and read about other food options, eating cleaner.

The cost is one thing that worries me. There are 9 people in my family plus 3 daycare kids. And if it's truly the healthiest way of eating do I just eat that way or do I try to incorporate it for my whole family?

Denise said...

I have read that when you first make the changes in your diet you might actually feel worse while your body detoxes. That doesn't encourage me to want to do it, but it's worth a try to see if I feel better. Change is hard maybe do one thing at a time.