The Five W’s and an H

WHO

The players and how they eat:

Me – a 45-year-old Chicago woman, former vegetarian

My two beautiful daughters – 9 and almost 5, pickiest eaters on the planet and complete carboholics

My husband – a brilliant man who has recently lost 35-plus pounds following a paleo diet.  My inspiration, my researcher, my partner.

My trainer – he puts up with me, listens to my whining, lets me call him really bad names and is generally sadistic (although he claims it’s for me!)

WHAT

At the age of 14 I chose to give up eating meat.  Just like that.  Not for moral reasons but because it felt right.  For 21 years, until I became pregnant with my first child, I easily followed a strict lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.  Then, with a baby growing inside me, I started craving meat and tried some. Ever since, for the past decade, I have attempted to continue occasionally adding meat to my diet.  Now, through my strength training, husband and supportive friends at the gym, I’m learning more and more how following a high-protein, high-fat, low-carb way of life may be better for me and my fitness regime.

WHERE

Chicago, Illinois

WHEN

Now until I’ve embraced this new way of eating or until I just can’t take it anymore!

WHY

I’ve always tried to take good care of my body and mind.  I thought I learned a lot about food and health in cooking school, but the funny thing about food and health is the “facts” vary with differing studies and schools of thought.  Before cooking school, I tried to eat a very low-fat diet, eating many foods denuded of their nutrients just to get rid of fat.  Then I learned about “whole foods,” eating all the edible parts of a grain, for instance.   I also learned 50% of my diet should be grains and 50% of those grains should be whole.  About six months ago, my husband started sharing his research with me about what people “should” be eating and he blew my mind.  He said our bodies haven’t evolved enough to process all the grains we have been eating since the advent of agriculture.  Yikes!  This theory took me weeks just to wrap my head around!

In August of 1988 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Over the years I’ve had occasional bouts with tingling, numbness, weakness, double-vision, fatigue,  paralysis and cognitive dysfunction.  However, I’m healthy, active, and most people can never even tell I have this disease!  For many years I kept it secret except to those close to me.  Now, I’m fully open about it and am willing to talk, listen and educate anyone who asks.

In addition to trying to stay on top of my health, I’d also like to have my pre-child-bearing body back.  No, wait, I’d like a body better than that one because of all my added strength!  I gained a lot of weight nursing my first kid (I know, right?  Not fair!  That’s when so many women say they lose the baby weight!).  Then I solidified the weight gain with child number two.  Blah blah blah.

I always say I work out because I want to be able to kick some serious butt (not that I actually ever would!), but really, I just want to be a MILF.  Is that so wrong?

HOW

This journey is an experiment, an attempt at a lifestyle change.  I’m not very fond of eating animals and I especially don’t like to think about it while I’m doing it.  So far, I’ve struggled every day with what to eat.  What can I stomach?  What does my body need?  My protein repertoire remains meager, but, I hope, over time, that will change.

Because I’m so slow at most everything I do nowadays, and I have two small children, I don’t want to spend the bulk of my time researching.  For now, I’m relying on people I trust, like my husband, my trainer, maybe an occasional article.  I’m also relying on how I feel, and, of course, the numbers: weight, cholesterol, the number of pounds I can dead-lift, etc.