Of Plants and Provisions- The whole inflammatory story

Well, after almost 6 years, I'm blogging. I can't believe it's been six years. Like my sis said when I told her, "Well that just goes to show you how five years can pass in the blink of an eye!". So true! In the past six years, our family has joyfully walked through graduations, football championships, track meets, Redbird Community Church, hunting (well, they boys have, not me! 😄), Classical Conversations, so very many great memories. I wish I would have been blogging all these years, because even going back through these old blogs has been so enjoyable. But hey, can't go back. Just forward. It's been more joy than pain, and for that I'm so very grateful.

So what, you may ask, brings me back to blogging. Isn't it so 2009? Probably, but you are reading it, so maybe not as passe' as it may seem. The answer lies in a couple of things. First, half of my boys now no longer live at home. I want them to at least have a clue as to what is going on at home. Second, I really enjoy writing the blog (and reading it months and years later), which is kinda funny because I'm generally NOT a "journaling" kind of gal. I like having a creative outlet and a place to put thoughts and a way to stay in touch with family that's not here (that's kind of like #1). Thirdly, I'm needing some accountability on a new journey. I figure if I put it out there that I'm on this journey, at least the couple of people that read this blog will be holding me somewhat accountable.

And right now I'm hurting...physically. I was in an accident in September (being hit by a truck when I was walking along the road near my house) that left me with a severe concussion (all those symptoms are gone, praise GOD!), three herniated thoracic discs (in my middle back), constant lower back pain and on and off issues in my shoulder and ankles. As I'm journeying toward healing, I've tried SO.MANY.THINGS to help the pain and really there hasn't been any one thing that seems to help significantly (or any things put together). So in addition to the things I'm trying, I'm adding a pretty radical change in my diet. There is a lot of evidence around talking about how you can tamp the inflammation in your body by consuming anti-inflammatory foods and avoiding inflammatory ones. I've read about these things for years and have had seasons where I've done much better than others at following those guidelines. Having had bloodwork done recently, and knowing what I know about MY body, it's clear that inflammation is a problem. And I am hopeful that reducing inflammation in my body will significantly reduce the pain. Because they are connected! Bad news...the foods that most Americans generally LOVE and CRAVE are pretty inflammatory (think sugar, wheat, dairy, corn, caffeine). Good news, inflammation can be reduced in relatively short order by eliminating those foods. (Now if only it was as easy to execute as typing this!)

So as I've prayed for wisdom, I feel the Lord has given me the idea to go for the next 100 days eating a whole food 80-90% plant based diet following the general concepts of the Trim Healthy Mama plan. (Don't know THM? It's AMAZING! Check it out at www.trimhealthymama.com. In a nutshell, it's a plan using real, whole foods that balances you blood sugar (and thus improving your health) by eating every three-four hours not mixing carbs with fats. It's that simple.)

I'm also adding in some exercise as my back allows (It SO STINKS to have to pay attention to this! UGH!), aim for 100 oz of water every day, be diligent about taking my supplements, purposefully spending time reading and memorizing Scripture and walking through Caroline Leaf''s 21 day Brain Detox (www.drleaf.com) program to retrain by brain about regarding right thinking about food. 'Cuz we all know eating isn't always about the food, right? Can I get a witness?!

Oh, and I'm going to do this all on a budget. I have a lot of things on my plan currently in my pantry that I have purchased over the past year because I think I'll eat them. Have I eaten them? Um...no comment. Well, they ARE still in my pantry! But in the next 100 days, they'll be consumed because that is part of my journey. Use what I have. Bloom where I'm planted. Don't look around for what I don't have thinking THAT is what I need to be successful. I'm starting today. I've started today.

Tomorrow I'll be more specific with the "whats" of my 100 days. Then I'll post some more of my "whys". And of course, I'll post more fun family things too, for those who are more interested in seeing details of my crazy, wonderful life than my juice and smoothies.

Thanks for coming back! Here's to the next 100 days! I'm believe that I'll thank myself in 100 days for doing the hard work today.