If you don’t like the way you look in some of your clothes - don’t keep them.  This advice from an organizational seminar I attended last year.  Today as I worked on cleaning out my closet, I tried to follow this advice.  Donating the clothes that didn’t make me feel like I looked my best.

So if it works for clothes, what about food?  Remove those foods that don’t make you feel good.  Those foods that have over 10 ingredients or contain things you have never heard of.  

Replace them with wholesome, closer to nature foods.  Your goal:  Keep foods with less than 10 ingredients.  The less ingredients the better you will feel.

The only things that stand between a person and what they want in life are the will to try it, and the faith to believe it’s possible. -Rich Devos

The debate…butter or margarine.  A sensitive, personal decision. 

Stick margarine is taboo because of the partial hydrogenation resulting in trans fats.  These trans fats go on to oxidize or damage cholesterol which helps to make it stick in vessels.  So use tub margarine, right?  But not one with those taboo fats.  What about the ton of other ingredients listed? 

After consuming trans fat free, tub margarine for years and using butter when baking, I am making some changes.  My decision?  When comparing pasteurized cream and salt vs a ton of ingredients.  I pick pasteurized cream and salt.

Have you seen the commercials for pet food lately?  Bragging about quality lean protein, veggies, and Omega 3 fats that their products contain.  Would you want to give your pet anything different?

But then look at your kitchen.  Is it loaded with quality lean proteins, veggies, Omega 3 fats, etc or is it a mix of processed convenience foods and bad fats? 

You deserve a high quality diet.  Don’t let your pet outdo you in the nutrition part of your life.

This past week I came across a link looking at the Top 10 Best-Selling Grocery Items, which is always intriguing to me.  In one of my favorite books by Patrick Quillin, he referenced the top 10 from a few years ago.  

From then on I am hooked and very curious.  Aren’t you curious to see what the best-selling grocery store items are?   

Well, take a look and find out. 

After looking over the list, review your Top 10  foods on your grocery list.  Are there certain things that you get all the time that you need to get less often?  Buying more whole foods I hope – things that are not so processed?  If not, take this opportunity to change it.

Make your Top 10 – a disease-fighting Top 10!

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2009/10/the-top-10-bestselling-grocery-items.html

Processed foods.  The unfortunate side to most of our days that can mess up our attempts at good health and nutrition.  As we try to ”keep up” with our day to day routines, it seems that choosing processed foods becomes our regular choice.  This will continue to threaten our health until we really get a grip on it.  Remember, the choice is yours.  Adding weight, increased cancer risk, more inflammation, increased heart disease risk, more fatigue and the list of problems goes on and on.  Processed foods rob us of essential vitamins and minerals, that protect us from illness.  I challenge you to take a look in your pantry, fridge, desk drawer, kid’s lunchbox, snack drawer and make some decisions about how you can un-process your diet.

I had the opportunity to walk through our local fair last evening – in the horrid heat and humidity!  And it truly amazes me how the color pink is so pegged with breast cancer and how it just brings the crowds out.  I had the opportunity to meet 4 young men who were working within a booth devoted to making more people aware of breast cancer and working to provide opportunities to cancer patients and their families.  How great to see men so involved with this disease – really made me smile.  If you would like to learn more about this group, check out Mrs. Dudes funds – it’s a tribute to his mother-in-law.

So as this new journey continues, I find myself succeeding.  Finally!  This dream of getting more information out to people who find themselves concerned over their future either as breast cancer patients or as people who want to prevent cancer, manage weight and work through nutrition concerns.  And this new blog journey will hopefully find its way to the people who need support and encouragement.  But also a way to look completely at their treatment so they are able to use the power of nutrition with traditional medicine to help in this battle. 

When starting this journey, I knew that breast cancer was my focus however I did not want to miss others who are looking for a nutrition resource.  Remembering that all the steps we take to move towards better nutrition improves our health whether we are looking at weight loss, cancer protection or other health protection. 

So use this to your advantage.  I am hopeful that you will learn more and identify ways in your life to improve your health and sense of wellness.  Also while realizing that I am a real person with real nutrition struggles just like everyone else. 

I look forward to great things with this new adventure of helping you customize your style of nutrition.