April Challenge

March ends today, and I must say, I am pretty proud of myself for completing this month's challenge. (Am I sinning by being prideful about this accomplishment? : )

Anyway, I read my Bible all but 3 days this month. I am embarrassed to say that this is way more than I most likely would have. Now, I think of it each day and am reminded that I can take that time out. I am always glad I did it. I ended up reading Psalms, Proverbs, and most of Ecclesiastes. I am thankful for a new habit in my life.

Now, for April. Some of you will read my challenge for April and be appalled that I am not already living this way. Others will think I am crazy for going to this extreme. It is all about where you are in your journey.

I want to give some background info first. I started feeling sick in June. We thought I had a parasite from Africa. After months of continuing to be sick, losing 30 lbs. and many tests I finally had some answers in Nov. So, I began my treatment the beginning of Dec. I took the meds in Dec., Jan., and Feb. and was still not better. I was then informed by the Dr. that it could be 4-6 months before I would see results. So, I pressed on. This month, I turned a corner and am feeling like a normal person again. Feeling better has brought me to the realization that I am feeding my family horribly. I have been eating what I could keep down, and feeding my family what I had the energy to prepare(which was usually quick and easy and not very healthy). I still need to remain on my meds for at least 2 more months, in order to prevent my symptoms from returning.

Now that I am feeling better, I am keenly aware that we need to eat healthier. Not to mention that I would really like to keep the weight off that I lost. I am going to do this slowly, with a few changes each month. Here are the changes we are making in April:

We are going to eliminate from our diet:

1. Food with High Fructose Corn Syrup.

2. Food with Partially Hydrogenated Oils.

3. Artificial sweeteners.

We are going to add to our diet:

1. Fish oil

2. Flax oil

3. A green drink

4. Good eggs(with omegas, not the cheap ones anymore)

5. Hormone Free milk

There you have it. This is a start. It is not all that we need to do to be healthy, but I believe we have to start somewhere. Now, I do need to qualify that we are all about balance around here, so I am not going to throw away a bunch of food. We will finish off what we have, but that is dwindling because I have been shopping with this in mind lately. Also, I am not going to prohibit the children from participating in the food served at school or parties that they might have. If we are invited to someone's house, we will gladly eat what is served and accept any meals that are brought to us. Finally, toward the end of the month we may decide there are a few items that we want to keep despite the fact that they break the rules. We are going for less processed and less yuckiness. I feel like that is a reasonable way to handle this. If we eliminate this stuff for the month and go really strict, I am afraid it will only last for this month. I am trying to make permanent changes to our lifestyle.

I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions that you may have or have tried, especially when it comes to snacks for the kids. I am open and trying to learn. So, tomorrow is the big day. I am actually kind of excited to see how we do.