It all began with a segment on NPR

Almost 13 years ago, I was chatting with my boss about a document I needed to write regarding the latest system requirements. He, as always, had NPR softly playing in the background.

I'll admit I was pretty good at drowning out the dribble but then a segment began that captured my attention.

"Is your food hurting you?"

I paused and started to listen. I was suffering from IBS and woke up every morning tired and spent the entire day tired. I thought I might be depressed or maybe I hated my job. I never thought about my food.

The segment featured an relatively obscure doctor named Andrew Weil who believed the food we ate could affect every part of our body. He went on to claim eating the right food can actually 'fix' us. Suffering from IBS, I was desperate for any real fix. Taking 5 or 6 Tums was losing its effect.

Both my boss and I stopped what we were doing and listened to every word.

He proclaimed the hazards of partially hydrogenated oil, the danger of fake sugars and the need to stick with organic produce and eat more fish. 

I bought his book the next day. And I encouraged my now husband (then boyfriend) to read the book with me.

It was a plan to wellness. He suggested to take out every item in my kitchen with partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and fake sugars. I pretty much emptied my kitchen. So we went to the grocery store and after finding almost nothing we could eat, I made my very first visit to my favorite store in the world, Whole Foods. I decided to try shopping there a few times and then go back to my other stores. This did not happen obviously ;)

The more I read the book, the more changes I made (all organic dairy products and meat, lots of fish, eating only food that was food 100 years ago, etc.--and then something happened. I was waking up with energy. I had the will and excitement to hit the gym. My stomach pains from IBS were disappearing. I began spending my lunches in the corporate gym and tacking my day with joy. I was not tired. And I felt great.

When I became pregnant, my zeal for the healthy life continued even though I could keep little down and some of the bad foods snuck by.

And then I vowed to make this diet a lifestyle for my children. No partially hydrogenated oils, no high fructose corn syrup, fake sugar, fake flavors or even fake colors. I will admit this could be hard and we did bend on things like play group and snacks at other peoples' homes but for the most part I made sure the kids had 6-9 servings of organic fruit and veggies daily. And of course, no fast food ;)

Then we got thrown for a loop and I was pregnant with #4. The timing could not have been worse. We were strapped for cash already as Mike was just starting as a real estate agent. We had independent health care which by state law did not include maternity. We had to look for ways to save money.

So I did something I had not done in over 12 years. I shopped at a bulk grocery store and bought the cheaper alternatives to our diet. I bought lots of their fruit and veggies albeit not organic and was pleased we saved so much money.

Within two days of our new diet, my kids started getting more whiney than usual. They got angry quicker, they tended to sleep in and not jump to the table ready to start the day. They started getting acne (even the two year old) and they all experienced something they had never experienced in their lives--they were constipated ( I would love to share this story with you but my daughters would kill me--I'll just say they came to me worried their 'butts were broken') and had stomach pains. My oldest thought something was wrong with her brain--she had her first head ache.

Just from changing diet and nothing else, my kids were no longer the bright eyed, happy kids they once were. They were a mess :(

We bit the bullet. We went back to Whole Foods and never looked back. We were back to happy, awake vibrant folks who had no issues in the potty or even stomach pain.

So you'd think with all our healthy eating I would be that mom with the perfect body. Sigh--no, I need to lose 15 pounds. Healthy and organic still has calories. I can gush about how chemical free the panetone bread is all day but still has like 10 grams of fat per slice--all natural fat but still fat. And then there is bacon. I love bacon. I like veggies with bacon, fish with bacon and bacon on its own. But even my organic, free range bacon is still bacon.

I want to lose the weight. I want to look good again. I want to to be that skinny role model for my kids. I am joining this :

Thanks Elaine for sharing this group with me. I cannot wait to be one of the hottest fittest moms in DFW!

Anybody care to join me?