Being Healthy

Hi Everyone!

I figured I would make a somewhat short post about my change in healthy eating and lifestyle habits.  If  there is interest, I can share more about the reasons I ended up choosing it and specific resources (i.e. movies, books, recipes and tools) that have helped me along the way.

I have always tried to be healthy and fit mainly starting in high school.  I've fallen off the wagon here and there, of course, but have always jumped right back on.  But while Chris and I were stationed in Japan, I fell completely off and my body and mind seemed to hit a low point.  I already had a list of health issues that would not go away and I needed to really evaluate what was happening and make a change.  So long story, short - I did just that.  Gradually I started experimenting by eliminated things from my diet and slowly incorporating exercise back in.

In November of 2012 I made my decision to become a gluten free, plant-based eater.  I started eating to live versus living to eat and it works for me.

I choose not to eat meat, glutinous grains/bread, dairy, eggs, caffeine, very little processed foods/sugar and almost no oil.  "What?  No bread or meat?  What do you eat then?"  That is the most popular question.  Well, I eat whole foods like vegetables, fruit, non-glutinous grains, beans, nuts and seeds.  If I can, I eat Non-GMO, organic foods.  When I can, I grow my own food.   

Since I decided to eat to nourish my body instead of just appealing to my taste buds, I found that my body functions as it should.  Most of my ailments were eliminated within weeks of my dietary changes, I lost weight and I haven't been sick in a year and a half.  For me, that is enough motivation to continue this for the rest of my life.  It was a journey to get to this point and I am continuously learning as I try to improve my habits.

There are the rare occasions that I do end up eating some of the things I've given up, whether by lack of preparedness or options, or by choice (sometimes I just want to have a bite of Chris's cheesecake!  :)  But my body usually responds quickly and negatively and I remember why I chose to eliminate those things in the first place.  I don't tell myself I CAN'T have something, I just CHOOSE not to have it which makes a huge difference.  On a side note, after eliminating gluten, I found out I was gluten sensitive which was causing a lot of my health issues.

If you are wondering how Chris handles all of this, he was a little difficult to bring around at first although he completely understood my reasoning and supported me wholeheartedly.  He has always been an advocate of eating health too.  Now he is perfectly fine eating whatever I make since he has discovered that this way of eating is still delicious and filling, as well as healthy.  Having said that though, he will gladly have a steak or burger at a friends barbecue along side his vegetables.  

So that's my quick, down and dirty version of why I am a plant-based eater. However, there is much more to my daily choices because I also try to use all natural products in my life too.  If anyone is interested in more information on anything or has questions, leave them in the comments section and maybe I can do another post in the future.

Lots of Love ~ Christal

New Job Within Marathon

For those who don't know, I work at Marathon Cheese Corporation which is a cheese packaging plant here in Idaho.   Since we moved here in October of 2013, it has been a challenge, to say the least, at finding employment that pays well.  Although it is by no means a glamorous job, it is income and it is steady.

I started in January of 2014 as a line worker packaging cheese.  It was a bit like going back to high school as I took in all the drama and cliques around me and I have never had much tolerance for either.  So I just do my job as best as I can and block out everything else.  I try to be kind to everyone and nonjudgmental and hope to be the example I would like to see in others.

When I first began, I was nervous because I had never worked in a factory before and the line I was assigned to was a very fast moving line.  It took me 2 weeks of someone constantly standing next to me to feel comfortable and then 3 more months by myself to feel confident.  At 5 months in, I am now bored.  There are other lines in the plant that I can work, but those who work my line and are good at it, usually do not get moved.  I guess I am good at it since I have never been moved?  Yeah, we'll go with that.

I had already applied to a few other jobs within the factory, but have been turned down for them all, mainly because I was too new and they hire based mainly on seniority.   But that didn't stop me from applying.   I applied again a couple weeks ago for a Backup Dock Worker Position and was pleasantly surprised when they approached me the Tuesday after Memorial Day to offer me the job!  So now I will be driving various forklifts all day instead of packaging cheese.  That's more my style anyway.  :)  It is only a Backup position at this point which means I will bounce between line working and driving but every indication points to it becoming full time in several weeks.  I believe my pay increased slightly too (I still have to check on that) and who doesn't like a pay increase?

I will still continue to look for other employment that I will be happier with long term, but in the meantime, I am grateful to have a decent job with income.