Happy Friday to everyone! I’m feeling very inspired today!
You may have heard me speak before about the Skinny Gut Facebook group. It’s a closed group, which in this case means that you simply need to request to be added.
It was started earlier this year by Amber who is extremely sharp, very motivated and has a heart to share great information. It has gently grown to over 1,000 people at this point – all of us exchanging nutritional and life tidbits. I’ve really enjoyed stopping in regularly with answers to specific Skinny Gut questions.
Which leads me to this morning’s inspiration. I never tire of hearing how happy people can actually be, even when they’re not eating bread, potatoes, rice, whole grains or pasta. Imagine that.
One of our members has lost over 15 pounds in six weeks and I laughed out loud when she imagined that her Sicilian grandmother would be turning over in her grave if she heard about her granddaughter’s new eating plan! Then she added that Grandma would be very happy about the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers that were being consumed instead. Lovin’ those veggies!
We all desire happiness, and to so many of us, food choices can be wrapped up in the warm emotions of childhood and memories of joy-filled gatherings with friends and family. Sugar and carbs especially. Terms of endearment even register that love affair – “how are you doing Honey”? or “Sweetheart, I hope things are good with you”. It’s entertaining to notice how many conversational references we have to sugar or carbs in our daily interactions. Even something like “couch potato”. Vegetables just don’t seem to get the same kinds of attention. Hmmm.
Another member of the Facebook group mentioned that she’d even like to overcome her reliance on any daily sweets. In addition to the carbs mentioned earlier, she’s choosing to eliminate ‘allowed’ low carb sweeteners and fruits, striving to totally reset her palate. I’ll be very interested to hear about her experience.
Since overcoming the carb habit, I’ve personally discovered that there’s actually a subtle underlying sweetness in many foods I wouldn’t previously have regarded that way at all. And it becomes easy to understand how spices and herbs have been so highly valued throughout history – they offer such wonderful flavor nuances when not overwhelmed by sugar. I’ve even noticed that as my taste buds shift, I feel more satisfied with less quantity of food.
One person posted how comfort foods had always been her downfall, however since making Skinny Gut food choices over the last two weeks, her carb cravings have disappeared – along with over 10 pounds.
So, should you be inspired to experiment with a different eating plan this week, I’d like to share our three easy rules:
- Eat more GOOD fats (like avocados, seeds, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil)
- Eat living foods every day (lots of low carb veggies, some low carb fruits, fermented veggies and other fermented offerings) and
- Eat protein at each meal and snack (that’s every 2-3 hours – remember to have at least an ounce of protein). These tips can be your ticket to knocking out those sneaky carb cravings that might threaten your best lifestyle-shift intentions. And please be generous with the herbs and spices, too.
Inspiration is always an experience I cherish. Thank you to all the beautiful people who take the time to share their successes so I can continue to live inspired – and pay it forward.