Holiday Mishaps-All The Sugar! (And A Book I'm Reading)
If there is one holiday mishap I want to avoid this season, it's all the sugar! Two years ago around this time, I had been in and out of the ER every month for several months in a row.
At first, my vision would blur, and then the headache would begin, followed by vomiting for hours on end until I would find myself on the floor delirious. It would take days for the migraines to clear and not without repeated trips to the hospital for fluids and pain meds.
I started getting migraines in my early twenties and there seemed to be no particular pattern. Some years, I went with almost no migraines at all. Other years I was plagued by them. Neurologists educated me and I found relief in some measure but every time one would hit, it took me out and landed me in serious condition. I had two different specialists tell me I was there most extreme case of migraine sufferer and that I was highly resistant to meds.
They recommended that I take 2-3 times a normal dose, just to try and cut the pain. Every time a migraine hit, I wanted to die.
Something extreme needed to happen. I was suffering terribly and it was affecting my everyday life. I lived with the fear that a headache could appear at any time.
That December, two years ago, my husband and I decided to do an extreme cleanse and stop eating sugar, caffeine, processed foods, and alcohol. After 11 days of detoxing, we slowly introduced other healthy foods into our diet and began to view food as medicine.
My moods improved.
My psoriasis healed.
And my headaches STOPPED.
My son Quinn had also been having migraines for several years, beginning at age 2. We put our kids on the same eating plan and sure enough, cutting out sugar and processed food did what pediatric neurologists, allergists, surgery, and ENT’s could not. His headaches disappeared too and his joy-boy personality returned!
When my health and my son’s health were compromised, our entire lives felt out of control and we lived on edge. Living that way not only triggered migraines and other health issues, it triggered my anger, my irritability, and my moods.
I was not living life to the full as God intended because my TEMPLE was a mess. I’m certain that much of my son’s hard-to-handle behavior was a direct link to the sugar and processed foods as well.
This holiday season, it’s easy to let loose and indulge. My husband and I did our cleanse over his birthday, my birthday, and Christmas—a total of 11 extreme days. No figgy pudding or ham. No chocolate birthday cake or creamy pasta. No bags of chips or eggnog. It was HARD but I finally felt like I was doing the right thing.
Two years later, we still eat this way 80% of the time and I have only had 1 migraine since then—and that was a year ago when I decided to overindulge at the holidays. I learned my lesson-everything in moderation this year!
So let me challenge you, today. PUT A PLAN IN PLACE to enjoy your holiday treats but not at the expense of allowing it to TRIGGER your moods and angry reactions or if it will flood your mind with feelings of guilt.
The negative impact of sugar and other unhealthy foods is a holiday mishap we can avoid! DECIDE today to have self-control, make a plan, get accountability, and make healthy eating choices this holiday season, both for you and your children.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” (3 John 1:2)
“Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” (Proverbs 23:20-21)
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
SHARE: Is sugar or processed foods and dyes a TRIGGER for you or your children? How can you take care of your temple this holiday season? Share one specific plan you can make here in the comments!
P.S. I just picked up a copy of Monica Swanson's new book, The Secret of Your Naturally Skinny Friends: a simple path to your best body and a healthy mind! Join me in reading this book as we look forward to healthy changes in 2016!
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