Our Family's Healthier Lifestyle

Here are the pictures some have been asking for to see the difference.

Before: 228 lbs. Aug 2009       After: 162 lbs. Nov 2011       

People are noticing we've lost weight and are asking how we have done it. The weight loss is great! I, Keri, have lost 66 pounds (size 12ish or L) so far and am in a healthy weight range. Neal has lost 60 pounds himself! The truth is we are not just lighter or smaller but HEALTHIER!

Here is the Long or “Fat” Version (Scroll down for the “Skinny”):

My starting weight after having Rhys and finding my groove was about 228 pounds, plus size 18/20 or 2X (I was as high as 239 after having Sophie).  Before the skin cancer diagnosis I was already trying to lose weight. I was walking more and trying to cut back on snacking and I lost about 4 pounds doing so. I didn't have any real knowledge to work from though. I was just doing whatever as I had for the past two decades.

Then the diagnosis and chemo started in December 2009/January 2010. I was on chemo for 11 months and ate whatever I wanted but found near the end my appetite was less and my weight was dropping. I did not exercise at all. Sweeping the dining room floor was a challenge. By the end of chemo I had lost another 14 to 15 pounds just from the treatment. BUT this was exciting for me, although an unhealthy way to lose it, because I thought, “My pants are loose. I bet I could keep this going with healthy weight loss.”

From November 2010 to January 2011 I was just trying to get back into life and function again. For a the past couple of years Neal and I had been trying to move in the right direction, reading books, reading labels, and learning.

What gave us clear direction was our visit to a naturopathic doctor in late January. We wanted to see what she had to say regarding fighting cancer off naturally. Our insurance did not cover her, of course, but we really came away with a lot of knowledge of what direction we needed to move in. We started making the changes a little at a time. We still do not follow all her instruction to the letter but feel we are coming as close as we can.

I also started walking on the treadmill at home. I started slow and low and as I felt I could, I increased things.

In February, our home teacher from church told me about http://www.loseit.com/ and that has been another “can't do without it” tool for me. It's free and helps me track my calories for food and exercise (knowledge!). It tells me where my calories need to be each day to reach my goals. I record everything I put in my mouth every day. It keeps me knowing what I'm doing, my goals visual, and, most importantly, it keeps me accountable.

I have now moved from walking to running and am planning to run my first 5K on Thanksgiving Day. It is my way of celebrating my good health and just one way to demonstrate my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the blessings we have received and lessons we have learned.

I know our healthier lifestyle may not make me cancer proof but I have truly felt joy and excitement living in this body and look forward to trying new things, physically. It has brought my husband and I closer because we share the same interests. I also feel that the direction we have moved in is invaluable to my children and am so happy they are learning these things young.  We couldn't beleive it when we had to "threaten" Sophie with "You can't have anymore tofu unless you eat more of your broccoli."

Here's the “Skinny” Version (What you really want to know.)

What we do:

We eat mostly vegetarian with a little poultry (or sometimes fish) 2-3 meals a week.

We seldom eat processed foods – no white sugar, no white flour, seldom any item in a box or bottle that came from the middle shelves of the grocery store. We use fresh food first, frozen seldom, and canned almost never. We are trying to eat more raw foods (not raw meat).

We do most everything from scratch-jam, bread, desserts, dressings, spaghetti sauce, etc. We are feeling quite chef-like in the kitchen and try 2-5 new recipes a week.

We grind most of our own grain, thus we eat whole grain. We store flour/meal in the refrigerator and use them within two weeks so their oils don't go rancid.

We use natural unprocessed or less processed sweeteners – dried fruit, raw and unfiltered honey, raw agave nectar, pure maple syrup, raw cane sugar (Not Sugar in the Raw), or demerara sugar.

We eat full fat. We use whole fat milk, cheeses, yogurts, etc. We use healthy fats in our cooking and baking including grape seed, olive, peanut, and coconut. We use butter, not margarine. We don't eat diet or reduced anything.

We eat a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains. We try new things regularly. We try to think of meat more as a condiment than a main course but are happy to eat it as a main course, as well.

I track what I eat so I can be accountable, know what I am putting in my body, and adjust as needed for well-rounded nutrition. We weigh ourselves on a regular basis.

We started with dinners which, almost without fail, become our lunches the next day and with snacks. Then we moved away from boxed dry cereals (chex, cherrios, corn flakes) and started providing real nutrition to our family in the morning, as well.

Our kids get the same meals as we get.

We exercise regularly and have fun doing it!

We talk to people that are doing similar things and read about various related topics.

Do we splurge occasionally? Yes. Do we have the infrequent beef In-N-Out burger? Yes. Do we freakout and go hungry if our friends serve pork? No. Did I eat some of my kids Halloween candy? Yes. Do we eat out? Yes. Do our kids devour every healthy option we place before them? No. We are careful of what we put in our bodies the grand majority of the time so when little things come up, it's not even an issue.

We are doing what works for us and are sure to make changes along the way. We are not perfect at it but we are so much happier.

What we do is TIME CONSUMING but worth it to us! We don't feel like it's getting in the way of our lives because it has become part of our lives and we actually feel like we are LIVING!

Whew! So that's for those who asked.