Taking stock of progress…part 2 of 2
Once upon a time, my whole diet was Ben & Jerry’s, pizza, French bread, Diet Coke, and a fruit or salad mixed in to make myself feel better about it all. I started to change one thing at a time. Sometimes I’d have periods of big progress, and other periods of slight backsliding.
It was almost imperceptible, the forward motion, but now I find my whole kitchen is full of…..
A container of sprouted flax crackers on the counter.
Bags of buckwheat, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, oat groats, currants, and homemade sundried tomatoes in the fridge.
Coconut oil and extra-virgin olive oil in my pantry.
Jars of homemade raw sauerkraut in my food storage.
Always a quart or two of kefir growing on the counter.
The top shelf of my fridge full of young Thai coconuts. And pints and quarts of green smoothies.
Today I stopped to take stock and chose NOT to beat myself up because of how long it’s been since I made sourdough whole-grain bread.
Instead, I chose to be blissed out today because (a) I did a perfect headstand for the first time, and (b) my daughter asked me last night if she could have a handful each of pea sprouts and fresh blueberries in the fridge.
(There are lots of things to do WRONG as a mom, and there’s plenty of reminders of that when you’re raising teenagers! But apparently I’ve got some things right, and today I’m going to live in that spot, bask in it. They’ve developed tastes for good food, and I know how to shop for, grow, cook, and store the good stuff.)
Sometimes when something stressful happens, Kristin and I remind each other, “It’s PERFECT!” This is our code for, “What just happened might not be what you wanted, what you would have chosen. But it generally works out to be better than you think. And it teaches you really cool stuff. Maybe even provides you something you wouldn’t have thought to want. So, it’s PERFECT in its ability to instruct and shape you. At a minimum, it gives you a story to tell and something to laugh at.”
Please, today, congratulate yourself on your progress. Let’s spend today ignoring anything we want to do in the future that isn’t part of our current reality, and just BE. When I’m fully present in my NOW, I’m far happier.
I’m so proud of you for being here, on this journey, to being a better you. To influencing people in subtle and positive ways to raise the bar for themselves. I’m just brimming over with gratitude for PROGRESS! Congratulations on yours–wherever you are in the journey! Feel free to share your own here, today and always.
Posted in: Mind/Body Connection, Relationships, Whole Food
Robyn, this post if yours is a gift to us all. You don’t personally know the majority of the people who read your blog, and yet you enthusiastically write and share from your heart, in order to help and inspire so many. Thank you for that!
Us moms (& caregivers) are SO quick to criticize and judge ourselves for what we wish we were doing better. Just tonight after my daughter’s school musical, I was feeling awful that I was supporting the family to get junk frozen yogurt with HFC syrup, etc. But just now, after reading your post, and trying to find positive things to say to myself, I remember what my 6 yr. old daughter said to me this morning. After puting out her breakfast, a warmed corn tortilla with mushed avocado & Himalayan sea salt inside, alongside a glass of fresh squeezed lemon juice with liquid stevia & water (lemonade), she finished it all and put her dishes in the sink and said (unsolicited): “thanks for a perfect breakfast, Mommy”. It will surely help me more, tomorrow and beyond, to concentrate on that and not the yogurt splurge. The more I stay in the positive and in the present NOW, like you said, the better for me AND the family. I’m modeling a more positive approach to life, versus being caught up in the shoulda and woulda’s. Thanks again Robyn for inspiring us all to live and be our best!
Thank you Marly! Christa
Hello to another heidi,
O.B.’s don’t support natural childbirth. That is not what their training is for and most have never seen a natural childbirth. Watch the movie “The Business of Being Born” and you will learn the real story about that.
You’re best chances for a natural childbirth are with an independent midwife that you find and employ yourself. It doesn’t really have anything to do with chance though, it’s all about educating yourself and choosing the right care provider.
Ciao
Heidi in Australia
I can so idenify with these posts! I’ve been on that slow road to china for a few years now. I want to be an 80-90% raw vegan. But wow it’s hard. I’ve tried, and tried again and saw myself failing. But then I did that, I took that well needed step back examined my progress and I can’t believe my eyes! I too (when PMSing) would grab a pint of ben & jerrys, a bag of double stuffed, and a big bag of dortitos and eat till I “felt better” while watching a movie. No more are those days! I no longer eat a candy bar a day. I don’t buy processed foods. I atleast make things from scratch for my hubby and I. I have green smoothies frequently. I love juicing. In the summer I eat breakfast while physically in the garden after I pick it! I eat a fraction of the meat and pasta that i used to (and at least what i do have is healthier). I stopped drinking coffee and hard alcohol! The alcohol was a big one considering that I live on a sailboat in the carabbean… Aka: the land of rum and honey! But your right Robyn, baby steps is all it takes. I have a cupboard filled with super foods and I incorporate them into our everyday diet. I have been getting my friends unknowingly on my same path by introducing them to things like coconut oil & maca. The maca with results the can’t ignore or can’t help but enjoy 😉 so it’s a slow road for me, but when someone mistakes me for a full blown vegitarian, vegan, whole food eating, raw foodie. I smile, because I’m getting there and they recognized me as healthy and beautiful!!!
Oh on another note; can you talk about kiefer cheeses. I’ve been trying to make some out of young coconut water but its hard to tell if I’m doing it right because I’ve never seen or tasted it before! And what else can you kiefer and what does it look or smell like?
Kristi, you live on a sailboat in the Caribbean….I think everyone is jealous right about now! (The sun came out for the first time, the past two days, here in Utah, and there’s no water in sight!)
I haven’t ever made kefir cheese. But kefir smells tart and tangy, like yogurt. It separates out into whey (yellowish clear liquid) and the milk solids.
Progress (for me) looks like my husband saying that he was looking forward to a meat-less meal after the Easter feasting. That is also a miracle! Thank you God for progress and miracles!
Thank you Robyn for posting this. It is exactly what I needed to read today! It allowed me to stop, take a deep breath, and be thankful for the progress I have made so far. It’s hard sometimes to quiet my ever present, well intentioned negative troll in my head.
And, yes I’m jealous about Kristi living on a sailboat in the Caribbean :o) Living on a boat is on my bucket list, however, I get seasick so it will be an adventure to get there I think.
Thanks again Robyn for doing what you do and inviting others to do it with you!
I am slowly……slowly working my way there. I too had a fridge clean out yesterday and in our family…we have two side by side fridges. I realized the “fruit and veggie fridge” now spills way over into the second fridge!! YEA!!!
My children, husband and I have a long way to go and there are days I wonder if we will ever get there!! But this last weekend my husband also said, “I could start to go without as much meat”. He has never said he was willing to do this!! And with cattle literally right outside our home and living in the BBQ world of our very famous town, I am thrilled he is willing to “go there”. Though….shhhhhhh, I have already been taking us there!! Even my son told me last week, who could eat anyone under the table (!!) that he would try less meat. WHEW! They love the fruits and veggies…..I was just waiting for the last steps and tada(!!) who would of thought they would come to this on their own!!! YEA!!! Like I said, we aren’t there yet but there is progress and more importantly now a willing heart! Baby steps!!!
Most importantly, thanks Robyn for such a realistic program and opportunity for us all to learn. What a great reminder of successes large and small!!! It all counts!! Keep going!!! You’re doing incredibly and paving the way for all of us!
Kris M.
Someone spoke about her “feelings regarding sunscreen” and I was wondering what that is about. Are you pro or con sunscreen?
Hey Robyn! About a month ago I decided that my whole family was going to drink green smoothies every day. I make a total of 4 every morning for me, my hubby and my 2 boys.
The progress part is a few weeks back, my oldest son came down with a stomach virus, and it only lasted about half the day and it was over.
Then last night, my youngest spiked a fever. It lasted from 9pm until 3am – I gave him no meds – and he is perfectly fine now. My thoughts are their bodies are better able to fight the viruses and I can only attribute that to the green smoothies.
Quick note to Heidi whose looking for an O.B. in SLC. Try looking for a nurse midwife – there’s a clinic in PG/AF area in UT county. I had 6 children with them – they were very supportive of me having “natural” child births and they took insurance. They delivered in the hospital, though. Why do they need to know about immunizations?
Thank you Robyn for your blog. As I think
about our progress and where I am now I
smile. We just bought a second fridge this
winter so we would have more room for vegis,
fruits, soaked Almonds, and sprouted grains.
We were constantly running out of room. We
also no longer have chips in the pantry, I do
not drink coffee only a daily basis, this is a big
one for me. Don’t eat sweets everyday like
I did growing up. Very seldom eat meat, which
I use to do weakly. There have been many good
changes. I’m converting my girlfriends baby to
a greensmootie baby. He had his first one last
week and loved it. We’re going shopping tomorrow
so his Mommy will have the ingredients to make
them, Yeah!!!
Since your going to be in California, your going right
past Fresno, any interest in stopping there? We have
a Whole Foods with a food prep and demo area. We’d
love to have you.
It has been about 2 months since I saw you in Sandy, OR and what a difference. Since drinking green smoothies I am eating more vegetables in general. Today was kind of a stressful day and I usually go for a donut when grocery shopping, but not today. I came home and drank a smoothie. I just wanted to say thanks and can not wait for your return to the Portland area.
My husband makes fun of me when I beat myself up for eating a piece of whole grain spelt bread (I haven’t gotten into making sourdough bread yet). He says it’s so funny that bread is my junk food!! Man, I have come a long way!
Heidi, I also went to the Mt. Timp Midwives (I’m assuming that is who Igi is talking about?). They take insurance, are supportive of natural birth and I’m guessing they won’t freak out over not immunizing. I also recommend a doula and HYPNOBABIES!!!