Retrain your Brain

Last night, I really really really really wanted to give my son a hot dog. I mean what kid doesn't love hot dogs? They are like a childhood staple!!! I wanted to give it to him so bad that I found myself trying to reason with myself about how it might not be so bad if I were to just let him eat it, this one time! I had a moment of wanting to just say, "I'm done with this disease!"

I just want John to be able to enjoy his childhood. That's the main thing. What I need to realize is that he does NOT need food to have an enjoyable childhood. At least not in the sense that I'm referring to right now. I need to focus more on making his life full of memories that don't involve food. I want to make my life that way too. Looking back on my childhood, my best memories involve food! Mac'n'cheese with my siblings and cousin at our Grandmother's house during the summer, Grandpaw walking us to Mc Donalds, Sunday night's after church at Cancuns, Thanksgiving's at Granny's, the family dinner table.

I've got to be creative in making memories for my child that don't involve food.

My husband and I have been on a diet for a few months now. We realized how much we abuse food. It's about a life style change more than a diet. Learning to listen to our bodies. Thinking of food as sustenance, not a social activity. I wish society, as whole, would get into this mind set. We would no longer be the most obese country in the world! And it's not just about portions and only eating when you're hungry, and stopping when you're body is satisfied... it's about being more conscious about WHAT you are putting into your body! Read the ingredients list on the back of your favorite snack or lunch. How many of those ingredients can you pronounce? 

I would love to go back to the hunter/gatherer life style. Minimalist! One day. :) When we have land and can grow our own food. 

Speaking of growing our own food. I've decided that whenever John passes a food trial, we are going to make a big deal out of going to buy that foods plant or seed, planting it in our yard and growing it ourselves.

Let's hope our first planting is a sweet potato!!

Yesterday I started the trial and John was refusing to eat it with a spoon. :( I did some polling of the AMAZING girls in my support group and came up with  the plan to put a few table spoons into his bottle of formula. This morning and last night John had sweet potato milk. :)

This way I will know that he's getting enough of the sweet potato in him to call it a trial and if he does okay, then I'll put in the hard work of getting him to eat it! We are still trying to get him to eat it with a spoon but not pushing too hard until we know if it's even safe for him.