Two Years Later.....

So, here we are two years later:)  Sometimes this slow life thing really is slow.  A lot has changed.  Adam started work with a new company after working at Office Max for 15 years.  We have moved back to Wisconsin, where it all started (our life together that is:).  And we are two weeks strong on doing a Whole30.  For those of you unfamiliar with Whole30, it is basically hardcore Paleo (no sugar, grains, legumes, dairy) for 30 days to detox your system and improve your gut health.  After the 30 days, it is up to you to decide where you will go next.  I know that this is not just a phase.  After you have learned the same lesson again and again, it is surely going to stick at some point.  That time is now.  I have been sick for our entire two week run here, which is not uncommon for the beginning of this diet as your body is working hard to repair the damage that has been done and therefore your immune system is shut down significantly therefore unable to fight off illness as well as it is used to doing.  So far what I have noticed is that I have no joint and muscle pain, I sleep better, and I have not been depressed since we started.  Prior to this, I was feeling very depressed everyday in the midst of having my dream life.  Also, I was in a lot of pain everyday after having not slept well.  I will let Adam talk about how he is feeling so far, but what I notice from him is a significant change in his mood and snoring:)  His snoring is about half as loud as it was two weeks ago, and he is absolutely in better spirits. 

Enough Whole 30 talk for today.  This is from my reading today: 

"Without confidence we are stifled at every turn.  Satan drops a bomb, and our dreams are destroyed.  Eventually we start over, but we never make much progress.  We start and get defeated over and over again.  But those who are consistently confident, those who know they are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, make rapid progress.  We must take a step of faith and decide to be confident in all things.  God may have to correct us occasionally, but that is better than playing it safe and never doing anything.  Confident people get the job done;  they have the ministries that are making a difference in the world today.  They are fulfilled because they are succeeding at being themselves."--Joyce Meyer

I found this picture that I made a few years ago, while looking at my old blog this morning, it fit right in with what I felt like the Lord was showing me.

 

Let the freedom continue!--Eve

Day 1

This is day 1 of our slow life movement. We must be careful. This is not a race. It is not a competition. It's life. I was just going to reference starting out of the gate strong. Then I realized that I was using a racing metaphor. Why would I use that kind of metaphor on the first day of a slow life 101 blog. This is not a race! I have to keep reminding myself this. With that said, here we go. For the first day of our slow life, we have decided to concentrate on the physical. Eve and I have been thinking about this for a long time. We have done it in the past but only for a short time, however, we felt the impact almost immediately. I know this may seem like a giant step but we think that it is an important one for our health. Having control of sugar instead of sugar having control of us. Last Fall we eliminated sugar from our diet for 6 weeks total. We have done this at least a dozen times before and each time we felt a significant jump in our energy. Prolonged energy throughout the day, better sleep patterns and sound judgement were just a few of the benefits. Eve and I have been noticing a dip in our energy throughout the day. So it seemed natural on the physical side to readdress sugar.

What - Sugar: reduce the amount significantly. Find a balance.
Why - Sugar is in almost everything that we buy processed. Fast Food is loaded with it. If it is not sugar, it is High Fructose. Sugar/fructose has been linked to Heart Disease and diabetes.
How - By eliminating sugar/fructose, we make the decision to eat at home and cook our own food. We take the time to decide what to eat and we take the time to eat it.