Healthy Roots Participants Q&A: January 6

  1. Congratulations on completing your first week on the Healthy Roots plan! What was your biggest struggle this week and how did you overcome it?

Kitty:

I am enjoying doing the Healthy Roots challenge very much. My struggle this week has been eating regular meals and snacks. I am kind of a meal skipper and I have been successful so far eating regularly with great family support. It also has been very helpful to read what others are enjoying for meals.

Lindsay:

My biggest struggle was having “full” meals.  Being so soon after the holidays I had to juggle many things to prepare. I would grab a whole carrot, make quick salads, tortilla chips, looked for ready-made cornbread (to no avail) and in the end had to just “do my best”.

Doug:

To find meat and recipes so I traded for some meat, and looked online for some recipes that would fit the foods we are eating.

Kenzie:

It hasn’t been too hard yet.

Michele:

Biggest struggle for me so far was energy. I feel so empty. And lazy. Lazier than usual and if you know me that’s saying a heck of a lot. A morning walk helps a lot, wakes me up, and gets my mind and body feeling active.

Jenyka:

It has been a slow start for me because I’m not sure where to start and what to try. But my biggest struggle is prepping for the week — it has always been my biggest struggle. Also the wild meats is a struggle to me because I haven’t really tried them.

Kylee:

My biggest struggle so far has been late night snacking and resisting temptations when going to town. I never realized how easy it was to just stop at Tim Hortons for a bagel without even realizing why I was eating it. Luckily, I was able to go to Goodness Me! and grab a smoothie.

Lori:

I got off to a slow start. The biggest struggle was getting the proper foods in the house and it continues to be a challenge to find the ingredients as well as considering how to prepare them in a way that is “familiar” but new.

Rick:

My biggest struggle was eating according a schedule. We were away for the holidays and ate very irregularly. I’m a diabetic and find that I have to eat more regularly. However, my blood sugar is usually about 5.4 upon waking and does not rise much more than 9.5, but I do feel sluggish if I don’t eat regularly. I had to force myself to take the time to eat on schedule. I’m going as hard core as I can only eating foods that would have been available to our ancestors prior to contact with the People of the Fast Food. Thinking about what that actually means was also a challenge. But I took a look at the Healthy Roots food guide and realized that there is a lot of variety in such an eating plan.

 

  1. What was this week’s greatest victory?

Kitty:

My greatest victory has been to only drink herbal tea and (yes, I have two greatest victories) to begin a regularly scheduled exercise regime! I’m doing a wide variety of exercises to see what I enjoy the most.

Lindsay:

That I had the chance to make food for members of my family that utilized foods from the challenge.

Doug:

Got a deer hind leg and cut it up.

Kenzie:

Exercising daily was my greatest victory.

Michele:

This week’s greatest victory came right on the morning of January 1st. I was offered a Nu:ya Indian doughnut, and I actually had the will power to decline. It was a hard fought victory.

Jenyka:

My biggest victory was drinking more water then I use to and less coffee.

Kylee:

Meal Planning! Buying groceries, preparing meals in advance and knowing exactly what I’m going to eat that day has saved me from going grab a slice of pizza.

Lori:

Reducing my intake of Coca Cola!

Rick:

The greatest victory was in realizing how easy it is for me to make the switch. I had already been eating very well at home, and had only recently fallen off the Indigenous food wagon, so getting back on was not difficult.  I was recently diagnosed with early stages of glaucoma, so that was a bit depressing, but good foods, and less stress will help minimize that condition.

 

  1. How are you gauging your own success? (Tracking steps, weight loss, inches, greater endurance, blood sugar levels, mood)?

Kitty:

I am gauging my success with documentation of my meals/snacks, exercise, and mood. I will be keeping track of my progress with an outfit to try on that doesn’t fit yet but it will soon!

Lindsay:

My success is found in conscious eating.  That I’m making sure I’m eating throughout the day (even if it is minimal) and making positive associations with eating rather than succumbing to general stress.

Doug:

I have a program on my phone that counts my steps. And I just pinch my belly for weight loss.

Kenzie:

I’m gauging my success by weight loss.

Michele:

I’m gauging my success by weight and endurance. And by mood. I’m not the happiest camper when I’ve got sugar cravings. I’m also mentally keeping track of how my gall bladder reacts to the new foods.

Jenyka:

I am starting to write it down in my notebook. But my Fitbit keeps track of my steps so I don’t have to count them. I weighed myself before the program started and checked everything else and I plan on checking again in four weeks.

Kylee:

So far my husband says my mood swings aren’t that bad. But, we both feel the pressure when we leave the house because it has been such a normal routine to grab something on the road whether we are hungry or not.

Lori:

Right now, I am working on getting through one day at a time in grief, so I haven’t set up a good tool for tracking. However, I am planning to track blood sugar levels and steps. I’m not in this for weight loss as a specific goal, but hope that is an added benefit.  I am also hoping to look at this challenge as more than food, so I need to find better balance in where I spend my time.

Rick:

Right now, success is gaged by successfully locating the kinds of foods, and the ways they will be prepared, that are consistent with my idea of healthy Haudenosaunee eating.  With Chandra’s help, I think we are coming up with a good plan. I will keep better track of my blood sugar levels, especially to see how our corn affects such. In truth, the first sign has been change in my mood. I already feel much better and don’t miss coffee that much (well ok, maybe a little).

  1. What were the results of your tracking for this week?

Kitty:

My results were the satisfaction of seeing I am doing everything I want to do to be successful doing Healthy Roots. I will eventually see results in my stamina, strength, weight, and measurements and keeping track encourages me immensely!

Lindsay:

My results are probably atypical. Sadly due to overwhelming circumstances, I was unable to fully prepare to start January 1st. I literally ate whatever was available and realized I had enough on hand to make it through. It gives me confidence that regardless of what is happening in life, it’s possible to eat a traditional diet if you keep as many of those foods in your cupboard/fridge as often as possible!

Doug:

I’ve lost a bit of weight — I had to go down a belt loop on my pants and my walking ranges from 8000 steps to 17000 steps.

Kenzie:
I haven’t weighed myself yet. The battery died in our scale.

Michele:

I haven’t weighed myself yet but I feel like I’ve lost weight. My walking is smoother and makes me hopeful that I will jog again. Mood-wise, I feel the urge to be miserable but I’ve kept it in check so far. And my gall bladder says, ‘so far so good’.

Jenyka:

It felt like I had a little more energy throughout the day.

Kylee:

My goal was to eliminate sugar and I survived the first few days without any processed sugar! I have had a headache from the withdrawals, but I know it will be worth it.

Lori:

I did baseline measures this week, maybe I will be more comfortable sharing more later on.

Rick:

My blood sugar level this morning upon waking was 5.4. One hour after eating corn mush with blue berries, it was 6.1. Not bad. I am also drinking bilberry tea to help with my eyes and blood sugar level. I went hunting on January 1 and got plenty of exercise that day. We took our first family walk as part of this challenge yesterday, and I plan to do some fast walking each day.

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