Oh wow, the holidays are officially over! It’s been quite the nutrition journey these past few months for me, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average American gains 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. 5 pounds of pie… and cheese…and bread. I’m already excited for the next Thanksgiving. Even though it’s “only” 5 pounds, that weight can make people feel groggy, bloated, and disheartened. Aka, exactly how I feel. Today, we are chatting about New Year, New Gut Health.
New Year, New Gut Health
THIS IS NOT A WEIGHT LOSS POST. Please don’t feel anxious or worried or self conscious if you gained weight or enjoyed yourself over the holiday season. But, it is a fact that consuming too much of something that isn’t necessarily the best for your body, can have other effects.
Since the holidays, specifically for me, were filled with a lot of eating and alcohol, I woke up New Year’s Day feeling… blah. I felt bloated, my stomach was was acting up, and I felt absolutely exhausted. I knew immediately it was time to do something about it. Now, I’m not exactly a “New Year, New me” kind of person, but it does make me feel a bit more motivated knowing I’m starting 2021 on a more nutritious note.
SO. with that being said, I’m cutting out quite a few things so I can get my gut, sleeping, and body back to working order.
Things I’m cutting out:
- Alcohol
- Dairy
- Sugar
- Gluten
- Soy
- Processed foods
The thing I’m most worried about is the sugar. I know how that sugar withdrawal works, and I’m anticipating the exhaustion in a few days, but hopefully it’ll only go up from there!
I’m trying to get back on track with limiting my sugar and alcohol intake. We’ve had candy/chocolate in our house for MONTHS, so it was so easy just to eat 1-2 pieces a day. Even though it’s small, it’s still all the time. I want to be able to have it in the house and be totally cool with not having it versus trying to force myself not to have it.
There will be a recap at the end of the month to give an update on how I was feeling, what I found out about my gut health, how I am going to be reintroducing foods, etc… so stay tuned!
-Niesha
