Eating Clean(er)

Last month, I attended a talk about raising chemical-free kids.

The speaker talked about how children are constantly being exposed to all sorts of different chemicals. Even newborns have been found to have chemicals swirling around in their bodies because of what we (the moms) eat and breathe during pregnancy.

She encouraged us to make changes slowly, if switching to a chemical-free lifestyle is what we wanted. She suggested picking one area (i.e., food, cleaners, personal care products, etc.) to change at a time.

I like the idea of living with less chemicals but I'm not ready to give it all up right now.

I'm definitely not ready to give up my bleach and disinfectant, nor am I willing to let go of our very effective bug sprays. I mean, did you see the size of that monster hanging out on our patio the other day?

Then, there's the personal care products. My stockpile was recently refreshed when my parents visited from Toronto and I don't have any plans to replace them with chemical-free alternatives just yet. I did learn that Canada has been making more of an effort that many other first-world countries to limit the amount of harmful chemicals in products being put on the market, so I feel comfortable to continue using them.

Also, I have extremely sensitive skin and it has taken me years to discover what products work for me so I'm not about to let go of these products without a bit more research.

So the easiest choice for me was food.

I'm not saying that we're going straight from where we are right now to a purely organic diet. However, we're making a more conscious effort of putting "cleaner" food into our bodies and being more aware of what's in the foods we eat.

Since moving to Australia, we've been eating out less, consuming more fresh fruits and vegetables and drinking more water. 

In the past month, I've also significantly decreased my pop intake to the point where I can't even finish a can in one sitting now. This is huge for me.

I generally don't like sharing these lifestyle changes with everyone the minute I decide to embark on them, because my enthusiasm tends to fade quickly for things like this. However, since I've already achieved something so significant, and because I love documenting progress regardless of how slow it might be, I decided to put it all out there.

My hope is that by changing our attitudes and eating habits, my body will be healthier and react less violently to the environment, and that any future changes I make to my skin care routine won't be so difficult.

Plus, I'd really like to fit into my clothes comfortably again.