My Story!

Hi, I wanted to share my story so I can help others who have been in the same place that I have been in! Morbidly obese, Depressed and didn't think it was ever going to end! I thought I was stuck at my nearly 300 lbs and no where to go! I tried so many diets! I can't tell you the money I spent doing programs or buying food from other programs to just try to loose weight! Some things were even successful for a short time until I decided to go back to eating the food like I did before starting any program.  I was emotional eater and a yo-yo dieter my whole life! There were many things I would pass up doing because I was embarrassed to go out in public! Even when I tried and dressed up I felt like it didn't help I was still a pretty big girl! Just nothing seemed to help!

 I would pray about it a lot as well! I remember being in bed crying one day so sad because my mom had just died of colon cancer! My grandma died a short few months after that. I was just the biggest I have ever been and felt like there was nowhere to go.  I remember clear as day, which I believe was God, telling me you can lay here and feel sorry for yourself or you can get up and do something about it.  So I don't know why it clicked that day I believe its because I was tired of being depressed! I was tired of life just sucking all the time for me.  Tired of my weight and fighting it every single day! That is how I felt anyway! So for the next few days I decided I was going to do something about it.  I mean what is the alternate decision? Depression right and life sucking! So I know I didn't want that! So I prayed and asked God to help me! 

I really felt like I should not be eating meat.  I felt strong about that! I found ETL and was hopeful! I found it hard to stick with it though! After about a 6 months to a year trying to do Eat to Live I remember telling God OK this isn't working out for me.  So it would be awesome if you could lead me to a site that would help.  So I Google plant based and found plant purity (which was the name before protective diet).  I didn't really want to try something new but was willing to try some of the recipes! The ones I tried I liked! There were a couple I was like yuck (after being on PD some of those yuck recipes ended up being my favorites)! But most of them were quite enjoyable.  So I decided for 30 days I am going to commit and do it no matter what! I was thinking to myself how do I keep myself accountable! That is when I thought I would blog about it! I remember emailing Julie and asking her if she would mind! She was so excited and so was I! Now I know I had to do it especially if now I was going to write about it and give it a honest review! 

It was intention to only do it 30 days! Usually I was not good about sticking with diets so I thought I could do anything for 30 days right! I am going to tell you that was the hardest 30 days! Just because I was detoxing and wanted old foods that I was giving up.  I was happy that Julie helped me through that and having her coach me and encourage me was one of the best things ever!  After the 30 days and loosing 16 lbs in the first month I thought wow this isn't bad I could go longer! So I did! I have been doing PD for 18 months now! A year and a half which amazes me! If you would of told me I would not eat sugar, meat, oil, processed foods or nuts ever again I would of laughed at you! I am sharing this because I was where you are at! I do understand and know the things you face when it comes to food! After all that said I am so glad I have lost over 100 lbs and all my labs are better than ever! Last time I got my labs done my Total Cholesterol was 121! That was amazing to me! I can't remember the last time I got sick and I work in a hospital! I have never felt better!

  I just want to share this with other people who are fed up and just want more out of life! If that is you and your ready to make a change please use this link and go to Protective Diet Sign up for a free account and try some of the recipes! If you are ready to go all the way and never look back sign up for PD-ED! With that I will help you and encourage you! 

Another important thing I want to get out there is my my mom died of colon cancer which could be prevented by just the food we eat! I know there are a lot of programs out there that help you get healthy and loose weight but this program reduces your risk of cancer.  There are so many foods that are processed and meats that are just not made like they were back in the day! So many people have their fingers in our food and they are just out to make a buck! Do the research and you will see for yourself! I am looking forward to working with you! Please if you have any questions just ask:) You also can find me on Facebook this is my link! 

Thanks for reading!
Kristie

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Veggie Foil Packs and Cucumber Salad

I was so in love with the veggie packs I made when I went camping a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to create it at home in the oven.  I never really got that great smoky flavor you get when it's over a fire and have tried twice now.  Don't get me wrong, it's still good and I don't mind eating my mistakes! lol  I still have a huge bowl of veggies to make more packs and will keep playing with temperatures and update this when I have perfected it.  But here is what I have so far:

You can use any veggies you like but I used:

• sliced zucchini
• sliced yellow squash
• fine green beans
• asparagus
• onions
• garlic
• carrots
• celery
• mushrooms
• potatoes
• few sprinkles of liquid smoke (to taste)

I found the zucchini and squash already sliced and on sale at Meijer.  I cut everything up and put it in a big bowl.  I add the potatoes and mushrooms to the foil packet on the day I'm going to cook it so it doesn't spoil.  Once everything is on the foil (use non-stick) add your seasonings.  I used black pepper and Original Herbamare but you can use whatever you like.  

Fold the foil packet up into a pouch and place directly onto the oven rack which has been preheated to 350 degrees.  Mine took about an hour and then I let it broil on high for 20 minutes.  You will need to check yours and possibly flip the packet over at 30 minutes, the times will vary depending on how thick you cut your veggies.

I've always loved German Cucumber Salad but when I stopped eating dairy and meat products I had to stop making it because I used Hellman's mayo.  Well thanks to Protective Diet I am able to make the cucumber salad again using Julie's recipe for House mayo.  Here is how I made mine:

2 english cucumbers (thinly sliced with a mandolin)

3 TBS of House mayo

1/2 tsp mustard

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 TBS Bragg's amino acids (or Tamari)

Fresh or dried dill weed to taste (I like a lot)

It's always a good idea to slice the cucumber and sprinkle with salt and let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.  This helps pull out the water so you can drain it off before adding the rest of the ingredients.

Mix everything up and adjust to your taste and eat!  This was better the second day after all the flavors blended together.