Making a Commitment

I finished the book and determined that I wanted to try out what the book calls “the Six-Week Basic Brain-Boosting Program”. Which consists of the following:
1. A healthy eating plan designed to help you heal and optimize your brain.
2. Basic supplements you need to take to balance and enhance your brain chemistry.
3. Lifestyle changes including exercise, relaxation, sleep, and “brain” or mental exercises.
4. Living clean and green to reduce your exposure to environmental toxins and support a sustainable future for us all. (See pg 289, The Ultra Mind Solution, Mark Hyman, M.D.)

The UltraMind Solution

About a month and a half ago, my husband was watching a program on PBS by Dr. Mark Hyman. He was talking about Autism. One of my son’s has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, or High Functioning Autism. The doctor talked a lot about diet and nutrition and how many of our modern day problems are because of our modern day eating styles. We have seen a huge difference in our son since he began a Gluten Free diet last July. His mood seems to be more stable so we see much fewer of his rage cycle than we did before. He had felt much better and had fewer instances of bowel troubles. We had personally seen what a change in diet can do for a person. What he said was so intriguing we immediately ordered his book.

The book arrived about a week later and I began to consume it. It reads much like my old Zoology textbooks from college in some places. I enjoyed that. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, but following graduation have done little with my degree as I have chosen to be a SAHM. Many of the things he says in the book “rang true” to me.

The only constant in life is CHANGE

Two years ago we moved to a new state, new city. Over the year prior to moving we had two homes on the market to sell and my husband had already relocated. I ended up living with my parents with my 5 children in a totally different state while we got our affairs in order. Through the stress of all that I ended up gaining over 20 pounds. I hit 150 lbs, a number which to me had always been associated with a 7-9 month pregnant body. I think with the move, the weight, the new location, etc. I then went into a state of depression. My weight continued to increase. I was simply miserable!

In July of last year my frustration hit bottom and I decided to do something about it. I researched on the internet for diet programs that would work for me and were not too expensive. I looked specifically at E-diets and Weight Watchers. E-diets had worked great for me when I had tried to lose weight following the birth of one of my children. Weight watchers had helped my sister. Both had monthly fees and I wasn’t ready to invest in a program which required a monthly payment. Then I stumbled upon SparkPeople.com. Here was a site based on nutrition, diet, education, lifestyle, fitness, education and more and best of all it is TOTALLY FREE! I started tracking my food daily, exercising regularly and focusing on taking care of myself. About 6 weeks later I was at 143 lbs. It wasn’t where I wanted to be, but I was at least moving in the right direction. The one thing I noticed was that even though I was run/walking 4 miles a day and was keeping my caloric intake between 1200-1500 calories that I could never get rid of the poochy belly.