Chandra's Collection Photography

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Small Changes

I thought I’d share a little change we’ve made in our lives that will hopefully add up to big results!

A couple of months ago…I had an epiphany type of thing! (I feel like I have them on a monthly weekly basis at times ha!) I actually got really freaked out about this one in particular & it led me to make a few drastic actions a few moments later! I completely dumped out our entire fridge…sweeping the shelves like a mad woman, throwing everything in our pantry in the garbage & ridded our casa of anything that wasn’t healthy! (Do you remember that scence in the movie Clueless where Cher gives away all of her belongings…it was kind of like that!)

Since the doctors are watching Daniel extremely closely and he has to return to MD Anderson in a couple of months for more scans….I couldn’t help but realize that every single thing that he puts into his body COUNTS right now & ALL of the time! He’s kind of in that stage where everything can work in his favor or the opposite and I sure as heck was not going to accept the ladder! So, back to my story here…I realized that WE have the power to put good, nutritious, life-giving food into our bodies & we don’t have to settle for the crud that the food industry deems as “food”.

toddlersmoothie2So, I started doing my research. Again, like a mad woman. And it really is absolutely atrocious and sad to think how corrupt the food industry & government is as a whole. I could NOT believe it. LIKE AT ALL. I felt betrayed, sad, sick to my stomach, scared & shocked at what I was reading. I couldn’t believe that they were PERFECTLY FINE with poisoning everyone who eats their food…to the point of them not even batting an eyelash at the fact that they are killing people every single day. The food industry is actually composed of just a smaller pool of large corporate companies who produce the food we eat – even though different products are listed with different names…they are really just under an umbrella of a few larger companies. **Woosah** Gollie, this topic sure gets me fired up 😉 The food industry is like a vicious cycle. It’s something that we are kind of forced to stay in (because we all have to eat to stay alive!) & although we might not eat processed food that often, even the vegetables & meat are tainted with gmo’s, antibiotics and terrible chemicals that we ingest on a daily basis. It really isn’t until you make the choice to educate yourself & make a CHANGE that things change. I mean, I always have heard of how bad processed food & non-organic is for you, but it wasn’t until I actually did my own research that I was scared straight. Yikes.

Anywho…I could literally talk all day about the paragraph written above – but if you’d really like to hear the scoop & get the low-low in a rather fast & more informative way instead of hearing me blab about it all day long –  you should totally watch “Fed Up” & “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead” along with “Food, Inc.”. They are all on Netflix & will truly open your eyes about our food industry!

So, like I said – this was a couple of months ago! I immediately had a major chat with Daniel & he completely agreed with me that we are going to invest into going ORGANIC…completely! Not just have one foot in, one foot out kind of thing. We were going to change our lives…and we were really excited about it! 🙂 I have heard the term “going organic” for the past few years. I would get things here & there that were listed as “Organic”…but it really wasn’t until I started reading labels a couple of months ago that I realized what a con most of the “organic” products really were. A company can use the term “organic” even though the product is 99% harmful but since it contains one ingredient that was considered organic, they can label it as such. So, for example, if there is a….oh, let’s say a jar of blueberry jam and it has the word “organic” listed on the front….I used to have thought “oh, hey! This says organic…this is good for me!” (Wrong.) A company can technically list their products as “organic” as long as there is one….ONE!!!…ingredient among the dozens that is organic. So, there could literally be rat poison in that jar of jam – but as long as they use “organic blueberries”, they can list the product as organic since it technically has an organic ingredient that was used to make it. So frightening.

I started doing all of our grocery shopping at Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s & really have started to read all of the labels before I purchase anything. If there’s something I can’t pronounce or Google to see if it’s a harmful ingredient…I just don’t buy it. Of course, after changing our eating habits & what we put into our bodies then led me to think about the daily products we use that get absorbed into our bodies. So, we gradually started buying organic hand soap, bath soap, cleaning supplies & etc. Some of you might think I sound like a wack-job…but really, it’s something that I have become passionate about and I just want my family & friends to stay safe & healthy & really understand what they are putting into their bodies!

Oh, and I have also started working out everyday! To be 100% honest, I have never been the one to stick to a workout regimen…because, let’s face it – I was putting my health/fitness at the very bottom of the totem pole! I was too busy building my business or being married or whatever the case may be that took priority over my health. After going through such a scary time with Daniel last year & just wanting him to be healthy again, it really shook me into gear and made me realize that if you don’t have your health, nothing else matters! Okay, I am only on Day 19 – but that’s 19 days further from when I started & I haven’t missed a day in the gym yet! lol Daniel has been my very own personal trainer. He’s amazing & knows everything about weightlifting & has been training me + going with me every day to make sure I have proper form & get all of my reps in 😉 I’ll usually end the session with some cardio afterwards. I am down a few pounds (8lbs but hey, who’s counting 😉 — and can’t wait to reach my goals! I have VOWED to myself & Daniel that no matter how busy & crazy we get with our business & life this year, we are putting our health & ourselves first! We are going to MAKE time every single day to get our workouts in, meal prep & live a healthier lifestyle! 🙂 I never thought I’d say this…but I really do look forward to going to the gym and working towards transforming into how I want to be! I still have a long ways to go to get to where I want to be…but I know with persistence, commitment & the support from my amazing hubby, I will get there – and I can’t wait!

PS – I wasn’t really sure what I was going to write about when I pulled out my laptop..so, this is what randomly came from my fingertips when they hit the keyboard!

PSS – Let me know if you guys know of any great organic companies that provide stuff like shampoo + conditioner, deodorant & etc that you love!

Thanks for reading this long post about random stuff 🙂 xoxo, Chandy

 

Photo Used Above courtesy of Marianna 

Share The Joy :

  1. Nina Baker says:

    Chandra,

    I think it’s great what you’re doing to keep your hubby & your self healthy. I think most people are beginning to realize how unhealthy processed food is and how much poison is instilled during the growing/raising process. We try to buy as much organic food as possible too – will still admit to a weakness for oreos.

    My husband has had cancer twice. Cutaneous t-cell lymphoma and prostate cancer 5 years later. He’s a 10 year survivor of the lymphoma and 5 years on the prostate cancer. We certainly try to do all to keep him healthy. He just retired and we hope to enjoy our retirement years in good health.

    Another thing I recommend is to quit using plastic in food prep and storage. The chemicals leach into the food when you use them to heat up or store the food and bottled water is bad for that too. Especially when some companies ADD harmful crap to it as well! Also, since the skin is so absorbent, watch what he puts on that as well.

    I use lip balms and soap made by Sacra Natura – she just has a FB page but her stuff is really nice and it leaves my skin moisturized and clean. https://www.facebook.com/sacra.natura.balms

    Best wishes in this endeavor to keep your family healthy!! So glad he’s on the mend and doing better!

    Nina

  2. Kim Amen says:

    Chandra, check out Thrivemarket.com. I have been “organic” for a LONG time, and discovered Thrive last year. GREAT products, many the same that I would get at Whole Foods, but they cost LESS. You can also check out Grovecollection.com (it just changed its name from ePantry), they have LOTS of good house and body products, also for LESS. If you have any questions feel free to message me.
    My love to both you and Daniel
    ❤️❤️
    Kim

2 Comments on Small Changes

  1. Nina Baker says:

    Chandra,

    I think it’s great what you’re doing to keep your hubby & your self healthy. I think most people are beginning to realize how unhealthy processed food is and how much poison is instilled during the growing/raising process. We try to buy as much organic food as possible too – will still admit to a weakness for oreos.

    My husband has had cancer twice. Cutaneous t-cell lymphoma and prostate cancer 5 years later. He’s a 10 year survivor of the lymphoma and 5 years on the prostate cancer. We certainly try to do all to keep him healthy. He just retired and we hope to enjoy our retirement years in good health.

    Another thing I recommend is to quit using plastic in food prep and storage. The chemicals leach into the food when you use them to heat up or store the food and bottled water is bad for that too. Especially when some companies ADD harmful crap to it as well! Also, since the skin is so absorbent, watch what he puts on that as well.

    I use lip balms and soap made by Sacra Natura – she just has a FB page but her stuff is really nice and it leaves my skin moisturized and clean. https://www.facebook.com/sacra.natura.balms

    Best wishes in this endeavor to keep your family healthy!! So glad he’s on the mend and doing better!

    Nina

  2. Kim Amen says:

    Chandra, check out Thrivemarket.com. I have been “organic” for a LONG time, and discovered Thrive last year. GREAT products, many the same that I would get at Whole Foods, but they cost LESS. You can also check out Grovecollection.com (it just changed its name from ePantry), they have LOTS of good house and body products, also for LESS. If you have any questions feel free to message me.
    My love to both you and Daniel
    ❤️❤️
    Kim

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