Best Effort

Well, we have reached the end of our 4 month no dairy trial. It had it's challenges, but overall went pretty well. I was surprised to find that I didn't really miss it. Yes, I occasionally missed the glass of milk with breakfast or after eating grapefruit. I didn't miss the cheese so much and it really helped me stay away from things that weren't good for me, such as desserts, fried foods, and cheesy things.

Despite my VERY best efforts, I found out today that some assumptions I had made concerning a certain Asian fast food eatery were wrong and that I have in fact NOT been 100% dairy-free as I had thought I was. To say I am disappointed is a SEVERE understatement. I feel like I have been punched in the gut, hit by a semi, and then kicked while I was down. I haven't eaten often there, perhaps 3 times, but still not 100%. As I was talking to my kids on the way home after finding out, my sweet 15 year old daughter said, "We gave it our best effort, mommy." And she is right. We gave it our best effort. Now it's time to move on.

Here is what I have decided to do now that the trial period is over. I am going to continue to remain mostly dairy-free. I own a cake decorating business and during these last 4 months have relied on others to taste test my cakes. As much as I have COMPLETELY appreciated all of their input and "sacrifices" to eat cake, I need to be able to judge my own product. I am going to continue to keep the household food dairy-free. If I go out to eat, I am not going to get things that are dairy based or have a lot of dairy in them. (So long Olive Garden Alfredo. I am going to miss you, but my midsection and thighs can't continue this destructive relationship.) I am also going to continue to keep my youngest 2 kids dairy free, or at least as much as possible! It has really helped my 3rd stay away from sugar he can't really handle and I want to try and teach my youngest the healthy habits I failed to teach my first 3 while they were young. (Younger is better! They don't complain or talk back!)

My oldest 2 are old enough to make their own choices and I hope they can take to heart the teachings that my husband and I are TRYING desperately to instill in them. They need to be able to make their own choices and learn from them. I just hope they can start listening to their inner voices since my outer voice won't be there.

I've learned a lot about myself and my family through these last 4 months. I am so proud of everybody for giving it their best effort. I hope and pray that moving on we will be able to make healthier choices and be able to govern for ourselves what our bodies need as opposed to want. We need to set our standards: stick to our guns, stand our ground, and stay true to the decisions we have made concerning our health and not be tempted or talked into anything less than what we expect from ourselves.