I hate math…kind of…I’m a homeschool mom, and I love teaching my kids. My children are well versed in many events in history, lots of literature, some science, some geography, and they know their grammar and spelling pretty darn well. But when it comes to math, I lose patience with spending an hour over a workbook with a kid who still doesn’t get the thing I taught him 5 times so far this week…youknowwhatImean? Is it just my kids? To make up for this problem, we use an online math program (Math IXL) and hands-on math (i.e., give them dollars and change and let them figure out what to buy for lunch at Trader Joes with their money). And, we pass workbook time off to Daddy. 😉

And yet, I like math–I love medical statistics. I love figuring out how much different foods cost per oz, per pound, etc. My calculator is my friend (don’t take my calculator!). 🙂 I love figuring out things with math–like which states are the healthiest ones.

How do you feel about math? Do you use it in your daily life as much as your math teachers said you would? Are you using it too much? 

Do you check your scale every day and watch your weight fluctuate? Do you have a jean size in mind that you’re aiming for? Do you count calories? Do you buy “100 calorie snack packs?” Do you count “points” for a diet system? Do you count carbs? Do you measure your plate out perfectly so that it’s 1 part meat, 1 part starch, 1 part vegetable? Do you try to eat until you’re 80% full? How the heck do you figure that out anyways? 😉

Stop!

Eating does not have to be that complex! You shouldn’t need to create Excel sheets to eat (although, Excel sheets are pretty fun, aren’t they?). 😉 You don’t need a college degree to figure out how to eat properly.

If you are eating healthy, everything will work itself out–your weight, your jean size, your calorie count (counting calories is SO 1980’s anyways!)…

Here are some simple steps to healthy eating without math:

• Use butter, not margarine. Use it liberally. (What about your cholesterol count? Stop counting!)
• Fry and bake with solid fats, not liquid fats (butter, ghee, lard, tallow, coconut oil, red palm oil).
• Eat vegetables-some cooked, some raw. (Cooked veggies nourish, raw veggies cleanse).
• Eat foods that are full of probiotics (kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi).
• Eat meats from animals that were fed what they’re supposed to eat (what they’d eat in nature–not soy or corn!).
• Always eat vegetables with your meat, fermented veggies are best (sauerkraut, kimchi).
• Don’t eat soy, especially in the form of vegetable oil or shortening.
• Eat primarily fresh or frozen foods (rather than canned).
• Do not eat boxed foods. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything healthy that comes in a box. Can you? Help me here…Maybe unsweetened chocolate is the only exception here!…
• Get your milk from the farm. Stop buying milk with numbers and percent signs (I think the math teachers are the ones who came up with this idea!).
• Sweeten your foods with honey, or maple syrup (if you’re not on GAPS) or fruit.
• Stay away from sugar.
• Eat fruit with fat. (I love apples and havarti)
• Don’t eat anything with ingredients you can’t pronounce or couldn’t make at home.
• Don’t buy pre-made foods (like deli salads, TV dinners, rotisserie chicken, etc.).
• Eat at home. Sit at the table with your family if you have one. Make your own food.
• Bread? Well, if you’re on GAPS, leave it. If you’re not on GAPS and you want bread, make it. No store-bought bread of any kind, it’s all bad!
• Eat foods with few ingredients. Sour cream should include cream and culture. No carageenan or guar gum or nonfat dry milk or anything else.
• Stay away from corn (which means following the above advice, because these days corn comes in boxes, cans, packages, carageenan, guar gum, etc.!).

See, now isn’t that simple? No math! Just eat real food, and eat it when you need it, and as much as you need.

Photo Credit

This post was shared at Real Food Wednesday