It has been a wonderful life and I’m grateful to God for all the blessings I’m fortunate to enjoy all these years.
I would like to share the wonderful discovery of healthy living with my readers. Since February 2017, I have decided to eliminate sugar and reduce carbohydrates intake in my diet. In the first few months, I have been strict with the restrictions I have imposed on myself. I had eaten less rice and completely avoided cakes, ice-cream, bread and biscuits/cookies (at present, I indulge myself now and then). When I made a commitment to eliminate sugar, I realised that it is present in many unhealthy food that I eat everyday. So by just eliminating one item, such as sugar, I have prevented myself from eating lots of unhealthy food and replace them with healthier options such as fruits, fresh vegetables, root crops (abundant and cheap in Asian countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines). I have also saved a lot by not buying packaged food and reduced garbage in the form of plastic and cardboard boxes.
As a mother, the change in my diet has influenced my family. My children have also become conscious with the choices that they make when they eat outside.
When I became conscious about what I eat, I also become more physically active. I decided to take the public transportation and walked to the bus station for the month of February in 2017. It took months before my change in lifestyle had a physical effect on my weight and figure but when it did, I was able to influence my siblings and friends around me to pay attention to what they are eating and be more physically active.
The biggest push into my change is wanting to regain back my being mentally alert which I fear has been diminished because of sugar. A lot of articles have been written about the effect of sugar in our mental and physical health. The first time I have encountered such article was many years ago written by Desi Anwar in the Opinion Section of Jakarta Post about Indonesians’ penchant for putting lots of sugar on their tea which her British landlady (if I remembered right) commented on. I didn’t really mind it at that time. But in the last few years, as I got older and the spelling of simple words would stump me, I’m drawn to articles linking sugar to our fading memory.
It’s been more than a year in my change of diet and lifestyle (I have since semi-retired), I feel that I have regained my self back. It was not instant though. The proof is that I only can write about this after more than a year.
So I invite you to journey with me in my quest for a healthy and happy life.
Organic way of life in Jakarta 