A few years ago when I first became pregnant, I left my typical processed-heavy diet behind and began to eat more “real” natural foods.

Knowing that I was carrying a precious child inside of me really made me focus on my own health, and now that I have two busy toddlers at home I am dedicated to providing them with the most nutrient rich and chemical free diet as I possibly can. Back when I first made this life-changing decision, I dove headfirst into all the research, reading article after article, feeling this spark of excitement building in me.

We have been told our whole lives that things like butter, whole milk, and beef are bad, unhealthy, and even dangerous…. yet things like fake chemically filled margarine, hormone-laden skim milk, and cow-lot grain fed beef, is the norm and even supposedly healthy for us. Well, I then decided to take the plunge and change our entire diet. I started to buy the full fat organic milk, the grass-fed cheeses, and pastured eggs. We ate rich, organic, and raw…. and it was delicious!

The only problem was after a few months I realized that I had gained weight and I really didn’t feel any better than I did before.

Well, the obvious took me a while to actually realize….yes I added these foods in, but I did not take the processed foods out. I would down a few Oreo’s (with my organic milk). Or have a big bowl of Edy’s Ice Cream (with organic raspberries). Processed food was still a huge part of my life! So, my first attempt at eating healthy was a big FAIL!

But now I knew what I was doing wrong. My new goal: NO PROCESSED FOODS and NO FLOUR! Once again, we ate rich, delicious and healthy, but this time everything was homemade, with good quality, natural ingredients. And to my surprise, not only did I start to feel wonderful, have more energy, feel more happy, but I lost about 10 pounds. I was actually eating more to keep weight on! Today, our main motto in our house is “if we want it… we have to make it”.

If we are craving Oreos, well, we will find a good recipe online and try it out…. same goes for crackers, cereal, granola bars, tortilla shells, etc. Pretty much anything is fair game just as long as we are using good, natural, high quality ingredients and of course avoiding processed food in general. This year I took my passion for healthy eating to the net, and started my blog, Fresh Idea Mama (www.freshideamama.com). I just find so much joy in sharing my healthy tips and ideas with others!

You can share YOUR story with Earth Fare’s readers (and win a $50 gift card for yourself) by clicking here.

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Worldwide Health with Jennifer

Boosting Her Immune System! Allison’s Story

As Young As He Feels! Mike’s story…

I am a 30 year old, married woman with 2 kids & am pretty good looking. But I wasn’t always so wonderful. I grew up having no idea about healthy food. We ate what my dad cooked, and with 5 kids at the table, you ate it all or someone would take it from you. There were no leftovers.

I was bigger than the other kids in my class and bigger than my siblings, but I kept hearing, well she’ll grow out of it. Once, while I was in 8th grade I tried on some jeans & they didn’t fit, they were 18s. I realized then that I had a problem, but I had no idea what to do about it.

For the rest of my school days I was the funny one. I had smart comments, a huge smile & I would do anything people dared, or asked me to. I got used by boys, I got in trouble for listening to mean girls & I didn’t tell anybody how bad I felt about myself. I was looking for acceptance.

When I met my husband he too was overweight. We got together & got bigger, together. Looking back we had the worst diet ever! We would go through McDonalds on the way to his parents’ house for dinner. I had no idea that drinks had calories in them, I mean really how terrible is that, to DRINK your calories! That just seems wrong on so many levels. I enjoy food way to much to drink away my calories, but I was. I was consuming over 4000 calories a day without realizing it.

Once we got engaged, we got on track to losing weight, but the weight was our only focus, so I took the easy way out & decided diet pills would be the cure. I did lose weight, but learned nothing about eating healthy. I exercised because I simply had so much energy I didn’t know what to do with it. We did lose weight for our goal, the wedding. Of course 2 years later, we were just as big as we had been before.

It is only in the last year that we have learned how to eat healthy and what exercise really is. We now have 2 children that we are training to avoid obesity & stay fit. Our kids will know what healthy food is. We enjoy your store, the options are great & we shop there often. Our largest weights were, 314 for me, a 5’7″ woman and my husband 395 6’3″ man. Currently we are 165 and 270.

We eat at home, mostly south beach diet type foods, we lift weights and get 30-45 minutes of cardio a day. Our children love to run and bike! My story really is simply about the “you can do it!” kinda attitude. It is hard and you have to retrain your palette, but everyone can do it!

You can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers by clicking here.

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Your Health: Learning Healthy Lessons with Laura

Your Health: Keeping the Family Healthy with Christy

Your Health: Keeping Healthy Food in the Family with Mary

I grew up in the South where everything we eat is either deep fried, has tons of butter in it or we just put lots of mayonnaise on it. I was a normal size growing up and stayed pretty active most of middle school and high school, so my weight and my health never really was a huge concern to me.

When I hit 18 however, my metabolism crashed, I stopped being active and I was just lazy for about 6 straight years. At the end of those years I was up to 210 pounds and hated the way I looked and felt. I was miserable.

I had a couple of life changing events happen and I had decided that with those life changing events I could show my two small children that we can wallow in our own self pity and continue down this road to physical destruction or we could rise above it and become better people out of it.

So…I decided right then and there that I would do the latter! I stopped eating fast food, I stopped drinking soda and eating unhealthy and I started to work out some. After about two years of this and being consistent I got down to 135 pounds!!!! That was my weight at 17! I now stay a consistent 135.

I work out three times a week and eat as much organic foods as I can. I also never eat fast food and soda still. Even the thought of those things makes me feel funny in my tummy. So, with that said….changing my life to a healthier and more active one I was able to be an example to my children that we can change even as adults and that we are always working on ourselves constantly in our lives.

You can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers by clicking here.

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Your Health: Keeping the Family Healthy with Christy

Your Health: Keeping Healthy Food in the Family with Mary

Your Health: Making a Fresh Start with Kathryn

I am currently 100 pounds overweight and have gotten really sick during the past year. I am now at the point where I am ready for a lifestyle change.

I am only in week 2, but I am now buying gluten-free and non-dairy products. I will also no longer buy meat or consume processed foods. I want to right the ship in terms of my health, and I believe that I have taken some important first steps. By next year this time, I plan to have lost at least 75 pounds if not more.

Now’s the time.

Want to know how you can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers? Click here and then click “Share Your Story” in the right sidebar. We want to hear your health story!

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Your Health: Turning Health Around with Jamison

photo by Landon Jacob Photography

I’ve embarked on what thus far has been an amazing journey. Some might even call it a complete 180. A recent scare with my heart is serving as a catalyst for change in my life. I’m taking deliberate steps toward getting healthy: a new eating plan and workout routine are in place. No fad dieting either.

I’m doing this the right way: Running, biking, lifting weights and eating right. This combined with encouragement and tough love from friends and family has helped me thus far loose over 50lbs and 9 pant sizes in right at 4 months.

Earth Fare has been a valuable resource in my journey toward better health. Organic produce, fresh ground almond butter and grass fed beef and chicken are the core components of my diet.

While other stores claim to have the best cuts of meat or the freshest produce, they simply can’t compare to the local and organic quality fruits and vegetables along with the grass fed, no animal byproducts meat found at Earth Fare.

I still have more weight to lose, but I am proud to declare everyday that “today I am in the best shape of my life.” Thanks Earth Fare for making healthy eating easy and playing a valuable role in my transformation.

Want to know how you can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers? Click here and then click “Share Your Story” in the right sidebar. We want to hear your health story!

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Your Health: Moving Toward Health with Frances

Your Health: Getting Healthy Together with Susan

Your Health: Living and Learning with Jennifer

Several months ago I realized my daughter, who is an extremely picky eater, was living on chicken nuggets and French fries from fast food restaurants and the only exercise she was getting was at school.

I have always been obese as long as I can remember and certainly didn’t want my child to face the obstacles I have faced in my life because of my weight and inactivity. I decided that I needed to make a change.

I started looking into exercise programs that would allow me to bring my daughter with me. It was not easy to locate a facility that would allow me to bring my nine year old along to work out with but we were able to find a couple of places. Sometimes we have an exercise class and work side by side and other times she has her “kids” class while I go to an adult class. We are now ten times more active than before. We have quality time together and have a blast exercising.

During our transformations, my daughter began learning about organic foods in school. When she expressed an interest, I took her to Earth Fare so she could see what Earth Fare offers. She loves the cheese department where she can taste different cheeses and the samples of the fruits in the produce department.

We recently began taking advantage of the Family Nights offered and she has been open to trying even more foods than before. Now, Earth Fare is one of our favorite places to go shopping. Who knew a nine year old could love grocery shopping? I am down 55 pounds now and still losing and my once chicken nugget obsessed little girl is now “sold” on Itty Bitty Bite meals at Earth Fare.

I can’t even recall the last time we stopped at a fast food restaurant. Thank you Earth Fare for your help with our health journey!

Want to know how you can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers? Click here and then click “Share Your Story” in the right sidebar. We want to hear your health story!

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Your Health: Living and Learning with Jennifer

Anti-Cancer life with Leah

Solving Health Mysteries with Brenda

When I first moved away to college I weighed 260lbs. I am only 5’6″ so that was way too much!

I tried just working out, trying to eat in moderation, fad diets, all sorts of things to lose weight. Nothing was working. I had been trying to get my parents to eat organic and avoid processed foods while I lived at home and while they were supportive they just didn’t want to make the total switch. So when I moved away to college I took the opportunity to make it for myself.

I went totally organic and cut out pork. I made a conscious effort to budget in only organic, all natural, free-range, and humane certified meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy. In just a few months at college I went from 260lbs to 145lbs. I feel fantastic.

Unfortunately I am back with my parents for the time being and have gained about 10lbs as a result of my fully organic diet being cut into but I am still healthy and active.

I am proof that eating in season and eating organic can change your health.

My friends and family were so impressed that they even worked organic fruits and veggies into their diet. Today my parents have an organic garden in their back yard and are even willing to drive out of their way to make special trips to Earth Fare for certain foods.

Eating organic changed my life and probably prolonged it and I will be eternally grateful to the farmers who grow the food that helped me go from plus size to kayaking. Thank you very much.

Want to know how you can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers? Click here and then click “Share Your Story” in the right sidebar. We want to hear your health story!

I lived in Australia for quite a few years and the food there was very healthy. I was trim and taught.

I moved back to Georgia 8 years ago and ate so much BBQ, fried okra and Krispy Cremes (yep, I was making up for lost time) that I gained 35+ pounds within a couple of years. I am heath-informed and have always eaten a healthy diet but throwing those things on top pushed me into fat-girl territory.

I decided one day last spring to only eat fruits, nuts, vegetables and meat (grass-fed & pastured) and organic cheese & eggs….plain and simple….no wheat & no sugar, and nothing processed or packaged. I didn’t measure or count calories…I just ate.

I dropped 30 pounds in 4 months without changing my lifestyle…just what I was eating. I am nearly 50 and I thought it would be impossible to shed the weight but by eating only clean, organic food and nothing ‘processed’, the weight just melted off.

And here comes the plug…I shop at Earth Fare and the Athens Farmer’s Market for all those great foods. What a great selection of healthy and clean food we have here right in our own little community!

Jeff’s Story (in his own words):

I’ve fought being overweight and unhealthy since I was about 10 years old. Minor, and temporary, victories had me riding the proverbial roller coaster of health for too long.

While living in New Orleans in 2004, pre-Katrina, I managed to drop 70 pounds by running, lilfting weights and eating right. In the process, I killed my thyroid and over the next two years, put all the weight back on.

Well, last year I was a 34 year old fatty who honestly had convinced himself that I was “not that bad.” I had the weekend warrior mentality and was reasonably active with occasional gym visits and such. But, the truth hurt. I went in for a check-up and found that I was 337 pounds with blood that was more gravy than hemoglobin (little cholesterol humor). As a Campus Minister as well as a husband and father of two young boys I had finally had enough.

I immediately “Flipped the Switch” and got mentally strong. I realized that I wasn’t honoring the body God had given me nor was I doing everything I could to be there for my family. I hit the gym hard and drastically changed my cupboard too. I am now down to 244lbs and run and lift everyday!

BUT that isn’t even the crazy part! I’ve always been a carnivore from the word GO! Meat was my passion and I worshipped at that altar often. I scoffed at vegetarianism and even made the claim on several occasions that I would NEVER be able, or interested, in living that lifestyle. Well, God has a sense of humor after all.

As a minister I am often praying for strength to keep up this new lifestyle of fitness and one day, the unthinkable happened… Would I give up meat if God asked me? I know that sounds like a bad televangelist joke: God Himself has to ask me to give up meat! But He did. He asked me to begin a year-long Covenant of Life where nothing has to die to feed me. Bizarre I know, but hey – stranger things have happened. At least He didn’t ask me to build a boat and gather animals two by two.

As of New Year’s day, my wife and I are now Meatless! And one of the resulting side effects of this decision has been to go as organic as much as possible, and really try to increase our raw food intake. It’s been great.

We visit Earth Fare at least once/month to stock up on our favorites (mine is freshly ground peanut butter and hers is whole wheat bread flour to make the yummiest bread). We have both gotten thinner, stronger and healthier and we continue to work hard and eat right! My goal is to get down to 205 by summer and enter my first triathalon.

Would increasing the cost of soda REALLY help reduce obesity and improve health? 

 This is the very question government officials are currently considering.  Here is what some states are proposing: 

• New York: proposed penny-per-ounce (of sugar) tax
• Philadelphia: proposed 2-cent-per-ounce tax
• California: penny-per-tsp tax
• Kansas: penny-per-tsp tax

If passed, these taxes would generate a lot of revenue.  For example, in New York State alone, the tax would raise $1.2 billion annually.  Officials say this money would be used to fight childhood obesity.  While revenue is part of the motive for implementing a soda tax, officials argue that the more important motive is to improve health and fight obesity. 

Opponents of the soda tax believe it is an unfair target against the beverage industry.  Others believe officials are only looking for an easy means of generating revenue during a recession.

But, how can taxes actually make people healthier?  Research has shown that taxing pizza and soda can lower U.S. adults’ caloric intake – an increase in soda prices was linked to an average of 124 fewer calories, and a weight loss of 2.34 pounds.  Taxing certainly worked with tobacco – increasing prices has dramatically decreased smoking rates. 

What do you think?  Could a soda tax really help reduce obesity?

“Hungry” to know more?  Sites Earth Fare visited for this post:
(1) http://tinyurl.com/yf9og7r – “Junk Food Tax Could Improve Health” (ABCNews)
(2) http://tinyurl.com/yfgyoy9 – “Kan. mulling new soda tax, raising other levies” (AP)
(3) http://tinyurl.com/yglcrk2 - “Would A Soda Tax Be A Big Deal?” (NPR)
(4) http://tinyurl.com/yk77oy7 – “Tax soda, pizza to cut obesity, researchers say” (Reuters)
(5) http://tinyurl.com/yc7y2rh – “Bloomberg Says a Soda Tax ‘Makes Sense’” (NYTimes)
(6) http://tinyurl.com/yc99ez4 – “New York governor defends soda tax” (Reuters)