Ok so I must confess, I stopped my food regimin, and ate all sorts of food that I am not suppose to eat! Yikes I know, terrible right?! I slipped up on our vacation, I got sick of having to look at labels. I got sick of having to practice self-discipline and say no to the foods everyone else was enjoying. I got sick of smelling the goodness as I ate something less exciting. Well, lets face it we are not perfect and with creating new healthy habbits brings times of slip-ups. We may go on vacation, we may have, I take that back, we will have bad days, we may have an extra dose of “pms”, our children or spouse may have gotten the best of us, truth is there are an infinate amount of excuses that can take us down so it is important to be prepared. I have learned a few good things from my slip-up and hopefully you can learn through me so that whatever you have committed to you can stay strong in it.
· “Create a plan.” I honestly consider myself a suger aholic and with addictions one of the most important things to do is to plan and know how you will handle the steps after you indulge in those unhealhty habits. So with any new healthy challenge you make, first establish a plan to get back on the ball.
· “Establish Support.” Find a couple of people around you that can be a support to you when times are tough. We all need a healthy dose of encouragement and support, it can do wonders. Make sure these people know their role and be humble enough to let them into how you are feeling and doing in this journey. I know that it is hard to be vulnerable and admit our mistakes, trust me, but in doing so brings freedom and peace.
· “Appearnaces are decieving.” In my case the bad (i.e. processed and sugary) food always looks and smells so much better than it tastes. Honest! I have so many memories and expereinces attached to food. Ever since Jr.High I have rewarded my school work with a little sweets here and there. Well, I am a Grad student now and have numerous amounts of work that if I rewarded myself with sweets for every book I read, or paper I wrote my body would be falling apart. In which case, I was and it was. Sweets were a stress release, a prize for doing well. So now that I am not eating those foods my emotions are triggered. When I see or smell a piece of candy, cookies, brownies or bowl of ice cream I feel like if I ate “that” I would be happy. Well, it’s not true and when I did take a bite I was surpised at how sickly sweet and almost poisonous it tasted. When your body has detoxed from all the processed food you can actually taste the difference, and it is no longer that thing that you can’t resist. It looses its yumminess. Now be forewarned, the memory is still there so tread lightly. Do not, I repeat DO NOT give in to that temptation just because you think it doesn’t have a hold on you anymore. Because it will come back and you will be back to being oppressed by it. Stay strong, resist it, and trust me your not missing out like you think you are.
· “Our body is a temple.” I know it might sound silly to be talking this way about food, but lets face it many of us struggle with sin surrounding food. Whether we are addicted to it or struggle with eating disorders. Our body is a temple of God and anything that causes it harm is displeasing to God, and ultimately not in His plan for our lives. Therefore we must take action against it and claim it for what it is, sin. We must draw on God for self-discipline and strength in taking care of our bodies. It is sooo important, for heavens sake, we only get one, and the one God gave us should be well taken care of to do God’s work here on earth.
· “You feel so much better.” Honestly, my body feels a million times better and I am a million times more productive when I am following this eating regimin (no processed foods, processed sugar, gluten, or dairy). Immediately after falling off the band wagon, so to speak, I was back to daily stomach aches, aches and pains, headaches, heartburn, lethargy, bloatedness, and a lack of motivation. I noticed the difference the first day. Why wasn't it enough to stop me from eating poorly you ask? I'm not sure. I guess we get used to those pains, and when we have pain we have a lack of motivation to do anything, even if it will help take the pain away. I got back from vacation and knew what I needed to do. It took me a week to stop eating badly again and the first week off of those foods was of course hard. The next week however I felt amazing. I had the most energy, no more pains, no more stomach problems, I was free J. Yippee. That feeling gives me motivation to stay on track. I hope that you will have the courage to stop doing the things that are holding you back in life. Even if it as simple as eating healthy for your body and for God.
· “Instant Gratification has become our life.” I have truly realized that we want everything NOW. It may be different extremes for different people, but lets come to grips here, we are way too comfortable with instant gratification. As I write this I am listening to the ice cream man circle our neighborhood and am reminded of summer days as a kid eating popsicles. It’s a warm spring day, It has been a long cold winter, I worked hard today, I want some ice cream! The temptation will always be there, but we must find ways to overcome it. We can plan ahead as much as possible. Have some food on hand that is healthy but still quench the craving. If we have to wait, so what, it wont kill us! Rely on God to get you through the waiting, even if it is just something silly like waiting for the craving to subside. God cares so deeply for all of us, in our big stuff and in our small stuff. So go put some 100% juice in the freezer and enjoy a guiltless popsicle…“later”.
Just so you know I am back on track with eating right. I have some people I can rely on for support, and I have a plan for the next time I slip-up. I see this as a journey I am taking with God to be healtheir and in return I am learning so many things. I pray you will hold fast, stay strong, rely on God, and in return find freedom and peace.
Love,
Stacey Gerh♥rt
No comments:
Post a Comment