Fed up with being tired and pants that were too tight, I prayed that God would give me insight into my dilemma. A few days later at church a friend mentioned a book she had read called The Virgin Diet (titled for the author's last name), which peaked my interest, so, thanks to Kindle, I downloaded it that day and read it in a matter of hours. In a nutshell, the author focuses on eliminating soy, sugar, gluten, dairy, and other culprits that might be causing intolerance and instead, piling your plate with plenty of veggies, lean protein, fruits, nuts, low glycemic-index carbs, and healthy fats. Very sad that she hadn't recommended pizza, carrot cake with cream cheese icing, and peanut M &M's, I decided to give it a try anyway. What did I have to lose except my love handles and bra overhang. After all, I had a partner in crime who was also trying the plan, and I could text her incessantly about my bizarre cravings for Gigi's cupcakes.
7 had taught me a thing or two about sugar withdrawal, so I was prepared. I drew the line at giving up caffeine this time and decided to acclimate my taste buds to unsweetened tea. You are welcome, family. After a week of eating kale, broccoli, quinoa, whose name I continually butcher, salmon, bell peppers,almonds, you get the point, my energy was back, plus I had lost seven pounds. Have I mentioned how great my skin suddenly looked? Seriously, I was bouncing off the walls with energy, but I also found myself seeing mirages of cupcakes in tulips and rumor has it, I may have grabbed a random whiff of the vanilla and cinnamon, as I poured a 1/2 teaspoon of each into my pea-protein powder and blueberry smoothie with coconut milk. And I may have complained in a really energetic voice about how difficult a life without dessert was, maybe, once, and how awesome cheesy bread or pancakes would taste.
The next day as I was having my quiet time the topic was, I kid you not, Numbers 11: 4-7 because God is amazing and when we listen speaks to us through His word. Allow me to refresh your memory: "The rubble who were among them had greedy desires; and....said, "Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna." Hmm, greedy desires didn't literally leap off the page that morning. So the Egyptians had been freed from slavery, where they were literally worked each day until the breaking point. Here, they were free, and God was literally raining manna down from heaven to provide exactly the right amount for their needs, and they were complaining. It reminds me of the feeling you get when you slave over a perfectly good dinner and your kids whine incessantly about how yucky it is. I felt the Holy Spirit saying to me, "You asked for the answer to your weight and energy problems, and I provided you a solution. Instead of enjoying your healthy lifestyle, you are whining about what you're missing: the very foods that kept you lethargic and bloated." The very foods that kept me enslaved to exhaustion. And unlike the Israelites, I could eat all the fish, garlic, and onions I wanted.
The truth is, like the Israelites, I tend to be stubborn and dig in my heels when confronted with the possibility of stepping outside of my comfort zone. I'd actually prefer to train for and run a marathon rather than give up foods that I know aren't good for my health. I'm a stress eater, a celebration eater, a just because it's sunny eater. I actually run to eat. 7 and my latest eating adventure are teaching me, though, that saying I want to feel better or change and actually performing the work required are not the same. I can whine about feeling tired all I want, but until I actually implement the changes necessary nothing will change. That's often a tough pill to swallow.
Not only does my body house the Holy Spirit, but God designed our bodies for natural, wholesome foods. Nowhere in the Bible does it mention processed crackers and genetically modified chickens. Granted, they didn't have such, but I'm sure that would have been on the list of what not to eat. Right up there with hot dogs and chicken nuggets. When Daniel was taken captive by the Babylonians, one of his first orders of business was settling the menu with the palace cooks. "Daniel determined he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official......so Daniel said....please test your servant for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink...and at the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king's food." Daniel 1:8, 9, 11-15. I imagine the king had prepared a feast of carrot cake, rich meats, and generally, unhealthy foods. Even thousands of years ago, Daniel knew the benefits of eating a healthy, pure diet. The benefits of eating like he knew he should outweighed (no pun intended) any short-lived pleasure of unhealthy foods.
So while I still have a mean craving for icing and I'm not swearing off sugar for life, I am definitely learning that I can't just experiment with eating more veggies every now and then. If I want to have more energy and a healthier family, I must kick many foods I love out of the cart and rely on a diet of healthy, wholesome, unprocessed foods. No matter how I try to hide under a mound of M & M's, this truth that's been a foundation since the days of Adam and Eve isn't going anywhere. So when you see me munching on broccoli and berries and you happen to be eating real ice cream, I'd ask you finish your cone before you come say hello..... All kidding aside, I feel so amazing after three weeks of a diet overhaul that I can't imagine going back to feeling like a sloth slogging through my days. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go stare at the brown sugar and chocolate chips while I eat a handful of almonds and bell peppers.
No comments:
Post a Comment