The Lord has recently used a variety of circumstances and people to get something through to me - that I have not been a terribly good steward of the body that He's given me. I have at times in the past attempted to eat and live in a more healthy manner - but it never stuck for more than a few days. (Probably due to the fact that it was me initiating it for the wrong reasons - to slap a band-aid on my symptoms instead of dealing with the larger picture of obedience in stewardship to the Lord). Anyway, two weeks ago I began again with a motivation, desire and purpose that can only be from God. And I must tell you that I feel better than I have in years!! A friend of mine who eats in a very healthy manner gave me some pointers and practical encouragement which was tremendously helpful - the best of which is to simply implement one small change at a time as I learn. And so, I've decided to share with you some of the very basic things I've begun doing as I start to ease our family into more healthy living. (Some of these steps may seem incredibly obvious to you - but I'm starting REALLY small!) Before I mention those things, I thought it might be helpful to others to share some of the mental obstacles I've had to overcome in this process.
* "Healthy eating costs more." There is much truth in this. As a whole, fresh fruits, veggies, good bread, etc., do cost more. I have finally accepted this and chosen to spend a little more money putting better things into our bodies.
* "Healthy eating means things must taste like cardboard." My brother-in-law has shown me the error of this thinking with his amazing fresh food way of cooking. I am definitely going to get tips off him. I have also realized that, like many other things, eating is a habit. If my body is used to a certain type of food, that's what it wants. I am deprogramming my body, and it's actually beginning to desire good stuff!
* "Healthy eating means I'll have to give up my baking addiction." I don't have to give up baking - just adapt some. I am also incredibly excited about discovering a whole new area of interest in which to read, study and experiment with healthy cooking.
* "Choosing to eat healthy means I can never have a piece of cake or other sweet treats again." Where is this written?? I'm not going from one extreme to another. Moderation is always the key - great wisdom from the Word. I want to move into a more balanced diet.
And now for some simple steps:
* Begin each morning with a glass of water with a tabl. or so of fresh lemon juice in it. My acidity levels are off balance. (One way I know this is from the mouth ulcers that I get.) The lemon juice helps to neutralize the acids in my body. (I've discovered that many foods we call "acidic" - like lemons, strawberries, etc. - are actually alkaline and help neutralize acidity in the body.)
* Increase my water intake. I try to drink a glass before every meal and several throughtout the day. The only other things I now drink are natural fruit juice (especially orange juice with calcium as my body can't digest milk) and herbal tea - with no milk or sugar.
* Do an occasional fast with just fruit juice. I've done after-supper-to-before-supper-the-next-night as to be able to eat supper with my family. It helps clear out toxins and give my body a rest from digestion.
* Cut portions. Our bodies actually need little food to flourish - a WHOLE lot less than what we actually put into them.
* Cut desserts. We are huge dessert eaters at my house (this is a carry-over from my childhood that I have passed on to my children). I've cut out dessert after lunch. As for dessert after supper, I try to serve fresh fruit instead or sugar-free jello or angel food cake. I'm also working on cutting the sugar in our other recipes. Of course, we still have sweet treats from time-to-time. Just not every night.
* Make sure that we have at least a serving of fresh fruit and veggies at lunch and supper. This isn't hard. I'm just buying a variety of fruits and providing celery and baby carrots at lunch. And making sure I serve a veggie and some fruit for supper, too.
* Another way to introduce more veggies is to increase the number of salads we eat. I'm trying to encourage this by providing lots of different add-ins for our salads.
* Paying attention to labels. I never realized so many things have milk in them until I had to stop intaking it! I am also learning to look for words in nutritional listings that end in -ose. These contain sugar.
* Changing breads - I've gone from plain white bread to whole grain white - a better choice nutritionally.
* Be consistent in daily exercise - for me this means a brisk, 30-minute walk.
Well, that's all I can think of currently. Of course, I'm no expert in this stuff but can attest that there is much truth in it. Two weeks ago when I drastically reduced my intake of sugar (mostly in regard to desserts), I had a minor headache for three days. I'm assuming that was a sugar withdrawal reaction. After that, I cannot begin to tell you how alert I felt - mentally and physically. I have also noticed a huge increase in my energy level, lack of tiredness and sluggishness (even in the heat which usually drastically reduces my energy levels), as well as a reduction in PMS symptoms. Feeling this good spurs me on to implementing more.
Food really does affect us - far more than we may realize!
4 comments:
A serving or two of fruit at breakfast is also easy and delicious. I know you don't eat much cereal (sometimes ours looks like fruit salad), but with pancakes, waffles, french toast it's also great. Good luck. T
I so agree with what you said about moderation being important. Several years ago (back in the 90's), I made a move to healthier eating, and I wanted to do everything all at once. My family resisted like crazy. Then I read a book called Greater Health God's Way. It was/is a very balanced approach, and the author (Stormie O'Martian) talks about an 80/20 philosophy. Meaning if you eat healthy 80% of the time, then 20% of the time it won't kill you to eat less healthy (sugar, white flour, etc.). Now if you eat healthy only 20% of the time and 80% of the time you eat junk, don't expect that 20% to be very effective.
Anyhow, that philosophy really helped me, especially with regard to baking. I still use sugar instead of honey and usually white flour, but since baked goods comprise less than 20% of our diet, I feel fine about doing that.
Anyhow, best of luck to you.
Love,
Patti
What a coincidence - I've just started myself on a journey to healthier eating. Had a glass of water with lemon juice this morning too! How is your family enjoying the change? Looking forward to reading future updates! Have a wonderful day!
T - I hadn't thought about adding fruit to those other things - good idea! I also started buying good o.j. to serve as well for another serving of fruit in the morning.
Patti - Thanks for sharing the 80/20 idea - that makes a lot of sense and something that I will definitely keep in mind. I've added that book to my "want to read" list.
Mama Bird - Welcome to the journey! My husband and older son are fine with healthy eating - actually, they both, as a whole, have always done so. My middle son is bulking a bit at the raw veggies for lunch (he prefers cooked) and the fruit (though he is eating an apple each day with his lunch). He's always been a meat-potatoes-and- bread kind of man. My youngest is having the hardest time because I have done a poor job of training him in this area since he was very little. But he's discovered that baby carrots aren't too bad!
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