How do you start changing your diet so drastically? The way I did it was to take one step at a time. I started by getting information. This lifestyle of eating food that God made just makes sense. I watched many documentaries from different sources and read blogs on the subject. I also googled the different 'diets' that are vegan, plant strong, and low-fat vegan. I found the evidence for a long, disease-free life in all of them. So rather than get overwhelmed, I chose one plan to follow and that was Dr. Fuhrman's, Eat to Live lifestyle. I read his book. Then I decided to do the first 3 days of the aggressive weight loss plan. I bought all the ingredients and prepared what I could. I made the soup and froze it in about 1-1/2 cup portions. I had my salad made and ready to go. Those 3 days of menus lasted me all week because I was the only one eating that food. My 12 year old daughter had a few meals with me, but for the most part, it was just me. I found that I loved these 3 days of menus and looked forward to eating, so I kept making these recipes and kept going for another week. At that point I was losing weight every day, down 9 pounds in two weeks. I was feeling better than I had been before starting Eat to Live, but still had brain fog and was tired in the afternoon. I tweaked some things over the next few weeks, like dropped oatmeal in the morning. After changing to quinoa, my brain fog went away. At this point, I was about 4 weeks in and down 15 pounds. I felt better, but still not quite as good as I should. I didn't start feeling great until about 6 weeks in and I just keep feeling better every day. At the 6 week point, I was down about 20 pounds and about 3" off my waist. Currently, I am going on 8 months eating to live and down 64 pounds (94 total weight loss on this journey).
I've lost 10" on my waist, so far. I stick to the suggestions in the aggressive weight loss plan. I feel amazing! PMS and acne GONE! All my blood work is amazing. My mood is happy and content all the time. I can deal with issues, cry, when necessary and not feel like my life is caving in. It's an amazing feeling, much better than any chocolate cake can give me :)
How do I deal with facing cookies and chips and such? Some days are more tempting than others, but really not that much of a temptation. I have taught myself that processed foods are like eating poison that I don't give them a second thought. The key to my success has been education. By watching documentaries like Forks over Knives, Hungry for Change, Food Inc., Vegucated, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, and more, I have changed my thinking. I don't want to go back to eating my old way. Oreos don't tempt me at all! When I see them I think of stomach pains and lethargy, not comfort and joy as I used to. When I see my homemade chocolate chip cookies, I see the chains from the sugar that held me tight. I don't want to be a slave to my food anymore. I have broken free from food addiction. I don't obsess about food anymore. It is not in my every waking thought. There is no food that I can't turn away from. When I was eating the standard American diet, I couldn't have ice cream or cookies in the house without feeling a magnetic pull to them and thinking about them ALL the time. Now, I love waking up in the morning thinking about my day and not what I'm going to eat for breakfast.
I love going to pot-lucks and eating out and treat it like a treasure hunt, finding the nutritious food. Most people think of fruit and veggies as the side dish, I fill my plate with those items. I get side-ways glances, but at the end of the meal, I'm satisfied and light, not heavy and tired! So, how did I get free from food?? I used nutritious food to FILL my stomach so that I had no space for the junk! I fed my body the nutrients it was craving all those years. My body doesn't need anything other than what I feed it. I was starving myself for nutrients before, so my body was on the constant search for what it needed. I could never get fully nutritionally satisfied. Today, I'm fully nutritionally filled, so that makes it a no-brainer to turn away from cookies and fat-laden meals. When we are in the throws of sugar and food addiction, we can't see how our bodies can function without those items, but let me tell you, there is so much more to life than the cookies and chips!! You can feed yourself delicious food that fills all your needs to where you won't want that cookie or chip.
Another aspect to food addiction is the emotional one. I systematically gained 50 pounds quickly ...on purpose! I found out late in my 30's after having my 4th child that my normal, good upbringing had some flaws. After seeking help through talk therapy, I uncovered abuse from my brother that had laid a foundation of lies that I spoke to myself . Uncovering the lies that were spoken into me was incredibly painful. It felt like he was speaking them over to me again. 'You're fat. You're ugly. You are useless. You are a liar.You over-react. You're mean.' And the words he didn't speak, but conveyed in other ways are hard to forget. I medicated with boxes of cookies and bags of candy. The hours before my session I would practically inhale a whole box of cookies. Through this time of uncovering, God was working on my heart. God was telling me through the Bible that I am HIS. I am clean and unblemished. I am worth so much that He sent His son to die for ME!! It took a long time to believe these truths, but after realizing the lies I was believing, it became much easier to see the truth. I found that if I felt like a piece of trash, I'd unconsciously make sure I talked and looked like one too. On the other hand, I found that if I believed that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I'll talk and act and look like I am!
Finding out the real truth as to why I felt undeserving of true peace was my changing moment. It didn't take a moment to undo all that I had done to myself with poor food choices. That took a while. What is your truth? What lies are you believing? Are you deserving of being healthy and living a long life? (Of course you are!!) Ask yourself these questions and really listen to your answer. Do you deserve that cookie that chemists made to make you a slave? Or do you deserve that strawberry that God designed just for you? You are fearfully and wonderfully made and deserve God's best for your life. My continual challenge is to think about that with every bite I take. I'm up for the challenge, are you?
If you'd like to read my journey, here's the whole story.
Beautifully written, you are an inspiration.
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