ething sugary/carby, I'm done for. And the hardest thing for me is what it does to my body. Not just the fat...I don't like that, but I've gotten used to it. It's the fatigue. When I eat sugar, it feels like I just ate cement. One minute I'm happily eating something yummy, then I'm eating more...then I can feel my body start to slow down. My eyes get droopy. My breathing becomes more difficult. I...just...don't...have...the...energy to do anything but lie down and nap. The thing is, now I know why I feel that way. So you think it would be easy for me to stop, right? All moms want to have energy to take care of their kids, enjoy their kids, and clean the house, do laundry, and fix meals, right? Oh how I wish it were that easy. Even though I know the consequences, I still reach for that first chip. That first animal cracker (hey-I'm a mom!). And then I regret it later. I've seen too, how this same thought applies to my spiritual life. If I keep away from the 'woe is me', 'why am I going through this right now' thinking, I usually do pretty good. But throw in a rough day, and all it takes is one selfish, negative thought, and all of a sudden it's as if cement was poured on my prayer life. It becomes sluggish...and takes a nap, if you will. With food, I'm finding that I just really need to pay attention to what foods affect me in that way, and which are okay. I can eat rice and whole grain toast, but not crackers by themselves, or even pretzels. I can have a hot dog, but not the bun. If I eat the bun, I want to take a nap. My prayer for today is that God shows me which thoughts to stay away from, and which thoughts are the good for me thoughts. The avocados of my spiritual life, if you will.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Eating cement
I'm no expert on cement. In fact, I tried googling it to see how it's made, but I'm so tired it doesn't make sense to me. But it sounds like a good analogy so I'm going with it. About 2 months ago I started on an food/emotional awareness/weight loss journey. I've tried so many different things over the last few years, and while some of them helped me to feel better, I didn't lose weight. Then, while reading up on nutritional healing for my husband, I found some interesting information. I can't remember it exactly right now, but I read that white flour and sugar can cause migraines, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. These were things I was struggling with regularly, so my attention was captured. I did some research and decided that the 'South Beach Diet' would work for me. They eliminate sugar and white flour, and you're supposed to lose weight. What's wrong with that? The first two weeks (Phase 1) were wonderful for me. I totally eliminated all sugar and white flour and I felt amazing! I literally felt as if I had energy coursing through my veins. I accomplished so much those first 2 weeks! I lost 10 lbs too, so I was pretty excited about that. Since those first two weeks, it's been a struggle for me. I'm supposed to introduce whole grains and natural sugars into my diet gradually, and I'm learning just how careful I need to me. Something is triggered in me when I eat 1 or 2 carby tasties. Be it crackers, cookies, bread, cake...you name it...I can't stop eating! I would literally eat a whole cake. Once I take those first couple bites of something sugary/carby, I'm done for. And the hardest thing for me is what it does to my body. Not just the fat...I don't like that, but I've gotten used to it. It's the fatigue. When I eat sugar, it feels like I just ate cement. One minute I'm happily eating something yummy, then I'm eating more...then I can feel my body start to slow down. My eyes get droopy. My breathing becomes more difficult. I...just...don't...have...the...energy to do anything but lie down and nap. The thing is, now I know why I feel that way. So you think it would be easy for me to stop, right? All moms want to have energy to take care of their kids, enjoy their kids, and clean the house, do laundry, and fix meals, right? Oh how I wish it were that easy. Even though I know the consequences, I still reach for that first chip. That first animal cracker (hey-I'm a mom!). And then I regret it later. I've seen too, how this same thought applies to my spiritual life. If I keep away from the 'woe is me', 'why am I going through this right now' thinking, I usually do pretty good. But throw in a rough day, and all it takes is one selfish, negative thought, and all of a sudden it's as if cement was poured on my prayer life. It becomes sluggish...and takes a nap, if you will. With food, I'm finding that I just really need to pay attention to what foods affect me in that way, and which are okay. I can eat rice and whole grain toast, but not crackers by themselves, or even pretzels. I can have a hot dog, but not the bun. If I eat the bun, I want to take a nap. My prayer for today is that God shows me which thoughts to stay away from, and which thoughts are the good for me thoughts. The avocados of my spiritual life, if you will.
ething sugary/carby, I'm done for. And the hardest thing for me is what it does to my body. Not just the fat...I don't like that, but I've gotten used to it. It's the fatigue. When I eat sugar, it feels like I just ate cement. One minute I'm happily eating something yummy, then I'm eating more...then I can feel my body start to slow down. My eyes get droopy. My breathing becomes more difficult. I...just...don't...have...the...energy to do anything but lie down and nap. The thing is, now I know why I feel that way. So you think it would be easy for me to stop, right? All moms want to have energy to take care of their kids, enjoy their kids, and clean the house, do laundry, and fix meals, right? Oh how I wish it were that easy. Even though I know the consequences, I still reach for that first chip. That first animal cracker (hey-I'm a mom!). And then I regret it later. I've seen too, how this same thought applies to my spiritual life. If I keep away from the 'woe is me', 'why am I going through this right now' thinking, I usually do pretty good. But throw in a rough day, and all it takes is one selfish, negative thought, and all of a sudden it's as if cement was poured on my prayer life. It becomes sluggish...and takes a nap, if you will. With food, I'm finding that I just really need to pay attention to what foods affect me in that way, and which are okay. I can eat rice and whole grain toast, but not crackers by themselves, or even pretzels. I can have a hot dog, but not the bun. If I eat the bun, I want to take a nap. My prayer for today is that God shows me which thoughts to stay away from, and which thoughts are the good for me thoughts. The avocados of my spiritual life, if you will.
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7 comments:
EXCELLENT POST!!!
Thank you for sharing this. I have been trying to identify some things in my life that make me so tired. I keep coming up with the same answer...
My DIET. It's atrocious.
I really am grateful for your story.
Thanks for sharing friend.
Your journey is inspiring.
I am glad you have learned what is working for you and helping you to have energy for your family.
I am glad you are back in the bloggy world.
I have considered doing this, but I am scared! I have been cutting WAY down, but not I am ready for that next step. Way to go!!
Wow! I needed to read this. I've been on a dieting rollercoaster for the last 10 years. Ugh. I feel so much better when I'm doing good things for my body, so why oh WHY do I stop? Thanks for this. I love your analogy for the spiritual part of life too. So true.
So I'm curious..did you get a book to start you on the sb diet? Or something online? It sounds like something I should check out more. I need to get off the sugar rollercoaster! : )
last year my husband and i did a daniel fast using the daniel diet (fruits and veggies only for 21 days), and i felt great! i learned a lot during that time, but one important thing i gained was that i can LIVE, THRIVE, SURVIVE without those things i crave (physically and emotionally).
now i have an encouragement/challenge for you renee, remove the stuff you shouldn't eat from your house! now.
it's the same with our minds, we remove the lie and replace it with the truth, over and over and over till the truth is what we hear first.
we remove the chips, the crackers, the cookies, and replace them with what we should grab first. i rarely have anything yummy to snack on in my house (accept for some chocolate chips for the "horror moan" days), i have to reach for the banana, the carrots, the pineapple (big treat here).
praying for you on this journey!
Thank you ladies! Hey...do any of you know how I can make my posts look normal, instead of like one big paragraph? I don't type it that way, but when it posts, it looks like this. Grrr!
God is really working in me right now in the area of food. Why does food have such control over us (me?) Why is it so hard to make good choices? Why do I eat something when I know it's going to make me feel rotten? Because food has too much power in my life! I just checked out Lysa Terkeurst's 'Made to Crave' and cant' wait to read it!
Shelley- I signed up on SB's website- if you agreed to 3 months, then they threw in the SB diet book. I think it was $20, then I cancelled after my 3 months were up. It was enough for me to learn what I needed to know.
Denise- I'm trying! My struggle right now is that I'm not going to make the kids not eat carbs, so we have things like pretzels and wheat thins in the house. They're not horrible foods, but they make me feel lousy. And, for whatever reason, they're irresistible to me. We bought vanilla oreos that Becca can eat the other night, and I actually told Andy that he had to keep them in his car during the day and ration them out to the girls, and make sure they know how many he left for them, so I won't eat them. SAD!
Thanks for the encouragement! So grateful for all of you...I know it's been a long time, but it almost feels like I never left! :)
I'm glad you're back! :). Thanks for the info, I'll check it out! And just so you know, I am the same way with certain foods. Completely weak! Praying for us both...:)
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