Guest Blog! ***December's Diet Evolution

“Here I go again”, is the first thought that came to mind when I decided to try to tackle this habit of overeating, eating unhealthy and attempt to gain control over my weight. I’ve been fighting with this mind set since I was 18 years old and I just turned 32 this past December. Over the years I have been able to lose 20-30 lbs but eventually gain it back overtime because it was a temporary change not a heart change. 

I’ve realized just within the past few years that I have an emotional connection with fattening foods. Food with high caloric and fat content makes me feel happy when I’m sad and entertains me when I'm bored.  It excites me when I want to celebrate or enjoy the company of family and friends. Afterwards, that same food makes me feel greedy and out of control because I overate.

It also makes me feel unattractive, lethargic, and leaves me empty wanting more. I’m talking about cakes, cookies, fast food cheeseburgers, French fries, pizza, Chinese take-out, so on and so forth. I’m not a picky eater AT ALL so I enjoy a lot of items on the fast food menu and probably have tried all of them and some more.

Oh! Did I mention that I’m in love with pop or soda or whatever you want to call it?!  My favorite is Coca-Cola and Sprite and if pop isn’t available then I would love a nice tall glass of juice.  Flavored drink or flavored tea with tons of sugar will work, too. I ask myself ALLLLLL the time,  "How could something taste so good but be so bad for you?"

 Then I think about sin and how sin is good for a moment but turns into something dark and ugly after a while. I can look across the room and notice a very attractive guy with great hair, clothes and has a nice body and I think to myself, "wow…he is gorgeous." Then I walk up to him and start a conversation and he is rude, mean and disrespectful.  I quickly change my initial opinion about him. His attitude has made him unattractive to me.

 I should think of unhealthy food in the same light. I know the attributes of unhealthy food and I understand the negative effects it has on my body and mind. It may look great in appearance but it’s attributes should make it unattractive to me. Soooo… if I know I’m not supposed to be attracted to something that makes me feel horrible on the inside and out then what am I going to do about it?!?

Around  3 weeks ago my wonderful sister-in-law comes to visit me and she brings this book with her titled, "Dr. Guntry’s Diet Evolution." Over the past year or more I’ve jumped on and quickly off the bandwagon of a few of her diets. I tried the vegan thing, the all fruits and veggie thing, and the juicing thing and now she has this book telling me to abort carbs and sugar.  I’m thinking…"yeah, yeah, yeah, no carbs and sugar. Like that’s going to work with me."

 I love carbs and I’m obsessed with sugar but I’ll give it a try.” I’m always willing to try something new when it comes to losing weight because I understand that unhealthy food is a problem of mine and I want to be cured.  I picked up the book and skimmed through it and she gave me a few pointers and she was off on her way.

I told her that I would go grocery shopping and start Monday. She even gave me the business card of her holistic Dr. and told me to give him a call. The first week of eating no carbs like breads, pasta, cakes and cookies, fruits juices, pop and snacks went well. I did cheat on Easter but I didn’t go overboard and was back on it the next day.

The second week started out fine because I had an appointment with her doctor, Dr. Kanodia and he told me to continue on the diet but to buy the book and increase my water to 64 oz a day. I started drinking my water that  very same day and was running to the bathroom like an elderly person with a weak bladder. Water really runs through you faster than pop or juice.

Whew….My body freaked out on Friday and I caved and ate Steak and Shake, yea I had it all… the burger, fries and a milk shake. I then realized that I wasn’t getting enough iron and needed to take my vitamins and buy some beef. I got back on track the next day and I’m still walking it out. I’m still waiting for my book to get here but I’ve been following the basics of the diet which is lean meats and veggies, some fresh cheese and no bottled dressing or any mix with sugar.

 I haven’t incorporated fruits in yet because I need to know which fruits won’t drive me into a sugar frenzy. I have bought some atkins bars and they seem too good to be true. I need to do more research on them because the peanut butter cups are great and they have 0 sugar, yes 0 sugar. This is day 16 and I’ve lost 5 lbs so far and I do have more energy and I sleep a lot better.

Changing my diet is like breaking away from a dysfunctional relationship. It’s a love/hate relationship. I’ve realized that happiness, joy and peace doesn’t come from food and when it does then I am abusing food. Those things come from God and as I embark on this journey I am asking God to renew my mind so that I love the things that are good for me.  So stay tuned because the best is yet to come!


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p.s. My sister, Dee Dee has decided to include you all in her weightloss journey and will be keeping us updated once a month! If you have any tips, words, or suggestions please leave her a comment!! Thanks guys :)

Love me,

Love God.