You know you need to change your diet to a permanent, more healthy one, but it’s so hard!
You’ve been living the life you’re living for decades now. The kind of dedication it’s going to take to turn it all around is too much to even think about, let alone develop.
When it comes to food, it’s just so easy to just pick something up to eat when you’re out and about because you’re hungry, isn’t it? Depending on where you live, you have your pick of food places on nearly every corner! In our busy daily lives, convenience is a major factor in our decision to live healthier lifestyles.
And it’s no fun being around family and friends who still eat the same, unwittingly making it that much harder for you to change the way you approach food.
And what about the times when you do get it right? It can really suck when you have to leave that slice of cake or that hot dog you’re drooling over off your plate.
I’m here to give it to you straight: Transitioning from a traditional lifestyle to a healthy one–especially healing, plant-based, anti-inflammatory, anti-estrogen-dominance one, is not easy. My physical healing journey started with acne. In my journey to cure it, I discovered my diet had to significantly change in order for me to see any results. It seemed like all the things I loved I had to give up: dairy, enriched floured bread (adios my beloved Red Lobster biscuits ?), and sweets. Oh, my precious processed sugary desserts.
I say all of this not to discourage you in any way. My very purpose is always to help you and motivate you to tap into your very own healing power. And part of that is for me to be real with you. Though it does get a lot easier with time, this journey isn’t exactly a walk in the park. It is going to take some grit, drive, determination, passion, and prayer to get you through and keep you on the other side. And no matter what you believe about yourself, YOU HAVE ALL OF THE ABOVE! Yes, you do! I’ve made it to the other side and I promise, I’m not bragging about that. I have plenty of videos showcasing what I went through to get to where I am now so you can see my journey for yourself. The videos are there so you can know for yourself that I truly understand your struggle because I’ve been where you are. I know that which I speak (or write). I know the struggle of transitioning to a healthy lifestyle once and for all. My struggle with consistency kept me stuck for years. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids that I realized I had to stop playing around with this healthy lifestyle and finally surrender to it.
It took tumors in my uterus and infertility to bring me to my knees, though if I’m honest, it’s also what helped me to fight through the process of breaking my addictive bad food habits. So, if you are facing a health crisis, then you’re in good company.?
I want you guys to be prepared for the journey that lies ahead of you if this is the route you’re choosing. Any type of healthy lifestyle change is hard, but it’s something altogether when you’re being led to a holistic, natural healing lifestyle. I want to share 4 major changes you’ll encounter once you embark on this high-risk, high-reward journey, and some tips on how to overcome them.
Food
This healing journey comes with food changes. That’s a given. And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that no matter what it is you’re dealing with or trying to change, the food changes associated with your goals will be challenging.
Again, not trying to discourage you. You already know this lifestyle is going to be a difficult one, especially in the beginning. And especially with a healing lifestyle. There is simply no easy way around the food changes that are going to have to take place as you change into a lifestyle that encourages healing and prevent disease.
You are going to encounter rough patches with this one. You’ll be giving up a lot of your favorite foods that have been keeping you from your health goals, and it may make you cranky, and it may even make you cry sometimes. Whatever health challenges you’re facing at this point, it would be great motivation to use to push past these rough parts.
Ingredient-reading
Reading food ingredients goes with food changes. You’ll be learning how to do this. You’ll start to look at the ingredients of the food you buy, and begin to recognize ingredients you should leave alone (for instance, sugar, and pretty much anything you can’t pronounce). It may seem daunting. Believe me, I know. The best way to help with this is to just stick mostly with whole foods. Actual food: zucchini, apples, potatoes, etc. If you do happen to pick up a jar of salsa and chips, then just make sure you’re able to recognize all the ingredients. For instance, for the salsa, you may read the ingredients and see: tomatoes, onions, salt, cilantro, etc. For the chips you may see: 100% blue corn chips, and whatever oil the chips were cooked in.
People
In a perfect world, wouldn’t we all love for everyone we know and come into contact with to jump on the healthy bandwagon with us? That way we’d have a continuous support system throughout our entire journey.
As it is, life isn’t perfect, and neither are people.
If you actually have that group of people who are all living a healthy lifestyle with you, you are blessed indeed! For the rest of us, however, with a lifestyle like this, your spouse, significant other, family, and friends more than likely won’t be going through this lifestyle change with you. So, chances are, they may inadvertently make your journey a little harder. You’ll probably get a lot of verbal support. On the other hand, you may get a lot of criticism. You may find yourself invited to shindigs with your people to restaurants or gatherings where there’s sure to be nothing there that you can eat while on your healing, nutritional plan. And when this gets too hard for you to do, you may find yourself skipping these gatherings altogether, which is OK if that’s what you need to do to stay on track. In other times like these, it’s always a good idea to either eat before you arrive at the shindigs. Don’t be afraid to take your own food with you so you’ll have something to munch on. If going to restaurants, scope out the menu before you get there, and don’t be afraid to ask the waiter/waitress to adjust meals for you. Most times, they’ll do it for you!
It’s a good thing that the people in your life can be unyielding in their ways at this time. Really. While they’re living their traditional lifestyles with you struggling around them, what you don’t realize is situations like these are making you stronger. Just like weightlifting, these situations are strengthening your resolve muscles. You can’t do that without being around the food or drinks you’re trying to stop eating. Just wait until they see the results you’re having. Just wait until you find your groove with this lifestyle, because you will. They’ll start asking questions and referring all their friends and people who need help to you. Without even meaning to, you’ll go from being the weirdo to the heroine (or hero). You’ll inspire them to take their health into their own hands and help them to unleash their healing power.
Time
Unless you have your own personal chef on hand, you’re going to have to find the time to make your food. There’s just no way around it. Time-management is a big part of this lifestyle. This lifestyle is time-consuming. And it is an inconvenience. Our society’s entire way of living is based on convenience, and to go against that, against our very norm, isn’t comfortable at all.
Just like with the food changes however, the only way to make sense of your newfound inconvenient lifestyle is to go through it. You’re just going to have to make it work. I hated having to cook all the time in the beginning. Hated it. But I had two options I was facing:
- Continue with the traditional SAD (Standard American Diet), the same diet that got me sick in the first place
- Change my dietary situation from a SAD one to a RAD one (Reformed American Diet… Ok, I’ll work on that name)
Faced with those changes, I had no choice but to start cooking. I started prepping my meals one day of the week, usually Sundays. You should do the same. Identify your day when you’re the least busy, and prep some meals to last you throughout the week. The more I learned about the food I was eating and how it was helping me to heal, the more involved I wanted to be in the preparation of it. It’s very likely you’ll feel the same way. And the more meals I cooked and rocked, the more I wanted to experiment with more recipes. I’ll be honest, I still have days when the last thing I feel like doing is cooking. These are the days when I’m super thankful for easy, filling, delicious, and quick recipes, such as pasta dishes and soups, like this one.
You
I saved the best for last because just as you’re probably thinking, “Yeah, I can’t do this,” I want you to know YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN! In this journey, it’s important to be real with what you’re facing, but just as important to be compassionate to yourself.
You’re changing decades of bad diet, bad emotional habits, and healing from all of this. If you gain nothing else from this post, know this: It took years to get you where you are now, addicted to food that does nothing for your health, and possibly facing real health challenges. And it’s going to take some time to reverse all that. It took at least 10 years for your acne to develop to the way it is. Oftentimes a couple of months of eating right aren’t enough to undo those years of mistreatment of yourself. Women with fibroids often are diagnosed well into their twenties, thirties, and forties. That’s decades it took for your body to get to that state. Understand that in addition to eating right, it’s going to take time, and some real self-exploring and healing in all the ways to restore you. Journal your thoughts during this time. If you hate to write, use the voice recorder on your phone and speak out your thoughts. Either way, getting those emotions out is a great form of healing.
You’re going to need God by your side during this time, so now is the time to really P.U.S.H (pray until something happens). The power of prayer is real. You’re going to have some rough, frustrating times, and sometimes the only thing that’ll get you through and keep you going is to get in the presence of Jesus.
Forget timelines and goals. Healing doesn’t always work that way. My Instagram post today sums this up. This is a journey. A lifestyle. As long as you hang in there and persevere, your health goals will happen. Be tenacious, and don’t give up. Never give up.
You may fall off for months. Sometimes you tell yourself you’re gonna start fresh on Monday, and by Thursday you’ve already fallen back off. Sometimes you have to restart 50, 75, 100 times, and it’s frustrating. But that just comes with the process. You’ll be okay. You can absolutely do this. Just take it one moment at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time, until you reach a milestone of your own?
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