Thursday, May 22, 2008

Health


For the last few weeks I have been trying to improve my eating habits . With all the talk of healthy heart eating, no carbs, low fat, low sodium diets, I wanted to see for myself how I would feel if I ate just a little bit better. The first thing I did was cut meat out of my diet. (Sorry, TJ & Mark! I love your cows and your organic beef, but....) I have a few friends that are vegetarians so I wanted to see if this would make a difference in how I felt. It's been 3 weeks and so far I feel great. I don't miss it too much. There are so many meat substitutes available that make it easier to eliminate the real thing from the table. I had some vegan sausage the other day mixed in with my stir fry and it was actually pretty good. (though I never liked real sausage, anyway!)
The next thing I cut out was coffee. I have done this umpteen times over the years only to ever so slowly invite it back in! I didn't have too much trouble with that until about 3 days later I began to notice this small ache toward the back of my head. This would be the dreaded no-coffee headache. I was surprised that it took a few days for that to happen. I do have Chai latte's every now and again in addition to Yerba Matte' tea, so I don't strictly have myself weaned from caffeine but I figured that this was a good starting point. Once the headache cleared, the no-coffee rule certainly helped my attitude. I feel much less anxiety than I did. The next hurdle to tackle is the sugar. This one is a bit harder for me as I have not just a sugar tooth but several sugar teeth. I think I get this trait from my mother! She enjoys a good sweet roll as much as I do! I haven't really done that well with this dietary change. Seems like every time I moderate my intake, there's a baby shower to attend with a delicious ice cream filled cake, or a Pampered Chef house warming party with gooey, rich caramel brownies or some other such occasion that requires my indulgence. Once I get the other vices under control I will work harder on the sugar thing.
With the price of diesel fuel reaching a milestone of $5 here in Humboldt I try to do most of my errands on foot. I love to walk and town isn't that big, so I walk just about everywhere I can.
The days of indulgence are gone along with my youth. My mom told me I wouldn't be able to eat that way forever with out consequences and of course mom is usually right. I think the days of moderation are here now. Our health is so fragile, yet so wonderful that I don't want to abuse what the Good Lord has given me. I have seen first hand what it is like to lose your good health and I am not ready or willing to have any of that in my life! So I shall try to do a little better everyday by respecting this gift of good health. And through this act of worship, showing God how appreciative I am for all He has given me for His glory.

2 comments:

  1. Good for you! And our cows probably will not mind your dietary choices. How do they make vegan sausage? The whole vegan, or just the less useful parts? Is this legal? I suppose it would be leaner than pork sausage, but still....

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  2. Ohh dear, My husband. He's one funny fellow.

    I have been sick for a week now. Ugh. Health is definitely important. I have gone on a yeast free diet, basically no heavy starches. It hasn't been too hard, and some parts of me feel better ;-), but a side note is that weight is just falling off; 5 lbs in less than a week. I think it must be muscle loss from being sick. We'll see.

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