GAIN IN KILOS: LOSE IN POUNDS

Gain in Kilos; Lose in Pounds
May 19, 2012

     Last week, my three friends and two of their husbands, Christina, Christy, Deana, Mike, and Colin, and myself filmed a silly little spoof of Charlie’s Angels. I was horrified when I looked at the clip. I sunk into a depression as my weight moved around before me. I practically cried and prayed myself to sleep in the fetal position and wanted to hide from the world.
   
     On Sunday, while avoiding human contact as much as possible all day after church, I decided I needed to do something. I decided to do a juice fast. This was not some fad diet attempt; rather, it was my decision to break the cycle of horrible eating habits and reset my mind and body. I prayed about it and for three days: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I drank only juiced or blended vegetables, fruit, nuts, and beans (the nuts and bean blends were… interesting… not tasty, but interesting). I needed to just break the cycle of bad eating and start over, and let’s just say with those blended beans and nuts, I experienced what it really means to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. No risk of overindulgence there!

     Well, Today was day two of eating solid foods again. After my first meal, my tummy ached for a few minutes, but that was it. After that I was fine. I realized that it’s not enough to start with exercise. Exercise deals with what is in my body; eating well deals with what does or does not even make it into my body. I can exercise all I want (figuratively speaking; I don’t really want to), but it doesn’t mean much if my cells are starving for nutrients.

     The first day was relatively easy. The second day was irritating. The third day was hard. I boiled my eggs so if I was still awake at midnight, I could eat them.
On the third day, I determined and signed a contract with myself dedicating myself to not eating processed foods or refined sugar for the next six days (except for yogurt since I can’t read the Chinese label to know which is the healthiest yogurt-- and honey which I rarely use anyway).

     Today is the end of day two of this and my diet is consisting of lean proteins, vegetables, fruit, beans, a little extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little salt, pepper, and other spices. I am actually enjoying this because I am eating only at home, which means… I’m cooking all my meals. I am experimenting in the kitchen and discovering vegetables I normally wouldn’t take a second look at in the grocery store. I’m learning to cook tasty food with all fresh ingredients since I can’t use any processed ingredients. I’m even using fresh spices when I can find them in the store (fresh garlic, ginger, cilantro).

     I can’t say I will never eat this or that again because that is too overwhelming, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with indulging on special occasions (special occasions being on a birthday, not for a week after the birthday, On Christmas, not the weeks leading up to and after Christmas, on Thanksgiving, not the week after Thanksgiving). I can only say that I commit to this for six days and if I am pleased with the results (Which I am sure I will be. I’ve already lost 6 pounds- or 3 kilos. I prefer to gain in kilos and lose in pounds.), I will consider renewing my contract. Eventually, I might even extend the length of the contract, but for now, I’m just going to think about today’s part of my current six day contract.

     Well this is truly the next step of my spiritual journey with Jesus. I pray to God that I stick to it this time. I really feel like I have to put this part of my flesh to death like He commands us to put all of our sinful fleshly desires to death in order to continue to grow in my relationship with Him—and my relationship with the Father is my life’s goal.


Blessings!
Brittany