It's Sunday night and that means I have finished phase one of the Maker's Diet!!! I am so proud of myself. These last two weeks have probably been some of the hardest weeks I have ever gone thru - but it has been my faith, family and friends that have gotten me thru this ordeal. Here are some things I've learned as I went thru Phase One.
I'm stronger than I thought I was: This past Tuesday I hit a wall in the diet. It was a cold, rainy day. Driving home from work, all I wanted to do was come home and curl up on my couch with some comfort food. And my definition of comfort food would have been junk - nothing involved in phase one of the diet. Luckily, my 2 mile drive home on Whitlock Avenue (which typically takes about 30 minutes at 5 p.m. rush hour) gave me time to talk myself out of going home and eating bad food. I kept reminding myself that I was eating comfort food - food prescribed to me from the Creator. If I came home and ate junk, then I wouldn't be in any comfort.
A diet is easier when you're doing it for the right reasons: Several times in my life I've tried different "diets" or tried to eat "right" to lose weight. But I've failed at all of those attempts. But staying true to the Maker's Diet has been easier because the motivation behind it is pure and true. As I said from the beginning, I'm not doing this to lose weight (although I have lost weight - don't know how much because I didn't weigh myself before I started and don't really see the need to know). I'm on this diet to regain control of my health. I'm ok with sacrificing a view of my food vices to not live a life on medicines.
I really enjoying cooking: Ok this is something that I've known about myself, but I've rekindled my love of cooking thru this diet. The past few years I've been so busy that many of my meals were quick or from a restaurant. And living by myself, I didn't like cooking for one. But this diet has forced me to slow down and be more intentional about cooking. And it's been fun experimenting. There has been a small selection of foods that I could have, but I've tried to come up with different combinations as to not get bored with anything. One of the things I've enjoyed about this diet is coming home from work and cooking.
I could not have done this with out the support of family and friends: There have been days these last two weeks that I've wanted to quit. But it's been the encouragement and support of family and friends that keeps me on course. My mom has been my constant cheerleader - asking me about the diet constantly. She's also cooked me countless meals that fit into the diet, and she always made extra so that I could take leftovers home for lunch the next day. My sister-in-law (who is a health nut herself), has been a great resource to talk to about what I should be eating and what brands, stores, etc. are the best ones to check out. And I've gained new friends in this - I've met several times and e-mail back and forth with a new friend I met thru another friend. She has Crohn's and has been on the Maker's Diet for several years now. She's been a great source of encouragement, information and accountability. She's someone I can talk to about what I'm going thru and I know she understands cause she's been there. There are countless other friends and family who have been supporting me too - most importantly with their prayers and encouragement.
This experience is bringing me closer to God: While I started this journey to gain my health back, I've also gained a closer relationship with God. I've been a Christian since I accepted Christ at summer camp when I was in 7th grade. But I've never had to fully, completely and whole-heartedly rely on, and put my faith in God like I have with this. In the quiet moments, when I'm all alone at my house and no one would really know if I ate a bag of chips of a handful of cookies, it's been God's quiet and gentle spirit that has kept me on the right path. I know he loves me and wants what's best for me. He's given me the strength to get thru this.
God is restoring me: One of my favorite worship songs right now is called "Restoration." The chorus is "You take my mourning, and turn it into dancing/ You take my weeping and turn it into laughing/ You take my mourning and turn it into dancing/ You take my sadness and turn it into joy." Those lines really explain how I feel on this journey. And I can already tell that God is beginning to restore my health. I'll spare you all the details - but basically I feel great and I'm not having as many symptoms of Crohn's. Every day gets a little better. In the end, I have full faith that God will take my sadness (poor health) and will turn it into joy (good health)!
So starting tomorrow I move on to Phase Two of the diet - and that means sweet potatoes!!!! That's probably what I'm most excited about with Phase Two. Sweet potatoes are probably one of my favorite foods, I bought some today at the store in preparation for Phase Two. I'll probably dream about sweet potatoes tonight :) Yummy!
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