3 Things to Remember When Changing Your Eating Habits
Today marks day #12 of my Whole30 life-style change.
The Whole30 program is a 30-day reset where you eliminate certain food groups from your diet that could be having a negative impact on your body. These include dairy, sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, carrageenan, MSG, and sulfites.
The goal of this program is more than just going through a detox or losing a pound or two quick – the goal is changing your emotional and physical relationship with food.
“Whole30 is designed to change your life.” – Melissa Hartwig, Founder of Whole30
At the core, Whole30 is about learning how your body is affected by what you eat.
The reason why I personally chose to do Whole30 (alongside by Husband) is because I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) at 14 years old. PCOS is a hormonal imbalance in women’s bodies that there isn't a cure for. Typically, Doctors prescribe birth control to regulate your cycles and send you out the door with no real lifestyle change.
And that’s exactly what happened to me.
They never told me PCOS is best managed by food. After 13 years of being on pharmaceuticals I finally thought to myself… “this isn’t healthy. There has to be another way…”
When I started doing my own research, I learned that my current diet wasn’t helping my body - it was hurting it. To be honest, I'd eat at least 6 zebra cakes in one day without regret. Thankfully, because of my family’s great genes and fast metabolism, I am not terribly overweight, which is a very common side effect of PCOS.
So, I ended pharmaceuticals, I started treatments with a Nutritionist (Healthy Touch in Rome, GA), and am changing my lifestyle with Whole30. I’m not writing this for you – I’m writing this for me. I’m not writing this because I’ve already changed my life and I have something to say – I’m writing this because changing your life is a daily decision and prayer to God and I’m asking you to join me.
Here are 3 small things to keep in mind when changing your eating habits:
1. Pray. A lot. The Bible says, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, in everything give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 TLV) I had a mentor say to me one time when referring to desert, “this doesn’t taste as good as being thin feels!” And she said it with a smile! Whenever you are tempted to make a bad food decision, pray immediately – and rejoice. Praise God and ask Him to give you the strength to live out every day making good food choices that take care of your temple, our bodies, where His Spirit dwells. (1 Corinthians 6:19 TLV) And then thank Him for making you healthy and whole. For the Bible says, “I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 TLV)
2. Talk to your spouse/family about food. Growing up, we never talked about food. We just ate it. I’m sure somewhere along the line children learn about food in school, but I never did. Do some research about what foods are healthy for your body and what they actually do to it nutrition wise, then talk to your spouse or with your children about it. How can you make good food choices if you don’t know what’s good? Find out what they like and cook it together. If you dwell too much on what you CAN’T eat, you’ll never get excited about what you CAN eat. For the first few days detoxing from sugar – it’s very easy to be a grump. But don’t do that, find fun and encouraging things to do and talk about! Your health depends on it.
3. Exercise – set achievable goals. I’ve always been an active person and it’s always helped my weight. But a few days into my Whole30 diet, I decided it would be a great idea to go running. I haven’t consistently run in 5 years! So, I downloaded the Nike Training app and started a running schedule for beginners. The first day’s goal was to reach 10 minutes of solid jogging. And that was it. I thought to myself, “Right, ten minutes. I’ll do twenty.” And away I went.
I made it 4 minutes of jogging. More like really fast paced walking. I set my goals far too high and ended up getting discouraged and wanted to give up. I finished my walk/jog/really-fast-paced-walking-hoping-it-looked-like-jogging and went home.
I had to make the decision right then and there that tomorrow is a new day with new choices and I’m going to try again. And this time, I’m going to jog a solid 5 minutes.
Set achievable goals. Don’t let your future self defeat you. And never give up. NEVER give up! Pray constantly. Start talking about food. Get up and move and REJOICE about it! You are more than a conqueror, you are a beloved child of God, and if you ask anything in His Name – He will do it. (John 14:14 TLV)
Here’s to a healthier & happier you!
Brittni Greenberg
