Diary I woke up bright and early this morning, despite having the day off from work. I woke up energetic and ready to go! However, because I’m home for the majority of the day, I got distracted by all the … Continue reading
Journal:
Wowee! What a day. Where do I even begin?
Well, let’s start with the fact I was running late this morning, so I packed 3 mini watermelons with me. I attempted to eat one before leaving on our field trip only to find out it tasted ROTTEN. Not a good start to the day.
After returning from the field trip, I attempted to eat another one for lunch. This one tasted better, but still not like the watermelons of true summer. I’m hitting the end of the season and the results are nasty. Why did I choose to eat fruit at this time of the year?
So needless to say, my idea of getting in some watermelon was a disaster. So I decided to use today as a true experiment day. For the past 17 days, I have only had MINIMAL amounts of fruit. I have not had anything else. Well, today I decided to see how I would react to some vegan junk food.
First I had a slice of vegan carrot cake. I wish I would have taken a picture of this beauty, but I was so nervous to actually eat it that it didn’t cross my mind. I actually was nervous to eat this piece of cake! I think back to my childhood days where we ate sweets REGULARLY (and here I was questioning a piece of carrot cake!!). Well, my body was dying while I ate it. It was so unbelievably sweet that I honestly started not feeling well. I stopped after a couple bites. It was not “good” to me at all. Oh have my tastebuds changed! As I forced myself to eat some more, I noticed that I even could end up with a headache if I continued eating this way. Oh man. Processed sugar is clearly bad.
Then I had some Ruffles All-Dressed chips. It was a very small amount, but the salt almost felt like it was burning my mouth. Oh it was so strong I can’t even begin to describe it to you. I felt like I might even go puffy around my eyes. Thankfully I didn’t as I was in a staff meeting, but man! Once you’ve been eating clean for so long, you really notice the unhealthiness of such foods when you eat them again. The power was potent!
I didn’t leave work until around 7:30/8:00 at night. It was a long, stressful day. But after I got home, I was starving. I didn’t get around to eating the third watermelon and I was STARVING. All I could think about was going ANYWHERE to get some kind of food. Fruit was not on my mind. It took a bit of willpower to prevent myself from getting in the car and driving to a drive-thru but I knew it was the effects of the junk I had today. It’s honestly terrible. Why do we do these things to ourselves?
In the end, I cracked open the third watermelon I had. The flavour sucked. It almost tasted like the red parts were the same as the rind. I couldn’t even eat it. I maybe had 2 or 3 bites. Fruit just sucks in quality here right now so my calories are staying very low. I’m not eating what I need, especially with the long hours I’m pulling and the stress I’m going through at the moment. Tomorrow is a banana island day and I’m hoping my bananas show better results. So here’s to going to sleep hungry and awaiting to have bananas tomorrow. Let’s hope it’s a better day.
Review of Symptoms:
-Acne is bad, especially on chin and where cheeks meet neck. Hating it.
-Hungry. Fruit quality is sucking right now.
-Almost a headache from sweet vegan junk food.
-Burning mouth and feeling of swelling from chips.
-Hair is slight greasy after water washing today.
Weight at the end of the day = 174.6 (up 1.8 lbs from yesterday… salt retention much?)
Total Calories = Approx. 966 (63% carbs, 32% fat, 5% protein… way too high in fat!!)
Journal:
Today is the last day of oranges and it couldn’t come sooner. Part of my problem is I’m not eating enough, but two of my 10-lb bags of oranges have blue-molded after purchasing them two days before so I had to throw them out. And what a day it was…
Today was one of those days that once again, I wish I had stayed in bed. It was such a stressful day I can’t even begin to tell you. I didn’t get home until after 6:30 (school gets out at 3:55). I didn’t get my spares today because I had to deal with situations. On top of already being exhausted from the weekend, the day took the rest of the energy I had left. What a day…
And of course, on a day when I’m super hungry, not eating enough, and sick of the awful quality oranges I’ve been managing to eat, a loving parent of a student brings me these delicious oatmeal bars. Ah! It took all my willpower not to eat those as they sat on my desk. Ah…. I’m internally screaming at this moment. But tomorrow is a watermelon day, so I’m hoping my watermelons are better.
So I survived the day, came home and changed, and then went out to drown my sorrows in a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. Yes… even it didn’t taste the best (again, not the right time for oranges), but it was the only way I could not break my orange island day. So it worked. It hit the spot.
After I drank the juice, I went to the gym and did 33 minutes of cycling cardio. It felt good. Exercise is such a good stress reliever and it was much needed tonight.
So that about sums up my day as I just went home after the gym and pretty much went to bed. I’m looking forward to some hopefully better fruit days coming up.
Review of Symptoms:
-Acne still bad. Not happy. Picture day is coming up…
-Hair not greasy. Loving that!
-Stomach is great. Not having anymore issues.
-Digestion on hold so I’m monitoring. Could be stress-related.
-Tired.
-Hungry. Still not eating enough.
Weight at the end of the day = 172.8 lbs (down a total of 16 lbs)
Total Calories = approx. 1032 (99% carbs, 0% fat, 1% protein)
Journal:
Today was a very lazy day. I didn’t wake up in time to go to church so I grabbed a plate of oranges and stayed home.
I don’t have a lot to write about today as I literally rested for most of the day.
After sundown, I did start prepping some items for tomorrow’s softball tournament. My housemate and I made up more candy bags, made two kinds of popcorn balls and rice krispy squares. Though I did stick to just eating oranges, the smell of vanilla was getting to me. It took some willpower to not breakdown and eat something today. But once again, I was able to do it.
It was a late night, but by 12:30 am, I was asleep.
Review of Symptoms:
-Acne showing no improvement.
-Hair is still not greasy and I’m loving it.
-Digestion is great.
Weight at the end of the day = 174.6 lbs (down a total of 14.2 lbs)
Total Calories = 781 (98% carbs, 1% fat, 1% protein)
Something to think about in the new year:
I took a few minutes this morning to peruse the December 2015 Adventist World and the January 2016 Outlook (Adventist Publication from Mid-America). Between the two publications, there were 3 articles expressing the same topic, the topic of health.
Adventists are KNOWN for their health message. Ellen White expresses the importance of taking care of our bodies to truly do what we are meant to do for Christ. She expresses the best benefits being from a plant-based diet, but how many of us actually follow that advice?
Since I’ve embarked on my own vegan journey, I’ve watched so many documentaries and so many times Loma Linda is listed – the Adventists are listed – for living longer than any other North American groups because of our vegetarian/vegan diets. If the rest of the world is noticing, then why aren’t we following our own message?
We are so quick to apologize for the many sins we accept: lying, envy, stealing, even having bad thoughts towards another. These sins are obvious. But is it not also a sin to avoid taking care of our own health?
Think back to the Garden of Eden, to God’s OPTIMAL design for us. We all know animals weren’t killed then. Everyone lived in harmony, both human and animals alike. We didn’t eat all of this junk food that we have now. We didn’t eat animal flesh. We didn’t eat eggs or drink milk. We had the beautiful fruit from the earth. That was the diet God intended.
Now, the world has continued to become degraded. Our soil quality is not what it used to be. You do need to eat vegetables, fruit, grains and legumes. But the key is, you can still get all the nutrients, even often better received by your body, with an animal-less diet. God hasn’t left us hanging. His diet is still here.
In fact, cultures and groups who eat minimal to no animal products suffer less disease and illness. Why do we put our bodies through this?
As a child, I thought all of these things were ok. But the more research I do, the more I realize how blind we are. The even scarier part is that we refuse to be truthful with ourselves. We don’t consider the fact that the devil can easily use food to get us. Think of all the junk food society craves. Have you ever wondered why the ingredients list is always 10+ items long? Most of them you don’t even know what they are. The food industry wants to get you “hooked” and they know what ingredients to use to do it. We are a society with a “health message” where the majority ignore the truth.
We all know the phrase we long to hear when Jesus returns, “Well done good and faithful servant”. But how many of us can He say that to when it comes to His very temples? These bodies are not ours and we must treat them as such. These bodies are God’s. We invite the Holy Spirit to live within us, and yet we treat His house like garbage.
I’m an avid exerciser, and no it’s not always fun. There are days I drag myself to the gym. But without exercise, my heart would not function like it should, my body would not carry me around like it should, and my health would not be in continuous progress like it is.
I also was a cheese addict. I went vegetarian cold-turkey when I was influenced by my first vegetarians. I remained that way for years, often considering going vegan, but never actually having the willpower to say no to cheese. If I could double cheese on anything and everything, you can bet that I did.
When I decided to go vegan, I went through cheese withdrawal for about a week. Who could have ever thought you could go through cheese withdrawal? But it happens because of the design of cheese. It is meant to be addictive. At times during that week, I had to make sure I had fruit in my hand to shove in my mouth so that I wouldn’t be tempted to eat the cheese. And now? I would never look back.
So where does this leave our society? In my opinion, uneducated. It doesn’t take an Adventist to see the benefits of plant-based diets. The science is spreading through the world like wildfire. Evidence is springing up with the results in peoples’ lives. Several doctors are realizing their lack of nutritional education and are starting to get involved. It’s time for us to learn it for ourselves, to understand the impact we are having on ourselves and others. Can you imagine rarely getting sick? Rarely having headaches? Rarely having to go to a doctor? It’s possible, you just need to want to embark on the journey that is not going to be fun at first.
We also need to remember that everything we do in life – EVERYTHING – is seen by our LORD. He knows our motives, He knows our hearts. Just as it’s not always easy to walk up to someone to share the message of Christ with them (especially if you’re expecting backlash), it’s not easy to want to change your habits. But as we see throughout the Bible and throughout the world still today, God’s call is not an easy one. God doesn’t even bring you to paths you can handle. Instead, He wants your heart to be earnest, and then to walk with Him on the path He wants you to take, even carrying you part of the way when necessary.
This is not meant to be a controversial topic. It is meant to be a reminder of truth, of a journey that I have been on myself lately. I’m not perfect either. Even though I was able to hear the call to better health, to realizing and beating my addiction to cheese, I need to get better at a whole food diet and ditch the convenient, pre-made vegan food that I have made a habit of eating.
Life is a journey and it’s never easy. If it was so easy to be healthy, everybody would be healthy. It takes determination, acceptance of what needs to be changed, and the willpower to do it. And even so, all of our efforts without Christ on our journey with us are of little use. Christ is the extra motivation that we need. Picture this: You know Jesus is coming to your house today. What would you do? I know I would be cleaning like mad, making sure it looked the best it could, and preparing the best food I absolutely could. Our bodies are no different. We invite the Holy Spirit in, but how many of us have cleaned internally? Are you feeding your body the best foods so it runs the healthiest and is the cleanest it can be? That is a question for serious thought.
I’m going to leave you with some quotes from Ellen White and the author of the article, “Adventists Urged to Examine Their Meals,” Andrew McChesney:
“We have had this information for more than 120 years, ” said Dr. Peter N. Landless, director of the Adventist world church’s Health Ministries Department. “Sadly, many have chosen not to follow the advice that has been given to God’s inspired servant, but it is always reassuring when one sees that that which is given by inspiration proven by peer-reviewed, evidence-based science.”
He added: “Our prayer is that our church will take note, not because this is an issue related to salvation, but because it affects the quality of life and our service to a broken world, the mission to which we have been called.”
“Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing,” White wrote in the book Child Guidance. [You would be surprised how much diseased flesh is in your animal products today, since she said this so many years ago! Our world is corrupt and hides many things from us.]
White, who Adventists believe had the gift of prophecy, wrote in the same book that meat would become more contaminated as the earth neared its last days and that Adventists would stop eating it. “Flesh will cease to form a part of their diet,” she said. “We should ever keep this end in view and endeavour to work steadily toward it. I cannot think that in the practice of flesh eating we are in harmony with the light which God has been pleased to give us.”
I wish you all a happy, healthy 2016 as we prepare for the ever-closer coming of our LORD and Saviour. May we leave ourselves behind and put God first, no matter what journey He asks us to embark on. Because unlike many things in life, we know the end. We know that all the evil of the world will fade away, and Christ will reign in the best lives we can’t even possibly imagine. All of our unanswered questions will be answered, and we will no longer have to watch suffering take place. Our LORD will be with us, face-to-face, with the loving embrace that will bring happy tears knowing that everything we’ve suffered, everything we’ve endured, everything we’ve experienced will have all been worth it. I cannot wait to thank Him for all that He has brought me through, and for all that He has done for me. What a glorious day that will be!
Today was a bit more stressful than usual. I have a big dentist appointment after school that I need to have my kids ready so that I can leave as soon as the bell goes while the other teacher will watch over my class, and yet have everything I need prepared including teeth cleaned before I see the dentist. Ah. All of this on top of trying to get as much grading done as possible since report cards are going to be an soon and upcoming deadline. Ah! Too much at once.
Somehow, I made it out the door to the dentist on time. Today was the day I was getting my Invisalign put on. But I definitely didn’t have any time to spare. In, to the washroom quick, and straight into the chair. First the polished my teeth. Then they put on these attachments to help the apparatus twist my teeth properly. Then they had to sand in between my teeth to make more room for movement. Finally, the plate got put on. Prior to leaving, the dentist made sure I knew how to take it off and put it back on as you’re not supposed to eat with it on.
Now, I had braces when I was in junior high, and I can remember the days of just laying on the couch in pain. But I don’t think I was as prepared for how much it would drive me crazy this evening. In fact it was driving me so crazy, and I was using every ounce of willpower I had not to take it off, that I ended up sleeping my evening and night away so that I wouldn’t be awake to have to deal with it. I didn’t even go to the gym. It’s messing me up so bad! I can’t even call it painful. But I can say that there was nothing more forefront on my mind than getting that tray out of my mouth. And I think the fact that I knew it was possible to take off made it all the worse. Ah! Sleeping away reality.
Calm in Christ and Fitness 