I feel as though the transition diet is an awesome guideline - but my problem with it is its lack of specificity. The first week, I really had a hard time figuring out what to cut out. There were the obvious things such as candy and Doritos, but I wasn't really sure if a slice of pizza counted as junk or as a meal; if going out to eat and ordering (greasy) beef tacos was junk, etc. As I said, it wasn't specific enough, and for me this is a problem. And when I don't feel clear on things, I usually just give up and ended up eating WORSE this last week and a half than I was the weeks before.
What I have been doing on my own these past few weeks though is doing what I mentioned in my last transition diet post: I've really been noticing how specific foods and quantities make me feel, and I noticed something that I hadn't really paid much attention to before. Processed foods, especially when we eat out, really make me sick. Panda Express literally tasted horrible to me this week after noticing how other similar foods had made me felt.
With that in mind, I've created a fairly specific list of foods I'm going to be keeping and avoiding in my diet. I've listed specific things that are in my cupboards, or foods such as "El Pollo Loco tacos" which are the tacos el carbon and are actually very healthy as eating out fast food goes (120 calories, very low in sodium, high in protein.) Because of that, you might want to make your own list, but here is mine in case you'd like a jumping off point.
(If the picture is not showing up in-text, click on it and it will open the viewable photo in a new page.) Obviously, I can't/won't (?) cut out foods on the right side forever, and that's why I'll consider them "treat" foods. But for the most part, I'd actually rather not eat them based on how they've made me feel in the past. Foods on the left side actually can be divided into two categories - I obviously will want to be eating more fruits and vegetables than noodles! :) I'll even be more honest - I've been putting a lot of thought into mostly focusing on eating fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables. However, I don't feel like a vegetarian (or more strict) diet is right for me now, so I'm starting off here.
If you're bored and skimming - stop here! Anyway, you're probably wondering where I'm going with this. As I said before, I don't feel like the transition diet is working for me, but I'm always trying to come up with new ways to make my lifestyle healthier and work for me. But I also hate the feeling of failing I was getting from the transition diet, so I wanted to share this inspirational movie clip:
Do or do not. There is no try.
It's kind of like the idea behind Nike's Just Do It! ad campaign. I don't want to try to be healthy and fail. I want to DO IT. I want to set my mind and set my will to decide to be healthier and decide to love my body for what it is and therefore treat it as it should be. I'm tired of feeling like I'm sluggish, that I don't like the way my body feels, etcetera. And while there is merit in learning to "love the jeans you're in" there is also a need to treat your body as the temple of the Lord that it is - and to me, as much as possible, that means keeping your body healthy, in good working order, not feeding it doritos and fatty fried foods every day.
I quoted this verse before, but I'll leave you with it again and encourage you to consider what it means for you and your healthy lifestyle:
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
