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A functional medicine doctor spoke at the office a few weeks ago. There wasn't much he spoke about that I haven't already come across in the last year as I've transitioned out of the standard American diet to paleo and begun learning about nutrition in the process.
It's all about decisions.
One thing he kept stressing has stayed with me, though. It's about decisions. It's the decisions we make today that determine where we will be tomorrow. If you want to get your health back, you have to decide to do what it takes to get it back.
You have to decide. It's your decision to make. No one can make it for you.
You have to decide that you want to be free of joint pain enough to put down the morning muffin. You have to decide that you want to be free of the headaches, stomach pain, heartburn, fatigue, insomnia, constipation, you name it, enough to change.
If you are not willing to change, you will not see the results you want. That's the key in a nutshell. You have to want the change enough to go through whatever it takes to get better.
I thought about my journey over the last year, and I wondered how I managed to stick with it this time when so many other attempts to change had failed. Here is what I came up with.
I made the decision.
Early on, I decided to give up wheat. After reading Wheat Belly, I knew I was never eating wheat again. After I made it through the wheat withdrawal, I decided to give myself several months to see how my body responded.
I decided to deal with my sugar addiction.
By December 2013 I knew I had to do something about my sugar addiction so I picked up Diane Sanfilippo's 21-Day Sugar Detox Book. I knew it was up to me to face my issues with sugar. I took the plunge in January 2014 and never looked back. Each time I've done the detox has been a freeing experience. I've learned so much about myself and my behaviors with food. I can't recommend it enough.
I decided to go completely grain free.
I discovered that even gluten-free snacks were not good for me. I had to go completely grain free if I wanted to see real improvement in my health issues.
I decided to give up dairy.
I read somewhere that if you are having resistance to weight loss, you might need to give up dairy so I gave up dairy. That was hard. I enjoyed a cold glass of milk and a snack of cheese most days. But my desire for improvement in my health was s stronger than my desire for milk or cheese.
I decided to give up alcohol.
Alcohol was the last holdout for me. I really, really enjoyed that glass of wine most days. In fact, until I gave it up, I had no idea how much I enjoyed that glass of wine each day. It was a little frightening when I realized that. I've been alcohol free for nearly two months, and I'm beginning to see improvements that I'd been hoping for all along. I now know that I made the right decisions.
I decided to focus on the good.
Most importantly, I decided to focus on all the good foods I can have instead of the things I choose to eliminate from my diet. I choose to focus on what I am gaining instead of thinking of the changes as something that I've lost.
Instead of grieving over the donuts brought to work by a co-worker, I choose to walk on by knowing donuts will cause cramps, nausea, and headaches. The blood sugar spikes that will cause inflammation, something I am trying to reduce, are not worth it. I choose not to mourn the foods in the lunchroom, like the lasagna, meatloaf, or fries, and remind myself of the progress I've made and how important that progress is to me. No amount of short-term pleasure can make up for undoing all the gain I've made so far.
I'm not where I want to be, but I am nowhere near where I used to be. Every choice I make can lead me closer to where I want to be or farther from it. It's up to me. It's my decision.
What choices will you make today to get you closer to where you want to be?
