If you are what you eat….I’m not sweet.

I’ve been asked a number of times lately about my foodie choices. People want to know what I eat, what I don’t eat and if I ever eat what I don’t eat.  They want to know what my diet looks like and how it works.

My diet only works because I make it work. A diet will only help you accomplish your goals if you follow it.

I found a number of years ago that I feel better when I do not eat processed and refined sugar and flour. I have somewhat ruthlessly cut these out of my diet (here referred to what I eat not a weight-loss plan).

This does not mean I don’t eat any white food. Hello…I’m Irish. We eat potatoes.  Generally my budget allows me to get russet potatoes sometimes though I’ll grab some red or yukon gold. Knowing none of those are the best for you but I buy what I can.  I also eat rice. My favorite rice is brown but since I’ve started shopping at Sam’s, I’ve branched out and buy other healthy kinds of rice and not just plain white. I really like basmati rice. (However, the basmati rice I buy could very well be adulterated and have almost no actual basmati rice at all.)

I make my own bread using 100% whole wheat. I do not mix in white flour to help  it rise. When we dine out and I have a burger I order it sans bun.  When I order chicken, I order it grilled and not fried.

This means I use honey as a sweetener and not sugar. I do have sugar in the house. I just made some chai tea mix for my church and I have sugar on hand for things like that. My children put a little sugar on their Cheerios in the morning.  I drink my coffee “blacker than a thousand midnights down in a cypress swamp”. (My regards to James Weldon Johnson)

I have also cut out, of course, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, organic cane sugar, and fruit juice. It really narrows the playing field when dining out. And I’ll admit dining out isn’t near as much fun anymore. Gone are the days of going out for dessert and ordering a slice of pie, or going for a burger and eating the whole thing.

Since I’ve cut these out of my diet, I can honestly say I’m not at all convinced fast food burgers are real food. When you eat them without the bun, it doesn’t taste at all like anything resembling food. It tastes like a substance and really that is all I can say. It doesn’t taste like anything good.

Now, I am not a Nazi about my dietary choices. I don’t expect others to cater to my choices. If I had a medical reason, I would be a bit more vocal, but since I don’t have that reason, I follow the directive in Luke 10:8 and “eat what is put before me”.  If you invited us over for a meal and served spaghetti or grilled cheese, I would not say “I can’t eat that.” I would instead be silent and thankful.  I might pass on dessert or request a very small piece.

I do have days when I splurge at home. On family birthdays my girls ask if I’ll splurge and have some cake and I do.  This year I was going to celebrate my birthday week with sugar every day. I didn’t even make it to Wednesday before I gave up because the nausea wasn’t worth it.

One of the side effects of eating this way has been I’ve lost about 45 pounds in the past couple of years.  But that isn’t the only thing I’ve done to lose weight. I’ve overall chosen a healthier lifestyle. I have cut down the number of calories I consume every day.  I do some exercises almost every day.

You see, I’ve come to really realize that my body is a temple of the Holy, Living God. I want to take care of it. For me, eating food that isn’t good for me isn’t taking care of His temple.