(Yes, it’s spelled right)
After a life-threatening huge push at the beginning of 2019, I embarked on the challenge of eating better so I could live longer, so I could do my part to be here for my wife and family as a contributor. I was 60lbs overweight, with sugar levels of 465 and an A1C of 11.6 (the chart ends at 12)
I realized that my life as a glutton must end, so I made two critical changes immediately.
1. Portion control
While in the hospital, I was given one scoop of three different items, and this is where I took my cue. (It looked like a snack). Once home, no matter how much was made, these small portions were all I ate. In the beginning, I had no snacks between meals.
2. Eliminate most sugar
a) I stopped all soft drinks. I drink water, unsweet tea, unsweetened hot tea, and black coffee.
b) I stopped all white bread. ( it turns to sugar quickly) if I had bread at all, it was not more than 1 piece for the day.
c) If I fix pasta it was whole wheat.
In 6 months, I lost 60 pounds.
In the evenings, while watching TV, I would get urges to eat something, so I took one cinnamon graham cracker, added more cinnamon, and probably took 20 minutes to eat it, trying to savor and extend the moment.
I learned to be glutton-free, and It’s an ongoing battle.
To reach my goals, I replaced many habits with new, better habits. It’s much easier to replace habits than to break habits. It’s now 2021. It’s been a little over 2 years since this all started. The struggle not to overeat or eat sweets continues to be a challenge.
I have also found there’s an eerie similarity between sinful actions and bad eating choices. Just like with wrongdoing, the more I give into glutton temptations, the less guilty I feel the next time the temptation arises.
Over the last 18 months, I have found myself little by little loosening the self-imposed restrictions. Telling myself that larger portions of healthy foods with occasional sweet treats are ok. While there is some truth to this thought, I don’t think I want to lose those feelings of guilt when I break my own rules because the farther I get from my original commitments, the closer I get to those old bad habits. So, I embrace the feelings of guilt that help me stay true to my commitment.
“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.
1 cORINTHIANS 6:12
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