First of all, I have learned that one should never "go on a diet." Any weight loss from a short term diet is, unfortunately, also short term. If you want permanent results, you need a permanent diet. A diet should be a healthy lifestyle change, not a short term starvation tool for losing weight quickly.
Secondly, I have learned about something called "eating clean." Eating clean is basically avoiding unnatural foods. It means fewer refined grains and sugars, preservatives, artificial flavors and coloring, etc. It means avoiding meals that come from a box.
Because of what I've learned I've made some small changes to my life. For example, I have permanently switched from regular pasta to whole grain and stopped buying boxed foods. Sadly though, it just hasn't been enough. I still indulge in too much sugar, too many refined grains, and much larger portion sizes than I ought to. I have not lost any weight since my little boy was born 9 months ago. I have been more active, but I just can't seem to sufficiently control what I put into my mouth.
Over the last few weeks I have been formulating a new theory. I believe I was misled about what it is like to diet. I have always felt like it shouldn't be that hard. I have felt that I should just be able to add a few more fruits and vegetables to my diet and just crowd out the bad stuff. Or that I could eat anything I wanted but in smaller portions. It can't be that hard, right? I don't know how I was led to believe this, but I thought that a good diet, one that was not extreme, should be easy.
I was wrong. I can see that now. I have begun to realize that while a good diet is not extreme, it is also NOT easy. I suppose making the right choices for our bodies and our spirits is rarely easy.
As I was reading in the Book of Mormon last night, I came across a scripture in Mosiah that reads: "And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than a man can suffer, except it be unto death..." What caught me was the phrase "suffer temptations." I realized that many of the scriptures that speak of the temptations of Christ use similar phrasing. They use the word "suffer." I had never before thought of temptation as suffering, but it certainly is. When we choose to resist temptation it does not simply go away. The more we resist, the harder Satan tries. It is exhausting to resist, and it never stops. It is suffering.Satan is not the only source of temptation. We have mortal, fallen bodies, and the temptation to give in to inappropriate physical desires can be overwhelming. The Lord wants us to learn to control these desires, and so Satan rejoices when we lack self-control. When it comes to our appetites, we have both the natural man and the adversary to contend with.
And so I have concluded: sticking to a healthy diet is hard. Its difficult, even miserable. When we choose not to give in to that tempting box of donuts we will suffer. Yup. SUFFER. Suffering is what living healthy is all about, at least until you are used to it.I'm not going to stop trying though. I still want the benefits of a healthy diet, but this time I'm doing it with eyes wide open. Fortunately, I have found the crucial resource, the Atonement. I know that the Lord wants me to be the best and healthiest that I can be, and that He will help me resist all the temptations that come with choosing a healthier lifestyle. "For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted." -Hebrews 2:18
Photos
Donuts: This imagewas originally posted to Flickr.com and uploaded to wikimedia Commons by Tom Morris. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glazed_doughnut_with_specks.jpg
Healthy soup: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boiling_Soup.jpg
Christ: "Christ" by Heinrich Hoffman
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