It's time to reflect on what I've learned, my struggles and a few things to think about.
When we were doing the no-sugar challenge, people asked if I could feel any difference. At the time I really didn't. I think I am feeling differences now. I feel crabbier/PMSier this month. I seem to have more zits (seriously, I'm 42, could I be done already?) among other issues. While these could be caused by a general disregard for my diet, I do feel a large part of it has to do with my eating sugar again.
I did learn about and how I like to use the alternative sweeteners. I like to bake cakes, muffins and cookies with honey. I like baking bread with rice syrup. My initial excitement over the coconut sugar quickly fizzled when it didn't produce baked goods to my liking. We now use either maple syrup or agave nectar on our pancakes and waffles. (Agave is a little cheaper.) I love the grain sweetened chocolate chips and coconut ice cream we discovered. While we esp. loved the agave sweetened gummy bears they seem to be unavailable. Every co-op we go to says they are "temporarily unavailable" (this has been since before Easter, I'm not sure they're coming back-bummer.) I bake bread each week so I can control the ingredients. I never use sugar in any of my home baking or cooking. (Unless someone orders a cake.)
I am struggling with maintaining the no sugar challenge. I'm not sure if it's laziness, weakness or giving up. I think depending on the day it could be any of those and probably more. For example, tonight my dog decided to chase after another dog across the street and came within inches of getting hit by a car. I ended up going for a walk and bought a 1/2 gallon of Walgreens ice cream and fed the whole thing to my family (I think I was possessed by the sugar demon.) So, apparently I need to go the extreme opposite of no sugar and just pour it directly into our mouths after I experience a traumatic event. Ug! Most days though, I just end up falling into old habits and patterns and end up eating mindlessly. (Mindless Eating is a great eye-opening book by the way.)
I've also been thinking about all I've read and learned and come to some conclusions. Adam and Eve had it perfect. They had the perfect vegetarian diet, the perfect amount of sun, the perfect appetite, exercise, relationships.......you get the idea. Then it all changed when they chose to put their focus on themselves rather than God or each other. It's been that way ever since. Yes Jesus has redeemed us, but we still live in a fallen world. Things will not be perfect again until there is a new Heaven and a new earth (and only God knows when that is.) In the mean time we try to achieve "perfect". This Dr. says "don't eat soy", that TV personality says "don't eat dairy, the other health guru says "eat vegan".......and on and on it goes. I believe there is truth to all of it but the Devil is a good liar and will distort the truth any time he can. If you aren't careful you will end up being afraid to go to the grocery store for fear of a new conspiracy around every corner. Which brings me to my perspectives.
My Mom brought up a good point several years ago. We have available foods that are better than much of the world. We don't have to dig in trash cans for our next meal. Our water is clean and even if money is tight there are still good food options available to us. I feel like sometimes we get so fixated on what we can't or shouldn't have that we forget about the bounty available to us. I do believe it is very important to eat the foods God intended for us to eat (which do not include fruit loops, processed-beyond-recognition meats etc.) I believe God wants us to be healthy so we can do what it is He has planned for us to do. I don't think getting fixated on the negative and bad aspects of food is the way to go about things. I believe I can only do the best that I can do and the rest I will leave up to my Lord and Savior, Protector and Creator, Help and Comfort, God of the universe. I'm certain He can handle it!
Hopefully some of my rantings made sense. I am going to try once again to eat healthier. I think I will have more success if I focus on that rather than restricting. Moderation seems like a good challenge. I could use moderation in several areas of my life. I'll get back to you on that!
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