The Courage to Change
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” If you are familiar with the 12-Steps of recovery, then you are familiar with this prayer. God is the change agent that most weight loss programs are missing.
I don’t know about you, but I simply cannot follow a diet long-term. I didn’t have the commitment and the drive needed to stay with it. The food would always pull me back in.
I didn’t need a diet I needed a healthy lifestyle. The 12-Steps of recovery, along with eating healthy foods, without flour and sugar is what totally made the difference. I needed to turn to God when I felt insecure, lonely, or stressed instead of a bag of cookies or chocolate.
Breaking free of what’s comfortable and familiar can be a difficult process. It’s hard to let go of things that have given us comfort over the years. People still use food in this way, not knowing that they are literally using food as a drug. When we are happy, stressed, tired, or lonely, we turn to food for comfort.
Learning to cope with our feelings, without masking them with food, is the challenge. What are we going to reach for instead of a bag of chips, donuts or cookies? We can reach for the recovery tools that are available to us. Where can we find the tools? We find them in a free 12-Step recovery program.
You Are Not Alone
Being connected to a support group, while working the 12-Steps will give us the courage to change. There are people in the group that have been where you are and will support you. There are also people in the group who are where you want to be, free of food controlling your life.
We simply cannot change in isolation. We need people who understand our struggle. Within the support group, there are people who are modeling victory over food temptations. People who are experiencing this freedom get to share their experience, strength and hope with the group. Support and encouragement are important to living a life in recovery, instead of a life on a continual search for the “right” diet.
Transformation can happen when you are ready.
Cold Turkey or Small Changes?
In order to live a healthy life, just go cold turkey! Eliminate flour and sugar from your eating regimen. These two substances are too addictive to try to eat them in moderation. As soon as the flour and sugar touch the taste buds, the brain releases the “feel good” chemical (dopamine, serotonin, endorphins) that gives us a temporary feeling of euphoria.
This is why it is good to just eliminate them from your eating plan. Fruit will naturally give you the sweetness that is good for your body. Whole grains will also give your body the nutrients that it needs to thrive. Your body will thank you!
Not only will you lose weight by eating a healthy balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, protein, and grain, but you can eliminate some of the conditions that come with eating processed foods. Instead of bloating, lethargy, food fog, and joint pain, you can have a clear mind to think, a balanced blood sugar level, a slim body, and much, much more.
Change does not come easy for most people, but change is necessary to live your best life.
Do you have the courage to change to a healthy eating lifestyle? Are you ready to make a change in your eating habits? Leave a comment. Give me your thoughts on food changes that you are willing or not willing to make and why.
Cynthia
