Today marks the beginning of my journey.  I have decided to use the Lord as my guide.  I am not going to use any structured diet systems that require organized steps as I personally am not organized enough to do that.   I will, instead, use the knowledge that I have gained about health over the years and put it to work.  I am going to keep it simple.  The one thing that I do know is that most people know what they should and should not eat.  There is enough light in each of us to know that.  There are some people in the world that have hereditary tendencies or medical reasons for gaining weight.  I claim neither of these.  A pretty smart psychologist named Dr. Phil has said on numerous occasions:  “You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge.”  So, here it goes…………………

I am overweight because I like to eat junk food and a lot of it.  Sugar is my drug of choice!!

Wheww….I did it.  Now that the cat is out of the bag, what will I do with that information…… Where will I go from here?  Well here it is.  Here is my plan.

I am going to use the plan that our Father in Heaven has laid out for us.  For those of you that are following my blog that are not members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, we call this plan “The Word of Wisdom.”  In a nutshell, the plan basically states:

1. Eat fruits, vegetables and wholesome herbs (in their season).
2. Eat grains
3. Eat meat sparingly
4. Stay away from coffee and tea
5. Stay away from alcohol
6. Stay away from tobacco
7. Stay away from drugs and harmful substances

This will be the main focus of my plan.  Numbers 5, 6, and 7 are not the problem.  It’s numbers 1, 2, and 3.  I definitely do not eat enough of 1 and 2, and I eat too much of 3.  I know I will not be successful if I do not come up with some basic guidelines to help keep me on track.  These guidelines are positive things that I need to include, and negative things that I need to do away with.  I am sure some other things will come up as I embark on this journey, but here are my starting guidelines:

1. Consistently read my scriptures for at least 30 minutes per day, preferably in the morning before school.
2. Commit to daily prayer
3. Exercise 4-6 times per week.
4. Drink, at the very minimum, 8 glasses of purified/alkaline water per day.
5. Go to bed earlier to allow the body the time it needs to repair itself.
6. No eating in the vehicle!!–This is an area of weakness for me especially now that I have a job that requires me to drive constantly.  Eating in my vehicle also gives me a place to hide the bad things that I have eaten.
7. I will only put gas in my vehicle or buy necessary things at 7-11.  No more Slurpies and junk food.  🙂
8. Avoid eating at fast food restaurants.  If I must eat at one, I must choose a healthy item from the menu that is in line with The Word of Wisdom.
9. Make a conscious effort to prepare my own meals.

I will begin to implement these things today.  My plan is to provide my body with the healthy nutrients that it needs to repair itself, and rid itself of the toxins that I have placed in it.  The body is very resilient.  I know that for a fact because it has put up with my torture for all of these years and it is still going.  I am going to start treating my body with respect, and allow it to fulfill its purpose so that it can in turn support my spirit that I am trying to strengthen.

Rechel