Keeping the Goal in Front of You

Hi,

I shared once before about watching the TV series "Heavy" on Netflix and hearing one of the coaches say: "Keep your goals in front of you. Sometimes to reach goals you have to do very difficult things."

I have those words on a sticky note stuck to the edge of my monitor and sometimes my eyes wander to it. It always encourages me.

The goals: 1. Normalize blood sugar levels, 2. Lose body fat, 3 Reduce body pain

Practical application to reach the goals:  eat only fresh raw vegetables and some kind of animal protein for every meal and snack for six days. On day seven for one meal, eat a high carb "no holds barred" cheat meal that can last up to one hour at some time during the day. On day eight begin again with the fresh raw veggies and protein.  Exercise three times a week.

I think I may begin referring to these two phases as "Six day" eating and "Cheat meal" eating for simplicity. (For complete information on lowering your blood sugar levels with this eating plan see: http://blogspot.com/2012/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html )

Is this diet for everyone? No. There are people out there who do not have Diabetes hanging over their heads. They can eat some other way and be healthy and happy. This diet is for that person who has pre-diabetes, or type II diabetes, and who is also grossly obese, too. This diet is for the one who has "tried everything" and nothing works. This one works even for the woman who is post-menopausal. Yippee!!  It took quite a while for me to figure this one out. I think it took a long time because it was difficult for me to accept that I had to do something that seems so drastic to the American eye.

I wanted to be able to eat anything I wanted. I still do. But if I am going to normalize my blood sugars, reduce my A1c to below 6.0 and keep it there, and also lose weight and reduce the body pain, I have to cleanly follow this program. Whenever I add in something that is not on the shopping list (see link above) I will see the effects  by the end of the day -- or in the morning.

For one thing, it will actually affect my emotions. It will be a very subtle change, but my body will feel "differently." I will put on water weight so my weight will go up the next morning instead of going down. My ankles will swell up a little larger than normal by the end of the day. I will feel a bit "foggy." And the feeling of "full" will have a different sensation to it. I am not sure I can describe it so another person can understand but in giving it a go I would say: when I eat the fresh raw veggies and protein, I feel full, clean, and satisfied. When I eat in some other way, including things that are not on this program, for a couple of days, I feel full and hungry at the same time. This means the addiction has kicked in and if I dont get myself back in line, I will be out of line for quite a while. This means my weight will steadily go up, day by day. My morning blood sugar numbers will start to creep up. And my aches and pains will become persistent, again.

This diet is supremely simple, but it is not easy if you have never done it before. Sometimes we need to be reminded why we are eating this way and not eating from the middle of the grocery store. I know I need to be reminded. I consider myself to be a relatively intelligent person with an addiction to processed foods and starchy carbohydrates. The addiction sometimes shows its ugly head in the form of "forgetfulness" or in "justifications" and most often it is both. I call it "magical thinking." Somehow my mind will just magically begin to think it is OK for me to eat a forbidden food and it will seem perfectly justified at the time. Dont laugh. It can sneak in at any moment.

The one thing that really keeps it real for me is to keep personal records and to blog -- so this blog is as much (and more so) for me as it is for you, the reader. The one thing that allows me to re-apply the practical habits I need is to make the decision to do so. The one decision that has the most positive effect and keeps me in line the most, is to decide not to eat "that forbidden food."

Keeping the goal in front of me, helps me to make the right decisions.

I hope you are doing well. Here is to the next meal being clean and good for us. Hear! Hear!

Be back soon,

Marcia