Making Hard Changes

Happy Friday! It's amazing that we've come to the end of another work week, and I imagine most of you are ready for the weekend to start (I know I am!).

I'm picking up our two oldest granddaughters this morning and they'll spend most of the weekend with us. I'm looking forward to a lot of fun, snuggles, giggles and at least one tea party this weekend :-). Kayla, the younger of the two girls, is on a trial gluten-free diet to determine if some of the physical issues she's been having are due to a gluten allergy, so we will be eating carefully this weekend. So that she doesn't feel excluded from anything, we will ALL be eating a gluten-free diet this weekend. My daughter (the mom of our oldest grandchildren) said there have been a few tears this week as Kayla has adjusted to the changes, and since they have already seen some improvement, she may end up being on this permanently. This will be hard for a little girl who loves her mommy's homemade bread (my recipe!) and lots of other things that contain gluten. However, if these things are making her sick, she won't be eating them anymore.

I've seen other people drastically change their diets when they find out that they're allergic to gluten or something else, and they feel so much better that they scrupulously avoid the offending item at all costs. They remember how they felt before their diagnosis, so even though they have to change their diet, they know the change is worth it because they feel so much better.

Why is it that people are willing to make drastic changes in their diet because of a food allergy, yet many of us struggle with the changes we need to make for our own health? I've often wondered if it would be easier for me if every time I ate unhealthy food I'd have an immediate adverse reaction. Would it be easier to avoid the high fat/high carb/high sugar foods if I immediately broke out in a rash or doubled over in pain? Sometimes I think it would be a blessing in disguise . . .

The truth is that I'm not allergic to any of those things, at least not allergic in a way that produces immediate, adverse reactions. I AM allergic to them over time, however, because excess consumption will make me break out in fat :-).

Seriously, we may not have a food allergy that mandates drastic changes to what we eat, but our health is still very much at risk. The choices we make do have consequences, for good or for bad. We have to choose whether or not we're going to stay on plan, and choosing to stay on plan means we are choosing to temporarily NOT eat some things. When I was on 5&1, I often told myself "this isn't forever, this is just a season in my life that I've set aside to get healthy." What a blessing that this IS only temporary - once we reach goal and transition, we can get on with our lives, and that includes occasionally (and in proper portions) enjoying anything that we want to eat. But we have to get to goal first :-)

In the meantime, there are some temporary changes we're making that will help us reach our goal quickly. Are you ready and willing to make those changes? The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)