Want to Lose Weight?
Our pastor said something yesterday that struck me. It wasn’t necessarily a new idea. He said, “If Jesus was tempted, then why wouldn’t we be tempted?”
If you are joining me in the daily challenge of choosing to abstain from sugar for health reasons, improved clarity, anger management issues, candida killing, or weight loss, you may have encountered you first temptation.
I hope you flexed this newly exercised muscle. It will get easier and easier. But I won’t lie to you. You just might cry one of these days because you want sugar.
Are you Being Deprived?
I want you to know that you aren’t depriving yourself of this thing called sugar. Let me remind you, only modern society has enjoyed easy access to sugar at such a cheap price.
Sugar is not included in the recommended food groups . Though I don’t necessarily agree with the new and improved recommended eating from choosemyplate.com, even the government doesn’t recommend you place sugar on you plate.
According to CBSNews, the average American consumes 17 teaspoons of sugar a day. . This is an improvement from 2009, where it was estimated that we eat 22 teaspoons a day.
I Don’t Eat 17 Teaspoons of Sugar
You might be patting yourself on the back right now. Congratulating yourself because you don’t drink soft drinks, the main culprit to America’s large intake of processed sugar.
Neither do I. I still am going to quit sugar, though.
I consume a lot of honey.
Let me ask you, what is is in your store bought bread? Are you consuming cereal? Do you add creamer to your coffee? Ever gone through a Starbucks drive-through? Eat much Chinese take out? Sugar (and corn) is nearly in every food you order at McDonalds.
Eat Like a Caveman, Minus the Evolution
I looked into the Paleo Diet a few months ago, intrigued by the concept. The idea behind the Paleo Diet is to eat like our “ancestors,” if you will.
As hunter and gatherers, they would have focused on meat, fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables, avoiding dairy, grains, and legumes. Honey would have been a massive treat – a ridiculously fun find. But NOT a staple in this nomadic people group. And pure processed white sugar – absurd. Of course, it wasn’t even made.
I choose to look at Adam and Eve as intelligent beings, though fallen (like me), but still intelligent. (I guess you could say my view of cavemen dates back to grade school where I learned that cavemen were barbaric and spoke only through grunts.)
Though I think that Adam and Eve ate somewhat similarly to a Paleo Diet, Scripture later mentions a little diet I will call the Daniel Fast (thanks to Susan Gregory). I also know of a recipe for bread that includes several different grains (that weren’t genetically modified, were most likely harvested at the right time, and were potentially sprouted). Ezekiel Bread . . . so good with loads of butter.
Because grains ARE a staple food in the Bible, I can not subscribe wholeheartedly to the reasoning BEHIND the Paleo Diet.
One caveat: at times I do believe it is best for our guts to avoid grains . . . for a season to heal and seal the gut using the GAPS diet.
Times Have Changed, Catch Up Granola Mom
Many people tell me that we have become civilized. Modernization has improved our quality of life and modern food preservation has improved shelf life and availability of food.
Has it really? Have you looked around lately? A lot of us sure are fat. Hospitals are popping up in neighborhoods quicker than Starbucks. Is that an indication that our health is improving?
Just because food is readily available, shelf stable, and fortified does not necessarily mean it is better for us.
What was I saying?
Oh yea. Temptation.
Don’t be tempted by sugar. It does not have your best in mind. Expect to be tempted by this food that promises to be your best friend, but leaves you bloated and unfocused 30 minutes later.
- Temptation is going to come. Expect it. Plan for it.
- Get rid of the chocolate in your house . . . or whatever your trigger food is. If it makes you feel better, put it in a box and take it to your neighbors house if it bothers you to throw food away that you spent money on.
- Find encouraging quotes.
- Drink plenty of water. Make tea. Use Stevia (an herb that is sweet).
- Keep track of what you eat on a spreadsheet, in a notebook, or on some handy app (I downloaded a few last night.)
- Read your Bible. Pray. Pray some more. Pray with people. Anoint yourself with oil. Did I mention pray?
- Feed your brain with good food. Let me add one more to that book list . . . 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess.
- Moderately exercise.
- Tweet at me or drop me a line on my Facebook page if you need some encouragement. Find me on Google+.
And know why you are not eating sugar.
Read Sarah Wilson’s, I Quit Sugar.
Wise words – have you read The Makers Diet? LOVE it. It’s about eating what God provides, like Adam and Eve 🙂
Yes, the Maker’s Diet is what turned me into Granola Mom!!!!
Genesis 9:3 is where God allows Noah and his family to eat meat. It is logical that after the flood God allowed the consumption of flesh because all vegetation was destroyed. It’s more than likely that Adam and Eve were vegan. I know a lot of Christians who eat different diets and always have to remind myself of Romans 14: 1-3. I just wanted to point out that Adam and Eve probably were probably not Paleo and were more likely to consume sugar cane than meat 🙂 All the same it’s great that you desire to be a good steward of your body that God gave you and I have enjoyed many of your articles on your blog!
Your Scripture is right on. And I see my slip up . . . I think in my flurry of ideas I combined Noah and Adam and Eve!!! My bad.
Yes, Adam and Eve probably ate mostly vegetarian . . . however, I have been curious how their diet changed AFTER the first sacrifice, as evidenced by the fact God gave them clothes made from animal skin. And then later, we see the better of the two sacrifices between Cane and Abel . . . animals offered as sacrifice was what God pleased God in Genesis 4.
I do not subscribe to the belief system behind Paleo, merely because it is very evolutionary and it does not incorporate (properly grown and prepared) grains. But sweet things such as fruit and honey are not always readily available in any society. At the very least, it would have been a treat. They would have eaten large amounts of it while it was available.
Point being is that even in Biblical times sugar was not a staple like it has become during modern times. And for hundreds of years the Jewish nation prospered in its health, as promised in the Bible if the Jews followed the Levitical Law regarding food . . . but much of that has changed . . . and that is opening up a whole other can of worms. 🙂
If you have read the Maker’s Diet . . . that pretty much sums up my belief on food . . . animal meat, etc.
Thanks for holding me accountable and thinking critically!
Wow this post could not have come at a better time for me. Thank you! I have a very bad addiction to Coke (the soda not drug….just want to clarify) Every time I break it I always say the detox is so bad I will never go back but I always do. I know it is something that I have to deal with for health reasons. Your post is just what I needed. Thank you!!
Heather, how can I help!!! You can do this!
Alright, it’s on. I want to quit sugar, too. Actually, I’m going to RIGHT NOW! I’m breastfeeding my 5-month-old and crave sweets and carbs still, even though I’m not pregnant anymore :s
It seems like something so trivial to pray about but it’s not – God cares about all of our prayers! I need to keep telling myself that and rely on His power to do this.
Thank you for the encouragement!
Amy — I hear your heart!!!!!!!! How are you doing on this? It is so hard too when you are sleep deprived from getting up at night to nurse and your body is returning to normal. Let me know how I can encourage you more!!!