D is for......Diet?

D is for.......... DIET? OK, so my little OCD acronym (Organize Create Design) may be taking on a new spin! Those of you who have been following me on my fitness and nutrition journey know that nutrition has become a very important part of my life. So important in fact that I have taken new steps in my journey to learning more about nutrition in order to become a "health coach". I have truly been inspired by how nutrition effects us. Not only does it effect our physical bodies but also our emotions, mental clarity, and can even effect our spiritual health! 

Lets rewind a bit..........back to, oh let's say October. During my training my diet changed drastically. It is safe to say that 75-80% (if not more) of my competition prep was in my diet. I didn't mind the new diet at first, I actually loved the organization and structure of it (surprised?). But, after several weeks I began to feel the effects of the extremely strict diet. Physically I was feeling depleted and I was becoming very bored eating the same thing day in and day out. It became hard, sticking with it took a huge amount of discipline! Have you ever had a craving? Have you ever felt hungry? Multiply that by a 100! But you know what? It made me dig down deep and surrender to my Jesus. In my previous blog I Am An Overcomer I share how I found my strength and encouragement. I knew that the strict diet was temporary and I would have more flexibility when the competition was over. And I looked forward to it, believe me. But, during this time I learned so much about how food really can effect your body. I saw changes I had never seen before. Despite being tired and overwhelmed at times it really did feel good to be healthy, eating a clean diet, and being in the best shape of my life. 

I made it through competition day (November 23, 2013) but the journey was far from over. Remember the flexibility that I couldn't wait for.......Well, the flexibility quickly turned to a new struggle. Actually this was an old struggle with a slightly different face. Balance! 

Hello........Hello.........Self-control are you still here? No answer. Are you hiding? Come out, I want you to meet my friend Balance. I know you will be good friends! 

O.K. not exactly how it went but you get the picture. I felt like I had lost control of what I had worked so hard on. The problem was I had no goal now, well not a specific one. The Holidays had tripped me up, I had given in to the lies that "I deserved a break. I deserved to eat a little, after all I had been on some form of diet for 7 months."
But now it was January and I couldn't seem to get out of my hole. I desperately wanted my self-control back and wanted a balanced healthy lifestyle. So here I was again full circle struggling with the same things I had been struggling with when I began in the spring. Condemning myself for my lack of self-control, fear that I will gain all of my weight back, and feeling depressed and angry about it all. 

In her book Made to Crave- Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food  Lysa TerKeurst talks about the truths in Gods word that can fill our hearts when these lies we tell ourselves creep in. www.madetocrave.org 

   Old Lie: I am such a failure with this healthy eating thing. Why sacrifice this instant gratification now when I know eventually I'll just go back to my old habits anyhow?
   New Truth: I am not a failure. I am lavishly loved child of God. Part of my right as a child of God is to operate in a power beyond myself. The Holy Spirit is God's gift to me so it is possible for me to use the self-control I've been given. 
   Favorite Verse: " How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (John 3:1)

The thing about me is when I get angry enough I get determined! So embracing this "truth" I was determined to use my God given self-control, find balance, and figure out this nutrition stuff . I began soaking in everything I could about nutrition and learning how to create healthy diet plans. Thanks to my friend and trainer Heather, she was willing to share her wealth of knowledge on the subject. I also checked out a few books at the library, connected with health related Facebook pages, and read nutrition articles. 

So now I'm on my way. Everyday I'm learning new things. My ultimate goal is to get a Certification in Nutrition, but for now I have started writing a few diet/meal plans including my own under the mentor-ship of Heather and doing pretty well with it. I am officially a nutrition NERD! I actually enjoy writing out meal plans. I am so excited to see where God takes me from here. My cravings haven't disappeared but I feel like I have a little more self-control. So then my journey continues!


If you struggle, I would love to hear how you deal with your struggles with food. Comment below or email me mailto:melissakmacgregor@gmail.com.
 
Oh and just a note.......! In my first week of my new diet plan I lost 5lbs! And I'm back in the Gym on a regular basis (well when the snow doesn't interfere). 


Blessings, 
Melissa
OCD Mama  

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