Which Diet?

It used to be that for me to lose the baby weight that I gained while pregnant, all I had to do was to start moving. I didn't eat a lot in the first place (except while pregnant) so eating too many calories was never my problem. So once I would start walking or exercising I would lose the excess weight fairly quickly. Now, I am NOT saying I am overweight or obese or anything, but I am also not where I want to be. I don't think I'm at an unhealthy weight at all, but like most women, I'd like to be a little bit better and way more toned and healthy.

Since I don't eat a lot, but I don't necessarily eat the right stuff, I know that this is the most important change I need to work on and that is why it is one of my goals. The Biggest Loser's new season started last week and the theme for this season is "no excuses". Well I'm going to start off with an excuse, but an excuse I'm no longer going to allow to rule my world. It is difficult to get fresh produce at a decent price here in Texas where I live. The closest Farmer's market is at least 30 minutes away and there is no such thing as Whole Foods or Trader Joe's here either. Sprouts is 30 minutes away as well. Growing a garden in this crazy place (because of the weather) is difficult. Granted I didn't really try. Okay so that is my excuse for not eating more fresh fruits and veggies. Plus until recently when Jeff got a job that actually pays well, it was a little out of my price range to buy lots of that stuff. Anyway, that has changed so I'm going to change. But I'm also the type of person that needs to be told what to eat.

I was looking into a couple of "diets" and none of them have felt right to me. No carbs or low carbs and tons of protein, to me, seems  to go against the Word of Wisdom. After all it says to eat meat sparingly. Well I was at the gym the other day reading a magazine and it was talking about the Zone diet. It was just a short synopsis of what it was about and it sounded to me like a pretty balanced type of diet because it includes a little bit of everything and focuses a lot on fruits and veggies. When I started reading more into it, it wants you to eat lean protein with every meal. I cannot eat meat with every meal. Maybe it means eggs and other proteins too, I'm not sure.

Then my friend introduced me to the Fit Yummy Mummy. That diet raised a red flag for me because she says she doesn't like whole wheat or cereals and no dairy whatsoever. I'm fine with limiting that stuff, but for me it is unrealistic to cut out cereal or dairy. I love me some Cheerios!


So I turned to LDS.org to read up on the Word of Wisdom. I found an interesting conference talk by Boyd K Packer. http://lds.org/general-conference/1996/04/the-word-of-wisdom-the-principle-and-the-promises?lang=eng&query=word+wisdom you can read it there. But parts of what he said kind of struck me. There was one part where he was talking about how people justify certain food/drink choices saying that it doesn't say to avoid that in the word of wisdom. They need it to specifically say to avoid it in order to stop doing stuff they know is harmful to their bodies. He then quoted this scripture:  He who must be commanded in all things, the Lord said, “is a slothful and not a wise servant” (D&C 58:26). Wow, pretty straightforward right? But it got me thinking that the Lord is giving us our agency. He has given us the guidelines of what is good for our bodies, now we need to use our brains to make sure we don't put anything into our bodies that is addictive or habit forming in any way. I feel blessed in the fact that I really am not addicted to anything, I might be border line with sweet stuff, but I have never liked soda so that is something I have never had to deal with. And I am certainly not placing judgement on those that enjoy soda pop. I don't know where I'm trying to go with this, I just know it took me by surprise his combination of following the word of wisdom and the scripture in D&C 58. 


It also talked about this in regards to being a vegetarian/vegan. For example, the Word of Wisdom counsels us to eat meat sparingly (seeD&C 89:12). Lest someone become extreme, we are told in another revelation that “whoso forbiddeth to [eat meat] is not ordained of God” (D&C 49:18). ¹  Thank goodness because I don't think I could give up meat, even though I don't eat a lot of it, I still enjoy a good burger every once in awhile. And bacon, I LOVE bacon, but it is so filled with fat! Lol, that will not help my diet much will it?

I read this and before I posted it, I sent it to my awesome step-mom Ruth. She sent me something that I am going to try to implement in my diet. It is really so very simple, you wonder why people make it so hard. Oh, because it is a great money maker that is why! Here it is:

Perfect portions for a healthy new year

Knowing what to eat and how much we should be eating can be so confusing! The 2010 United States Dietary Guidelines have made it much simpler. They’ve created a visual showing an actual plate with appropriate portions of food. The Guidelines recommend we fill half our plate with fruit and vegetables, one quarter of our plate with grains i.e. rice, pasta, barley and one quarter of our plate with protein sources such as chicken, beans, fish, meat etc; And on the side, have a serving of dairy--1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1 ½ ounces of cheese or ½ cup of frozen yogurt.  Heck yeah! Did you see that last one? FROZEN YOGURT. I like this diet already. It also said this: The one minor but important detail left out is what is considered the standard plate size. The average plate most of us find today is 10 to 12 inches. A 9-inch plate is best to help control portion size which helps to lower the calories on our plate! If you’re trying to gain weight, then you’ll need to go with the larger plate, still filling half your plate with vitamin and mineral rich fruits and vegetables. For good health, it’s also important to look at the quality of your food. To feel your best, include a variety of fruit and vegetables, eat low fat or fat free dairy, make at least half of your grains whole grains, and when possible use less salt in your food. Also think about your drinks—quenching your thirst with water instead of sweetened beverages will not only help you save calories it will help you avoid that dreaded sugar crash in the middle of the day. I feel like that is essentially what the Word of Wisdom is teaching us, right there summed up by Ruth. Perfect!  Oh and I have totally gotten into Zumba. It is tiring but so much fun. You don't even realize you are actually working because you are having so much fun! I hope there is a great place close by my new house! Okay I'm done. I hope I can make this new (not really) diet work for me. I guess I have to do like mom says and eat my fruits and veggies! Actually my mom always said I needed more protein. I told you, I really like my cereal! Awww I miss my mommy!