Why I Eat the Way I Eat: My Journey to Becoming a Pescetarian on Whole30

So being a skinny girl, when I decided to do Whole30 (if you don't know what that is, I'll explain shortly), I was asked almost daily, "WHY are you doing a diet?" And as much as I laughed it off and always gave the same explanation about it not being a diet to me, it's about my health. I figured, I might as well write a blog post about it! So here we are! Let's start at the beginning...why I eat the way that I eat...


I feel like I've always been pretty health conscience but in high school I got into the sphere of influence of some people who were pretty healthy. I started drinking more water, eating less fast food, and was exercising. Then I went through the loss of my aunt to breast cancer and my whole family started looking into what causes cancer and, as we all know, there's a study that can link almost anything to cancer. However, one thing my aunt did that I remember my mom not being happy about was that she started eating meat again after her first treatments. For some reason that stuck with me...

Fast forward to 2013 during my summer in Houston, TX. I was leaving church with my now pastors and Houston parents and I heard God speak directly to me, telling me to stop eating meat. I remember the moment so clearly, especially because I really wanted some Buffalo Wild Wings after church. But, honestly going vegetarian was something that I had been thinking about for some time and that was just the confirmation I needed to commit to trying this lifestyle.

Now I know someone is reading this right now like "well, if God told you to stop eating meat, why do you eat fish?" Good question. After I heard that I started planning and my thought process was, "I'm not going to eat anything Jesus didn't eat, and if Jesus multiplied the fish and loaves of bread, I can eat some fish!" Silly, I know but it made sense to me! (I could go into a lot more detail on eating from a biblical perspective, but there are plenty of good books already written on that so I will leave that to them. If you're interested, anything by Dr. Don Colbert is a great place to start).

Now, let's fast forward to today. Over the past year I have really sought out and discovered my purpose. In that, I have come to realized how vital I am and we all are to the Kingdom and to Kingdom business. However, if we aren't healthy, how can we fully do what God has called us to do? If our bodies aren't working correctly, how can we focus on seeking the Kingdom first? If we're always having to use all our faith on our physical health, what faith is left to lift up our brothers and sisters?

See, my health is not about me. It's about all of the people God has called me to touch and to minister to. It's about my family, my friends, my blog readers, etc.  It just so happens that in being healthier also makes me feel so much better.

So about a month and a half ago one of my friends asked me to do Whole30 with her in the month of June. This was going to be her third go-around so I was very familiar with the rules and needed something to get me back into some healthy habits I had began let slip so I said, sure (and somehow got like 4 other people on board to do it too, go figure lol)

What is Whole30? You can read the full program here, but in short it's 30 days of eating only real, nutrient-dense foods. So no added sugar or sweeteners, no alcohol, no grains, no legumes, no dairy, and carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. For those wondering what does that leave, it leaves meat, veggies, and fruits. But I'm a pescetarian so for me, lots of fish, veggies, and fruits!

So for those who just read this and said "good for you girl but I could never do that." YES YOU CAN. And that exact thought is part of the issue. See, Whole30 or any type of dramatic change you decided to make in your life is less about the change than it is about self-discipline. You can do anything you make up in your mind to do and learning how to tell your flesh to sit down and shut up and do what you've made up in your mind to do is one of the most powerful lessons you can learn and will transcend to other areas in your life. And from a food perspective, your food shouldn't run your life. An inability to say no to something unhealthy clearly demonstrates your food having power over you! And let's be real, if you can let a doughnut defeat you, there shouldn't be any wonder why you're being defeated in other areas in your life...but let me sip my tea and move on before y'all stop reading...

So the Whole30 plan makes a lot of promises. While a lot of people do it for weight loss (and get great results), other promises range from better allergies, to less joint pain, to clearer skin, to more energy and quicker workout recovery. So there are a lot of reasons to give this thing a try. They tell you in the beginning to create goals for your Whole30 experience so I thought about it and decided on these 4 goals:

1. Committing to planning my meals and actually cooking instead of eating out all the time. It's VERY difficult to stay within Whole30 rules and eat out (especially as a pescetarian) so you have to plan, prepare, and cook or you're going to be hungry all the time. 
2. More Energy. Right before I started this almost everyday by 2 or 3pm I was so tired. Some days I just came home and laid down cause I was so tired and I'm like, I'm too young for this. Why am I so tired all the time? So although I didn't know how it would happen, I wanted that to be a promise that came true for me. 
3. Clearer Skin. Yes, I get a lot of compliments on my skin. However, since I moved to Houston my skin has gotten significantly worse and it makes me sad so I would like to see my skin back to how it used to be. 
4. Better Digestion. My tummy seems like it goes through something every day. I just wanted my digestive system to work normally without any issues for once. 

So here's a summary of my experience with Whole30:

• Days 1-10: In one word - Ruff. I was SO tired, irritable, my skin started breaking out (which they tell you would happen, it's your body detoxing), and honestly, I wasn't eating enough. I quickly fixed that and yes, it forced me to get creative with my meals, really prep and plan and cook daily. (Special shoutout to my roomie who was doing Whole30 with me! Couldn't have made it without you.)
• Days 11-20: Magical. My roomie and I found some great recipes for every meal, my skin started clearing up from it's detoxing, I was getting more energy, sleeping GREAT, and overall feeling good! My cravings were dissipating and I was glad to be eating what I was eating every day. 
• Days 21-30: Reflective. I was traveling for work during half of the last 10 days and that made it difficult but I made the decision before I left that I would not cheat. I would do what I needed to do to make it through the 30 days. Surprisingly, everyone was super supportive. The hotel chef made me personal meals every day, I went grocery shopping and nobody looked at me crazy when I brought my mini-cooler to the conference room cause I couldn't eat any of their snacks, it was great! My energy was super sustainable - I made it through 8 hours of presentations without nodding off once - if I wasn't a believer before!! 

So overall, it was so very worth it! Part of what Whole30 is meant to do is to reset your emotion and psychological relationship with food and I really understood what that meant when on my last day, there was nothing I was super excited to wake up and eat on the 1st. My co-workers seemed almost disappointed when I told them I had a smoothie for breakfast on my first day post-Whole30. But I had decided this is how I'm supposed to feel and I don't want to lose that! The foods I had been eating were doing exactly what God created them to do as he created them to be. I am a firm believer that everything we need, God created in that garden and Adam named it (no wonder all this processed and man-made stuff makes us sick). So getting back to those basics, only eating fresh, unprocessed, natural foods was so refreshing and I plan on sticking with it! Now, I am a believer that you can enjoy things in moderation so will I ever eat pizza again? Duh. I'm just not going to eat it every day or ever every week or maybe not every month. If I want something, for the most part I am okay with indulging myself every now and then but honestly, so many of those foods are unappealing to me now, maybe I won't go back! 

(Slight Update: So being off Whole30 for almost a week now, I have re-introduced rice, added sugar, and bread and my tummy and my skin have not been happy with me. If I didn't already know I didn't want to go all the way back, I know now that I will definitely stick to no bread and no added sugar as much as possible.)

My only disappointment with Whole30 was that my digestive issues didn't really change. While I wasn't having stomach aches for the most part, I was determined not to settle for improper digestive functioning as normal for me. They suggest continuing on for 45 or 60 days if you don't see the results you were looking for but I traveled this weekend so...I wasn't strict enough with my diet to say that I actually continued on. I'm hoping that over time with me eating like this it'll all settle out. After all, it has been like this for years, I can't expect 30 days to fix everything, right?

In all, I eat the way that I eat because my body is a temple, and honoring God in my temple means taking care of it by giving it what it needs - not just what it wants or what is easily accessible. While I am in no means shouting from the rooftops that everyone should do Whole30 (I admit, it's pretty dramatic), I am shouting that everyone should re-evaluate what you've been putting into your body and the level of disciple you have in that area of your life. You'll be surprised how little (or big) changes to your diet can make a big difference in your life.


Love y'all! Until next time! 

Conviction

Hey World! 

It's me! I'm back! Yes, I know it's been forever. Yes, I've heard about how everyone's been waiting. No, I'm not going to promise to write every week anymore. I'm being real with myself now lol 

I'm excited to bring y'all this post though. Definitely my most transparent. Hopefully it'll speak to y'all like it's spoken to me. 

So lately James and I have been praying pretty heavy about marriage, preparation for marriage, the wedding, the honeymoon ;), all of that. One specific thing that was on my heart to pray about was that anything that needs to be brought to light before we get marriage so that we don’t take it into our marriage, let it be brought out. And boy has he been bringing stuff out…(LBS)

So a little while ago I had this dream that the Lord was speaking to me heavy about when I woke up... 

In the dream I was on some type of trip. Definitely in an unfamiliar place but there were lots of young people there, some I knew, some I didn’t. Like a retreat or camp or something. In particular there were 3 guys that were interested in me, all who I knew. The first was my boyfriend James, the second was my ex, and the last was an unidentifiable guy but I definitely knew him and he knew me.  So throughout the dream we’re doing a bunch of random stuff (as usual in dreams, right?) James is with me and so are a few friends. Towards the end of the dream, I ended up in a coffeeshop, James is with me (I never saw him in the dream but I know he’s there) and across the street are the other two guys. The random guy texted me “I love you so much” and when I get it I look across the street and see him longingly staring at me. Ladies, you know that stare that we all dream about (whether we admit it or not), making you feel like the most valued thing on earth. I then begin typing, like out of habit, “I love you too” but then I stop and I think to myself, I can’t do this…I need to make a decision between these three guys. James is unaware of any of this. So I’m sitting there, erase the message and begin contemplating...maybe a minute later I have a moment of clarity and say “What am I doing? There’s nothing to contemplate! I have my Boaz and I’m not doing anything to mess that up. He’s all I want, I don’t even know this other guy!” And that’s where my dream ended.

Oddly enough, although I knew my ex was there, I never really saw him in the dream. He was alway somewhere in the background. (mm, that's a message for someone).

So I woke up with a convicted heart. As I began searching my heart to figure out why, the Lord begin to show me that I have an unhealthy desire for male attention. Now, before y’all start judging, this is very much so a heart issue for me. There are different levels to this though. For some, it’s the clothing that you wear that reflects this desire, for others it’s the “friends” you hold onto, and for others it’s the thoughts you think. Now, when James is physically here, I am totally fine. My man gives me all the attention and loving I need and usually more. But with my hunny being a member of the United States Air Force, there are times we have to be apart and unconsciously, I begin to value outside male attention more than I should.

So let me just put myself out there and be real about my flaws. Here’s an example that I think will clarify what I’m talking about. So last night I attended an event here in Houston. Now, y’all know how “young professional” circles are. Everyone kind of knows everyone and for new people it can turn into blackpeoplemeet.com really easily. I’m pretty lowkey so to me I am one of those new people. It’s important to note that Howard taught me how to peep game really quickly, so I can easily tell when a guy is trying to be slick and it’s not very hard to notice when guys are noticing me. So, at the last event like this, one of my friends randomly comes and sits by me (note: I am wearing the diamond promise ring that James got me for Valentines day) and goes “Trece, where yo man at?” At the time James was still in tech school so I tell him, he’s in in training for the Airforce and all that jazz. Pretty sure he’s met James before but hey, whatever. So clearly, he was trying to get the details for a friend. Well, I thought I smashed that. In my heart though, I so was pleased by the attention and the effort that went into the failed attempt at pursuing - wait, let’s me be real - hollering at me.

So bringing it back to last night...a few of the same guys are there, a few that hadn’t been at that event but I remembered from ones before that. I notice these two guys looking at me and talking to each other. I ignore it (because I’m in a relationship) and keep going on with my night. Later on, the guy who invited the guys I just mentioned ends up next to me so he slides “So I noticed you have on a ring” into the conversation. He then asks “so are you…” and I just said yes. I didn’t know exactly what he was alluding to but unless he was asking if I was married the answer was yes lol so he goes “oh since when?” and again wasn’t sure what he was alluding to so I just said, it’s complicated lol (FacePalm, why didn’t I just explain the truth? I don’t understand myself sometimes). Anywho, by the end of the night, that’s what I was thinking about the most. Not the good food or being the champion of the games we played but that “I still got it.”

Now, by the world’s standards, I did absolutely nothing wrong. However, by God’s standards, I’m a hot mess. While I am fully aware that I am passionately loved by God and by my man, I still sought out, desired attention from other men. Why?

That’s when God brought it back to me...that third guy in my dream, was a representation of random male attention and in my dream I had to make a decision between my desire for that and my relationship with James. Now, for those who are saying, Trece, it’s not that deep. It is. As a woman who is preparing for marriage I need to mentally prepare to affair-proof my marriage. Having an unhealthy desire for other male attention that I see manifest when my man is away for just a weekend is a CLEAR sign of a breeding-ground for infidelity. What happens when I’m mad at him? When he goes on his week-long drill? If I have to travel for work? If the worse side of for better or for worse lasts longer than I want it to? I need to nip this in the bud now. So yes, I had to make a decision and sadly, even in my dream it wasn’t an immediate decision. What stood out to me most was that I had an instant, habitual reaction to just say I love you too. And honestly, in a very shallow definition of love, I did. I loved being appreciated, being longed for, feeling beautiful and special and although it was not a reciprocated love, I almost did reciprocate and out of habit at that. That says so much. How often do we just respond positively to male attention although we know it’s not good for us just because it makes us feel good about ourselves? That’s not healthy.

The man in my dream was alluring yet distant, familiar yet shallow. More of a figment of my imagination than a real person. That’s the thing, us women plan our whole lives stories with men we know NOTHING about. We meet them once or twice and then have imagined how great our relationship would be, how he proposed, and what your kids would look like. That is called lust my friend. It has been said that women cheat emotionally and men cheat physically in marriages. While I don’t think that’s true of everyone, in order for a women to open up herself physically, she needs some emotional support. Thanks to our pre-marital counseling, I know that my greatest emotional need is affection. Knowing that, I must guard myself from allowing other men, thoughts, ideas, or anything other than Jesus and James to meet that need for me.

So what am I going to do? How am I going to fix this? First, spend more time with Jesus. May sound cliche but that’s where we get our strength renewed and are able to see the truest reflection of ourselves (hot mess and all). Second, get my thoughts right.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 5:10.

Now knowing that this is my issue, I now can recognize those thoughts and make a conscience effort to shut them down and replace them with what I know to be true. Third, be patient. I know that this will be a journey and I have to be okay with that in a way that’ll keep me pushing and taking a good, hard, look at myself while working towards perfection!

Now, what are you going to do? Taking that good, hard look at yourself is the first step. Once you realize you have a problem, you can work towards a solution. God is calling us to a greater reality. Let's not settle for the imaginary or ordinary.

Dang, that was deep. Hope it helped someone like it helped me. Love y’all! Meet up with y’all again next year! (JK, I’m going to do better...maybe lol)