Have you ever felt sick as a dog?
I woke up a few years ago with one thought on my mind: "I have been poisoned."
I decided to write down my complaints about how bad I felt physically.
In case you don't want to read about my complaints, you can skip the next paragraph.
(=> Begin Kim's complaint paragraph)
I feel as sick as a dog. I hate feeling this way. My energy is drained. I have a headache. My sinuses are swollen. My nose feels stuffy. I have been sneezing like I am catching a cold. My joints ache. My knees feel stiff when I walk. My internal temperature gauge is off. I am cold one moment and hot the next. My face feels bloated. I feel heavier because I am retaining water. My skin feels clammy and itchy.
(=> End Kim's complaint paragraph)
I had these symptoms because I messed up. I let my arch enemy get to me. It affects me like an allergy.
My nemesis? Sugar. For me, it is the sweetest poison.
In your weight loss journey, you need to know your weaknesses too and develop plans to deal with them.
I know this. So how did I allow sugar to deceive me again? As always, sugar was quite sneaky.
Taking the Sugar Bait
Here is what happened:
My husband Mike has an old recipe for making a brownie in a cup. It cooks in the microwave so you can have a brownie in 2 minutes.
I'd never tried to make one, but decided to do it last week out of curiosity. After tasting the brownie, it was just okay.
Then I got what I thought was a bright idea.
We had a whole box of unused instant coffee in the pantry. So I decided to substitute the cocoa in the brownie recipe for instant coffee.
I reasoned that the coffee was going to waste and this would be a good way to use it.
Oh my goodness. That coffee brownie tasted so good! And it was easy and quick too.
And so my descent began for the week.
After dinner, I'd think "A coffee brownie sure would taste good right now." And I would prepare one.
One day, I had 2 brownies! In my mind, I saw it as like drinking a cup of coffee.
But that was a lie.
The coffee brownie had a lot more sugar than I typically drink in a cup of coffee. Plus, I don't drink coffee that often - maybe once or twice a month.
I started the week full of energy. But at the end of the week, my energy tank was empty and I was full of regret!
While having sugar every once in a while does not cause such symptoms in me, eating sugar every day does.
Wise Advice from Proverbs
I should have remembered the wise advice in Proverbs:
It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one’s own glory is not glory."
- Proverbs 25:27
While the brownie didn't have honey it in, it is full of sugar just the same.
So what do you do when you realize you have messed up?
Rather than condemning yourself for the fall, analyze where you slipped!
My mistake was not having the coffee brownie once, but in having them every day that week.
I know that sugar is a big weakness of mine but I was pretending that it wasn't.
I don't buy sugary foods because of this fact. Now, I won't be making coffee brownies anymore for the same reason.
I take responsibility because I am the one who chose to ignore the truth.
I didn't want to keep on feeling as sick as a dog. That's why I took the time to write down in detail about how I felt.
I wanted my energy and ease of movement back! The sugar made me feel stiff and achy.
I remembered another scripture that convicted me too:
As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly."
- Proverbs 26:11
This goes right along with me feeling sick as a dog, right? Thank you, Holy Spirit!
Now conviction is different from condemnation.
Condemnation makes you feel bad about yourself. But with conviction comes a plan to make things right.
God is about restoration, not condemnation.
So lesson learned.
The Path to Recovery
Here's my advice to you: When you realize you've made a mistake, don't keep going down the same road.
I used to do that. I'd say, "I messed up so I might as well keep on eating!"
But that makes about as much sense as stumbling on stairs and because of that, you decide to throw yourself down the rest of them.
Regain your balance and keep moving forward, even if you have to crawl.
I wish I could promise that you will never make mistakes on this journey. If I could guarantee that, I would be rich!
But I must tell you the truth: On this weight loss journey, you will make mistakes. However, they can work out for your good if you learn from them with the Lord's help.
Here's another thing: you will go through different seasons in life in which the same strategies may no longer work for you.
However, this can work out for your good if you exercise your creativity and create a new strategy to match your new season .
That's why we call this lifestyle a journey. This is not about living a diet; it is about living your life.
Staying healthy is a good journey to take. I am glad I am on it.
How about you?
On my health journey, I learned a new lesson from that experience:
Watch out for coffee brownies!