How To Sustain A Healthy Diet In 7 Steps
Healthy Eating
Let us first define a healthy diet. It all depends on who you ask and what your needs are. There is no one-size-fits-all diet, but in general, it’s a diet high in fruit and vegetables, nutritious carbs like beans and grains like chickpeas, and low in sugar, salt, and processed foods. There are many healthy plans to choose from, many of which are dependent on the desired outcomes, but few are sustainable long-term. Ultimately, it’s so much easier to go back to bad eating habits, either because of accessibility, lifestyle, habits, or desires. I refer to this as the battleground in your mind. What foods do you enjoy and are willing to suffer for? Those will be the most difficult to give up completely.
It takes 21 days to break a habit, but only one time—eating that slice of indulgent cheesecake you wanted or having a decadent brownie with ice cream—can you undo all of your hard work. So how do you eat healthy without ruining your progress, without feeling like you’re missing out, without feeling isolated from everyone else freely eating those foods you either can’t or should no longer have?
I first decided what I liked and what was valuable to me. I like to bake; baking is something I enjoy doing, and thankfully there are enough alternative ingredients to fit any dietary needs, so I think I am in good shape there. The next thing was making something that tasted good, but not just tasted good to me but would taste good to anyone who didn’t have to make that choice and would still enjoy it. My goal is to remove that feeling of isolation that so many of us feel when having to forgo foods that no longer fit our needs and are not readily available.
Step One: Decide what is valuable to you
What do you most like to eat, or what do you most like to do that revolves around eating?
Being gluten-free, dairy-free, and then learning to bake oil-free, sugar-free, and vegan was challenging for me, but baking was important to me and something I enjoyed doing.
Step Two: What would make you content?
Is it necessary for you to be able to have your favorite food the way you used to eat it to feel satisfied, or would you be content with a modified version?
I would rather have a modified version of my favorite dessert than nothing at all. Though making a modified version that is in whatever combination of gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free vegan, or oil-free takes time and patience because I want it to still taste good and be satisfying, I thankfully have the skills to figure it out. What is your chosen preference? Would you have a modified version or nothing at all?
Step Three: How much is enough?
How much of this food would you like to have? (ex. a slice of cake) a full size, or would a tiny bite of something be enough?
I want a whole slice of cake, or pie, a doughnut, or a brownie. Whatever the dessert is, I want the full size. I would rather have a whole slice of something modified than a tiny amount of a regular slice of cake I shouldn't be eating. (ex. a slice of gluten cake made with butter cream icing). Would you prefer a full size of your favorite food that meets your dietary restrictions, or would you prefer just a small amount of the regular, unmodified food?
Step Four: Is It Worth It?
What are the effects of having a favorite food that is no longer good for you? Are those effects worth the short-term pleasure of eating your favorite food?
For people with celiac disease, they can’t have any gluten; all gluten is off limits, so not even a crumb is acceptable. For those with gluten intolerance, they may be able to withstand a crumb or two, but at what cost? People with diabetes have to be careful with sugar and carbs, which can be quite challenging even with something as healthy as oatmeal because it's high in carbs. I am most impacted by dairy. I would love to be able to have cheese again, but I can't make a regular habit of eating a slice of pizza. Even gluten-free pizza with cheese isn't something I could make a regular habit of without consequences. I have found that the suffering from this isn't worth the short-term pleasure. What are the effects that your favorite foods have on you?
Step Five: Best Case Scenario
How often would you like to have your favorite food? Is it once a week, once a month, occasionally, every once in awhile?
Once a week, like Sunday, which is my Sabbath day. I’m not there yet, but this is a good goal for me. If you don’t know what Sabbath is, Sabbath is rest on the 7th day, which is typically Sunday. You can learn more about Sabbath here.
I like to bake, but it’s not good to be eating desserts all the time. That means finding other ways to use my creative outlet that’s satisfying to me. Any creation has to be gluten- and dairy-free to start. I am able to have oils again these days, but I still like to not have a ton of oils and would like to have a well-rounded diet of a variety of foods. I enjoy eating fruits and vegetables, beans, and chickpea pasta, and then I like to get creative with a whole list of gluten-free and grain-free ingredients that you can find here.
Step Six: Under Trial & Storm
Something that's important to take into account is the kind of support you have and whether or not you eat when under stress or trials.
How would you like to eat when under trial and storm?
What decisions can you make ahead of time for when trials hit? This doesn’t mean perfection. If you want to eat the bag of chips in crisis, by all means, you’ll get no judgment from me. Do you want white potato chips from the grocery store? Or sweet potato? (Are they going to be organic potato chips baked in olive oil, or would you prefer baked or air-fried potatoes you make at home with less oil?) I tend to go for something sweet. Sugar cookies, or a slice of pie or doughnuts, or if I have some homemade granola or snack mix on hand, fresh fruit is also satisfying for me (maybe with some kind of sweet crumb topping).
What I don’t want to do is comfort eat, because food is not going to fix my problems; the only person who can fix my problems is Jesus. While I don’t comfort eat like I have in the past, I still sit with Jesus while eating my cookies and cry out to him about the storms that I am going through. Who do you have that can support you during the trials of life, and what sort of food would help you stay on track with your health goals during these types of storms?
Step Seven: Progression Not Perfection
This is going to be a process that won’t happen overnight, but over time we can find ways to sustain a healthy diet without ruining all our hard work getting there.
What substitutions can you make? If you like meat but have to cut back on fat, can you buy a lean version? Can you bake that meat instead of frying or grilling it? Can you use an air fryer? If you think about carbs, swapping out all white flour carbs is a pretty easy swap. Eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, and eat brown rice instead of white rice. If you needed to go grain-free, oil-free, or sugar-free, do you have the support to do that? Can you swap plant-based sugar-free replacements instead of sugar?
I like to bake, but it’s not good to eat desserts all the time. I do want to eat healthy, and I like to create, so I have made a great deal of changes over time to accommodate my love of baking. I bake savory items, I create with different flours and healthier flours, and I experiment with different ingredients. I make healthier desserts that don’t ruin my progress, and I also find non-food ways of creating them as well. With some small and larger changes over time, you can find a healthy food plan that works for your needs and some of your wants.
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