RESOLVE, A GOOD THING TO PRAY FOR

RESOLVE, such an important ingredient for living a  happy and healthy day, but NOT easy to come by. Food IS my area of struggle, and always has been. I just like it TOO much!  And though vegan since last summer, BAD carbs, OIL, and SUGAR have been my major problems. My other problem, worse than the food, has been my tendency to deal with this  struggle all on my own!  This was my formula for failure, but once 

I stopped and looked at my reality head on this started to change for the BETTER......MUCH BETTER. I want to share with you the 5 steps that helped me to gain ground, NOT pounds, and achieve a much more peaceful mind.  

1. I started praying for HELP!  I wasn't getting anywhere on my own and I told God that, and I also told HIM that I knew I needed to come to regularly before  on this issue to make any headway at all.  Next, I prayed for the supernatural strength (the Holy Spirit) to say NO to the chocolate, ice cream, and the flour products that I had been giving in to since Christmas (who am I kidding, since last Thanksgiving). I also started a regular routine of expressing GRATITUDE to God for the gift of my Holy Temple (my Body) and for the health that is possible if I only refrain from poisoning it. I did and DO this daily!
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2. I reviewed my You Tube videos on plant-based, whole-food, low-fat eating (no meat, dairy, extra oil) and then watched other more recent ones to get me back into the groove, back to my original sense of motivation and desire.  

3. I began applying the eating regimen recommended by plant-based, whole food, low-fat doctors and researchers. 

4. I paid particular attention and APPLIED the eating strategies and some recipes created or recommended by Chef AJ: only eating when you're hungry, eating non-starchy vegetables first,  and then, if I'm still hungry, eating the starchy vegetables (potatoes, squash), fruits, or whole-grains (rice, oats, quinoa) afterwards.   
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5.  I stopped cooking with oil, butter, and YES even coconut oil,  etc!  I do saute, but I DRY saute.  I do ROAST my vegetables, but with other seasonings and sauces.  I do use salad dressings, but I usually make my own that are OIL and DAIRY free.  

So I've lost weight (8 lbs so far-big difference and closer to ideal weight) and I'm definitely not thinking about and craving food every 2 hours anymore.  My mind is at PEACE!!  Just a tip!  Vegetables, as your first meal, REALLY do reduce cravings for later in your day. 

This challenge and these perceived barriers became much more possible to overcome when I decided to tackle them with the Lord at my side.  Prayer and meditation on what the intentions are for the day, especially for this difficult area, make a HUGE difference on my mindset and day to day progress. My prayer led me to my inspirations and strategies for success. So NO, this is  NOT all fixed, and it never will be.  I'm going to have to keep coming back to God on this issue and many other issues of my life.  But, this is the way it's supposed to be, right?  There's a reason for that part in the Our Father "Give us this day our DAILY bread,".  Jesus wants us to come to Him daily, to depend on Him DAILY and no one or anything else.  So the RESOLVE is not actually about getting done all those tasks you wanted to get done OR achieving that major goal on your list, REALLY it's all about coming back to God DAILY for whatever needs, tasks, or aspirations you feel led to go for.

We need RESOLVE to depend on our God.  So let's pray for that FIRST!!  

Blessings on your day!
Anna

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