More Beneficial than I thought...

Okay, time for another check in. I hope to get back on later today with my next chapter of the book. But for now, I just wanted to talk about what I learned this weekend.

So, yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday! (Go Giants!!!) And I knew it was coming, and we had friends coming from church to watch the game with us. And because I have been doing so well with my eating, I was going to allow myself the day to enjoy my Super Bowl goodies and have a "blow off" day with the diet. This is the "Everything is permissible" part of the scripture I wrote on my refrigerator that first day.

So here is what I am learning... I did eat my chips and queso, Angie's monkey bread and taco dip, and Erica's bruschetta and burgers... I don't feel like I overdid it - I only filled my plate once, and I really didn't do a lot of grazing. It was definitely more than I have been eating for the last month, and a lot more carbs and fat. And then there was the half a brownie and a few bites of ice cream cake... Talk about sugar overload!

So after all was said and done, I was exhausted from a full day and I went to bed and fell right asleep. And at about 10:00 my eyes popped open and I was wide awake... Sigh. I recognized this feeling - my body is tired, but my heart and mind are racing and no matter how cozy and comfy I was in my bed, there was no going back to sleep. I tried reading and that didn't help. I finally got out of bed and sat up watching TVland reruns until I drifted off sometime around 1 or 2 in the morning.

I have had nights like this before - more times than I care to count. I've always attributed it to anxiety attacks because many times they would happen when I was carrying a large emotional burden. But truly yesterday, I felt at peace with the world. Nothing hanging over my head, or weighing me down emotionally. A fun day spent with friends and family. And the Giants won the Superbowl - and lets face it... If it couldn't be the Bronco's then I am glad it was my newly adopted second choice - the Giants!

So I am starting to wonder... (Please don't think I'm slow or anything, this truly just never occurred to me before...) Could my insomnia be completely food related? I have been so careful to avoid a lot of sugar, chocolate, white flour, fried foods, etc. And yesterday I ate plenty of those things. And last night I couldn't sleep. Hmmm... And it would stand to reason that on those previous nights, when I was so weighed down emotionally, I probably didn't eat very well those days either. (An emotional eater, right?)  So maybe while the sleepless nights of the past were spent feeling very anxious about whatever situations were stressing me out, it wasn't the anxiety that kept me awake in the first place - but the carb overload and the caffeine overload and the sugar overload...

This brings me to the second half of the verse I wrote on my refrigerator that first week... "Not everything is beneficial..." So while in fact I know that there are obviously health benefits, as well as the benefit of losing weight, that will come with making the right food choices. I am starting to realize that I will probably uncover even more benefits as I go along on this journey. And I pray that God will keep my mind and heart open to learning and exploring what these benefits might be.

I will post later about Chapter 4 in the book.  Until then, blessings to you!