Last week, hubby and I went on an unplanned date night, it was a Friday and we decided to go for dinner. As you can imagine, 8pm on Friday is no time for spontaneous dining out unless you are choosing a fast food restaurant, which is not an option for us. This was the first time I was going out to eat out sticking rigidly to my Health journey, in other words, I was determined to learn to make healthy choices to continue to see my health transformed and still enjoy a night out with my best friend.
After my HIPP Switch, Bella Italia became my favourite, especially with all their discount vouchers I get in my inbox every week. So we headed there only to find out that there was an hour wait for a table, well Duane and I are spontaneous but waiting so long for food is not what we do. Bella Italia has really good vegan options on their menu, and I get the impression from past visits that their food is freshly prepared, so that’s 2 stars.
We noticed a newish restaurant we never tried, called Villagio, a nice quaint, cosy, kinda old fashion, italian restaurant. I choose the Seabass Fillets with cherry tomatoes, spinach and spicy tomato sauce, oh my goodness, it was remarkable, absolutely sumptuous. I was so very happy and proud that I had the strength to look passed the sirloin steak, which would have been my first choice always.
The health transformation journey that I am on is not an easy one, but little victories like that bring so joy to my heart and strength to continue. Everytime I am faced with those choices, I remind myself of the fact that I have not been in the hospital emergency room for over one year, which is the first time I can say that in 15 years. I remind myself that I can go walking or dancing for long periods and not curl up in bed afterward in tremendous pain. I remind myself how great it feels to be losing weight and fitting comfortably into clothes I didn’t enjoy wearing before.
Since the start of the Christmas season, I had fell off the wagon and rummaging down our tradition Christmas dish, PepperPot. I ate all matter of sweets, cakes, icecream, and loads of meat, even some pork at a friend, and couldn’t seem to get back, or maybe didn’t care to. But by mid January, I was addicted again to meat and the body began to react again. My pains started back, my bones and muscles ached and the energy I was enjoying before twindled, even my moods were affected. I realised that, as I was curled up in bed, I had to get back on the horse before it was too late. This time it seemed harder than before because in that short fall, I also lost the novelty, and rhythm I got from the learning process.
What got me back on the horse was Romans 12:1, I needed to offer my body, my temple, as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, for this is my true and proper worship. Verse 2 then says ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.’ Everything around me, the TV commercials, the beautiful menu items, the cakes, bacon, peer pressure, false media reports, etc, that’s what broke me down. The world says come on Denise, try everything just be moderate, you know you need it. Well I know better, I will not conform.
1 Corin 10:31 says ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God’. Everything I put in my body must build it up, I will not succumb to my fleshly demands for things like sugar or meat. I have to be at my best also physically to do all that God’s called to do.
My ministry, my mission, is wrapped up in HIPP about Health seeing people lives transformed by transforming their health, spiritually, mentally and physically. I have to be a great testimony to what God can do in our lives when we choose to live life according to His instructions, and resist the devil. The devil being the food that taste good but makes us sick, and the unhealthy lifestyles that the world promotes as pleasure.
My life is not my own but for God’s glory, so I will live like I know that it is true.