The Start of a Journey

On Saturday, Tonya and I went to the temple. On the way home she told me that she had been praying about nutrition and had received inspiration that we should more closely follow the Word of Wisdom. I welcomed this news and wanted agreed that would be a good goal. 

I have been overweight or the last 10 years, ever since I returned from my mission. I have tried a few different diets, most notably the ketogenic diet which I have tried four or five times. I have seen varying degrees of success on this diet. The first time I tried it I lost approximately 25 pounds. Since then it has been anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds but it would normally end with me being unable to continue to stay on the diet, simply because the variety of foods available to eat is fairly limited. 

I have been studying diet and nutrition on my own for several years now. I am familiar with the different theories regarding why we get fat and what to do about it. However, the Lord has given us his dietary recommendations in the form of the Word of Wisdom and I intend to prove him and follow them.

After discussing this together, Tonya and I decided that the first step of moving towards more fully keeping the Word of Wisdom would it be to reduce or eliminate the processed foods that our family consumes. This comes in the form snacks in the pantry such as fig bars, pretzels, and crackers.

Last night our family home evening was centered around this decision that we had made, that we would reducing or eliminating the processed food in our house. The kids took it fairly well, although I don't think that they all fully understand what we meant. Leigh Ann seemed very positive about it. Kanyon seemed like he had some concerns and Will seemed very nervous. Eden, unable to understand what we were saying I think I am the most concerned about as she probably eats more processed foods and any of them.

I am approaching this with total optimism and complete faith. I fully expect my health to improve as I transition to a whole food plant-based diet. Yes, that is the goal. I think I need to go vegetarian. And once I have eliminated meat from my diet I think it would be wise to continue and remove Dairy from my diet as well. The evidence is overwhelming and I I'm afraid of cancer and heart disease.

We are trying to take this slowly. We are just starting by removing the processed foods that we eat. However, my goal is eventually to have a mostly vegan diet on a day-to-day basis. Tonya is not completely sold on a vegetarian lifestyle. She feels that some meat would still be practical and I respect that.

I'm very happy that she brought this to my attention and approached me about this matter I am excited to more fully obey the Word of Wisdom and experience the blessings that have been promised to us. 

From Doctrine and Covenants section 89:

 18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
 19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
 20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
 21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

I intend to keep a record of this transition on this blog. The transition will most likely be slow at first. I had oatmeal and berries for breakfast today, a good choice. But I also had some salmon that needs to get eaten before it goes bad. I don't intend on throwing away any food. We will eat through our leftovers but then not be buying any more processed foods. I also intend to eat as little meat as is reasonable, given that the rest of my family is not going vegetarian. Yet.