Day 1

My husband and I are beginning the 17 Day Diet plan today. In case you have not heard about this diet you can find more information from the book The 17 Day Diet: A Doctor's Plan Designed for Rapid Results by Mike Moreno. A friend of mine has been doing this diet for a while now and has been very pleased with her success as well as how much better she feels. She also loves the fact of how balanced the diet really is. The diet is based on eating healthy food in portions that your body is created to use. After reading over the book and looking up several sites on the web my husband and I decided that we were going to give it a try. I cringe as I type the last statement because when it comes to something with my health I do not like to say I am going to “try” anything. Several years ago God replaced my “try” attitude with a “training” attitude when He led me to train to run. However, I say “try” here because that is how I presented it my husband who has been throwing around the idea of cutting out carbs for a couple of months now. However, I kept saying that is too extreme . . . carbs are not all bad . . . you do need some carbs. So after reading this book I figured this was the happy medium that my husband and I needed to move ahead. This way we cut out a lot of carbs but not completely. Also, the first phase is only for 17 days. I keep telling myself that is two weeks and three days. I can do this for two weeks and three days. I can even get me a calendar and mark them off as I go. So here we go. We went to the grocery store last night and purchased all the foods that we liked on the list of phase one foods. I packed my husband’s lunch and sent him off to work and I fixed my breakfast and headed off to work. Then when I got to work my sweet friend who shared her book with me had fixed me a goodie bag of her “favorite things” on this diet along with a note! It was quite a treat and it blessed my heart. The very first verse on it was one of my verses that I have been committing to memory ~ Deut. 2:3 which says “You have circled this mountain long enough. Now go North.” You know only God can do that. Not only give you a short, little, out of the way verse to commit to memory a month ago, but then have a friend send you encouragement that includes the same verse God had given you earlier. Isn’t He simply amazing like that!

Now my husband has texted me and checked in with me several times today. He has told me he felt like a rabbit and I wanted so bad to say . . . don’t say that. . . be positive. However, instead I just decided to be positive myself and try to encourage him along. God has also taught me a long time ago you cannot influence change in anyone by pulling them your way kicking and screaming. So I will just keep encouraging him and looking for ways to make the next 17 days full of good foods that are good for us.

Of course when you begin anything you will also run up against opposition. So far today mine has come in the form of a gift. Thanks be to all those who worked so hard in doing this special thing and on any other given Monday I would have been thrilled. However, today our staff is being served by a group of parents to show their appreciation for us. Lunch: Baked Spaghetti, Salad, Fruit, and all kinds of homemade cakes and cobblers. I thought to myself . . . spaghetti. . .desserts . . . oh my! Needless to say I went in there smiling big and fixed me a to-go bowl of salad and fruit (grapes and berries) and said “Thank You So Much!” To myself I was thinking “don’t look at the cake, don’t even look at it. . . 17 days, 2 weeks and 3 days!” However, I am now I’m back at my desk and I am fine! I am going to take my salad and fruit home with me and eat my tuna on top of the salad.

I am excited about this. I have prayed about it and God has given me a peaceful and joyful spirit about it. I am excited to see what the next 17 days has in store.
I look forward to sharing it with anyone who is interested. However, I am not an expert. I can only share my journey and my outcome. I make no promises and I do not make any claims. I am just a friendly voice trying hard to fight a struggle that some many others in this world seems to have. However, I do want to do it with balance and dignity and respect for this body that the Lord has given me for I know that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalms 139:14