I spent a week celebrating birthdays and ate lots of sugar and gluten. There were cakes, beer, donuts, all the stuff I had stopped eating because it was healthier to go without it. I gave myself "permission" to cheat, eat stuff I hadn't in months. I justified it by saying, "it's a birthday and I get 20%, why not?"
After a week, I was miserable. Insomnia, acne, aches, fatigue and other symptoms plagued me. These were the things I dealt with before I changed my diet. And there was no way for me to minimize, justify, or rationalize how my cheats were ok. I couldn't do it, I was that miserable. I knew it was from the food and asked myself a question, while I sat in bed without sleep for the umpteenth night,if I had a food allergy would I cheat?
Really, would I? I have friends who have serious food allergies and I would never ever put them in a position where the food I served them could cause them grief. I have family who follow very strict dietary laws because of their religion and I give them the same respect. So why dont I give myself the same care and respect?
It's not that I don't like myself, have low self esteem or some other issue like that. I believe i really haven't wrapped my head around how bad my diet was and how it impacted me. Although feeling great after I started eating a paleo diet gave me some insight on how bad it was, I don't think the message really resonated with me until I was feeling like crap again. It really hit home, hard. Although we can have cheats, I'm not inclined today to partake in a donut at work, or beer with friends. I'll find something else, like a piece of fruit or a shot of tequila.
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