Healthy Eating Strategies for Success & How to Get Started

Are you ready to give it a try but you’re unsure where to start?

I’ve got you!

 

Hey Friend! You’re convinced and excited to give some of these Principles of Healthy Eating a try. You may wonder where to start. I know I did when I first learned these principles. I remember going a bit manic in the kitchen trying out all my new-found knowledge about eating a diet of real, whole foods and culturing grains, milk, and vegetables. It was so exciting! And sometimes overwhelming and discouraging as I worked through the learning curve. I want to make your transition easier.

 

 

Here are 3 suggestions as you start applying these principles to make your journey more joyful and less stressful.

Individualize through Inspiration

Individualize through inspiration.

Years ago when my son was struggling with health problems that had me puzzled, I remember in exasperation telling my friend that I just didn’t know how to figure out how to best help my son. Her reply stopped me in my tracks.

 

“Yes you do,” she told me, “’the same way you’ve come to know all truth.”

 

She was right! I did know how to receive truth and inspiration in my life.

 

I could receive inspiration about what best brings health to my family.

 

Earlier, in Part Two of this series, I shared my story of how I came to know principles of abundant health and to apply them in my life. It came through study, prayer, researching, pondering, more prayer, and listening to the still voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart and mind. Then I acted. And when I acted on the inspiration I received, God sent more inspiration. The cycle continues today as I seek blessings of abundant health for me and my family.

 

I believe you will be guided too as you diligently study, try, and take your health to the Lord. He really does care about the health of your physical body. It is the companion to your spirit which makes up your soul and it affects how you can go about doing His work on this earth. It plays a huge part in the joy you feel in this life.

 

All of that really matters to God. He will show you the best place to start. Maybe it’s throwing all the pre-packaged foods from your pantry into the garbage. Maybe it’s learning how to make kefir. Maybe it’s incorporating more vegetables and fruits in your diet. You’ll know.

 

Start with the ideas that get you excited. Make adjustments as you go. Use these principles as a guide and apply them according to inspiration. Be patient with yourself as you learn new skills and don’t give up!

 

See also: 2 Nephi 2:25 of the Book of Mormon, Moses 1:39 of the Pearl of Great Price, Moroni 10:5 of the Book of Mormon, John 8:32 and 1 Corinthians 2:10 of the Holy Bible.

Use the 95% Rule

Eating 95% according to these principles of healthy eating is good for your body, and 5% splurging on treats is good for your soul 🙂

 

It’s generally not necessary to kick treats totally out of your life. I’ve come up with a system that allows me to thankfully and joyfully indulge in a favorite non-whole-food-sugar-laden treat now and then. Sometimes a girl has got to have a treat! And so do our kids and husbands.

 

Keep reading and I’ll share the system that allows me to stay on track for abundant health while also allowing occasional treats. I’ve also created a Free printable to help you keep on track too! Grab it below.

 

This is especially important because often food and treats are a social affair. We connect and celebrate with treats. And when your loved ones offer a treat in celebration, and you’d really like to eat it, it makes everyone’s heart happy to be able to eat something yummy together for a special occasion.

 

So, I did the math. If I want to be 95% awesome and diligent with my whole foods commitment – which I do to reap the blessings of health and wellness – this is the very unscientific method I used to keep track and joyfully have treats without stress or guilt:

 

If I’m eating 3 meals a day for 365 days of the year that’s 1,095 meals. That means that to be 95% diligent 1,040 of my meals need to be whole-foods based. The remaining 5% leaves 55 meals that I can “recreationally eat” or eat for fun. I get to have a treat!

 

Whether that treat is eating a white pasta meal after a long week on date night, or accepting the peach cobbler with ice cream offered by a neighbor while over for dinner, or indulging in delectable pastries at a local bakery while out on a day trip to a new city, I get 55 fun, guild-free splurges a year.

 

That’s roughly four treats a month with a few extras thrown in there. I keep track on a notes app on my phone and every time I choose to experience a treat I subtract it from the tally and make a note of where and when I had my treat. It’s a fun record full of sweet memories – literally and figuratively!

 

If you can’t do 95/5 yet, do 80/20 or 50/50 or whatever you can manage that is an improvement. When you’re ready, up your game and be even more diligent. Your blessings in health and strength will increase each time you do!  

 

But I recommend always allowing for some treats for happy hearts all around. (Not to say you can’t have yummy treats that are whole-food based – you can! Coming soon I’ll post some of my favorites here).

 

The idea is to consistently eat real, whole food most of the time. When you do so you build up abundant health in your health bank account and small withdrawals are planned for and hardly make a dent. You can afford it!

 

Yay for treats and not having to be perfect! Because trying to be perfect is stressful and usually doesn’t work. Instead rejoice in progress not perfection.

Lean on Faith

There will come times in your journey towards Abundant Health where opposing opinions will vie for your belief and action. I faced this when I had to decide about eating meat, dairy, and other animal products.

 

Much science seems to prove that eliminating animal products completely gives greatest health. Other just as significant science tells how vital and irreplaceable animal protein is for building brain and tissues and balancing emotional and mental health. How can you  judge between such powerful and opposing opinions?

 

I have chosen to lean on my faith. What has God said in regards to the subject? What personal inspiration have I felt regarding it? Because of what I found in scripture and my personal inspiration, my answer was to eat a plant-based whole foods diet which included whole and natural eggs and dairy, and meat sparingly.

 

My order of hierarchy I follow when opposing views clash is the following:

 

1. What has God said in scripture about this?
2. What have modern prophets said about this?
3. What personal inspiration have I received about this?
4. What does science say about this?
5. What do other trusted sources say about this?

 

“When science aligns with the religious…seek to improve your knowledge with the specifics derived from the scientific record. When declarations of science do not align with, or are opposed to the spiritual record, be patient and ignore the scientific declarations for the time being. Dietary science most often self-corrects and realigns itself with foundational truths provided by the religious record, given sufficient time.” Simmons, Original Fast Foods p. 107

Promised Blessings

 

Remember! Following the Principles of Healthy Eating is worth it! Because they are principles with a promise, there is great reason to rejoice and feel motivated.

If we live the following Principles of Healthy Eating:

• Eat real, whole food and eliminate commercially processed foods
• Eat a plant-based diet and meat sparingly
• Eat food properly prepared in traditional ways to preserve nutrition

Then we can count on these promised blessings:

• strength and vigor of body
• wisdom
• great treasures of knowledge
• to be able to run and not be weary
• to walk and not faint
• and protection against disease. (See Doctrine & Covenants 89:18-21)

 

I believe these blessings are sure! It is this belief that motivates me and gives me the confidence I need to keep trying even when achieving Abundant Health is a two-step forward, one-step backwards process. It helps me have hope and patience as I wait for the inevitable fulfillment of promised blessings. I know if I do my part the Lord will do His.

 

“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” ~Doctrine and Covenants 82:10

 

“And, behold… ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.”

~Joshua 23:14, The Holy Bible

Hey Friend, this is just the beginning of great things!

 

So instead of being overwhelmed as you begin the process of eating healthier for abundant health, remember these three strategies:

1. Individualize through inspiration.
2. Use the 95% rule.
3. When there is conflicting information, lean on your faith.

Remember that it is a process of learning and trying and you don’t have to be perfect. Every healthy choice will bless you and your family and build up your health bank account. Check back here for every-day practical application to help you make the changes you are trying to make. And finally, remember that these principles come with a promise of abundant health. Be diligent and patient with hope knowing that the promised blessings will come to you.

 

What to eat is just one step towards great health. We are whole beings and Abundant Health also includes our emotional, spiritual, mental, as well as our physical selves. Switching to a diet of real, whole food is a huge first step but there are lots of ways and opportunities to make meaningful changes in your life that will help you feel great and live with abundant health. Keep reading through this series to continue learning more!

Read the entire Principles of Abundant Health series:

No link yet? Coming soon!

1. Principles of Abundant Health: An Introduction
2. My Story: How I Came to Live the Principles of Abundant Health
3. Healthy Eating: What to Eat
4. Healthy Eating: Prepare Food Traditionally for Optimal Health
5. Healthy Eating: Strategies for Success, Practical Application, and Getting Started
6. Spiritual Connections to Abundant Health
7. The Things You’ve Gotta Get Rid of for Abundant Health
8. How Fasting Regularly Brings Abundance
9. Movement is Medicine
10. Abundant Health Mindset

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