"What Is Essential, Is Invisible to the Eye"

I’ve been on my program for about 11 days now. Things have been pretty painless. I’ve eaten different kinds of food, eaten at home, at work, in restaurants, avoided drive-thrus and desserts, pretty much without issue. I drank more water than soft drinks, etc. and I thought to myself . . . “This has been pretty easy.” Then my body reminded me of the abuse that I have been putting it through for many years. You see, as a result of my consistent lifestyle of overindulgence, I have compromised my digestive system. I am super-sensitive to any kind of food bacteria and when I come in contact with one, my body reacts violently, making me have renewed empathy for women who are experiencing their first trimester of pregnancy.

I started my day off well yesterday with a balanced breakfast at about 8:00 AM. By 1:15 PM, I was ravenous and ready to eat the bark off a tree, so I thought it best to eat a healthy TMO (my term for “tide me over”). So I grabbed a fresh peach from the fruit bowl in my kitchen, washed it and dug in. It was juicy and delicious, but I could tell that things weren’t right almost immediately. One of the health issues that I have developed over the years is GERD, or Acid Reflux Syndrome. I must be very careful with acidic foods. Although I have never had a reaction to peaches, this one affected my body differently. Within minutes, I was hugging the commode and hoping that it would end soon. It was awful. At first I thought about having a chat with my body and saying, “Wait a minute, I’ve been treating you very well lately. Why are you reacting this way?” But it got me thinking. . .

I have been mistreating the delicate balance of my God-given body for decades and now I change a behavior for just over a week and expect everything to be resolved? I guess my expectations were too high. This set-back served as a reminder to me that this battle is only going to be won by engaging in very deliberate and mindful behaviors on a consistent basis. I will need to be as devoted to healthy eating and exercise as I had been to overindulgence and a sedentary lifestyle. The essential ingredient for success is time. Time to change patterns. Time to begin new behaviors and routines. Time to allow my body to heal. Time to right the wrongs of so many years.

Author Antoine De Saint –Exupery was right, In his book, the Little Prince, a wise fox shared a very simple secret with the title character. He said, “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” The lesson for me is that I may think that I know the basics of what I will need to do, but to be truly successful, I will need to keep my heart engaged and never lose sight of the prize of a healthy life that is free of slavery to food. It will be a long road, but I’ll get there. . .