Stewarding my Body

I had a conversation with a friend recently, who shared something she had been reading about choosing to steward (be responsible for or look after) or not steward things. 

So as you go through your house and look at your items, you can ask yourself, "Do I really want to steward this any more?" "Do I want to use my physical and emotional space to care for it or is it just taking up valuable space?" 

It got me thinking about stewardship in general and how there are some things we are definitely supposed to steward. We are to steward the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are to steward the spiritual gifts we have been given. 

Another thing we are to be stewards of and gets overlooked by so many is our physical bodies. We have one body that has been given to us and so many, including me, have let it fall into disrepair.

I've struggled with this the past few years. I've been blessed with a large bone structure and am taller than some women so carry my excess weight in a way that no one would necessarily guess how much I weigh. But I know and I also have started to experience some health issues that were causing me to feel anxious.

I have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, am pre-diabetic, have higher blood pressure which medicine is controlling. I have had almost zero energy lately and my hands are constantly tingling and falling asleep. On top of that I've started developing some wheezing and bronchial issues.

Something needed to be done as I am 65 lbs. overweight and the scale seems to keep creeping upward.

So for the last 11 days I have drastically changed my eating habits and have gone to a plant-based, whole foods plan. I have had zero sugar, no processed snacks or flours, very little oil and very little salt. What does plant-based, whole foods mean? 

For me it's not vegan because I do like meat, but am only eating it occasionally. I also find that most of the vegan items you find are really processed as well. They are expensive and aren't necessarily all-natural. 

I've been eating as many vegetables (including potatoes), fruits and whole grains that I want. I eat tons of beans and legumes. As long as I'm eating these foods I eat as often as I'm hungry and as much as I want. 

I have been following the caloric density charts and eating most of my meals from the foods that are low in density. Seeds and nuts are what a lot of people think of when eating this way, but they are high in oil so I've been eating those very sparingly.

I did invest in a good quality B-complex vitamin since I've hardly had any meat or dairy and B-12 is derived from animal products. I've been moving more and exercising.

I got on the scale this morning and have lost 8 lbs. since I started. But more importantly, I feel so much better. My clothes are fitting better, I've been alert, most of the tingling in my hands have stopped which I thought was carpal-tunnel, and I have much more energy.

People have asked me what diet I'm following and for me, it's not a diet, but a long-term change in the way I eat and what I eat. I still have a long way to go as far as weight loss, but I'm thankful for this start which is motivating me to keep going.

I want to be responsible for this body I've been given and do a better job of stewarding it well. I'm sharing here because I know many struggle with this as well and I hope this encourages you some. 

I'm going to share some of the meals I've eaten this week to give you an idea of what it looks like. It was very challenging to do this only because our refrigerator died last Tuesday and it took over a week to get a new one. We've been living out of coolers so I'm really thankful I managed despite that. 

Breakfasts have been steel cut oats with chia seeds and fresh fruit. Or I'll have some brown rice with loads of sauteed veggies (I dry sauté them and add a bit of water to keep them from sticking or  a drop of two of oil (olive oil).

I've had tons of delicious salads and made my own dressing by blending up 5 medjool dates with some orange juice and rice wine vinegar. I use about 2 Tbsp. on my salad. 

I made pizza a couple of times with different types of crust. The first was a polenta crust which I need to tweak. 

The second was a cauliflower and potato crust. I did put a bit of goat cheese on this one.

I made a stir fry with some chicken breast, lots of fresh veggies and rice noodles.

One night I did oven roasted potatoes (no oil), steamed green beans, orange-glazed carrots (glazed with my orange, date, rice wine salad dressing and baked haddock.

I had saluted vegetables with black beans and tri-colored quinoa.

I've experimented this week as well with snacks and yesterday came up with this chocolate shake which is made with half of a can of light coconut milk, one banana and one tablespoon of cocoa powder. I'm going to try other combinations as well. 

I made these wraps which turned out to be more like pancakes. 😂 They were made with tri-colored quinoa, flax meal, one garlic clove and a pinch of salt. Soak the quinoa, rinse, add water and the garlic and salt and blend in a blender to make a very thin batter. Pour on a non-stick skillet and cook on both sides. In hindsight I need to add more water to thin out the batter and once I pour them on the skillet leave them alone until almost cooked through before trying to flip them. I got it right by the end!

I made black bean burgers last night which were delicious. They are made with black beans, old-fashioned oats, sunflower seeds, garlic, onions, cumin, chili powder and I added a bunch of cilantro. Pulse in the food processor and then scoop onto a parchment lined plan and form into patties. Bake for 25 minutes, flip and then bake another 5-10 minutes until firm. Let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving just so they firm up a bit more. 

Dan and Nathan had theirs on a bun. I had mine wrapped in a kale leaf with some tomato.

So there you have it. I ate much more than this and like I mentioned, as long as you are eating the low-density foods you can eat as much and as often as you like. No counting calories or starving yourself. 

As I gain confidence I'll get more adventurous. I haven't been tempted the past two weeks at all which is amazing to me. We even ate out once and I managed to find something on the menu that worked for me. It was a chicken salad without cheese and I had the dressing on the side and used a fraction of what they gave me. 

I hope this encourages those of you who are also working to tidy the temple you were given. I want to honor the Lord with my whole life and that includes stewarding this vessel I've been given to live in.