Healthier food choices leads to better grief recovery

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. Daniel 1:15-16

I must admit that like most people I had fallen into the trap of making bad food choices.  Who wouldn't choose a greasy hamburger loaded with onion, pickle, melted cheese and a oversize bun over a  leafy salad? You throw in the plate of waffle fries and the temptation to choose wrong increases exponentially.  

When we grieve it is very easy to gravitate to the comfort foods.  You are so disparate to escape the pain of your loss that you eat the favorite pie, chocolate chip cookies, or even the grease dripping hamburger with the waffle fries.  I learned the hard way that bad food choices leads to grief complications.  Let me explain.  I eat  a   rich chocolate chip cookie and it may taste good going down, but the high fat content of that cookie leads to weight gain which leads to a lack of motivation to exercise, or to even move around. I eat these high fat foods because they give me a sense of euphoria which is what we all strive for when we are in the depths of our grief.

In December 2012 I decided to go on a strict protein diet where I would cut out the harmful food choices.  Amazingly, I began to feel better about my overall well being.  Since Christmas was approaching I decided to take a break from this regimen to enjoy some of the Christmas goodies.  I noticed by doing so I began feeling sluggish, lackadaisical and more prone to feelings of depression. In January of the new year I began back on my protein regimen, but didn't exactly cut out the other bad food choices like the high calorie snacks .The outcome continued to be feelings of depression and trouble losing weight. 

Recently, I decided to try again to make those healthy food choices.  Instead of ordering the juicy grilled cheese sandwich when our family ate out I ordered the soup. That same night at the high school basketball game I ordered a plate of carrot sticks and celery which were advertise for a dollar.  I opted not to get the dipping sauce.  Amazingly, I felt good making these food choices!  The next day I dug out the Chinese Wok we received as a wedding gift and began experiencing the joys of eating more vegetables, chicken and beef and at the same time avoiding the bad food choices like the high caloric desserts.  It has been only 4 days since I began this regimen and already I have more energy, and more time since I need less sleep.

There is something to the lesson in Daniel about how making better food choices does lead to looking and feeling better about oneself and this in turn helps in the overall grief recovery process.