Not many people know this, but I attempted a “Daniel diet” this month for extra credit in my bioethics class—and I failed after like two weeks. The Daniel diet is actually pretty simple: no processed foods. Period. Only whole foods. And no animal products at all (meat, dairy, eggs). No sugar, no oil, no condiments, no dressing. That meant nothing but water to drink and fruits and veggies to eat. Minimally processed foods are okay, but no white bread or pasta, only whole grain.
I thought I had it in the bag! The first few days, I felt so proud of myself for sticking to it and eating a lot of fiber-rich foods. I was thoroughly enjoying how fresh I felt, my newfound energy and only drinking water.
But after just one week, I was miserable. Somehow, I started craving things I don’t even normally eat or drink, like shellfish and milk. Every day, I couldn’t wait until I could once again eat cheese and yogurt and ice cream and BUTTER and anything else that could have come out of a cow. I ended up caving into temptation (aka alfredo pasta) after two weeks, even though I was starting to feel good about the diet. (Also btw I’m lactose intolerant.)
Looking back, I realized that my mindset was what probably affected me the most: I viewed the diet as a restriction of all the things I couldn’t eat, not as a way to be intentional about what I’m putting into my body to sustain me. I spent my days looking forward to the day I could officially declare the diet over and indulge in Wingstop, chicken nuggets, a real burger, even just a regular breakfast burrito with stripples. I didn’t stop to think about how this diet might be beneficial for me and my body, or how I had the opportunity to eat healthy, whole foods for a change as a busy (lazy) college student.
As the school year ends, it might be easy to get caught up in all of the things you missed out on or the mistakes you made. But maybe like my diet, it’s not about what we didn’t or couldn’t do, but about the choices we did make and what we learned from them. It’s tempting to fall into the trap of seeing life as a bunch of rules and restrictions, but in reality, it’s about choosing what’s best for us, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. I hope that as we finish off the semester and go into summer, we’re able to shift our perspective and view our lives through the lens of purpose and intentionality, not to pile our plates with everything we think we want or need.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.