As an ex-Mormon, please let us know what you now eat and drink, how your fitness has improved or declined since living more authentically and finally, any suggested links for further study.

I believe that exMormons transition through several stages of liberation, both internally and externally.

There is no book yet that provides such insights, so can we here and now start the discussion?

I need to prepare for work, so I will later post my own evolved dietary regimens and philosophical journey since leaving the Cult behind.

What's your story?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K0-jVFaw-Q

Great post and question. For me, there has been a drastic improvement in my health over the decade that I left the cult. As a mor-bot, I had no time for exercise. I went to my full-time job, and upon return there were meetings at least 3x per week-evening that lasted to 9:30pm, followed by a SAT activity, and SUN was a 12-hour day. Being a Mormon was like having another full time job. That spells disaster for the waistline, cardio-vascular system, endocrine system, etc. In other words, being a Mormon requires sitting down a lot, which is super bad for you. Thus, you are prone to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. I bet the rate of those three diseases along are signicantly higher in this cult.

I now arise in the morning for a 90 minute cardio weightlifting regimen that I perform 6 days a week. My biggest workout is on Sunday, where instead of heading to the church for 12 hours of mind-numbing meetings where I sat down all day, I head to the gym. I usually go in the evening to for 30 more minutes of cardio. I typically do 15-min of cardio, 7 sets of weight, 15 minutes of cardio, 4 sets of weights, and 10 minutes of cardio.

My health has significantly improved. No diabetes, obesity, and heart disease at 54 years of age. I have Mormon friends from childhood who are dropping like flies. I have a pictures of my priest quorum (all 10 of us) when I was 16, and 75% of us are gone due to various health related causes - but probably all stemming to the stress caused by Mormonism, which raises blood pressure, A1C levels, cortisol, and triglycerides.

In a nut shell, Mormonism is an extremely unhealthy lifestyle by and large.

I totally agree with you, Anon...Healthnut. Our son is a "healthnut". He eats very healthy and is always on our (my husband and me) cases to exercise more. Since quitting the cult, we have more time available to go on walks. We eat healthier; when I was working, the TBM's there were always bringing either donuts or bagels or candy. A lot of people in the U.S. eat very unhealthy foods, not just the Mormons here in Utah. But, my experience here has been the infamous Funeral Potatoes, and the Mormon version "salads". There's Frog Eye Salad, which is Acini de Pepe pasta mixed with whipped cream, pudding, marshmellows, and pineapple. There's jello "salads", which is jello mixed with either Miracle Whip or Mayonaise,and various things added like pineapple or grated carrots. At my former workplace, the MA's and the nurses would bring large size containers of soda and this was at 8am! We never eat any of this stuff now and I haven't had a donut for years. My vice now is coffee; love to have a cup or two of it with breakfast. I have seen obituaries of people my age and a lot of them seem to be dying because of various diseases that I think are brought on by unhealthy eating habits.

Oddly, only last Friday my mother mentioned that I had the best health in the family by far. This is true--knock on wood.

I did not mention that I am the only one of the family who drinks coffee (a lot) and wine( the right amount--yeah, right) and when the moon is full and next to Venus--a martini. Malacca gin, olive and a twist, neither shaken nor stirred.

I also wanted to mention that I could walk and not faint, run and not be weary, but I did not want to tempt fate. Again, the knocking of wood, because, I do like the German Chocolate Cake too much. And the carrot cake. And the tres leches . . .

Mmmmmmm... Tres leches!!!

I would say I thought drinking was "cool" after I left the church. I drank a lot. For years, it was normal for me to drink several times a week, at least 2 drinks each time.

I'm not going to debate whether drinking is healthy or not, but I think after I grew up a little more, it lost it's "cool factor." I still imbibe, but pretty much only socially (i.e. I don't buy alcohol myself to keep at the house). It makes me feel dehydrated and headachy (even after one!) and I feel like it messes with my blood sugar. Maybe I didn't notice any of this when I thought it was "cool" because I was 20 years younger then, lol.

I have always been a "health nut," even while an active member, so that has not changed much. I probably eat better now than 20 years ago, but that has more to do with a better salary now vs then.

I am just glad to have Sunday mornings back to where I can go for a walk or just work around the house, rather than stressing to make my hair and makeup and outfit and nylons and heels all church-worth.

Having a REAL weekend again instead of only Saturday, means better physical and mental health for me!!!

I've lost some weight. I was very thin before my husband started cheating on me. Then I gained way too much weight. I lost weight when my old boyfriend came back into my life. I need to lose more, but haven't. I don't exercise as much as I used to. Just got my bike down so I can start riding it again.

I really don't do much different in this area of my life.

I'm an adulteress now and I wear the badge with pride. I know that shocks many people. I was the good little mormon girl, saved myself for marriage in almost every possible way and I married a gay man who had a lot of past sexual escapades. We're still married after 23 years or more of our marriage being null and void. And I've been with my boyfriend for 14+ years.

The church taught me that marriage isn't anything special. They gave me the counsel I should marry my husband (but I also loved him and wanted to save him or whatever it was I was supposed to do--it took time to figure it out--but we did save each other from mormonism), but they took my beliefs and what my dreams were for my life and made a joke of them. I'll never get married again even if I were divorced or a widow. Marriage was a negative experience.

When I resigned from the cult, with my children, I was very angry about the abuse and the lies. I was also confused. I would hike in the mountains behind our house, every day, after work, with my dog, to vent off the rage and to clear my mind. I had always done yoga, but never told anyone, because of the religious connotation of yoga, as a philosophy.

Saturdays were free, as well as Sundays, because there were no more music rehearsals or lesson planning. The kids and I had time to ski and skate in the winter, and mountain bike and hike in the summer. I could go to all their team sports games. We always have been outdoor people.

My "rebellion" against the cult wasn't to start ingesting junk that was bad for me, or to start swearing or breaking any personal moral codes. Instead, I went nuts in ELIMINATING all things Mormon from my life! I recycled the BOM and all Mormon literature and music, and my Mormon dresses and panty hose and heels, and Mormon memorabilia and gifts, around the house.

Getting rid of Mormon recipes was a huge part of this. I must have had 30 Mormon recipe books. Most were gifts, and handed down from my mother. Some of the recipes called for LARD. Most had huge amounts of sugar and butter and the bad kind of oil. Yes, mayonnaise, and jell-o. Mostly dessert recipes. Too much meat, and mostly breaded and deep-fat fried.

As you can imagine, I dropped 30 pounds, that first year free of the cult, without even trying to. I didn't even think I was overweight, but I liked being stronger, leaner, and meaner, so I started to do aerobics, again.

It was almost as fun to throw out those recipes, sugar, butter, mayonnaise, oil, candy, and old storage wheat, as it was to throw my garments in the garbage.

My family and I like to cook ethnic foods--Mexican (not Cafe Rio), Italian (not Olive Garden), French, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, etc., as well as good old American food, as long as it's healthy. Plain fresh vegetables and fruits. No funeral potatoes. No soda pop. Very little beef. No caffeine, because I'm allergic. Vitamins prescribed by my doctor, but no medications needed. No MLM fad supplements. Jack LaLane said, long ago, to keep your foods simple, and as close to natural as possible. Nothing is as delicious!