Finding Joy in Eating Have we lost the joy of eating? I think many of us have. I know I did for some time. We live in a culture that praises restricting, counting, and limiting and so we have lost the joy in eating. Much of the praise we see from our culture stems from underlying goals of weight loss and trying to achieve a certain aesthetic. We begin to search for anything that will help us achieve this and we often choose a particular meal plan or “diet” that…
Is Sugar Addictive? Many of my conversations through the day involve talk about sugar or sugar addiction. Many of us know we eat too much, but we don’t know what is a reasonable amount and we might struggle to truly change our habits. Sometimes, people tell me they are “addicted” to sugar. I am not convinced that this is a term we should use. Yes, sugar does have some addictive properties, but as with many pleasures in this world, sugar is a delightful gift from the Lord. Have you ever…
Comparison Starts Young Starting at a very young age, we begin comparing ourselves to others. My daughter started talking about what her friends are wearing and wanted to wear clothing similar to them when she was 4 years old. My son, often talks about his school work by comparing his work to others. But why wouldn’t he? He is constantly being compared to his classmates by his teachers and the others that work at the school. The doctor compares growth in weight and height at each visit. You can see,…
What do you like about your BODY? Many of us struggle with liking our physical body. Consider this, what do you like about your physical body? Your answer may not be associated with your physical body. You might say, “I am kind”, “I am servant hearted”, “I am empathetic”, “I am organized”, etc. We often focus on what we don’t like about our bodies, and fail to recognize what we do like. I encourage you to take a minute now and think about what physical characteristics you like about your…
What is the Goal? The Lord calls us to be stewards of our physical bodies. That means we endeavor to take care of them to the best of our ability so that God can use us. Taking care of our bodies well can be a challenge. Maybe we lack planning skills, or we don’t have time, or maybe we just don’t always care enough. The Battle Begins It is a battle. A battle of choices in how we will nourish our bodies. We are often unprepared especially if we don’t…
Encouragement to One Another I want to take some time today to encourage you. God tells us to encourage one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” I hope you are enjoying the new you! How are you feeling? Are you proud of what you have accomplished with the help of our Lord? You should be. I am guessing you have made some amazing changes related to your health that have helped you feel stronger, more confident, healthier,…
Filling The Holes We have all been there. When we feel discontent and down, like something is missing. We often try to fill these holes with more things, a bigger house, a nicer car, a better job, tastier food, weight loss, the next new diet, and the list goes on. The hole seems to be filled temporarily, and then like a pot hole, it collapses again at the first sign of a heavy weight or an intense storm. Did you know that I used to work in the weight loss…
Can Science and Faith Come Together in the Nutrition World? Science and Faith I have been thinking about this question a lot lately. Confusion abounds when we consider how to believe science and still continue in our faith. Let me first just say they are absolutely not mutually exclusive. I firmly believe that God gave us science to help us understand His creation! We also must remember that His creation is so beautifully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) that it is certain, we will never know everything. It helps us…
Intentional Eating: What is it? Intentional eating is not a new concept, but we seem to have forgotten the benefits of being intentional about life in general and also about our food and nutrition. I have used the phrase Intentional Eating to describe a combination of Intuitive Eating concepts and Biblical Concepts and how they can come together. Intuitive eating consists of 10 principles. Each of these principles focus on getting rid of dieting! In fact, three of the principles involve getting back to feeling and understanding your hunger. Principle…
Does God Care About Nutrition? Nutrition is a hot topic Nutrition is a hot topic in our culture today. So hot in fact that the last 30 years we see passion, arguing, struggling, and idolizing relating to all things nutrition. We often see many obsessing about which diet to follow, which new supplement to try, and what type of fitness routine should we adopt. Our culture is completely distracted from what really matters and our mental, physical, and spiritual health is suffering from it all. The diet mentality Fleeting motivations…