Eating Less and Healthier:

My husband and I have been taking a few steps to get healthier and to focus more on the food we have been eating.  I have never participated in calorie counting before.  I have done a 30 day “clean eating food challenge.”  Essentially this was a month with no added sugars.  Apples or bananas weren’t even on the list because of the amount of their natural sugars.  Then for a month or two one summer, I did try Keto with my dad, until I realized I needed some more carbs to train for my first half marathon.  However, it has been roughly 60 days since I started calorie counting with Cole, and I have already lost 10 pounds!  I feel lighter and I don’t feel as bloated on a regular basis. I have really overall been very happy with this journey.  

I bring this up in my usual Christian blog, because the church does sometimes discuss gluttony.  There are times we as people, Christians included, can be very gluttonous or very addicted to certain things in this world, even things like food and sugar.  I know I personally can be addicted to these things some days.  There are days where I wouldn’t be able to stop eating the juice filled fruit snacks, starbursts, or gummy bears.  This was especially true if they were in my area or they were at the store where I was shopping, and I decided to pick them up before I left. 

Even if this is not something we commonly think of, the Bible does do some referencing when it comes to food.  Some verses reference eating, and how to be smart with eating food, as we should be wise with all things.  One verse is Proverbs 25:16 which says, “”If you find honey, eat just what you need, and do not have an excess of it, or you will vomit it up”.  Sorry to have the word vomit in the middle of my blog post.  It is not something usually included in my messaging.  However, it is important to realize we don’t need to eat food in excess.  The minute we start to eat an unhealthy amount, or even eating certain unhealthy foods in too much excess, we as people will get sick.  We may throw up, or we may lose energy, have our immune system compromised, and it can affect our mood and mental health.  Eating wise helps us in all senses of health.

This is why I am happy I am starting to look more at the food I am putting into my body.  However, I do want to make sure we don’t go too far the other way.  One reason I was always nervous to try calorie counting was because I didn’t want to be so obsessed with food in either direction.  I was nervous to be so preoccupied with how many calories are in food that I would then have a bad relationship with food, where I wouldn’t be looking at food in a healthy way.  However, so far, I have still kept a healthy relationship with foods, just watching the caloric intake. 

The challenge for this week is to think about how you eat.  First, what is your relationship to food?  Are you a person who tends to be a bit compulsive or gluttonous with food at times?  Are there moments where you are on the other end of the spectrum and you are constantly looking at food in a good way or a bad way?  Or do you see food as a stresser?  Are there times you are not eating to the best of your ability? Are there times when you are eating too much or eating too little?  

Then after spending some time in reflection, it can be good to make a few goals of eating healthier.  Is this eating less sugar or less fried foods?  For me, it was definitely needing to eat less sugar while also taking in less food or calories.  I needed to consume a little less.  This is of course not saying I can’t have a sweet treat here and there or I can’t enjoy a bigger meal from time to time, but I also didn’t have to spend a lot of time snacking or taking in just mindless candy.  

Reminder that God has created our bodies to do a lot of good works for Him.  Because of this, our body is a temple for the Lord.  We need to treat these temples like they were meant to be treated.  It is important that we feed and nutrient ourselves, so we can function and do all things we are meant to do for the Lord.  It is important to fuel our body with vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, etc.  We need our food, but we need to be mindful and wise, just as we need to be with all things.