Reaping the Consequences of the Hippie Generation

In 1967, the popular rock band, The Grassroots, released a song entitled “Let’s Live for Today.” It epitomized the growing culture of the ’60s hippie generation. Since I look at health through a Biblical lens, I see a correlation here between healthy and destructive choices. Please indulge me.

Young people today believe the older generation doesn’t understand what it was to be young. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The ’60s Hippie Generation enjoyed a “free love philosophy” too. Don’t worry about tomorrow, grab hedonistic pleasure today! Looking back, what seemed like a good idea at the time turned out to be nothing but waking up the next morning with regrets, guilt, or a splitting headache, bowing before a porcelain god.

This ’60s philosophy of allowing others to live the way they want without boundaries became harmful. It morphed into an “I’m okay, you’re okay” attitude. This produced apathy. “Sorry, too busy to care.” Apathy is the opposite of love. We need to inspire a seemingly uncaring generation to cherish kindness and discipline.

There’s a price to pay for optimum health. There is no “free” anything. When presented with a buffet, ever thought, free food?! “I better eat as much as I can now because it won’t be there tomorrow!” Then, wake up the next morning with a food hangover, the digestion system rebelling? Ugh. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Excess food creates acidity which generates various illnesses. Thankfully, God gave humans common sense. When we know better, we make wiser choices. Enjoying nutritious flavorful clean food with a disciplined attitude is ultimately beneficial, so why go backward?

In Genesis 3:6, Eve saw that food was pleasing to the eye, and we have been seduced by food ever since!  God is pleased when we conquer worldly pleasures and honor Him!

We have produced an unhealthy generation. I endorse 1 Corinthians 10:23 to moderate culinary boundaries.  By Free Will, you either accept or reject God’s dietary boundaries. Your choice, you can eat anything, but remember, there are no victimless crimes. If you become ill, everyone you love suffers.

With the emergence of mid-century fast-food establishments, came an attitude of why cook when one can simply make a quick stop and bring home dinner?  So what if it’s made from chemicals, preservatives, and other items we can’t pronounce?  Kids will eat it when they won’t touch carrots! Busy parents justified: “Live and let live!” – at least we’ll eat together. Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and childhood obesity increased accordingly as additional processed foods adorned the shelves of many supermarkets.

We morphed into a “do our own thing” society. Few attend church nowadays, many have no clear direction ethically/morally.  Parents have become friends not disciplinarians, allowing their children to live as they chose. Religion? “Whatever you embrace darling, as long as it fulfills your need.” The result? Children are ensnared by false doctrines and cultish beliefs. Crime soars.  If our young aren’t taught basic Biblical Truths and behaviors, we indeed reap what we sow. Their Spirit dies.

There definitely IS an eternal tomorrow. It’s called either Heaven or Hell and we can accept or reject that fact. I choose Heaven. To God, All Lives Matter!  Choose Life!

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”  (2 Timothy 4:3)

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Living with Fibromyalgia

In 1991 as I began my nutritional counseling career, fibromyalgia (FMS) was just emerging onto the medical scene. When the doctors I worked for couldn’t determine a specific cause, they inevitably sent the patient to me.

As I sat and listened to their symptoms and heard their plea for help, it was truly frustrating for us both. There were no guidelines at that time and many doctors believed it to be a “psychological inducement caused by stress.”  Translation: “It’s in your head.”

The more I listened, the more convinced I was that FMS was not a myth. There seemed to be a connection among most patients: 80% of them worked around chemicals. They were hairstylists, manicurists, lab and pest control technicians, house cleaners, etc. which I found to be curious. The skin is the largest organ of the body. Doesn’t it seem reasonable that since the skin can breathe in toxins that remain in the muscles and joints, couldn’t fibromyalgia be a result of toxic build-up in the body?

Another possibility: FMS cases are increasing yearly. So are the chemical additives placed in foods found on grocery shelves! Is there a connection here? Just in case, I’d urge all to go back to the original “diet” plan God gave Adam. (Genesis 1:29) You’ll understand that God is smarter than we are.

As far as I know, to date, there is no cure for FMS but I pray there is hope, and here is what I humbly offer to fight it:

1. Keep a food diary for at least a month. Track every food you place in your mouth. (Your health depends on it so don’t whine!) Circle any boxed, canned, or bagged food that contains dyes, chemical additives, or preservatives, and if your symptoms increase, don’t ever purchase these again.
2. Increase your intake of purified, distilled water and lemon water. (Rid your diet of Splenda and chemically infused diet drinks. These are toxins.)
3. Try juicing (but don’t forget fiber foods) and consume more alkaline foods. Use my search engine for posts on the pH scale.
4. Wash all of your fruits and vegetables thoroughly! Even pre-washed packages contain some risk of pesticides. Increase organic foods if possible.
5. Protect yourself with high antioxidant choices. Antioxidants protect the skin and will hopefully create a force field against outside pollutants.
6. Increase fiber-rich choices. This will not only detoxify your body quickly by binding and removing toxins through the kidneys and liver but allow more protective nutrients to enter your bloodstream through the small intestine.
7. Get out and walk! Fresh air releases endorphins and serotonin which improves the mood and reduces stress.

Change your diet. Search for the most powerful antioxidant foods available:

1. Garlic, onions, and leeks all contain powerful chemicals which boost the immune system. I’ve written about this a lot. See any posts on healing foods.
2. The friendly bacteria, acidophilus is found in natural, good quality yogurt. Mountain High, Stonyfield, Stony Farms, Yoplait Natural, and Fage, Greek (or any without additives) will fight the harmful bacteria in your system.
3. Spicy foods release soothing neurotransmitters that calm pain. Try increasing hot spicy foods containing capsaicin, (cayenne pepper) or hot salsas, peppers, horseradish, and wasabi.
4. Chlorophyll will boost immune-fighting properties. This includes alfalfa, kelp, spinach, kale, broccoli, or wheat grass. All green foods contain chlorophyll. (but NO! Not moldy cheese.)

Lastly, it is not only “in your head.” Sometimes it’s in your heart too, for it takes Herculean effort to remain upbeat when in pain.  I urge you to surround yourself with TRUE friends who will accept you as you are! God will never abandon you.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4

Managing Diabetes Sensibly

Amy sat across from my desk, her eyes brimming with tears. One of our doctors had just diagnosed her with Type 2 diabetes and she needed to change her dietary habits. That’s where I came in.

Type 2 Diabetes is a debilitating but manageable illness which is becoming more prevalent in today’s culture.

My new patient had recently come from her father’s hospital bedside. He had lost a limb to diabetes, and she was frightened she’d suffer the same fate.

Apparently, she had argued with her father for years to take better care of himself, but to no avail. He refused to recognize that his unhealthy lifestyle was affecting his daughter’s mental health, along with destroying his own body. He failed to realize that if one family member struggles, all are affected.

He continued to eat chemically processed, fattening foods, too many sugary items and never exercised.  Now Amy had received the same diagnosis; Type 2 Diabetes, and she was scared but ready to fight for her health.

What makes someone fight for wellness while others apathetically accept their fate? It begins with a determined mindset!

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Believe that vibrant health is worth fighting for!  Treasure what God has given you. Diabetes needn’t be a death sentence if you are willing to change.

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, take control. Lose and maintain a sensible weight. Changing habits is the first challenge and that is something you must desire more than sweets and fast food.

Never act like a victim and ask, “why me?”  I’ve had patients who actually stated that diabetes was the best thing that had ever happened to them because it was a wake-up call!  Many of my patients controlled their disease with diet, and exercise and felt fantastic for the first time in decades! They only wished they had done it sooner.

The Key is Education and Small Steps:

1. Increase fiber to 25-35 grams daily (4-9 tsp.) Fiber allows insulin to enter more slowly into the bloodstream. There are two types of fiber and we need both.

Soluble fiber becomes a gel in our system, moving dangerous LDL cholesterol out while lowering blood sugar. (It’s like Liquid Plummer.)  A shortlist includes beans and sweet potatoes. Brussel sprouts, applesauce, avocado, pears, chia seeds, broccoli.

Insoluble fiber is like Rotor Rooter, remaining intact as it clears our intestines (corn, potato skins, beets, apple skins) It pushes out toxins so valuable nutrients can be absorbed through the digestive tract.

Choose a variety of fibers including whole grains, (oats, quinoa, long grain rice) fruits, (apples, pears, prunes), and vegetables, (peas, legumes, beans, bananas, and sweet potatoes.)

2. Get into a Daily Routine because this stabilizes blood sugar. Ensure that you eat around the same times each day and exercise at regular intervals. This keeps your blood sugar levels steady and reduces stress on your vital organs.

3. Create a sensible pathway to de-stress. When our bodies are stressed, it not only raises our insulin levels but also creates a hazardous acidic pH level, making us hungrier and more prone to illness.

Create a strategy to de-stress: get fresh air, listen to music, take soothing baths, schedule a massage, or simply sit and read on your back patio.

4. Exercise routinely! Diabetics run the risk of circulatory problems and nerve damage. But don’t overdo exercise. That would add stress! Find an exercise routine you enjoy and keep doing it! Try walking, biking, swimming, dancing, gardening, and jogging.

5. Greatly reduce or eliminate artificial sweeteners. They’re addictive! They also tend to calcify the kidneys. In addition, the body cannot metabolize them, so these chemicals remain in your liver, building up toxins.

Most importantly, artificial sweeteners increase insulin levels because your body is tricked into expecting more food! Stevia has an alkaline pH and is a good substitute. My patients consumed small amounts of regular sugar while giving up the simple sugars in donuts, cakes, pies, and candy.

6. Drink lots of pure water – at least 8 glasses – it washes away toxins!

Yes, diabetes is a tough disease to manage, but remember you’re worth the effort! You have Strengths you might not recognize yet. Our Lord Sustains!

Avoid These Health Goal Roadblocks

New Creations Ministries

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

So what’s preventing you from reaching your health goal? You certainly know what to do: eat less junk, exercise more, slow down, drink water . . . you know the drill.  So if you want to become healthier, what prevents you?

Are you focusing only on the negative when exercising?

Yes, its’ a long, tedious road but look how much you are learning along the way! You are becoming self-disciplined. Only you can lose this weight for only you live within the confines of your skin. As much as I want you to lose weight and get healthy, I can’t do it for you. Isn’t that similar to Salvation? Only you can accept God’s Grace and change your lifestyle.

Remain positive. Each day you are one day closer…

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How Do We Change Behaviors?

Remember the old saying, “If you always do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got?”

Have you tried every diet plan under the sun and still haven’t kept your weight off? Others have but you keep hitting a brick wall or worse yet, a mudslide of weight returning your way. Why?

What’s the secret to those who lost weight and kept it off? How can they lose weight and not me? you ask.

One Answer: First change a mindset to change a behavior!

Are you stuck in your same behaviors? Restrictive diet plans?  Giving in to peer pressure? Exercise – Who has time to exercise???

If you look at the most successive healthy humans, like Tom Brady, Sabrina Williams, Cindy Crawford among others, they hold a disciplined, goal-oriented mindset. They like themselves too much to ever return to an unhealthy lifestyle even if they could. There would be no ‘up’ side. They like themselves healthier.

It’s simple really – their desire to be healthy is more desireable than that second donut. They enjoy walking more than sitting around watching the latest Judge Judy episode. They like the way they feel more than they liked feeling sluggish and unhealthy. 

All successful people have a goal that means more to them than anything else and they’ll work to reach it! How much did you want that healthier living? Did you give it your best?

“Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philipians 3:13,14) NASB

I didn’t like myself much being overweight. When my mindset changed I ate for nutrients in all food groups. Why would I want to return to an unhealthy lifestyle? Food isn’t a god to me anymore. (Philippians 3:19.)

Once you become healthy, your desires change too.

Are you willing to change to a positive mindset to change your behaviors? Are you tired of the old you and crave a new lifestyle, energy level, appearance?

Accept a better you. Each of us are unique, having a different physiology and personality created by God. Our pH, blood type and activity level is different. Strive to be your best within that structure. 

Are you feeling worthless? Sometimes one has to reach bottom before they can crawl to the top.

Change your beliefs:

God gave us a bounty of nutrients on Earth so one shouldn’t suffer. He wanted us to eat for the pleasure of it. He didn’t want us to consume a “sticks and twigs” diet. Denying oneself an entire food group is not a healthy way to live. He created balance for our optimum biological function.

There are basically three food groups: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Carbs aren’t the enemy. They break down to simple and complex. Complex are excellent sources of fiber which stabilize blood sugar (reducing hunger) move bad bacteria and dangerous chemicals out of your system. That in turn improves energy levels, attitudes and appearance.

Ensure you drink plenty of pure, clean water.  (Anytime we add ingredients to water, it takes longer for the body to break it down. Adding lemon or lime to water improves our good pH  so go at it!)

As a Believer, honor God with your body. Why would you mess it up by throwing unhealthy food onto the floor of your temple?  Start living an abundant and healthy lifestyle now. 

 

Developing Healthy Patience

Sometimes as little children occasionally do, we’ll stomp our feet and declare, “But I want it now!”   Afterward when the regrets kick in, we ask ourselves, “Why did I think that was a great idea?”

Have you ever stopped to think that our Heavenly Father loves us so much, He will give us the desires of our heart even if those are bad for us?  It’s called “free will.” Naturally God hopes we’ll choose what’s best. But it’s our choice.

Have you ever debated if you should consume something even though you understand it’s going to create an illness? Then shake a fist at God and ask, “Why’d you do this to me?”

I know very few children who choose vegetables over candy, cake or even cheesy fries. After a few tummy aches however and children usually instinctively learn to choose better. Do we really think eating all that fattening, processed, chemically-laden packaged food is good for us? We need to conquer our food cravings and resist the tug of gluttony. We are not children anymore.

No food is bad (1 Corinthians 10:23) but our reaction to it sometimes is.  Who’s in control, you or are you lured by manipulation? Have you ever lost control, giving in to a decadent food only to become discouraged because you couldn’t stay on your health plan?

As God’s child we also need borders which will assure a healthier lifestyle. When young, our children need boundaries to keep them safe and healthy. Certainly you wouldn’t feed your child only candy? They need real food to grow and thrive. God laid out our diet plan in Genesis 1:29 and 9:3. Follow His plan and achieve a healthier lifestyle. So why can’t we resist temptation?

Unfortunately some never grow up. When presented with a menu of grilled fish or chicken or hamburgers and fries, they’ll still go for the fattier selection every time! THINK! Once in a while that’s fine but choosing an inappropriate choice every day and you’ll wind up with debilitating diseases and parasites, lovely.

Why do we fail to understand we answer to a Higher Authority? If I am out walking my pooch, I’m her authority. I want her to enjoy her journey but if she misbehaves and wants to chase squirrels across the road, I reign her in because I don’t want to see her run over! God provides boundaries for the same reason. He wants us to be safe! And because He is All Knowing, He realizes what will happen when we give in to temptation.

Emotional eating is not healthy. If you desire something unhealthy, work it off by exercising and you’ll remain in control.  If you’ve kept your food journal for two weeks as I encouraged, you might understand why you give in for reasons other than hunger. Continue to journal; asking yourself, what happened just before I gave in to my desires? A disturbing phone call, an argument? Are you lonely – food offers comfort. Bored? Eating is something to do. Angry? Crunching on food is a stress reliever. Sad? Chemicals in food release happy endorphins.

For example, chocolate contains  phenylethylamine which makes us feel loved. Since God created chocolate, it’s fine in moderation.  But if we’re motivated by a chocolate commercial on TV, losing control, we’ve become manipulated. Give in and you just made that food an idol before our Lord.

 “I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”  (Galatians 5:16)

Remaining in control and conquering addiction is a wonderful feeling. Conquer self and honor God.

“But I Haven’t Lost Weight!!!”

Could your mind be manipulating you into a false picture of truth?

One of my patients, after losing 65 pounds, turned to me and sighed, “But when I look in a mirror Ellie, I still see a huge woman and feel I haven’t accomplish anything!”

Unfortunately, that’s a common misperception. Our mind doesn’t always recognize our successes. “You haven’t changed, you are still fat and the same failure you always have been, so just give up!” is what Satan is whispering in our ear.

Don’t believe it! That’s stinkin’- thinkin’!

It takes several weeks for your mind to catch up with your body image. Allow yourself some patience. Positive thinking is a habit after all and changes take time before we are comfortable with them.

It’s important to create tangible evidence of your accomplishments. Sometimes like Doubting Thomas, we need to see progress with our very own eyes before we believe it.

Here’s a few helpful tips:

1. Create a personal weekly weight loss graph to recognize how much weight you actually lose.
2. Find an old belt to see how much smaller it closes around your waist.
3. Try on a piece of old clothing and see how loose it is.
4. Find an old picture from a year or two ago and compare it to a new photo. See the difference?

By comparing her old self to her new self she recognized how far she had come. She wasn’t trapped at all! She had broken through the mental, spiritual and physical bonds that had previously ensnared her. Her mental image simply had to catch up.

As much as I want to get healthy for you, you must want it more than I want it for you. It is an individual decision to put discipline and training into action to be successful. You alone become a new creation, inside and out. No longer should your mind be trapped into thinking you failed.

It doesn’t please the Lord when you degrade yourself. Just as we accept salvation individually, through a growing faith, we must put positive decisions into real life practice in order to produce the fruit of the Spirit.  We don’t always see that fruit of the Spirit immediately. Sometimes it is a “two steps forward and one step back” process, but you are still going forward!

Have you ever had a day when you’ve said: “I want to be joyful but, man . . . I woke up in such a lousy mood . . . and that boss of mine is such a  . . . and the dishwasher’s broken again and the bills are due . . . ” Sometimes we just do not feel joyful, patient, kind or self-controlled. Everyone has “one of those days.” Forgive yourself; realize you are human, not perfect.

“to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Physiologically there is no quick, safe way to consistently lose 5-10 pounds per week! It is deceitful and dangerous for diet companies to imply one can safely do so. We would be losing water weight, muscle, brain and bone as well as a little fat.

Quit searching for quick fixes and instant gratification! Start educating yourself. By making small gradual changes, you’ll discover fortitude, patience and physiological truths long-term, which honors God.

 God made you special. You were meant for a purpose and you aren’t disposable because God doesn’t make junk!

Aren’t We All God’s Needlepoint Project?

A dear friend worked on a needlepoint project for weeks. I once walked in while she was laboring over her design. It was turned upside down. From where I stood, it looked a total mess. All those patchwork colors were joined in scrambled directions. What in the world was she working on? It looked incredibly complicated and discouraging.

Then she turned it over. The top side displayed a beautiful young child in a meadow amidst colorful flowers. Who knew??? It was so lovely and intricate, revealing a life lesson to me not to judge a piece of work until it’s finished! To her it was worth the effort.

How very much like a needlepoint project is God’s intricate work in us!

Years ago, I worked for a faith-based, drug recovery center.  The women who arrived at the facility were beaten down by life – shattered into pieces. Life’s choices hadn’t been good to them.

Sometimes their drug addiction began as a cry for attention. For some, it was to cover painful emotional attachments to family challenges, boyfriend or peer pressure situations. Others to dull the pain of loneliness, self-esteem issues or friends urging them to join into the “thrill” of drugs and alcoholism.

Unbelievably and regretfully, several had begun their dangerous meth or drug habit merely to lose weight. Now they were addicted. What a half-truth Satan proclaims when he tells a young woman that she will lose weight, gain beauty and popularity through drugs. Weight loss? Of course – through malnutrition and early death!

The half-truths of this world mislead many, just as it has since Adam and Eve. (“Surely you will not die . . .  ” Genesis 3:4) And any drug which artificially jumpstarts one’s metabolism will hang on to every pound after the “goal” is reached as an act of survival.

Losing weight through manipulating drugs  WILL. NOT. WORK! Please do not even think of attempting a drug (diet pills) to lose weight if you’re a Christian. It not only hurts your heart, but God’s as well. You are God’s holy temple and drugs change your biochemistry and brain function!

Today many of these lovely women (but sadly not all) conquered the satanic bonds that anchored them to this world’s view of beauty. True beauty comes from within.

Those women placing their trust in Christ are now firmly anchored to His Truth of Salvation instead of drugs as Christ proclaimed each one was worth the sacrifice He endured for them. They are now children of the One True King!

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

A luring idol has a powerful tug of the heart. But the Word of God is stronger! I pray that the intricately woven Word of God will be able to assist you in resisting the ever present, powerful enticement towards a degrading lifestyle of weight loss pills and other diet fallacies.

If our life is God’s tapestry, it is unclear even to us how His work will turn out until our lives are completed. God’s prick of the needle can be painful as He works on us. And sometimes God needs to modify His creation by reworking the pattern if we go astray. (Genesis 50:20) His Patience and His Timing is perfect in His workmanship of us.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Staying Healthy Even Thru Tough Times

Most will agree, we went thru stressful times this past year. Have you found you’ve gained weight? Found yourself eating to cover emotional issues? You’re not alone. But ask why you’re reaching for food. Are you even hungry or simply reacting to challenges?

If you are having a stressful morning, it’s easy to reach for the donuts in the break room. Angry? Those pretzels are therapeutically crunchy!!! Lonely? Reach for the calming chemical phenylethylamine found in chocolate.

Food is our comfort drug when we are feeling emotional. You experience stress as a nurse, when you can’t do anything for that sweet child in the ICU, as an overworked teacher, when that popular teenager calls you a derogatory word and others laugh, or as a social worker, wishing you could do more for struggling families. It hurts when we don’t see a way out!

Self-medicating with food makes the pain go away, even for a short time. It changes our chemical make-up, providing pleasure, relaxing us. That’s a hard habit to give up. If you are a kind person watching injustice in today’s world, stress hits especially hard. You might even question God and wonder why He allows such things to happen?

God cares! It breaks His heart when He sees suffering. But, as He has since Adam, allowed us free choice. We can obey, become apathetic or self-destruct. God would never force us do something beyond free will.

I understand this.  As much as I wanted my patients to become healthier, they had to want it more than I wanted it for them! I watched as they victoriously chose a more healthier lifestyle . . . or destruction. It was  frustrating to watch sometimes but it had to be their choice. Change starts from within the individual.

As God watches, it’s the same for Him. He wants us to choose what is best but in His love. He did not create puppets. God will not force us to do what we don’t want to do. Actions have consequences and choosing to consume chemically-laden, processed foods will ultimately react in physiologically destructive results. 

In the beginning God gave us whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds for food. In modern times, man began developing foods that included additives, preservatives and chemicals for a longer shelf life.

You probably realize already that food, being a bunch of chemicals, can become addictive. It is as addictive as smoking, drugs or alcohol addiction because it changes our brain neurotransmitters and bodily chemistry.

Regarding diets, my personal health philosophy is based on 1 Corinthians 10:23 “”I have the right to do anything,” you say–but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”–but not everything is constructive.”

Any food is fine in moderations but certain foods containing preservatives and chemicals aren’t constructive because they create an unhealthy acidic pH.

Some believe food addiction is even worse than drugs, alcohol and smoking because we cannot get away from food – it’s there at least three times a day, staring us in the face. It’s in the vending machines, on television, even along the road you travel on. 

As a nutritional counselor I gave my patients the tools for recovery, then had to stand by to see if they would take hold of them to use them for their own good. Faith is trusting, even when we don’t understand why.

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9: 9,10 (NIV)

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Cabbage Soup and Other Crazy Diets

Research states Americans spent $72 billion on diets in 2019!

“Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” (Hebrews13:9)

Does anyone remember when Oprah Winfrey, to prove a point on her popular television show in the 1990s, set up a totally fictitious diet center in a mall?

That ‘diet’ consisted of eating only hot dogs and ice cream.  How silly, who’d believe that?   Well . . .  actually . . . over forty people signed up in three days! It proved that people will fall for anything and we must be wary of diet scams.

The question one has to ask is, why???  Surely they couldn’t believe that consuming sodium-filled, nitrate-laden, saturated fat, processed meat and 11 grams of saturated dairy fat per 1/2 cup, would produce a fit body?

Anything’s fine in moderation and isn’t health more important than weight loss?

Nutritional education, physiology, overcoming challenges and establishing lifelong strategies are certainly more conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Still, many search for a quick fix, even at the expense of their health.

The “Lose A Pound a Day Diet!”

Exposing the false claims of diet gurus who profess that one can lose a “pound a day” by simply trying this or that fad, is challenging.

Many plans have emerged over the years so let’s discuss several that have endured:

The Cabbage Soup Diet

Popular throughout the 1980s and ’90s, it is still used by many today as a magic formula.  “You can lose 10 lbs. in 10 days!!” bold headlines claim.  Wow, if it was only that easy. Sadly this claim isn’t realistic.

Although cabbage soup contains essential nutrients, you will not lose 10 pounds of FAT in ten days. You will lose mostly water weight.

I know it’s complicated but please stay with me here.

• 3,500 calories equal one pound of fat. A person would need to create a deficit of 500 calories per day to lose one pound of fat per week. (7 days x 500 =3,500 calories)
• Losing 1,000 calories per day would equal 7,000 calories per week which only amounts to two pounds.
• Let’s say you are a 180 pound male and moderately active. Your usual daily intake is 2,500 calories per day. Even if you cut out all food for ten days – starving yourself, 10 days x 2500 calories = 25,000 calories.  That only equals 7 pounds and your body would not only lose fat, but muscle, brain and water.
• If you reduce your diet to a starvation level of 800 to 1,000 calories per day – one dctor actually put me on this! – you would lose vital nutrients. Then your hypothalamus, (being the brain’s thermostat) would either nag you constantly to consume the nutrients you lack or it would think you were starving. It would then slow your metabolism to virtually nothing in order to protect you. This would defeat the purpose of weight loss.

The Grapefruit, Lemon and Apple Cider Vinegar Diets

I lump all these together because these diets are meant to burn fat with acidic producing properties which theoretically enhances metabolism. All contain nutrients which are physiologically beneficial and are excellent foods by themselves. 

What it does is produce alkaline properites

Although lemons, grapefruit and vinegar taste acidic, these foods biochemically metabolize into alkaline properties in your system. An alkaline pH curbs your appetite and in that way is beneficial. It is certainly not wrong to consume any of these on a daily basis, but it is not a magic bullet.

Excerpt form my book,  “Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese” (Nutritional and Life Lessons God Teaches Us)

Coming Soon: More Crazy Diet Plans