The Acidic/Alkaline Balance Challenge

If your physician has prescribed an ‘anti-inflammatory diet’ would you know what to eat?  Probably not. It’s one of those  “dog year” questions (relatable in practical terms.) It has to do with the pH scale’s acidic/alkaline relationship.  The more acidic one is, the more prone to illness one becomes.

Imagine the pH scale being in a straight line from 1-14.  7 is neutral, (like pure water.) 1 is acidic, (like battery acid) and anything above is considered alkaline.  Balance is what it’s all about. Try to maintain a pH of around 7.3 – 7.4.

What causes inflammation? Stress is a major contributor and in today’s world who isn’t under stress? Find ways to relieve daily stress through exercise, relaxing bubble baths, soft music, fresh air, massages or anything that calms you besides food.

The anti-inflammatory diet isn’t a “diet” as much as a lifestyle choice. One thing is certain, however, not addressing your health concerns will only create larger ones down the road! Chronic inflammation is dangerous! It is not a “little” problem if you ignore will simply go away. Chronic inflammation can eventually cause intense health issues including heart disease, IBS, colitis, arthritis, dementia, kidney disease, and cancers.

A healthy anti-inflammatory diet is on the alkaline side of the pH scale. It primarily consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, and whole grains such as oats, quinoa, brown rice, and buckwheat (Kashi).  In truth, if you eat as God instructed Adam in the Garden of Eden, you’ll add a lot more life in your years.

Coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks are incredibly acidic so cut down. Increase your water intake with lemon. Although you’ll notice lemon and vinegar is acidic on the pH scale, each actually metabolizes into an alkaline food. (God knew it all the time!)

Every meat is acidic, especially processed meats with dyes and chemicals such as cold cuts, bacon or hot dogs, so consume lean protein like fish, chicken, sirloin, and pork loin.

Sugar and artificial chemically treated foods are highly acidic. Unfortunately, so are the nightshade plants like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant. This doesn’t mean you must give them up entirely, but only consume occasionally. Balance is the key here.

Wheat, unfortunately, is on the acidic side of the scale. However whole wheat contains a great deal of fiber, so only avoid enriched breads and balance whole wheat products with more fruits and vegetables. Try to consume fiber-rich vegetables like sweet potatoes, corn, squash, alfalfa, beans, and lentils. The fiber helps remove toxins from your system and avoids damaging inflammation. Increase water consumption also.

One characteristic of the anti-inflammatory diet is the recommended inclusion of omega-rich fatty acids, especially omega 3’s. These consist of milled flaxseed, walnuts, olive oil (best-used cold), avocados, and good fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines.

Avoid salt and choose to flavor your foods with healthy herbs. Garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and capsaicin are especially helpful with their anti-inflammatory properties!  And don’t worry about not enjoying any treats either. Good dark chocolate contains a lot of antioxidants as does a glass of red wine.

Do you see the pattern here? You can enjoy so much more than you thought you could! Simply eat healthier and consume more whole foods to rid yourself of the artificially flavored, chemically processed boxed foods you might pick up at the supermarket for “convenience.” There is nothing convenient about pain and inflammation! Strive for a happier, healthier lifestyle.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

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Wanna Lose Weight Faster?

People ask me all the time, “How can I lose weight faster?”

“Besides hard work, determination, and remaining self-disciplined?” I ask. “Well, I can think of one way: consume fiber.”

Why do I believe that consuming fiber is one of the most important factors in losing weight? I’ll explain. The common denominator in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains is FIBER. No matter how tough that steak was last night, there’s no fiber in protein or fat. (But I bet it slowed the “fork down, spoon down” process, right?)

Most nutrients are dispersed through the digestive tract. If you fail to dispatch the proper nutrients, let’s say magnesium, your hypothalamus (your brain’s metabolic traffic cop) will nag you until it directs you to that scrumptious-magnesium-containing-piece-of-chocolate! By absorbing proper nutrients, it won’t . . .  unless you’re eating due to emotional reasons.

When you slow down the chewing process, enzymes are broken down and nutrients are absorbed/dispersed mostly through your small intestine. Having a clean digestive system will jump-start your metabolism.

Consider this illustration; if you have a garbage disposal in your home and nonchalantly threw scraps of food particles into it but never turned it on, what would happen?  It would build up, attract bugs and start to smell, yuk!  And then when it was finally turned on, it would start grinding so slowly that it might even stop if it was too clogged.  Then you would have to snake the trapped particles or use something to unclog it.

This is a description of how our intestinal system works as well. When one consumes a diet of meat, fats, junk food, and low-fiber foods, the intestines get clogged.  It’s harder to move those foods through the colon because food just kinda sits there.

Since our bodies can’t absorb nutrients that are vital to life, no amount of “dieting” will produce health! Your hypothalamus nags us to eat more food in search of much-needed nutrients, thus you eat more calories but absorb fewer nutrients.

Strive to eat more fiber and keep your entire system working on less!  You’ll have more energy, clearer skin, and less disease.

So what’s fiber?

God told Adam in Genesis 1:29 “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food.”     Wow! How smart is God?!!!

There are two kinds of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Sometimes fruits, vegetables, and whole grains include combinations of both.

Soluble fiber; think of it as Liquid Plumr. It turns into a gel that helps lower our treacherous LDL cholesterol.  Think apples,  oranges, pears, beans, and oats, which are excellent sources of soluble fiber.  Soluble fiber keeps our blood sugar levels steady so it’s easier to stand up to temptations.

Insoluble fiber stays intact, it doesn’t break up as it travels through your system.  Think corn which basically exits intact. Fruit skins are insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber draws water into the intestines, making stools bulkier and easier to pass. It’s like Roto-Rooter.

If you ever dropped pizza crust or a piece of whole grain bread into the sink and watched it swell as the water touched it, that’s what happens to fiber in your system. Fiber expands, creating a feeling of fullness.

There are seven forms of fiber: pectin, bran, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, guns, and mucilage. I won’t bore you with all the details. Rest assured though, if you eat 60% of your daily calorie intake containing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, you’ll reduce your risk of colon cancer, heart disease, constipation, obesity, hemorrhoids, and many other diseases. Remember, a man reaps what he sows, so strive to eat healthier!

Caution:

1. Increase fiber gradually.  Excessive fiber intake may decrease the absorption of zinc, iron, and calcium as well as promote more gas.
2. Build up to 25-35 grams of fiber each day.  4 grams = 1 teaspoon.
3. I highly recommend getting fiber from Mother Nature, not fiber laxatives due to possible electrolyte imbalance or laxative dependency.
4. Take vitamin and mineral supplements separately from the fiber.

 

Practical Tips for Healthier Living

God created our bodies as incredible machines. It’s absolutely amazing how intricate and energy efficient we could be if we only took care of ourselves and ate better. But do you run like a lawn mower, garbage disposal, or a sports car?

God has intricately designed our systems to protect us even when we do something crazy.

Case in point: when we attempt a starvation diet, pills, shots or liquid protein diet; our body will go into protection mode. Sure, any diet will allow us to lose weight . . .  initially, but starvation is not natural. Our  brain will discern that something is wrong, (perhaps we’re ill?) and will slow our metabolism to save energy.  Afterwards it takes longer to adjust our metabolism back to normal. We begin to store fat for later use. Because after all, “the crops might fail again” and we’ll need that stored energy to survive!!!

There is no miraculous way to instantly lose weight. It always goes back to God’s beautifully designed physiology: sensible nutritious eating, consuming water while exercising to burn calories and tone muscle which burns fat. Circular, boring and time-consuming. So to speed things up we’ll desperately try anything, gimmicks, caffeine, drugs . . . again gimmicks!

Always go back to basics: continually eat for nutrients, consume smaller portions, exercise, drink water, slow down and chew to release those vital enzymes.

Another suggestion is to make life’s challenges a game! To increase fluid  intake:

1. Fill a water container with a various combinations of lemon, cucumber slices, watermelon, berries . . .  you get the idea.
2. Create a chart and for every glass you drink, check off a block. Make it a game.
3. Every box is worth a nickel, dime, whatever. Reward with non-food items.
4. Display the jar and tangibly you’ll see accomplishments right in front of you.

These habits restore a feeling of self-discipline. Self esteem issues were probably one reason you gained in the first place, right? (Congratulations – you’re now a winner!) Use the reward money for a family fun night, DVD or shopping trip.

Exercise! When did exercise cease to be fun? When we were children we ran for the pure joy of it! Find a sport the family can perform together. Whether it’s throwing the Frisbee, biking, swimming, hiking; these can all be fun activities and bond the family together. As your health improves, so does your children’s.

Cooking. This can be a fun family achievement as well. Have each family member list their favorite dinners and place all in a hat, then plan your weekly menu.

Forget the sticks and twigs of diet plans. These are gimmicks. Feed your family nutrients! Even hamburgers, meatloaf and pizza can be created with less fat. Use 93% ground round or homemade pizza with less cheese and more veggies.

Grill chicken, sirloin kabobs or roasted pork loin with grilled potatoes, veggies and salad. These aren’t fattening. Use the leftover pork loin for BBQ sandwiches and extra chicken over garden salad. Search through cookbooks as a family to see what recipes to try. Did you know that 80% of the time, families consume the same 12 meals? Boring! Your body needs nutritional variety to work effectively.

Train your children well to create healthy habits. Strive for excellence as a family, instilling discipline and common sense. What values are you teaching your children? They watch and learn.

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;” (Ephesians 4:22)

Designed to Succeed

God did not design us to fail. But we are human, and we do.

Of course, as a counselor who specializes in nutrition, I’ve probably heard every excuse known to man. And man, do I dislike excuses! Oh, you had to eat that entire 14-inch pizza that Aunt Maude brought over, did you? “Well, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. After all, she made it just for me,” you said.

I understand. As a people pleaser, you didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

But what if Aunt Maude brought over some cocaine? Would you take it? I would certainly hope not! If you’re a diabetic, that fatty pizza would be just as dangerous to you! My recommendation: Chew a slice slowly, wrap up the rest in small servings and freeze for another time.

If you disobey God’s urging, you own it! It was your choice.  “But I tried to resist.” As that famous philosopher, Yoda replied to Luke Skywalker when he whined, he’d try, acknowledged, “No. Either do or do not. There is no try.” Now drink water, walk five miles, lift weights, play tennis or some other exercise. Do the crime, do the time.

Some of my patients protested, “I feel stupid. I failed.”

As Thomas Edison once declared, “I never fail. I just found 2,000 ways something didn’t work.” Failure makes us better educated. Face it, sometimes experience hurts. So, you were weak – learn from it. As I’ve mentioned before, most patients who came to see me had failed on many diets. Nothing worked – at least for any length of time.

Most believed that if success was to be achieved, there must be a gimmick, or they had to suffer to reach success. This is what I call “the penance principle.” It’s a false way of thinking. God designed us with innate, common sense. Use it. How can a hot dog diet (yes, there is one) be nutritionally sound?

Our loving Father desires to give His children only good gifts. That’s why He provided so many nutritionally dense selections to choose from.

“So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11) 

If God doesn’t provide for our requests, He has a good reason – so figure it out. Despite what some believe, He is not Lucy who takes away Charlie Brown’s football.

Now, what should we ask for when we pray for our daily bread? Should we ask for 3 lbs. of French Fries covered in cheese sauce? Would that be a good gift? No, we’d get sick or it could harm our heart.

If you face a culinary challenge, God has already given you the “tools” to overcome it. A knowledgeable brain, a spirit that knows right from wrong, and legs to walk away from temptation.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”   (1 Corinthians 10:13)

It all breaks down to our mental, physiological, and spiritual relationship to food. Which do we love more? Our belly or Christ? A momentary pleasure or knowing that we have resisted temptation? The food itself is not wrong based on Genesis 1:29 and Genesis 9:3. Our reaction to it can be!

Please don’t allow food to become your idol.

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

Trust Physiological Truth

As we were driving home from vacation this past week, we traveled through a section of the flattest portion of the earth I’ve ever seen. If someone believed in the “Flat Earth Society,” this might have been where it first evolved. But it was only a small portion of the Earth. They weren’t seeing the whole picture.

I found it similar to those who read one Scripture verse and announce the Bible has falsehoods. Or someone who hears a celebrity endorsing a diet plan and accepts it as healthy?

1. Research, people! Research before preaching absolutes!

God wants us to glory in abundant, healthy living, not suffer. That’s why He placed mankind in a Garden. Many suffer needlessly on a diet that tastes like plastic due to a celebrity endorsement. “It worked for (celebrity) so it will work for me!”

God never meant for us to live on complicated, fallacy-laden, restrictive diet plans. These clearly reject our Maker’s fundamental truths in physiology.

Do you believe in Absolute Truth? Absolute health truths in the law of physiology cannot be dismissed. Advanced science discovered how complex and intricate our mind/body/spirit connection is. This merely validates the Word of God:

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139: 13-16)

Modern science is discovering daily that we are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made! Some scientists recognize God’s handiwork in man’s creation but regretfully many don’t. How could those who don’t believe in God’s intricate design explain the complicated and amazing bodily function of the tiny Bacterial Flagellum? How could a piece of bodily machinery that intricate simply evolve inside us by chance? It must have had a Creator. It takes more faith to believe we arrived through mud clumps or crystals than if God created man!

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” (Psalm 14:1)

2.  Search for Truth in your physical well-being.

False Diet Gurus can profess whatever they wish while people follow like sheep, searching for that easy, painless, weight loss magical pill. It does not exist and even if it did, it wouldn’t help because our body will go into self-protection mode. This also won’t help the person who is emotionally or unconsciously challenged by food issues.

A Chinese saying cautions, “Even if 5,000 men are wrong, they are still wrong.” For example, no matter how men state that one can jump off the Grand Canyon without a parachute and fly by flapping their arms, it just ain’t gonna happen! Certain natural gravitational laws will prevent that from occurring.

That pertains to physiological laws as well. No matter how many times someone tries to create their own magical diet plan, if it’s not physiologically sound, it won’t work. A true weight loss plan is sensible, obtainable, and nutritionally sound in which they can abide forever.

3. Recognize and Establish Your Goal

Not having a goal reminds me of a scene from Alice in Wonderland when Alice meets the Cheshire Cat.

She asks: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter 6)

If one sets out on a journey, they must have a purpose, a plan, or they won’t reach their desired destination. What’s your goal? A particular weight? A size? More energy?

Find your purpose and strive for healthy living. (My objective in writing “Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese” was to encourage, motivate and convey how to live an abundantly healthy life.)

Getting Your Diet Mojo Back Permanently

It’s now the start of the “Diet-Season” when millions enthusiastically begin a diet on January 2nd and . . . usually fall off that bandwagon three weeks later. Why?

Failing on a diet plan is usually not because we don’t know what we should do. Most realize we:  1. eat less 2. exercise more 3. slow down and 4. drink water, etc., etc. . . . Yet we fail time and time again, even when we believe we are doing the right thing! That’s frustrating and self-defeating.

Weight loss is much more than mere willpower. There is no magic formula. Since we are each uniquely created, it’s primarily an individually mental, physiological, and spiritual challenge. It’s also a matter of understanding the scientific reasons behind the “why” we can self-destruct.

My book, “Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese . . .” will make the perfect motivational New Year’s gift this year. It’s available for only $4.99 on Amazon.com.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SKQ3HYV

It’s not simply another diet book. With over 241 pages of practical lifestyle applications, it encourages a brand new mental, physiological and spiritual approach to becoming a New Creation:

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese” (Nutritional & Life Lessons God Teaches Us) addresses such topics as:

1. Strive for excellence, not perfection
2. Why losing weight isn’t simply a matter of willpower!
3. Why sometimes a cookie isn’t “just a cookie”
4. Why dieting is like the Westminster Dog Show
5. Why you can’t outsmart a fat cell
6. Why physiologically, fad diets never work
7. The secrets to weight loss success and so much more!

Truth is, God never meant for us to live on complicated, fallacy-laden, restrictive diet plans which clearly reject our Maker’s fundamental psychological, physiological and spiritual wishes.

Healthy living is not adhering to a “penance principle” of restriction and suffering.  God set Adam in a Garden for a reason and provided the perfect Master Plan for health. Yet people needlessly consume “magic” formulas: “sticks and twigs,” processed packaged foods, drink tasteless protein shakes, or restrict their diet needlessly.

Why? There is no need to deny oneself chocolate, cheese, eggs, potatoes, bananas, shrimp, or any other food while consuming only rice cakes and celery. Avoidance and flagellation will not get one closer to God unless he enjoys living as a monk!

God gave us the perfect dietary plan in Genesis 1:29 and 9:3. He also instilled us with common sense. I address the fact that we’ve each been formed uniquely with a different chemical make-up. There is no one-size-fits-all diet plan but there are physiological truths we should live by!

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Discover true vitality through a sensible everyday eating plan, honoring God in the process!

“Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese” is filled with realistic illustrations and practical, common-sense applications. If you concentrate on nutrients, you will naturally be healthier because your body will crave healthier choices while resisting uncontrollable cravings. But how does one do that??? I explain how and it’s not by suffering.

I urge you to read this book to discover how you can become stronger, develop strategies, and routinely overcome temptation, becoming confident as a New Creation!

A Place to Belong (The Katherine LeVay Saga, Book 3)

I’m excited to announce the launch of my newest novel, A Place to Belong, available now at an affordable Kindle ebook price of $2.99.    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JQC38LC

Katherine LeVay Cunningham has risen from the ashes of her first marriage to become a confident, self-made woman. Then why risk everything by confessing the truth now?

Living an idyllic but nomadic lifestyle, she’s traveled the world but has no idea where she belongs. Kate now follows her second husband, Robert, from London to the States where he’s to produce a British Broadcasting Company series on the American Revolution. This time, their travels will take them throughout the East Coast: New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston.

Unfortunately, all these cities remind her of her first husband, television news anchor, Richard Madison who nearly destroyed her through deceit and his womanizing. She thought she had put those remorseful days behind her. But the guilty secret Kate conceals, now threatens to erode her very soul and peaceful existence.

In reality, can anyone escape a nightmarish past?

Kate struggles with her indecision to confess to her perfect, untraceable crime. However, as she soon discovers, her loved ones harbor secrets of their own.

The saga of Katherine LeVay begins in 1957 with the coming-of-age, Sometimes Marriage is a Real Crime. Followed by Casey’s Journey and Casey Conrad’s sequel Restoring Hope. If you enjoy tales of nostalgia and redemption, I trust you’ll enjoy my novels too.

10 Sensible Habits for Abundant Health!

“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:13)

We are commanded to honor God with our bodies and let’s face it, no one desires to fail on another “diet.” But every time we get exasperated, wanting to quit, the devil taunts: I said you couldn’t do it! You’ll never be successful.

Don’t believe it! The Lord knows you are more powerful than Satan so tap into God’s power! (1 John 4:4)

To ensure weight loss success, establish your defenses against the devil’s lies. Conquer that mountain top of discouragement! Here’s how:

1. Winners know who they are.  Accept your need for self acceptance. You are unique, revel in that. Build your worth around your love for God, others, your family and personality. Real beauty comes from within. (1 Samuel 16:7) Either rid your life of toxic relationships or be an encourager.

2. Become conscious of how you react to food. Are you really hungry or just provoked by a feeling? Do you eat healthy foods or do you bring tempting junk into your home? Do you eat quickly or dine leisurely with friends and family?  It takes 20 minutes for your brain to know your tummy is full, so relax and enjoy your food.

3.  Build a support system for accountability/encouragement. God declared, “It’s not good for man to be alone.”  Your friends and family care if you’re unhealthy. Don’t allow them to be enablers.

4. Successful people are committed to reaching goals. They don’t allow set-backs to deter them. Sometimes you’ll be ten steps forward and then four steps back, but remember, you’re still going forward! As a Christian, is there anything that would entice you to return to a decadent lifestyle? Hope not! Realize that God doesn’t expect perfection from you, only obedience –  so don’t expect it from yourself.

5.  Successful people develop strategies. They have created strategies to overcome temptations before they arise. Outside influences shouldn’t control them. They know honoring God is more important than  establishing a fattening, unhealthy food as their idol.

6. They find pleasure in other actions besides eating! Develop a hobby, write, paint, exercise, read a favorite novel, garden, learn a new skill. It’s not selfish to find satisfaction in a well-rounded lifestyle! Food then won’t be the highlight of your life.

7.  Motivated people use visualization skills.  Try visualizing yourself covered in lard or yellow fat. Visualize eating raw chicken skin, mmm . . . or bacon grease coursing throughout your veins.  Not very attractive. Think of your heart as a separate entity, faithfully working day and night to keep you alive. Your heart deserves better!

8.  Winners are confident people! Aren’t you drawn to confident leaders? Just think how mentally strong you become, because no one else can lose your weight but you!! If you can lose weight you can do anything, so walk like a winner!

9. Winners become educated. They understand why they eat and know where temptations are. They control their daily fat intake and rarely eat junk food – which like sugar, greatly ages the body. They exercise because it’s beneficial and FUN. They’ve learned physiology and what an intricate machine God created!

10. Feeling great is their everyday routine. Healthy people smile more, enjoying life! Being healthy improves one’s looks, energy level, longevity, self-esteem and is a testimony to how God gloriously rules in our lives.

Walk with God’s Strength, it’s something winners strive for.

 “For it is written, You must be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)

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)