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Let’s start by defining what we mean by health. We believe that health refers more to the way your body responds to your environment (food, fitness, rest and stress), than it does to the environment itself. This means that healthy might look different for every one of you! It means that there isn’t a perfect diet or magical routine that transforms you into perfect health. It means that one step at a time we can fill our bodies, our minds and our time with choices that glorify God and ultimately bring us health.
Healthy means BALANCE.
It means filling your bodies with healthy foods AND foods that bring you joy.
It means filling your time with the things that you really need/want to do AND with peaceful rest/relaxation.
It means filling your minds with a deeper faith and focus on the true reason for this season.
It means filling everything with praise, worship and thanksgiving.
I saw a post recently that advertised a “healthy” food product. The post stated that you could essentially eat the whole box because it was “healthy”. Now, I’m not saying that you can’t eat the whole box of something every once in awhile, but just because it's labeled "healthy", doesn't mean it's healthy for YOU! Our diet obsessed culture has used SO many labels to tell us what is good or bad for us—it is overwhelming! Everything from sugar free, fat free, gluten free, fat-full (keto)...the list goes on and on and on.
How do you know what really IS healthy?
First, every body is different and finding an eating style that works for you to maintain a healthy body weight and to fuel your lifestyle is of utmost importance. This means that the "label" does not matter as much as the effect that it has on your life and health. Studies have shown that the diet (read: eating style) that works the best is one that YOU can stick to. If you are following a diet to achieve a certain body composition, but can't imagine eating that way for the rest of your life (or over the holidays)...it's not going to achieve the end goal of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body composition. The term healthy should refer more to the way your body responds (short and long term) than it does to the food item itself.
Secondly, eating foods that are the closest to their God-given form is truly the best version of “healthy”. Highly processed foods (even if they are sugar free, gluten free, yada-yada) are NOT always the healthiest version of that food. Many of these are filled with ingredients that were manufactured in a laboratory and not designed by God for human consumption. Focus your effort on eating single ingredient, God-made foods and you’ll be headed in the “healthy” direction!
And finally, food is meant to nourish our bodies AND to bring us enjoyment. As you are surrounded by seasonal flavors and scents this month, try to allow yourself the grace to fill your body with foods that do BOTH: nourish and bring joy! So, eat the sugar cookie (or don't), but it you do, enjoy it AND eat the salad too!
HealthFULL holidays to you!
P.S. If you need help to discover your healthy habits, please reach out to us! We offer a comprehensive healthy lifestyle program as well as one-on-one coaching and guidance. You don’t have to do it alone!