SOAPBOX WARNING:
When I look at the body image struggles that continue to persist from one generation to the next, and as pyramid marketers' diet product promotions fill up my feed, I feel like I need to share a few points (truths perhaps) and cautions, not as a doctor or nutritionist for I am neither of these, but as someone who has lived long enough to read mounds of research on health/fitness and to observe every imaginable diet fad or product come and go over the years.
1) If the products have GMOs, dyes, preservatives or chemicals of any kind and have a shelf life longer than your life expectancy, they are probably not very good for you.
2) If the products contain stimulants that increase your heart rate more than a cup of coffee, they will likely increase your risk of heart attack.
3) If the products contain appetite suppressants that enable you to decrease your daily caloric intake by more than 10-20%, they will mess with your metabolism and your body's natural hunger/satiety cues while reducing precious muscle mass.
4) If they include any type of herbs or chemicals that have a laxative effect, they will probably dehydrate your body and tax your kidneys.
5) If the person selling you the product has completed one of the program's "cleanses" more than once a year, then the products create a dieting yo-yo cycle that is difficult to escape. The whole idea of pyramid marketing is to create loyal customers who keep buying the products to create residual income. These products are rarely safe for continued use.
6) The problem with these products is that they deliver fast and dramatic results. You will lose water, and then you'll lose fat. You'll feel great about yourself, have lots of energy, and probably start posting pics of the new you. But too often, consumers are skinny fat because they would rather consume the costly products than exercise. You will be weaker and prone to rapid weight gain. Also rapid weight loss that offers an easy "quick fix" tricks the brain into thinking, "I can binge this week and then cleanse next week." It's like being bulimic in that it negatively impacts the body while creating a very unhealthy relationship with food. If you eat clean more often than not, you don't need to cleanse very often unless you have other underlying health concerns like a leaky gut, in which case you should be seeing a health professional, not those primarily motivated by the potential revenue stream they see in you.
7) If you are overweight and have health risks, then yes, losing weight is a priority, but using products that wreck your metabolism will only put you in worse place in the long run. The healthiest and safest non-surgical way to lose weight and keep it off is to make clean eating and regular exercise life long habits without so many ups and downs with fad diets. Some need a jump start, but be careful and cut calories gradually.
8) Yo-yo dieting with these products not only creates an unhealthy relationship with food, it also creates self hatred for too much of one's worth is placed in how a body looks when what matters far more is what that body can do. Nourish your body with whole foods, as much as your body naturally craves, a few fun foods to keep cravings at bay, and then find something active you want to do (any recreational sport). Have a blast dancing, hiking, skiing, walking, boxing, stretching, swimming, playing tennis, or whatever is your passion. Health should be enjoyable and is all about balance.
After spending the last 20 years trying to gain and maintain the 25 pounds I needed and to become the strongest I have ever been in my life, I am not about to let any diet marketer convince me my body is not acceptable. I'm going to eat to live, enjoy every bite, and stay active doing what I love. I'm not going to stress over the stretched skin from pregnancies, for it is my badge of honor, and a little extra fat here and there will come in handy should I ever get sick and makes me softer to hold. Do not try to convince me to hate my body or to compare it to the empty shell of a person behind that airbrushed image on a magazine cover. God created everyone wonderfully in His image, and our bodies were made to do great things. This body I loathed as a teen has birthed & nursed babies, run marathons, backpacked through Europe, traveled through multiple continents, fed the poor, shared the gospel, served in overseas missions, moved heavy furniture, carried my 10-year-old upstairs to bed, climbed rocks, held and kissed babies, danced for hours on end, tried to keep the house clean, occasionally cooked a decent meal for my family, loved on friends, hugged countless sacred lives, snuggled with my kiddos, been enveloped in my husband's loving arms, and spoken truth. Rejoice in what your body can do and take care of it so it can remain strong and active for years to come. But do not ever despise your body for how it looks, for you were wonderfully and marvelously made.
~~~~~~~~~
With thoughts of my previous post about relishing what the human body can do instead of obsessing over how it looks, I went for a bike ride along the greenway. I pumped the pedals more rapidly that usual, feeling strong and enjoying the gorgeous day, while Pandora Radio belted out Third Day's song "Slow Down" from my phone. Just after I heard these lyrics,
Sometimes God speaks through a gentle quiet voice (1 Kings 19:2). Once He even spoke through a donkey. (Numbers 22) Perhaps this time He was trying to warn me through Pandora Radio.
When I look at the body image struggles that continue to persist from one generation to the next, and as pyramid marketers' diet product promotions fill up my feed, I feel like I need to share a few points (truths perhaps) and cautions, not as a doctor or nutritionist for I am neither of these, but as someone who has lived long enough to read mounds of research on health/fitness and to observe every imaginable diet fad or product come and go over the years.
1) If the products have GMOs, dyes, preservatives or chemicals of any kind and have a shelf life longer than your life expectancy, they are probably not very good for you.
2) If the products contain stimulants that increase your heart rate more than a cup of coffee, they will likely increase your risk of heart attack.
3) If the products contain appetite suppressants that enable you to decrease your daily caloric intake by more than 10-20%, they will mess with your metabolism and your body's natural hunger/satiety cues while reducing precious muscle mass.
4) If they include any type of herbs or chemicals that have a laxative effect, they will probably dehydrate your body and tax your kidneys.
5) If the person selling you the product has completed one of the program's "cleanses" more than once a year, then the products create a dieting yo-yo cycle that is difficult to escape. The whole idea of pyramid marketing is to create loyal customers who keep buying the products to create residual income. These products are rarely safe for continued use.
6) The problem with these products is that they deliver fast and dramatic results. You will lose water, and then you'll lose fat. You'll feel great about yourself, have lots of energy, and probably start posting pics of the new you. But too often, consumers are skinny fat because they would rather consume the costly products than exercise. You will be weaker and prone to rapid weight gain. Also rapid weight loss that offers an easy "quick fix" tricks the brain into thinking, "I can binge this week and then cleanse next week." It's like being bulimic in that it negatively impacts the body while creating a very unhealthy relationship with food. If you eat clean more often than not, you don't need to cleanse very often unless you have other underlying health concerns like a leaky gut, in which case you should be seeing a health professional, not those primarily motivated by the potential revenue stream they see in you.
7) If you are overweight and have health risks, then yes, losing weight is a priority, but using products that wreck your metabolism will only put you in worse place in the long run. The healthiest and safest non-surgical way to lose weight and keep it off is to make clean eating and regular exercise life long habits without so many ups and downs with fad diets. Some need a jump start, but be careful and cut calories gradually.
8) Yo-yo dieting with these products not only creates an unhealthy relationship with food, it also creates self hatred for too much of one's worth is placed in how a body looks when what matters far more is what that body can do. Nourish your body with whole foods, as much as your body naturally craves, a few fun foods to keep cravings at bay, and then find something active you want to do (any recreational sport). Have a blast dancing, hiking, skiing, walking, boxing, stretching, swimming, playing tennis, or whatever is your passion. Health should be enjoyable and is all about balance.
After spending the last 20 years trying to gain and maintain the 25 pounds I needed and to become the strongest I have ever been in my life, I am not about to let any diet marketer convince me my body is not acceptable. I'm going to eat to live, enjoy every bite, and stay active doing what I love. I'm not going to stress over the stretched skin from pregnancies, for it is my badge of honor, and a little extra fat here and there will come in handy should I ever get sick and makes me softer to hold. Do not try to convince me to hate my body or to compare it to the empty shell of a person behind that airbrushed image on a magazine cover. God created everyone wonderfully in His image, and our bodies were made to do great things. This body I loathed as a teen has birthed & nursed babies, run marathons, backpacked through Europe, traveled through multiple continents, fed the poor, shared the gospel, served in overseas missions, moved heavy furniture, carried my 10-year-old upstairs to bed, climbed rocks, held and kissed babies, danced for hours on end, tried to keep the house clean, occasionally cooked a decent meal for my family, loved on friends, hugged countless sacred lives, snuggled with my kiddos, been enveloped in my husband's loving arms, and spoken truth. Rejoice in what your body can do and take care of it so it can remain strong and active for years to come. But do not ever despise your body for how it looks, for you were wonderfully and marvelously made.
~~~~~~~~~
With thoughts of my previous post about relishing what the human body can do instead of obsessing over how it looks, I went for a bike ride along the greenway. I pumped the pedals more rapidly that usual, feeling strong and enjoying the gorgeous day, while Pandora Radio belted out Third Day's song "Slow Down" from my phone. Just after I heard these lyrics,
"Tell me to slow down
If You know that I'm going too fast for my own good
Tell me to slow down
If the way is leading to a dead end
Tell me to slow down
Turn around, let me change the way I'm going,"
I rounded the bend to see another biker headed straight toward me in my
lane as he was passing a jogger who was in his biking lane. I pulled on
the brakes, but my bicycle would not slow down in time. Crash! I had
been going too fast to respond in time.If the way is leading to a dead end
Tell me to slow down
Turn around, let me change the way I'm going,"
Sometimes God speaks through a gentle quiet voice (1 Kings 19:2). Once He even spoke through a donkey. (Numbers 22) Perhaps this time He was trying to warn me through Pandora Radio.
~~~~~~~~~
Despite being naturally quiet, sensitive, introverted, and easy-going when at home, our son seems to enjoy spending time with friends of all different temperaments, no matter how loud, rough, out-going, energetic, or spirited they may be. He goes with the flow and doesn't seem the least bit bothered by any of their teasing or rough-housing.
Oh be still my heart! My dear little knight-in-training, may you grow up to always protect and defend women, especially tired mothers who sacrifice so much to love unconditionally. #HisDaddyTaughtHimWell
~~~~~~~~~
I've been wrestling a lot this past year over how to balance speaking the truth in love. My friend Beth once said, "Truth without love is obnoxious, but love without truth isn't really love at all." I do not wish to offend anyone, yet our sick world is anemic from not consuming enough of the iron of truth which helps us sharpen one another. (Prov. 27:17) Love does not seek to offend, but love might offend when real love demands the truth. If our kids are offended when we tell them not to play in the street or with knives or matches, we will choose to offend them because we love them and want to protect them. If I ever go to see the oncologist for a biopsy result, a cancer diagnosis will certainly be offensive to me, but I would much rather hear the offensive truth than ignore the deadly cancer. So, when someone says something that is not true, whether it feels good or offends, we must dismiss it immediately. If someone says something that offends but is true, however, then let us consider, "Will this truth help me, free me, restore me, or give me life?" Let us not cast aside those who risk reputation and sacrifice popularity to love others with tough love. When I'm hurting, I want truth, and I'm so thankful to have some true friends who love me enough to risk rejection to give me the truth in love.
So after writing down the above thoughts I came across a quote addressing what happens when we excuse God's truth for the world's lies. This quote struck me to the core when I considered that the U.S. Supreme Court is not deciding on whether or not to redefine marriage even though God defined marriage from the very beginning and the U.S. Constitution pushes those sorts of decisions to the states, and I as consider the millions of babies that are murdered every year through abortion:
"The lie is the death of man, his temporal and his eternal death. The lie kills nations. The most powerful nations of the world have been laid waste because of their lies. History knows of no more unsettling sight than the judgment rendered upon the people of an advanced culture who have rejected the truth and are swallowed upon in a sea of lies. Where this happens, as in the case of declining pagan antiquity, religion and law, poetry and philosophy, life in marriage and family, in the state and society — in short, one sphere of life after another falls sacrifice to the power and curse of the lie. Where man can no longer bear the truth, he cannot live without the lie. Where man denies that he and others are dying, the terrible dissolution [of his culture] is held up as a glorious ascent, and decline is viewed as an advance, the likes of which has never been experienced." (Hermann Sasse, Union and Confession, 1936)~~~~~~~~~
On the way to school last week, the left brained kid said, "Only 6 more days of school left...I'm counting down the days."
~~~~~~~~~
The next day was the 8-year-old's turn to read aloud the Proverbs passage for the day. When he got to Proverbs 24:26, he read, "An honest answer is as pleasing as a kiss on the lips," and then he cried, "Eww grose!"
It won't be gross for him for long, I fear.
While his teacher was traveling to go fetch her daughter from college, I got to fill in for lunch and recess duty in his class. He was glad to have me there but acted tough and embarrassed in front of the guys. I was impressed by the girls in class. I asked if anyone wanted to come home me and help me spread mulch, and they all raised their hands eagerly. I wish my own kids showed such enthusiasm over yard work. I also got to split up a fight between boys in another class. As much as my two argue, I stepped right in, for breaking up fights seemed to be my specialty. Amazingly, they separated as soon as I gave the first command and after some brief counseling with each of them individually they were ready to resume play showing kindness toward each other. Wow, I wish it was that easy with my own kids.
Then that evening, he came to dinner dressed in this costume.
So in one day I got to eat lunch with a few dozen 2nd graders and dinner with the Incredible Hulk.
His right-brained sister replied, "I prefer to live each day by itself. Do not wish away your life."
I have much to learn from our first born.
I have much to learn from our first born.
~~~~~~~~~
The next day was the 8-year-old's turn to read aloud the Proverbs passage for the day. When he got to Proverbs 24:26, he read, "An honest answer is as pleasing as a kiss on the lips," and then he cried, "Eww grose!"
It won't be gross for him for long, I fear.
While his teacher was traveling to go fetch her daughter from college, I got to fill in for lunch and recess duty in his class. He was glad to have me there but acted tough and embarrassed in front of the guys. I was impressed by the girls in class. I asked if anyone wanted to come home me and help me spread mulch, and they all raised their hands eagerly. I wish my own kids showed such enthusiasm over yard work. I also got to split up a fight between boys in another class. As much as my two argue, I stepped right in, for breaking up fights seemed to be my specialty. Amazingly, they separated as soon as I gave the first command and after some brief counseling with each of them individually they were ready to resume play showing kindness toward each other. Wow, I wish it was that easy with my own kids.
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| Lunch with my boy and all his school friends |
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