Post by Teresa on Aug 17, 2009 10:10:01 GMT -8
hi everyone. Welcome to his-lordship. If you are here, then you are looking at ways to put your eating under His Lordship. You are going to have to prayerfully sort out how the Lord wants you to eat, but I'd like to give you a few suggestions to consider--making fruits and vegetables a part of your daily intake.
There are many different ways to loose weight (some of which exclude these items). But we aren't just trying to loose weight here, we are trying to take good care of our 'Temples of the Holy Spirit' and to actively change our eating style to what how the Lord desires us to eat. And I believe that eating nutritiously is a big part of this.
Everyone agrees that fruits and vegetables are nutritious. Not everyone agrees that it is OK to eat fruits and vegetables while loosing weight. But pretty much everyone agrees that (no matter what short term weight loss strategy you use), when it comes to long term maintenance, fruits and vegetables need to be a part of your eating. They contain all sorts of important things: fiber, vitamins, anti-oxidants and micro-nutrients, etc. They also tend to be a lot more filling and a lot less fattening than some of the "all time favorite snacks" like a bag of potato chips or a hand full of pretzels, or a candy bar.
I have been on diets in the past that told me that some fruits (like bananas and papayas) are "bad" because they are high on the glycemic index. The same thing with some vegetables (like carrots, sweet potatoes and corn). Somewhere along the way, I got confused as to what is a good fruit (or a good vegetable) and what is a "bad" one. The only fruits and vegetables that I thought were "ok" were ones that I did not really that much. As a result, my intake of fruits and vegetables dropped way below the food pyramid recommendations.
But as I began praying about it and asking the Lord what I should eat, He pointed out that even the highest glycemic index fruits are much better for me than a cup of ice cream or a handful of Ritz crackers (which used to be one of my personal favorite snacks). So, I prayerfully decided to "throw out my assumptions" about fruits and let the Lord speak to me (or put checks in my spirit) about the ones He did not want me to eat. I started trying them out..not just the apples and oranges (though I discovered that I love Fuji apples), but all sorts of fruits. I have had blue berries, raspberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, papaya, pears, plums, nectarines, peaches. And so far, the Lord hasn't said "no" to any of them. Also, I discovered that as I ate them, my cravings for sweets went way down and my energy level went way up...and I was loosing weight too. In fact, one day I had a whole 16 oz container of blueberries and 2/3 of a large papaya along with my other foods...salads, lean meats, vegetables and a whole grain english muffin. And while I did not loose anything that day, I did not gain anything either. I thought I should at least gain a pound because the blueberries I ate weighed that much..but I did not. Fruits, even the "sugary ones" are still much better for you than chips, desserts, crackers, or large quantities of breads.
And I can't say enough about vegetables. When I first started trying to put my eating under His lordship, I struggled with the fact that I was constantly hungry...about an hour or two after I ate, I was hungry again..not just a little, but feeling famished. I read an article somewhere that this type of hunger often comes from not having enough vegetable nutrients. While all vegetables are good, some (like spinach and the colorful vegetables) are more loaded with them. So I started working a large spinach salad (with red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, asparagus and a few other veggies) into my diet. Sure enough, the uncontrollable hunger went away rapidly. I found that as I ate more vegetables, I was less hungry for the more fattening things, and the pounds began to fall off.
I wasn't counting calories and I wasn't on any particular plan..I just upped the fruits and veggies and cut back on really fattening foods like cheese. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't craving things and I wasn't striving...but the pounds were falling off. God's plan for me (at least the one He has for me to "get started") was so easy to follow and so effective.
I realize that the Lord's plan for you may look different than His plan for me, but I do strongly encourage you to pray about it and see if He wants you to be eating more fruits and vegetables, and cutting back on some of the really fattening stuff.
Blessings to you.
There are many different ways to loose weight (some of which exclude these items). But we aren't just trying to loose weight here, we are trying to take good care of our 'Temples of the Holy Spirit' and to actively change our eating style to what how the Lord desires us to eat. And I believe that eating nutritiously is a big part of this.
Everyone agrees that fruits and vegetables are nutritious. Not everyone agrees that it is OK to eat fruits and vegetables while loosing weight. But pretty much everyone agrees that (no matter what short term weight loss strategy you use), when it comes to long term maintenance, fruits and vegetables need to be a part of your eating. They contain all sorts of important things: fiber, vitamins, anti-oxidants and micro-nutrients, etc. They also tend to be a lot more filling and a lot less fattening than some of the "all time favorite snacks" like a bag of potato chips or a hand full of pretzels, or a candy bar.
I have been on diets in the past that told me that some fruits (like bananas and papayas) are "bad" because they are high on the glycemic index. The same thing with some vegetables (like carrots, sweet potatoes and corn). Somewhere along the way, I got confused as to what is a good fruit (or a good vegetable) and what is a "bad" one. The only fruits and vegetables that I thought were "ok" were ones that I did not really that much. As a result, my intake of fruits and vegetables dropped way below the food pyramid recommendations.
But as I began praying about it and asking the Lord what I should eat, He pointed out that even the highest glycemic index fruits are much better for me than a cup of ice cream or a handful of Ritz crackers (which used to be one of my personal favorite snacks). So, I prayerfully decided to "throw out my assumptions" about fruits and let the Lord speak to me (or put checks in my spirit) about the ones He did not want me to eat. I started trying them out..not just the apples and oranges (though I discovered that I love Fuji apples), but all sorts of fruits. I have had blue berries, raspberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, bananas, papaya, pears, plums, nectarines, peaches. And so far, the Lord hasn't said "no" to any of them. Also, I discovered that as I ate them, my cravings for sweets went way down and my energy level went way up...and I was loosing weight too. In fact, one day I had a whole 16 oz container of blueberries and 2/3 of a large papaya along with my other foods...salads, lean meats, vegetables and a whole grain english muffin. And while I did not loose anything that day, I did not gain anything either. I thought I should at least gain a pound because the blueberries I ate weighed that much..but I did not. Fruits, even the "sugary ones" are still much better for you than chips, desserts, crackers, or large quantities of breads.
And I can't say enough about vegetables. When I first started trying to put my eating under His lordship, I struggled with the fact that I was constantly hungry...about an hour or two after I ate, I was hungry again..not just a little, but feeling famished. I read an article somewhere that this type of hunger often comes from not having enough vegetable nutrients. While all vegetables are good, some (like spinach and the colorful vegetables) are more loaded with them. So I started working a large spinach salad (with red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, asparagus and a few other veggies) into my diet. Sure enough, the uncontrollable hunger went away rapidly. I found that as I ate more vegetables, I was less hungry for the more fattening things, and the pounds began to fall off.
I wasn't counting calories and I wasn't on any particular plan..I just upped the fruits and veggies and cut back on really fattening foods like cheese. I wasn't hungry and I wasn't craving things and I wasn't striving...but the pounds were falling off. God's plan for me (at least the one He has for me to "get started") was so easy to follow and so effective.
I realize that the Lord's plan for you may look different than His plan for me, but I do strongly encourage you to pray about it and see if He wants you to be eating more fruits and vegetables, and cutting back on some of the really fattening stuff.
Blessings to you.