“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.”
1 Peter 1:13
Over the years people have asked me how I stay fit and at a healthy size having worked in and owned a gourmet ice cream, popcorn and bake shop surrounded by world class restaurants in San Diego, CA. Admittedly it was not obvious. I gained 10 pounds in my first month after we added ice cream to our menu. We worked sometimes 19 hours a day. So it was difficult to find time to work out. The job itself was physical however my body got used to it so it did not count as a work out.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
I had to make health and fitness an absolute priority. I have suffered with chronic allergies my entire life. Dealing with bouts of sneezing, rashes, headaches and digestive issues was the central focus for the first 30 years of my life. I just wanted to be healthy and normal like everyone else. I knew that for me it had a lot to do with what I ate and how much exercise I got.
I was sick of being sick. I wanted to feel good all the time. I discovered the only way to do that is to have a lifestyle and regimen that promotes nutrition (not a diet) and fitness. Most marketed “diets” focus on a simplistic formula that will show weight loss quickly. They usually work in the first week or two, however, they may not provide all the nutrients that the body needs so eventually you fall off the band wagon because your body is starving for the nutrients you are missing. Instead of feeding it what it needs, we throw in soda and fast food, again starving ourselves. If there is no nutritional value in a food why eat it? Your body doesn’t even know how to process it. This causes all sorts of health problems not to mention weight gain.
My mother was a Texan. Back in the olden days we did eat healthy food but the preparation either took nutrients out or put too much bad stuff in. A normal meal growing up was chicken fried steak with gravy and fried potatoes and onions. Yes, that does sound good doesn’t it? However, a person cannot live a long, happy, healthy and productive life eating like that all the time. So while still in college I set out to educate myself on how to be healthy. The learning curve took years of trial and error, lots of error. I learned through books and magazines. I even hired a personal trainer who specialized in nutrition as well as fitness.
I took every opportunity to learn what others were doing to have good health. Every time we got really old people (in their late 80s or older) into the ice cream shop we asked what their secret to a longevity was. One lady, who was in her mid-90s, said that she ate carrots every day. We never ate carrots so we added them to our regular eating habits. My husband and I are not a huge fan of carrots so we had to be creative. We add them into all sorts of things like tuna salad or spaghetti. They actually add sweetness to any dish. So if you are among those who add sugar to spaghetti sauce add some carrots and get the same effect but healthier. My family has a history of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke. None of which I wanted to be bothered. Most of these diseases are highly preventable by living a healthy life style.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1
I have been asked by many friends and family members over the years to provide details of my “diet”. Truth is I have never been on a “diet”. My husband likes to say that we eat the way people ate 200 years ago. We eat whole foods, not processed. We do not go over board and insist on organic everything although it is not a bad idea. We don’t eat weird stuff like chia or wheat germ although they may not be a bad idea either. We choose a variety of things we like and get them as fresh as possible. We also make sure we eat certain things every day and limit other things that we like so that we don’t get too much of them. Here are some basic guide lines for nutritious living.
Here is a note for women versus men for weight loss or general health. Women are generally smaller and have less muscle mass than men. Women do not need as many calories as men to operate their bodies. One wonderful way to ensure that you are not eating as much or more than your husband is to have a smaller plate them his. It is certainly not fair but do not out eat the men in your life. They are bigger and need more calories. If you eat what they do your body will store the extra and you will be overly full. Eat your 1500 calories a day and be happy.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
2 Peter 1:5-8
Phone meal trackers can be very helpful. They used to be more accurate when they first came out. Now so many people have added their own stuff to them that they can be quirky. Just check the calories to make sure they are accurate or they can mislead you. Make sure that your tracker is set to no less than 1500 calories for women. Some meal trackers will automatically put 1200 or less calories. This is not healthy and will not be sustainable. So adjust it back to 1500 calories. It will be very effective and you will lose about a pound a week. This is a very healthy rate that will not have unwanted side effects.
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
The basic idea of a nutritious meal is based on percentages of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. None of these three things are good or bad on their own. They are only bad if out of proportion with each other. The ideal proportions are listed below by percent of meal.
Daily Calories Food Type
| 40% | Protein (Beans, fish, chicken, ground turkey) (we eat beef but only on special occasions not regularly) |
| 20% | Good Fat (avocado, avocado oil, olive oil, flax seeds contain omega 3, nuts) |
| 40% | Carbs such as Vegetables, Fruit (preferably fresh fruit) and whole grains. Starchy carbs like potatoes, rice and pasta are included in this just remember to keep the leafy vegetables, fresh fruits and whole grains to at least 2/3 of your daily carbs. |
Free foods: you can eat as much as you want!
- Hot Sauce
- Salsa, put it on everything! It’s free!
- Onions
- Herbs, spices and garlic: use them generously they make everything more delicious.
- Green leafy vegetables
- Celery
- Cucumbers
- Dill pickles
- Peppers, all kinds
- Squash of all kinds
- Radishes
- Daily: We feel we must eat every day the following in some form:
- Apple
- Citrus Fruit (orange, grapefruit, tangerine, mandarin aka cuties)
- Carrots
- Almonds or some kind of nut
- Whole grains (Oatmeal, cereal, grits, whole wheat bread, or popcorn) Choose oat based cold cereal that had rolled oats or granola included such as: Cheerios with Oat Crunch or General Mill’s Oatmeal Crisp.
Foods we limit:
- Eggs: usually no more than 1 time a week because they are high in cholesterol. They do have other nutritional value that you need so there is no need to eliminate them altogether, just don’t overdo it.
- Pork and Beef: Both are difficult to digest. Good sources of protein but because of the bad kind of fat we limit them to special occasions.
- Deserts: Deserts are ok to eat with portion control and not too many of the same kind of bad cholesterol or fats in the same day.
Foods we eliminate completely:
- Processed foods
- Frozen meals (TV dinners)
- Dry pre-packaged mixes
- Any pre-made food
- Fast Food
- Soda
- Store bought cookies
- Fried chips: get the baked kind and never eat them out of the bag! Put your portion in a bowl put the bag out of your sight. This way you will be able to control your chip portion. We like to make snack food a fun meal on the week end.
Here is a sample menu for 1 day:
Breakfast:
| Cal | Food | Group |
| 150 | Oatmeal (not from a package. When using pre-package food they add extra salt, sugar and chemicals your body doesn’t know what to do with.) ½ cup dry oatmeal makes a nice portion. Use water rather than milk. | Carb:Whole Grain |
| 17 | spoon of brown sugar | Carb: Sugar |
| 0 | cinnamon | free |
| 78 | 10 Almonds lightly salted roasted | Fat |
| 48 | ½ apple | Carb: Fruit |
| 23 | ½ orange | Carb: Fruit |
| 110 | 1 cup milk (this is a measuring cup not a glass) | Protein |
| 409 | Total Breakfast Calories |
Lunch
| Cal | Food | Type |
| 245 | Bagel | Carb: Whole Grain |
| 97 | 1 oz Cream Cheese | Fat/Protein |
| 70 | 3 oz can tuna in water | Protein |
| 0 | sliced red onion | Free |
| 30 | 6 olives cut in half | Fat |
| 10 | slices of half a tomato | Free |
| 48 | ½ apple | Carb:Fruit |
| 23 | ½ orange | Carb:Fruit |
| 523 | Total Lunch Calories |
Dinner
| Cal | Food | Type |
| 233 | 4 oz filet of Salmon fresh or frozen, thawed season you fish with garlic powder, thyme and any other seasoning you like. Experiment and make it fun. It is your world. Your dinner. | Protein |
| 150 | 1/4 cup dry wild rice makes a nice serving of wild rice when cooked. Add some cooking wine to this to make it taste like a fancy restaurant meal. | Carb: Whole Grain |
| 30 | Spinach, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, ½ yellow squash steamed | Free |
| 47 | Butter for the use real butter rather than margarine. If it didn’t exist 100 years ago you should not eat it. Your body will not know what to do with it. | Fat |
| Side salad with lettuce, tomato, carrot, red onion, red grapes | free | |
| 40 | 1 tablespoon of Newman’s Own Honey Mustard Dressing. I like to add fruit into my salad. It helps the sweet tooth and gets your fruit in you. | Fat |
| 78 | 1 Ghirardelli chocolate square with caramel inside (We never said to give up chocolate. Just eat one. It will satisfy you.) | Carb: Sugar |
| 578 | Total Dinner Calories |
Total Calories for the day 1510
See, you did it and you are not hungry. The key to nutritious eating is to plan it out at least a day ahead. Do not have things in your house that you would not put on your meal plan. If you have it you will eat it. Don’t put all the food on the table. Put your portion on your plate. Pack up the left overs to cool with the pots soaking in the sink. If they are already in closed lid containers in the fridge or next to the fridge cooling you most likely will skip seconds. You will look forward to it in the next meal.
Now you can use this basic formula and switch out your proteins, carbs and fats keeping the percentage. This will build the ideal meal plan for a healthy life style. Use olive, avocado or peanut oil. Steam or bake as much as you can. This will eliminate unnecessary bad kinds of fat.
Calories from working out:
- 150 30 minute walking on average
- 167 resistance/weight training and calisthenics
- 317 Total Calories spent
Daily Calories depends on your weight, age and sex. Look your specifics up on the internet to get an accurate picture for you.
Here is an average middle aged female.
| 2200 | Calories burned daily because you are alive |
| 317 | Calories burned from working out |
| 1510 | Calories eaten |
| 1007 | Deficit calories |
This translates into losing about 1 pound per week. Losing weight and staying fit this way you will reduce your body mass at a natural rate and tone as you go. You will not have loose flabby skin. You will be taking care of your body, God’s temple!
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
