DIETside

My Favorite Products

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Kitchen Tools

These are some of my must have kitchen tools and gadgets.

An Ice Cream Maker! The Cuisinart allows for larger batches for sharing, the Ninja is great for smaller quantities, and the Dash is ideal for perfect portioning!

Electric Pressure Cooker! This tool scared me at first, but now it gets used almost daily. It’s perfect for when you forget to thaw meat. It can cook a frozen roast in just a couple of hours! It can be used as a slow cooker. It can be used as a rice cooker. It makes the easiest to peel hard boiled eggs. You can even bake in it and make your own yogurt! The newer models, like the one below, even air fry!

Kitchen Aid Mixer with accessories! I love my mixer! My in-laws purchased it for me two decades ago and it’s still going strong! They even purchased some accessories for me, but I didn’t use them until recently. What was I thinking?!!! The meat grinder attachment saves me a fortune because I can quickly and easily make my own ground chicken breast at $2.48/pound instead of paying $6.99/pound or higher!

Gadgets and Tools! These smaller gadgets and tools just make life easier.

Other Must Have Appliances! The Ninja food chopper is a gadget I didn’t know that I needed. My mom bought one for me and I almost took it back to the store. I’m so glad that I didn’t, because it is one of my most used little appliances!

The Vitamix blender takes smoothie making to a whole new level! It also turns cottage cheese and frozen fruit into the most delightful soft serve frozen treat! My current favorite use if for homemade pecan butter!

Keurig! Another gift I didn’t know I needed, but that gets tremendous use. Coffee, tea and other beverages are so easy! There is a Keurig for every budget and space.

Waffle Maker! Protein waffles are a staple in my house, so a good waffle maker is a must! I’ve had one like this for at least a decade!

Getting Active

I love to hike and proper gear is a must! These are some of my favorite things that I always have on trail with me! You can also get the Built Bars directly from Built and get a discount using promo code MORE2US. The salted caramel are my favorite!

Off the trail, here are some other fitness essentials.

Maintenance Success Found in Focus on Habits

“In order for a weight loss outcome to be maintained, the habits that produced it must be flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable.”

“In order for a weight loss outcome to be maintained, the habits that produced it must be flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable.”
Kim

After four decades of dieting and being steeped in diet culture, I have made many mistakes, celebrated many successes and observed many people’s journeys. Finally, I have learned a few things! One of the most important things I have learned is how to maintain my weight loss.

As someone who has gained and lost over 100 pounds, fives times, plus many other 25+ pound gains and losses, my own track record clearly shows that there is a disconnect between weight loss and weight loss maintenance. The more I interact with others who have battled weight for a lifetime, or who have had to lose at least 40 pounds, the more I have seen this theme of Maintenance Perplexion emerge.

I have watched countless times as someone breezes to their goal weight, only to completely lose control and gain it all back, plus some. It’s the classic dieting yo-yo. According to research from 2019, successful weight loss maintenance is elusive for a large majority of people, regardless of what method they used to lose it. “Substantial weight loss is possible across a range of treatment modalities, but long-term sustenance of lost weight is much more challenging, and weight regain is typical1–3. In a meta-analysis of 29 long-term weight loss studies, more than half of the lost weight was regained within two years, and by five years more than 80% of lost weight was regained 4. Indeed, previous failed attempts at achieving durable weight loss may have contributed to the recent decrease in the percentage of people with obesity who are trying to lose weight5 and many now believe that weight loss is a futile endeavor6.”⁷

We’ve all heard disheartening statistics like these, so why is there not more focus on maintenance? Maybe it’s because weight loss is a multi billion dollar industry. I know that’s a cynical take on it, but the love of money is the root of all evil. Thankfully, the why is irrelevant for this conversation. Let’s just look at what we can do.

In my experience, the secret to maintaining weight loss is this: focus on maintaining healthy habits, rather than maintaining weight loss. During the weight loss process, there is a constant pay off for seeing the number on the scale go down – at all costs. I’ve witnessed people surviving on 500 calories per day and injecting hormones lose lots of weight, only to gain it back because the habits failed to meet maintenance criteria. In order for a weight loss outcome to be maintained, the habits that produced it must be flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable. All of those criteria need to be present to cultivate a lifestyle of true and lasting change.

In extreme methods of weight loss, even the outcome is not actually desirable, because body composition has been changed for the worse. This is what perpetuates yo-yo dieting and makes us feel like each subsequent attempt at weight loss is harder. It is harder, because we have less muscle. Muscle is more metabolically active and requires more fuel to sustain. It is imperative to maintain as much lean body mass as possible, while losing fat. For long term weight loss success, we need to change our goal to fat loss and muscle building, not simply weight loss. This makes the process look far different, both during the weight loss phase as well as during maintenance.

Our bodies need to be nourished to a healthy weight/body composition. The strict deprivation, extreme calorie deficits, excessive activity and endless rules associated with most diets set us up for failure, over and over again – even if we do manage to reach that magic number on the scale for a minute or two. Think about it, if we are always afraid of breaking a rule, falling off of a wagon, being off track or simply relying on someone else’s plan, we will always have a reason to stumble. If normal, daily, weekly and monthly fluctuations in weight have the power to throw us off of our intended trajectory, we are allowing the external to guide us in a very unhealthy way.

Successful maintenance and a lifestyle change are cultivated over time. I am fully persuaded that the reason most people regain their weight is that they never take full ownership of their own journey. As a Christian, for me that means being led by the Holy Spirit to what is best for me, personally. That is the only way to make sense of the endless, contradictory advice from experts and overcome Maintenance Perplexion for good. Here is what that looks like for me:

FLEXIBLE:

I have learned that no particular food philosophy fits me at all times and under all circumstances. I am knowledgeable about many plans and philosophies and am no longer afraid to use what works for me and give myself the freedom for that to change. A change in a season of life almost always has me shifting gears, but always continuing toward my goal of being healthy, strong and lean. There is not a simple path that is always perfect for everyone under every circumstance. I am no longer dogmatic about “plans” and “programs”, but I am dogmatic about my goals and glorifying God in my body.

HEALTHY:

What does that even mean, really? So many food and exercise philosophies claim to be the healthiest and tell us that if we are doing anything else, we are killing ourselves, or at the very least, missing out on some panacea of health. But here’s the thing, there is so much conflicting information out there – all supposedly backed by science – and I have decided that I am more successful when I look at myself – my experiences and outcomes. Anecdotal evidence in my own life and journey will help lead me to what is healthy for me. (Especially if I am bringing God into it and asking Him to lead me.) I pay attention to how I feel physically and emotionally in response to different foods. Am I satiated? I pay attention to how I sleep. How is my gut? Do I have energy? Are there things I eat and do that have a positive or a negative impact? Whatever I am doing must yield health for ME, not just the majority of people. Sometimes, whatever keeps me walking this path is “healthy”, even if others might not judge it that way.

SUSTAINABLE:

Successful maintenance, is by definition, sustainable. That’s what it means to be in maintenance. You are maintaining and sustaining – protecting your progress. That means that you have to find what habits you can actually live with long term, which is why I said “healthy” can mean whatever keeps me walking toward my goals. A lifestyle that does not allow me to celebrate with foods that some would declare as “unhealthy”, is not sustainable for me. It’s also not flexible. My definitions have changed over time, and the ways I celebrate with food have changed, as well as the foods themselves, but I gave myself the space to grow in that, rather than living in this place of black and white, good and bad, when it came to my food choices or my activities and activity levels. I have periods of time with a LOT of activity, but I can’t maintain that all of the time. I had to find a rhythm that worked for me and have the freedom to throw in some syncopation from time to time! Sometimes rest is the priority. Having the freedom and confidence to adjust brings sustainability. Ideally, we are always learning and growing, so when we know better, we can do better. Sustainability comes from remaining willing to try new things and get better at maintenance, while sometimes shifting back into weight loss mode. A big part of getting better for me was learning to find the balance between healthy and enjoyable! I gave myself grace and time to practice this skill. It’s a life long process.

ENJOYABLE:

This is the driver for my other points. If we focus on cultivating a healthy lifestyle that is enjoyable, we are building a solid foundation for maintenance. For some of us, that means we simply cultivate a heart of gratitude. I have learned to enjoy vegetables, walks and weight lifting. I am thankful for things that used to be things that I felt forced to eat or do. How? I shifted my focus to the goodness that God has provided. I focused on my blessings, instead of what felt like restrictions. Plus, I learned to be flexible and live in a sustainable way that included all of the things that some diet plan or another had taught me were bad. The journey became so much more enjoyable when I stopped letting so-called experts tell me what to do and applied available knowledge with the help and leading of the Holy Spirit. I also stopped saying anything to myself that was condemning, judgmental, critical or discouraging. Basically, I shut up the voice of my past and began telling myself what God says about me and my life in His Word. That has definitely made everything more peaceful and enjoyable!

Maybe you lost your weight in a way that does not meet the four criteria I have shared. That’s OK. It’s just time to get them aligned, so that you can protect your progress and continue to improve. How do you need to address or change your daily habits to make them flexible, healthy, sustainable and enjoyable?

1. Loveman E, Frampton GK, Shepherd J, et al. The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of long-term weight management schemes for adults: a systematic review. Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) 2011;15(2):1–182. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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5. Snook KR, Hansen AR, Duke CH, Finch KC, Hackney AA, Zhang J. Change in Percentages of Adults With Overweight or Obesity Trying to Lose Weight, 1988–2014. JAMA. 2017;317(9):971–973. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

6. Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, Lew AM, Samuels B, Chatman J. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. The American psychologist. 2007;62(3):220–233. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

7. Hall KD, Kahan S. Maintenance of Lost Weight and Long-Term Management of Obesity. Med Clin North Am. 2018 Jan;102(1):183-197. doi: 10.1016/j.mcna.2017.08.012. PMID: 29156185; PMCID: PMC5764193.

Drop Your Anchor in the Word: the Why That Matters

The Weight Watchers* theme for June is “Drop an Anchor”. This first week we have explored our “why”. In the context of workshops, we were looking for a single “why”. I shared mine and how it came about – “This Time is Different”. However, my “why” is deeper than that. It is the answer to the question, “Why is this time different?”, that is my true “why”. The answer is found in the Word. As a Christian, my primary anchor is the Word and my relationship with God through Jesus Christ. My ultimate “why” is found only in that context.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

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

This time is different because my “why” is to glorify God in my body and to eat and drink to the glory of God. When this became the foundation of my weight loss and wellness journey, things changed – I changed. When I got it into my heart and spirit that my body was not just mine, but was bought with a price – the precious blood of Jesus Christ – getting healthy became a different mission. Saying “no” to certain things and “yes” to others became a victory in a spiritual battle. I began to position myself in such a way that the fruit of the Spirit could grow – especially self control.

When I looked at this battle with weight through this new lens, things began to come into focus like never before. As I applied the Word, my mind was renewed and transformation occurred. (Romans 12:1-2) It has been slow, but it has been permanent change. Fear of going back to who I was or gaining all of the weight back has been vanquished, because God has walked me through this process – confronting me and convicting me of the sins of gluttony and sloth, all while empowering me to change and assuring me that I’m forgiven. That is the point of the Word!

2 Timothy 3:16 & 17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

God’s grace gives us the freedom to change. He will strengthen and encourage us in our journey, but we must take the steps. It is incumbent on us to respond to the Word and be obedient to it, not for God’s benefit, but for our own. He’s made provision for every need, but we have a part to play. Notice in 2 Timothy 3:17, the last word is “work”. We have work to do! God will not do it for us, but He will prepare us and equip us by His Word!

What would each day look like if you treated your body like it was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ?

How would you need to feed, move and rest your body to glorify God in it?

What would you need to change in regard to your eating and drinking in order to do it to the glory of God?

The answers to these questions, along with anchoring your “why” in Christ and the Word, will change your journey and your life!

*Weight Watchers is a trademark of Weight Watchers International. Weight Watchers does not endorse this site or the opinions expressed here.

Pumpkin Pucks & Banana Buttons

My sister came up with the crazy names. These low carb, low calorie, low Point, low fat, sugar free, gluten free baked goods are her favorites!
Makes 2 servings

1/4 cup Trim Healthy Mama baking blend
1/2 over ripe banana or 3 TBSP pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp Pyure sweetener
1/4 tsp baking powder
Cinnamon to taste
(For pumpkin, add pumpkin pie spice to taste)
dash of salt
14 g toasted, chopped pecans

Mix all ingredients, except pecans, in small bowl. Split batter between two greased, 1 cup ramekins, top each with 7g of pecans and microwave on high for 3 1/2 minutes.

*If your batter is too thick, you can add fat free plain Greek yogurt to get the right texture.

Kim’s Passion Lime Slush

*This page contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission for any purchases made through these links. Your cost is not affected, but your purchase can help support my site.

On days when I know that I have had enough food to eat, but I still want to keep eating, I have a go-to treat that keeps me from eating my way through the rest of the day. It is maybe 5 calories. It’s Zero Points, low carb and contains fiber, vitamin C, electrolytes and probiotics, yet tastes like a cherry lime dessert.

The ingredients may seem a little weird, but they come together into a delicious and healthy “snack”!

3 Cups of hot water, almost to a boil

1 large Tazo Passion Tea bag – steeped in the hot water for 10 minutes, then cooled in fridge

5 tsp Pyure stevia blend sweetener (Or equivalent non-nutrative sweetener of your choice, but this is what I use in most of my sugar free recipes)

Pinch of healthy mineral salt like Pink Himalayan or Real Salt

Pinch cream of tartar

1 oz. Apple cider vinegar with the mother

Vitamin C powder (I use three scoops of this for 3000 mg)

½ teaspoon glucomannan powder

1 packet True Lime

2 Cups of ice

Once your tea has cooled, add 1 ½ cups of it to a Vitamix or other heavy duty blender, add additional ingredients, then ice, and blend on high for about 45 seconds. Makes enough to fill two red Solo cups. Plus, you have tea ready to make another round tomorrow!

Today is the Only Day You Can Live

Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

If you are anything like me, you might have a tendency to set goals that are in the distant future. You have an idea of what you would like to have, be or do, but no solid plan to achieve it. Maybe you spend more time thinking about it and talking about it than you spend doing anything about it. Today gets wasted as you hope for tomorrow rather than taking the actions right in front of you.

Before we discuss further, let’s lay down our Trinity of Truth, because…it’s the Word!

1. Today is the only day you can do anything about! Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Jesus is speaking here and commanding us to not have anxiety about tomorrow. We can’t do anything about tomorrow. We can only live today. Earlier in verse 11 of this chapter, as Jesus is modeling how to pray, He says’ “Give us this day our daily bread,” Notice that He only deals with a single day.

2. It’s OK to makes plans for tomorrow, but it’s not guaranteed. James 4:13-15, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

3. God has your next step for today. Have you checked in with Him about it? Psalm 37:23-24 “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

These Scriptures might be very familiar to you, but have you really heard them? Have you applied them in your health and wellness journey? When was the last time you made the most of today by inviting God into every detail?

At various points in my life, I wasted today trying to re-live yesterday or simply hoping for tomorrow. The problem is that we can’t live yesterday or tomorrow. We can only live right now – TODAY. We can hope for tomorrow and dream for tomorrow, but the steps that will fulfill those hopes and dreams must be taken today, otherwise we will find ourselves paralyzed and stuck.

I wear an Apple Watch and a FitBit, which both track my physical steps each day. There has never been a day in which I took no steps. However, if I had a FaithBit that tracked my steps of faith, my steps in obedience to the Word, my steps in the race that God has set before me…sadly, there are days that my feet have been idle in doubt, fear, unforgiveness, depression, weariness, guilt, shame and countless other weights. Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

The good news is that God has provided everything that we need for today! He is strength in our weakness. He supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory. He has ordered our steps! He gave us His Word to equip us, encourage us and direct us. When we hear His Word, faith comes! He gave us His Spirit, and the fruit of His Spirit includes self control!

Every aspect of our lives, including our weight-loss and wellness journey, is lived out in the actions/steps we take today. What will you do TODAY to live like the person you want to be? What is your first step?

What’s Your Pattern?

As WW members, we have been challenged to pay attention to our eating patterns to determine if they are satisfying and sustainable. We try to establish whether they are nourishing as well. How much more so should we pay attention to our spiritual eating patterns!

After many years of study, it has been made evident to me that there are always spiritual parallels to things in the natural, physical world. Jesus spoke in parables for a reason! Creation reflects the Creator. Natural principles reflect the spiritual. In the area of food and wellness, this is especially true.

Before we dig deeper, lets look at our Trinity of Truth for this topic, because…it’s the Word!

1. We must feed both the physical and the spiritual. In Matthew 4:4, Satan is trying to tempt Jesus with food, because He was hungry and had been fasting for 40 days,“But he answered, “It is written,“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” His Word is our spiritual food.

2. Jesus is the Word made flesh and the bread of life, John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”John 6:35 –“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

3. In order to really thrive, we need to hunger and thirst for the right things. Matthew 5:6 –“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

In our journey for physical health and wellness, what we eat is what we become. Every cell is built and nourished by the proteins, fats and other nutrients derived from the foods we eat. Everything we take into our bodies has some sort of impact for the better or for the worse. It is the same from a spiritual standpoint. What we take into our mind and spirit determines who we become. Romans 12:1-2, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” What we feed on, by putting it into our minds, matters. Our food is supposed to be the Word, which renews our minds and brings transformation! 1 Peter 2:2-3, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” It is through abiding in the Word, feeding on it, that we come to taste of God’s goodness! Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

In John 6, where Jesus declares himself the bread of life, He had just done one of several miracles with food. Food is important! It is required to sustain life. We tend to seek food and incorporate it into each and every day, most of us more than just once. We think about food – a lot! We spend time and money on food. We share food with others as part of our interaction with them. Do we have the same pattern when it comes to the Word, which is our spiritual food? Do we even have the same level of passion and importance when it comes to our spiritual nourishment? What is your pattern of feeding on the Word? Is it enough to thrive, or are you barely sustained by bits and bytes sprinkled on your social media feed or in a daily devotional that barely gets used? Do you feed yourself, or do you rely on others to feed you? Do you nourish your spirit daily? What is your spiritual eating pattern?

I encourage you to feast on the Word this week and see what happens!

Shift How You Think About Perfection

Recently, the WW technique was, “Shift Perfectionistic Thinking”. The idea was that we don’t expect others to be perfect, so we should not expect perfection from ourselves. We allow others to have flaws, failures and shortcomings without thinking less of them, so why not give ourselves that same grace?

We were challenged to identify someone whom we admire, whether a relative, friend, famous person or even a fictional character. We talked about the traits that we admired about that person and then were asked to find three traits we share in common with that person. Then, we talked about how we could leverage those traits to overcome obstacles in our journey.

It was really a fantastic technique. I realized that I possess many of the same traits as those I see conquer things that have been difficult for me. I apply them to some areas of my life, but they haven’t transitioned into other areas where I might use them.

All of that is great, but we know there is MORE! Let’s shift our thinking even further by looking at how the Word defines perfection. It’s not about being without weaknesses or shortcomings, it’s about being complete and not lacking – wholeness, really. Before we talk about that, lets look at our Trinity of Truth because…it’s the Word!

1. Wanting to be perfect is not a bad thing. It is actually Biblical, but we need to understand what the perfection is and how it is achieved. James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

2. Looking to Jesus, the Word, as the One who perfects us, takes the pressure off of us to perform. We move toward Him and He does the heavy lifting. We don’t need to carry the weight of anything, especially not sin. Hebrews 12:1-2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

3. The Word is key. God’s love is perfected in us as we keep His word. We are called to walk in a place of perfection. We do that by imitating Christ. He is perfect. God is perfect and we are made in his likeness and image. We were reborn into perfection when we received Christ. We are in Christ! 1 John 2:4-6, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Seeking perfection is totally appropriate for a believer, when we understand what perfection is, how it is obtained and what it’s purpose is. We are called to seek His perfect will for our lives and Paul assures us in Romans 12:2 that God’s perfect will is knowable, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Biblical perfection is not about our performance, it’s about our relationship with Christ and response to God, His love, His word, and the resulting faith, which then produces results in our lives and makes us useful in ministering to others. From a spiritual standpoint, when we talk about shifting perfectionistic thinking, it is likely a need to shift to perfectionistic thinking. When we have an understanding of who Christ is, who we are in Christ, and who He wants to transform us to be, there is revelation of perfection as a result of what Jesus did for us! We are blood bought for perfection!

Hebrews 10:12-14, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

We ARE perfected for all time – made whole, complete and lacking nothing – in Jesus Christ.

Do You Need to Change Your Eating Routine?

This week, WW continued talking about change. This time in relation to our food – what we’re eating, how we prepare it, cooking method, adding spices, etc. They called it, “Switching Up Your Eating Routine”. The idea is to change things up so that we don’t get bored or stuck, and don’t give up. I thought of some other things we can change in relation to food – quantity, frequency and even environment when we are eating. There is really a lot to explore in that area. I hope you do give that some thought, but we are here to Explore the More, to take things to God’s Word. It is so easy to do that with this topic!

Before we jump into the deep end, you know what I’m going to do…share our Trinity of Truth, because…it’s the Word!

1. We were designed to feed on God’s Word. It is what nourishes and sustains us spiritually. (Matthew 4:4, Isaiah 55:2) It also affects us in the natural. (Proverbs 4:13, 20-22) Faith comes from hearing the Word. (Romans 10:17)

Matthew 4:4, But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Isaiah 55:2, “Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.”

Proverbs 4:13 “Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.”

Proverbs 4:20-22, “My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words.Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;for they are life to those who find them

and health to one’s whole body”

Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

2. If you are confused about direction in eating, health, wellness, or any area of your life, the Word of God has your correction and direction. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) (Hebrews 4:12)

2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two- edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

3. Doing God’s will is spiritual food. (John 4:31- 34) We find His will in His Word. (Psalm 119:105)

John 4:31- 34, “Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”“Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”

Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Now that we have establish the Word about the Word, let’s talk about how we can switch up our spiritual eating routine. For some, that might mean picking up the Word for the first time. For others it will mean moving from milk to meat. It has been my experience that many people try to survive on what they get spoon fed to them one day each week, if that. In the natural, missing a meal might have us anxious and in fear that we might get too hungry, but in the spiritual, we will starve ourselves on a regular basis and wonder why we feel weak, confused and defeated.

Whatever we put into our mind has an effect on our spirit. What are you feeding on? What are you reading, listening to, watching? Is there any nourishment, or is it all junk? Are you edified and encouraged? If you are spending sufficient time in the Word, what are the conditions? Does it have your full attention? Are you always focusing on the same passages because some parts seem too difficult or confusing?

In our culture, “Word snacks” can be found all over Facebook feeds, Instagram and Twitter. Many of us get the verse of the day delivered right to our phones. These tiny bits of the Word are not bad, but they are not enough to keep you healthy or to make you grow.

How do you need to change your spiritual eating routine?

Do you need to begin abiding in the Word?

Do you need to change what you’re consuming by reading new parts of the Word?

Do you need to increase the quantity and frequency?

For lasting transformation, we need what is described in Romans 12:1-2. The renewing of our minds occurs by feeding on the Word. Don’t give anyone else’s words more weight than His. Don’t just take someone else’s word about what the Word says. Dig in and chew on it yourself. Be nourished by it daily and watch for how you begin to think differently and act differently – not through effort, but through relationship that is built as you know God MORE.

The True Gap Between Intention and Action

June 2021, Week 2 – Goals to Bridge the Gap Between Intention and Action

This week, the WW technique focused on setting goals that will bridge the gap between intention and action. There is so much in the Word about this that I barely know where to begin. Before we really dive into it, I’m going to present you with this week’s Trinity of Truth, because…it’s the WORD!!

1. There is a definite spiritual component in the battle of intentions. Just look at Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7:15-25! It is our sin nature that creates the gap.

2. Our ultimate goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection, the prize of eternity with Jesus. (Philippians 3:10-14)

3. Walking in the Spirit is how we achieve the goal and span the spiritual gap, between intention and action. (Romans 8:1-11) The Holy Spirit produces the fruit we need to put action to intention. (Galatians 5:16-25)

Please read through each of these passages slowly and prayerfully, asking God for understanding and revelation. Think on them. Without them, nothing I write matters.

Romans 7:15-25, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”

Philippians 3:10-21, “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself.”

Romans 8:1-11, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

Galatians 5:16-25, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

We can all relate to the dilemma that Paul described in Romans 7. We all battle with the sinful nature. This is why it is imperative to bring God and His word into our battle with overeating and weight. We don’t like to think of it in these terms, but it really is the sin nature at work. In the context of WW the two sins we are battling most, perhaps, are gluttony and idolatry. That’s actually good news though, because God already dealt with sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus. He sent us His Spirit to live in us and to lead us. When we keep our mind on the things of the Spirit, we have the power to overcome the flesh. Very simply put, that means abiding in the Word and learning spiritual principles; spending time in prayer and stillness with God so that you can hear; and actively thinking about how these principles in the Word apply to the things you do every day. Most days I pray based on Psalm 139:23-24, asking God to search my heart and show me anything that is a problem. I also pray that every thought, attitude word and action will glorify Him. I have come to understand that if those things glorify Him, they benefit me. That’s when I am walking in the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit is produced. No amount of self help can manufacture what only the Holy Spirit can produce. Everything else is a temporary counterfeit that requires constant striving.

So what does this actually look like in practical application? Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Christianity is not intended to be a transactional encounter involving a prayer and a list of requirements, it is a transformational encounter that brings us into relationship with our Creator, who then reveals how to live fully and abundantly by His Word. Every guideline and boundary is for our benefit and the benefits are amazing! When you are grocery shopping, eating out, or just looking for a snack at 10:00 PM, invite God into it. Contemplate if you are bringing your intentions to action in a way that glorifies Him. We apply our faith to the gap between intention and action. We keep in mind the ultimate goal. This helps immeasurably in meeting our health and wellness goals. They pale in comparison. In the proper perspective, those goals can become joyful challenges as we seek to glorify God in our choices. Exercising to lose weight is a decent goal, but moving and strengthening our bodies because we are thankful to God for bodies that CAN move and CAN be strong is a whole other level. Eating to lose weight can motivate us for a while, but eating to give glory to the One who made us and gave us every good thing, changes the game. Doing those things because we want to show Him thankfulness and honor Him is what brings peace in the journey. It’s all about the relationship and who God truly is to you. Is He real to you? Is He part of this journey? How are you going to let Him into it MORE?