Ditch The Diet for Healthy Habits

Caught in the Food Fixation Trap?

~Ditch the Diet~

Here is a great devotional by Asheritah Ciuciu that I found to be very helpful!

Caught in the Food Fixation Trap? | lookingjoligood.blog

Caught in the Food Fixation Trap?

We live in a world that both worships and vilifies food. A quick glance at Pinterest or Instagram reveals our society’s fixation with food, from scrumptious recipes that make your mouth water (often known as “food porn”) to scathing articles about the origins, sustainability, and ethics of the ingredients that make up our meals. For something as mundane as what we eat, food has become an increasingly complex issue that causes many of us to feel guilty, overwhelmed, and even hopeless.

For those of us who have spent years on the roller coaster of dieting, food fixation adds another layer of complexity to our journey. It’s tempting to dwell in the land of if-only’s: If only I could overcome my sweet tooth. If only I would develop a craving for carrot sticks. If only God would miraculously transform the calorie count in blueberry streusel muffins…. then I could finally overcome my food struggles.

e become so fixated on the food we eat—or don’t eat—that we fail to realize that food itself is not our enemy. Food is a good gift from a loving Father, given to turn our hearts and minds to Him in worship.

God could have created our human bodies to subsist on energy-dense flakes. But in His goodness, God chose to create a veritable cornucopia of foods with unique colors, textures, tastes, and smells to both nurture us and delight our taste buds. Seen in this way, food is a thoughtful gift from a loving Father.

So for those of us struggling with our food choices, our journey toward overcoming food fixation begins with recognizing this first basic truth: food is a good gift and it is not our enemy. And as we’ll see in the next few days, the fullness we seek in food can only be found in Jesus.

Food is a good gift from a loving Father,
given to turn our hearts and minds
to Him in worship.

Hold tight to the truth of Scripture and celebrate God’s goodness through His gift of food.

Reflection Questions: Have you ever heard the implicit or explicit message that food is bad? How has this type of thinking influenced your relationship with food? What are the implications of the truth that food is a good gift meant to turn our hearts toward God?

Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Food Is Not The Enemy

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No Gym No Problem

No Gym? No Problem! #27

You can burn 400 calories in 40 minutes with this no-equipment workout.  This workout is no joke, so make sure you are ready to work hard and sweat!

I love POPSUGAR Fitness workouts!  They offer fresh fitness tutorials, workouts, and exercises that will help you on your road to healthy living, weight loss, and stress relief!

Do you have 40 minutes to improve your heath and wellness? Yes, You Do! No Excuses, Just do it! Remember to keep proper form, warm up before, and stretch after you exercise!

Are you enjoying these “No Gym? No Problem!” posts?  If so, you can check out the rest by clicking HERE!

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No Gym No Problem

No Gym? No Problem! #26

This ab workout it literally 6 minutes long!  Six minutes!!!  You definitely have time for this one!  You won’t even have to get down onto the ground.  Keep your abs engaged and remember to breathe.

6 Minute Standing Ab Workout: A Great Ab Workout without the Floor

Do you have 6 minutes to improve your heath and wellness? Yes, You Do! No Excuses, Just do it! Remember to keep good proper form, warm up before, and stretch after you exercise!

Are you enjoying these “No Gym? No Problem!” posts?  If so, you can check out the rest by clicking HERE!

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I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

No Gym No Problem

No Gym? No Problem! #25

Do you have 3 minutes to improve your heath and wellness? Yes, You Do! No Excuses, Just do it! Remember to keep good form, warm up before, and stretch after you exercise!

You don’t have to go down to the floor to work your abs, and this quick workout proves it. Get ready to work your core while keeping your feet on the floor, all in three minutes!

Are you enjoying these “No Gym? No Problem!” posts?  If so, you can check out the rest by clicking HERE!

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I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

No Gym No Problem

No Gym? No Problem! #24

A great at home walking workout by Lucy Wyndham-Read. She gives really great instructions and information!

“Lose weight with this Indoor Walking Workout that you can do at home, this is a specially designed walking workout for weight loss -it is a low impact workout which makes it suitable for every fitness level so it is a perfect beginners workout and also if you are going through rehab or obese this will be ideal. This is also suitable for Pre and Postnatal.So grab your trainers and let’s do this fun workout together.  The benefits of walking is that it burns off calories and tones you up at the same time.”

 

Do you have 15 minutes to improve your heath and wellness? Yes, You Do! No Excuses, Just do it! Remember to keep good proper form, warm up before, and stretch after you exercise!

Are you enjoying these “No Gym? No Problem!” posts?  If so, you can check out the rest by clicking HERE!

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I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

 

No Gym No Problem

No Gym? No Problem! #23

You may not realize it, but flexibility is just as important for you as strength and cardio!  Sometimes I am so sore from a previous intense workout that I need to focus for a few days on flexibility and stretching.

If you’re in need of a five-minute full body stretch, then this video is for you! This routine has 14 stretches, held for 20 second each, that will loosen your major muscle groups from head to toe.

Do you have 5 minutes to improve your heath and wellness? Yes, You Do! No Excuses, Just do it! Remember to keep good proper form, warm up before, and stretch after you exercise!

Are you enjoying these “No Gym? No Problem!” posts?  If so, you can check out the rest by clicking HERE!

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I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

No Gym No Problem

No Gym? No Problem! #22

This workout it literally 8 minutes long!  Eight minutes!!!  You definitely have time for this one!

“This 8-minute workout will have you feeling the burn with combined periods of all out effort and passive rest. Get prepared to rock this workout from your own living room. Ready, set, go!”  This workout is intense but great!

Do you have 8 minutes to improve your heath and wellness? Yes, You Do! No Excuses, Just do it! Remember to keep proper form, warm up before, and stretch after you exercise!

Are you enjoying these “No Gym? No Problem!” posts?  If so, you can check out the rest by clicking HERE!

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I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

 

Ditch The Diet for Healthy Habits

The Great Carb Controversy Part 2

Carb controversy | lookingjoligood.blog

 ~Ditch The Diet~

Always keep in mind, everyone’s body is different! We do not all have the same dietary requirements. Just because a diet low in carbs works for one person doesn’t mean that it is right for someone else.

Life isn’t a sprint it is a marathon. Personally, I choose long-term health over short-term results.

Life isn't a sprint it is a marathon | lookingjoligood.blog

Not all carbs are created equal! While carbohydrates are an important part of your diet, that doesn’t mean that you can eat a bunch of processed foods like pasta, candy, cupcakes, chips, soda, and chocolate chip cookies.

There are two different types of carbs: simple and complex carbohydrates.

Complex carbs have a higher fiber content that makes the body work harder to digest them. They provide energy over a longer period of time.

These whole plant foods are great sources of complex carbohydrates:
• Green vegetables
• Whole grains and foods made from them, such as oatmeal, and whole-grain breads
• Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and pumpkin
• Beans, lentils, and peas

Carb controversy | lookingjoligood.blog

Simple carbs are usually processed packaged foods that are higher in sugar and lower in fiber. These carbs tend to cause a spike in insulin production.

Some food sources of simple carbohydrates:
• Table sugar
• Brown sugar
• Corn syrup
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Jams, jellies
• Fruit drinks and juices
• Soda
• Candy

The body and brain function best with an optimal level of glucose, and the best source is from complex carbohydrate foods.

How can you eat carbs and not gain weight?

It is ok to eat simple carbs every once in a while, but a diet full of simple carbohydrates like cookies, pasta, white rice, and white bread is what leads to weight gain and feeling yuck.

Make some simple changes from simple carbs to complex carbs. Eat brown rice instead of white rice. Have an orange or an apple instead of drinking a glass of processed juice. Eat a whole grain English muffin instead of a white English muffin. Instead of having chips try eating air popped popcorn. Make your pizza with a multigrain dough. Have plenty of your favorite veggies cut up and bagged for easy access and snacking. If you have a sugar craving eat a piece of fruit

carbohydrates | lookingjoligood.blog
Making simple changes from simple to complex carbs will help take the confusion out of eating carbs. Then when the weight is off and you are in maintenance you don’t even have to think about it anymore because you are already used to eating a healthy balanced diet.

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I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.

Ditch The Diet for Healthy Habits

The Great Carb Controversy Part 1

 ~Ditch The Diet~

The GreatCarb ControversyPart 1 | lookingjoligood.blog

Let’s REALLY talk about carbs, yup I am going THERE

No other nutrient has caused so much confusion or controversy.

Keep in mind that what you do to lose the weight is what you will have to do to maintain it.

Let me say that again:

What you DO to LOSE the weight is what you will have to do to MAINTAIN it!

What you DO to LOSE the weight is what you will have to do to MAINTAIN it! | lookingjoligood.blog

This is why it is important to choose a healthy BALANCED diet that will help you to have LONG-TERM consistency in your health and nutrition.

While it seems as if completely cutting out carbs might be a quick way to lose weight fast, is it the best for your body?

We need a balanced diet to have optimal body functioning. Any diet that requires you to cut out an entire food group will not keep your body working at its best long term.

I am going to be completely honest, I don’t like extremely low-carb diets! I’m an active person, I love to do high-intensity exercises. I require a larger number of grams of carbs per day than someone that isn’t very active.

With a low/no carb diet, yes, the body will adapt. It will learn to break down other nutrients and use them as fuel for the brain. But this is what the body does in survival mode, it is not optimal. This is how the body reacts during times of starvation. This is the body’s last resort!

Sure, we can cut carbs temporarily if we need to lose weight quickly. But for most of us, keeping carbs too low for too long can have disastrous consequences.

Restricting your carb intake too drastically can lead to:
• decreased thyroid output
• increased cortisol output
• decreased testosterone
• impaired mood and cognitive function
• muscle catabolism
• suppressed immune function.

In other words: Your metabolism might slow, your stress hormones go up and your muscle-building hormones go down.

A truly balanced diet is one that will give your body all the nutrition it needs to function properly. Balanced nutrition comes from a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.

While it is great to see results on the scale, what is going on inside the body is more important. | lookingjoligood.blog

While it is great to see results on the scale, what is going on inside the body is more important.

lookingjoligood.wordpress.com

I would love for you to follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.