Your health shouldn't be just a New Year's Resolution but a life-long resolution. I have not always been this health conscious, I was overweight and never exercised, ate fast food and processed food, until I realized what I was doing to my body was not glorifying to God. The Lord gave me this body to take care of, so while I at one point was obsessed about the scale, counting every calorie, and being so thin, I have been convicted to not stress about the worldly image of my body but take care of it as God calls us to.
I hear it all the time, "I work out everyday but I can't lose weight, you look great after having a baby, what is your secret." It is not a secret, it is pretty simple. I don't eat processed, fatty, sugary, empty foods. Instead, I fuel my body with organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean organic meat, wild caught fish, nuts, and beans. I eat every two to three hours to keep my metabolism up and have protein of some sort with every snack. Honestly I do give myself sugar sometimes, that is my weakness, but only eery now and then. Ok, don't get me wrong, if you do exercise that is awesome! You are doing your body wonders and adding years to your life, but that is only half or less of the equation. You see you MUST eat a well balanced, whole food diet to first of all lose weight, then second, to stay healthy. I can name so many diseases that have been linked to not eating the right food, not giving your body what it needs and feeding it trash. I recently had a gallbladder issue. About two months after I starting having huge stomach aches every time I ate, come to find out, my gallbladder was inflamed. I had to get off of dairy, sugar, fatty foods, low carb, and drink a liver cleansing juice with grape juice, apple juice, cranberry juice, and a little bit of apple cider vinegar (which is so good for you to drink every day). I am ten times better now, but while I ate "healthy" before, I am really eating better. Diabetes, cancer, colds, gallbadder inflammation and gallstones, IBS, digestive issues, etc. are all linked to not eating whole and organic foods. Did you know that many people get their gallbladder taken out when you can quickly and strictly change the way you eat and get rid of the stones and reverse it! Here are two of my favorite blogs for great recipes and living a healthy whole life and raising a family on those foods. Also, you must be drinking enough water, the right kind of water, tap water is sooo bad for you. The fluoride among many other things in it are horrible for you. We recently bought empty 5 gallon jugs and are buying the purified water from the grocery store machine. It is glacier water and is purified I believe 5 ways. We just keep Nalgene bottles with us all day, we drink coffee in the morning and water all day, that's it. Our body is mostly water, don't starve it of that. It also cleanses and keeps you going! God gave you this body, take care of it, fuel it with the right stuff, not cheap, empty gas.
The number one New Year's Resolution is to lose weight, every year. So we see the gyms get packed and I can guarantee, most of them think that since we are working out we can eat what we want, I earned it! Right, WRONG! Yes, you do burn calories therefore you need to take more in, but it is the kind of calories you are eating that makes the difference. If I could be an encourager to every new person that comes in to my gym, I would tell them I want to see you here past February, many leave then. Either they get bored or it just isn't a priority. Did you know we spend more money on healthcare than any other country in the world as individuals and health providers, etc., we are the most advanced, yet we are the most unhealthy country in the world. That is shocking! Diabetes is 100% preventable with exercise and healthy eating. I work out 1-2 hours 6 days a week doing cardio for an hour every day and strength training three times a week. I realize that many people can't work out for that long every day, but you can do cardio for 30 minutes a day, wake up earlier, go after work, go during your lunch break. You are doing yourself more favors than you know. The endorphins that are released when you exercise give you more energy, give you better sleep, and you are in a better mood. Who doesn't want to be a better mom, wife, daughter, worker, student, this is one way to get there. I am a better mom and wife because I take the time to exercise and eat right.
I could go on and on about this, it's a passion of mine as you can see. In the posts to come, I will go in depth on different topics. But lastly I would like to mention the importance of sleep. Did you know you burn a lot of calories when you sleep? You need 8-10 hours of sleep a night, and it's best when you are consistently going to sleep and waking up around the same time. You can't lose weight or function well without getting enough sleep.
Let's not put your health on the back burner, make it a priority, make it a life-long goal to be healthy. Don't stress about the scale, don't count every calorie, while portion sizing it best, don't go overboard, but take good care of the body you are given. God made you you, and we should fuel it well.
-Caitlyn
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