Have you ever said something like, "I'm going to the gym later, so it's ok to eat this cupcake." If so, I have some good news for you: taking care of your body isn't about looking good or losing weight, and it's easier than you think!
Why should you keep yourself healthy? Because you are special. You are worthwhile, and that should be reason enough. To the degree that you know your worth, you'll take care of yourself. I mean, isn't that true in how you treat others? If you love your kids, do you let them sleep on the dirty floor and eat candy for breakfast? No, probably not. So if you love yourself, do you knowingly put inside of your body what is harmful? Exactly.
But can it really be that simple? In a sense, yes. But there are things that can make it seem complicated. For me, it took realizing a few things before I was able to walk into a healthier life style. Here are some important puzzle pieces from my journey:
1. Cravings and Recognizing the "Why:" I LOVE food. I have always enjoyed rich, delicious food and awesome dessert. There's nothing wrong with that. Did you know that God made you to love what is good? The book of Proverbs in the Bible even instructs children to enjoy the sweetness of honey because it teaches them that growing in wisdom is just as sweet! But cravings must be in the right context. Romance is excellent, but that changes when you're pursuing someone who's married! In the same way, craving good food is excellent unless you're using it to comfort your emotional wounds. Food can't do that for you, and you'll end up overeating to your detriment.
2. Healthy Doesn't Always Mean Tasteless: This is a widely held belief in a major lie. Have you ever had really good mac and cheese with real cheese, and then compared it to the blue boxed stuff? Ok, so we've established that Real is better. So let's take it a step further. Consider that the world is full of a variety of amazing food that could be combined in zillions of ways to create wondrous things! If that's true, why do we take sugar and refine it so it gives us diseases, and bleach flour so it hurts our bodies? Food industries do this to sell more product with less work, but for us it means harm. If you simply kick out the fake, you can enjoy rich food that satisfies! Think of a homemade hamburger with organic beef, raw cheddar and fresh mushrooms on a wheat bun? Or how about pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with no refined or preserved ingredients? Does that sound like your typical "health food fare?" No, but each of those things actually has nutritional value!
3. Thin Doesn't Mean Healthy: By thinking you can eat junk food as long as you exercise, you are merely outwardly respecting your body. It's as dangerous as assuming there's nothing unhealthy about cutting yourself as long as you clean the wound afterwards. We eat in order to nourish ourselves so we have energy to live our lives. But if you eat empty calories and then burn calories, there's nothing to energize you! You may feel full, but your body won't actually be satisfied. And taking vitamins won't help; there are combinations only found in real food, and your body needs them in that form.
4. It's Not About Appearance: Don't simply seek to be healthy so you won't gain weight. Shedding excess fat is a good byproduct of health, but you aren't just a body. Care for your body because it's a part of you, not because it defines you. Think of it as the house in which your spirit lives. If you care about someone, you probably won't go throwing rocks at their windows, right? You'd do it not simply because you like the way the windows look, but because you love the person.
So care for yourself because you are special. Enjoy food as something that keeps your body strong and adds spice to your life, not something that drowns your sorrows. If you don't know how to start this journey, ask God how. Then look for Him to speak through others, through dreams, through opportunities, etc. Realize that God made a variety of great things for you, and that when they are in the right context, you'll thrive body, mind, and soul!
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