Mysty PfefferYou know the drill. You start a new weight loss program your friend promises is the ONE to master your metabolic meltdown! You do it for three weeks and the pounds don’t budge. You’re hungry, tired, and those doughnuts the company supplied for your team are looking irresistible.
So, forget it. Why bother?
I see this all the time in my social circles and those of my clients. We try something new, and we’re immediately enticed culturally to indulge instead of refrain. So, how do we overcome a stronghold of pleasure sensation in a world enticing us to eat nutritionally depleting food?
It’s a challenge, isn’t it? We want to be healthier and eat more whole food, but convenience and delight in strategically manufactured items keep us coming back for more. Whether it’s salty chips, gooey chocolate, or a fast-food meal, we’re hooked and having a hard time breaking its hold.
Historically and biblically, a stronghold is a place of security and strength, generally thought to be unbreakable. Later, it became a reference to a state of mind. Something that has great power to sway our thinking and our actions, keeping us stuck in a place where we feel trapped.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10 ESV – Paul Defends His Ministry – I, Paul, – Bible Gateway
The faith-based approach to this dilemma is to switch our focus and ask some simple questions. “Where are my thoughts taking me daily? What emotions are controlling my actions today? Does it line up with the scriptures I am filling my mind with as I face the day? Who has promised to hold me in the palm of His hand despite my feelings of insecurity?”
In the Bible we are taught how the gospel of Christ frees us from sin, shame, and despair. We become a new creation in Christ when we surrender our will to His as Lord. The problem is, the world is very good at deceiving us when it comes to consuming food that does not honor our bodies or give us the fuel, we need to serve God well and complete our assigned tasks.
Locally, the church and its leaders are having a hard time too! Laughing and joking while enjoying the damaging repercussions of this plague are common, as they claim, “We like to eat!” Many, male and female ministry heads have fallen into the societal trap of “nothing is off limits” or indulge at leisure. Food marketers are very crafty in their deceptive ploys and culturally, we are trained to accept whatever they are selling.
Well loved and respected teachers are controlling their pornography urges, settling into a marriage sacrament to enjoy their spouse at leisure, and swearing off alcohol. Yet the fleshly appetite reining uncontrolled in their homes, offices, and social lives continues to expand their waistlines and destroy their health. It also puts their children’s health at risk by setting the example of eating on the run, eating often, and choosing unwisely. Whatever is convenient becomes the norm. Plus, eating for pleasure is acceptable because it is a quick reward for their hard-earned efforts.
A Serious Look at God’s Plan for Us to Thrive
I don’t blame them. I’m just concerned about their welfare and failure to fully thrive in their calling. I sure didn’t know, or was ever taught, how sugar laden cereals, pop tarts, chips, candy, and soda in abundance were damaging my cells as a child and young adult. I blindly fell for the well-marketed goodies for years before God began showing me His divine nature in the things he made. . . for our good and His glory.
Once I truly understood how overconsumption of ultra-processed food contributes to metabolic meltdown, I took a different stand for myself and my family. It is my prayer that the local church gains the knowledge and wisdom to do the same.
God’s plan, the third day of creation, put over 8,000 antioxidants in plants, vegetation, and herbs. All BEFORE he created Adam and Eve. He knew they would face the temptation of their stomachs, desire something forbidden, and fail miserably at obeying Him. It is a solid reminder of how our flesh is harder to deny and resist than the devil.
God’s plan was beautiful. His plan was completely capable of sustaining, rebuilding, and nourishing us throughout life with His garden goodness and His presence walking in the garden. However, sin entered, and corruption, disease, and frailty of the mind and body followed. Spiritually depleted and cast out of the garden our ancestors, and their children after them, began to reap the consequences of sin.
That is another reason His plan is so wondrous and consuming. Before the first words of Light and Life came from His mouth, God arranged with His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to redeem and restore future generations to Himself. By surrendering our hearts and will to Him, we are forgiven and restored to right relationship with the Father forever.
Even though we still face the temptations of our day in how we live, how we think, and how we behave, His indwelling Holy Spirit guides and leads us with a strength we simply cannot grasp or fully understand. But through faith in Him, we are quietly and gently encouraged to call on his strength when ours is depleted. He is present when we want to do good but the temporary indulgences of this life promise comfort here and now.
What if you and I take a serious look at what is most important to us and our family. Realistically we know the factors of metabolic syndrome don’t happen overnight. The excess weight, high blood pressure and blood sugars, as well as an expanding waistline and cholesterol continually creep up at every yearly checkup.
Mentally, we chalk it up as part of the aging process, being too busy to cook, working too hard, or being stressed out. But have we ever considered what a toll this process is taking on our bodies? What about the habits and health of our children?
It is serious and concerning, but the good news is: The metabolic meltdown can be reversed with some simple and consistent methods.
Master Metabolic Meltdown for Life
Metabolic Facts for The Whole Family
In a Lithuanian study of overweight and obese 10- to 17-year-olds, 21.3% had metabolic syndrome and roughly 12% had insulin resistance. (1) As A sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and insulin resistance are triggers metabolic syndrome.
Tips to Get Us Out of a Metabolic Meltdown
Tip number one is to find our why! Let me share something very personal with you, the stronghold for me at one time was sugar. I would give it up for Lent and go back time and time again. But one year I led a 40-day sugar fasting challenge with a group of ladies on Facebook and had to confront the temptation daily. I wrote about it, looked up facts about sugar daily, and faced my temptations biblically, while sharing all the information with others.
Guess what finally happened after the forty days were up?
I FOUND my why! I did not want to be mastered by anything, but Christ. Nothing in this world can satisfy me like Christ. Nothing gives me more peace, or helps me through stress, loneliness, fear, pride, or anger like Christ. I am praying the same for you. The best accountability partner in the world is a small $1 notebook and a pen to journal our thoughts, prayers, and struggles in.
Tip number two is to focus on our strengths and not our weaknesses. Take a look at the graphic below and write down your strengths. There are just a few listed to get you started, but there are so many more!
Think about what you do well. How do you do it well? What are your thoughts on where those skills come from? Most of my clients say, “I really don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.” Well, I am asking you to think about it, make a list and pray about how God wants you to apply your strengths to your metabolic health.
For example, busy parents are taking their kids to school, working, feeding and nurturing their families with organizational skills, determination, and resiliency! All because of love, thankfulness, willingness, and looking forward to a happy, healthy life. All of this motivation can be applied towards lifestyle, intake, frame of mind and exercise, too, with some strategic steps.
Tip number three is to start with one thing to change, master it, then start another. I’ve been there with you. We’ve both started strong, changed everything and fizzled out because it was too overwhelming.
When we approach health with small, consistent changes we are more likely to develop habits. Habits that are enjoyable and become second nature to us. We are not sucked in by the latest social media influencer in their bikinis or shorts showing off their slim bodies and wash-board abdominal muscles. The realistic and life-changing power in us is individual to us, through the strengths God gave us.
What works for you and me is very different than what works for them. We have to find the one thing to get us started. As we gain success with the new thing and master it, we slowly gain the confidence to keep doing it. Not only does renewed confidence act as a shield of protection against temptation, but it also propels us forward to add another strategy.
Strategies for Mastering Metabolic Meltdown
So, lets wrap up mastering metabolic meltdown with some serious strategies, shall we? Download the graphics below as a reference. We can then decide how we want to implement a new strategy for ourselves and our family.
It may be intentionally thinking about how we want to fuel our bodies for doing the tasks God has called us to do. Our motivation is wanting to feel better, have more energy to do things with others, or losing weight.
Stress and emotional eating play an important role in how we approach food. Once again, keep in mind, how we are trained culturally to rely on convenience and pre-packaged foods. It is socially acceptable to feed ourselves and our children items that are not going to give us the fuel, or the energy we need to learn and grow.
In fact, in many places throughout the United States, it is countercultural to pack lunches, eat fruits and vegetables, or bring leftovers to work. Determining why this is important helps keeps our decision to be healthy in place. We smile at the puns, laugh with the teasing, and see through the guilt of others as they struggle with loss.
The loss of comradery in poor food choices and a witness of our resolve has them questioning their own behavior. Recognize it for what it is and roll with it in love and strength.
Lastly, but certainly not least, is the strategy to find activities we can do and enjoy!
Movement is so important for fighting metabolic meltdown! We have better blood and lymphatic flow to remove toxins. We expend excess calories, we develop stronger bones and muscles!
Everything works better when we move more! Our mood, our outlook on life, and getting fresh air fills us with strength and renewed purpose.
I hope this faith-based approach to metabolic meltdown is helpful for you. Please know that I pray for you as you read this, so you are empowered by the Holy Spirit and your God-given strengths to reverse, prevent, or overcome chronic disease and health issues plaguing your family.
I am here for you and can help you set a plan in place to implement these tips and strategies with my MetS Busters 12 Week Metabolic Program. Check out my coaching services for the full spectrum of programs and services offered here. Together, we will master metabolic meltdown!
References:
- Smetanina N, Valickas R, Vitkauskiene A, Albertsson-Wikland K, Verkauskienė R. Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Impaired Glucose Metabolism among 10- to 17-Year-Old Overweight and Obese Lithuanian Children and Adolescents. Obes Facts. 2021;14(3):271-282. doi: 10.1159/000514720. Epub 2021 May 5. PMID: 33951670; PMCID: PMC8255643.
