Have you ever paused to think about what it truly means to enjoy a meal—without guilt, rules, or second-guessing yourself? Especially during Lent, when you're striving to grow in faith, the whispers of diet culture can creep in: Are you sure you should eat that?
This week on the Nourished to Bloom Podcast (Episode 53!), we're exploring how eating during Lent can become a sacred act of gratitude rather than a rushed, guilt-ridden experience.
Imagine this: instead of viewing food as something to control, you start seeing it as a way to connect more deeply with God. That shift? It’s a game-changer.
This really stuck with me—how our faith can transform eating from a stressful routine into a mindful celebration of God’s provision. It’s not just about being present at the table, but being present with God in every bite. 🌿
What You’ll Find in This Episode:
🍽️ The true essence of mindful eating and its connection to faith 🙏 How mindful eating can deepen your prayer life and help you honor your body 📖 Ecclesiastes 9:7 and the call to eat with joy and gratitude 🛑 The Lenten challenge of fasting from diet culture and embracing true nourishment 💝 Practical ways to share your meals as an act of love and connection
Here’s Your Invitation:
This week, I challenge you to invite Jesus to your meals—literally or metaphorically. How would your eating habits change if you approached your table as if He was sitting with you?
And if you’re craving a deeper shift this Lent, join me for the Fasting From Diet Culture: A 40-Day Lenten Challenge!
Inside, you’ll get: ✨ Live weekly Q&A sessions for personalized guidance ✨ Guided exercises to explore faith-based food freedom ✨ Weekly scripture reflections to nourish your soul and mindset ✨ Small but powerful action steps to help you align your relationship with food to your faith
Let’s break free from diet culture, savor food as God’s gift, and rediscover what it means to be fully nourished—body, mind, and spirit.
📣 Sign up for the FREE Lenten Challenge here!
Let’s make this Lent about true transformation. I can't wait to walk this journey with you! 💜
Join The Nourished to Bloom Community: www.community.karatrochta.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/karatrochta
The Nourished to Bloom Podcast Show Notes: www.podcast.karatrochta.com/shownotes
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So now we are fully into this season of Lent and we are
00:00:05
focusing on our prayer life and fasting and alms giving
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about really using this time to realign our hearts with God.
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But we have to remember that fasting isn't just about
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giving up food. It's also about fasting from those habits
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that pull us away from Christ. And for many of us, things
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like rushed or distracted eating or eating
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and, you know, being overwhelmed with this sense of guilt for what we've
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eaten has really become the norm for so many of us.
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So what if instead of seeing food as something we're trying
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to control, especially during this season of Lent, we
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instead flip the script and we use
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the way that we eat as a way to connect deeper
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with the Lord? That is what we're getting into on today's
00:00:53
episode of the Nourish to Bloom podcast. So I hope you'll join us and
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I'll see you in there. Welcome to the Nourish to
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Bloom podcast, where your faith meets your health. I'm your host,
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Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and certified Catholic coach, and
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I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection with your body, your
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spirit, and the nourishment that sustains them both. In
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a world filled with noise and confusion about food,
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health and body image, this podcast offers truth and healing from a
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Christ centered perspective. Together, we'll untangle the deep roots
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of diet culture and discover what it means to truly care
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for ourselves through joyful nourishment of mind, body and
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soul. We're here to dive into the transformative power of intuitive eating
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coupled with the rich teachings of our Christian faith. With every
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episode, I'll be cheering you on, offering insights, inspiration
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and practical tools to help you heal your relationship with
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food and embrace the beauty of your body as a temple of the
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Holy Spirit. With confidence and courage that
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can only be found in Christ. Join me as we journey together
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towards a more holistic approach to wellness, one that honors the wisdom
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of your body as God's creation, the teachings of our faith,
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and the unique purpose you're called to fulfill.
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You were made to bloom, to come into
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full beauty and health in order to bear good fruit for the Lord with your
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life. So if you're ready to nourish your body, feed your soul,
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and bloom into the best version of yourself, then you're in the right place. And
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I'm so happy you're here. Welcome to Nourish to
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Bloom, where every day is a sacred invitation to
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thrive. Hey there. Welcome back to the
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Nourish to Bloom podcast. So great to be with you here this
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week as we continue our 40 day Lenten
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challenge, Fasting from diet culture. And so we are moving
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on into week two of our challenge
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and we are shifting our focus from kind of those rules and
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restrictions about fasting to really being able to focus
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on nourishment and what that nourishment looks like,
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mind, body and soul. And so today we're talking more
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about how even in this season of Lent, this season
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of, you know, it almost sometimes
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feels really heavy, but how through savoring
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our food, we can really rest and find joy in
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God's provision and his abundance. And we're going to talk about how we
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can experience this joy in eating without that
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overindulgence or guilt. Right? Because again, many of us have used food in
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the past is what we're fasting from. But by this point in Lent, we are
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re. We usually are feeling that like, pull to give into
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whatever it was we have given up. And a
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lot of times we're met with that guilt if
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we, you know, give up or we're, we're overindulging. And
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so we really want to look at how we can fast from
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that diet culture mentality of, you know, giving up these foods for
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Lent and that entanglement of diet culture and lint, but instead how we can
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really make eating this, this act of gratitude and
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worship rather than it being just something we rush through or
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stress over. And so today we're going to start by just kind
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of reflecting on a little bit of scripture and allowing us to ground ourselves in
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scripture. And this is really a focused on
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more of how we approach eating versus
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really what we are eating, because that's really what it's about. It's
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really our heart set and our mindset when it comes to food.
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That relationship and that psychological approach
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that we have with food and with our meals is really
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where this change and the transformation is happening. And so
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how we can really approach the way that
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we eat with a Christ centered perspective. And
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really some scripture that kind of helps us see how
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we can do this, that God in His truth and His Word
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tells us how to approach eating. And so we'll. And this we can turn to
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Ecclesiastes, chapter 9, verse 7 that says,
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Go eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a
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joyful heart. For God has already approved what you
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do. And really I think that's just about this gift
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of food from God that He
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has given us. The provision that he has given us the gift of
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food all around us, and that it's meant to provide
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us nourishment, that he knows that our earthly bodies
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need this nourishment. And when we, when we do this
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and when we focus on the joy of his provision and
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we focus on really nourishing our body
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instead of stressing over what we're eating, and we can focus
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on the hands that have prepared this food for us, it really
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allows us that opportunity to enjoy it. And
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one of the tools that we can use to help this is mindful eating.
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And so you may be wondering what, what exactly does mindful eating
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even mean? It's one of those things where I think we kind of have an
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idea of what it is in our head, but maybe we don't really know what
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it's about. But I. I want you to see how we can approach
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this mindfulness practice when it comes to food, but how
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this approach really allows us the opportunity to practice
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mindfulness in so many other areas of our lives. But
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mindful eating is really about slowing down and being present
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while you are eating. So instead of just eating on
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autopilot, you're actually tasting your food.
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You are noticing you when your body is telling you that you are
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hungry or when it is full, and you really focus on the
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appreciation of the experience. And
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so here's really how our faith connects to this, is that mindful eating isn't
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just about being present with your food, but it's about how this gives you the
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opportunity to be present, present with God. So when we take our
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time to really savor our meals, we shift from a mindset
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of kind of scarcity and control which diet culture
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thrives on, to really one of trust and gratitude.
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We stop obsessing over the food rules, and we start to see
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food really as this gift from our Creator. And so some of the
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benefits that we can see from mindful eating include just more
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gratitude that every meal is a reminder of
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God's provision. Right? We. We are here to
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pray every day, all day, without ceasing. And when
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we can approach our meals with this, this attitude of
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gratitude and this mindfulness, that just allows that, that
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prayer to overflow into this time of, of our day
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as well. Right? It allows us to really fulfill that
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desire to pray every day without ceasing.
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It also offers us a better connection to our body.
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And this is beautiful because many of us do not have a strong
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connection with our body. And it's almost as if we are
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so disconnected that we've stopped to see ourselves as God's creation
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and the beauty in which we were created. But when we
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allow a more mindful approach to the way that we are eating, it helps
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us to start trusting our bodies more and trusting the way that
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God designed our bodies to help us
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make decisions about when and what we are
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eating. And then lastly, it just allows us more
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joy in eating, to experience more joy in eating. I mean,
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isn't that really what most of us desire is to experience
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more joy in our lives, to experience more peace and
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more freedom in our lives? And. And we know that the Lord
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offers that to us, and we can really accept that even
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when it comes to the way that we approach our meals. So instead of
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rushing or stressing, you have the opportunity to
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actually slow down and enjoy your food. And like I
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said, when we practice mindfulness with our food, it spills over into the
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rest of our lives. It helps us to be more present in our prayer
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life. It helps us to be better in our relationships
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and in our daily routines because we just have this.
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This space that that's reserved, this space that
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we can fill with intention, and we can intentionally fill
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it with God and him being present
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with us through every moment of every day. And
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so let's just take a deeper look and see how
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mindful eating can really help us this season of Lent as
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we focus on fasting and prayer and alms, giving,
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almsgiving. So let's look at it first from that
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fasting perspective, right? And how many of us are
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stuck in that rushed and distracted eating, and how when we can incorporate
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this mindfulness, how it can really transform, harm us this
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Lenten season again, during Lent, we often think
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of fasting in terms of food that we're giving up, sweets, coffee,
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or snacks between meals. But maybe a
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more healthy way for you to fast this Lenten season is to fast from
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eating in a hurried, distracted way. Our
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culture, oh, my gosh, encourages multitasking, right?
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We're eating while scrolling, driving, or working,
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and we don't even, like, half the time realize that we've eaten a
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meal. We've just, like, you know, shoved it and shoveled it into our
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mouths, and then it's gone. And we didn't even, like, really think about what it
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was that we had. I mean, can you, like, remember what you had for
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breakfast this morning, right, or. Or, you know,
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dinner the night before? Or were you just so rushed through those meals that you
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missed out on it, that you missed out on the gift of the food
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that you are eating? We miss the flavors,
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right, that God put All these different
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foods with different flavors on Earth to provide us
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that provision of our meals, never having to be boring,
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right? That we, when we rush through it, we
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miss out on the nourishment and most importantly, again, that
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experience, that chance to experience God's provision
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and his gratitude and the gratitude for that. So instead
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of mindless eating, we can practice that mindful eating. And so here's some ways that
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we can do that this Lenten season that helps us
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take on this attitude of being more prayerful and
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of helping us with our fasting challenges. So we can
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pause before our meals. We can, oh, gosh, just
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take a deep breath, say a brace,
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say, I was going to say blessing and grace and it came out brace. But
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say grace or a blessing over your food and acknowledge that
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God was really the ultimate provider of that
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being. Thankful for the hands who prepared that food.
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And then savoring each bite, noticing the flavors, the
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textures, and the nourishment your food is providing,
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and then slowing down, learning to put your fork down
00:12:02
between bites and fully chew that bite before you take the
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next one and just enjoying the moment. And when we
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can do these things, it allows us to listen to our bodies. We can
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eat with more awareness of our hunger and our fullness, which
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again allows us to grow in that trust that God has given you, your
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body's wisdom to know when and what and how much to
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eat. Because mindful eating really helps us detach from diet
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culture, obsession with control and instead focus on
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receiving food as a gift from God.
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And when we do these, when we can fast from that mindless,
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distracted rush eating, it allows us to really move into
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a place of feasting. Right? We also know that
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feasting is a part of our faith. We know that Jesus enjoyed
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meals with others that he didn't just eat to
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survive, but he used meals as a time to connect and
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celebrate and teach and
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really modeling for us that food was meant to be
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enjoyed. But we know that diet culture has twisted this.
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It can make us feel like eating too much is bad and eating too little
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is good. And so we just kind of swing back and forth on this
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pendulum between over and indulgence and guilt.
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But here's the truth. God doesn't want us to fear food, and he doesn't want
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us to abuse it either. He just wants us to be able to enjoy it
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in freedom, to take care of the earthly body that he
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created our souls to live in while we are
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here on earth before we join him in heaven. And
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so maybe you just play around a Little bit with me here.
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Use your imagination. This Lenten season, as you sit down
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to enjoy your meals, I want you to think about
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as you're sitting down to your meal, that you've invited Jesus
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as the guest at your meal time. And if you've invited
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Jesus into your mealtime, what shifts for you,
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how do you behave, how do you approach your food, how do you approach
00:14:05
your meal time differently?
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If you can consciously focus on Jesus being at that dinner table
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with you, maybe you even need to take it a step further and
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actually set a place. And that place is, would be where
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Jesus was sitting at your table. Like, I know
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that it can sound silly, but sometimes the way that we really
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embrace this mindfulness and we embrace this intention is by
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using something visual and concrete to help us
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and remind us to focus on that thing that we have been wanting to
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focus on. God gave us the gift of our imagination
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for so many wonderful things. Like think about that. The ability that
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you have to, to dream and to imagine something is
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a gift from God. But too often we use it to imagine the worst case
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scenario or we imagine bad things happening.
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Like this season. Like flip that and imagine
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God's provision in your life, like the abundance that he has
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awaiting for you. So here's how you
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can practically approach eating with more joy.
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Feast with a grateful heart, knowing that joy is part of God's design.
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By fully enjoying the food that you
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have prepared or someone else has prepared, but the food that is on your
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plate. Learn to release any guilt that
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you have. Instead of labeling food as good or
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bad. See all food as part of God's abundant provision.
00:15:36
And then this leads into learning to trust your body. Because when you do
00:15:39
that, you can let go of that restrictive eating and you listen to your body's
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cues of what food feels good in your body,
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how hunger and fullness feels in your body, and then how you feel after you
00:15:51
eat certain foods. Those are all things that you can feel and experience
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in your body. And that's really what can guide you to make
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to making more informed, nutritious
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decisions. So really here's just a question
00:16:06
for reflection. Like how can you make your eating an
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experience of gratitude and worship during this Lenten
00:16:13
season? And then this leads us into
00:16:17
that alms giving pillar of Lent, being
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able to share a meal in love. Because we know that during
00:16:24
Lent we are also called to give to others out of love.
00:16:28
And so what, what is a more beautiful way that you can do
00:16:32
this by then? By sharing a meal with someone. El so
00:16:35
maybe that means that you're inviting someone over to your house to.
00:16:39
To sit at your table and to share a meal with a friend or family
00:16:43
members or neighbors. This looks like serving
00:16:47
others, volunteering at a food pantry or a soup
00:16:50
kitchen, or providing a meal for a neighbor or a loved
00:16:54
one or someone that you know is in need, and then being
00:16:58
very intentional about breaking
00:17:01
bread. Right. Whether it's at home or in the community, being able to see
00:17:05
every shared meal as a way to love others as Christ
00:17:09
did. Right. That we saw that when he broke bread
00:17:13
with others, that it allowed him to connect and to celebrate
00:17:16
and to teach and that we are called to
00:17:20
do the same. I mean, we can just reflect on the Last
00:17:24
Supper and, and that last meal that he shared with his
00:17:28
apostles, that he knew that from that moment on that he was going
00:17:31
to fully give himself to us. Every time we came to mass and
00:17:35
received the Eucharist.
00:17:39
There's something just sacred about sharing food.
00:17:44
It brings connection and it brings joy and it brings generosity
00:17:48
into our lives. And it is so impactful and meaningful for
00:17:51
the person on the receiving end. So this
00:17:55
week, I really challenge you to fast from that rush distracted eating,
00:17:59
to really slow down and savor and express
00:18:02
gratitude for your food. And then if you can invite someone
00:18:06
to share a meal with you, it doesn't have to be anything
00:18:09
fancy, but just to be able to sit and share a meal and a
00:18:13
conversation with someone else. And as we
00:18:17
continue our Lenten journey, let's remember that food is not just fuel,
00:18:21
that it really is ultimately a gift from God that's meant to be
00:18:24
enjoyed with gratitude and shared in love. And
00:18:28
so, as we wrap up today's episode, I want to remind you and invite you
00:18:32
that it's not too late to join our Fasting From
00:18:36
Diet Culture 40 Day Lenten Challenge, where we're going to
00:18:39
explore how to make peace with food while growing in your faith.
00:18:43
Remember that lint is that time of transformation. And together in this 40
00:18:47
day Linton challenge, I'm going to help you release the entanglements of diet
00:18:51
culture so that you can truly experience the freedom and the renewal
00:18:55
that comes from drawing closer to Christ this Lenten
00:18:58
season. Okay? And so remember, this is how it works, that each
00:19:01
week right here on the Nourish to Bloom podcast, we're going to focus
00:19:05
on a key topic to help you heal your relationship with
00:19:09
food and your body, while also reflecting on the Lenten pillars
00:19:13
of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, how we can use Christ
00:19:17
centered intuitive of eating to help us in our transformation this
00:19:20
Lenten season. And then if you sign up at
00:19:24
lent care attracta.com for this free
00:19:27
challenge that gives you exclusive access to our
00:19:31
live weekly Q and A sessions with the first one starting
00:19:35
on March 12th at 1pm Central Standard Time. So when you sign
00:19:39
up at lent.carotracta.com you're going to receive all the
00:19:42
information that you need to join us for that that Q and A session
00:19:46
where you can ask questions and receive personalized guidance. And
00:19:50
in each of those sessions, we're going to do some guided exercises that are going
00:19:53
to help you go deeper in your journey of faith and food freedom
00:19:57
as well as spending some time reflecting on
00:20:00
Scripture to help you nourish both your soul and your
00:20:04
mindset. And then you're going to leave that Q and A session with
00:20:07
just a small mini painful challenge with practical steps to
00:20:11
help you implement it right away. But these challenges are meant to
00:20:15
help you do just like a mini micro fast for the week
00:20:19
to help you break free from that entanglement of diet
00:20:22
culture this Lenten season. So this
00:20:26
challenge isn't about giving up food. It's about giving up the lies that
00:20:30
diet culture has told you so you can embrace a
00:20:33
grace filled ability approach to nourishment. So
00:20:37
I hope to see you all on that live Q and A
00:20:41
session. Remember, sign up@lent.care attracted.com
00:20:44
and you'll receive all the information that you need in order to join us on
00:20:48
that Q and A session. And I can't wait to see you in there and
00:20:51
hear the questions that you have and just spend some time with you
00:20:56
reflecting on on Scripture and just helping guide you one step
00:21:00
closer. Closer to disentangling diet culture from your Lenten
00:21:03
season this year. Remember,
00:21:07
beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower. It is your
00:21:10
time to bloom until next week. I hope you have a beautiful
00:21:14
and blessed week and we will talk soon. Bye.
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Ep. 37 5 Steps to Not "Stuffing" Down Your Holiday Emotions; Faith-Led Wellness Holiday Game Plan, Part 2
Hey friends! Welcome back to another episode of Nourished to Bloom. Today, we're tackling a topic that's crucial as the holiday season approaches—how not to stuff down your holiday emotions with food. 🦃🎄✨ If the mere thought of holiday gatherings throws your emotions into a whirlwind, you're not alone. Whether it’s joy, stress, or overwhelm...
Ep. 36 Slowing Down & Savoring The Holidays: Faith Led Wellness Holiday Game Plan Part 1
Can you feel it? The holidays are just around the corner, and if you've been juggling the endless to-do lists and feeling overwhelmed, today's episode is for you. We’re kicking off a special series called the Faith Led Wellness Holiday Game Plan to help you slow down and savor the holiday season with peace and joy. In this first part, Ep. 36 ...