Ever feel like no matter how hard we try to "eat right," we end up caught in a cycle of guilt, restriction, or just total overwhelm from all the nutrition advice out there? Maybe we've even thought, "If I'm not perfect, what's the point?"
If that sounds familiar, we're not alone. In this week's episode of the Nourished to Bloom podcast, we're taking a grace-filled pause to remember this: authentic health isn't found in perfection—it's rooted in gentleness, compassion, and faith. 🌿
This heartfelt replay reminds us that it's in the messy, imperfect, real-life moments where true wellness can take root. Kara even shares how a simple cold last week became a holy reminder to slow down, honor our bodies, and let go of all-or-nothing thinking.
Together, we'll explore:
🌱 The difference between "perfect eating" and sustainable, Spirit-led health 🙏 How the Fruits of the Spirit—like patience, gentleness, and self-control—can guide our wellness journey 🥦 Why embracing gentle nutrition helps us break free from the diet cycle 🌸 How variety, moderation, and balance become possible when we release food rules 💖 Why compassion (the kind Christ offers us) is essential to nurturing a healthy relationship with food and our bodies
Let's break free from chasing someone else's version of health—and become the faithful caretakers of the bodies God has entrusted to us. 💪💕
This week's gentle challenge: What's one way we can add more gentleness to our health journey? Maybe it's skipping the calorie count. Or resting without guilt. Or adding color to our plate without overthinking it. Let's start there. 🌈
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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Hey there. Welcome back to the Nourish to Bloom podcast. This summer we have
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been on a beautiful journey through the gifts of the Holy Spirit
00:00:07
and I thought what better way to wrap up this series than by
00:00:11
revisiting one of the probably most loved and I think
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powerful episodes from the Nourish to bloom podcast. Episode
00:00:18
15 called how the Fruits of the Spirit can guide you to better health.
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This summer we've really been leaning into and learning how to live more
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fully by the guidance and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit
00:00:30
through the gifts of wisdom, piety, fortitude and more.
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And this replay is here to remind us how the fruits of the Spirit can
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tangibly shape our health and wellness in a gentle,
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sustainable and Christ centered way. So this episode is especially
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near and dear to my heart because it impacts what I really believe
00:00:49
authentic health looks like. Not about chasing perfection,
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but it's really about embracing consistency,
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compassion and care for your body because
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it is that temple that the Holy Spirit lives in. So whether you're
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hearing this episode for the first time or you need this reminder, I
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really hope this episode blesses you and meets you right where you are
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on your health and wellness journey. And be sure to check back next
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week because we're starting a brand new Back to School series
00:01:19
created just for women who are navigating life transitions.
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Maybe you're a mom whose kids are now all school age and they're off to
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school and you're kind of wondering what's next? Where do I go? What do I
00:01:30
do? Who am I? All those big questions. Something I like to
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call that middle mother transition. Or maybe you're in a different
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transition where you are an empty nester and all of your kids are adult,
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adult age and you're still asking the same questions of what
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do I do next? Who am I in this new phase? Well,
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this series is for you or really anyone who's filling that pool
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to really get some clarity and some confidence in
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the next step the Lord is asking you to take. So I hope
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you'll join me for this episode as well as next week as
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we kick off that Back to School series. I hope you have a beautiful
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and blessed week and we will talk soon.
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So I want to let you in on a little secret. You don't have to
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eat perfectly to be healthy. Healthy eating is
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really about what and how you are eating consistently
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over a long period of time. This is what really influences
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your nutritional health status. It's about you making
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food choices that honor your health, that tastes good and
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make you feel good and enable you to do the things you're
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called to do. The overall goal of
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intuitive eating is to really help you reach this place of
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authentic health. And authentic health is where you're able to
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integrate your internal wisdom and the body
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attunement that you have gained and integrate that
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with these external health knowledge and recommendations
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to help you make healthy choices for your mind, body and soul.
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And as Christians, we can turn to the fruits of the Holy Spirit as a
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guide to help us towards reaching authentic health and caring
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for ourselves with the same attitude and mindset that Christ uses
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when caring for us within the intuitive eating
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framework. Principle number 10 Honoring your health with gentle
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nutrition is focused on being able to help you achieve that
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authentic health by combining the internal body wisdom and attunement
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you've been working towards and the previous principles with the
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nutritional recommendations, values and knowledge that you have gained
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over the years so you can make healthy and informed food
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choices. It's about finally getting to a place where you
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know how it feels to eat healthy. You have a desire to
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experience that, but also being able to enjoy the food you
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like without backlash or guilt. It's about caring for yourself
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with compassion and gentleness and kindness just as
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Christ cares for you. Sounds like a really great place to be,
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right? So let me show you how to get there.
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Welcome to the Nourish to Bloom podcast where your faith meets your
00:04:08
health. I'm your host, Kara Trochta, a registered dietitian and
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certified Catholic coach, and I'm here to help you cultivate a deeper connection
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with your body, your spirit and the nourishment that sustains them
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both. In a world filled with noise and
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confusion about food, health and body image, this podcast
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offers truth and healing from a Christ centered perspective.
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Together we'll untangle the deep roots of diet culture and discover what
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it means to truly care for ourselves through joyful
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nourishment of mind, body and soul. We're here to dive into
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the transformative power of intuitive eating coupled with the rich teachings of our
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Christian faith. With every episode, I'll be cheering you on,
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offering insights, inspiration and practical tools to help
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you heal your relationship with food and embrace the beauty
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of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit with
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confidence and courage that can only be found in Christ.
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Join me as we journey together towards a more holistic approach to wellness,
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one that honors the wisdom of your body as God's creation,
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the teachings of our faith, and the unique purpose you're called to
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fulfill. You were made to bloom
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to come into full beauty and Health in order to bear good fruit
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for the Lord with your life. So if you're ready to nourish your body,
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feed your soul, and bloom into the best version of yourself, then
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you're in the right place. And I'm so happy you're here.
00:05:34
Welcome to Nourish to Bloom, where every day is a sacred
00:05:38
invitation to thrive.
00:05:42
Hey, there. Welcome back to the podcast. I know some of you
00:05:46
were missing me last week, and I apologize for. For
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not getting an episode out, but I was dealing with a
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cold, and it really took me under, and I. I
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think it's really appropriate that the
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episode I was working on was all about authentic health and.
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And really being able to take care of ourselves with
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compassion and kindness. And I really had to
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embody that last week, despite the internal battle that
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was going on in my mind, that there was definitely the
00:06:19
voices from the Enemy, who is like, you know, Kara, if you don't get this
00:06:22
podcast episode out, you're letting a whole bunch of people down. You're gonna lose
00:06:26
listeners. You. You just can't follow through with any of this.
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And then it was just beautiful because there was just the gentle voice of the
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Lord saying, it'll be okay. Like, it'll be okay
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to. To miss a week. And so
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really, this is where that authentic health comes in, because it was like I was
00:06:44
having this. This battle going on in my mind, and my
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body was just craving rest. It just was gently trying
00:06:51
to tell me, hey, Kara, you need to just. You need to rest
00:06:55
this week, and you need to let yourself heal and get better so then you
00:06:58
can do the things that are important so you can, you know, take care
00:07:02
of your family, be the mom you want to be, and get podcast episodes out.
00:07:06
So I think it's awesome that this whole
00:07:09
episode can kind of be summed up in. In what
00:07:13
I experienced last week.
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Yeah. So I'm excited to be back with you this week, and I will,
00:07:21
you know, let you know, at the time of this recording, it is summer, my
00:07:24
kids are out of school, so there may be another week where something
00:07:27
comes up and it doesn't happen, or I may be interrupted on an
00:07:31
episode. But, hey, it's all going to be okay. And.
00:07:34
And just that trust and surrender to the Lord that it's all going to be
00:07:37
okay is just definitely the attitude and the mindset that.
00:07:41
That I really am working hard to embrace, and it just brings and
00:07:45
bears such great fruit in my life. So, without further ado,
00:07:49
we're going to talk about gentle nutrition and
00:07:52
authentic health and really what nutrition looks like
00:07:56
within the realm of intuitive eating. And we're going to talk about, you know,
00:07:59
some highlights of that and then how we can incorporate the fruits of the spirit
00:08:03
when it comes to being able to take care of ourselves.
00:08:07
So I want to start by just explaining that a healthy
00:08:10
relationship with food is what opens you up to the freedom
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to achieving authentic health, which we define as that
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place where internal body wisdom and knowledge meets
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and integrates with external health values and
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knowledge. So it's like taking this internal
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wisdom and this body attunement that you have gained in, in the
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principles leading up to this. And we're going to take and integrate that and meet
00:08:36
that with all of like the health recommendations that we
00:08:39
see from the external world. So we're going to marry these and
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integrate them and really be able to figure out which those external
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recommendations we want to integrate within our own health journey,
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which ones work for us, which ones we believe are actually true and are worth
00:08:56
incorporating at this point in our intuitive eating
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journey. So authentic health is really achieved when we have
00:09:04
this integration of internal and external working
00:09:08
together in harmony. And it, it's across all fats,
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all facets of health, our physical, mental, emotional and in
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spiritual well being. And I really believe that for
00:09:19
many of us, this journey to authentic health really
00:09:22
begins with that healing, our relationship with food and our bodies.
00:09:27
And this internal and external integration, like I said, allows
00:09:31
you to decide if and what of the external nutrition
00:09:35
knowledge and recommendations you would like to integrate while
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still being able to pay attention to
00:09:42
hunger and fullness and satisfaction and food preferences
00:09:46
and physical sensations that are all unique and
00:09:49
individual to you. Because a lot of external recommendations
00:09:53
are these blanket recommendations. There's these, there's an over
00:09:56
generalization when it comes down to it. And the individualization
00:10:00
recommendation has really been removed from it when we have
00:10:04
these broad recommendations that are given. And so this is
00:10:07
really where it becomes individualized. And
00:10:11
it's individualized solely based off of that internal wisdom that
00:10:15
you have gained over the course of your intuitive eating
00:10:19
healing journey. And now you're at the point where you're like, okay, I can, I
00:10:22
can see how these recommendations can fit and be able to decide,
00:10:26
you know, what is really best for you and what's going to really help you
00:10:30
achieve that authentic health. So having this
00:10:33
healthy relationship with food is necessary and it's fundamental to
00:10:37
healthy eating. If your relationship with food is not in a good
00:10:41
place, then any and all nutritional recommendations
00:10:45
or values and knowledge will just continue to be
00:10:48
a rigid set of food and Diet rules. Whereas when
00:10:52
you have this healthy relationship with food, it allows you to look at
00:10:55
nutritional recommendations and choose what you want to integrate
00:10:59
as a way to optimize your health. Because at this
00:11:03
point, your motivation really lies in, in caring for your
00:11:06
body, mind and soul, not in losing weight or
00:11:10
having your body look a certain way or trying to meet some sort of unworthi,
00:11:14
realistic societal expectations.
00:11:18
So if you are tuned into this episode and you're still struggling with
00:11:22
a diet mentality, just please give yourself some grace
00:11:25
and compassion and really know that you have to get to that point
00:11:29
of, of having a healthy relationship with food and your body to
00:11:33
really be able to embody what this gentle nutrition and
00:11:36
what authentic health is really about. And so just know that it does
00:11:40
take time. And so if you're here and, and you're not at that
00:11:44
place, like, really approach curiosity and use
00:11:47
today's episode really as
00:11:51
foreshadowing of, of what is possible for you on this
00:11:54
healing journey as, as a way to
00:11:58
kind of see into what your future could look like if you embody
00:12:02
intuitive eating and you heal that relationship with your food and body. So
00:12:06
just, it's kind of like a vision board for you. So despite what
00:12:10
you've heard or have been led to believe up until this point,
00:12:14
intuitive eating still believes that nutrition is an
00:12:17
important component to health and well being. You hear all sorts
00:12:21
of things out there about, we've talked about it, right? Just, oh, eat whatever
00:12:25
you want. It doesn't matter what you eat. Intuitive eating says, I can do this.
00:12:28
And that's as, as you have learned in these podcast episodes, that's,
00:12:31
that's really not what this is about. And nutrition is still a very important
00:12:35
component to the intuitive eating framework.
00:12:39
It's just we have to incorporate it at a point where it doesn't come on
00:12:43
as these, these rigid food and diet rules. And that's where
00:12:47
the principles leading up to this were really important.
00:12:51
And we have to, you have to know that like,
00:12:55
as an intuitive eating counselor and a registered
00:12:58
dietitian and what I do with my practice and the, the
00:13:02
clients that I counsel, what I am trying to fight against are
00:13:06
the health, the beliefs that healthy eating has to come with this strict
00:13:09
set of rules and that it has to be so black and white or so
00:13:13
all or nothing. And so really, this last principle of intuitive eating,
00:13:17
honoring your health with gentle nutrition is, is the culmination
00:13:21
of the integration of every other principle that we've
00:13:25
talked about so far that has helped you towards healing your relationship with food
00:13:28
and your body and growing in body attunement and self awareness.
00:13:32
And it's integrating with that nutrition and health knowledge the
00:13:36
recommendations that we have out there, the scientific evidence that we
00:13:39
have when it comes to food and nutrition to help
00:13:43
you achieve that level of authentic health.
00:13:47
And this is really where it all comes together. Like I said, it's where your
00:13:51
internal body wisdom meets all the nutrition knowledge the world offers. And they
00:13:54
come together so you can make the most informed health
00:13:58
decisions and food choices that are the best
00:14:02
for you. And what studies show
00:14:05
is that intuitive eating does in fact promote healthy eating as
00:14:09
well as overall improved health and well being.
00:14:13
The studies out there report that intuitive eating is actually
00:14:16
associated with improved nutrient intake, eating a
00:14:20
wider variety of foods and reduced eating disorder
00:14:24
symptoms. And while there are numerous nutrition and
00:14:27
health recommendations to explore when we,
00:14:31
when you start to embody and, and really integrate
00:14:35
the internal and the external, today I want to
00:14:39
explore how you can embody and promote gentle
00:14:42
nutrition and healthy eating through like
00:14:46
three long standing food wisdom tenants. They're kind of like what
00:14:50
I like to think of the unicorn of all food recommendations.
00:14:54
Variety, moderation and balance. It
00:14:57
seems like these three health recommendations are, you know,
00:15:01
eating recommendations have been around and prescribed for centuries,
00:15:05
but yet it just seems like there's something that they are.
00:15:09
It's something that is utterly unattainable for us to achieve. So
00:15:13
we're going to unmask the unicorn. But what I have
00:15:17
found and, and just personally experiencing it is that intuitive
00:15:20
eating is really the key to achieving all three, to achieving
00:15:25
a wider variety of food, having that moderation and
00:15:28
that balance. And so today we're going to look at what these three look
00:15:32
like through the lens of intuitive eating to help you
00:15:36
start to incorporate that gentle nutrition. So first we're going
00:15:40
to focus on variety and diet. Culture
00:15:43
makes you believe that it's easier and safer and
00:15:47
healthier to just eliminate foods or food groups or only eat a
00:15:51
select few, quote unquote approved foods. But
00:15:54
studies show that this actually limits the
00:15:58
variety and nutrient intake and this can result in
00:16:01
adverse health effects. But in contrast, as an
00:16:05
intuitive eater, you have the ability to choose foods that are
00:16:08
satisfying to you based off of, you know, what makes
00:16:12
what your food preferences are and what past
00:16:16
experiences with food was, and the knowledge of what food makes your body
00:16:20
feel good. And because of this, you will
00:16:23
naturally seek out and consume a wide variety of
00:16:27
foods through the principle of making peace with
00:16:31
food. Your food cravings for those play foods or fun
00:16:35
foods will start to naturally decrease while your
00:16:38
cravings for nutrient dense foods will increase
00:16:42
because you're choosing and you're seeking those nutrient dense
00:16:45
foods that taste good and also make your body
00:16:49
feel good, right? When your body feels good and you're eating things that make
00:16:53
your body feel good, you want more of that. And that's what intuitive eating
00:16:57
has really, really allows you to do. And so you just naturally
00:17:00
seek these foods that have in the past been
00:17:04
these really strict food and diet rules you're naturally
00:17:07
gravitating toward, towards them. Because when you're having
00:17:11
this, this physical experience in your body of
00:17:15
how eating these foods makes you feel, and it's not having to say, well,
00:17:18
it has to food or it has to be this food or it has to
00:17:21
be this food, it's like, no, you get to choose this. And
00:17:26
I personally go back to really thinking about my dieting
00:17:29
days when I thought it was safer and easier just to eat
00:17:33
the same breakfast every day, the same lunch every day and dinner every
00:17:37
day because it was quote, unquote, diet approved.
00:17:40
But in hindsight, I now realize how
00:17:44
limited of a, of a variety of foods I was eating
00:17:48
and how that decreased my
00:17:51
overall nutrient intake because I wasn't eating enough of
00:17:55
variety, because nothing felt quote, unquote, safe.
00:17:59
And with the freedom to choose foods that
00:18:03
I like based off of my preferences and that make my
00:18:06
body feel good, my palate and the
00:18:10
curiosity that I have and the willingness to try new foods has
00:18:13
expanded. And this has ultimately increased my
00:18:17
overall meal satisfaction as well as increase my
00:18:20
nutrient intake. So it's really a win, win situation
00:18:24
because nutrient intake is more variety, which
00:18:28
is better for my overall health. But I'm also not following, you
00:18:32
know, strict foods and getting to eat foods that,
00:18:35
that I enjoy. 11 that
00:18:39
like really sticks out to me is like how we have the recommendation
00:18:43
like kale became like the superfood, right? Or we can even just think about superfoods
00:18:46
in general. Like, you know, kale became the superfood and it's like,
00:18:50
okay, that's great, but like, what if you really just don't like kale?
00:18:54
What if you don't really like the taste? What if it's too hard to
00:18:58
prepare? Like, diet culture makes you believe that if you're not
00:19:02
eating that, then like, you can't ever be healthy. But my
00:19:05
argument is like, how many other green leafy vegetables that are out
00:19:09
there that are going to give you the same
00:19:12
nutritional quality as eating kale is, but you might,
00:19:16
it might be easier to prepare or you might like the way that it tastes
00:19:20
more, right? And so that's where like, this really plays in, in
00:19:23
this variety. It's like you can know,
00:19:27
hey, I should eat fruits and vegetables, but it doesn't have to
00:19:31
be these specific fruits and vegetables. Or you could know like, hey,
00:19:35
I need to eat protein, but it doesn't have
00:19:39
to be, you know, this specific type of protein. Or
00:19:42
it could be that, you know, you're going to have
00:19:46
carbohydrates, but. And you, you want to have
00:19:50
whole grains or whatever. But that can mean like that type of carbohydrate
00:19:54
that you're eating is whatever you want it to be, right? And so that's where
00:19:57
that variety really plays into it, is that you kind of expand what you
00:20:01
are quote, unquote allowed to eat. And it includes your
00:20:05
food preferences and, and how that,
00:20:08
that this is where that internal wisdom comes in because you're making food
00:20:12
choices based off of those preferences and how, and how foods feel in your body
00:20:16
after consuming them. And so that's really kind of where
00:20:20
that variety tenant comes into,
00:20:23
into place within the intuitive eating realm. And how that
00:20:27
can, how intuit. Intuitive eating
00:20:31
promotes more variety with food and can
00:20:34
overall improve your, your nutrit.
00:20:39
And so let's move into moderation because this is, I think, an
00:20:42
interesting one, y'. All. Moderation does not mean elimination.
00:20:47
I want you to remember, eliminating whole food groups can make it
00:20:51
harder to get the nutrients your body needs, not only
00:20:54
because of the limit, limited variety, but also limited
00:20:58
amounts. So moderation is really about eating
00:21:02
various amounts of food without going to extremes
00:21:05
of too little or too much. Diet culture
00:21:09
tries to promote moderation through portion control, but intuitive
00:21:13
eating utilizes your body's internal cues to heal,
00:21:18
to help you achieve moderation without like added
00:21:22
confusion of having to weigh, measure or count
00:21:25
things and without the added worry or stress. Remember,
00:21:29
diet culture likes to keep you living in those extremes where
00:21:33
the restriction piece can likely have you eating too little, but
00:21:37
then you end up in a binge where it's in that, you know, that other
00:21:40
extreme of, of too much. And so I want you to think
00:21:44
about moderation in terms of intuitive
00:21:48
eating. It's like I said, it's eating various amounts of food. And that's
00:21:51
going to depend solely on how hungry you are and what your
00:21:55
hunger and fullness levels are when you are sitting down to eat.
00:21:59
And so I like to think about moderation in terms of
00:22:03
like Goldilocks and the three Bears, right? She
00:22:06
tries all the different chairs and beds and, and porridges. And
00:22:10
it's like, it's the porridge is not too
00:22:14
hot, not too cold, just right. The chairs
00:22:18
not too hard or not too big, not too little, just right. Right?
00:22:22
And so it's really like the moderation in terms
00:22:26
of intuitive eating is really like Goldilocks finding the just
00:22:29
right one. So intuitive, intuitive eating helps you to not eat
00:22:33
too much or too little, but just the right amount. And
00:22:37
so how we can look at moderation, and an example of how this
00:22:40
plays out in an intuitive eating situation is like when you go
00:22:44
out to eat at a restaurant, like, often the servings are
00:22:48
enormous. And if you're not an attuned intuitive
00:22:52
eater, it may result in overeating. But as
00:22:55
an intuitive eater, that initial portion, no matter how
00:22:59
big, is really irrelevant to how much you are going to
00:23:02
eat, because you're able to rely on your body cues to help you
00:23:06
realize when you are comfortably full. Now, that may
00:23:10
mean you end up eating the entire portion because you were really that
00:23:13
hungry, or it may mean that you end up taking a
00:23:17
portion of at home to enjoy later. And so only
00:23:21
you and your body know if you are hungry, how
00:23:25
hungry you are, what is satisfying, what makes
00:23:28
your body feel good and when you're full. And this combination
00:23:33
allows that moderation to occur naturally.
00:23:37
And I just want to take a moment because when we look at like, virtues
00:23:41
and vices, vices are very much extremes. And you can have
00:23:44
extremes on either end where it can be
00:23:48
a perceived good, but it's actually like too
00:23:52
much of. Of that good thing. Like pride, right? Like
00:23:56
being prideful is sinful. And so that's a vice. And
00:24:00
then, you know, on the other end, we have vices that
00:24:04
are, you know, on the. Too little of. Of the extreme, right? Like
00:24:08
not being. Not having enough. I can't think of one off the top
00:24:11
of my head, but just like not having enough fortitude or courage to.
00:24:15
To go out and do something right, where like actually growing
00:24:19
in the virtue of fortitude is like that moderation, that
00:24:23
middle ground. So when we think of virtues and vices, virtues
00:24:26
are what helps us keep in that moderation and that middle ground
00:24:30
and not have us fall into vices on either ends of the
00:24:34
extreme. And so when we look at this from an intuitive eating standpoint,
00:24:38
relying on your hunger and your fullness cues and your
00:24:41
food preferences helps with keeping you in that middle ground of not eating
00:24:45
too little or eating too much, which
00:24:49
either one could end up being detrimental to our health.
00:24:52
So just wanted to kind of insert that in there
00:24:56
and then we can talk about balance. Balance is something
00:25:00
that is intended to be achieved over time.
00:25:03
Now, most nutritional recommendations are intended to be averaged
00:25:07
out over time. It's not something that has to be achieved
00:25:11
every single meal or every single day. It's really the
00:25:14
consistency over time that matters. It's
00:25:18
the idea of what you are going, what you were going to
00:25:22
do and what you were doing for the most part or most of the
00:25:25
time, like, think progress over perfection. We know this with
00:25:29
children that most of their nutritional needs are
00:25:33
met, like over the course of a week, right? And so that's
00:25:37
why with kids, sometimes, like, man, they're eating a lot, and then other times,
00:25:40
like, they don't want to eat at all. And we start to worry because
00:25:44
again, we're so focused on like, oh, it's gotta be this way, it's gotta be
00:25:48
this way. And instead, they're a natural, intuitive eater, helps them
00:25:51
balance it out over a period of time. And that's really what we have to
00:25:55
think about when it comes to our new our
00:25:58
nutrient intake and our nutritional health status
00:26:02
is that balance help us, helps us achieve that over time.
00:26:07
But because, and because intuitive eating has taught you to break those
00:26:11
food rules and diet rules that keep you in
00:26:15
chains, you are now more flexible and compassionate with your
00:26:18
eating. And this is what helps promote that balance. And this
00:26:22
completely changes how you approach meal times and food choices.
00:26:26
It's no longer like, I have to eat this or I have to eat that,
00:26:29
but more of like, I want to eat this or that because I enjoy
00:26:33
it and it makes my body feel good and I enjoy taking care of
00:26:37
my body. And then other times just knowing like,
00:26:41
hey, today this may be, I may not
00:26:45
eat all the nutrient dense foods because
00:26:48
we're traveling or we have this function going on, right? And balance
00:26:52
is just really like what it looks like over the course of time.
00:26:56
And so when we think about balance, we can kind of think about this in
00:26:59
the terms of the stock market. We can look at stock trends over
00:27:03
certain periods of time, and we can look at a particular stock and it may
00:27:06
be trending up over several weeks or months. But if we like were to
00:27:10
zoom in and look at it day to day, there may be some days that
00:27:13
the stock is like up or down or really up or really down.
00:27:17
But when you look at the overall trend, it's moving in this, in this
00:27:21
direction. And how we eat can be like that too.
00:27:25
Some days you may be eating, you know, for example, several servings
00:27:29
of fruits and vegetables, while others you may be struggling to eat them.
00:27:33
But if for the most part, you're Eating fruits and vegetables
00:27:37
daily, you're achieving that nutrient balance over time.
00:27:42
And so I want to take, you know, now that we've kind of talked about
00:27:44
this variety and moderation and balance, I want to take a little time
00:27:48
here to shift and talk a little bit about how we can
00:27:52
utilize that external nutrition information, those
00:27:55
recommendations that come out that, that, that,
00:27:59
that help promote our health and well being. Like the science, the
00:28:03
science that's behind nutrition, right? How we can take that
00:28:06
and be able to make informed food choices while still
00:28:10
honoring our body, our personal preferences and
00:28:14
practicing intuitive eating. Because solely
00:28:18
relying on nutritional facts panel or ingredient
00:28:21
lists to make your food choices may trigger some of your old
00:28:25
dieting thoughts and rules. But if your food
00:28:28
choices are based on achieving satisfaction and satiety,
00:28:33
the nutrient content and that nutrition facts panel and
00:28:36
ingredient list can be really helpful in, in guiding your
00:28:40
decisions and being able to make healthier food choices.
00:28:44
For example, if you know that including higher
00:28:48
fiber foods in your meals will be beneficial to your gut health
00:28:52
and you are comparing like two whole wheat bread options in the grocery
00:28:56
store, you could choose the higher fiber option.
00:29:00
This is using a nutrition recommendation and information to help
00:29:03
you make a healthier choice while still honoring both
00:29:07
your palate and your health. Like I said, if
00:29:11
you're sitting here and you're like, wow, she's making a lot of food recommendations or
00:29:14
saying, you know, I have to eat fruits and vegetables or I have to eat
00:29:17
whole grains, like what about intuitive eating and my, and my food choices? Like you
00:29:21
have to, you have to have done the work to heal your relationship with food
00:29:25
before you can really embody this as not another diet.
00:29:29
Because you can't take this information and,
00:29:33
and, and say you've healed a relationship with food, but then go
00:29:36
back to these really strict food rules, right?
00:29:40
Or saying like, oh, I need to choose something that's higher in fiber because
00:29:44
Kara said so. That's not what I'm getting out here. I'm show purely
00:29:47
just showing you examples of how when you're
00:29:51
making food choices, like if you were already going to choose the whole wheat
00:29:55
bread because that's what you wanted to do, that's what you
00:29:59
like, you can look at that, that nutrition facts panel and
00:30:02
make a more informed health choice. Health food
00:30:06
choice, right? And so I use this thought process when I
00:30:10
choose foods all the time. And so I'm going to give you an example
00:30:14
when I'm buying cream of mushroom soup. Now, I want you
00:30:18
to realize that for a very, very long time I would
00:30:22
never allow myself to buy cream of mushroom
00:30:25
soup or make anything that had cream of mushroom stew, because diet
00:30:29
culture made me believe that it was not healthy.
00:30:33
But now I let myself make a casserole because,
00:30:37
hey, that tastes really good. Thank you, Joanna Gaines,
00:30:41
and your wonderful cookbooks. Also,
00:30:44
because casseroles usually result in leftovers, so it
00:30:48
means less cooking throughout the week. And also, casseroles can be
00:30:52
a really good vehicle to get more veggies in in a
00:30:55
more palatable, palatable way for my kids.
00:31:00
So when I'm choosing what cream of mushroom
00:31:03
soup I'm going to buy, I'm using my nutrition knowledge
00:31:07
to look at the ingredients and the nutrition facts panels.
00:31:11
So I'm looking at this in the store, and one option is made using
00:31:15
less additives and preservatives and has a lower
00:31:18
sodium and fat option versus the other one. So I'm going to make
00:31:22
a decision to choose the one that, you know, has
00:31:26
less artificial, you know, additives and preservatives, and
00:31:30
it's lower in sodium and lower fat because that overall is a, is a
00:31:34
making a more. Making a healthier food choice.
00:31:37
But regardless, I was going to buy a cream of mushroom soup.
00:31:41
Like, I hope this, I hope this makes sense. Like, I do the same thing
00:31:44
with boxed macaroni and cheese. Like, if you go down the
00:31:47
macaroni and cheese aisle, there are so many to choose from. And for so long,
00:31:50
I wouldn't allow myself to have macaroni and cheese. But I've
00:31:54
healed my relationship with food enough to say, hey, I can incorporate
00:31:58
this. My kids enjoy macaroni and cheese. I enjoy macaroni
00:32:02
and cheese. But I can use my nutrition knowledge
00:32:05
combined with my taste preferences to choose one that's best
00:32:09
for me. And what I choose to buy is
00:32:12
a macaroni and cheese that is made with whole grain pasta, because
00:32:16
it's a way for me to get, you know, whole grain carbohydrate
00:32:20
into my meal. So it's no longer saying that
00:32:23
you can't or you shouldn't have something. It's just like when
00:32:27
you're choosing it, it's using that nutrition knowledge, those nutrition
00:32:31
recommendations, to make a more
00:32:34
informed and maybe healthier food
00:32:38
choice. And so I think one of the best ways gentle
00:32:41
nutrition can be achieved is through the idea of
00:32:45
what I like to call nutrition by addition. So if you're
00:32:49
choosing a snack or a meal, like, simply asking, what could I
00:32:53
add that would make this more nutrient dense or more
00:32:56
balanced? And that really helps to promote the
00:33:00
variety, the moderation and the balance. Right. It's like
00:33:03
when I make a snack and it's like, okay, I really want to have some
00:33:07
cheese and crackers, but I'm going to add, add an apple to it because I
00:33:11
know that fruits and vegetables are good for me. I enjoy the way apples taste
00:33:15
and they're going to, it helps me feel fuller,
00:33:19
longer. Right? So it's just this idea of nutrition by addition
00:33:23
of like, okay, maybe I'm choosing this one particular thing
00:33:26
as part of the meal or this nut. Now what can I add to it
00:33:29
to, to balance it out, to increase the variety and the nutrient density to
00:33:33
it. It's also a really helpful question to ask
00:33:37
to help your kids be able to make more informed and health
00:33:40
promoting choices while still helping them honor their
00:33:44
internal wisdom and their food preferences and that intuitive eater
00:33:48
that they were born to be.
00:33:51
So as we talk about reaching this authentic health,
00:33:55
which is very individualized for each one of us and we
00:33:59
incorporate this idea of gentle nutrition, I want to offer
00:34:02
up this concept in relation to the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
00:34:07
Our Christian life on earth is a collaboration with God.
00:34:11
He shows us and directs our path and how to best
00:34:15
care for ourselves. We are
00:34:19
his creation, whom he loves very much.
00:34:24
First through Jesus's time on earth and then through the gift of the Holy
00:34:28
Spirit is how he
00:34:31
guides us on that path of how to best care for ourselves.
00:34:36
And In Galatians, chapter 5, verse 22:23, it tells
00:34:39
us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
00:34:44
peace, patience,
00:34:47
kindness, goodness,
00:34:50
faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
00:34:55
Against such things there is no law.
00:34:59
These gifts or these attributes are the way that
00:35:02
Jesus cares for us through the Holy Spirit. He gave
00:35:06
us these gifts as a way to show us how to be more like
00:35:10
him, to imitate him in the way he treated
00:35:14
and cared for other people. They also show
00:35:17
us the character of the Christian life and how we are to live and
00:35:21
treat others. And the same can be applied to how we
00:35:25
treat and care for ourselves and our body. Like I
00:35:29
want. Let's think about that, right? The fruits of the Spirit is love,
00:35:32
joy, peace, patience,
00:35:36
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
00:35:39
gentleness and self control. How many
00:35:43
of us, through years of chronic dieting,
00:35:47
did not treat our bodies or our minds with
00:35:51
those fruits of the Holy Spirit? I mean, I know I didn't.
00:35:56
And so when we start to embody gentle nutrition
00:35:59
and, and try to attain authentic health,
00:36:04
it integrates mercy and compassion. When caring for
00:36:07
ourselves, which is exactly what we receive from
00:36:11
Christ when we fall into sin, which we all
00:36:14
inevitably do, he still shows up with love and mercy and
00:36:18
compassion and forgiveness for our mistakes. And we can
00:36:22
take that same attitude and apply it to our health and wellness journey.
00:36:26
But for far too long, many of us have followed the ways of the world
00:36:30
when it comes to eating and caring for our body. It's very
00:36:34
rigid and unkind. It's punishing in nature.
00:36:38
It is so unlike how God, our
00:36:41
good and loving Father, treats us like if
00:36:45
we can learn to embody these gifts and apply this
00:36:49
posture to how we care for ourselves and others, it's
00:36:53
a way to help us grow closer to the Lord because we realize
00:36:56
that we are unable to live out any of those characteristics
00:37:00
solely on our own. So not only are
00:37:04
they marks of the. Of the Christian life, not only are they showing us
00:37:07
the way to live, they're also a way in which we stay tethered to
00:37:11
him because he pours these gifts into us so that we can
00:37:15
pour them out onto others. And so
00:37:19
when we embody the fruits of the Spirit in being able to care for
00:37:23
ourselves, it helps us to orient and align our motivation
00:37:28
to be well and healthy and focus it on
00:37:31
stewardship. And stewardship is really about
00:37:35
this ability to care for things that belong to someone
00:37:39
else, such as resources, abilities, and
00:37:42
opportunities that God has entrusted to our care.
00:37:47
And this includes caring for our body, our mind, and
00:37:50
our soul. Also that we can be better
00:37:54
equipped to serve and live out our unique vocations and
00:37:57
callings. So I hope
00:38:01
that you have a little glimpse of
00:38:05
hope into what your future as an intuitive eater can look like
00:38:09
in terms of how we incorporate this gentle nutrition and how we start
00:38:12
to integrate our internal wisdom with that external knowledge,
00:38:16
especially through variety and moderation and balance.
00:38:20
And how our goal with
00:38:24
authentic health is really motivated by wanting to care
00:38:28
for ourselves and care for others the way that Christ first taught us to,
00:38:31
and how he has gifted us that continued care through the Holy
00:38:35
Spirit and how it can help us further the
00:38:39
kingdom and serve our loved ones
00:38:42
and fully live out our vocations and our callings. So
00:38:46
I thank you for being here with me. I really had to
00:38:50
embody this idea of gentleness and compassion and
00:38:53
mercy with myself last week, as I mentioned, and not getting
00:38:57
an episode out because I was sick.
00:39:01
And as much as I think we do this, we try to push and
00:39:04
push and push and be productive and get all the things done.
00:39:08
We have to remember that the Holy Spirit
00:39:12
shows us that it's about gentleness and kindness
00:39:15
and patience and, and. And self control. Right?
00:39:19
And part of that self control means, like, not
00:39:24
pushing past our human limits and God knows that. And
00:39:27
when we can kind of reign in that self control and just surrender it
00:39:31
over to him, he just honestly is
00:39:35
what makes the good things happen. So I'm happy
00:39:39
to say that I am. Well, I still have a lingering cough but so
00:39:42
happy to be back here with you again this week and I hope that
00:39:46
you got some good nuggets out of this podcast episode and I look forward
00:39:50
to being with you again next week. Until then, I hope you have
00:39:53
a really blessed day and
00:39:58
just remember it's your time to bloom. Take care. Bye.
00:40:02
Thanks for tuning in today. I would love to hear more from you about the
00:40:05
topics you want to hear on the Nourish to Bloom podcast. Head on over to
00:40:09
our community page@community.caratrokta.com and let
00:40:13
me know in the comments what you want to hear next. See you next time.
00:40:17
Remember, remember, beauty held is the seed, beauty shared is the flower.
00:40:20
It's your time to bloom.