Knowing and understanding why we do what we do – our purpose, motivation – brings energy, direction, clarity. That is true for businesses as well as individuals!
Why do we include certain things in our coaching program?
How do we actually work with clients?
What is our philosophy of nutrition?
Our Core Values help define the answer.
We’ve hit one each week in this series. And part 4 we will be talking about the Core Value #4 – “Food should never separate us from people we love.” Even when we’re going through a healing journey or losing weight, by implementing a food strategy should not be a reason to not have people over, or we not get together with friends, or we create social division in the family.
Food is social, right? It’s what we do when we celebrate every event and milestone of life.
Food at church functions.
At sport events.
Food at family get-togethers.
At neighborhood parties.
Food should not separate. In fact, we really want the exact opposite to happen – Connection.
Here’s why.
We are living counter-culturally when we are eating nutrient-dense whole foods following God’s design for food because our culture has gotten so far removed from the natural design.
We have fast foods at every corner.
Possibly up to 85% the food in our grocery stores is ultra-processed.
The food industry has taken over.
The food that we eat at church gatherings, Sunday mornings coffee and donuts, youth group pizza… the list goes on. Government subsidies for large centralized commodity crops have put small farmers out of business and mislead us on what the price of food actually costs.
We see the culture of processed food permeate the church, the community and our families. Nobody really cooks at home anymore as a general rule, and the rhythm of life for the majority of people is not centered around the home, and it’s definitely not centered on agricultural lifestyle anymore.
So how do we live in that and not be part of that?
And how do you actually navigate all of the church functions, the family functions, the sports, the birthday parties, and have a balance with it that it doesn’t become more obsessive or obnoxious?
The goal is freedom – even while reclaiming your health, or being a good steward of your health. How do you do it? Well, I have a list. I love lists!
Here are a few tips that I hope are helpful in living counterculturally when it comes to food that keeps us connected.
#1 – Eat before an event, spend your time talking/connecting with people instead of eating. A lot of times people have no expectation depending on the format of the event if you eat at the event or not. So don’t feel pressured, obligated, to eat exactly what and when others are. Now, if it’s a sit-down structured dinner and that’s all you’re doing, that’s a little different, of course. Tip # 3 may be the one for that occasion! But, especially if it’s an event where people can come and go, then that makes it easy to not even eat at the event. But don’t arrive hungry, if that is your strategy!
#2 – Contribute to the food – bring your own food if it’s not insulting or not obviously interrupting what someone else has planned. Considering someone’s feelings first, considering the dynamic of the event, if that’s really a good fit for that specific event.
#3 – Join in. Choose to just join in. If everybody’s sitting down for dinner and you have one option in front of you to eat, and it would look really funny if you’re not eating or if you brought your own stuff, then just choose to join in without regret! And there’s freedom in that. Make the best choices you can. Just change the serving sizes on your plate a little bit to eat more of the whole foods and less of the processed. You’re choosing to be a part of it, and not really stressing over it.
#4 – Host the event yourself, and you can dictate the menu with more choice, more say in what types of foods are being served.
#5 – Get comfortable with being uncomfortable or being the odd one.
Over the years, I’ve just had to get used to feeling odd at times because I don’t eat a certain way. But it’s more and more acceptable to ask for specific modifications at restaurants or limit certain foods depending on your culture and your family and the dynamic of the people you interact with in your community. Maybe you are the odd one. And that’s ok. Get comfortable with that. Teach your kids to be comfortable with that too. God calls us to be different in every area of our lives. Why not in what we eat?
And who knows how that difference can open doors of ministry for you!?
But, it’s also just real food. It’s not a diet. It’s whole foods. What food should be really.
#6 – Goes with #5 – Keep it lighthearted.
I joke about being a nutritionist, I joke about stuff I pack in my kids’ lunches and it’s not always a super serious, heavy topic all the time. Making food fun, can help keep relationships positive!
#7 – Arrive a little later.
Instead of coming to an event at the time when everyone is eating, just come a little later, and now everybody’s socializing or doing other activities when you arrive.
#8 – I don’t stock it. But, I don’t stop it.
So I have had this operating rule with my kids: I don’t stock it, but I don’t stop it. Meaning I will not buy food to have at our house that is unhealthy, but if they go to birthday parties, they can choose to eat whatever is being served. I can control my home’s menu, but not others. If they go on field trips, sports games, youth events, I give them recommendations to make the best choices, but I have chosen to not try to control that choice for them outside our home. I’m not gonna buy soda and have it at the house. I’m not gonna buy Oatmeal Creme pies, or Cheetos. But if they go spend the night with a friend or go to a birthday party, I am not going to pack their food either. I’m not interested in creating that type of atmosphere and stress on them or others involved. Food doesn’t separate us from people.
PLUS, They have to decide, “Hey, I wanna be healthy or Hey, I wanna make the right choices” for themselves anyway.
#9 – 80-20 or 5:1:1 Rule.
You’ve probably heard something similar. 80% of your week is healthy eating and 20% is not as healthy. Really this looks like – five days of eating healthy meals, staying hydrated. One day of food freedom – not really thinking about it – and one day of detox a week. 5-1-1 is basically the 80-20 with five days a week you’re eating nutrient-dense foods. Most people can choose what they eat 5 days out of the week, even if they travel for work or have unpredictable schedules.
We work with clients in a number of different detox strategies, but the most important is that detox is a routine, not a program. 5:1:1 provides a really good balance and workable strategy for living counter-culturally.
#10 – Use the question marks instead of periods or exclamation points.
Instead of being a food Nazi – nobody responds well to that – use question marks when talking about healthy food preferences. If they start to see you’ve lost weight or you’re making changes to your health…What do you think about it? Would you like to try my smoothie? Always ask questions vs. making dogmatic statements or intense exclamations! And that’s true with just about any subject, right?
Going Beyond…
Food as a ministry. I’m counterculture. I’m already swimming upstream, but now, it’s time to share that with others.
It’s so cool to see clients who have been controlled by unhealthy food, actually be able to use their story for good and turn that around and food is now a ministry! Is God using nutrition and food in your life as a channel to point people to Him? That’s the more proactive, positive side of living counterculturally.
Not only are you personally following God’s design, but you’re sharing that with others.
Food is connection, not separation. At Eureka! we can help clients apply this core value to their health and weight loss journey!