Cleaner Diet, Cleaner House

I am amazed how my diet and fitness routine affects every aspect of my life. As some of you know, we are working on a top secret TV project (the kind where we could tell ya, but we’d have to kill ya lol …or, more like, pay the network a million dollars). Well, part of that journey was purposefully eating like most Americans – and BOY did our life suffer!!

We physically felt awful, we got lazy, we found it hard to keep up with chores and we just weren’t as disciplined in other areas as we normally are. No wonder people who eat like that are too tired for the gym – we were too! But, almost immediately after returning to our normal healthy lifestyle, we suddenly had more energy, less aches and pains, and found more discipline to do things we had put off for weeks.

Less Time, More Productive

It’s ironic that now that we have to do meal prep, log food, workout more, etc., that we find more energy to clean the house, cook more, have more time to study our Bible and do tasks that have been on the hit list for a while. We cleaned out our pantry and our 2 refrigerators. I cleaned my closet and i completely gutted my office shelves and organized tons of paperwork for work. Steve tackled things he’s talked about doing for months, and we both are so much happier! It just made me realize how much we need structure.

We all love our freedom, but in many ways, it puts us in more bondage than the strictest diet ever could. Temporary freedom leads to more of a lasting bondage. A bondage of feeling bad, being lazy, lacking drive, being a slave to our body and even depression and despair. However, when we are in a good solid fitness and diet routine, we feed our body the proper fuel it needs to perform better. Instead of driving a big fat Cadillac that only can make it 12 miles, we turn into a Prius that can take us clear into another state! Plus, when we get back on a regular schedule, it’s like we are following road maps instead of wandering around aimlessly.

Freedom in Structure

I think about kids and school. Summer break is awesome and seems like it should be fun (FREEEEDOM!!!!), but the whole family, normally, is more than ready for everyone to get back to a routine, structure, regular bedtime hours, eating patterns and a normal schedule. What seemed like work and stress when school was in session now seems like freedom and fun.

Fall clothes shopping, seeing school friends again, kids aren’t asking friends to sleep over every night, parents finally get a break and welcome the good ole excuse “no honey, not on a school night”. lol  Isn’t it the same with our health?

I’m amazed of how much I welcomed eating well again. I had so much fun cleaning out the fridge and getting new groceries. I was like a school girl getting ready for the first day of school. I was excited and ready! Like facing a new school year, I was ready for a fresh new start!

I was also amazed by how amazing clean food tasted – better than the best cheat meal I had the entire time we were “off”. It was like my body craved real nourishment, and it paid off. I’m no longer sluggish. I’ve already lost 4 pounds and I feel like I can conquer the world. Freedom in being “Off my diet”. Pfffft!! No way!

Why?

Why does this happen? Why does our diet and fitness impact our work life, home life, etc.? I believe that any time you practice discipline with your food and diet, you are refusing to serve your flesh, making it is easier to practice discipline in all areas of your life. And the same goes for the opposite.

When you allow yourself to not practice self-control, you lose control in other areas too. You get lazy in every area and it’s amazing how your life can really fall apart quickly, all because you allowed yourself too much freedom.

Part of our fall is simply from poor food choices that make it difficult to perform well. The other part is just giving your flesh and inch, and it wanting to take a mile – it got its pizza, but now it wants a nap, it wants comfort, it doesn’t want to do the dishes and it definitely doesn’t want to wake up early to run.

Clean It Up 

If you have lost focus, if you feel like you have lost drive and aren’t being as productive as you should be, start with clean eating and getting in a regular fitness routine. As you begin to practice self-discipline there, make a list of other areas you need to make a priority and start making it happen. The healthier you get, the easier it will be. And remember, if you don’t want to be a slave to food or laziness (your flesh), the best way to kill something is to starve it. Don’t give your flesh even an inch. I promise, it will always want a mile!

“…he must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. Titus 1:7-8