Top five(5) Bible verses to help with weight loss

 

 

Losing weight is difficult. For those of you that have attempted it, you know just how trying of a season it can be. While your friends go out to eat at your favorite burger place, you’re stuck at home; or worse, you sit at the restaurant and drink water, salivating over everyone else’s food. Many people have rightly pointed out that a diet is really just “die” with a “t” at the end. However, you can reach your weight loss goals, but it will require accountability, determination, and even encouragement. The best place to get encouragement, of course, is the Holy Scriptures. So, here are the top 7 bible verses to help with weight loss.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Before everything else, you must understand that losing weight is not just about you—it’s about God. It may sound a bit funny, but the Bible says that all things should be done to the glory of God, not just some things. All means all. So, you trying to lose weight is another potential area of your life in which you can glorify and worship Jesus. When this is on your mind, weight loss becomes much more meaningful.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

What a humbling realization; you are not your own! Your body is not just about you. The Holy Spirit takes residence within you, thus you must give it a healthy place to be! If you are carrying too much extra weight around, it will be difficult to certain things, you might be more prone to depression, have loss of energy, and so forth. When all of that happens, it becomes difficult for you to pour into other people’s lives and encourage them. Ask yourself the question: if you were in better shape, could you have more opportunities to spread the gospel and do ministry?

Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Believe it or not, this is not necessarily taking the verse out of context. The lust of the flesh often includes: selfishness, lack of self-control, drunkenness, envy, wrath, etc. In other words, it is not very disciplined. When trying to lose weight, you have to be extremely disciplined. You cannot afford to continually slip up. Not to mention, the issue and sin of gluttony is very real. Sometimes, people eat a lot of portions and junk food when they are upset. They sincerely want to lose weight, but grief, stress, and anxiousness often work against progress. The Spirit is definitely needed to help with losing weight, because it’s essentially denying the flesh!

Proverbs 23:2 “And put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.”

This passage is talking specifically about dining with a ruler or king, but a principle can certainly be drawn from it. Many people, especially Americans, have a huge appetite, gluttonous even. And, it wouldn’t be too surprising to learn that those who have a lack of self-control with food have a lack of self-control in other areas of their life too. Show me a disciplined man with food, and I can show you somehow who is more likely to be disciplined in bible reading, prayer, etc. (of course, this is a generalization)

Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others I myself should become disqualified.”

Once again, although this verse is not specifically about losing weight, good principles can be taken from it. Above all, in order to reach your weight loss goals, you need discipline. Set a goal, a workable plan towards your goal, track your progress, and stay on track! If you do that, you will be shedding the pounds in no time.

Conclusion

Losing weight is very hard, but these Bible verses can help you stay motivated and encouraged during your diet and exercise season. But remember what 1 Timothy 4:8 says: “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having a promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

The best time of the day to work out and LOOSE WEIGHT.

 
When's the best time to exercise to ensure you're getting the most out of it?
Research covered by Gretchen Reynolds suggests that working out early in the morning before you eat breakfast — helps speed weight loss and boost energy levels by priming the body for an all-day fat burn.

One of the reasons working out first thing in the morning helps us lose weight — or at least protects us from gaining it — is that it pushes the body to tap into its fat reserves for fuel, as opposed to simply "burning off" our most recent snack or meal.
     In a recent study, 28 young, healthy men spent six weeks eating a hefty diet of 30% more calories and 50% more fat than they had been eating before. But while some of them spent the six weeks stuffing themselves and barely exercising, the others started working out every day. Of those who worked out, half did so first thing in the morning; the other half hit the gym (and did the same workout) after breakfast. The fasting exercisers ate the same breakfast; they just did so after working out.
At the end of the volunteers' month-and-a-half eating fest, the ones who hadn't worked out at all had, unsurprisingly, packed on the weight — about 6 pounds each. The ones who had been exercising after breakfast gained weight, too, but only about half as much.
In comparison, the people who worked out daily but hit the gym before breakfast hadn't gained any weight at all. They had been able to eat a lot of extra food — just as much as their fellow volunteers — without paying the price in additional pounds.
The study was small, short term, used a specific eating plan, and involved only men close to age 21, so it's hard to extrapolate much from the results. And the fasting exercisers didn't lose weight; they just didn't gain weight. Still, the experiment provided some of the first evidence that "early morning exercise in the fasted state is more potent than an identical amount of exercise in the fed state," the authors.
Another smaller research helps point out why timing could be so important. In it, two groups of men ran on treadmills until they burned 400 calories (about the equivalent of a small meal, or three to four slices of toast). While one group ran on an empty stomach, the other ate a 400-calorie oatmeal breakfast about an hour before their workout.
All of the runners burned fat during their workouts and remained in a heightened fat-burning state after they had gotten off their treadmills. But both results were more intense for the runners who had skipped the oatmeal. In other words, exercising after a long period of not eating could be setting us up for a longer, more intense fat burn.

Set your clock

Another component of the early-morning workout regimen can help with weight loss: daylight.
Aligning our internal clocks, or circadian rhythms, with the natural world helps give our metabolisms a boost.

So next time you think about hitting snooze, remember this: An early-morning workout might not just help you meet your fitness goals, but it could even give you more energy than those few extra minutes of shut-eye.

How what you eat for DINNER can help you loose weight FAST.

 

Timing

Ideally you should eat dinner about two to three hours after your 3:30 p.m. afternoon snack. If you plan to exercise after work, fuel up with a later-afternoon snack around 4:30 p.m. Then you can exercise at 5:30 p.m. for an hour and eat dinner by 7/7:30 p.m. As mentioned above, don't worry about eating dinner too late. As long as you don't exceed your daily calories, what time you eat won't impact your weight.

How to handle WORK OUT PAINS on your way to weight loss

Pain is weakness leaving the body? Not exactly. While some discomfort is a hallmark of a challenging but effective workout, some pains definitely aren’t worth ignoring, no matter how tough you are.
“No pain, no gain is not always true in exercise, so don’t push through it if your mind is telling you it may be something else,” said Natalie Neuharth, D.P.T., physical therapist at Orthology. “It’s always better to prevent injury than to try and fix it.” And if you are injured, don’t brush off the pain. “The longer you wait, the more chronic it can become, and it can potentially take longer to heal and lead to other pains and injuries,” Neuharth said.
Whether you’re concerned about your rotator cuff, shin splints, hip pain, or an irritated knee, follow these guidelines below to help you decide on a plan of action.
5 types of workout pains to pay attention to: 
1. Sharp pain
A sharp or stabbing pain during exercise (or any time, really) is a red flag that something is up.
“Sharpness is not a normal physiological response. If you are experiencing sharp pain, it usually means there is something not functioning properly in that body system,” Neuharth said. “A few common causes of sharp pains are impingement of a tendon, such as at the shoulder, a loose body [such as] a bony fragment, bone on bone contact, or a tear of the meniscus in the knee. If the sharp pain occurs once and not again, it is probably an anomaly and nothing to be concerned about.”
But checking in with your doctor is always a good idea if something feels wrong.
2. Pain with swelling
“If [pain] is associated with swelling, that usually indicates a more serious issue,” said Dr. Marci Goolsby, attending physician at the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
“With swelling, the body is sending inflammatory factors to the area. When there is injury, the body can’t necessarily differentiate which specific structure to heal, so it sends a lot of blood and other substances to the area or joint, creating a diffuse swelling,” Neuharth added.
Inflammation is our body’s way of healing, explained Neuharth, but if swelling persists or returns with activity, there is likely continued injury to that tissue or area.
3. Localized pain
Another sign that something’s not right is when you’re experiencing pain in just one place.
“Any pain that seems to be localized [shouldn’t be ignored],” Goolsby said. For example, “It’s not just a general soreness of the thigh muscles, but a pain that’s sharp and in your groin.”
If this type of pain doesn’t linger, there might be no immediate reason to be concerned.
“If [pain] occurs consistently with a specific exercise, I would suggest getting it checked out,” Neuharth said.
4. Pain that gets worse during your workout
“If you are working out or exercising and your pain is gradually continuing to get worse the longer or more intensely you exercise, you are likely causing further injury to that specific tissue or joint, and the exercise should be stopped,” Neuharth said.
Her rule of thumb is that if pain gets higher than a five (one being no pain, 10 being extreme pain), stop what you’re doing.
5. Painful pops
If you hear a pop that’s accompanied by pain, back off, Goolsby said.
“A pop often indicates a tear or partial dislocation,” she said. “In an acute injury, this is often a tear of a ligament or tendon.”
However, get to know what’s normal for your body, too. “Many people worry about clicking or grinding in our shoulders, knees, or other joints. These ‘noises’ are not necessarily worrisome unless they are painful.”

Here’s what to do if you experience any of these types of pain:
First and foremost, stop what you’re doing if you feel any of these types of pain during your workout. Goolsby’s motto is simple but straightforward: “If it hurts, don’t do it.” (She’s not talking about your quads burning in Spin class or that ultra-long core-shaking plank, though.)
If you do suspect something’s up, it’s time for some R&R. Unless the pain is extremely severe and you can’t bear weight on it (in which case, make a doctor’s appointment ASAP), Gooslby said you can give yourself a break for one to two weeks and see how you feel.
“Things like rest, ice, anti-inflammatories, and gentle stretching can be helpful,” she said.
If you don’t see any improvement within a week or two, consider making an appointment with a doctor or a physical therapist.
“If this is an overuse injury, which most injuries sustained from working out are, try seeing a physical therapist first,” suggested Neuharth. “Most states and insurances allow you to visit a physical therapist without a referral from your doctor.”
“Discomfort with exercise is normal, but pain with exercise is not,” Neuharth said. So make an appointment with your doctor of a PT to investigate more and develop a specific plan of action. Remember, you know your body best, so listen to it.

LATEST weight loss STUDY FROM HARVARD:Diet to go on if you want to loose weight

If you want to lose weight, what's on your plate is often more important than the minutes you spend in the gym. And if you want to see the most change, a new study from Harvard says you should be cutting down on CARBOHYDRATES, not fat.


For the study, published in PLoS One, researchers from Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital reviewed 53 randomized trials of over 68,000 patients who had been assigned to either low-fat or low-carb diets. They found that low-carb diets were consistently better at helping patients lose weight than low-fat diets; the participants on the low-carb diets lost 2.5 pounds more than those on low-fat diets, with the average weight loss among all groups at about six pounds.
This latest study on the weight-loss benefits of a low-carb diet adds further evidence that if you want to lose weight, ditching bread — not olive oil — can help you see success. Another recent study, for example, showed that dieters who ate fewer than 40grams of carbohydrate  per day lost about eight pounds more than dieters who were put on a low-fat diet. Other studies have shown that high-carb diets may be the real heart-disease culprit, not saturated fat. All in all, this new review is a good reminder that if you want to lose weight, you should choose a diet rich in healthy fats, lean proteins, and fresh produce. Of course, not all fats are created equal

Caption this photo!

fiber-rich foods vs weight loss

 
Fiber-rich foods are important for weight loss for two reasons:
1. Fiber-rich foods make you feel satisfied but are naturally low in calories.
The math on weight loss is actually pretty simple. In order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Sounds easy, right? The problem is that in order to feel "full," receptors in your stomach also require a certain amount of food. Here's where insoluble fiber, in particular, plays an important role: while insoluble fiber is a carbohydrate, your body can't digest it as well as it digests other carbs, sugars, fats, and proteins, so it basically helps create a sensation of satiety by filling you up, but then passes right through you without adding to the net calories you are eating.
2. Fiber helps regulate blood sugar levels, which can curb overeating.
Its gel-like substance and mixes with other foods in your small intestines, it can help "trap" sugars and fats, and slow their absorption, according to the National Fiber Council; therefore, insoluble fibers can further aid weight loss by stabilizing blood sugar levels, which can curb overeating and prevent your body from storing excess fat.

10 tasty high-fiber snack and meal ideas:

• 1 large apple (5.4 grams) + 2 tablespoons almond butter (3.2 grams) = 8.6 grams fiber
• 1 cup steamed edamame, in pods (5.7 grams) + sea salt = 5.7 grams fiber
• 1/2 cup Brazil nuts = 5 grams fiber
• 3 celery stalks (3 grams) + 1/2 cup hummus (4.7 grams) = 7.7 grams fiber
• 1 cup refreshing quinola salad = 10 grams fiber
• 1 half avocado (4.6 grams) with 1 slice sprouted whole wheat toast (2.2 grams) = 6.8 grams fiber
• 1 cup quick oatmeal (8.2 grams) + 1 cup raspberries (8 grams) + 1/2 cup slivered almonds (6.75 grams) = 22.95 grams fiber
• 2 toasted corn = 14 grams fiber
• 1 cup cooked whole wheat spaghetti (5.9 grams) + 1/2 cup cooked kale (2.6) + 1/2 cup white beans (9.3) = 17.8 grams fiber
• 1 1/2 cup curried red soup = 13 grams fiber