| PowerLife Ministries presents, God’s Body
by Design by J.R.Smith |
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Back to Nutrition |
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| As a certified performance nutritionist through
the ISSA, I have worked hard to learn
nutrition.
It is the one subject that literally
has
more “theories” and plans than a biceps
training
article in the latest muscle magazine.
As
Susan Powter says,” Stop the insanity!”
I have been pursuing my credentials in the nutrition field for several years, as it seems to be the one thing that can make the biggest difference in an athlete’s life but the one thing they know the least about. After all, to get bigger biceps you have to lift big and vary the workouts; in other words, you periodize your workouts. But seriously to get big biceps you have to do what Dr. Fred Hatfield says, “Just lift the bar!” Okay, with that out of the way, then why can’t we grow and shed fat if we “Just eat the food!”? It seems to be so complicated with the proteins, carbs and fats and all that that implies. In the most recent years we have seen so many different diets come out, it is enough to make one’s head spin. Hey, maybe that could be a new aerobic exercise; Diet Spinning! The diets following are in no particular order: The Grapefruit diet The blood type diet The Atkins diet South Beach diet Protein Power diet Sugar busters diet Jenny Craig Weight Watchers NutriSystem The Ketogenic diet The food combination diet The Hollywood diet The Weigh Down diet LA Weight loss Are you getting the picture? Of course, we are all athletes here that read this, right? So we don’t fall into the gimmicks trying to build more muscle and strip fat, do we? No, we don’t…..do we? You see, an athlete, especially a bodybuilder it seems will attempt to do whatever necessary in order to get those last few pounds off of their body and build muscle, sometimes at the expense of their own health. They may look good right now but later they will pay the price. It is like a credit card of sorts. You spend and spend making purchases using your card but sooner or later that bill is going to come due at the end of the month and you are going to have to pay. That is how we are treating our bodies in the quest of a better looking physique. For those of you who have been reading this column, I live by the scripture, Proverbs 16:25 as it says, “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end, it leads to death.” But God has a better way. There have been a number of revelations, should I say, when it comes to nutrition from the Bible. Recent discoveries that have been there all along but for some reason, we have chosen to ignore them. How sad, because the Word of God is so full of wisdom on everything in the world even nutrition yet, we choose to ignore it. Why is that? Don’t you think that in the beginning of it all, God knew there would be bodybuilders and all other types of athletes? Don’t you think He knew there would be the Fellowship of Christian Athletes that would do such an awesome job of reaching the lost through sports? Don’t you think He knew about Athletes in Action doing the same thing? Don’t you think He knew that there would be many of you who love the Lord with all your heart, soul and strength and were competitive bodybuilders or other type of athlets? Don’t you think He knew that because you are an athlete you had to have a type of body that would allow you to compete at your absolute best? Of course He did. So don’t you think He made provision for you in His Word for such a thing as bodybuilding and competitive sports? He sure did. In the last few weeks, as my dad has been near death in the hospital (he is coming out of it though and we stood on the Word of God believing that By His stripes he is healed, but more on that later), I have thought more and more about Biblical nutrition and how it impacts our lives today, or at least it should. Have you taken a look at our nation lately? Do you see the death and destruction, the number of obese people walking around?; the high level of diabetes and cardiovascular disease affecting our nation? What gives? As most doctors will tell you, most cardiovascular disease is a result of inflammation, what some call “C reactive protein”. But you know what the Word of God says? Listen to this: “The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation….” Deuteronomy 28:22 Now we don’t think of this scripture as pertaining to today since Christ gave us a new covenant, right? Let’s look at what Jesus said. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of the pen will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called “LEAST” in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5: 17-19 One thing you have to remember, God did not change the dietary laws He gave to man in the books of Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The scriptures tell us that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.” He doesn’t change and therefore His nutritional laws do not change either. Therefore, those laws given in the Old Testament are just as in effect today as they were when they were given and when Jesus made that statement. Nothing has changed. The human body has not some how evolved or changed since God first made man in His image. So when you think about it, is God obese? Does He have heart disease? Is He sick and tired all of the time? If we are made in His image, then why are we? It is because of our nutritional choices, plain and simple. Eating according to the way the world eats will lead to sickness and death. If you don’t believe me, just check out the statistics at the Centers for Disease Control on heart disease and obesity related diseases. It’s staggering! So what is the answer? God’s Word is the answer. Revelation 1:8 Christ says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end…” Everything we do should begin and end with the Word of God. And that Word starts in Genesis and ends in Revelation. There are many great biblical nutritional doctors who have been elevated by God recently; Doctors such as Dr. Jordan Rubin and Dr. Ted Broer just to name two. I have decided to follow in their footsteps and apply Biblical nutrition to my practice and help get my clients and athletes back into the best shape possible in order to be used by God to further His kingdom here on earth. The downside to this is that it may seem as complicated as the world’s diets but take heart; God’s Word is not burdensome. Jesus said His yoke is easy. So I am going to hopefully give you some starter information here that will help you begin the shift over from the crazy diets that so many athletes go on to lose body fat and begin to follow the plan God designed for you and me from the beginning of time. So to start, I am going to give you a list of foods that you should rid yourself of and never eat again. Foods that you should never consume because they are just dangerous to your body, regardless how good they taste. I will elaborate at a later date on the reasons why I am placing these foods on the biblically banned food list but for now, I hope you will pray that God will give you strength to avoid these foods. Biblically Banned Food List
Biblical nutrition will allow you to train hard, recover quicker, fight off obesity, strengthen our body, build huge amounts of muscle and increase vascularity, strengthen your immune system and fight off all kinds of disease. Isn’t that what every bodybuilder wants? Let me ask you this; What do you think Jesus looked like? A thin frail man who seemed to look like a beggar everywhere He went? Someone who slept outside because He had not place to lay His head? If that is your image of Him, then you need to replace that false image with the true image of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Just because He was the Lamb of God, doesn’t mean He was some little “Mary had a little lamb” kind of creature. Think about this for a moment, and remember, Jesus was still observing the Old Testament dietary guidelines. The Jews were looking for a king who would be able to overthrow Rome. They hoped that when Jesus came on the scene, He was going to build an army and run Rome back to Italy. Now think about this for a moment. By human nature standards, who typically catches your eye when you go in the gym; the little guy on the recumbent bike or the huge dude over in the corner pounding the 120’s in a light chest workout? You see, human nature has not changed since the beginning of time. We still look to the biggest guy, who you would think would be no easy pushover, to be the leader. If I were going to war, I would want someone who looked like Arnold and not someone looking like Pee Wee Herman. We want to see strength and that is what the Jews were looking for. So why do you think the Jews were so excited when Jesus came into town on Passover? They thought they were welcoming the new earthly king that would overthrow Rome. Why do you think the Jews would do such a thing? Yes, He was a great speaker and He spoke of a kingdom that was near but don’t you think the people would look also at His physique thinking He was going to be a great king and general? You see, being the Son of God, He was the ultimate man. He was perfect, He wasn’t frail. He was without sin, without blemish, not broken and humiliated (although that came during the cross but for good reason). He was well to do and well fed, not poverty stricken and homeless (remember His ministry was given gold, frankincense and myrrh when He was just two years old, so Jesus had the funds to run a ministry and support 12 men and their families, but more on that later also). Jesus was a leader, He was strong, He was captivating, He was impressive and He built up His physique with hard work as a carpenter. So He had some muscle on His body and He ate according to the Hebrew Laws given to the Jews a couple of thousand years before His birth. Afterall, they were His nutritional laws to begin with. So with that, I will close for this month. I hope I can get this message of Biblical Sports Nutrition over to you all next month in a way that will break any thoughts you have on what bodybuilding nutrition is all about. In the meantime, here is to a strong and healthy month. In His service to you, J.R.Smith, c.f.t., c.s.p.n. s.s.c, - NBFE board registered Personal Performance Specialist / Wellness Advisor & Nutrition Consultant Certified Biblical Counselor – American Association of Christian Counselors Director of PowerLife Ministries bodyfit2day @ hotmail.com |
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