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The Whole 30 From A Recovery Warrior’s View

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Disclaimer: Before you read this post and listen to this podcast, I want you to know that I am NOT promoting or saying that the Whole 30 is bad.  I just wanted to share the perspective of a friend and fellow recovered warrior who is going through it right now for her gut and shared a balanced perspective as to why it can be helpful with an educational, healing mindset (not a restrictive one.)   

The Whole 30.  For a while, I wasn’t sure what to think of it.   Then, I had my dear friend Janie, who needed to go on it for her diagnosis of SIBO, Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, and I saw her take it on from the fresh standpoint of someone who used to have a restrictive past but now LOVES to nourish herself, loves good food, loves ice cream and burgers, and yet right now, for her body, she needs to do a more Whole 30 way of eating because it’s helping her body heal.  

So let’s not put on the non diet blinders and say, ‘No, we can never eliminate foods or if you’re eliminating foods you’re restricting.’  I know that we in the recovery community do not like the word ‘diet,’ but in this case I have seen my sister in Christ Janie take a really balanced approach to using the Whole 30(ish) way of eating in order to heal and care for her gut.   

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The Beauty of True Christ Centered Community (Episode #1)

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Is this cray-cray or what?  The Lord put it on my heart this year, along with the heart of another gal on the inter-webs, Jessica Milligan, to start a podcast.   And why and how will it be different from the Beauty in Christ Podcast?  Well, it’s going to be a lot broader.   Our mission verse for the podcast is Matthew 6:33, ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’   

Right now the Beauty in Christ podcast focuses on all things body image, food freedom, clothing, exercise, and other things related to recovery.    But. . . I also have a heart for girls who are going through all the tough confusing parts of growing up including: 

Loneliness
Acceptance 
Boyfriends
Success
Money
Taking a Sabbath in A Busy Culture
Dating

And isn’t it incredible that God gave my sister in Christ Jesus, Jess, the same heart, for the young women around us who are wrestling with the same questions.   

We aren’t experts.

We’re not better at it than you are.  

But we wanted to walk alongside with you girls on the things that you’re facing and share what God is teaching us about His goodness, His mercy, His truth, His justice, His peace, His joy in the midst of all these complicated life things.  

So . . . the VERY FIRST EPISODE…. 

is all about community.  

Jess and I talked about:  

–  Why Real Life Community is Important 

– Why Virtual Communities Can Be So Helpful as A Supplement But Not Your Only Community 

– Why We Were Made to Have Friendships 

–  The Kind of Friendships That You Need To Hold Onto 

– People Being Hurt in Church Communities 

– Why Church Community Isn’t A Community of Perfect People 

– Being Jesus Centered in Our Community  

We talked about why we’ve been learning that the deepest community and friendships we’ve found are those rich ones founded on Jesus Christ.  And we tell each other the hard things.  We talk about the tough things, because Jesus wants us to walk in the light.   

Jess is a seriously amazing, precious godly young woman who is seeking and hungering after God, and that’s what attracted me to her in the first place.  And I thought that this was what it was: 

I see Jesus in Jess.  

It was like the verse in Colossians 1:27, ‘To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’   

Christ in a friend, the hope of glory, is such an amazing thing, because Jesus transforms friendships from being draining to filling, life giving, hopeful, encouraging.  

I’m so thankful for this opportunity, and we hope and pray that each episode will be a precious edifying blessing to everyone that listens.   

Normal Body Image Vs. Recovery Body Image

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Normal body image.  For a long time, I didn’t know what it felt like.  I would look at the person in the mirror.  I would criticize the way my legs looked, the way my stomach looked, the way I didn’t have a six pack.   But in the past year, the words in Psalm 139 about being ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’, about God knowing me and forming me in the womb, have really come to me in such a deeper way.  They’ve made body image feel normal again.  They’ve made me look in the mirror and just think, ‘That’s me.  That’s the body God gave me. I’m grateful for it.  It’s not the center of my life anymore, but I’m grateful for all God made it to do.’   

Your Body Image in Recovery Will Be Different From Body Image When Life Starts to Feel Normal Again - And it is such a freeing feeling and makes recovery and every step so worth it.

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How Two Gymnasts Are Shining Jesus on Instagram (Episode #74)

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I met these two gymnasts,  Bethany and Rachel, close to when I first got into the blogging world.  And what attracted me to them?   Simply put, I saw Jesus in them.  I saw the compassion, the humble boldness, the kindness of Jesus, and the gentleness with which they were salt and light for Jesus in the online world.  

And I wanted to get to know these two girls, but I was intimidated. They had a large Instagram following.  They took amazing food photos.  

But one day, God orchestrated a FaceTime call between us.  When we got on, I couldn’t tell who was who.  Bethan and Rachel are twins, and boy are they some of the sweetest, most chill gals I’ve ever met.  

How Two Gymnasts are Shining for Jesus on Instagram
These gals are busy, and I was so privileged that God gave us an opportunity to talk about His goodness, talk about how He made us all different, talk about their passion for good food, and food freedom.  

Bethany and Rachel are so fun; they switch on and off between saying, ‘Bethany here,’ ‘Rachel here,’ and I got such a kick out of listening to them.  I think you will too.  

Before we get into it, here are their pictures to introduce you to them.  

This is Rachel! 🙂 – She is studying to be an occupational therapist.  

And this is Bethany.  She’s studying to be an dietitian.   

In the show we talked about: 

– How they got their start with their blog and Instagram 

– Sharing the light of Jesus on the blogging world and wanting to encourage others with it 

– Not being ashamed of the gospel but gently and humbly sharing it 

– Their journeys as gymnasts and learning to listen to their bodies 

– Why they started the hashtag #changeyourfooditude on Instagram in order to promote more food freedom 

– Their favorite food freedom, intuitive eating, health at every size bloggers 

Robyn  – The Real Life RD 

Kylie – Imma Eat That 

– Learning to rest even when you love working out (Both of them love gymnastics, which often required a lot of moving 5 days a week)  

– What each of them does for the blog (Cooking, Pictures, Social Media)  

– Not letting the pressure of ‘fitting into a mold’ affect you on social media (Embracing the individuality God gave you)  

Their favorite verses lately:

Psalm 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

John 3:16 – ‘6 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’

– Some of their favorite activities 

And I think you would love going to their site and eyeing some of their amazing creations from so many different varieties of brownies, bars, cake, and pancakes.  I’ve tried different recipes, and they are all good, simple, delicious, soft, sometimes chocolatey, sometimes fruity or peanut buttery.   

I mean.  Check OUT their carrot cake.   

All drooling aside.  This was a genuinely fun, light, vibrant interview, and I hope you are so blessed by these two sweet gymnasts.   They vibrate with the life of Christ. They truly are that salt and light described in Matthew 5:13-16, ‘

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 â€œYou are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.’   

What did you take away from the podcast?   

Have you ever struggled with listening to your body being in a certain profession (gymnast, runner, dancer, etc?)   

 

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