Spark Faith Podcast

Spark Faith Podcast

By Dr Kris SargentReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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Spark Faith Podcast episodes

  • Holiday Weekend Stay Healthy tips

    Friday July 1

    SUMMER HOLIDAY WEEKEND FOOD TIPS

    Remember the reason for the season and focus on fellowship, family and friends. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT THE FOOD!

    Holidays such as Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, or any picnic holiday can cause breakdowns in our otherwise healthy eating plan. It's extremely important to be very aware that picnics can pack thousands of calories that we would not normally indulge in. So, what should you do?

    1. Don't skip meals or "save" calories for the picnic. THAT SETS YOU UP TO OVEREAT LATER!
    2. If you're a guest, offer to bring a healthy appetizer and side dish. That way you can GUARANTEE ta choice for you
    3. Watch your portions and choose NOT to have the desert!! Instead, maybe bring a box of sugar free popsicles or fudgesicles to share.
    4. Keep your EXERCISE routine the day of the picnic. Try adding short brisk walks twice that day with available family members or the partygoers. Plan activities to stay moving such as croquet, bike riding or cornhole instead of just sitting around and talking.
    5. If you are throwing the party, have lots of vegetables available, instead of chips. Prepare lower-fat dips using Greek yogurt instead of mayo or sour cream and offer low sodium salsa.
    6. Communicate! Explain to your guests in advance your DETERMINATION to make this a healthier holiday celebration and ask them to keep this in mind when preparing any dish they may be bringing.
    7. Say NO to the high-calorie beverages such as sodas, juices, smoothies and blended coffee drinks. There are nearly 150 calories in one 12-ounce can of soda or juice. Smoothies and coffee drinks are often 250-500 calories, excluding whipped cream.
    8. ALCOHOL is full of calories and carbs. It can also cause you to let down your defenses and overeat or make poor food choices.
    9. Have a small meal BEFORE going to the picnic so you don't arrive starving... always plan ahead.
    10. At the picnic choose PICK PROTEIN FIRST. It’s the most filling thing you can eat. Choose healthy foods and stay away from the high-carb items like chips, breads, potato & pasta salad and corn, and remember to eat slowly, which will help you eat less and feel full and satisfied. HAVE YOUR BURGER WITHOUT THE ROLL!
    11. If the holiday party is at your house, SEND THE LEFTOVERS HOME with your guests, especially the desserts!!
    12. During holiday weekends, make your goal to MAINTAIN your weight and not to gain any!

      13. AGAIN: BE POSITIVE! Don’t let your weight and cravings take control of you. Remember the reason for the season and focus on fellowship, family, friends and not on food. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FOOD!

      Have a Happy and Healthy Fourth of July and SUMMER!!!!

      7 min
    13. Lead With Love...Abortion: Too Important not to go LIVE...

      Leading with love…regardless of where you fall on this issue, judgement of the other view is tearing our beautiful country apart. And acts of violence, to repay violence with violence, doesn’t solve anything.

      • Women are shamed on both sides. The unwed woman who keeps her baby is judged just as harshly as the one who didn’t. There is pain and shame on both sides. More fear and hate directed to either side doesn’t change that, and feeds the shame. Neither woman feels supported or loved, as all humans deserve, particularly in such a difficult, emotional and deeply personal situation.
      • I’ve kept my story basically secret for 41 years. I was terrified. I was told a baby would ruin my life. The shame of being a teen mom, was too much. At 17 years old, I couldn’t see any other option. I’ve done hundreds of hours of counseling, coaching and prayer. I have grieved all of it.
      • I’ve asked for forgiveness. That baby is in the arms of Jesus and all of my sin is pinned to the Cross of Christ. Because He loves and forgives me in spite of all my failings. I no longer carry the shame and pain of an abortion. His love and mercy are great. And His Grace is endless. For all who seek it.
      • I was ultimately blessed with two amazing children that have done nothing but make my life full. I could not be more grateful.
      • Find love and compassion for both sides. Get curious. Have coffee. Ask the questions. Get to know the other person as a human. Learn their story and leave the judgement at home.
      • All sides need support. The frightened mom, the baby, the families and the guy involved.
      • Banning abortion doesn’t stop it from happening any more than Prohibition stopped alcohol consumption.
      • Thank you Jim Dowell for representing both sides of this issue so beautifully. You gave me the courage to tell all...I have shared Jim Dowell's song Called Little Hearts everywhere I can...
        • 5 min
      • The Most Common Thing I Hear About Food...Have the DTR Discussion

        I’m an emotional eater….This is THE most common sentiment I hear from clients...

        This happens about a month or two, a day or two, or even an hour or two into any program, and is one of the reasons people self sabotage - they just want some specific food...

        1. Start to love your body because God loves you and you honor and respect him - changes everything

        2. To the emotional eater - You can learn to stop it in the act. When would you want to stop a robbery? Before it happens or at the worst - in the middle of it before they do the damage. As an emotional eater - take back your control. Thoughts precede emotions - walk away from the pantry and the fridge as soon as you realize you are eating emotionally - WALK AWAY!

        3. As you go, throw away whatever item you were eating…

        4. Not there yet - wrap your head around this. would want their body to be less than QUALITY!!?? Your car burns gas and uses oil - nothing emotional about that Our body burns carbs/fats and proteins and uses carbs fats and proteins to repair itself. The quality of the three will determine the quality of your body. It’s easier to chose healthy when you think about it this way. You would want your body to be less than QUALITY!!??

        5. Need to have a DTR talk with Food. You CAN take control of this…

        10 min
      • Staying Stuck? Is that Your Choice?

        Last week We talked about whether the pain of staying where you are with a certain painful thing in your life is harder than the change required to move beyond that thing.

        Maybe you're avoiding a relationship change that needs to happen or maybe youre ignoring a health issue

        SO lets go down the road that you have decided NOT to change anything…Let’s start with the rule that you can only change yourself.

        1. So, if you’re avoiding a change in a relationship, you won’t be able to change the other person.

        2. If this is a health issue, like weight, type 2 diabetes, a gut issue, inflammation, autoimmune, - That’s on you…

        3. Your mental health is also on you. You can keep blaming everyone around you, and you continue to respond in the same old way -That’s fine 4. Let me ask you a couple questions: if you don’t change….

        • Where will those issues be in 6 months?
        • Will the relationship be better or worse or gone entirely?
        • What about that nagging health issue?
        • If you don’t do anything about for the next year, 5 years from now, 10 years from now…what will happen?
        • Do you think you'll be able to reverse it in 10 years if it's difficult now?
        • If you don’t change, what changes?
          • 7 min
        • Are all Carbs the Same?

          Quick answer is NO!

          Ultraprocessed foods that don’t look anything like the original form of food. Think sausage vs a piece of protein; or bread vs whole grain quinoa or rice; or ultra processed fat vs clean extra virgin olive oil; veggies vs no veggies whatsoever…

          Most nuggets of anything, fried, stuffed, breaded,

          These kinds of foods - mostly carbs very little protein or anything else - the worst - actually suck nutrients out of your body as your body has to work extra hard to detox them , and these foods feed your inflammation, so your body is busy making inflammatory chemistry instead of healing you.

          Complex

          Grains

          Legumes

          Squash

          Root veggies - potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, turnips parsnips, sweet potatoes

          Less Complex/ Lower Carb

          The rest...broccoli cauliflower,

          9 min
        • The Challenge: Feel Different in 5 Days
          • When was the last time you challenged yourself and won?
          • What if you had all the best conditions to win?
          • Would you want that information?
          • Do you need motivation?
          • Are you super frustrated with a certain thing in your health?
          • You know you need accountability, but not judgement. I am the Judgement free zone This challenge is going to be set up so you can learn the absolute maximum amount in 5 days. You will make changes you never knew and will have a new level of awareness…that will propel you to continue to make the changes you’ve started. The first thing I’m going to put out there for all of you who join us is a free one hour call…Once the challenge is over, you will need a personalized plan
          • Well, thats exactly what I’m up to in my Facebook Group: Spark Yourself: Body For God https://www.facebook.com/groups/sparkyourself
          • I’m planning a challenge in my group to get your summer started off right and show you exactly what confidence feels like. For Five Days we are going to do some hard things.
            • 6 min
          • Which is Harder? Pain of Regret or Discipline?

            The last three Mondays we talked about making and keeping promises to ourselves, what happens when we don’t and the fact that our self confidence/esteem/value all goes down when we don’t keep promises to ourselves .

            So, Which is harder? *Keeping the promise or living with in your current pain?

            *What do you want your life to look like? *WHAT DO YOU think GOD wants your life to look like?

            *Is NOT keeping promises to yourself interfering in your relationships?

            *Are those around you starting to not trust what you say you're going to do for yourself because you always flake on yourself?

            What needs to change? Where is the pain? Weight loss, ending a relationship, staying in a relationship,

            There is a technical term for this - delayed gratification…we should all be learning to delay gratification. This is a skill developed between the ages of 8 and 13. So, you may be running programs about delaying gratification that you were taught or caught from your parents during that age. I talked extensively about this in another podcast.

            8 min
          • Going Gluten Free? Overwhelmed with where to start???

            Overwhelmed with where to start your Gluten Free journey

            1. What is your main health goal. For many it’s weight loss. However, if you’ve been sick for a while that might not happen. Your body has to heal first. It’s in survival mode and isn’t going to release any weight until it’s sure it’s healthy

            2. Most clients try substitution first; GF doesn’t equal carb free

            3. Best way is to substitute veggies. Lettuce wraps for sandwiches and burgers; fall squash, sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes vs pasta; spaghetti squash, hearts of palm noodles zucchini noodles for pasta.

            4. The basic diet…

            8 min
          • To Be Right OR Love and Be Loved?

            BONUS EPISODE

            1. The Process… then the Solution

              2. Resentment: Pool of emotions that have never really been looked at; manifests as Negative self talk; anger/anxiety/depression/gut: constipation/diarrhea/IBS; You’ve convinced yourself of all your negative thoughts

              Resistance: The gap between what is in reality and what we think it should be or what we expect it to be: Defend your position, Feel disconnected, lack intimacy, holding people at arms length; our immune system can start to turn on ourselves as we hold in the toxic emotions

              Revenge: You no longer can identify your dreams, you feel flat, your health has probably spiraled to a low point

              1. Honest Self Responsible Communication - we have to own our own behavior - whatever it is - from overeating, to being the victim
              2. Acceptance - must give up being right
              3. Self Forgiveness
                4. 10 min

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