Feeling Like an Old Steam Engine? Great!

By Ellie Marrandette

When I was a child, I remember listening for the classic steam locomotive that ran along the property line of our farm. My older brother and I would rush down to watch this amazing steam engine reliably transcending across its tracks. The coal shoveled into the engine produced a comfortable, regular running speed, keeping it faithfully chugging along.

Energetic and reliable, that is what we should strive to be! Our bodies should run as trustworthy as those historical steam locomotives.

But what would happen if the engineer forgot to add coal? The train would gradually wind down, slowing until eventually, it would stop completely. As feverishly as he could, the engineer would re-stoke the fire with fuel to bring his train up to speed again.

But it would take a while, wouldn’t it? When you are hungry and need quick energy, what do you reach for . . . the fastest fuel available . . . sugar, right?! That’s what our brain tells us we need. Resist the urge, however, to consume empty calories in your attempt to restart your metabolism.

Let us say you are trying to lose weight and realistically set your goal at two pounds a week. You could eat nothing, but that would result in your body running out of steam. Then you would instinctively reach for quick energy; sugar.

The solution to keeping our energy levels high is nutrient-dense grazing every 3-4 hours. When our bodies are fueled efficiently, we don’t require sugary, empty calories to restart our metabolism.

How many fewer calories should one consume daily to lose weight safely? There is a simple formula and it’s a universal truth:

3,500 calories equal one pound. To lose fat effectively you would have to reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories per day. This would allow you to lose one pound of fat per week. To lose two pounds weekly, reduce calorie intake by 1000 calories. Reduce too drastically however and your body’s metabolism will slow. It believes you are starving and it’s protecting you. A calorie intake of fewer than 1200 calories per day will not allow your body to retain enough nutrients to function properly. Your goal is to consume small but vital nutrient-dense portions, throughout the day!

Sure, some will lose several extra pounds during the first few weeks “Oh look, Mabel, I’ve lost ten pounds in one week! Must be my new diet” Don’t be fooled, this is water weight that the body is releasing, not fat! The object is to lose unnecessary fat and it is physically impossible to lose more than two pounds of fat per week without fasting.

It is due to a complicated, technical bodily process called gluconeogenesis. Here’s a simplified explanation.

The body needs sugar to survive. Your brain alone needs approximately 100 grams of daily glucose (sugar) for optimum function. That is one reason why we get spacey when we do not eat properly. On a typical daily diet plan of 2,000 calories per day, one should strive for approximately 1200 complex carbohydrate calories, found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Ditch the sugary donuts, pie, cake, and candy which do nothing to satisfy nutritional needs.

The body derives glucose primarily from two sources:

1. Complex carbohydrates, OR

2. it will convert muscle protein into fuel. Muscle burns fat – lose muscle tissue and you lose the ability to drop weight faster.

Carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel source. When the body breaks down stored glycogen (carbohydrates) for fuel, it releases stored water from the body’s cells. As soon as one begins consuming carbohydrates once again, this action replenishes lost water weight and therefore some believe that carbohydrates are bad for us. Not true. It’s part of God’s amazing biological design.

Your brain needs a continuous supply of glucose to be an efficient machine. Therefore. one should consume about 45-60% of your daily diet from carbohydrates.

The Timetable of Digestion:

In spite of what people believe, there’s no magic formula for losing weight. If you eat for nutrients, you’ll effectively lose weight. Some say, “just watch your calorie intake.” But a “calorie” isn’t simply a calorie.

Perhaps I can explain by using the natural timetable for digestion:

Carbohydrates only last about 2-3 hours in your bloodstream before you are hungry again.

Some carbohydrates, like fruit convert to energy in about 15-30 minutes. This explains why orange juice is given to diabetics when their blood sugar is low. It raises insulin quickly.

Don’t forget that there are two types of carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates contain dense fiber properties. These are much healthier for our metabolism than Simple Carbohydrates such as donuts and pop-tarts.

Why are fiber foods important you ask? Because fiber allows insulin to be released more slowly into your bloodstream and thus helps keep us feeling satisfied longer without insulin surges.

Build a good breakfast from complex carbs – that means good quality, high fiber (5+ grams) cereal like Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, Great Grains, Kashi, or anything that doesn’t taste like cardboard! Food should taste flavorful! (1 Corinthians 10:23)

The body should consume balanced, mini-meals throughout the day for our blood sugar to remain steady. Then we won’t lunge for fast energy with a sugary donut when we’ve lost control.

Fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, or any other high-fiber fruit will add flavor as well as fiber. Oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, walnuts, and a little maple syrup is delicious on cold days and provides comfort as well as B vitamins. Peanut butter on a whole-grain English muffin is fine as well.

Protein lasts approximately 2-4 hours before it’s digested. If you want to cook an egg sandwich with an English muffin, Canadian bacon, and a slice of 2% cheese, great! It’s packed with nutrients. But don’t consume one every day because there is not much fiber. One should only consume about 6-8 ounces of meat protein each day.

Fats take 5-7 hours to digest! Do you realize that the majority of Americans today consume 40% or more of their daily caloric intake with fat? Normal intake should be 25-30% and no more than 10% of that should be saturated fat.

Consider This Typical American Daily Diet:

At 8 am, one consumes 2 eggs, bacon, fried hash browns, and buttered toast will have that fat in their system until 1-3 pm that afternoon. At noon, lunch might consist of a hamburger, fries, coleslaw, or a cold-cut sub sandwich, and potato chips with a cola. This fat consumption has overlapped breakfast and will last until 5-7 pm. Meanwhile at 6 pm, one might delve into a fried chicken or Rib-eye steak dinner, with a baked potato with butter/sour cream, buttered vegetable, a garden salad with 2 tablespoons of creamy ranch dressing (150-180 fat calories in that alone) a glass of beer/wine and ice cream, pie or cake for dessert.

Do you understand how fat calories can pack on as each day wears on? In the example above, approximately 60% of that daily diet consisted of fat. Unless you run up and down stairs all day, are an Olympic athlete, or a construction builder, you will never burn up all those fat calories in a day, especially sitting at a desk!

Eat sensibly – eat for nutrients! Create a balance in your day with approximately:

• 45 – 60% complex carbohydrates
• 20-25% protein
• 25-30% good fats, such as anything with omega 3’s, nuts, fish oil, olive or canola oil.

There is no reason to follow a strict, rigid diet plan. We should be grateful we live under grace, not under the strict dietary laws of Leviticus. Listen to your body! Sometimes your body will need a little more protein and some days a more balanced complex carbohydrate intake. There’s no magic formula for everyone. Each of us was created uniquely and therefore different days require different nutrients based on activity and stress levels.

Don’t Stress Over Every Calorie!

Don’t chase after “itchy ears” diet fantasies! (2 Timothy 4:3) God created a complex, structured human body that performs efficiently if properly balanced. Those nutrient-dense items are working for your good! And if you eat sensibly, you’ll be chugging right along like a well-run steam engine.

After attending Graham Jr. College in Boston and Moody Bible College, Ellie Marrandette earned her Bachelor of Ministry (BMIN) from Trinity Theological Seminary. Fascinated by psychology and physiology, God directed Ellie toward a rewarding healthcare career. She became a licensed, certified nutritional counselor, working with doctors, nutritional centers, and independently as the founder of New Creations Ministries, a faith-based solution in overcoming health challenges. In recent years, God has focused Ellie’s path toward writing. She is the author of four Christian novels, a novella, and a non-fiction book on healthy living entitled, Life’s Too Short to Eat Bad Cheese (Nutritional and Life Lessons God Teaches Us.) All can be found Here. Her current endeavor is to complete a children’s devotional this year. For more about Ellie Marrandette visit her New Creations website.  

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