Frank Santora

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The scripture tells us in Deut 30:19 that God puts before us the power to choose between life or death. Traditionally people have over-spiritualized this verse and assumed God was strictly talking about our eternal destinies. But in fact, He is talking about the choices we make here on earth. Sadly, many times those choices lead to anything but life.

There is no greater example of this than in our health choices. Many have chosen to mistreat their bodies by eating an unhealthy diet, not getting the right amounts of rest, and living a sedentary life (all of which i myself have been guilty of). Our excuse had been, spiritual things are more important and what we do with our bodies pales in comparison. Interestingly enough, the scripture tells us that what we do with our bodies is a spiritual thing. For example Romans 12:2 says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1 NIV)

That’s a shocking truth to many, but it’s vitally important for us to embrace. When you and I honor God with the way we treat our bodies we are choosing life. We are choosing to live longer, live stronger and live better! You might remember the story of Daniel from the Bible and you might remember how he chose to eat vegetables and water instead of the fatty kings foods (see Dan 1). But what few realize is that Daniel’s health choice was directly responsible for his ability to out perform all the other youth his age, and therefore receive a position of prominence in the Babylonian Empire where he was able to influence the life of King Nebuchadnezzar in a godly manner. All because he chose to honor God by eating healthy. It’s a fact that when we choose health we feel better, perform better and advance quicker in our destinies. Choosing health is definitely a big part if choosing life!

For more inspirational teaching on this and other subjects click on the resources button in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Hey Everyone. Check out the article below that was posted on Dr. Oz’s website and blog – it mentions my book Turn It Around! Yes I said, the Dr. Oz. here is the article and if you haven’t read my book, go to Amazon and get it.

Eat Chocolate, Cut Cravings and Feel Better By Lisa Lynn
Being hungry and craving sweets are two of the main reasons people fall off their diets. In many cases, the real reasons for cravings sweets or thinking we are hungry is because we don’t feel good. I refer to this as a funk, and in some cases, depression. There is a scientific reason for this. The good news is that knowing why you crave comfort foods can also help you resist them. The solution is getting you to feel better and properly nourishing your body to stop cravings before they begin. So, what’s behind the cravings? It all starts with serotonin.

Produced by your brain, serotonin is the “feel good” hormone. When your brain produces enough of it, serotonin can help you feel calm, confident and happy. Sunshine stimulates our brains to produce plenty of serotonin, but during the short days of fall and winter, our brains need extra stimulation to produce enough serotonin. This may be why we crave things like bread, crackers, cereal and sweets, especially chocolate, because they stimulate serotonin production.

There are other things you can do to boost serotonin, even if you have craved the wrong foods your whole life. Be patient if you’re someone who has always craved the wrong things or can’t stick to a diet – this can be fixed!

6 Ways to Boost Your Serotonin and Stop Cravings

1. Place 6 drops of oxytocin under your tongue within 1 hour of waking to help combat the stress hormones that are making you crave the wrong foods. You will feel better right away and may even want to exercise. Oxytocin blunts the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol and that will help melt fat around your waist.

2. Exercise every day to boost your endorphins and support serotonin production. Your workouts will help you stay grounded because you will feel better instantly! The best kinds of workouts are not slow weightlifting workouts but metabolic-boosting workouts. And you don’t have to kill yourself either!

3. Eat your greens! Meeting your body’s nutrient requirements is the secret to your success. Aim for 6 servings of vegetables per day. They are full of fiber and are unlimited free foods that will help stop cravings and keep you feeling full so you don’t overeat on the wrong things!

4. Drink yourself happy! No – not alcohol. A high-quality whey protein shake with at least 1000mg of glutamine can boost your brain power and help you feel better fast without stimulants. This is one of the most important life-changing steps that everyone can do every day to not only help you lose weight but to keep it off. The glutamine in the shake can help ease depression. If you could only use one supplement, I suggest the protein shake. Look for 24 grams of protein, no fat, low sugar and low carbs.

5. Meditate or pray daily. Cultivate a habit of prayer or meditation every day to quiet your mind and reduce stress. If you’re having trouble, grab a good book to read each day. Even 5 minutes can make a big difference. One of my favorite books is Turn It Around by Pastor Frank Santora. Just like the title says, you can turn it around and sometimes all we need is faith! Remember that our physical lives are not separate from our “spiritual” lives; in fact, they are one. Almost always, we neglect this crucial step because we are busy or too tired, and it’s the most important step to our health and well-being!

6. Eat chocolate every day! Choose chocolate that is at least 70% cacao. Dark chocolate also boosts the feel-good hormones and you’re less likely to overeat dark chocolate because it’s not full of sugar like milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and gives us a feeling of doing something good for ourselves.

Added to Wellness, Mental Health, Fitness, Diet on Mon 02/06/2012