The Fitness Trinity III: Good Nutrition -- FPC sermon excerpt

After endurance exercise and strength training comes the third part of the Fitness Trinity: Good nutrition. In this case, my friend Vik Khanna’s recommendation is that you eat from the garden — eat from the Garden of Eden, that is. This means a diet grounded in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, heart healthy fats, and lean protein. This goes right back to the Book of Genesis, in which God says, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29). Although you might not have noticed it before, God recommends a vegetarian diet to Adam and Eve.

For those of you looking forward to a steak dinner, I’m sorry. Nowhere in the Garden of Eden does God say, “Adam, I am giving you a New York Strip Steak.”

But don’t worry — I’m not a vegetarian, I enjoy a good cut of meat, and there’s really no reason to avoid protein. The challenge is to lean toward fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Here’s a field trip for you: Go to the grocery store, and compare the produce section to the meat section. In the produce section, you will find a wide variety of textures, flavors, colors and tastes among the fruits and vegetables, but in the meat section you’ll see the drab monotony of white and red chicken, beef, and pork. In many ways, good nutrition comes from eating what looks good, in a colorful selection of foods.

As odd as that might sound, it actually fits with what a retired Navy cook once said to me. He was a member of Calvary Presbyterian in Alexandria, which I served before moving here. He would always be working in the kitchens for church suppers, and I noticed that he would garnish his plates with parsley or something else to add color. I was surprised to see a grizzled old Navy cook doing this, and so I asked him, “Kyle, why do you add color to the plate?” He said, “Henry, if it looks good, it will taste good.”

Something similar could be said for good nutrition: If it looks good, with a variety of shapes, textures, and colors, it will probably be good for you.

You can also improve your nutrition by adopting a face-of-the-clock strategy for meal planning: Imagine your plate to be a clock, and then fill the section from 12 to 6 with vegetables, 6 to 9 with lean protean, and 9 to 12 with whole grain carbohydrates. Those proportions will help you to eat a diet that is good for your heart, and for weight control as well.

Our problem as Americans is that we tend to fill half our plates with meat, and leave far smaller sections for vegetables and carbs. This is especially true at restaurants, where entrees come with meat portions that look like whole sides of beef. But here’s a trick for using the face-of-the-clock strategy while eating out: Have one person order a meat dish, and one person order a vegetarian dish. Then, when the dinners arrive, cut the meat in half, and share the veggie entrée. You’ll find yourselves full and happy, with the section of your plate 12 to 6 filled with vegetables, 6 to 9 with protein, and 9 to 12 with carbohydrates. You’ll also save some money.

But eating from the Garden of Eden is really not about saving money — it’s about saving your life. The American Cancer Society has established guidelines on diet, nutrition, and cancer prevention, and they sound very similar to The Fitness Trinity.

First, choose most of the foods you eat from plant sources. Eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Eat other foods from plant sources, such as breads, cereals, grain products, rice, pasta, or beans several times a day. In other words, eat from the garden.

Second, limit your intake of high fat foods, particularly from animal sources. Choose foods low in fat. Limit consumption of meats, especially high-fat meats.

Third, be physically active — achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Be at least moderately active for 30 minutes or more on most days of the week.

Fourth, limit alcoholic beverages, if you drink at all.

This brings us to the end of the Fitness Trinity: Endurance exercise, strength training, and good nutrition. Together, these three form a simple, memorable, and faithful approach to taking good care of the body that God has given each of us. Living by the Fitness Trinity can help each of us to be healthy, strong, and active disciples of Jesus Christ.