They say that abs are made in the kitchen! After 5 months of eating right, I believe it! The only way you lose weight is to burn more calories in a day than you consume. Diets don’t work – they’re not sustainable. A healthy lifestyle is.

If you’ll develop the habit of eating right, you’ll be fit all the time, and it won’t seem like a sacrifice at all!

Here are some things I’ve picked up when it comes to eating healthy:

Eat Healthy 80% of the Time – I hear my friend, Matt Crummy, say he eats healthy 80% of the time. I made this principle my rule of thumb.

Don’t Waste Calories on a Meal You Won’t Remember -Using the 80/20 rule I just mentioned, I eat extremely healthy meals for every meal that I don’t consider a “special occasion” (i.e. going out to dinner with family, friends, etc.).

Use Michi’s Ladder as Your Shopping List -I’ve included Michi’s ladder at the bottom of this post. It’s what BeachBody uses as their guideline to healthy eating. If you only eat from the top 2 tiers, you’re eating will be perfect. I plan my shopping and the meals I eat based off of this chart.

Count Your Calories until You Know What You’re Consuming -I had no idea how many calories I was consuming until I started tracking them! I recommend using MyNetDiary to track everything until you get in the habit of consuming your goal for calorie consumption!

Drink Protein Shakes -Protein shakes are a great 200-300 calorie snack! I’ve been using Syntha 6 and have loved it!

Eat Every 2-3 Hours – You should be getting 5-6 meals a day that are between 200-400 calories! It takes discipline, but it makes a huge difference!

A Gallon of Water – Try to drink a gallon a day! It’s good for you!

Don’t Eat 3 Hours Before Bed -This can be hard, but it’s worth it! Don’t give into your late night cravings!

No Carbs after Dinner – The more carbs you can get in early in the day the better! Try to go lean later in the day!

When Eating Out, Go Healthy, Unless it’s a Special Occasion! - Look at the nutrition facts at the restaurants you love. I think you’ll be scared to death! Most meals are 1/2 a days worth of calories! Be wise when dining out!

What tips do you have?

Tier 1: The Pious Tier
Apples, with skin Artichokes Arugula Asparagus Avocados Beans Beets Bok choy Boysenberries Bran Broccoli Broccoli sprouts Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Celery Cereal, whole grain Chard Cherries Citrus fruits	Collard greens Cottage cheese, nonfat Cucumbers Egg whites Endive Fish, cold water (salmon, mackerel, sardines) Fish, freshwater Flaxseed Garlic, fresh Granola, raw, no sugar Hemp seed Kale Lettuce, romaine, green or red leaf Milk, nonfat Milk, soy Muesli, raw, no sugar Mushrooms	Mustard Nectarines Oatmeal Olive oil Olives Onions Pears, with skin Peas Peppers Plantains Prunes Radishes Raspberries Refried beans, nonfat Rice, brown Salsa, natural, no sugar Seitan Spinach Squash Strawberries Sweet potatoes	Tea, green or black Tempeh Tofu Tomato sauce, no sugar Tomatoes Vinegar Water Yams Yogurt, nonfat, no sugar
Tier 2: The Happy Tier
Apples, skinless Bananas Blueberries Bread, whole grain Cantaloupe Cheese, nonfat Chicken, skinless white meat Coffee, black or cappuccino with nonfat milk Corn Cottage cheese, low-fat	Cream cheese, nonfat Duck, free-range Eggplant Fish, farmed Granola or energy bar Grapes Hummus Juice, fresh-squeezed with pulp, no sugar Kiwifruit Mangoes Meal replacement bar Melon, honeydew	Milk, 1% Nuts, raw Ostrich Pancakes, buckwheat Papayas Peaches Pineapple Plums Raisins Ricotta cheese, nonfat Soy nuts Soy sauce Squid String beans	Sunflower seeds Tortillas, whole wheat Turkey breast Vegetable juice Veggie burger Venison, free-range Watermelon Yogurt, no sugar Zucchini
Tier 3: The Swiss Tier
A1 Steak Sauce Angel food cake Applesauce Bagels Beef, eye of round Beef, London Beef, top round Canola oil Cheese, low-fat Chicken, dark meat Chicken sandwich, broiled Chicken taco, baked Clams	Coffee, cappuccino with whole milk Crab Cream cheese, low-fat Eggs, whole French fries, baked Fruit, dried Graham crackers Granola Honey Jam or marmalade Jerky, turkey Juice, from concentrate Ketchup	Lamb, lean Lettuce, iceberg Lobster Mayonnaise Milk, 2% Muesli Oatmeal, flavored Oysters Pancakes Pasta, plain Peanut butter, raw Popcorn, plain Pork tenderloin Potatoes, baked or boiled	Pretzels Refried beans, low-fat Rice cakes Rice, white Sauerkraut Soup, canned broth Steak, lean Sweet-and-sour sauce Veal cutlet Wine, red Yogurt, frozen, nonfat
Tier 4: The Dodgy Tier
Animal crackers Beef, filet mignon Beef, lean ground Beef, sirloin Beef Stroganoff Beer Bread, refined flour Buffalo Butter Caesar salad, with chicken Canadian bacon Cheese (including bleu and goat) Chili Chinese food Chips, low-fat, baked Coconut	Coffee, iced mocha latte with nonfat milk Coffee, latte with whole milk Coffee cake Crackers Grilled cheese sandwich Ham Hot dogs, turkey Ice cream, sugar-free or fat-free Jell-O Juice, sweetened Lamb chops Lasagna, with meat Macaroni and cheese Margarine	Meat loaf Mexican food Milk, whole Muffins Nuts, salted or roasted Peanut butter, not raw Pepper, stuffed Pizza, meatless or Hawaiian style Popcorn, with salt and butter Pork chop Potato salad or macaroni salad Pudding, with low-fat milk Reuben sandwich	Sherbet Shrimp Sloppy Joe, lean beef or turkey Soft drinks, diet Soup, canned creamy Spaghetti, with meatballs Sub sandwich Taco salad, with chicken Tortilla, refined flour or corn Tuna salad or chicken salad Vegetable oil Wine, white Yogurt, frozen
Tier 5: The Newburg Tier
Alcohol, hard liquor Bacon Baked beans Beef, ground, regular Beef taco, fried Breakfast sandwich, fast food Cakes Candy Cereal, sugared Chicken a la King Chicken, buffalo wings or nuggets Chicken or fish sandwich, fried	Chips, potato or corn Chocolate Cinnamon bun Coffee, mocha, macchiato, ice blended, frappé, triple caramel vanilla buzz bomb, etc. Cookies Cream cheese Creamed veggies Creamer, nondairy Doughnuts French fries Gravy Hamburger, fast food	Hot dogs Ice cream Jerky, beef, pork, or venison Juice, sugar added Lobster Newburg Nachos Onion rings Pastries Pies Potato skins, fried Potatoes, fried Potpie Refried beans, with lard	Salad dressing, creamy Sausage Soft drinks, sugared Tater tots Toaster pastries

By faith these people over-threw Kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength, they became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith. -Hebrews 11:33-34, 39

This is it. Your only life. You get one shot to do something with it. One shot to make a difference. One shot to share the stage with the faith giants in Hebrews 11. One shot to do something great for God. We’re on the battlefield. We don’t get to do this again.

I want to live everyday by this mantra:

“I despaired at the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show himself mightily on our behalf.”

This video fires me up every time I watch it. Watch it. Be inspired. Dream Big. Ask Big. Go for it. “If you have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to respond.” -Steven Furtick

Sun Stand Still series promo from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

What will people say about what we did with our lives? Will people be able to look at our lives and say that God did the impossible?

The World is Waiting for Change. God’s people are the change the world is waiting for. Seize your vision. Activate your faith. Make Your Move.

“You only get to live once, but if you do it right, once is enough” -Fred Allen

What are you waiting for?

¹¹ “Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough? ¹² What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision,¹³ that you turn against God and say all these evil things?           -Job 15:11-13

Do you ever have circumstances come into your life where it feels like even God won’t be able to get you through it? Maybe you’ve been a Christian for a while, and you know what God’s Word says about your situation, but your heart has become hardened.

I read those verses in Job and was blown away! “Is God’s comfort to little for you? Is His gentle Word not enough? What’s taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision to the point where you’re questioning God’s ability to get you through?

Toward the end of the book of Job, God asks him, “Where were you when I created the universe? The Heavens? The earth?”It was this question that finally got Job back on track, back to believing in the goodness of God.

I think sometimes we forget who it is we serve. I know I do. We serve the creator of the universe. Anytime we get our eyes on anything other than the greatness of God, our reason will be taken away and our vision will weaken.

God is always enough.

We just have to make a concious to decision to trust Him with everything in us and not lean to our own understanding. If you find your reasoning being taken away and your vision weakening, you’re not trusting God.

Spend some time in worship and prayer. Thank God for all the good things He’s done in your life. As you press into Him, the hardness in your heart will fade, and God will lift you from your current situation.

Thoughts?