Another Thanksgiving is upon us, and we again have much to thank God for.  It is a blessing to wake up every day and be able to breathe, eat, enjoy holidays with family, and enjoy the beauty of this wonderful earth…but not every day is a day for celebration.

We eat like it, though.

Let’s Celebrate!

In the book of Nehemiah, after the Israelites finished rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, Nehemiah, Ezra and other leaders led the people in a worship service in which the Book of the Law was read.  At some point during the reading, many of the people began to weep as they listened to the words.  However, Nehemiah and the others encouraged the people to not weep, and went on to encourage the following:

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” – Nehemiah 8:10 (NLT)

Because this was a time of celebration for the people, they were encouraged to have feasts of rich foods and sweet drinks.  Happy times were to be celebrated with foods and drinks that were tastier and richer than normal.  However, there is something implied here.  This implication is that during “regular” times (when there was no celebration going on), the people ate much more plain, functional foods, which would make the celebrations a real treat.

I’m going somewhere with this.

We have many occasions throughout the year that are times for celebration.  Thanksgiving is one example, and there are several others, including Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, Labor Day, birthdays, retirements, baby showers, house warmings and so on.  These all might be times that, because of the significance of the holiday/occasion, warrant celebration with rich foods and sweet drinks.

I contend that this is how life should be.  With day-to-day life, we should focus on eating whole foods that are prepared more plainly for the purpose of fueling our bodies, and when it is time to celebrate, we should feel free to celebrate with rich foods and sweet drinks (NOTE:  When I say “plainly” prepared, I am not implying that food has to be nasty…there are a ton of spices out there to make daily food exciting).

Well here we have a possible issue.  What is it?  It is this:  As a society, we eat like everyday is a special occasion or a celebration.  We indulge in sweet drinks and rich foods every single day, and often multiple times a day.  Obviously however, every day is not a celebration.

A Possible Solution to the Epidemic of Lifestyle Diseases?

What would happen if we decided to eat celebratory foods only on special occasions?  I would like to submit the following possibilities, based on my opinions:

We might stop struggling with our weight.  As I stated before, the average American indulges in choice food almost every day.  We eat pastries and sweet coffee drinks for breakfast, wash our fried and processed lunches and dinners down with soda and sweet tea, and eat some sort of dessert almost every day of the year.  This adds up to a ton of unhealthy calories.  Considering that there are approximately 10-15 major holidays that are celebrated in the U.S., adding on other special times like birthdays and retirements would give maybe 20-30 days of celebration a year if I were to guess.  Let me throw some simple math out there.  Say that a person who was suited for 2000 Calories a day over-indulged all year and ate 3500 Calories a day…

3500 Calories/day * 365 days = 1,277,500 Calories/year

However, if that person only allowed for 30 days of celebration each year…

(3500 Calories/day*30 days) + (2000 Calories/day*335 days) =775,000 Calories/year

That is a difference of 502,500 Calories each year, and considering that 1lb of fat is 3500 Calories, that is potentially 143.6 lbs of fat to avoid each year (Please note that my math is not totally scientific and does not account for the complexity of how the body uses and stores energy from Calories)!  This says to me that a little self-control would go a long way with helping us keep the extra pounds off.

We might lower the incidence in the U.S. of lifestyle diseases.  Diabetes, some cancers, Heart Disease, and other diseases that plague our nation tend to not affect many other less wealthy countries, precisely because they are due to over-indulgent lifestyles.  If we celebrate only when it is truly time to do so, we will very likely put a dent in the occurrence of these diseases, simply put.

We WILL enjoy our celebration times more.  How exciting is it to have Thanksgiving dressing and macaroni and cheese when you have it almost every week?  What is special about eating cake at Christmas when you eat cake every few days?  Perhaps if we focus on more functional food for the daily routine, and celebrate during holidays and happy times, we will be even more excited when the celebrations come around.  You think so?  I do.

As we prepare to celebrate this holiday season with family, friends and food, I want to challenge you.  When all of the food is gone, resort to a more plain daily diet of whole foods like lean meats, vegetables and fruits, and legumes.  Develop the self-control to consume “celebratory” foods only when true celebration times come, and do not be surprised when you experience greater health as a result.