Ep 001: Wholly Well Journey Podcast Launch
🌟 Welcome to the Wholly Well Journey Podcast - Your Faith-Fueled Guide to Holistic Health! 🌟
In this inaugural episode, we explore what it means to live wholly well.
Wondering about the meaning behind this name? Tune in to discover what it represents in the realm of spiritual, mental, and physical health. This podcast is not just about quick fixes or fad diets – it's a lifelong journey, a pilgrimage towards wholeness and well-being.
In a world that is constantly measuring results and emphasizes destination over process, it’s vital to adopt a journey mindset.
Get ready for thought-provoking conversations rooted in faith as we navigate the intersection of ancient wisdom and contemporary challenges. From fitness protocols to dietary choices and the spiritual practice of fasting, each episode will offer practical tips and biblical insights to help you thrive in our fast-paced, modern lives.
Join us weekly for soul-nourishing discussions that empower you to apply biblical principles to your everyday health choices.
Our key question, both for our guests and listeners, is this: What does your Wholly Well Journey look like? Together, let's explore, learn, and grow on this faith-filled quest for living with integrity and purpose.
Podcast Notes
Scripture
1 Thessalonians 5:23
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
John 3:5-6
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Jeremiah 6:16
“This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Links:
Daniel Fast Journey website - meal plan, resources, etc
Duke Wheel of Health
Show Transcript
Please note, the following transcript is AI-generated and therefore may contain grammar, formatting, and spelling errors.
Ep 001: Welcome to the Wholly Well Journey Podcast
Intro
The dictionary definition of journey is an act of traveling from one place to another. it’s, a long and often difficult process of personal change and development.
There’s a reason this podcast is called wholly well journey and not wholly well plan or program Thanks for joining us on this very first episode of the Wholly Well Journey podcast where we’re going to unpack a little about where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
Why We Need a Holistic Solution
Started out as a group fitness instructor - hi lo, step, zumba, Spinning, yoga, Pilates
Became a personal trainer.
Remember one client in particular, he was a gentleman in his late 40s. As we were working together in 30 minute personal training sessions, I realized he wasn’t changing anything else about his lifestyle and what I knew is that his results would be really limited because of that. And on top of that, he quit training after only a handful of sessions. He said he was going to work out on his own, but I saw him in the gym not more than one or two times after that.
And so many people do something for a short time, quit thinking that didn’t work for me… but real change takes a long-term commitment, it takes lot of time. The most popular programs promise quick results, but expecting to lose 10 pounds in 30 days and keep it off forever just isn’t realistic unless we’re changing other elements of our environment, habits and lifestyle
So, even though I had double majored in government and Italian in college (that’s a whole nother story) I decided that fitness was really my passion and the direction I wanted to go. So I went on to get a Masters in Nutrition and Exercise Science and this felt like a really winning combination - it wasn’t just the exercise, I could also help people to some extent with diet which is a huge factor in health and weight loss!
I used to give advice like, weight loss is simple but not easy - you need to eat less and move more!
While that’s not wrong, I would no longer say that’s a sufficient solution!
Time has shown things aren’t getting better:the obesity rate in the United States was about 30% in 2000. And as of 2018, it was over 40%. And when you also consider the number of people who are overweight it's 70% or more of the population is either overweight or obese.
I want to be clear: that this podcast isn’t centered around weight loss, but the majority of people are interested in that topic. Along with obesity comes high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and more health conditions than I have time to name in this short episode.
But the other truth is that the same habits that help us maintain a healthy weight are also crucial for our overall well-being: I’m talking about not only what we eat and getting exercise, but sleep, stress relief, and mental well-being.
Another thing you can’t help but notice over time is how fitness trends come and go, and so do diets. I grew up hearing we should eat low-fat, and then low-carb and now the most popular diets are fat-based.
So this leaves me with a couple convictions:
Is to take all trends with a grain of salt
A slow and steady moderate approach will serve you will when the latest trend falls out of fashion
A holistic approach is the journey to true well-being - it’s more than doing the activities, it’s living life purposefully and have integrity
So, over the years I’ve had jobs in the fitness and wellness industry, I worked for 7 years in full-time ministry at my local church, and I’ve also done writing and online marketing
This past year I completed a certification through Duke to be a Health & Well-being Coach. Duke has an 8-part model for health, and we’ll talk about those pieces on future episodes.
Their concept of well-being is this:
Well-being is what people think and feel about their lives, and includes many concepts such as
relationships, positive emotions, meeting their potential, and their overall satisfaction with life. There are many definitions of well-being; however, it is generally agreed that it involves a positive outlook on life and feeling good. Well-being is associated with longevity, healthy behaviors, prevention of mental and physical illness, social connectedness, productivity, and factors in the physical and social environment.
This is a pretty encompassing picture, but in addition to this — as a believer the most important factor in my life is putting God first, and God’s eternal kingdom takes precedence over the temporary world I’m in.
Bible on Spirit-Soul-Body
When it comes to holistic health…
What do we mean when we talk about spirit, soul, and body?
In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says is 5:23 -
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter three of the gospel of John records the famous exchange between the Pharisee Nicodemus and Jesus. In verse five
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
So our Spirit can enter the kingdom of God and celebrate eternal life, but we are born of the flesh. This is our body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
And we’re called to steward and care for this temple. We’re not just talking about aesthetics or weighing a certain number on the scale. True health and wellness are from the inside out.
Then we have our soul which is commonly defined as the mind, will, and emotions - the thinking feeling and choosing part of our being. You can also see this is our ego and personality, and our soul is in the process of being sanctified.
Now, although we can pull apart these three aspects of our being to examine and define them…at the end of the day you can’t separate them. They’re connected and influencing each other. Everything we do, we do as one being!
So while it’s an interesting and i think profitable conversation to have, at the end of the day this podcast is going to center around practical conversations, we have some amazing interviews lined up that I’m so excited to share with you.
And we also want to focus on the practical steps you can take to improve your well-being. Those tangible handholds that can anchor you to helpful habits when it comes to those 8 parts of the wheel of health and spiritual disciplines and overall well-being.
Side note on Fasting
In these first couple months, you’ll notice more content centering around the Christian spiritual discipline of fasting. Although intermittent fasting is popular from a health perspective, Christian fasting is primarily focused on drawing closer to the Lord, it’s a spiritual practice.
This came about because over a decade ago I started dabbling in blogging. I was writing about health and fitness topics for moms but one year I published a meal plan for the Daniel Fast because honestly, it had been really hard for me to figure out what to eat and I thought surely that must be the case for others and this could help somebody!
Little did I know that would become the most popular post on my blog, far and away. Over the years, that led to establishing the Daniel Fast Journey blog and writing a book.
So, we’ll talk more about all of that in upcoming episodes as we draw close to the new year.
I want to land this first episode on the idea of journey. Three things:
Journeys are ongoing
Challenging
Unique
I think everything changes when we see our well-being as part of who we are. Rather than trying to force ourselves to follow programs until we get to a goal, we can relieve tremendous pressure off our lives when we take ownership of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
We make better choices when we’re focused on our why, our vision and values. It’s not about achieving a perfect performance, but aligning our actions with who we’re meant to be.
The classic saying: you’re a human being, not doing, so true well-being is about more than the things you do.
Secondly, we have to embrace the challenge. I know so many people who start a plan with lots of conviction but drop off after 3 or 4 days. I can relate to that, can you?
We have to expect challenges on our journey and accept they are not an excuse to quit. Think about how silly it would be if you were on a hike, and every time something came up you turned around and hiked back down to the bottom to start completely over. No! You would take a rest, reset and keep going. But isn’t that what so many people do when it comes to their health habits?
There are concepts like “failing forward” which means you learn from your mistakes but keep going. And then there’s the idea that we don’t fail, we either win or learn. Either way, it’s about redefining failure and progressing forward, no matter what.
Finally journeys are unique. We don’t all have to be cyclists, maybe you like volleyball. Maybe someone thrives being a vegan, but others don’t feel great without animal protein. Finding out what works for you is going to be an ongoing discovery process. What works in your 20s might not work in your 40s, so that’s why it’s important to keep an open mind and keep moving forward. The idea of journey, is that it’s ongoing, challenging, and unique to you.
What does your wholly well journey look like?
I want to close with this Bible verse from Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the Lord : “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
Outro: Just a reminder and disclaimer that this Podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice or professional counseling. Please be sure to consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise plan or starting to fast. If you're interested in more information about fasting and [00:23:00] spiritual disciplines, check out danielfastjourney.com. Thanks for joining us on this journey to becoming wholly well.