Discovering Fulfillment In Faith And Fitness
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It's Live in the Bream with the host of Fox News Sunday, Shannon Bream. Okay, folks, one of my favorite people in this topic is joining us today to talk about how you are doing with health and fitness and resolutions, if you made them. As we get into the new year, you're a few weeks in, so we're going to check and see how you're doing and maybe how you can refocus if you feel like you need to.

We've got Kim D'Aletto with us today. She's got decades in the fitness industry. Still looks like she just got there, but she's got the expertise. She's got a book that I absolutely love and I would recommend because I've enjoyed it so much and I keep going back to it called Fit God's Way. But she also has a podcast, Strong, Confident His, and I'm so glad that she's joining us on Live in the Brain. Kim, welcome.

Thank you so much for having me, Shannon. You know, I am a huge fan of your work and I am so blessed to talk about faith and fitness today because we need this message and I'm so excited to share it today.

Okay, so let's start here. We're a few weeks in for most people and a lot of us start strong. They may be feeling a little bit discouraged. Maybe they're not seeing results right away. Maybe they haven't stuck to the plan that they had. Maybe they had unrealistic goals. Or maybe, you know, let us know on social media if you are on track. Kim, what do you say to folks at this point in the year? They've had a little bit of time to really dig into what they're trying to do and kind of measure how things are going.

I just want to fill people with hope and kind of

I want to encourage people to have a mindset shift away from this fitness is something you do for a certain amount of time or that there's some kind of magic finish line or magic pill or secret to weight loss. I would just encourage them to put their hope in God. And instead of like that cycle of stopping and starting and, you know, starting your diet over every Monday, I would encourage them to wake up each day and surrender it to God because there is hope.

for you in any struggle, whether it's inconsistency with working out or trying to find the right foods or just, you know, getting through a tough time in your life. Maybe you've hit a plateau. Maybe you are someone who is like really concerned about their health.

God is with you in this. And if you just stop that whole cycle of starting your diet over every Monday and you get up every day and you start every morning with God and you surrender it to him, you're going to be amazed at the difference because this can be such a all in or all out thing. Don't you agree, Shannon?

And I love that, obviously, you have a faith base to this because whatever you're working on in your life, whatever you may be struggling with or trying to better in your life or a habit you want to break or one that you want to add, like we as humans have limited ability

ability with our willpower or whatever. So we're trying to just like white knuckle it through something. And for any of our struggles in life or any of our resolutions that we've made to think about, you get up in the morning and say like, I need help from something, from someone bigger. God, I'm asking you to fulfill these promises that you're going to help me to

live in a way that I know honors you, honors my body. And I don't have enough strength for this and I need your help. So I love that that's such a focus and it can apply to so many areas. I was listening to a sermon the other day that was talking about this and saying, if you're trying to change the behavior, we all try to do that. But if you don't get to the underlying root,

and really get help with changing what you believe about yourself and how you find the strength to move forward, you're only gonna do so well at changing the outward behavior for a while. And I think that's what you get to is like, we've gotta have internal change too.

Absolutely. We can't do better until we believe better. And for so many of us, fitness is so much more of a struggle than we realize in our mind, than it has to do with food or fitness. Like, I believe so many people have a root in

in them of either maybe everyone in their family. Like for me, I have a lot of issues where people are overweight. We've struggled with health issues. People have had heart disease, high cholesterol. And so you can start to think if that's your family, okay, well, that's just my family. That's how I'm gonna be. But we serve the God of the impossible and that is not your fate. I have completely reversed all of that. In fact, I mean, my little brother who's 42

had a heart attack last year and it was so devastating. So I went out and I was, I've always been very vigilant about doing my blood work. Shannon, my cardiac calcium score was a zero, but I want to tell you that when I was going, I had to believe better because I was thinking, Lord, like this feels like my fate, but if we can believe better, we can be better. So I

Obviously, I get my blood profile done every year. I don't have high cholesterol. I have very low inflammation. I look at numbers that matter so much. So many of us get so affixed in this world. We just believe the scale. We just believe the numbers. We think we're too old. We think we're too late. But God is with us in this and we can reject all of that and go all in with him and find results because we can renew our mind in him. You know that in the word we can just...

Remove whatever that is, whether it's something in your family that runs in your family or thinking you're too old or thinking it's too late or thinking you've tried everything. I'm telling you, there's nothing like consistency in Christ and walking this out with him. You're going to win if you do it with him.

Yeah. And you referenced those verses. We think about so much in Romans, in Romans 12, I think one and two, where you talk about, you know, don't go along and be conformed with, you know, the way things have just been or the way the world tells you, but to renew your mind. And I think anything that you're trying to better in your life, it really does take that commitment.

that you're going to think about things. You know, we as Christians have the verse about taking thoughts captive. And I know for me, that's really powerful when I think, oh, I'm going to be a failure at this, or I'm really fearful about this and knowing, no, we do have the power to choose different thoughts and say, okay, that's not the truth. That's not the truth in my life. Here is how I can turn things around. But it gets at that

Not just changing the behavior like, okay, I'm not going to eat these chocolate chip cookies. I'm looking at my hotel room. They left here for me. It's not just the behavior issue. It's like, well, why do I not want to make that choice? And how can I tell myself that I am a temple? I need to make healthy choices. Not like I never have a cookie because Lord knows I do. But wanting to make a deeper change so that I'm not running to sugar to solve my problems or I'm not aimlessly eating and I'm not doing the best that I could for my earthly desires.

you know, God's temple living in me. So, gosh, there's just so much good scripture out there. And you do such a wonderful job in your podcast, in the book, your emails that I get of really pointing people back to scripture that says we don't have to do this by ourself. We can't.

We can. And I think for me, I came to the end of myself because I was a fitness competitor on ESPN, Fox Sports. I was on magazine covers and I felt like I was, you mentioned white knuckling. That was me. I felt like, okay, I'm going to diet for this event and then I'm going to gain the weight back. And I'm going to, I rode that crazy shame train of gaining and losing in that cycle. And one day I just, I opened my Bible. I was at church and I

And I saw scripture. There are two scriptures that have really, really helped me. And one of them, if someone is just like, where do I start today? Like, I've been doing this in the world, world, the worldly way means without God. And I don't, I don't want to do that anymore. I want to do it with God.

I would really encourage people to make Matthew 6.33 a hallmark of any goal setting, and that is seek God first and his righteousness, and then all things will be added. I think so much in dieting, we're like, okay, what's the magic diet? What's the magic pill? What's the workout? But what we miss is the whole mindset component and laying it down before God. And I believe fitness, Shannon, can be such an idol in our lives. And for me, it was.

So when I removed that idol and I followed Matthew 6, 33, I found answers that I didn't even know. Like the word came alive in such a different way. It was beautiful. And walking this out with God has really helped me. And I just want to share one other one because I really struggled with food. Like I joke, my husband's Italian, I'm Latin. Like our love language is food. So I was-

I know, right? So I was, and that doesn't mean that we don't enjoy food, but we look at food. It's changing your mindset around food differently. I had to learn that I wasn't bad if I ate bad or good if I ate good, that I ate to live. I didn't live to eat. And I really found that following something in Revelation 3.20 that says, here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in and eat with them. Like God was inviting us.

Jesus is inviting. He wants, he's inviting, like he's knocking on the door saying, can I come in and eat with you? And that changed my whole life. Like I remember crying my eyes out that day in the service, like, you know, when the worship music plays and like we were studying revelation, like I was crying because God was speaking to me through the word. And I think so often we feel alone, but if we open our Bibles, he is with us and he has answers for us. And I love it because he's the only one that can meet all of us individually and

in his word. He has the answer for you there. So yeah, seeking him, Matthew 6, 33, and answering the door. He's knocking. He wants to do this with you. Revelation 3, 20. Read those scriptures. Hold on to them. They're life changers for sure.

Yeah, and you have been very open about, you've been kind of all over the spectrum. Like you said, there was a time when you were very unhealthy. Your father had some tragic health events in his life and you were not a fitness model. But then you went to the other extreme of literally being on,

all of these covers of magazines and the look of perfection that we would look to most of us to say, okay, if I ideally got everything together in my life, that's the woman I would want to look like. So I think it's interesting that you point out, we can be wrong on both ends. I mean, not caring for ourselves at all or turning to food or alcohol or whatever it is as our comfort versus I am going to be so now that my body, my

fitness becomes an idol so that it upends the rest of my life and where my heart really is and what I'm really striving for. Instead of being about for us as Christians, you know, following the path of Christ and serving other people and seeking him and building his kingdom, like you said in Matthew 633, we can go extremes in either direction. Even if we're taking care of ourselves, that can become sort of an idol for us too if we go too far.

Oh, it absolutely can. And I think that that is the dangerous trap that we have. That's why I believe God has called me to talk about this, because for me, it was gaining and losing, gaining and losing. And then I had that pressure of my dad's health issues looming over me like I don't want to be him. And then I would lose weight, gain it back, lose weight, gain it back. And I tried to make myself look as perfect as I could.

But the truth is, is if you look at the science, 95% of diets fail and 91% of women are unhappy with the way they look. $72 billion a year are spent on diet aids, yet 70 to 73% of us are overweight or obese. So this is clearly not working and we need a new answer. And I pray to God that we can get this more into the church because we do our parenting finances, marriage and all of that in the church. But

Wouldn't it be wonderful to go to church and have the pastor get up there and say, this year I really want us to steward our bodies in a godly manner so we can fulfill our calling. Because what this really comes down to is fitness is a battle between the flesh and the spirit. And the only way we can do that is if we steward our bodies to godliness. And it isn't about...

you know, perfect macros or working out five hours a day. It's about walking it out with Jesus every day. We'll have more live in the Bream in a moment. This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all new Prologue EV, there's a lot that can impress you about it. There's the class leading passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit Honda.com slash EV to see offers.

So with that in mind, let's talk practical because, by the way, I love your Instagram too. People, if you need an encouraging word, Kim's often on there. You may see her working out, get some inspiration, but she's really encouraging on all of her formats. But I always love it when you come up on my Instagram feed too. So let's talk about the practical stuff. You and I tackle these things from looking at it through a perspective.

a lens of faith, knowing that, I mean, for me to start my day in the word and in prayer and journaling is the best start I can get. I feel like it sets me up for whatever I'm doing, whether it's fitness or work or relationships or whatever. I just feel like it's the right, for me, that's the timing that works. But once we've got that down, what are practical things women can do or men?

So if they're thinking about, gosh, I want to figure out how to eat better. Maybe I've not spent a lot of time in the gym and I want to figure out how to do a workout plan or should go for a walk or what should I do? What's some practical stuff if you're trying to make more responsible decisions about your health?

You know, I love James Clear, Atomic Habits. I think habit stacking is such a way to win your day. So like, let's say you want to read your Bible more, right? And you always get up and you have your morning coffee. Well, while you're enjoying your morning coffee, instead of scrolling your phone, open your Bible. Done. Like, I don't think the practical application is, it's so simple. I think we miss it, Shannon, because

because it's like, wait, it couldn't be that easy. You know, a lot of people tell me, I love listening to podcasts. I love listening to like the YouVersion Bible. I love listening to Living the Vrame or whatever. And you can go for a walk or run. I've seen you often post pictures in the beautiful, you know, outdoors. Getting outdoors and listening to your Bible is such, it's like you're worshiping God because you are, you know,

Offering your body as a living sacrifice. I consider working out with God because I listen to Christian music or the Bible. It's like worship. Like I'm worshiping you, God. I use my body to serve you, right? So I believe you could practically go for a walk and listen to your Bible. That's like two things you could do. You could shop the perimeter in the grocery store instead of

looking at all the like man-made processed things that line the shelves i mean obviously there's some good stuff in there but if we just start eating got more god-made food this is no perfection project but just start to look at what you're eating and you know god made your body so shouldn't you be eating god-made food right it's what are the fuel our body is going to run best on and we can remake shannon everything in a healthy way like look at what you currently love making and just

pull out the ingredients that are highly processed and replace them with God-made ingredients and whole grain flours versus bleached white flour. Simple things like that change everything, Shannon. In the grand scheme of your life, your blood sugar is gonna go down. You're gonna have more energy. You know all that. Like just simple tricks in better ingredients. That's a very simple thing to do. And then another thing I would say to encourage people is to really start prioritizing rest.

go to bed in the peace of God and wake up in his power. Like we do not prioritize rest in our country. And there is nothing like putting yourself to sleep without hours of blue light that disrupts your melatonin and disrupts

And really, like even laying down in the middle of the day for 20 minutes and just or 15 minutes, even five, if you close your eyes for five minutes and just if you can't sleep and you just think about everything you're grateful for, friends, we need to take better care of our bodies. We need to steward our bodies well, because if we don't, we cannot serve in our gifts. Like Shannon, you're a perfect example of someone who takes excellent care of yourself. And I mean, I'm sure that you agree with me that rest is important. The nutrition, you know, eating more God made food.

getting rid of all those sugary beverages, drinking more water, flavoring it with fresh fruit, mint, cucumber, basil, thyme. I mean, there's so many things you can do with drinks. There's so many simple things to do, but I would just encourage people to get prayerful and ask God, Lord, I just want to do this for the long haul, not the sprint. Show me what my first step is. Give me wisdom, Lord. And He will.

Yeah. And there are things that are so simple. I mean, I think some people times that a lot of times people will worry about the cost associated, like, oh, I got to go join an expensive gym and get certain clothes. And, you know, I've got to get a meal plan or, you know, I, my husband, I always joke around. If we ever won the lottery, you can get a private shop. I mean, cause I didn't have somebody else make your food for you, but none of that stuff is required.

required, as you said, for taking better care of yourself, really drinking a ton of water, getting sleep. And I know people are frazzled and they have demanding schedules, but where you can get it, it really does make such a difference with letting your body regenerate. And I find that when I'm tired, I'm much more susceptible to sugar and junk food and just eating because I'm exhausted. And, you know, it's

that's not a great combination, but the more rest that we have, I think the more we are in control of our thoughts and our emotions and just better equipped for whatever the day demands of us. So I got to tell you quickly, I'm in New Hampshire right now as we're talking. And I was so excited because I came in on an afternoon flight yesterday and I thought, I'm going to get some work done. I'll have dinner with my team. I'll go to bed. I haven't had just the chaos of traveling and I'm so excited to go to bed. And so I get here and I get off the flight and I get an email that

Well, I made it, my bags did not make it. And they said, your bags are coming in on a flight that's going to land at 1230 a.m.

And I thought, oh, can you? That was not the plan that I had. I went to Kohl's and I found myself a little blazer that I could wear in case my stuff didn't make it for my morning reports. And I went to the CVS and I got a few things and I said, you know what? The compromise here is I'm going to sleep for a couple of hours and then I'll get up and go to the airport and hopefully my luggage will be there. So like you said, just getting naps, getting sleep wherever you can. I think you'll feel mentally and physically that pays off.

Oh my gosh. And here's a big component that people don't talk about a lot or we don't hear a lot about the cortisol just from not resting. You're if you're in that fight or flight all the time and your sympathetic nervous system is constantly activated, you're in stress mode and your breath is probably shallow. You have anxiety, you feel anxious, you feel stressed, you feel so on. And all that does is make you retain body fat.

So quieting your mind with just breathing, like just having a moment of gratitude with God, you know, taking a few deep breaths that enacts your that instant like it activates your parasympathetic nervous system. So you're driving your blood pressure down, you're driving your stress down. And we need to be very conscious of this because we.

When you listen to yourself intuitively like that, you know, because look at emotions. I mean, 90, they say 91% of disease is caused by emotions. And I know stress has got to be one of the top right there. So, and why do we eat? You know, we eat to numb comfort. And from all that, I actually have a quote that I wrote that I put on my own refrigerator and it says, no diet can give you the spirit of self-control. Only God can do that.

So I'm like, I'm not running to the refrigerator. I'm going to run, you know, to God and say, okay, I don't want to eat. I want to like hit that pause button, pray. I have something called the seven Ps that really helps. But we need to be walking this out in a manner with power beyond our own because we

Like you said, you know, we've all like white knuckled it. We've all tried that and you just can't do it. And especially when you get to those super stressed out levels where your adrenaline is just constantly on. And then you I mean, that is the worst place we can be in because we have, you know, our adrenal function and the cortisol. It's just it's not good. And so if that's you, friend, today, please stop giving yourself more caffeine and just choose some water and take some deep breaths.

And just practice gratitude for a minute because it will make you feel so much better than that Red Bull or that coffee drink. True. And I mean, I quit caffeine a few years ago because I was I found myself totally dependent on it. And when I didn't have it, I felt terrible. Ladies and gentlemen, detoxing off caffeine was physically one of the toughest things I've ever done, which proved to me that I had a problem.

So I sleep so much better. I don't have the racing heart and the jitteriness and those things that they're going to come sometimes, but not on a regular basis. And so I'm just so thankful for that. But I would second what Kim is saying, like sugar and caffeine. Yes, we all use them, you know, most of us at some point for a fix, but...

transitioning away from that has been so, so helpful. So I just want to say again, Kim's book Fit God's Way, I found so helpful in so many ways. It's got a ton of practical information. If you want to think through making better choices and how physically to think about food and workouts and all those things. I just love the book. I thought it was fantastic. So Kim, tell us where people can find you, hear you and connect with you.

Well, first of all, Shannon, I just want to say thank you so much. And I am a big fan of your books. So that means the world to me. I actually have a free guide if people are listening and they're like, wait, how would I even do this? I want to give you the steps, friend. So go to fitgodsway.com and you can find them there.

I can be found at KimDolanLeto.com and Kim Dolan Leto on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all the places, threads, you know, we go on and on and on. Right. But I would love to hear from you and just, you know, encourage you on this journey because we need that daily encouragement with God and in his word to help us walk this out because we

I mean, for me, I never found a way that worked until I added him into it. And he was the game changer.

Yeah. So folks, if you are doing great with your resolutions, if you're not, if you've just decided this is not going to be a resolution thing, but I really want to take better care of myself, all of Kim's guidance will be really helpful to you. And she's super encouraging. And like I said, I love it when she shows up on my Instagram feed because it's going to give me a little kick to remember what's important and how to take better care of myself. So Kim, thank you for all the encouragement. It's been great having you on Live in the Brain.

Thank you so much, Shannon. Listen ad-free with the Fox News Podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. And Amazon Prime members can listen to this show ad-free on the Amazon Music app. From the Fox News Podcast Network. I'm Janice Dean, Fox News Senior Meteorologist. Be sure to subscribe to the Janice Dean Podcast at foxnewspodcast.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And don't forget to spread the sunshine.