Orthodox Christians Lead Health & Fitness Seminar! Body as Temple Nurturing Life | PART 1 CWP064

Ever wondered how transforming your diet could revolutionize your life, both physically and spiritually? Our hosts Melchizedek (and Joshua in Part 2), seasoned personal trainers and nutrition specialists, join us to share his incredible journey from a college weightlifter to a health guru. His insights into the sacredness of our bodies and the profound influence of our dietary choices will leave you inspired to treat your body like the temple it deserves to be. Through practical tips and a deep understanding of nutrition, Mel guides us on how to fuel our lives with the right balance of foods, optimizing not just our health but our spiritual and mental well-being as well.

Let's face it, navigating the world of nutrition can often feel like decoding an ancient language, but fret not because Melchizedek simplifies it for us. He emphasizes the power of natural, whole foods and the dangers lurking in processed items. By incorporating foods like sauerkraut and considering vitamin E supplements, you could take a giant leap towards enhancing your gut health and overall vitality. He'll even let you in on how to decipher the signals our bodies send us after each meal, so you can truly understand what it means to feel energized and fully hydrated.

When it comes to fitness, it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of deal, and Mel drives this point home by highlighting the diverse goals we all may have, from aging gracefully to building muscle. He sheds light on the subtle cues our appearance can give about our health and uncovers the underrated benefits of sunlight and raw honey – yes, it's more than just a sweetener! Concluding with a touch of warmth, we explore the comforting combination of green tea and honey, discussing the best ways to brew this healthful potion. So, get ready to embark on a journey that promises to harmonize your body and soul, one sip and step at a time.

Huge thank you to hosts:
Melchizedek jermellemacleod@gmail.com 
Joshua Williams @thewaymma on YouTube

Consider supporting Cloud of Witnesses Radio:
https://www.patreon.com/CloudofWitnessesRadio

Thank you for journeying w/ the Saints with us!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

But we thought it would be a great idea. We noticed in our young adult gatherings, in general we like to eat lots of chips, lots of Oreos and, as we were heading into Lent and then even thinking about, people might have some good ideas in the beginning of Lent but tend to run out of ideas towards the end. And then we're going to be looking at the summertime. That'd be a really great opportunity to get a couple of guys in who have expertise in fitness, in nutrition, and talk about these things. Right, because I think we could all eat better. Um, because we think of ourselves as the icons of christ.

Speaker 1: 0:35

Right, the icons of god and our bodies are a temple and we want to try to do our best. So, mckissick joshua, uh, you see, their bios were on the um, on the flyer, but they're both highly, highly educated in this area, licensed in some ways as well. So please, if you don't mind, giving them your attention. We appreciate it.

Speaker 2: 0:56

Yeah, that's a perfect intro. Before I wanted to begin, I wanted to talk a little bit more about my background and how I got into all of this and where I intend to go with it in the future. So I'm Mel Kizadek. I started weightlifting when I was 18 years old and I was in college, essentially out of boredom. I realized that it was better than doing nothing, than just like sitting in my dorm and staring at my screen, so I just decided to go to the gym and then after a while, like most young men you know, that becomes your outlet for access, rage, access, anything. So then it became a lifestyle. And then from there it devolved into research, into more research, which ended up encompassing nutrition, bits and pieces of endocrinology and things of that like to maximize my results in fitness and in sports in general. And then, once I graduated college, just like every other guy, I was like shoot, I have this piece of paper, I don't know what to do. So I then proceeded to get more pieces of paper. I got my NASM nutrition and my personal training cert at the same time. It was one of those deals where it's like, if you save money now, and I'm like, heck, yeah, I want to save some money. So I did both of those past, both both tests, and then eventually became a personal trainer. Uh, and that's where I am now and in and in the future, just because it does get a little monotonous doing a bunch of research on weightlifting and I'm in the like I'm now getting more into, um, understanding how nutrition impacts cells and cellular and cellular energy and stuff, and it's I'm still extremely new to it, but it's, it's a lot of fun. So hopefully I can grow in that field and use that to also expand my training and make sure that my clients are as as healthy as as can be.

Speaker 2: 2:45

I do want to expand a little bit on, uh, what Jeremy said, like recording the why, like why this matters, cause I mean the how. The how is already outlined, but I'll look at the why is just a little bit more more important. Like, as Jeremy said, you know our bodies are a temple for God. But I would also even go further and say what you do and what you put into your bodies inevitably affects your paradigm, which then affects your actions, and then, once you look at it from that, the implications are endless, because at the end of the day, we're going to be judged for quite a bit, but I would say that our actions are going to be the biggest one. So your mindset, your body, all of which affects your actions, and that's essentially almost eternal. Um, so, going from there, as you can see from the sheets that were handed out, I did write down some basic uh tips.

Speaker 2: 3:39

Now my goal here is just to give you guys not a diet, not something that confines you, like what you can and can't do. These are just general recommendations and things that I do when in doubt. So and this was also intended to be applicable for not just Lent, but also post Lent so once we survived Lent, you know, and Pascha finally happens, these, these principles will still apply. So, starting with, starting with the very first one, keep it natural. This is huge. This eliminates practically a majority of what causes people to have health issues in the first place. Like, in essence, you know, you won't find Oreos in nature. Oreos don't Nope, oreo trees, no, you won't find potato chips in nature. The only counter-argument I could see to this no, potato chips in nature, yeah, no, but you want potatoes, exactly.

Speaker 1: 4:37

That's where I was going right.

Speaker 2: 4:39

So, potato chips like you can definitely find in nature, and I promote having potatoes. I just don't promote having them cooked in a bunch of stuff that did not come from nature, right? Like you're not going to find seed oils Listen, nature, guys, I'm sorry Like you're not going to find whatever they're cooked in. Like you may find the seed itself but not the oil, and even then the oil itself is mixed in with a bunch of stuff. So just avoid it If you, you should primarily be buying and making whole foods. That is which also leads me perfectly into. You know to make your own food. You can. If you learn how to cook and how to cook with whole ingredients, you control everything that goes in your body, which is massive. When you're eating out, you really don't know what's going in your food, like I mean that may sound jaded, but it's, it's true Like I don't know what. I don't know what those cooks put in my eggs. I don't know. Maybe I got mad at the waitress or something and then she spat my food. I don't know.

Speaker 2: 5:45

Maybe I got mad at the waitress, or something and then she spat my food, I don't know. But I also say right after that don't go insane with it. So, uh, so if you're out and you know you're out with friends or you're out with family, when in Rome do what Romans do, I I wouldn't trip too much. If it's like, oh, is everybody having pizza? Yeah, like, a slice won't kill you. Um, if you are a little like obsessive over it and, um, I mean that's fine. Or you are at that point where, yeah, a slice of pizza may mess up what you had had planned, the best thing you can do is supplement with vitamin E. Um, so, vitamin E has antioxidizing effects on your cells. So when, when, uh, when you hear me ranting about you know I don't have any processed foods or don't have seed oils your body doesn't know what to do with that Cause it's like, whoa, this isn't natural, I haven't had this or I'm not supposed to have this. Um, so when you have, um, like vitamin E, it has the anti-oxidizing effects, so your cells don't open up and get assaulted by the free radicals or the toxins in your body. So, absolutely massive, just supplementing with vitamin E after any meal you had out, perfectly fine, you'll be fine. And thirdly, you'll always feel light. This is another big one.

Speaker 2: 7:01

Food is energy. If you eat something and you feel sluggish, you need to figure out why. You either had too much of something which is not good, or you had the wrong thing, which is even worse. So, um, when, when you eat yeah, definitely eat until you're satiated and then, after that, drink water. For some reason, it seems to it seems to be this common trend that people will mistake hunger with thirst.

Speaker 2: 7:27

When, like when they really just need some water, but they're just eating. Eating, eating like why don't I feel full? I'm like dude, you're satiated, you just need to drink more water and fill up your stomach. So eat well, drink water, and the litmus test for whether or not this was done right is after you've eaten, can you exercise? You should always be able to eat, drop down and give me 20 as if nothing happened. If you do that and then you feel like really sluggish and like, oh, you messed up. Re-evaluate, either adjust through portions or figure out what you ate and then go from there, which also segues into four. Take care of your stomach, so choosing foods that are easy to digest, that's a personal thing like.

Speaker 2: 8:15

Everybody's body is different when it comes to what they can and what they cannot handle. For instance, I could have starch is fine, I could have white rice all day and my stomach is fine, but some people can't do that. So this is where experimenting comes in, and literally trusting and literally trusting your gut is is absolutely paramount. Um, no, like before lens, uh, like, well, like. One of my staples is is potatoes and butter. I can, I can tolerate that, like I can, I can eat that and look in the mirror. No bloat, no, nothing, perfectly fine. But if I have, say, too much brown rice, my stomach just my body is not able to process that for whatever reason. And another favorite in this regard would be sauerkraut. Whenever I have something that's going to be particularly heavy, I'll just throw some sauerkraut on it. Before Lent, for instance, in very typical bodybuilding fashion, I'll have beef and rice, but I'll just put some sauerkraut on top. Make sure that my stomach is good. Then so far I've had no problems with eating anything heavy.

Speaker 1: 9:24

Can you talk about? Why is sauerkraut? Why? What's it doing? It's fermented.

Speaker 2: 9:29

Fermented foods are, yeah, exactly. So uh fermented foods are extremely good for your gut, gut health and your gut. I don't know how to pronounce the word, I've only read it microbiome, yeah.

Speaker 1: 9:42

Yes, yes, so I read it microbiomes, yes.

Speaker 2: 9:45

So when you have stuff that's fermented, your gut goes. This is my support system, so instead of taxing your stomach, it sees it as more support to get the gases and everything flowing. It's actually good bacteria.

Speaker 4: 10:00

Yes, yeah, like it's good bacteria.

Speaker 2: 10:03

Yes, yeah right.

Speaker 3: 10:15

Yeah right.

Speaker 2: 10:16

Yes, yes, I'm using that one. Thank you, I'm stealing it. Um, so, that's so. That's an essence why I mainly use a sauerkraut If I feel like I'm really going to have something heavy. Another one I have is kimchi, so I'll just toss them both. One bowl stomach is perfectly fine. And uh, and number five.

Speaker 2: 10:35

This one could be a little um odd at first, but, but the mirror is your friend when it comes to your health. Uh, I analyze myself every morning. I wake up. I look in the mirror like, not like a vein way, like Ooh, no, I look at my face. Mostly I'm like okay, how's, um, um, how's my skin look, how? How do my eyes look, how do my cheeks look? Cause that tells me like the eye area, did I sleep enough or was my sleep deep enough? In essence, if I wake up and I see more bags than usual, I'm like all right, you know, reassess what did I do? And then go from there. And for men, especially this, this area, right here, this, this tells me and should tell you how stressed you are. If you can't lose fat in this area, even though I have some, your stress is way too high. That's not average fat, that's stress or cortisol fat. The only way to get rid of that over time is to chill out. Over time you'll just see this one area of stubborn fat will just go away.

Speaker 4: 11:44

Yes, can we have a seminar later? Can somebody give a seminar on chilling out, cause I?

Speaker 2: 11:49

don't know. And uh, and the last one I have listed is, uh, our cheeks. So, um, another odd one, but, uh, but your cheeks, can it tells you a bunch? If your cheeks, can it tells you a bunch? If your cheeks are watery, yeah, you probably had a little bit too much sodium or you didn't drink enough water the night before. And for men as well, it also could be a sign that your estrogen is a bit high. And you know, for dudes like want to fix that.

Speaker 2: 12:23

So that's mainly what I use my eyes, my cheeks, in this fat area right here, uh, but the lifts it, it. It can go on and on because everybody's different. But the point is this there are some days, vein or not, where, uh, where you look in the mirror and you go, oh, I look good today. Figure out why, cause your body's telling you something. If you, if you wake up, you look in the mirror, go, wow, like I actually look good. Today you did something different the day before. You either went to bed earlier, or you got better sleep, or you ate something different, or even as something as small as you were happier that day. Massive impact on health. So pay attention to how, how you look, but obviously, you know, don't go insane with it, like you know, just being like shredded for no reason, um, and one of the most um, and then a number of things I just kind of tossed out there when, when I was asked to do this, I was, and the topic was general fitness. I'm like, okay, like what do you mean by that? Like fit for what? What is fitness? And and this, this then goes into the segue of what do you want out of your activities? Like, for instance, right, I, I'm most of most of my clientele, you know, like they're older, and then when I mean older, I mean like 70 plus, and they just want to be strong enough to live. So that's a very particular thing. So we do things or do exercises that impact the muscles, that are most efficient for daily living, and that's that's what they want to do. You know, I also trained some bodybuilders on the side who are like, dude, I just want to get jacked and stacked. I'm like all right, but that's their particular goal. So so fitness for that guy is, you know, like jacked and tan. Fitness for my 70 year old lady is I want to get, get out of bed. So you have to choose an activity that you want to do with your body or a goal for your body and then work for that. So fitness is fit for that particular task.

Speaker 2: 14:19

Uh, general fitness that's. You know, that's um, that just I interpret that, as you can operate through life, but we're all operating through life, so then it becomes a trickier uh thing there. And number eight I have get sun huge there. I think the research I did uh showed that some of the most, some of the um, some of the vitamins that most people are deficient in are A, D and K. Now the other ones, except for vitamin D, that's a diet thing. Vitamin D, I mean you can get some from milk, but the sun is the best and most accessible source. You can get some from milk, but the sun is the best and most accessible source. And from there, being in the sun boosts immunity, it boosts your metabolic rate, which then leads to just being leaner and feeling more energetic in general, and then from there it increases your mood and gets you better rest. So vitamin D deficiency is rampant simply because we don't go outside much anymore.

Speaker 2: 15:28

Um, I'm almost at that point where I I will trade gym time for sun time. I'll skip going to. Uh, I'll skip going to the gym just to go lounge. That like. That's how serious it is nowadays, um, so, uh, so, going on from the eight things that I discussed, we now have, like, my favorite foods and why, number one is raw honey. Hands down, probably the most impactful and the best thing I have ever had. I put honey on everything. I wake up honey, bed honey, lunch honey. I am about the honey man. Bed honey, lunch honey. I'm. I am about the honey man. Like bees, hate bees, hate me. Like bees will see, see me and panic. That's how serious it is. But like, well, like.

Speaker 2: 16:15

But the reason why is, um, our cells do run on on sugar, but you needn't be having a bunch of, you know, white, like white, random table sugar or synthetic stuff. Honey will get it done. Uh, with that amazing energy, um, it boosts your um like, so it increase your nitric, uh, your nitric oxide. So so, uh, so your blood vessels expand and with that like, more nutrients goes to where it needs to be, in essence, also loaded with minerals. And for men, it will increase your testosterone if you take it enough. And second, people who are overweight can they eat honey? Oh, yeah, of course, my husband loves honey.

Speaker 2: 17:01

Okay, when it comes to things like honey, um, and and I'm in sugars that I'm still a fan of knowing what your hormones are doing and your and what your calorie count is. So I don't know your husband like I don't know what his um, I don't know what his estrogen looks like, I don't know what his thyroid looks like. But from there, if you know, if your concern is, oh, can he have or like, can he eat any sugar? I don't see a problem with sugar. I noticed that increasing my sugar resulted in feeling better in general, like I got warmer, I was happier, I was in a much better mood, but I stayed lean.

Speaker 2: 17:45

But that's also because I keep track of my own thyroid. I look at my own estrogen, I look at my own face, like my biomarkers. I do that personally. I don't see a problem with anybody having honey. But once again, I would need more information to say, yes, you can, or maybe you should hold off on that. So I am a, so there's multiple places to get. I even think we still it here, like there's some raw honey here, yeah, yeah, can I chime in on?

Speaker 4: 18:19

that what's that Straight from the monastery.

Speaker 5: 18:22

Yeah.

Speaker 4: 18:22

Yeah. So if you're consuming honey in moderate amounts, I definitely recommend supporting a monastery. If you want honey in ridiculous amounts, I have probably the most local beekeeper, mel Jess Bees. They're in Murrieta and I get a gallon from them, so I'm letting you know too for $80. I got you Probably the most local beekeeper, mel Jess bees. They're in Murrieta. I get a gallon from them, so I'm letting you know too for 80 bucks. This is orange blossom honey. So sorry I didn't put that on the list. Can I call it to the honey? Yes, mel Jess, m-e-l-j-e-s-s is the beekeeper.

Speaker 2: 19:02

They will receive the call from me very shortly.

Speaker 1: 19:05

Can you say something just before we move on from honey? Yeah, when you say raw honey, I picture the stuff. That's like it's opaque, you can't see through it. Is that what you mean, or is that different?

Speaker 2: 19:17

So it's the same thing, but that depends on how it's heated like. So the opaque stuff that you can't see through, that's that good stuff right there. That's why I have I have that stuff to where it's like you came in pour it, like you have to like scoop it out, yeah well what what that means?

Speaker 4: 19:32

Sorry, I hate to jump in on but what that means is. It's a little bit aged, so all honey will crystallize over time so you can have some really good raw unfiltered honey. That's gonna look pretty clear in the beginning and it depends like what variety it is. But yeah, when it crystallizes, that just tells you how old it is, or if it's a stirrer, stir it a lot.

Speaker 5: 19:54

I think they can process it to make it creamy by stirring it.

Speaker 4: 19:59

Sorry, sorry, no, no, no.

Speaker 2: 20:02

Well, that reason.

Speaker 5: 20:04

Do they all melt during the summer, or is it only certain types that melt during the summer?

Speaker 2: 20:10

They should all melt as long as they're left in the sun, but they may not become like the opaque, like syrupy thing, but they'll get a little bit warm. But to add on to all this, so yeah, the honey that I get it's the one that's hardened, like it's crystallized that way. I also know that it wasn't heated, because the honey that you can pour out, even though it says raw honey, it was still heated. It just wasn't heated to the temperatures that would ruin the enzymes that I'm particularly interested in or looking for. And moving on from that is the second one is oysters, right, bees hate me, oysters hate me, right. This is another staple and this is even Lenten friendly, so, uh, so, like you best believe, I was choosing violence when I saw any oysters in the store.

Speaker 2: 21:03

Huh, either one. It depends on what kind of the like, which brand of canned oysters though. Yeah, so like I'll have, like I'll have the non-canned or the canned ones. It's around the same thing. But if I get the canned ones it's only in water, no oils, so just straight oysters water. So it's like two of those. Yeah, like you've got to choose. Like I get the ones it's the Geisha brand, but it literally says in water, so no seed oils there, just water.

Speaker 2: 21:33

That's important, though so very high in zinc, which is another thing that most people are deficient in from there. You know this one is not lent in friendly, but I'm a huge fan, fan of liver as well. I don't have it every day, but when I do have it it's a full liver. So you don't want to have it every day because you know it is kind of like a question thing that's going on about like oh, vitamin A can be too toxic if I'm have taken too much, and I've personally never had that problem. But I do have a friend who did have liver every day and then one day he was just down. Sure enough, he had a little bit too too much, too much a liver the day before and he got sick. So maybe there's some truth to it, maybe there isn't, I'm Not sure. But I'm very moderate with how much liver I have Two percent milk. Now this is the one where people are like no full milk. So the reason why I put two percent is because it's easier to process and and Assimilate into your system. Full fat milk it's totally fine if you can tolerate it. So the thing is, if you can tolerate it, most people who will have full fat milk they'll feel kind of like woozy or sluggish, which is what, which is what you don't want like. You want to feel light. It's because the fat's just a little bit too high and their bodies are having some trouble breaking it down. Like fat takes a long time to fully break down, but it is essential. So choose, choose your fats wisely.

Speaker 2: 23:06

Number five dates once again, no dates. They hate me because I have so many a day. I easily I will have like maybe 18 to 20 a day. Super high in sugar, but that's, but that's what I mean. Like sugar won't kill you. Super high in fiber, yeah, so yeah, like if you've got some bowel issues, I'm just saying, but no, like I'm good that way. So, um, so, and it's also extremely loaded with good sources of minerals, like I. One day I um, I had this app I used and I scanned dates and it gave me like a list like this, and I didn't even read it and I was like, looks like a lot of good stuff. I tossed it in my cart and just went away. So there's a lot of good stuff in dates Number six.

Speaker 5: 23:58

The dates of Alexander the Great Macedonian. They ate only dates before the war.

Speaker 2: 24:04

Hey see.

Speaker 3: 24:07

Did you mean Greek?

Speaker 5: 24:09

Yeah. And also don't waste the seeds from the dates you dry them in the oven and you mash them in a blender and you make tea with it, because it's really great stuff for your body that I actually didn't know.

Speaker 2: 24:24

So that's something I'll try. Yeah, so I mean, I didn't know that, so I'm on something here. So I guess, whenever it's time to retake the Holy Land dates, not even dates. So, uh, yes, so, uh, so six are eggs, also not meant to appropriate, but still very good. Um, so, particularly eggs with the yolk runny. There's a reason. So when I cook my eggs and I miss my eggs very much, I, um, I either have them provide or sunny side up, and the reason is the egg whites. You should cook those because there are some anti enzymes in there that when you cook they're killed and the protein that's in the egg is primarily from the egg whites, so that protein becomes more bioavailable. So you can actually have it. But the yolk is just a vitamin bomb. Don't touch the yolk. Keep the yolk as runny as you possibly can, so you're not cooking out any of the good stuff. That's why I get slightly annoyed when my eggs are so scrambled. I'm like, dude, you just killed everything I'm trying to get. That's a crime, so extremely important.

Speaker 2: 25:43

And number seven green tea. This is another one. Green tea companies hate me because I keep stealing all their stuff. So I have this more so than coffee because I noticed that the comedown isn't as severe Like with green tea. It's just like I'll drink my green tea with some raw honey. And this is also most important If you do put honey or raw honey in your green tea, don't boil your tea, because that kills the point of having raw honey, because you just cooked it, so you want to have-.

Speaker 3: 26:15

Well, tea is generally also green tea. So the reason probably why you don't feel the come down to just coffee is kind of eating L-theanine and synergize.

Speaker 3: 26:23

And also there's kind of a trade off. So if you do want to get the good stuff out of tea, you do have to steam it for a long time. If you lightly steam it you'll get sort of the flavor compounds out of it, but you won't necessarily. Fortunately there are bitter compounds that are called, like Hoplorts Hoplorts, yeah, tannins or whatever. Also there are other compounds too, but the more bitter tea is when you steep it based on duration and temperature, you're also probably getting the good stuff. It's also probably why honey is going to help. But you could steep it for a long time without temperature. Let it sit for a minute and then put the honey in.

Speaker 2: 27:04

Well, that's exactly what I do. So I'm glad you said that, because now I don't have to explain it. So everything that he.

Speaker 5: 27:10

So also, if I can add, honey in tea is one of the ingredients. That is actually super. Tea is one of the ingredients that is actually super common for Russian tea drinkers, specifically when sick, because not only does it have all those good vitamins and good stuff in it, it helps ease the throat.

Speaker 2: 27:35

Yes yes and so, like you guys, just said everything, so I can essentially move on. But to add on to this, I was going to mention that at night I'll notice that when I have some honey I'm in my nighttime tea, my voice is deeper the following day and it's because it soothes your throat. So if you ever want some base in your voice voice dudes just have some tea and some honey the night before. You're going to be scaring people.