The Lost Vineyard is a Christian Web Site & a spiritual Diet Retreat for Christians seeking Weight Loss & Diet Motivation.

The First Form of Exercise - The Old-Order Amish Diet

Article by Diet Bites

In the beginning of the world, fancy exercise machines, ropes, gadgets and other diet apparatus didn't exist.  There wasn't really a need for them because the first form of exercise was sweat-drenching, back-breaking, simple hard work. With that, let's take on the New World where the old-order Amish diet is still in place and receiving rave reviews from the Health Community.  Here's the scoop....

Based on research performed in 2003 by a team from the University of Tennessee, the old-order Amish way of life (still practiced in southern Ontario, Canada) was placed under the Diet Microscope for review. The old-order Amish diet consists of most anything under the sun - from bread to rich desserts made with real sugar and real cream. Yet, a scant 4% within this group were classified as obese and only 26% as overweight.

Although the old-order Amish don't practice Atkins and they don't visit The South Beach, they are one of the healthiest pockets to be found in Today's Society. So how can one enjoy all the niceties of a high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-sugar diet and still attain Arnold-like pecs and thighs?  Running parallel with the non-typical health-wise diet is good old-fashioned work.

It's a bit like a see-saw; the diet depresses one side, yet intense activity creates a balancing act. In the Old World, when men plowed their fields, it wasn't uncommon for them to burn 6,000 calories or more per day! Women collected water from hand-dug wells; they worked with hot wax - dipping candles for their families to burn by night; they loomed and designed handmade quilts; they chopped wood, wove fabric from unprocessed cotton - then hand-stitched clothing for the family.

It wasn't an easy life, yet it was an extremely healthy lifestyle. If the Old World had the benefits of Modern Day Medicine, it would be interesting to see the effects that would have played on life span.

And now, in Today's Busy World, well - with our desk jobs and casual lifestyle, we're lucky if we burn 60 calories per day through extra activity (i.e. playing video games and walking into spas and salons to get our hair and nails one).  And just one bite of most candy bars is enough to erase that slight mark!  And....who says that life just isn't fair!

With all this said, the Amish enjoy a happy, joyous playing field in life - even with all the strenuous work.  Think about how you feel after you've done that long hike, or walked that mile, or shot hoops.  Yes, you will probably experience a few aches and pains if you're not accustomed to intense activity, but the fact is, our bodies just feel better once we get the blood moving.

And not only do our bodies feel better, our mindset becomes positive because we know that we've done something good, something very healthy - and when we feel good, we're just jumping with JOY! 

For example, if Dieter Jan wants to lose 24 pounds, it's going to take her about 12 weeks to reach her weight loss goal.  

Weight Loss Motivators

While trying to lose weight, make a short list of things that you will use as rewards once you reach a certain weight loss amount, or a certain date.  Just like God rewards us, we should also reward ourselves because giving doesn't always mean sacrifice.

• A new outfit in a smaller size.
• Enjoy a celebration dinner with a loved one.
• A day at a spa just for pampering.

Weight Loss Articles

Need a little weight loss support?  Whenever you're feeling on edge during Diet Time, edge on over into the safety of The Lost Vineyard.

• A Diet Coat of Many Colors
• Seeking Diet Solutions
• A Lost Cause
• The King's Table
• The Staff of Life
• The Cracked Vessel