Eating for Fuel and Pleasure

In my (Josh’s) younger years, my approach to diet and fitness was all about achieving that perfect six-pack. I ate to stay lean and chiseled, driven by strict discipline and relentless restrictions. It was all about appearances, not nourishment or enjoying a delicious meal. I had friends who were even more extreme, like one who washed raw chicken to avoid even a hint of salt.

But I’ve learned there’s a better way—a way to blend discipline with joy in eating. Many people either obsess over counting grams, calories, carbs, or macros, like my chicken-washing friend, or indulge in foods packed with sugar and ultra-processed ingredients. The Bible talks about both fasting and feasting, emphasizing the importance of balance. It is possible to enjoy your meals, even foods like chicken parmesan and chocolate chip cookies, without additives or harmful ingredients. You can eat for both fuel and pleasure, nourishing your body and delighting your taste buds.

Eating God’s way isn’t bland or boring. On The Biblio Diet, you can still have fun eating. In certain phases of our plan, you will even have permission to cheat. When Nicki and I (Jordan) started dating, our eating habits were quite different. I remember opening her fridge one day and commenting on (Nicki would say “critiquing”) the foods on the shelves.

Don’t get me wrong, she had a fairly good diet, but she hadn’t yet applied the principles laid out in The Biblio Diet as part of her daily habits. Gradually, we both aligned our nutritional lifestyles to this Bible-centered approach. We weren’t too hard on ourselves, though; once a week, she and I would indulge in what we called a “reward meal,” which usually consisted of organic pizza, organic French fries, and organic ice cream. We didn’t binge on fast food, nor did we stuff ourselves with raw vegetables. Balance is key.

A piece of advice I received from two doctors suggested limiting this “reward meal” to one hour versus grazing on junk throughout the day. It’s easier for your body to recover from the blood sugar spike in a small time frame. We suggest applying the same principle to your new lifestyle. If you’re a Biblio Diet newbie, we know you’re going to attend a party or an event that will showcase some irresistible treats. Rather than indulge the entire time, set a timer on your phone or watch for one hour and eat to your heart’s content.

So have the pizza, enjoy the cake, dip into the cookie jar (believe it or not, there are healthy versions of most if not all delicious foods), but limit the amount of time in which you do it.

Another piece of advice is to plan your reward hour instead of letting it sneak up on you and eating not-so-healthy foods unexpectedly. If you know in advance that you will indulge in a reward hour once or twice a week, you won’t feel pressure to remain nutritiously perfect, which inevitably leads to failure and guilt. The exciting part of allowing yourself a cheat is that over time, your taste for less-than-optimal foods will be minimized. You may even find yourself craving organic pizza instead of a fast-food, grease-filled meal.

Of course, if you’re dealing with a serious health challenge such as diabetes or a digestive illness, limit your reward hour to once every two weeks.

A word of wisdom to the discerning: Eating for pleasure all the time, and particularly in choosing overly processed and sugar-laden treats like cake, ice cream, and candy, can lead to overeating because the body’s regular internal hunger signals have been suppressed. These types of nutrient-absent foods activate the brain’s reward center swiftly and with the intensity of an atomic bomb because they offer us what nature doesn’t: chemical-laden, sugary foods that are convenient and easy to eat. Dopamine then floods our flesh and tells the brain we did something good, which perpetuates a cycle of craving more and more of these foods.

Our choices at the table matter. We eat to be the best parents we can be, to stay healthy for our loved ones, and to fulfill the divine calling God has placed on our lives. Each of us is running a race of faith, and as Paul encourages us, “Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

The Biblio Diet won’t necessarily make you more righteous, but it will allow you to live a fuller, more abundant life in service to the Lord. God has given you free will. We’re reminded in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” We choose every day how to honor Him in ways that are worthy of His glory. Don’t just worship through music or in a service; use food to fuel your journey, honor the work He started in you, and become a living testament to God’s glory.

Adapted from The Biblio Diet by Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe. Copyright © 2025 by Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe. Published by Worthy Books, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Used by permission. Tune in to LIFE TODAY this week to gain practical insights from Jordan Rubin, known as “America’s biblical health coach.”