Episode 43 Transcript
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Welcome to your daily bread with co hosts, Abbie Stasior and Hannah Calhoun. We're here to be your weekly source of spiritual nourishment, guiding you to find food freedom in a deeper connection with Christ.
Hannah: As we explore the intersection of faith and nutrition, these bite sized episodes will help you heal your relationship with food and your body through practical advice, biblical wisdom, and heartfelt encouragement.
Abbie: And as a disclaimer, we are not pastors, but passionate registered dietitians and sisters in Christ, offering our insights to support you on this faith filled journey to a healthier, more fulfilling life. Join us by taking a seat at our table as we break bread and allow God in to break the chains of diet culture.
Hello, hello, y'all. Welcome back to another episode of Your Daily Bread. We are so excited for this episode. Um, this episode is all about your three o'clock slump. And is it a three o'clock slump or is it spiritual warfare? Um, time will tell. Um, so we're going to start in Acts. I love this because it also relates back to our first Kings 19 episode.
Like, is it spiritual warfare or do you just need to eat, right? So, you know, we're always trying to discern. Okay, so we're going to start in Acts chapter 3, verses 1 through 10. One day, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer, at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful.
where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him as did John. Then Peter said, Look at us. So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called beautiful.
And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. So good. There is so much here. Um, and we love this miracle. And, um, one of the pastors at my church recently preached on this. And, um, he said that, you know, in the gospels, there are accounts of, or there's mentioned of the disciples performing miracles, but we don't really get a lot of detail of those in the gospels, but in acts, this is where we really start to see the disciples doing that with, you know, after Pentecost, Holy Spirit.
Rest on them and they all fills them up. So they're able to, you know, have, have this authority to, to heal people in Jesus's name. And so I love this and what, what stuck out to me is that this happened at three in the afternoon for the 3 PM prayer. And in Matthew 27, 45 and 46, um, when Jesus was on the cross, Something else happened also at 3 PM.
So if we skip to Matthew 27, 45 and 46, it says from noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land about three in the afternoon. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And so that's when, you know, Jesus, you know, cried his last breath, took his last breath.
And that happened at three in the afternoon. Is there a
Han: coincidence
Abbie: there?
Han: Well, you know, I mean, there's, you know, there's so much significance in the Bible with certain numbers, right? And so, it's like, what does this mean? Like, okay, like we read, like, about, like, in this instance, like the 3pm, we're like, oh my gosh, okay, so like, what's the significance of this?
Like, this is a pattern, and there's, there's other instances like that in the Bible, and, you know, it kind of makes us like. Wonder, like what, why 3 p. m? Was there a 3 p. m? Are 3 p. m? Like, is it the same 3 p. m? Like, what happens at 3 p. m? Is there spiritual warfare going on at 3 p. m? Like, you know, like, I don't know, like, it, it makes you wonder.
It does.
Abbie: It does. And at least
Han: I
Abbie: know at 3 p. m. for me, I am not effective at all. I am so tired. I am so hungry. Like that 3 p. m. is when I really do feel that slump. I feel a slump in my spirit. I feel a dip in my productivity. I'm more likely to turn to food to self soothe for comfort, for energy. And we probably do need a snack at that time.
And I do, um, like to, to refuel, but I also feel like in addition to that, like food doesn't always feed the soul. Right. And you could eat a very balanced snack. Sometimes we don't, we just kind of grab something with maybe just quick carbs or another coffee or something like that, which isn't healthy. Um, so you'll have quick energy, but then you'll deplete again quickly, but even if you have a balanced snack, I don't think that that's enough in the afternoon to totally refresh yourself.
I think we need to eat and we need to give attention to God to refill our souls.
Han: Mm. That's really true. That's really true because I, you know, same thing as like Abby was just saying, useless. 3 p. m. don't call me because I'm probably going to be horizontal. Like, you know, when I'm like arranging my schedule, I'm like, please, if I could just like pause at, at 2 30 and then regroup at five, like I can do that.
But, but between those hours, I'm like, you know, I'm useless unless there's some sort of miracle and I'm, I'm still trucking along, but it's difficult.
Abbie: Yeah, I agree. So I do feel like because our flesh is weaker at that time, we are more vulnerable to spiritual attacks and more vulnerable to turning to other things that really aren't going to nourish us and really aren't the healthiest things to steward our bodies.
So I think we need to be very intentional planning ahead for that time, making sure that you do have a nutrient dense snack, something, something with protein, like knowing like, Oh, okay, your energy dips, you need to be packing a snack ahead of time and planning ahead so that you have a protein rich diet.
snack that can fuel you. Um, but then also maybe doing something else at that time for your soul, whether that is a nap going on a walk. Um, I have a client and who also listens to the show. She, um, started worshiping doing a worship set. She does it during her lunch, but you could totally do that during your three o'clock slump.
Um, of a worship session. But I think moving your body or getting rest, like doing something else that postures your heart towards God will definitely protect you and make you less likely to fall into temptation to do things that wouldn't steward your body well or, um, just be vulnerable to spiritual attacks.
Han: Yeah, I mean, think about it, you know, if you're a parent, maybe you pick up your kid from school or whatever at, at around 2. 30, 3 p. m. Like, they're probably cranky. It's probably the whole thing of like, how was your day? Fine. Did you have a good day? Yeah. Like, they're cranky, you know, or maybe you're, you're wrapping up at work and you're like, oh my gosh, my boss just called me in for, you know, a staff meeting and I really want to go home and you're cranky.
Like, and maybe you're. Cursing them out in your head, I don't know, like things that we should not be doing. So we just have like a bad attitude, we're hangry, we're tired, and it's true, like, Well, I think there's a big problem because we assume like, Oh, Americans, you guys eat so much. But really, as dieticians who talk to a lot of people, uh, People aren't eating.
Like, people are not eating normally and properly throughout the day, like, Maybe people have breakfast, they often skip lunch, Hello, obviously you're going to be cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs by the time it hits 3pm. , and then what time do you have dinner? 8? I don't know.
Abbie: to go without eating if you're not having some sort of afternoon snack.
Let me clear that up. Yes. No. Abby said I shouldn't have dinner. No, I'm just kidding. And sometimes we do have dinner at eight and, and that's okay. But it's like, then you need to plan ahead for that and make sure that you're not skipping lunch and that you're having an afternoon snack at like four o'clock.
It's about balancing our blood sugar and to get to the next meal. Not, you know, ravenously hungry, urgently hungry. We need to be eating every three to four hours and having a protein source of every meal. That's just how it is. It might seem like a lot compared to what you're eating now, if you tend to skip meals, but if you're eating more frequently and getting more protein, you're going to be eating less per meal with time.
Han: Yeah, and people, oh my gosh, people have such a hard time wrapping their head around that. But yeah, if you think about it, like if you have your, um, you know, balanced breakfast, right? I hate the word balanced because people like take that and make it very diet y, um, but no, I'm talking about all the food groups, you know, balanced, okay?
Uh, balanced breakfast, you have, let's say you have your breakfast at 7am, you're gonna wait till noon or 1230 or 1 to have lunch. No way, Jose, you need a snacky snack. And then let's say you have a balanced lunch, then you're gonna, let's say it's at 1230, when are you gonna eat dinner? Like that's, 630?
That's so many hours. Are you out of your mind? But we, we do this to ourselves. We have this expectation of like, yeah, no, I, I'm gonna eat three times a day with like six, five, just six hours in between meals. Like, How, how, how are we like pretending like we can do that? Um, especially if we're, you know, even if we're not running around all day, even if we're just like sitting at a desk, um, you, you still need a snack.
You still need a snack. And, you know, like Abby said, it's important to, Like Abby, I love how you say don't have naked carbs, um, and so my mom says that all the time now, by the way. She's like, I have naked carbs, don't tell Abby. Abby and I are best friends, we love it. So, you know, like, if you're gonna grab a banana or an apple, like, grab like some cheese or some peanut butter or some nuts or something, you know, with your fruit so that the carb is not naked, right?
Because carbs are not bad, but, um, they go through us pretty quickly. And so because of that, like we're gonna have that quick energy, but then we're gonna dip really quickly. So pairing it with like a protein and a, and a fat, which sometimes those kind of go hand in hand, Um, it'll help like slow down the digestion process, and we're gonna have, because it's taking longer to go through us, like the energy is with us longer, you can think about it like that in, in simple terms.
Um, and for some reason, like, we love giving snacks to kids, and it's like cute, and whatever, but like, hello, adults need food too, like, we also need food and naps. Can we bring back snacks and naps for adults? Can we make it cool again?
Abbie: Yeah, a hundred percent. So you're right. If you're having a snack that isn't balanced, like say you just have a bag of chips or, or like just a cookie or a piece of cake from the break room or something, cause it was somebody's birthday, um, at three o'clock and you're not pairing that with any, like, it's not bad to have those things.
We just want to pair that with maybe a yogurt or hard boiled eggs, some turkey slices, handful of nuts, a chopstick, protein bar, protein, like something. Um, but say you don't say you just have a bag of chips. It's going to give you energy and you're going to crash very quickly. The feeling that you get afterward.
After you crash is the same feeling as if you had a balanced meal earlier, but then you waited six plus hours to eat. Our bodies are smart because they're designed by God. Carbs give our bodies the most energy, the most quickly.
But when we crave carbs, it doesn't mean that our body needs carbs, but it's a signal that we need to eat something. And it can include carbs, and it should, because we need carbs. But it's like carbs and. Um, and I just want to make that connection for people that if you eat something, but it's not It doesn't have a protein or fat source.
And then you, your blood sugar dips very quickly. That, that feeling is the same feeling as if you wait so long to eat. Um, and I hope that people will get more comfortable with eating smaller meals more frequently because it just makes sense. Like it takes six to eight hours for food to fully leave our stomachs.
So if you're eating every three hours, your stomach still has some food in it from the last meal. So it doesn't have room for. So much food, all that, like you're not going to be able to eat so much if pending, you're honoring your hunger and fullness cues and stop at emerging fullness or comfortable fullness.
So depending that you're doing, you know, all of these things, you won't be over eating. I think people are afraid to do that. Oh, if I eat more, I'm going to be overeating. And it's like, no, this is going to actually prevent you from getting urgently hungry and ravenous, low blood sugar, where then your primal hunger takes over and you can't stop yourself from eating so much.
Han: Yeah, and it's really, really hard. I, you know, I have other dietician friends and they're like, people can't wrap their head around the fact that, okay, because it's kind of like, eating more will prevent overeating and it's like wait what but it's true like eating more frequently more intentional which means you know balanced you're you're honoring your emerging hunger and your emerging fullness because we don't want to wait until we have a raging headache or we're super hangry and we're snapping at everyone and you know being inappropriate and mean we don't want to wait until we're about to pass out like Honor that emerging hunger.
Abbey, I think you talked about in a previous episode, , one of your early signs of hunger is what? Like, uh, what is it, like a headache? Yeah, headache. Yeah, yeah. For me, I get tired. And, whoo, I, this has happened before, and I am ashamed of it. Like, I will let myself, like, if, if the day is just busy and crazy, and I get past the point of hunger, I will get so tired.
That then if I lay down, I'm like, this is a mistake because now I'm about to sleep for like three hours and I'm already hungry. So, I mean, forget it. Then that's three more hours where I'm like passed out in bed. And then when I wake up, oh my gosh, now it's been how many hours since I've eaten?
Like, that's horrible. So I have to make sure that I'm like, Okay, I'm getting sleepy, and maybe I, maybe I do need a little nap, but I definitely have to eat something first, otherwise this nap's gonna go too long, and I'm gonna be too long without food. So, this is the whole thing about, like, intuitive eating.
People are like, intuitive eating, you just want people to overeat, and you promote obesity, and this and that, and you want people to, like, be unhealthy. No, no, no. On the contrary. Like, it's about taking the knowledge that you have, about your body, what it needs, and its own personal cues, and taking the nutrition knowledge that you have as well, and the knowledge about your rest, and your hydration, physical activity, all of these things coming together, and having that like educated understanding, and your understanding of your unique self, and your unique needs, and pairing that together to make intentional decisions for yourself to feel great during the day.
That's what it's about.
Abbie: A hundred percent. And really learning what those subtle cues are for you, like Hannah and I were both able to name, like for me, it's a headache for you. It's you feeling tired and tiredness, fatigue, people need to be able to name and know their body so well. So that might be the first step for someone is, okay, what are my subtle hunger cues?
And starting to become attuned to those so that you can attend to those needs and honor your hunger. Earlier than you probably are, because if you're waiting to eat when you're so urgently ravenous and your stomach is growling and super angry at you, you're waiting too long to eat.
Han: Mm hmm. Yeah, and going back to the theme of today's episode, spiritual warfare or afternoon schlumpf, and, you know, the Bible calls us to be sober minded, right?
And people often think about this, like, in the context of, like, substances, but I say, like, we can be sober minded. You know, intoxicated by emotions, like heightened emotions to where we're not thinking clearly, like that's not sober minded. And if we're not fueled, like, our blood sugar's super low, we're like, I don't know if you've experienced this, but sometimes I'm so snappy and mean to like my family or like my husband, and then I have a snack and I'm like, oopsies, sorry, and they laugh.
I'm okay, like, I'm not a monster. And they laugh and it's like, whoa, yeah, you were so like mean and weird. But. You know, that's not me being sober minded. Like, if I can't think clearly to be, like, kind to people, you know, that's not, that's not sober minded. And so, having extreme hunger kind of makes you, like, not sober minded.
And so, this, this is why it's so important to fuel yourself properly. Our brains, we need the cobwebs dusted off. Our brains need to be functioning properly so that we can be, you know, less vulnerable to Sin and like anger being quick to anger like God is slow to anger and abounding and love and we're supposed to model that And we cannot do that if we're really hungry
Abbie: Yeah, and I think it's so important at that three o'clock time.
I just I think it's so intentional that miracles are being performed at that three o'clock prayer time at the temple. Jesus took his last breath on the cross at three p. m. Like there is, we live in a spiritual world. There's something there at 3 PM and I think we really got to, we got to have our guard up and you know, we're going to be able to be sober minded and think clearly if we are first fueled.
Han: Yeah. So grab your snack, say a prayer, cheers to 3 PM.
Thank you for joining us on this episode of your daily bread. We hope you found inspiration and practical guidance to nourish your body and soul. Remember the journey to a healthier relationship with food and a deeper connection with Christ is ongoing and we're here to support you every step of the way.
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As we conclude today's episode, we encourage you to take what resonated with you into your quiet time with God, allow God to reveal to you any changes that you can make for his glory, trusting that you are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. Stay tuned for our next episode where we'll continue to explore how God's word helps us heal our relationship with food in our bodies Until then may you find both physical and spiritual nourishment and may you be filled with his peace and joy.
God bless
