12 key steps for keeping your sanity while on this journey to health.

These are  my teaching notes for the TOPS program I presented tonight. The explanation I listed are examples of what I do. I handed out a worksheet for them to fill in with their own ideas. This was the best one I have done yet because I talked about the emotional and spiritual side of things. The whole room was engaged and sharing their own ideas and expierences. Enjoy!

Losing weight is a battle. Keeping off the weight is a battle. Once you start this journey, you can end up on an emotional and spiritual roller coaster. If you don’t have the right attitude, you will not be successful. Listed below are 12 Personal Keys to getting healthy. Some or all of these things are set up to help you ride the roller coaster without losing your sanity. On the list provided, write down your own ideas under each point.

12 Personal Keys

1.       Set up your morning for success: This means spending time with God, drinking 32 oz of water, and going over my meal plan for the day. I then make coffee, exercise (if the kids aren’t up) and sometimes make a pot of green tea.

2.       Accept your body my mission statement to keep me sane. I want to be healthy and I believe if I am, then I will weigh what I am supposed to weigh. I will be a friend to my body and stop mistreating it with unhealthy habits, like junk food and sitting around.

3.       Master your metabolism Get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, and don’t starve myself.

4.       Exercise Find ways to move. Walk the animals (dogs, cats, ducks, chickens) have a backup plan like using a good DVD. Park far away from the door at the store, take the long route.

5.       Balanced eating all things in moderation. Avoid refined sugars. Eat as close to natural food as possible. Remember the plate thing from last week. Half fruit and vegetables.

6.       Hydrate. Take water with you everywhere. Tea is ok if not sugared. Avoid sugary drinks. Eat high content veggies and fruit.

7.       Mindful eating “Am I really hungry?” How will I feel after I eat that thing? No nibbling while cooking or cleaning the few bites off the kids’ plates.

8.       Spiritual nourishment Spend time with God. Crowd the urge to overeat with something healthy and fulfilling for your spirit and mind, like reading or journaling.

9.       Reduce stress RELAX. Read, write, take a walk, bubble bath, hot shower, and talk to a friend or KOPS! Do what works for you.

10.   Long term goals Setting and looking at your goals keeps you on track. Put them in the front of your food journal if that helps. Having a vision of who you want to be and live to become that vision. Set short term and long term goals then reward you with healthy nonfood treats when they are reached.

11.   Supportive structure (includes your home, support group and your family.)  Set your home, workplace and car for success. Keep good foods in your home. Find someone to exercise with. Find exercise that you enjoy doing. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. Make yourself presentable each day so you feel pretty or handsome. Get rid of the dingy t-shirts and sweats. They are only for cleaning and construction work. If you look good, you feel good. Leave yourself notes and encouragement all around you. GO TO TOPS MEETINGS. Get accountable.

12.   Take responsibility. Be responsible with your weight loss effort but STOP FEELING GUILTY for the mess ups. It is time to take action and get back on track the next minute, not the next day. Take care of yourself but leave the blame game for the dogs. Take an inventory of yourself and your eating/exercise habits. When you find the areas that need fixing, fix them but don’t beat yourself up. Beating yourself up and feeling guilty will only keep you in bondage.

Eat Wise to Drop a Size.

Your heart, bones, and mind will thank you!

As you think in your heart, so are you! Proverbs 23:7

You don't have to finish your food.

Additions end with the act of completion. We are trained from the beginning to finish something, an activity, your plate, a drink, cleaning your room/home, etc. etc. You get the hint. However some things don’t need to be complete. For instance, the cigarette you just smoked causes all sorts of health problems. The more you puff the more your lungs and body become harmed. The plate of spaghetti is a great example. As a child we are told to finish what is on our plate because kids in Africa, Asia, Antarctica and Outer Space are starving and they would love to have one bite of our food. Therefore we finish the plate of pasta or whichever dish you happens to be consumed at this point because your child self thinks, “I too may become deprived and starving.” Then the very next emotion to rise up is success. You just finished something, a cigarette, a beer, or a huge plate of hot, saucy, tempting pasta. But what happens when you don’t finish or complete a task? You feel like a failure. FAILURE is a bad word, a disgrace to our culture, to any culture. Well we can’t have that can we? Therefore, you become addicted to food, or any other substance. You become addicted to the completion and sense of success. The thing is we have to have food to live, so this may be the easiest addiction known to man. IT is ok to not finish that food. Stop when you are full and not so full you could puke. When feelings of failure come to mind and heart, begin to pray, meditate, or whatever it is you do that pushes FAILURE out of your life. You see no one is really a failure. We need to sloth off this old man. He drags many other harmful addictions with him like self- destruction, hatred, bitterness, obesity, drug additions like smoking, alcoholism. You see what I am saying now.  Most all of these addictions lead to death, physically or spiritually.  Completion is very important to life, as long as it doesn’t lead to addiction. Complete your freedom over food and your battle over unhealthy habits, and that my friend will be the sweetest most satisfying success you could ever want.

Proverbs 23:7 As she thinks in her heart, so is she.

After Workout recover

I pulled the information from a few places including my brother. I have started doing this very important peice of advice and I notice a difference. I will be presenting this program at my TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) meeting on Monday. Come check us out. It is at the Community of Christ Church on 4th and Godfrey. 6pm

Taken from mayoclinic.com, fitnessmagazine.com and womenshealth.com

AFTER WORKOUT REPAIR.

A snack before you work out helps give you energy and stamina to go the distance. But did you know that eating a snack after you work out is even more important? "You want to make sure you feed your body to help repair muscle tissues and replenish glycogen stores [which are depleted after a strenuous workout]," says Kristin Reisinger, a sports nutritionist.  Glycogen is energy stored in your muscles. Recovery after exercise is essential to joint, muscle tissue and energy repair. Your after exercise recovery routine has a big impact on your fitness gains and performance and allows you to get more from your workouts.

Muscle repair is important for many reasons. First, for every pound of muscle you gain, your body burns an extra 35 calories a day at rest. Second, muscle strength carries us from one place to another. They also protect our bones and help control metabolism. Muscle recovery also decreases cortisol, the stress hormone that tells your body to store fat.  Here are some ways to help in after workout recovery.

1.   COOL DOWN-Cooling down means you slow your pace after exercise. You do not want to just stop abruptly. Move around at a slower pace for 5 to 10 minutes after your workout. This helps remove lactic acid from your muscles and may reduce muscle stiffness and joint pain.

2.   REPLACE FLUIDS- When you exercise, you lose fluids from sweating. Ideally you should drink water while exercising but filling up after exercise is an easy way to boost your recovery. Water supports every metabolic function and nutrient transfer in the body. Other drinks that are good for replacing fluids are sports drink (like Gatorade) and milk (chocolate milk is ok in this instance).

3.   STRETCH- After a tough workout, consider gentle stretching. This is a simple way to help repair muscle tissue and speed recovery.

4.   EAT- You should fuel your body before a workout but it is even more important to fuel the body after. Try to eat a small snack within 60 minutes of an exercise. These should be less than 150 calories unless you are doing a HIIT (High-intensity interval training) and then consume about 200 calories.  Your food choice needs to be a high protein, high fast acting carb. “This is one of the only times I recommend a high-glycemic carbohydrate source such as bananas, because the uptake will be rapid,” says Kristin Reisinger .  Lists of great after workout snacks are included. Eating a snack right after working out speeds muscle growth and recovery.

5.   HAVE A MASSAGE- Getting a great rub down feels wonderful, not to mention improves circulation. Have your honey (spouse/loved one) gently massage your body, indulge and allow a professional do the work, or give yourself a massage with a Foam Roller. These are easy to construct but use safety precautions.

6.   REST AND GET PLENTY OF SLEEP- This comes in two parts. First, take a day of rest in between 2-3 straight sessions of exercise. If you walk 6 days a week, take a break on one day in the middle. Your body will take care of itself and recover on rest days. This happens naturally. Secondly, get some sleep.  While you sleep, amazing things take place in the body. During your sleep, the body produces Growth Hormone which is responsible for tissue growth and repair, also known as bigger muscles. Remember the more muscle you have, the more calories your burn. Aim for 7-8 hours of straight, uninterrupted sleep.

FOODS TO HELP IN MUSCLE REPAIR (180 to 250 calories).

1.   Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich.  

2.   Hummus and Pita  

3.   Vanilla Yogurt (8 oz.) and Fresh Berries

4.   Tuna salad on Whole Wheat

5.   Turkey (4 oz.) and cheese(I wedge)  with Apple Slices

FOODS TO HELP IN MUSCLE REPAIR (100 TO 180 calories)

1.   Chocolate Milk and 11 almonds or equivilate

2.   Lower fat Oatmeal cookie

3.   Lower fat dark chocolate chip cookie

4.   Turkey Wrap (2 oz. and 6” tortilla, unlimited veggies and guacamole)

5.   Trail mix (1/4 cup)

6.   Smoothie

7.   Popcorn (100 call) and Parmesan cheese 3 TB

8.   Green Tea, Dark Chocolate 70% (2 squares) and Walnuts about 14 shelled

Chocolate chip cookies redone.

Heat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour (if stone ground, make sure it is fine ground)

1 cup all-purpose flour.

1 1/4 tsp. of baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1. Mix in a bowl and set aside

1 stick (1/2 cup) real butter softened plus 1/2 cup of cooked great northern beans, well rinsed and drained smashed.

3/4 browned sugar packed

1/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 egg beaten or 2 TB ground flaxseed with 6 TB water (this equals just under 1/2 cups. If using flax seed to replace egg, mix flaxseed meal with water and let set for 2-3minutes)

2. Cream butter and sugar.

3. Add vanilla and egg (or egg substitute of flax) Mix well

4. Add flour mixture, mix well. Then add

One package (16oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.

Mix together.

Drop cookies onto cookie sheet by rounded Tablespoon or a cookie dough scoop. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12-14 minutes. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

 This recipe is made a bit healthier with less sugar, less fat and whole wheat flour. If using the beans in your cookies, make sure you rinse and drain them well. I like to cook my beans from the dried bean without any flavor or seasonings. Canned beans need to be rinsed and drained a few times before smashing and putting in your recipe. If you use margarine instead of butter, the cookie will have different texture and be a bit crisper. The bean adds protein and fiber to the cookie.

Recipe by Natasha Duncan, Cameron MO

Roman 14:23 My weightloss goal is PEACE

But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. Roman 14:23
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. don not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. Romans 14:19-20

Here are some verses to help me along my weight loss this week. We need to stop looking at the scale and look for peace and freedom from a bondage of food obsession and weight loss. I struggle with this a great deal. My body doesn't shed fat fast and my muscle mass is quite great. I will get on the scale and not see the number budge. I then began to think thoughts of defeat and depression. That number is simply a number. It doesn't determine my worth. So what is my worth?
I am worth gold. I am valuable and beautiful in God's eyes. I am his daughter so I can't be anything but wonderful to Him. He wants me to rely on him and not food.
If I am to eat something that is going to make me feel guilty later, then God is telling me that my body doesn't need this food. I have felt this before and ignored it but starting now, I will no longer ignore the conviction I feel coming from God. He care for everything I feel and go through. He cares for my battle with weight loss and self esteem. But I shall have confidence in Christ.
Nothing feels as good as PEACE.
(Thoughts from my weight loss and self esteem bible study Made to Crave from Lysa TerKeurst)

A Mommy in Your Pocket!

Oh it is another early morning for a homeschool Momma. I have put my kids in public school for the summer because Zack and I are unsure of how the fall will play out. We have a two mile long (more like two pages but who is counting) list of things that will start in full swing in August. I just added another item to the list, bass guitar lessons.  So we put our never-been-schooled-by-anyone-else 2nd and K kids in public institutions. The hardest transition is getting out of bed before 8. Everything else is under control.
This morning however, was a catastrophe for my Bugsa. She doesn't bend well with change and if this change doesn't have her Mommy near it, she wants nothing to do with that huge event (everything is huge to a kid).  So today, after breakfast, she tears up and shoots her bottom lip out as far as it could stretch. Any further and a jet plane could have landed there. I just shake my head and say, "Bugsa, why such a sad face?" She tells me that they have a new teacher today and tomorrow and she doesn't know her and what if I don't like her, and what if she doesn't like me and la di da di da. She gave me a list longer than her entire self why she can't go to school if a new teacher is there. Still holding her in my arms I calmly (but not feeling it) say, "I am sure this new teacher will be fine." She spouts back at me, "You HAVE TO COME AND SEE FOR ME." And out of this a great idea was born. I wrote a note on a small piece of paper "Mommy Loves Bugsa!" I folded it in half after reading it to her and put it in her pocket. I explained that now she can take me to school and face any new changes that come her way because on that little piece of paper is a whole lotta mommy love. She now has a Mommy in her pocket. She chuckled, then laughed a good few minutes. Well of course Beans and Bubba needed a Mommy in their pockets too. I made a few up and tucked them away in their pocket. Then my Bubba says, " Mommy, we have you in our pocket and Jesus in our hearts. We can do anything." My heart swelled with love and joy I just wanted to jump up and down and hug this smart little fellow. I just kissed his cheek instead. The whole morning thereafter was something like this. "We are going to school with Mommy in our Pocket and Jesus in our hearts." That sentence was followed by every other sentence they said. It brought so many laughs and took the edge off. We have a dead squirrel in front of our home. Beans said that the squirrel didn't have a Mommy in it's pocket and Jesus in it's heart. Lainey told him that squirrels don't have pockets. This started a laughing fit that lasted all the way to school. Now if I make it through the day without a call from the school stating my kids started a Mommy/Jesus/pocket riot, I consider this success for a very scared and unbending little girl. Thank you Jesus!

BetterMe Coaching Tool

BetterMe Coaching Tool: "The Go Red BetterMe Coaching Tool is the perfect companion to the Go Red BetterU 12-week program. Every day, you'll get tips, reminders, and more sent directly to your tool. You'll also be able to chat directly with other members of the program on the “Wall” share tips, motivational quotes, and work through barriers with others. You can also access and edit your journal entries directly from the tool."

I have been using this during my weight loss adventure. It has been a help for me each day. My weight is a yo yo right now but I am still loosing. With God's help, I know my health will come into check. I want to be around for my children and grand children (later way later) for years to come.

Weight Loss scriptures

As many of you know, I have been battling my weight for many years. It has become such a problem that I will avoid many things, events, and sometimes people because of this. I felt ugly, unimportant, and I can't believe I felt this way, but unloved. I know that people loved me but I felt they could love me more if I was prettier and thin. This became a bondage to me. My own body and self esteem was bondage. I was holding myself back from my family, and from God. I am tire of it. It was time to make a change. I decided to turn to God for help. I wasn't asking him to magically melt my fat, although I feel now, he is doing this. I wanted him to purge everything that held me back from a deep and close relationship with my Father in Heaven. The best way to do this was through study of the Word, the truth and up- in- your- face- very- blunt- it- will- make -me -cry TRUTH. I also read three books (why did it have to be so many? I wasn't getting it with just scripture and one book.) The books are Eat and Stay Thin, Joyce Meyers, Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst, and not a book but website http://www.takebackyourtemple.com.
The first scripture started with this Ps 139: 13-14  Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!  Body and soul, I am marvelously made!  I worship in adoration—what a creation!
This scripture had such importance for me I had to highlight it 3 different ways. In other words, God didn't make junk, or anything ugly. I am not ugly. Neither are you. He designed me in the womb. He set my path to the straight and narrow from childhood. He has me in his heart.
Another scripture I cling to is 1 Corinthians 6:12  “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
Does this mean I can eat 4 pieces of the triple chocolate mocha cake? Sure it does. But should I? NOPE! Now this scripture pertains to sexual impurities but that is not what I take from this verse. I tend to rely on food when I am sad, stressed, happy, excited, tired, and hungry. Hunger is the only reason to rely on food. God wants us to rely on Him and only Him. For me, this scripture means that food is ok and I can have anything I want, but it doesn't mean I can't turn food into sin. I was sinning each time I indulge my emotion with food. God should have been the one I cling to and celebrate with, not this triple chocolate mocha cake with a super large  raspberry mocha on the side.
God has brought me along a journey I am ever so grateful to be on. I have finally started loosing the weight, slowly but surely. It only happened after the bonds were, are, broke. Am I fixed yet? Nope, he is still working on me. When he is done, is the day I go home.
If you are like me and bought tons of weight loss book, or checked them out repeatedly at the library, then it is time to find your drive and break the bonds. Read the books I listed and pray God shows you scriptures to get you through. A fair warning, you will be aware of more than just changes to be made for weight loss, you will find all kinds of things you need to fix (God will help) to get closer to God. Oh but the reward is so worth it. My prayers are with you. I plan to add more scriptures every few days. Some are of my own, some are from these books. I hope they help.
"He's healing me, I'm gonna worship."