Freeing the Fat Friday- 3 Questions To Ask Yourself

God's Lesson For Me
I was watching a show this week about losing weight and they asked three very great questions. Bob Greene asked them on Oprah. You can go here to see how you are suppose to answer the questions here. I want to try to answer those questions today.

1. Why are you overweight?
I think that I am mostly overweight because I simply stopped caring. I also think that is stressed related....I get stressed...I eat!

2. Why do you want to lose weight?
I want to lose weight because I want to be healthy. I am tired of feeling yucky and tired all the time. I am beginning to see the result already. I have been off of my acid reflux medication for almost four months now. I use to have terrible heart burn! I am so thrilled that I have not been suffering from that for awhile.

I also want to be lose weight to glorify God. I want all of me to be all of His! I do not want to hold anything back.

3. Why haven't you been successful to date?
Hummmmmmmmm.....I am lazy.....bottom line, that is it! It is so hard for me to develop discipline and consistency when it comes to my eating habits. I have a lot of excuses that don't matter. I have the resources at my finger tips. I just need to do it!

I really think God wants us to ask the hard questions and answer them truthfully. Answers that are more than just I like food, I want to look pretty and I don't know how. God wants to really examine our hearts and get to the root of our addictions.

If our answers are superficial than we will not be successful. We need to be honest right from the start. When we are honest with ourselves then we will find the motivation to press on. I found that I had to deal with the fact that I was obese; because I hated the very word and tried to ignore it for so long. I had to deal with the fact that I was carrying the weight of a child every day. I had to get real with the fact that my weight was the reason I felt physically horrible all the time.

I also had to accept who God made me to be, His creation. I needed to realize that He still loved me even 50lbs overweight. It was my inner beauty that still made me beautiful. Losing weight doesn't make me a beautiful person. It may make my appearance more attractive; but it doesn't make my heart beautiful. I can only truly be beautiful inside and out if I cultivate Christ in my life.

^{Proverbs 31}

²⁹ “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
but you surpass them all!”³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.³¹ Reward her for all she has done.
Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Meals for the Week & Exercise

Back to the daily grind of 1,200 calories. We will get there...we will get there. I am getting really good at knowing how many calories I am taking in...and really good at knowing when I go over. My hubby and I will probably be picking up the exercise thing again next week. He wasn't real happy when he weighed himself at the doctor the other day. I may have just got some motivational help thanks to his physical.

Food's Favorite Friends

Applebee's Rocks! Have you tried their 500 calorie dinners????!!!!! I love them for providing yummy food that I can feel good about eating! Go here and check them out! This my favorite and it really is soooo good, Signature Sirloin with Garlic Herb Shrimp! Doesn't it look good????

Life Challenge

Always be truthful with myself and....

GET JOY!

Freeing the Fat Friday - When You Want To Cry!

God's Lesson For Me
"If I eat one more bowl of oatmeal, I am gonna scream!" There are a lot of days I feel like that. In fact, last week and this past week I think I have felt the emotions of that everyday. I have had a few little things that were just really discouraging to me in the past several days that just made me want to cry.

My cousin has a fabulous restaurant that I only get to maybe once a year. They serve my favorite dessert of all time there. I was really struggling! My sister was being my personal Holy Spirit and it was making me mad. I just wanted to justify it and eat. "Come On!" I only go there once a year and I never make that stupid dessert anyway. I nearly burst into tears right there at the table in the middle of Rebecca's.

But then my irritating sister reminded me about my diabetic father sitting across the table from me and that diabetes is my story if I don't let it go. I just wanted to cry more. I finally realized after much pondering later why it was such a hardship to me...

• I was sad for my dad for my bad attitude.
• I was frustrated with my sister because she only need to lose 5lbs to my 45lbs, she doesn't understand. Sadly, I wanted to punch her. Sorry sis, it was just how I was feeling.
• I was realizing that diabetes is my story if I let my food addiction win.
• I was letting go of my love for food for the love of health.
• I was fighting self-control.
• I was realizing how far I still have to go because food still has a hold on me.

The dessert is in the picture with my parents on the paper in front of them. Just in case you were wondering, I did not order the dessert. You may say "Yeah, for Me!"; but I did not feel like I won some personal victory. I was mad and it took some time to sort it all out.

Whew and if that wasn't enough...I also found out that my scale is a good ten pounds off. I still loss the same weight. It was just so discouraging to think I weighed much lighter and then find out I actually weigh ten more pounds...UGH! That was a HUGE set back for me even though I had some personal victories like fitting into size 10 pants or being on vacation and keeping to my 1,200 calorie diet. It is funny how seemingly bad things can overshadow all good things.

I just wanted to cry and give up this week and for the most part I did. Somehow, I just need to press on. Changing your eating habits is not like a sprint....more like a marathon. I just need to keep pressing on toward the finish line even though it is still so far away. I feel like I tripped and I am all a mess. This week I am going to try to pick myself off, brush the dirt off and start running again toward the goal.

Meals for the week
I did my best to keep it at 1,200 calories...I did not gain any weight but I did not lose any either.

Exercise
Boooooooo.....none!

Food's Favorite Friends
I heart Taco Bell and their Fresco menu. It is cheep and only 150 calories for some of them and they are so good! Yeah for Taco Bell, they rock!!!!!! Now if only we had one in my town where I live!

Goals For Next Week!
Work really hard at the 1,200 calorie diet and begin walking! It is getting warmer out ...no more excuses.

GET JOY!

Freeing the Fat Friday- Whoo Hoo,The Benefits!

God's Lesson For Me
So for the first time ever in my life I have lost the most amount of weight that I ever have. I have lost 14 lbs. Whoo HOO! Now that may not seem like a lot; but it is for me. My goal is slow and steady so that this will be a permanent life change. Because it is not about weight loss it is about becoming healthy and glorifying God with my body. I have a long way to go; but I am learning so much.

One of the greatest things I have been learning is that sometimes I just don't need to eat it. Just because it is there doesn't mean it needs to go in my mouth. I am also learning to make better choices. I am learning the fine art of self control. What a challenge it has been!!!! I love this verse....

Philippians 1:6 (New International Version, ©2011)

⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Changing the way I eat is very much about my relationship with Christ. I want to surrender all that I am to His will, even my food. It is a process but that verse is a promise. He is faithfully working in me to make me all that He knows I can be.

Meals for the Week

Sticking to a 1,200 calorie plan is tough stuff. This week was a little rough and didn't keep to it for a few days; but I will pick it up this coming week. I am thinking of sticking with a meal plan to help.

Exercise

It is starting to get warmer...I think I will try some walking this week!

Food's Favorite Friends
I love, love, love the Nabisco 100 calorie snack packs....for when a girl just needs some chocolate! Thank you Nabisco...Thank you!

Life Challenge
Remember that this is always about God and not about me.

GET JOY!

Freeing The Fat Friday- I am a Food Addict

God's Lesson For Me
I love food....I mean I really love food. In fact, a month ago I told my hubby that if I was not a pastor I think I would have been a food critic. I love gourmet food. Give me some fresh mozzarella, pesto, warm focaccia, crème Brulee, rack of lamb, eggs Benedict with creamy hollandaise sauce, fresh herbs, chocolate torte, buttery brioche, Godiva truffles and I am floating on clouds of freshly whipped heavy cream in heaven. I am also then broke and not to mention getting heavy by the second. heheheheeh

Now don't get me wrong, being a food addict is serious stuff; but hey I warned you that in order to do this I have to find the joy in this. My passion for food unfortunately has gone strait to my mid-section. Needless to say, I am paying the price for it with my health.

1 Corinthians 6:19 (New International Version, ©2011)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Overcoming my addiction is very difficult; because it is the one addiction you have to keep partaking of for the rest of your life to live. There is this delicate balance of understanding how much food is appropriate for me. It takes self discipline and work everyday for the rest of my life. With God's help He is showing me that I am not my own. Each decision is important and has an effect of me and those around me. I am learning to care. I didn't use to care about what I put in my mouth....I just wanted to eat it. I feel I am in a good place with my relationship with food and getting better everyday. It is a life change for as long as I live.

Whether, it is me starving my self or overeating it has to be brought into submission before God. Because my body is a temple for Him and I want to glorify Him in all that I do.

Meals for the week

I am using Sparkpeople.com and it is working out great. My sister and I call each other everyday to hold each other accountable. It has been a great experience for both of us. We have had some ups and downs; but we are 95% of the time achieving our calorie intake. It is so easy to count calories!!!!! Yeah!

Exercise
Still coming of the stomach flu. It really messed me up. Yikes....maybe next week.

Food's Favorite Friend

Okay, so I had a miracle happen yesterday, I went to Subway. Have you ever followed the stickers on the glass???? They show you exactly how to make a low calorie, low fat sandwich the way you would like it. You just follow the stickers. I literally almost cried at the ease of figuring out how many calories my lunch was yesterday. I had the sweet onion chicken teriyaki (without cheese mind you), with apples, and a diet coke, all that for only 430 calories...tears, tears, tears. I heart Subway!

Life Challenge
That my body would be a reflection of the glory of God!
Next Week
I will share so results

Freeing The Fat Friday- A Personal Story

God's Lessons for Me
I have been a Christian since I was a little girl. My journey with Christ has had it is ups and downs for sure. One major down time in my life was when I was a senior in high school. Every day at my Christian school we would have prayer during lunch. Usually once a week I would do an all day fast.

At the beginning of the year, I went through a series of personal crisises. During my days of fasting I realized something that was very appealing to me and that was I would drop my weight during fasting. All of a sudden I began to skip a lot of meals and drop even more weight. This went on for about 6 months. My weight was generally around 115lbs during high school which was a perfectly fine weight for me. However, at the end of the 6 months I had drop down to 103lbs.

All of a sudden I was looking for others approval about how I looked. Frankly, I liked how I was looking even though I was underwieght. My vainity had grabbed a hold of me. No matter how low I dropped, I was still never quite happy with my body.

One day, I remember very clearly God asking me what I was doing?! I was anorexic and I began to argue with Him. I did not want to admit it and I felt I was handling it. But, I was not letting God reign in my life. I was not letting Him speak value into my life. I did not have a correct relationship with food at all. I realized that I need to stop the pattern I was in at that very moment. By summer I was creeping back up to a normal healthy weight.

My relationship with food would continue to be a battle and still is today. However, God has given me the tools and the ability to see know through His eyes what I could not see before. One of the biggest things that I have learned is that I only need His approval ...no one else! He wants to teach me discipline. He wants me to submit to Him in everything...hold nothing back. He is concerned with my health and wants me to live the best life that I can. I want to glorify Him with my body. It is no longer about what I look like on the outside, it is all about who I am on the inside. What a freeing journey!



Meals for the Week
My sister and I have continued our 1,200 calorie diet. Man it is hard sometime and one food can blow your calories out of the water. Last Sunday was one of those days I blew my calories out of the water...I had a brownie. I ain't gonna lie, it was sooooo good! This life change has become quite a discipline. It is getting easier, surprisingly.


Exercise
None this week, partly because I was exhausted and then got the stomach flu...yuck! I am on the mend and will try to pick it up next week.



Foods Favorite Friends

Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate ...Thank you Jesus for Dark Chocolate! Sometimes something sweet is neccessary. LOL





Life Challenge
That I would always find my value in Christ alone!


Next week
Being a food addict!

GET JOY!

Freeing the Fat Friday - New Beginnings

God's Lessons for Me
One thing of a thousand things that amaze me about God that there are always new beginnings in Him. I have been on a hiatus from having a proper relationship with my food. There has been adverse effects of it too, my acid reflux has been simply miserable. Thank goodness that we can always pick up from where we left off and for unexpected help.

I have been meaning to get back on the eating right wagon for a few weeks now...and then I got a much needed phone call from my sister. She wanted us to start holding each other accountable everyday for every piece of food that went into our mouths...Yikes! So thanks to sparkspeople.com I think we are doing pretty good. We look at each others food chart everyday. For the last five days we both have been sticking to our low calorie life change.

I love how God just works things out to help and guide us. If we need help, He provides it...in very unique ways. His help is not always what we expect it to be sometimes; but when He does grab a hold of it and run with it. This morning when I stepped on the scale I saw that little red line go under the number I have not been able to get under for years. God is faithful.

Meals for the Week
I am using the Sparks People website for help. What a gem of a site...thanks to my dear friend Gail who introduced it to me. I am such a terrible calorie counter and this just takes all that pressure away from me. I put in what I ate and it calculates it all for me. It tracks my goals, give me charts and graphs, monitors my water intake, checks my exercise amount and even tracks my goal of letting diet coke go. Can you tell how much I love it????

Five days + 1,200 calories = Success!

Exercise
I have come to find out that I love variety. I can't stick with one thing because my very nature seems to rebel against the "same old thing". So this week I am trying to get all the highest scores on my daughter's Just Dance Kids....terrible I know....but very motivating. We will see what next week will be????


Food's Favorite Friends
Have you tried the Kraft Mayo made with olive oil! I love it! It is half the fat and half the calories and taste great in my opinion.

My sister also introduced me to plain Greek yogurt that taste like sour cream and 6oz is 80 calories and O fat.....I am going to sing that now..."ZERO FAT"!
So, check those out and see if they help you in your eating healthy efforts!

Life Challenge
Keep On Keeping On

Next Week
I will write about my brief eating disorder and what I learned.


GET JOY!

Freeing the Fat Friday ~ Moderation & Self Control

God's Lesson For Me

Last night we went to Pizza Hut and for the first time in months I ate way too much. I am paying the price for it today. I ate 5 little breadsticks and 1/2 of a piece of pizza. Ugh...way too much bread and cheese. Now for some that may seem like not so much...to some they may think, "Whoa girl, are you ccrazy?" .... but for a girl with IBS & a low functioning gallbladder ....it is killer. I am hurting today.

Wow, I have not been in this much hurt for months. It is easy to see how much white bread, cheese and grease does me in. I think God's lesson is screaming at me today from my tummy. Moderation! Moderation! Moderation stupid girl! I knew going into that restaurant that one piece of pizza was all this tummy could handle; but those breadsticks looked soooooo good.

Self-control can be so hard when it comes to food. But it is what God is asking us to do, to live a life of self-control even with our food. I am learning the lesson the hard way today. (I have written about self control here )

Proverbs 25:28 (New International Version)
28 Like a city whose walls are broken through

is a person who lacks self-control.

Meals for the Week

Didn't do well this week. I got lazy. Eating right takes discipline and care. I am going to do my best next week.

Exercise

I am getting into a grove with this. I have found a good time to do it and my hubby is encouraging me along the way. Whoo Hoo now if I could getting the eating right working together with this!

Food's Favorite Friends!

Thank the Good Lord for small miracles (I am not joking)! When you are radically changing the way you use food it is nice to have certain things like Diet Coke to help you out. Now, someday I would like to drop it from my diet as well....baby steps, baby steps. For now it helps when all you can drink is water and 1 cup of milk everyday.

Life Change Challenge!

Stop eating at Pizza Hut, it is a killer....Just kidding!

Next Week!
Strict 1,200 calorie meal plan and exercise and see how it goes.

Freeing the Fat ~ Helpful Friends

Wow, my hubby has really helped me break through this exercise problem I have been struggling with. When I don't have the motivation, he does! This morning he didn't have the motivation and for once in a really long time....I did (even though I was extremely tired, how weird is that????!!!!) It makes the boring exercise seem...well...not as boring. When we have a lot to talk about the time really flies by fast. I am loving exercising with him.

God's Lesson For Me

I have always been better and more consistent when I had a scheduled plan with a friend. When you do that there is someone holding you accountable and forces you to get up and move.

God's plan was never for us to face things alone, even at the beginning He knew that. So, if you are struggling with making time, being consistent or even need some encouragement...please find a friend to exercise with you.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (New Living Translation)
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.

Meals for the Week

I did not stick to a strict diet grrrrrrrr. I tried to not over eat and keep portions sizes at the right amount. Too many temptations got the better of me...candy, apple cider, doughnuts, pie. Christmas is going to kill me! I am going to have to work on a plan. I am a sugar addict....seriously.

Two things I noticed about my old eating habits...

1. I ate way too many carbs. I only eat about 2 servings of starches/ breads a day now. Before, I did not watch out for those nasty little carbs....I ate them all willy-nilly not realizing how they would add to my weight issues.

2. Juice is the "KISS OF DEATH!" I tricked myself into thinking I was way more healthy than my hubby who drinks Mt. DEW (Yuck) because I drank juice. There are a few things about juice that I learned....

• It is not as good as eating fruit, juice has lost a lot of the fiber and nutrients in its juiced form. Well, unless you juice it yourself and eat all the pulp.


• However, you are still drinking your fruit in a concentrated form. For example: On my 1,200 calorie diet I can have two fruit servings a day. When I made some freshly squeezed OJ, I took like five oranges to get a 1 cup (not a glass like usual) of juice....Yikes!


• Juice has almost the same amount of calories as some pops. Whoa!

I try to avoid juice now and just eat the fruit.

Exercise

Exercised 3 times this week for 50 intense minutes....I think it will get easier... LOL !Yay, for me!

Food's Favorite Friends!

I am Loving Mustard these days! Okay, it is weird I took a picture with my mustard...but hey, it makes my food taste happy. There is like nothing in mustard...no calories, no carbs, no fat...okay, okay there is a little sodium. When you are eating healthier it is nice to not lose some of the flavor. I put mustard in my tuna salad. I put mustard on my new favorite salad...cheeseburger salad (One of these days I will take a picture of it) . I use mustard when ever I get a chance. Have you ever noticed what a funny word "mustard" is!

So here is a shout out for mustard...."Thank You, dear mustard for making my food taste not so bland! You are a helpful friend"

Oh, and hey if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can do some pretty amazing things....

Matthew 17:20 (New Living Translation)
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

Life Change Challenge!

Always, keep in mind moderation!

Next Week!

Strict 1,200 calorie meal plan and exercise and see how it goes.

Freeing the Fat Friday ~ When Emotions Rule!

I am finding that changing your habits can be very challenging and sometimes a very emotional process. I wish I could just decide to do something and then just Do IT!

But, losing weight is just as much an emotional break through as it is a physical one.

There are days that I am really proud of myself and then the next day I can get really discouraged. For a few days I can think, "Wow, I can really do this!" Then a few days later I will wonder why I even should bother. I know that some of this is just because I am a woman and frankly we just go through phases in a month. However, I have discovered a life change with your body usually also involves your heart, mind and soul.

God's Lesson for Me

God wants to change us from the inside out. You can not just change one part of you without changing your entire person. I can change what I look like on the outside and still be "fat" on the inside. When I use the term "fat" I mean not under the submission of my creator. I can allow my heart to become weighted down and full of worry. I can let my mind become undisciplined and lazy and allow my thoughts to go where God never intended for us to go. I can let my soul drift from the Lord and can become weak.

Matthew 22:37 (New Living Translation)
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

If I focus on just changing the outside then vanity creeps in. Vanity is at the root of a lot of my emotional issues in regards to my body. When I love the Lord with my all my heart, all my soul and all my mind there is no place for self. I need to let God rule my emotions and realize that he wants to change the "whole" of me for His glory.

Please permit me to get on my soap box.....I have discovered that through this process of "letting go of this fat" and bringing my thoughts and will into submission I have become very aware of how other women see themselves. I have heard women talk about themselves in a negative way. I have heard women talk about wrinkles and getting old as a bad thing. I have heard women talk about others and how they have "gained weight' . I have heard women talking about losing weight for a spouse. I have seen women view their looks as one of most important things in life. Sadly, I have thought, said or acted out some of these things myself.

I implore you women to rise up and change how we view ourselves. We are creations of the most high. We are His works of art! Who are we to label others? Who are we to say what God has created as ugly? Let's not look for the accolades of others; but only desire how God sees us as true beauty. We need to be examples of inner beauty and not fall to the pitfalls of this world that says we are anything less. We have a duty as Christian women to model true beauty from the inside. This verse says it all....

1 Peter 3:3-4 (New Living Translation)

3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.

4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

Meals for the Week!

This week was rough for meals. I just tried to keep it around 1,200 calories. I did not keep to a specific schedule and I did not count exactly my daily intake of calories, carbs and fat. My budget could not afford to keep to my meal plan....sad, I know. I hate that the healthy foods cost so much. It is one of the challenges of eating healthy. This week should be better.

Exercise

Woo Hoo! I have exercised 5 days this week using my "Walk Away the Pounds" video. I think I can maintain this momentum to continue working out. My hubby is being a great encourager. He has really helped me be motivated in a really positive way. I hope if you are reading this you can find someone who can encourage you as well maybe a spouse, relative or a good friend. Two are always better than one.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 (New International Version)
Two are better than one,

because they have a good return for their work:

How True!

Food's Favorite Friends!

Pickles.... and not just any pickles they have to be Claussen pickles! You can usually find them near the sandwich meat part of your supermarket. One half of pickle is 5 calories, 0 fat and 1 Carb. I love pickles and they can be a nice addition to your lunch to replace those yummy chips you don't eat anymore. Or they can be a nice salty snack. Watch out if you are on a low sodium diet though. Thankfully, I am not! Thank you pickles for being so yummy!

Funny side note...My 2 year old calls his grandpa "Pickle".

Life Change Challenge!

I need to go back to an old one...stop eating off my kids plates. It is a wretched habit!

Next Week!

Use my strict 1,200 calorie meal plan & exercise!

I think I am going to go eat a pickle now....

Freeing the Fat Friday ~ When You Fail!

Last Sunday, my hubby and I hosted a dessert auction to raise money for missions. We raised over a $1,000 that day which is AWESOME! However, what is not so awesome is the amount of desserts we brought home. Booooo! My will power was just not strong enough to not eat something everyday this week....argh. Sugar cookies, 2 batches of Oreo cookie fudge, banana cream pie & Snicker doodles got the better of me. I failed this week.

Now, before you think I am crazy to buy all that ....I didn't! We bought a plate of cookies and a small thing of fudge. Somehow, the rest got sent home with us. Ugh! I did take a bunch of fudge to the church for the teens to eat it up...my hubby was not happy about that. LOL

I really felt that I failed big time this week and actually........I did. Now in the past I would usually give up at this point and say, "What does it matter???!!!" I really feel like I have made some progress and I don't want to give up just because I ate fudge and cookies (thank goodness I didn't like the pie...its the small things that make me happy...the small things)!

God's Lesson for Me

God doesn't want me to give up either. This is a life change, an act of surrender, dying to self, learning from mistakes, picking myself up when I fall it is all these things that are going to help me free this fat from my body. I want this temple to glorify Him!

When I fail, I need to run to God. I need His strength to help me. There are things in life that are just too hard to do on our own. We need the supernatural. I need the supernatural! So this week I gonna dust myself off and keep going with the help of someone who is much bigger, more stronger and more able than me.

Meals for the Week!
Didn't keep to a real tight meal plan....sad! I can really see the benefits of following a meal plan for me. I like to be told exactly what to do for this change in my life. I don't like to figure, count, add....you get the idea. Just give me a list of things I can eat and when I can eat it and I will be one happy to follow the rules girl. Left to my own devices....failure is lurking around every corner.

I am going to go back to the strict meal plan. The unfortunate thing though is that eating healthy is expensive, Yikes! I am not sure how I am going to work the food budget for this. Ugh! I am not going to lie...this life change definitely has its challenges.


Exercise
Started today...walked 2 miles using Leslie Sansone's video. I have a set I got a long time ago. I love the videos. They are a great workout. They work really well when it comes to my time since I have a toddler. I exercised during his nap. Whoo hoo! now if I can only get into a habit of doing them everyday. We shall see....we shall see....



Food's Favorite Friends!
My small frying stainless steel frying pan is my new favorite thing. My family is not on this same low calorie diet like me. It is nice to be able to cook my things in something little and easy to clean. I love my frying pan. I think I use it every day. Who wants to clean a bunch of dishes anyway??!!!

Life Change Challenge

NEVER GIVE UP!!!!

Reminds me of a song I am going to teach my kids in Kids Church....

The rain may be falling and lightning fills the sky

But the sun is rising God is on my side

The wind may blow around me and thunder may go boom

The clouds are disappearing Your light is shining through

Never give up ‘cause He's always there

Never give up anytime, anywhere

Never give up ‘cause He's always there

Remember God is always by your side.




Next Week!

Stay on low calorie diet and exercise!

Freeing the Fat Friday ~ The Inside Matters Most

I am finally getting back to the basics around here when it comes to food. This week seemed a bit more tough than weeks in the past and I am not sure why. I think part of it is that I am in a bit of a time of mourning. I know that is crazy; but I think that is where I am at. I am not young anymore and food doesn't go through me like it use to. I use to eat pretty carelessly and it did not matter that much. I am learning that I never really had a right relationship with food to begin with. For far to long I have tricked myself into thinking I could eat like I use to once I lost a few pounds. The truth is I can not ever eat like I did, I think that is why I am in mourning. LOL

Meals for the Week!
This week I went back to the 1200 calorie diet. Here are some of the highlights of the week!

Yummy salads, I am so thankful I love salads. This one was great even with the fat free ranch. My friend Jenilee has some yummy salad ideas, go check them out.

Lamb chop, potatoe with salsa and a veggie mix. Lamb is soooooo good but pricey!


Marinated chicken with veggie on noddles was good. The clue to goodness in this dish is marinating the chicken. I marinated it in a healthy Italian dressing. Then drizzled some dressing on the noodles and topped with the chicken & veggie mix.


Eggo whole wheat, lowfat waffles are pretty good topped with lowfat yogurt, (1 TB) sourcream & blueberries.




(This one is for you Jenilee) This lettuce wrap was surprisingly good. Marinated green beans and peach smoothie with your wrap makes for a good lunch.



Now hands down this might be my favorite dinner so far. Flounder on rice was good....well I could do without the cooked spinach. I think next time I will just have a spinach salad. I have decided cooked spinach is gross. Back to the good part, I cooked the fish in a fun yummy way. Here is the recipe....


Flounder Rollups

Things you will need:
Flounder Fillets
Salt and Pepper
Paprika
Olive Oil
Onion
Basil


1. Either fresh or frozen flounder fillets can be used. If frozen, thaw first. How much fish to fix is your choice.
2. Cut each fillet lengthwise creating about 1 inch wide strip. A little wider or a little narrower is fine. If you have small pieces, leave them flat.
3. Sprinkle each fillet with salt, pepper, and paprika.
4. Starting at the small end, roll the fillet, and then push a toothpick through the roll.
5. Spread olive oil on a shallow baking pan. Place the rolled flounder on the baking pan with the cut, flat side down. If you have pieces too small to roll, lay them flat on the pan.
6. Chop onion, about 1/3 cup for 2 pounds of flounder (more or less to taste). Sprinkle chopped onion and basil over the rolls and flat pieces. Drizzle all lightly with olive oil.
7. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of the oven about 30 minutes. The tops will be brown. Goes well with long grain brown rice. Add a green vegetable and you have a healthy, low fat meal.


I sauted some garlic and onion and mixed in the rice to add some more flavor....mmmmm soooo good!

Exercise

All I can say is ...GRRRRRRRRR ! I hate to do it and I have no motivation to. GRRRRRR I have lost some weight but I would be much further along if I would just do this. GRRRRRR We will see how I do next week. I make tooooooooo many excuses on this one. Am I the only one who hates exercise???????? It is all about the discipline of it, God knows I need His help on this one.


God's Lesson for Me
I jumped on the scale the other day and got excited...and then God got my attention. This is not about the pounds I shed, it is about glorifying my creator with my body. Being healthy and being a good example to my kids about body image is what I want. So God gave me another challenge...I am not going to weigh myself until Christmas. Crazy, I know! But being fully submitted to God in everything sometimes seems crazy. LOL




I really want this to be a life long change and for me it can't be about the numbers on the scale glaring back at me. Obviously being overweight is not healthy; but when I was 104 lbs I was not glorifying God either. My senior year in high school I starved myself to lose weight. When what I look like on the outside matters more than what God thinks of me on the inside.... neither is healthy.




God wants me to have a right relationship with food. To have self-control and discipline is something I have to learn in order to have this good relationship. Food is meant for my nutrition. Nourishing foods help me to feel good, stay strong and be healthy. Overeating or starving does me no good at all. With God's help I know that He will help me in this area of my life so that I can be fully submitted to Him in everything.


Food's Favorite Friends!

1. Salsa, Salsa, Salsa....Yeah! It is great on eggs. It is great on meat. It is great on salad. It is great on a potato. It has become my #1 friend! Thank you salsa...Thank You!


(I think I shall make up a song to this....LOL hahaha singing to my food ....now that is just plain crazy!)


2. Earthgrain's Flat bread....Yummy!


3. Splenda mixed with a little cinnamon sprinkled on toasted Earthgrain flat bread, so good!


4. Lime in my water sure taste better than just plain old water.


Life Change Challenge
Pray through my stubbornness on exercise!


Next Week!
Continue my 1200 calorie diet and hopefully some exercise. : )

Freeing the Fat Friday ~ When Life Get's In The Way!

It has been nearly two months since I last posted on this topic. All I can say is that my life went in a direction ( I knew it was coming) that I was completely unprepared for regarding my relationship with food and eating healthy. I don't want to make excuses, I could tell you all the reasons why it went bad....but I won't! I will say this, that if you know big things are coming into your life that will take your time & energy you need to make a plan for how you are going to remain healthy during it. This is where I failed; but, I learned from it... that is for sure.

Now don't think that I forgot everything and ate at McDonald's everyday. No, I kept in mind things that I have learned about eating healthy; but I was not as careful or as deliberate in my food planning. I have found that these two key factors are very important to making a food change. So needless to say there has not been a huge change in my weight...which I understand and am not beating myself up about it.

Results of my Doctors visit...

Now I did go to my doctor and I surprisingly had a good report and I even lost a little weight. I could kinda tell; because my clothes are fitting better, thank goodness. My cholesterol could be better but it wasn't in a range that she was concerned about. My blood pressure was good. I just need to loose the weight and exercise. I shared with her that I discovered over the past 2 months that it wasn't how much I was eating; it was what I was eating. I actually left feeling pretty good!

I also decided that I will not share weight loss or gain numbers here...it is not the point. Sure it is a goal but I don't want it to be about numbers, I want this to be a God thing. I want to be surrendered to Him in everything. I never want this to be about my own vanity or praise. However, during my journey I may feel that God may allow me to share numbers later...we will see.

Goals for the up coming week...

• Go back to the 1,200 calorie diet
• Use my sparkspeople.com account to help
• Use my walking videos for exercise

I will write next week to let you know how all is going. Ready to get back on this journey to good health and feeling good!

Freeing the Fat Friday ~ Inner Beauty

I am finding that eating healthier is not as bad as I thought it would be. I have found that a lot of my problems were just not thinking about what I was eating or better yet...not caring. I have also come to the conclusion that eating right and exercise has to be scheduled. Summer around my house completely destroys, demolishes and blows to smithereens the very idea of a routine. I am not a schedule type person it goes against every fiber in my being and summer supports my nature.

Meals

I love, love, love my new web site that helps keep track of what I eat Sparkspeople.com ! It really helps. I am really getting a feel of 1,200 calories is every day. I have also found that the quality of food I have been eating is far superior to my nasty processed food I was eating.

I have also found that there are a lot of yummy options that are sugar free that really help. I have to still keep in mind moderation. Eating a whole tub of sugar free ice cream is still not going to help you free any fat. Nope the carbs or the fat content will kill you.

Exercise

Can I say another GRRRRRRRRR! This summer schedule is going to squash any consistent exercise program. I had a garage sale this week and my life has been consumed with it. With all the craziness...I hope it burns a few calories. : ) When school starts...exercise schedule WILL start.

My poor bike is lonely!

God's lesson for me!

God has so much he wants to teach me through this journey. One of the main reasons is that if I have a healthy relationship with food and stay healthy I can be an example to my children. God wants every part of me to glorify Him. I want my kids to see that in me! As my kids grow, especially the girls, I want there body image to be about what is going on in the inside and not about the outside. I want my attitudes to not be defined by my outward appearance but how God sees me. I want an inner beauty.

1 Peter 3:3-4 (New Living Translation)
3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

I LOVE this verse it is my hearts cry. I want to be the woman that oozes Jesus. To be that....I need to die to self and its ambitions. I need to pick up my cross and submit to Him in everything....even my eating habits. I want this temple to bring honor to Him!

Food's favorite friend!

Smoothies....Can I get a Woo HOO! So easy to make and soooooo yummy! My kids love them! Here is all you need....

• Fruit


• Milk
  
• Ice


• Splenda (if you use sweet fruit you like a banana you might not need it...taste it and see)
  
• Blender

Peach, strawberry, banana, you name it you blend it.
Mix them up...sneak some veggies.....and you got a great healthy drink. Keep your blender on the counter so you will think to make these wonderful treats. Use a fun cup and straw to make it even more fun for the kids. Try it ....they will love it!

Life Change Challenge

I am going to keep this at exercise until I get it right...pray with me on this one!


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