Purely Drivel

we're all losers

 
photo source

Watching the season finale of The Biggest Loser a few weeks ago, Mom and I hit on a bit of inspiration.

side note: as much as I always want to watch that show and as inspiring as I tend to find it, I never seem to catch any episode other than the finale...and usually watch about 5 minutes of it.  this year was no exception.

We'd been looking for some inspiration - something to get the family moving and eating better this summer - and, in one of those lightbult moments, found it.

A family version of The Biggest Loser.

We're all weighing and measuring, eating better and working out, from yesterday until Labor Day.

Even the kids. 

They went to the gym for the first time yesterday, and both loved it.  They're a little bit limited by what machines they actually fit on, but I've come to believe that you have never seen cuteness until you've seen a 9 year old on the elliptical machine.  I might need to take in Hanna's Flip and record it.

We've been talking - a lot - about what better, healthier choices mean.   About how one good choice leads to more of them.   And that we're not expecting big results or perfection, but that we're wanting to make little changes that add up to big ones that last a lifetime.

Because we're competitive, we did add a little monetary incentive.  All of our recycling money, plus the dollar equivalent of what each person loses, is going into a jar for Labor Day.  Because there are a 9 and 13 year old taking part, I'm hoping we can take that money and do something fun together with it...but it's also been suggested that, like on the show, the person with the highest percentage of weight loss takes the prize.  We'll see.

Right now, my main focus is on those little choices and instilling in the kids a love of activity.  And if no one loses a single pound, but a bit of that happens - we'll be the best sort of losers of all.

diet and discipline

photo by Hanna

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11 (NIV2011)

I finished Reshaping It All last week, and I truly can't recommend the book highly enough.  I'm planning to work my way through it again and dig in after my speedy first read.  There's a lot of meat in there that I want to explore more.

That isn't to say that my quick read wasn't profitable - overwhelmingly, I've come away with the sense that I need to work on discipline. 

I've often thought, and have written before, that will-power is a word I'm not fond of.  We tend to think that will-power is some magical power we should be able to call upon...but in reality, I think it's probably a word we came up with because we don't like the word discipline.  Discipline brings with it feelings of work and deprivation...which is true...but if we continue with it, it brings with it the life change that leads to freedom.

I'm amazing at a few days of eating well and hitting the gym hard...and I'm pretty good at it for a week or two...but somewhere around one month or so - where everyone says the habits should be set - I falter. 

It's that in the long run where my struggle lies.

It's at that point of complacency - where it should be habit  - that I start to feel comfortable and temptation hits hardest.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 

It's a fine line between becoming disciplined and becoming complacent, and I think perhaps there is where my issue lies...and truly, that's not just with health and wellness but with most areas of my life.

A little something for me to think and pray about over the next few weeks.

How about you?  Where does your biggest temptation lie?  Where do you struggle with discipline?  

food journal...a reminder for myself

I've been fighting a cold/allergies/sinus/coughing thing for almost two weeks now.

And I've realized something...

when I don't feel good, I don't eat good.

Pardon my grammar.

But I don't.  Instead of eating the foods that bring health and wellness, I've been eating cheese tamales from Costco...leftover Easter candy...soda instead of water...anything else I can find that's processed and gluten-free (not easy)...and craving the cookies and bread and all that other gluten-filled stuff I just can't eat.  It's been an all day fight against the cravings that I know will only make me feel worse.  

Quite a difference from two weeks ago, when I took a few photos of what I was eating to create a visual food journal of what sort of meals keep me feeling my best.  I've debating sharing them, but because I need a little visual inspiration so badly right now to keep the fight up...here we go...

Breakfasts - I'm finding fruit and nuts to be a big win for me.  Apples and almonds or a sliced banana and walnuts with a sprinkle of cinnamon...sometimes a greens smoothie.  A little sugar, a lot of fiber and some protein.  It doesn't seem like much, but they keep me going better than a bowl of cereal ever did.

For snacks - more of those breakfasts.  A handful of almonds, an apple, a bowl of strawberries.  And I'm realizing I need less of them than I tend to think I do.

 

Lunches -I have a huge tendency to find something and eat it until I'm sick of it.  Somehow, in all the years I've been eating them, I've never been tired of black bean quesadillas.  My other lunch of choice is a great big dinner plate sized salad with lots of chopped veggies, beans and sometimes a little fruit.  

I'm going to have to find something new, though, for a bit - sinus issues have me convinced I need to stay away from dairy for a bit.  

And a side question - how do you feel about mango?  It's a new-to-me fruit and I'm still not sure I like it.  Some bites are great, others seem to taste a little grassy.

Dinners - mushroom fajitas (this recipe, with mushrooms instead of flank steak), mongolian tempeh (again, tempeh instead of beef), veggie omelettes, rice or quinoa pasta with a little sun-dried tomato pesto and sauteed vegetables...more big salads, roasted mushrooms and sauteed spinach, steamed artichokes, grilled veggies, Southwest bean and rice salad, stir fried rice with a little egg...

There it is.

That hunger for whole foods - foods they way God made them - it's back.

What reminder do you need today?

Jesus in the chicken coop

My husband, the two-weeks-from-graduation-seminary-student, has told me often that this is one of the most often taken out of context verses in the Bible...

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Cor. 3:16

I tend to think he's right, considering all the things I've heard it used to preach against...ear piercing, alcohol  and tobacco consumption, immodest dressing, tattoos, sloth, overeating, alternative lifestyles...and on and on it goes.  Pick a topic and it's not hard to wrap that verse around it.

At the same time, though...I tend to think that if, as followers of Jesus, we believe that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we need to do all that we can to take care of these bodies we've been given. 

I've been reading Candace Cameron Bure's book, Reshaping It All, over the past few days as I shared last week and it's sort of been one lightbulb moment after another.  And the biggest one has had to do with Jesus and the chicken coop.

I asked myself this question the other day...if Jesus showed up at my front door and needed a place to stay, where would it be?  We're a bit short for space at the moment, with five adults, two kids and two puppies in this house and the chicken coop came to mind.  It's a rather nice coop and it's certainly one of the cleanest I've ever seen.

But, really?

Would I put Jesus in a chicken coop?

No.

He'd get the best bed in the biggest room, with the nicest sheets and the fluffiest pillows.  I might even put a Dove chocolate on the pillow for him.

And yet, for so long, I've allowed my body to be that chicken coop.  And really, not even a nice chicken coop.  It's been neglected, allowed to fall apart a bit and I haven't always tended it the way I should.  I've already made commitments to mending it - daily time at the gym and focus more on the foods I eat and how they make me feel, but I just don't feel like I'm all the way there yet.  I am choosing to pursue health and wellness with all I have, so that I can be the best servant and follower I can.

This weight loss journey has been such a long one for me, and it's one that I've come to realize lies more and more on the spiritual side...which is why I'm so excited to take part in 65 Days to Reshaping It All with Candace and Darlene Schacht.  

And guess what?  Anyone can join in - you don't even have to have the book.  Starting today and lasting until July 4th, there will be daily posts, videos and even some give aways.  65 days, plenty of time to work on breaking down some strongholds and instilling some new habits.

I'm ready to move into that place of freedom, and create a body that truly is worthy of my risen Lord.

*motivation*

Photo by Hanna

Last week, I downloaded a sample of Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure to my Kindle.  It kept popping up on my radar...and while I wasn't necessarily a Full House fan, I've always liked her.

And not just because her brother was my first Hollywood crush.

Yesterday, I downloaded the rest of the book and am about four chapters in.  I wouldn't call it a diet book.  Motivation - definitely.  Spiritual grounding - totally.  A book on breaking the bondage food holds over us - yes ma'am.  An enjoyable read - yep, that one too.

And I find myself seeking the purpose and motivation of why I continue on this journey to health.  In light of last week's bout of diet fatigue, it's even more important...but I truly believe that if we lose sight of why we make the choices we do, we're bound to fail.  When I'm in that difficult place, I need a reminder. 

My three biggest reasons: 

• To live a better life...I don't have any delusions that I can add days to my life (those are already determined by God), but I do believe that I can make each day better as I seek better health and fitness.   I'm watching myself not only lose weight, but grow stronger.  My stamina has increased over and over again.  And the stress release that I find from hard exercise is irreplaceable.
• To serve God better...when I'm not eating the way God intended me to eat (and the way I need to eat is probably a little bit different than the way you do), when my body is feeling sluggish and in pain, I can't serve God as well.   It looks like we're heading into a new season in our lives and ministry, and it's one that is going to need me to be on top of  a lot of things.   I also can't serve God as fully as He would have me to when I am obsessed with food in unhealthy ways.  That bondage is one I've fought nearly my entire life and I long to be free of it completely and forever, but it's one area that takes work to break.
• To lose weight...seems a little shallow compared to those other reasons, but it really does go hand in hand with them.  Let's face it, people who are at or near their best weights and strive after health and wellness are just plain healthier.  They live better - with less disease and illness.  There are so many health legacies in my family that I am fighting - my Mom was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in her early 40's, my grandmother with a childhood form of leukemia in her 70's, along with stroke, heart disease and high blood pressure.  I don't need to give them a foothold through the food I eat or the lifestyle I live.  And let's be honest: when I weigh less, I'm more active and I'm more outgoing, and that whole serving God thing is just a whole lot easier.

There are so many more reasons - to be a better role model for my kids, to live out all that I've learned about food and nutrition - but those are the big ones.  The ones that I keep coming back to, the ones that stick.

I'm still looking forward to that place of freedom, when the work is done and making the right food choices happens easily far more often than not and I'm at a sustainable weight that meets my motivation and goals.  For now, I'm committed to the growth and work it takes to get there, however long that might be.

What is your motivation for seeking a healthier life? I'd love to hear it!

eat to live & diet fatigue

I'm currently in the middle of a huge case of diet fatigue.  

I hate to say that I'm on a diet, because truly the way I eat is the way I intend to eat for the rest of my life.  It's more of a lifestyle than a short-term weight loss endeavor, and I always feel the need to clarify that.

But y'all, I want a cookie.

Any cookie.

One that has gluten and preservatives and ingredients I can't pronounce.  A cookie I don't have to make or go to Whole Foods to buy.  

I don't know where this came from.  I've been rolling along, eating what I should, feeling great and - BAM!  These crazy cravings hit me a few days ago.  

Maybe it's Easter?  And the Cadbury eggs in all of the stores...and jelly beans...and malt eggs that I can't even eat because malt has gluten.  The next few days are crazy - a BBQ fundraiser, parties, Easter...but I know I can persevere through it with a little planning and prayer.

Part of that planning is looking towards next Monday and challenging myself to eat Eat to Live style for at least a week.  I read the book a few weeks ago, and there is so much I agree with in it:

• Eat nutrient dense foods.  Vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, whole grains - that should be the basis of our diet.
• Eat less meat products - less than 10% of your total caloric intake.
• Eat lots of those nutrient dense foods.  Lots.  Especially greens.  Make salad your main dish at both lunch and dinner.
• What we eat has more to do with the development of diseases like cancer and heart disease  than anything else.  This is so, so huge...and it's never too late to change the way we eat for our health and future's sake.
• Refined sugar is evil.  Okay, maybe it wasn't quite put that way in the book...but the USDA estimates the typical American now eats the equivalent of 30 teaspoons of refined sugar every day.  Yikes.
• Natural fiber is good.  And we need to eat more of it.
• Stay away from processed or enriched anything.  

In a lot of ways, it seemed like Eat to Live was almost a companion book to The China Study... sort of the "here's how to do it" that I felt The China Study was missing.  The initial six week plan includes no dairy or meat products, and while I'm close...I just haven't quite gone that far.  Right now, when I'm a bit bored and frustrated, seems like the perfect time to give something else a try.  I'm hoping to take photos - so we can all see what I'm eating and what a diet like this looks like.  

I do have to add, though, that there are a few issues I have with the book.  I worry that it's too low fat, though it's naturally low fat and not counting on foods that have processed the fats out.  I don't like that the author downplays snacks...mainly because I like snacks.  I also worry that it could be simply too low calorie, but at the same time I know that if you're actually following what the book says and eating up to 2 pounds of greens a day (a day!), you're not going to be hungry.

How do you deal with diet fatigue?  I know in the past, it's been something that can send me into a bad spiral and I'm determined not to let it happen this time.

baking class reflections

Yesterday was a huge, huge step for me.

I said no to fear and yes to growing.  

Tom and I left for Santa Cruz early, enjoyed a beautiful drive through the foothills to the coast and had a little brunch at the Harbor Cafe.  It was delicious and funky and all of the servers sort of looked like they just rolled out of bed (the joys of a coastal college community).  I had a lovely frittata and am going to be obsessed with learning how to make them - especially since our layers are finally starting to lay and we're going to be inundated with eggs in the next few months.  We also hit a Farmer's Market on the way to the school, which helped calm my jangly nerves a little bit more.

Y'all, I could live at that Farmer's Market.  Baby artichokes, bloomsdale spinach, leeks and tulips - oh, the tulips!  Stunning.

But I didn't drive two hours to buy tulips (though I would!).  I drove to take the gluten-free baking community class at Bauman College.  I've been researching holistic nutrition schools that offer distance learning, and Bauman has quickly risen to the top of my list.  When I found the gluten-free class, I knew it would be a perfect way to learn something new and check out the school a little closer at the same time.

I did learn a few things - I'll definitely no longer be buying almond meal for $11.99 a bag when I can make my own in the food processor in about a minute for a quarter of the cost.  Underneath all of that whipped cream and whipped coconut cream (oh.my.heck.amazing) up there, is an almond cake that I adore and intend to make a few spice adjustments to and share soon.  It's also going to make a great base for strawberry shortcake once they're in season.  Best of all - no wheat or gluten and no refined sugars!  We also made a butternut squash tort that I can't wait to play with...as soon as I get some small tart pans.  It would be perfect with banana pudding (one of the chef's mentioned a raw banana pudding made with soaked cashews that I can't wait to try) or pumpkin for Thanksgiving.  Nor more having to eat around the crust for me!

It was a fairly basic class, with most of the students barely knowing their way around a kitchen, so I don't think I came home with too much new information.  I did learn some basic ratios for baking with gluten free flours that I want to work with.  And I got to test out some ingredients I've never used before - agar agar, coconut sugar (which I could eat with a spoon and is a very low glycemic sweetener), and coconut cream.  We also had a lunch that the chef's prepared for us that included a miso and takame (seaweed) soup that I'm anxious to try on my own.

And I learned that I need to look into Bauman further.  Their philosophy is so on with mine - that we honor our bodies and our Creator when we eat in ways that promote health, that what is naturally in the foods we  eat is more important that what is processed out, whole foods are vital, low gluten diets for everyone (easier on digestion), and that creating and serving healthful food for others is one of the greatest things we can do.  We even see eye to eye on soy (organic only, fermented or sprouted).  Their vision of working with individuals, families and communities toward wellness mirrors my own, and I think this might be the place to make it happen.  

 I was surprised how much I loved working with the chefs.  Chef Rebecca was our main instructor and hugged me three times before I left.  I've been most interested in Bauman for their distance learning nutrition, but I think perhaps after that I'd love to figure out a way to take the natural chef program also.  I will definitely be taking all of the community courses I can!

Next month is Indian food.  Anyone want to join me?

one week - a few thoughts

Last week, I gave myself the challenge to to an entire week without consuming meat, for quite a few different reasons that can be found in that previous post. 

One week later, after an almost totally meat free 7 days (I did have one bite of the steak that came in my pho yesterday), I have a few thoughts...

• eating vegeterian was far easier than I thought it would be...I think perhaps because I'm so used to eating a restricted diet.  I'm already used to preparing the vast majority of everything I eat and even with cooking for a large family at the moment, I just plan a little bit more carefully than I already do.  One more reason meal planning sooo important.
• for the most part, I just added an extra vegetable to dinner since the rest of what I eat tends to be meat free during the day.  I never went hungry or felt deprived.  I also never felt weak or head-achy or cranky (all concerns I had going in).  On the plus side,  the jaw pain I've had for as long as I can remember is less and I haven't had any stomach aches this week.  And I think I've been sleeping better, but that's always a little hard to tell.
• I worked out even harder this week than I have been, but I can't tell you if that's because it was my fifth week at the gym or the dietary changes.  I do know I've always felt in the past like I have a high need for protein (animal in particular), but the fact that I was able to increase my workout while drastically decreasing my meat intake gives makes me think it made some sort of difference.   
• I did eat more dairy than I normal, and I'd like to cut back on that a little more.  I really only use milk to get my cereal wet when I eat it, and that could easily be replaced by almond milk.  I do eat greek yogurt or cottage cheese at least once a day and a bit of cheese, too.   My afternoon string cheese could easily be an afternoon handful of almonds or walnuts instead.

The research is so divided - there are some nutrients our bodies need that I've read can only come from animal protein.  And then there is research that says perhaps we weren't ever supposed to eat meat, and that our bodies heal themselves and stave off disease better if we forego it.  For every point, I've had no problem finding a counter-point, though I do still find the evidence against it a bit more overwhelming as I noted in my earlier post.  My personal experience of this week has been positive enough that I intend to continue.

Honestly, I can't really say I miss eating meat but I also don't see myself never eating it again.  I have no problem with a few bites of a good rib eye or the occasional piece of bacon, but just a bit.  And I do intend to make fish a more regular part of what I eat, so I see learning to properly cook it in my very near future. 

One week.  Big changes.  Good results.

one week

 
Photo source: unknown

 This past weekend marks just about six months since I made the decision to eat a gluten-free diet.

Well, almost gluten-free.  There have been a few bobbles where I've convinced myself that my body can handle a tiny bit...and have been proven wrong each and every time by muscle pain, mental fogginess and misery.  I don't recommend doing that, but each time has strengthened my resolve and my commitment to the necessity of a gluten-free diet for me.

And I truly can't believe the drastic way my life has changed.  Everything I lived with on a daily basis for nearly two years?  It's all gone.  All of it.  No more pain, no more fogginess (unless I eat too much sugar), almost no more stomach issues and my energy levels are great.  All because I removed a little protein found in wheat, barley, rye and malts from my diet for one week...just to see what would happen.  One week easily turned into two...then to a month...and even though it doesn't seem possible, nearly half a year. 

It's not always easy, but it is always worth it.  I don't ever remember feeling this good.  Even before the more severe symptoms started, I'd lived with stomach issues since I was a child and chronic headaches since I was in middle school.  Once in a while, I get a headache...but I can usually pinpoint the cause (sugar or stress).  And my stomach hurts every so often...but that's usually only when I've eaten too much sugar (again with the sugar!) or meat.

Speaking of meat...

A little goal I set for myself this year was to slowly move towards a more vegetarian diet, partly because of the stomach issues but also because of The China Study.  A friend recommended I read it several months ago, and I have to say - the science that most of the diseases of affluence (cancer, dementia, heart disease, etc) can be avoided and/or cured by a careful plant-based, low to no animal protein diet is overwhelming.  As I've grown increasingly more passionate about nutrition and begun to study it over the past five years, I've come to believe  that whole foods, plant based diets are best, without a doubt.  After finishing The China Study, not only do I believe that even more strongly, but I'm ready to finally start making those next steps towards really living it. 

My first goal?  One week without meat.  That's all.  When I originally decided to cut out the gluten, I told myself I'd only try it for one week.  If there weren't any noticable changes in the ways I'd felt, I'd be free to go back to breads and pastas and vanilla malts.  Within three days, the changes were so evident I couldn't deny them.  I want to see if I feel any difference next week - if I notice any changes in my workout, the way I feel, the way I sleep.   And I'll make a decision about where I want to go from there.

How about you?  What can you change in your diet for one week?  What would it do to the way you feel if you were to cut out gluten for a week?  How about refined sugar?  Or maybe it's not about what you cut out, but what you add in.  Could you add in one more serving of vegetables a day?  What about whole grains?  

Are you up for it? 

Gluten-free - 2 months in

 

I hit my two month gluten-free anniversary sometime a little over a week ago, and I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what exactly this change has meant for me.

I am completely off the fibromyalgia medication, after a very deliberate weaning period.  I do have a bit of very minor muscle pain, but nothing like I was previously experiencing.  I've had a bit of mental fogginess, but again - not even in the same universe as what I was living with 10 weeks ago.  I've had a bit of occasional swelling in my feet, but it's been minimal.  My energy levels have been great and I've had no return of numbness or tingling. 

All in all, I'm not willing to say I'm cured, but I am willing to say that I am able to live life again without any restrictions...other than the gluten.   And I'm finding that the longer I stay away from gluten, the continuously better I feel.   It's an amazing thing to not crave bread and other baked treats, or to have that hangover feeling I've always associated with most grain based foods.

I will admit, quite readily, that eating gluten-free isn't always easy.  There are days it would just be soooo much easier to throw together a sandwich.  Fast food is really difficult (though not something I do often anyway) and so is eating at restaurants.  Once in a while, I have a bit of a pity party that I can't just grab a cinnamon graham cracker for a snack or catch myself unconsciouly putting a pretzel in my mouth as I pack the kid's lunches.  

It's a learning curve and it's work, but it's worth it.

In fact, my biggest concern has been that as I'm learning to bake and replace favorite foods with gluten-free versions...I'm struggling to stay on a diet that leads to weight loss.   But I am learning to create meals and baked goods that are gluten-free, and I'm generally pretty happy with the results. 

And just as I believe the healthiest diet is the one that is least processed and eaten in the state closest to it's natural state, I'm finding the best tasting (and cheapest) gluten-free diet is the same way.  I've used a few gluten-free baking mixes but haven't always been terribly impressed with the final result, especially after factoring in the price.  Naturally gluten-free - basic, simple, whole foods - are best for my body and my wallet.

My next big challenge - taking the refined sugar back out of my diet.  Somehow, as I've learned to embrace gluten-free baking, the white stuff has crept back into my diet.  When I eat sugar, I can feel it surging through my body and I can feel the crash that follows.  It's not pleasant.  And while sugar has slipped back in, my exercise program has bit the dust.  There's always something to tweak and continue working on.

I'm also working hard to put too many expecatations on myself.  We've got three rounds of guests coming between Thanksgiving and the new year - it's going to be crazy.  We are also facing some big changes and decisions over the next few months financially as Tom goes from full time ministry to part time with a massive cut in pay and no more benefits.  Balance is going to be more difficult than ever to find and stress to manage, but  I know that the dietary changes I've already made over the past two months are actually going to help with all of that.