Be Mindful of What You Put into Your Body

Takeaway Value from this video:

1. Eat 4 meals a day every 4 hours to train metabolism.
2. Meals should be balanced - 1 part protein, 2 part carbs.
3. Learn how much fat is in your food.

Real Risk

Even though my waist to hip ratio indicates a reduced risk of heart disease, there are still many complications to being overweight. Here are just few from the office of the Surgeon General:


http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_consequences.htm

I saw several alarming facts that could pertain to me. More reasons to make better choices.

Beet, Carrot, Apple, and Ginger Juice

I was reading posts on Facebook when a friend asked for advice on what to do with beets. Suzy suggested she make this juice. After some investigation, I found out that it is posted on a site called GOOP, which Gwyneth Paltrow has. Who knew? I do know that Ms. Paltrow is beautiful and appears healthy, so she's doing something right!

Apparently, this is a basic colon cleanse. Suzy says, "If you want to maximize the health benifits to juicing, don't put juice from fruits in. It interferes with the alkalines from the veggies. If you dont care and just want a good sweet drink, throw in the apple and that little bit of lemon."

Beets are said to lower blood pressure, carrots pack a super beta-carotene punch, apples are cancer-fighters and ginger just loves your heart.

SERVES: 1
TIME: 5 minutes

1 large or 2 medium beets, cut into wedges
1/2 lemon, zest and pith removed
2 large carrots
1 large apple, cut into wedges
1" piece of ginger

Juice everything into a glass, give it a stir and enjoy.

That's My Story

Someone just sent this in an email,

"We all get heavier as we get older because there's a lot more information in our heads. So I'm not fat, just really intelligent and my head couldn't hold any more so it started filling up the rest of me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!"

Wow. I must be a genius.

Prayer for the Journey

It just occurred to me that while I say, "Oh, God, help me" a lot, I'm not being faithful to ask that God help YOU. I know that God blesses those who bless others, and in my quest toward health, I've been focused on me, myself, and I. Now focusing on yourself is not always a bad thing. I have to say that in the past I've been one to neglect my own needs to help others. But before I wax too saintly, I also know that lately, I've been more, dare I say, too internally focused.

Please let me know your needs, too. I'm on my own journey, but that doesn't mean I can't reach out and help others along the way. I pray today that God strengthens you in your spirit, gives you peace as you pursue health, grants you wisdom in your choices, and healing that only He can give.

Remember - (I say this almost every Sunday as I teach my class...) there are NO small choices. And know that, if you're following this blog, I've called each of you out by name and prayed for YOU.

Here's a beautiful prayer by Apostle Paul to meditate on today. Have a wonderful weekend.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. - Ephesians 3:16-19 (New International Version)

*Art Courtesy of ChristArt: Christian Clipart

He's Working It Out

Another day, another doctor. Can you give a wild guess as to what my next step is? If you guessed more tests, ding, ding, ding! You're right. By the time I get done, I'm going to have had everything checked from head to toe, inside and out. The doc ordered two tests today and thought it was a good idea to follow up with the advice from my primary care physician and visit a rheumatologist.

Last night several people from church prayed for me. I love it when they do that - makes me feel their concern, and reminds me that God is ultimately in control. I have placed my trust in Him, and I know whatever happens in this life is for a reason. When I'm aching and complaining, I would do well to remember Romans 8:28 (NLT), "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Difficult sometimes though, huh?

Waist Time

In the subtitle of this blog, I indicated that I wanted to find my waist again. Vanity tells me I could buy cuter clothes and look cuter in them (well, at my age cute is not my goal, but I'd look better..), but my awareness of health issues has given me a real dedication to getting my numbers down.

Find a handy tool from the University of Maryland Medical System to calculate your waist to hip ratio HERE. According to this tool, my shape puts me at reduced risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke. I'm a 'pear' so I tend to keep fat off my midsection and more on my hips. I knew that, of course. The good news is that a body does not convert this lower body fat as readily as midsection fat, which keeps cholesterol down.

If you’re a woman, the waist-to-hip ratio should come out as no more than 0.8. A healthy waist-to-hip ratio for men is 0.95. If your belly has caught up to the size of your hips, you should start worrying about your heart, experts say.

Get that tape measurement out. What's your risk?

After the Celebration

What a wonderful time we had at church yesterday! Our choir sang a contata "In His Presence" that came with a DVD to play as the choir sang. Very effective. Because I've been so sick and tired, this year I didn't participate in the choir, and since we had a guest pianist yesterday, didn't play for the service. It was a special blessing to me to sit back and enjoy the service. Last night we enjoyed an Easter concert from Lavawan Riley. I so wish I could play like he does. Wonderful!

After church yesterday we met our son at O'Charley's. They have a new California Chicken Salad to die for - grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, pecans, and dried canberries. It came with bleu cheese, but I opted for cheddar. I also subbed Ranch Dressing for the dressing. I'm telling you, friends, I tried to eat just half, but it was just too good. I ate the whole thing. I think that's the first time I've polished off an entire meal since I started posting on this blog. No rolls for me though. And if you've been to O'Charley's, you know that took willpower!

Also - because I'm intent on finding my waist again, I got out a tape measure. Wow. That's an eye opener. You might want to do the same thing. I've read many times that waist size is more a predictor of health than weight. I'll try to find some research to back that up.

About the pic with this post - last week I posted about how I sang for our Palm Sunday service. A friend sent me a pic she snapped while I was singing. Good times.

Happy Resurrection Sunday

Just wanted to post a note to wish everyone a very blessed weekend. If you're getting together with family, I pray for a peaceful and joyous time. Don't eat the entire Easter ham or down twenty peeps without thinking though! lol!

Snack Yourself Skinny

Kim Bensen, who lost 14 dress sizes through Weight Watchers, cooks up yummy and healthy snacks with Kristi Watts.

Update and Recipe - Herb-Infused Spa Water

Well, I'm not sure who told me this would happen, but if it was you, you're welcome to say, "I told you so." After all the tests, I still don't have a conclusive reason for the rib pain. A couple of the tests showed arthritis, so it's possible to have referred pain from another area of the body, but when all is said and done, I'm being referred to a specialist - a rheumatologist. My doctor seems as frustrated as I am. BUT I'm praising God that nothing too serious showed up on any of the tests - just a couple of minor issues that are being addressed.

If you have whispered even one prayer asking God to heal me, I appreciate it. I know that God made this body in the first place, has a plan for me while I'm in it, and will give me strength to do His will. That's all that matters in the long run.

But in the meantime, please continue to pray that I get some relief from this achiness. It kinda wears on an old gal, you know?

AND if you've scanned this post to this point, I'd like to share another water recipe I found - Herb-Infused Spa Water. Now doesn't that sound refreshing? Click HERE for the recipe.

A Different Kind of Blog

Well, another busy weekend flew by. We celebrated Palm Sunday yesterday - my favorite day of the year. My husband (the pastor) gets hundreds of palm fronds for everyone to wave as we praise God. I sang "In the Name of the Lord" and we had an illustrated sermon. Then last night we celebrated with Communion. Most importantly, by the end of the day, four people had given their hearts to Jesus Christ. What a day!

On Monday, I'm usually exhausted, but I'm feeling energized, perhaps because we had such a wonderful Sunday, and also because I'm taking better care of my body. Yesterday, I ate less than half my meal and last night, I did the same.

As far as dietary changes, the only issue I'm still struggling with is drinking water. I got a thermos out to fill each morning, but I even forget to do that! Suggestions, anyone?

I started the blog in an attempt to help myself and others. I was always such a skinny kid. I never really thought about my weight that much until after my second child. Since then I've gone up and down, up and down, then up and up! At my age, my first concern is that I won't have the energy to minister the way I should. I'm also concerned for my joints and mobility as I age. I have a whole slew of blogs, but none of them are 'personal' type blogs. So it's kinda weird posting this way. I wouldn't do this at all if I didn't know there are a lot of women like me - busy with crazy lives. I'm thinking of having guests post on this blog. I've never done that with any of my others, but this one seems so completely different that I think it would help all of us to chime in with our thoughts now and then.

I'm headed back to the doc this afternoon to find out the results of all the tests I had done last week (on my birthday!). I cut back on the anti-inflammatory medicine and my tummy issues seem to have subsided. It's tough to know what to do.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Brain Stimulator and Cancer Killer?

Today Dr. Chauncey Crandall was on the 700 Club touting the spiritual and physical benefits of fasting. Since I'm hypoglycemic, I've never fasted, but the good doctor almost has me convinced that not only would it not harm me, but it would help me tremendously. He mentioned that fasting helps inflammation.

Here's a link to some recipes Dr. Crandall recommends with names like Brain Stimulator, Cancer Killer, and Garlic Breath Delight. lol!

Click HERE.

Have you ever fasted for either spiritual or physical reasons? How did you benefit?