Love Your Body — Page 3 — Woman to Woman Mentoring

Love Your Body—Go Nuts for Nuts

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

“My mom always has her bag of nuts with her!”

My daughter, Kim, made that comment when my daughter-in-law asked her what she should prepare for my hubby and me when we were coming to visit since she knew we try to eat healthy, raw, and organic. Kim was saying: don’t worry about it. If my mom can’t find enough to eat, she’ll snack on her nut concoction.

cracked walnuts

I’ve always enjoyed a variety of nuts since I was a kid. I remember sitting with my mom shelling walnuts for hours from big bags we would fill from the walnut orchards that used to be so prevalent in Southern California. After their harvest, they let the public come through and glean walnuts. Great memories and great walnuts! My heart breaks as I watch so many of these walnut orchards destroyed to build new houses. I want to scream: “Don’t you know how good those walnuts are for you and how long it took for those trees to grow?” But I don’t think anyone would listen to me.

We always had walnuts. We baked with walnuts and loved just snacking on them. I can remember eating as many as I shelled!

Then as I grew older and was always watching my weight, I started hearing how high in calories nuts were and I treated them like a delicacy…only adding to banana nut bread or an occasional crumb topping or Waldorf salad (apples, celery, and walnuts). But then there was a trend to put nuts in salads and I was all over that. How had we missed all those years how delicious walnuts or pecans are in a salad with strawberries or pears or any array of fruit? Oh and that was something new too. Salads didn’t just need to be veggies and tomatoes—fresh fruit of all kinds is fabulous in a green salad and topped with nuts and raspberry salad dressing, a real treat.

salad

Cancer Changed Everything

[Tweet “So over the years, I enjoyed nuts sparingly and guiltily. But all that changed when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and began researching the best foods for fighting cancer.”]

So over the years, I enjoyed nuts sparingly and guiltily. But all that changed when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and began researching the best foods for fighting cancer. At the top of the list were nuts! Not just any kind of nuts though: organic and raw were the best because the high roasting temperatures used in roasting nuts can destroy many of the good nutrients and the pesticides sprayed on nonorganic nuts negate much of their nutritional value.

[Tweet “Nuts are little gifts from God, packed with powerful nutrients for not only fighting cancer, but heart disease, high cholesterol, endocrine and inflammatory problems…the list is endless.”]

Nuts are little gifts from God, packed with powerful nutrients for not only fighting cancer, but heart disease, high cholesterol, endocrine and inflammatory problems…the list is endless. Yes, they have calories, but they are such a concentrated source of nutrition, that you don’t have to eat many to gain the benefits. Nuts are good calories. Calories you want to include in your diet while you eliminate wasted calories.

So I make my own “trail mix” with a variety of organic, raw, unsalted, and if possible, sprouted, nuts. I always start with almonds, cashews, and walnuts, and then I might add pistachios, shelled sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamias, Brazil nuts, or pecans. Sometimes I add dried unsulphured fruit, but usually, it’s just a mixture of nuts, which I take with me everywhere and keep on my desk in my office while I’m writing!

[Tweet “Remember that raw nuts are unprocessed so keep any extras in the refrigerator or freezer.”]

Remember that raw nuts are unprocessed so keep any extras in the refrigerator or freezer. I like to buy raw, organic nuts in bulk and then freeze them. Then I’ll defrost some and make a big batch of my “trail mix” combining a variety of nuts and portion into smaller bags that I keep in the refrigerator and take out one bag at a time to enjoy.

Yes, if you walked into my office today, you would see my bag of nuts . . . in fact I just had a handful while I was writing this. If you looked in my travel bag, yep there would be a bag of nuts. When hubby and I go to town for the day, you guessed it, I have my bag of nuts if I want a snack while we’re shopping or watching soccer games or hanging out with the family.

[Tweet “It doesn’t take many of these powerhouse gifts from God, so a handful or two will do you nicely and probably quench your appetite so you don’t eat so much at the next meal. “]

It doesn’t take many of these powerhouse gifts from God, so a handful or two will do you nicely and probably quench your appetite so you don’t eat so much at the next meal. Think how much better this is for you than a bag of chips or candy bar or even popcorn. Popcorn does not have the nutrients of nuts, but you can add nuts to your popcorn and that’s yummy too.

Check out These Websites

So I’ve researched a couple of websites that I think you will enjoy. The first one, Why You Should Go Nuts for Nuts is one I really like. On the first page, after you read the introduction, hit on “View All” and it will take you to pictures of different nuts. When you hit on the picture, you’ll get a summary of all the health benefits of that particular nut.

And here’s a great article about walnuts, 10 Surprising Facts About Walnuts.

Tips for Going Nuts

If you find nuts hard to chew, try grinding them and adding to your recipes or chopping them.
Add nuts to your salads, cereal, oatmeal, granola, cereal, vegetables, cookies, cobblers . . . the list is endless.
If you can’t go raw nuts, Dr. Oz says in his book, You On a Diet, that it’s OK to cook them at 275 degrees for 9-12 minutes to roast without damaging the good oils and nutrients.
If raw organic are too expensive, I would opt for at least raw because roasting at high temperatures damages most of the nutrients. You might wash them off and then do a light roasting, as I mentioned above.
If you don’t like a particular nut, no problem. There are so many to choose from.
Substitute almond milk for regular milk. Some people like to make their own almond milk and I just discovered how to make walnut milk. Yummy!

What are some ways you’ve found to use nuts?

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*Pictures are from the websites listed in the article.

April 25, 2016

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Love Your Body–Beat or Treat High Blood Pressure

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

Today is Love Your Body Monday, following the most important Sunday in a Christian’s life: Easter! The day that Jesus defied death for believers and rose from the grave to offer everyone who believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, confesses sins, and asks for forgiveness—eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, Jesus overcame permanent death for believers, but we still must face the death of our physical bodies.

During my first breast cancer treatment, I witnessed to my atheist radiation oncologist: “Dr. your mission is to provide longevity and stave off death for a while for our earthly bodies; my mission is to help people know the Great Physician who provides eternal longevity and life after we are finished with our earthly bodies.” I think he got it.

[Tweet “Our earthly bodies are a gift from God during the years He gives us to make a decision for Christ”]

Our earthly bodies are a gift from God during the years He gives us to make a decision for Christ, and then were are to live out that decision and help others come to know Him before their, and our, earthly bodies return to dust. Did you ever think of life in that context? We are here for God’s purpose and pleasure, not our own. Therefore, we must treat our bodies as a precious gift and instrument of God.

[Tweet “Sometimes, we treat our bodies like we own them. “]

Sometimes, we treat our bodies like we do own them. We’ve all heard, “It’s my body. I’ll do what I want with it.” This erroneous thinking is also behind the “women’s rights” propaganda. And that’s all it is…lies and misunderstanding from those who the evil one blinds.

[Tweet “We don’t have any rights over our bodies, God does!”]

We don’t have any rights over our bodies, God does! He creates us, numbers our days, and makes no mistakes.

Satan says, “Your body is your own.”

God says, “I knit you together in your mother’s womb.” (Ps 139:13 paraphrased)

Satan says, “Eat whatever you want if it makes you happy.”

God says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

[Tweet “What a novel thought: eating and drinking for the glory of God.”]

What a novel thought: eating and drinking for the glory of God. What a praise it would be to God if before putting anything in our mouths, we asked ourselves, “Will this glorify God by keeping my body healthy or will this dishonor the amazing temple he has entrusted to me?”

How to Beat or Treat Hypertension

[Tweet “I am amazed at how many people take medicine to lower their blood pressure.”]

In January, we talked about Love Your Body—Prevent or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes. Today, I want to mention another illness that could be prevented or treated by proper diet and exercise: high blood pressure. I am amazed at how many people take medicine to lower their blood pressure. High sodium intake can increase blood pressure and most processed, packaged, and processed foods are very high in sodium. Even if you never salt your food, if you eat these foods regularly, you are taking in higher levels of sodium than are healthy for a normal body.

According to the Mayo Clinic, here is a definition and risk factors of High Blood Pressure also known as Hypertension:

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.

Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

High blood pressure has many risk factors, including:

Age. The risk of high blood pressure increases as you age. Through early middle age, or about age 45, high blood pressure is more common in men. Women are more likely to develop high blood pressure after age 65.
Race. High blood pressure is particularly common among blacks, often developing at an earlier age than it does in whites. Serious complications, such as stroke, heart attack and kidney failure, also are more common in blacks.
Family history. High blood pressure tends to run in families.
Being overweight or obese. The more you weigh the more blood you need to supply oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. As the volume of blood circulated through your blood vessels increases, so does the pressure on your artery walls.
Not being physically active. People who are inactive tend to have higher heart rates. The higher your heart rate, the harder your heart must work with each contraction and the stronger the force on your arteries. Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of being overweight.
Using tobacco. Not only does smoking or chewing tobacco immediately raise your blood pressure temporarily, but the chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of your artery walls. This can cause your arteries to narrow, increasing your blood pressure. Secondhand smoke also can increase your blood pressure.
Too much salt (sodium) in your diet. Too much sodium in your diet can cause your body to retain fluid, which increases blood pressure.
Too little potassium in your diet. Potassium helps balance the amount of sodium in your cells. If you don’t get enough potassium in your diet or retain enough potassium, you may accumulate too much sodium in your blood.
Too little vitamin D in your diet. It’s uncertain if having too little vitamin D in your diet can lead to high blood pressure. Vitamin D may affect an enzyme produced by your kidneys that affects your blood pressure.
Drinking too much alcohol. Over time, heavy drinking can damage your heart. Having more than two drinks a day for men and more than one drink a day for women may affect your blood pressure.
Stress. High levels of stress can lead to a temporary increase in blood pressure. If you try to relax by eating more, using tobacco or drinking alcohol, you may only increase problems with high blood pressure.
Certain chronic conditions. Certain chronic conditions also may increase your risk of high blood pressure, such as kidney disease, diabetes and sleep apnea.

Everything on the above list except for age, race, family history, and certain chronic conditions are controllable by us! Several of these controllable areas, we’ve talked about previously on Love Your Body Monday!

Weight Loss: Love Your Body—Maintain Weight Loss and Love Your Body—Break the Food Strongholds and Love Your Body—Weight Loss is Not the Goal

Become more physically active: Love Your Body—Use Technology to Lose Weight

Drinking: Love Your Body—Don’t Drink Alcohol

If you smoke, you need to stop smoking.

We will talk in future blogs about eliminating stress.

Reduce Sodium intake: Love Your Body–Read Labels discusses the importance of reading labels on food you purchase. You can look for sodium content on the label per the serving they indicate, which might only be a half cup or 5 pieces. You need some sodium, but if you have high blood pressure, your doctor may want you limiting to 1500-3000 mg a day, which can add up quickly just in natural food. So you must read labels for sodium content and avoid obviously salty food. Here is a great article on how sodium effects high blood pressure, recommended intake of sodium, and high-sodium foods to avoid: Salt and High Blood Pressure.

saltshaker

At our house, I don’t put a saltshaker on the table, and I use very little salt in cooking, but rely on fresh herbs and salt-free seasonings for flavor. Both my husband and I have normal blood pressure. Sometimes visitors ask for the saltshaker without even tasting the food to see if it even needs salt! Is that you?

bananas Increase potassium and Vitamin D: Here is a good article on nine foods that can reduce high blood pressure and increase potassium and Vitamin D in your diet: Nine Foods That Reduce High Blood Pressure.

Let me stress that the ideal is to avoid having an illness or “condition”. Taking preventative measures—instead of waiting until you have a problem that you could potentially sidestep– could prevent having to take medications, which always have side effects. And isn’t that just like everything in life: proactive always trumps reactive.

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March 28, 2016

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Love Your Body—Prevent or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

It’s Love Your Body Monday! I’ve been so encouraged to hear weight loss stories from many of you and how this series has helped and encouraged you to start living healthier. I love your successes, so please send them to me or leave comments on this post.

Some of you may have decided that 2016 is the year you get fit and healthy, and you don’t know how happy that makes me. As a reminder, my first career was as a Registered Dietitian in hospitals. I thought I would be the Florence Nightingale of Dietetics and patients would be so happy to learn that many of their health issues could be resolved by changing their diets and lifestyle. There I was a naive young woman fresh out of college and a yearlong internship ready to save the sick and help them live healthier happier lives.

But I hit a brick wall. Patients didn’t want to change their diets and doctors didn’t support the R.D.’s counseling. Patients would rather take a pill then alter their diet. The R.D.’s were always the meanies taking away their “one pleasure in life.” Repeatedly, I would see patients return to the hospital because they refused to take ownership of their health. It was a rude awakening and a thankless profession.

Fast forward to today, when the public and the medical profession are more respectful of the cause and effect of food on the body. As evidenced by an article, “The Diet Prescription,” in the January 25, 2016 issue of TIME magazine. Studies are now proving something that I have been saying for years: Just because diabetes runs in your family or you show pre-diabetes indicators for Type 2 diabetes, “diabetes development is not inevitable.”

[Tweet “Just because diabetes runs in your family or you show pre-diabetes indicators for Type 2 diabetes, diabetes development is not inevitable.”]

This is so important because: In the US, more than two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese and extra body fat is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes! Here is a direct quote from the TIME article:

“I think people intellectually know that eating healthy and being active is good for you, but I don’t think they understand what an impact it has on preventing Type 2 diabetes for those at high risk,” says Ann Albright, director of the Division of Diabetes Translation at the CDC. “It really is the most effective intervention for delaying or preventing Type 2.”

[Tweet “Eating healthy and being active is the most effective intervention for delaying or preventing Type 2 diabetes”]

The article said for those who already have Type 2 diabetes, diet and exercise alone cannot reverse diabetes, but they can reduce the severity of symptoms. But you will read a true story by Anita Sherwood at the end of this post, which proves that it is possible to reverse Type 2 Diabetes through diet and exercise!

Doctors are not trained in behavior modification and so they don’t always know how to help you change your eating habits. They do know how to write a prescription. I can’t tell you the number of overweight people I’ve seen with knee replacements and I ponder, why doesn’t their doctor tell them to lose weight to help the success of the new knees?

Doctors Writing a Prescription for Nutrition

RX Pad South Side Diabetes Clinic

I was delighted to read in the Time magazine article about internist Dr. Monica Peek who has found that the way to get her patients to take notice of changing their lifestyle is to pull out her prescription pad and write: “I recommend the following nutrition for this patient…” And she says the patients started taking her seriously. It’s so simple! In fact, the subtitle to this article was “A deceptively simple approach to Type 2 diabetes is showing promise.”

But here’s the rub: the patient has to want to avoid diabetes badly enough to start eating healthy and exercising. Many think they’ll just start taking a pill and they can keep eating the way they always have. Maybe if the doctors told them that some of the complications of Type 2 diabetes can be extreme fatigue, blurry vision, sores, and foot problems, which can led to amputations, they would take diet and exercise more seriously. Potentially, there can be a damaging of blood vessels and nerves that can progress to vigilant monitoring of blood sugar levels, counting carbohydrates, timing meals, taking multiple blood lowering drugs with their own side effects, and sometimes requiring insulin injections.

I don’t know about you, but losing weight and eating food my body needs to be healthy sounds a lot easier, less painful, and a much better alternative. But Dr. Peek admits: “‘We can prevent a lot of chronic diseases if we eat better and exercise more,” Peek says. “But people don’t always think about it in that way.’”

So here’s what I’m suggesting friends: Let’s start thinking about it that way!

I know many of you have had doctors tell you that your blood sugar is too high and you need to cut back on sugar intake and lose a few pounds. Or one of your parents has Type 2 diabetes so you’ve just resigned to eat what you can while you can before the “inevitable” happens. Or you’ve already been diagnosed so you think, what’s the use? But let’s change that thinking today!

Here’s a Start:

Be Honest with Yourself. It’s easy to convince ourselves that we’re “eating healthy, but it just doesn’t help.” I heard that so many times as an R.D. and I would look at the overweight person in front of me and cry inside that this person was in denial.

Or friends and family will say, “I’ve eliminated all cholesterol or sugar from my diet, but it just doesn’t help.” Then I watch them slather butter on their bread, gravy on their biscuits, ice cream on their pie. You get the picture. Denial!

[Tweet “God made our bodies so there is no fooling Him. “]

God made our bodies so there is no fooling Him. When I was a little girl, my mother used to warn me: “God sees everything you do.” So train yourself to think, “God sees every bite.”

Avoid desserts and fill up on salads and proteins. During the holidays, I was at several parties where people were discussing their “pre-diabetes” and high blood sugars and how they were going to control it by diet and then headed right over to the cookie and candy table. That’s feeding diabetes, not preventing it.

Our church, like many churches, puts out cookies or donuts and coffee between services. It’s so tempting, and I feel bad as I watch those I know who shouldn’t be eating them, head over to the snack table. Don’t go over to the table or bring your own healthy snack, or talk to your church about putting out healthier choices. The latter probably isn’t going to go over very well at your church, but it would be helping so many people.

The same applies for work breakrooms and small group snacks.

Don’t buy sugar. Then you won’t be tempted to cook with it!
Don’t buy sweets, desserts, sodas, chips. Avoid all “empty calories.”
Eat less carbs. Maybe sweets aren’t your downfall, but you eat lots of bread, crackers, and starches. Switch to lean meats, steamed veggies, salads with olive oil and vinegar dressing, and a piece of fruit for dessert.
Avoid alcohol. It’s straight sugar.
When eating out, choose wisely. Then cut the meal in half, ask for a to-go-box, and put half of your meal in it to take home for another meal. Love Your Body On Vacation discusses how to eat out or away from home.
Read labels. Sugar in many different forms is in almost every processed food, even in foods that sound healthy. Ingredients ending in “ose” are added sugar. Brown rice syrup and honey is still sugar.
Keep a food journal. Write down or keep it electronically. Record every morsel or liquid that passes your lips. It counts if you eat it standing up, in the car, on the run, talking on the phone, cleaning the kitchen … if it goes in your mouth, it turns into calories.

[Tweet “if it goes in your mouth, it turns into calories.”]

Be aware of what you’re putting in your mouth and ask yourself: “Is this bite that’s going to be gone in a swallow, worth the risk of Type 2 diabetes some day?”

Pray and ask God to help you and ask family members and friends to help keep you accountable.

Encouragement

You can do this!

You’re never too old to make healthy changes and benefit from them. The TIME article noted a three-year trial of overweight and prediabetes people who changed their eating and exercise habits: “Lifestyle changes were especially impressive for older people; those 60 and older reduced their risk of diabetes 71%! That’s huge!

If you’re overweight, it’s only a matter of time before your blood sugars start reflecting it; but the good news is this also works in the reverse. The more weight you lose and exercise you increase, the faster your blood sugars will decrease.

Anita Sherwood Shares Her Type 2 Diabetes Reverse Story at 74!

Anita is on the left. Two years before overcoming her Type 2 Diabetes

Anita is on the left. Two years before making lifestyle changes to overcome her Type 2 Diabetes

My dear friend Anita was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1997, but she says, “Who knows how long I had it before then.” Here’s her amazing story:

When I first went on medication for my Type 2 diabetes, I thought hurrah, now I can eat whatever I want and just take this pill! Over the years, I tried to watch my diet and be careful what I ate, but I wasn’t as diligent as I should have been. I’m 5 ft. 2 1/2 inches tall and weighed 143 pounds, which is too much for my height.

Then at the age of 74, I read a book that told me about the damage to my body diabetes was doing and how it could compromise my later years. I had started experiencing blurred vision and restless leg at night. I paid attention when the book said I might even be able to get off diabetic medication if I stopped eating sugar, lost weight, and started exercising regularly. I wanted to enjoy my next season of life, so I committed to try it.

The result: Four months later, I lost 15 pounds and my blood sugars are normal!!! I went from 150 blood sugar with medication to 100-97. (99-65 is normal range) My doctor said I rebooted my system and my pancreas is kicking back in and I can soon be off all medication if I maintain my diet and exercise.

I feel and look younger wearing skinny jeans like I wore in high school! I sleep all night, my restless leg and blurry vision are gone, I can reach down and tie my shoes easier, my cholesterol levels have improved, and I’m full of energy!

Anita 15 pounds lighter with normal blood sugars

Here are the changes I made:

Drink 2 quarts of water a day. 1 quart before noon.
Eat on salad plate instead of dinner plate and eat slowly, taking time to chew my food thoroughly.
Always have a bag of washed fresh raw veggies to nibble for snacks and homemade broth-based soup for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.
Eliminated all carbs except 2 cups of air popped-corn in the evening and ¼-cup raw oats made into oatmeal for breakfast.

Breakfast- one egg, ¼ cup raw oatmeal cooked with nuts and craisins.

10:00 1-cup homemade broth-based soup.

Lunch—Cottage cheese or plain yogurt with fresh fruit or salad.

Afternoon: 1-cup homemade broth-based soup

Dinner—Meat (usually chicken) 2 servings of veggies and salad or stir-fry.

When we eat out, I have a cup of my soup at home first, then I choose lean meat, veggies, and salads.

Exercise: Swim laps three times a week, volunteer at a 2^nd hand store with lots of walking on Mondays, and work in my yard.

Over the past four months, slowly the weight came off and the sugars came down. I realize this is a lifestyle change. This year I will be 75 and my motto will be: I’m now 75 and it’s great to be alive!

Anita happy and healthy at 74! Diet and exercise changed her life!

***************

Share with us ways you’ve found to also stay healthy and share Anita’s enthusiasm: It’s great to be alive!

Quotes are from “The Diet Prescription,” by Mandy Oaklander/Chicago, TIME, January 25, 2016.

To read more about Dr. Peek’s Food RX program.

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January 25, 2016

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Love Your Body—Maintain Weight Loss

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

It’s Love Your Body Monday, and as promised, today I’m going to talk about how to maintain weight loss once you’ve achieved your desired weight. I’ve pointed out in past posts that weight loss isn’t the goal, maintaining a healthy weight for life is the goal.

[Tweet “Weight loss isn’t the goal, maintaining a healthy weight for life is the goal”]

In August, I wrote Love Your Body, Weight Loss Is Not the Goal. If you haven’t read that post yet, I would highly encourage you to go there now and read it. Thanksgiving week, I received an email from Cathy McIntosh who read that blog post and sent me the following email of how it changed her life. She also wrote a post you might want to read:

Hi, Janet. Your post “It’s Not About Weight Loss” really touched my life and I wanted to let you know I wrote about it on my own blog. Thanks so much for your post. I have new freedom. The Lord certainly used your words!

Blessings, Cathy McIntosh

Several other Love Your Body blog posts set the stage for a talk about maintenance: Love Your–Body Break the Food Strongholds and Love Your Body—Use Technology to Lose Weight.

[Tweet “If you haven’t learned how to change your eating habits, any weight loss is likely to be temporary”]

In previous blogs, I’ve pointed out the reason weight loss is not the goal: if you haven’t learned how to change your eating habits, any weight loss is likely to be temporary. That’s why as a former Registered Dietitian, I don’t advocate shakes, shots, starvation diets, eliminating major food groups, packaged meals, quick gimmicks, or anything that deviates from simply eating a well-balanced, portion-controlled diet. Why? Because any of the other ways are temporary: you aren’t going to drink shakes, get shots, stay on drastically reduced calorie diets, go without a food group, afford packaged foods, or stay on any of the quick-fix “regimes” for life.

[Tweet “you aren’t going to drink shakes, get shots, go without a food group, afford packaged foods, or stay on any of the quick-fix “regimes” for life.”]

So you might reach a desired weight loss, but then what? If you haven’t learned how to replace destructive eating habits/patterns with constructive long-term eating habits, you’ll revert to the way you ate before. And with that, the weight quickly returns, often with extra pounds. Sound familiar?

Here is a fact you can count on: Once you achieve your desired weight, the minute you start eating more calories then you’re currently taking in … you’re going to start gaining weight back. Maybe you eliminated bread and now you’re so excited to have a sandwich … extra pound on the scales. You didn’t have sugar, but now you’re going to reward yourself with the ice cream you’ve been craving. Another pound. And so it goes. At first, it’s just a pound or two and you’re sure you can handle it. Well then, it’s only five pounds. Uh oh…it’s only been a few weeks and you’re watching the scales creep back up. You panic and try to go back on the shakes, shots, gimmick diets, or maybe just give up and bring out the next size up of clothes.

Achieving and Maintaining Long-term Weight Loss Means Making Wise Choices Daily.

I heard a commercial on TV for a hypnosis weight loss program and one of the things they said which is true, maintained weight loss requires a mind change. But you don’t need to be hypnotized to change your attitude and mind about eating. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13). And He wants to renew your mind.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Ways to Maintain Weight Loss

Pray. The first thing in maintaining weight loss is to seek God’s help. He has a greater purpose for you, but you can’t achieve all that He has planned if your focus is on food or your eating is contributing to bad health. One of the things I love about First Place 4 Health, the ministry for which I wrote God’s Best for Your Life, is that they look at all aspects of maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle that includes the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional aspects of our life.
Don’t Eliminate Food Groups. God made your body to function best by eating all the basic food groups. Eliminating any of them means you deprive your body of necessary minerals and vitamins. For example, your body needs some carbohydrates for energy. If it doesn’t receive what it needs, it starts storing other foods as fat. God designed your body to prevent you from starving to death, and it has no idea when you plan to feed it again. So just in case, it keeps a reserve in the form of fat.

[Tweet “Don’t Eliminate Food Groups.”]

Maybe you were eating more carbs than you needed, or eating the wrong kind, but eventually you’re going to want some carbs. If you’ve been denying yourself, there’s a good chance you’re going to eat the wrong kind when you add them back into your diet. You need grains. I’ve recommended before Choose My Plate to help you understand the foods your body needs every day. BTW sugar and alcohol are not food groups; they’re wasted calories.

Portion Control. Again, Choose My Plate can help you determine appropriate portion size. Eat on a small plate and only eat what fits on that plate . . . one time. Don’t put food on the table to make it too easy to take second helpings or nibble. Weigh out 3 ounces of meat to see what that looks like. Measure out a ½ cup of rice or oatmeal or a teaspoon of butter. Remember what you eat while cooking or cleaning up after meals…or off your kids’ plates… are all calories. If possible, have someone else put away leftovers.
Eat Out Wisely. In another blog post, Love Your Body–On Vacation, I talk about how to eat out. You can still enjoy eating out, but choose wisely off the menu. Only read descriptions of foods you know are healthy. Don’t let yourself be tempted by fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy, “Just this once because you’re celebrating.” Portions are always too large in restaurants. Ask for a to-go box when your food arrives and put half of it in the box. You won’t feel like you’re wasting money if you can enjoy it at another meal.
Celebrate But Don’t Deviate. We just finished Thanksgiving and now we’re headed into one of the most challenging times of the year to eat wisely, but you can do it. I talk about how to do that in Love Your Body–During the Holidays.
Weigh Daily. Purchase a good set of scales that also measures body fat. Weigh at the same time every morning without clothes, before you eat or drink anything. Then you can’t blame any gain on your slippers or the glass of water you just drank. If the scale goes up a pound, don’t panic, but don’t ignore it. You either ate too much the day before or didn’t exercise enough. We all vacillate a pound or two naturally, but you’ll learn what that range is for you, and let it be a red flag the minute you go over it. Don’t wait until it’s five pounds; cut back on calories right away and add to your exercise regime. You’ll soon learn the caloric intake and exercise output that keeps you at your ideal weight.
Keep a Food Journal. In Love Your Body—Use Technology to Lose Weight, my daughter Kim talked about how she lost weight by keeping track of her calories on her phone. You can do the same to maintain your weight. It’s easy to fool yourself that you haven’t been eating much, or “I never eat _____.” But if you’re gaining weight, there’s no fooling your body. Yes, you are eating more and recording every bite will show you where you’ve added extra food intake.

[Tweet “The key that everyone needs to learn, understand, and accept is that this is for a lifetime!”]

Love Your Body Series

As you read this blog, you should be noticing that if you’ve been following the Love Your Body series the past couple of years, I’ve been giving you tools all along to maintain your weight loss and stay at a healthy weight for your individual body. The key that everyone needs to learn, understand, and accept is that healthy eating is for a lifetime! Your body is always going to operate on a balance of calories in, calories out. That’s never going to change no matter how you try to circumvent it. But what can change is your mindset toward food and your body.

[Tweet “The key that everyone needs to learn, understand, and accept is that healthy eating is for a lifetime!”]

When you became a Christian, you put away the sinful way of thinking and the old self to become a new creation in Christ, so you can do this with food too.

When you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:21-24

Don’t let Satan fool you that it’s impossible for you. You can put on the new way of thinking about food and a healthy lifestyle and put off all the chains that have bound you over the years and have stopped you from enjoying the body that God created you to take care of and cherish—His temple.

I would love to hear what’s helped you to maintain your weight loss.

If you receive this by email, please leave a comment here.

November 30, 2015

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Love Your Body–How Cancer Changed My Diet

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

Wow, it’s already the last Monday of the month and that means it’s Love Your Body Monday! Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I reviewed what I wrote in Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer regarding the dietary changes we made after my breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, and radiation:

My husband and I joke that my recovery entailed revamping our entire kitchen! I took great delight in learning about juicing and eating raw and organic, which meant I researched and bought a juicer, smoothie maker, high-speed blender, food processor, toaster oven that dehydrates, special containers for ripening and keeping raw fruits and veggies—just for starters. We no longer used the microwave, so I also bought stainless steel pots and pans, and two sets of dishes that were oven proof for heating up leftovers in the toaster oven. Our kids say, “Mom, every time we come you have a new set of dishes!” I thought to myself, Why not? Who knows how many more sets of dishes I will enjoy in my lifetime?

Next, I had fun researching and comparative shopping in health food stores that carried organic foods. This was quite a project as I did comparative shopping, read labels, and learned my way around. Now instead of dreading shopping, it is exciting and fun. I can hardly wait to try a new healthy recipe or a different way of food preparation.

*I emphasized in bold the points I am going to talk about here.

So let’s look at some of the changes I made and why I made them.

I’ve already talked quite a bit about eating organic and reading labels, so I’ll refer you to the previous Love Your Body blogs I wrote for more information. Just type in a topic or Love Your Body into “search this blog” or go to the blog archives and the last Monday of each month features a Love Your Body blog post.

Juicing

Currently the focus seems to be on green smoothies, and they’re great as long as you’re not using high fat/high calorie ingredients. Debbie Alsdorf had a recipe for her Morning Green Smoothie in her 90 Days to Physical Renewal blog.

[Tweet “Here’s a simple explanation of the benefits of juicing:”]

Here’s a simple explanation of the benefits of juicing:

Most people don’t eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables to provide a substantial amount of vitamins and minerals, but you can obtain the maximum benefits by juicing them. Much of their nutrients are in the fiber, which the body expels. When we juice fruits and vegetables, these nutrients release from the fiber and we are able to drink highly concentrated nutrients, which enter our bloodstream quickly.

Fiber and other foods added to smoothies offer a different kind of nutrition because fiber is essential to health, so be sure to continue eating raw fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains in conjunction with fresh juices to gain the maximum amount of nutritional value from what you eat.

[Tweet “Very few people eat sufficient quantities of raw fruits and vegetables. “]

Very few people eat sufficient quantities of raw fruits and vegetables. Juicing provides a quick and easy way to increase your consumption of these foods. I have an Omega juicer which allows me to juice wheat grass. Hope I didn’t lose you there…but wheat grass is an amazing source of nutrients and is delicious juiced with an apple and lemon. Even hubby likes it!

I also drink a “green juice” every morning made of greens like wheat grass, Spirulina, barley grass, and chlorella. You can find organic green juice powders that you mix with water or fruit juice in health food stores. I order mine from Purium Health Products. Drink green juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for maximum benefit.

Eating Raw

Cooking fruits and vegetables destroys some of the nutrients and we throw most of the nutrients down the sink when we boil foods. The closer you can eat your food to its natural state, the better. So we eat lots of organic raw fruits and vegetables in salads. I put everything into green salads including all kinds of fruit right along with the tomatoes, mushrooms, and cucumbers! I always get compliments on my salads, which I take to potlucks in case I can’t eat anything else.

If you can’t afford organic, buy a natural veggie wash and wash ALL produce before eating. If you had to pick one item to eat organic, make it strawberries. They are heavily treated with pesticides and absorb it all!

The more plant-based food you eat the better!

[Tweet “The more plant-based food you eat the better!”]

We No Longer Use the Microwave

I have not used a microwave for cooking for fourteen years. It’s not because I’m worried about leaking radiation, but just as I mentioned above, heat destroys nutrients and the microwave cooks things at a very high temperature. Also most food products made for the microwave are processed with preservatives.

This was a huge shock to us at first since I actually had two microwaves when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. But my husband unplugged the portable one and put it in the trash and we ignored the built in one. So that meant I had to learn how to cook on top of the stove again. I don’t trust any of the nonstick or Teflon pans, so I use stainless steel pots and pans and a toaster oven for broiling, reheating, and making toast.

[Tweet ” My husband unplugged the microwave and put it in the trash”]

I also try not to use plastic storage containers, but switched to glass or Pyrex. These can be sanitized and don’t absorb food or odors and go nicely into the toaster oven or conventional oven. Check out some of your plastic containers—they often are stained or melted from being in the microwave or dishwasher. Toss them and replace with glass.

Snacks and Water

I make my own “trail mix” with a variety of organic raw unsalted nuts. I always start with almonds, cashews, and walnuts, and then I might add pistachios, shelled sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamias, or pecans. Sometimes I add dried unsulphured fruit, but usually it’s just a mixture of nuts which I take with me everywhere and keep on my desk in my office!

If you can’t go raw nuts, Dr. Oz says in his book, You On a Diet, that it’s OK to cook them at 275 deg for 9-12 minutes to roast without damaging the good oils and nutrients. Remember that raw nuts have not been processed so keep any extras in the refrigerator or freezer.

I also always have a stainless steel water bottle with me filled with fresh filtered water. I don’t ever remember in my younger days drinking as much water as I do now, but once you start, you’ll find your body craves it. I have a “Contigo” brand water bottle that keeps ice solid and water cold in the heat of summer. Be sure to clean the tubing and mouthpiece on your bottle regularly because mold accumulates in those areas. I found small bottle brushes to get into those little areas in the infant section of Wall-Mart.

I once had someone at church ask me: What’s in your bottle you always have with you?” She looked a little surprised when I said, “Water.”

You’ll need lots of water when you exercise too. Exercise is so important to any healthy eating regime.

I hope you’ve all had your annual mammogram this year, and if not, make the appointment. Mammograms have saved my life three times and I do believe that the changes we’ve made in our diet have helped me maintain a healthy active quality of life.

How about you? Are you intrigued by any of the changes we made?

Could you live without your microwave?

Willing to try juicing or green juice?

To read any of the past “Love Your Body” blog posts, just type in Love Your Body in the search bar on the right side of the website or go to the last Monday of each month in the archives.

If you received this blog by email, comment here.

October 26, 2015

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Love Your Body—Break the Food Strongholds

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Fitting into one leg of old jeans

Last month, in the Love Your Body series, we talked about Weight Loss is Not the Goal. If you haven’t read that blog post yet, you might want to start there. That post points out that anything but a well-balanced, portion-controlled eating pattern for life, will only be a short-lived weight loss. The gimmicks and enticements to get you to lose weight with a “program” or “product” will never work over a lifetime. You become a discouraged victim of diet failures instead of celebrating victorious success.

[Tweet “The only way to maintain a healthy body weight is learning how God designed your body to sustain with natural wholesome food He created for us to eat.”]

The only way to maintain a healthy body weight is learning how God designed your body to be sustained with natural wholesome food He created for us to eat.

We need God to help us achieve and maintain a healthy weight, just like we go to Him in every area of our lives. Why would we think He doesn’t care about our health when He created us?

[Tweet “Abusing our bodies with anything—drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and yes, food—is a sin against God.”]

Abusing our bodies with anything—drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and yes, food—is a sin against God. We make food, or the quick-fix diet plan, our god, our idol when we’re … lonely, sad, depressed, emotional, happy, frustrated, needing comfort, worried, bored, tired, … you know the drill.

In last month’s Love Your Body post, I mentioned how I often observe friends posting pictures of their weight loss on Facebook. Every time I see one of these pictures, I ask my friend how she/he lost the weight. Then my next question: How are you going to maintain your weight loss? If they’ve done anything besides eating a balanced diet, cutting back on portions and empty calories, and exercising, I know they’ll struggle to maintain their weight loss. They’ve only altered their eating habits for the duration and directives of the “diet” or “program” or “regime,” and they have no tools to help them maintain their weight after they eventually go off the diet, program, or regime and start adding foods back in that they like or missed….or worse yet, return to their old eating habits.

So when I saw the before and after pictures (in this post) of my author/speaker friend, Debbie Dittrich, on Facebook, I asked Debbie, “What are you doing and what’s the maintenance plan? Debbie shared with me how she lost the weight, but admitted she wasn’t sure how she was going to maintain this weight loss for a lifetime, and asked for my help.

Debbie with hubby before weight loss …

Debbie gave me permission to share her story, and in November, I’ll share the maintenance plan I suggested that would work for anyone wanting to stay at a healthy weight for life. But remember, I don’t recommend going on any diet or program that requires buying products, eliminating food groups or meals, or deviates from eating from the five food groups. And BTW, sugar is not a food group, but grains and dairy are and they carry a wallop of vitamins and mineral so never eliminate them. You may need to modify the type you eat for allergy reasons, but you will experience nutrient deficiencies if you exclude them entirely.

Debbie and hubby after weight loss. He lost weight too!

I know many will relate to Debbie Dittrich’s story as told by her! I’ll make comments at the end:

Janet, I was desperate to be free. I’ve been obese for 30 years, trapped in gluttony, sin, shame, and hopelessness. I believe mine was an addiction, and like any addiction, a stronghold of sin. I was at the end of my rope last November and had never felt worse. I’d had three surgeries within five months and was in constant pain. I could hardly move or walk. I cried out to God for deliverance and He reminded me of an email from my granddaughter the year before about a group for food addicts.

I looked at it and went that night! Food addicts is a 12-step program based on AA. I needed the balanced food plan with no sugar. I went to three meetings a week, made three outreach calls a day to other members, and worked my program. I thank God for it, but realized after six months, I needed to leave to continue with the Lord as my guide. I saw many people were as addicted to the plan as they were to food!

[Tweet “Many people were as addicted to the food plan as they were to food!”]

I’ve still been successful. Without sugar, I have zero cravings. Sugar is SO addictive! ALL my constant aches and pains are gone now. I had NO idea what havoc sugar was creating. I still have some pain from degenerative arthritis, but the difference is night and day! And perhaps my amazing energy and health explains why sticking to this food plan isn’t a problem for me.

[Tweet ” I sought food first when I felt any emotion or exhaustion, and God second.”]

Food is now just fuel, not entertainment! Honestly, food was my god. I sought food first when I felt any emotion or exhaustion, and God second. I had no idea I was doing that.

God is my One true God and I seek Him first now! I probably have 15 to 20 more pounds to go. But I am honestly looking for a good maintenance plan that will be doable for the REST OF MY LIFE! I cannot live the way I did before ever again.

This was the first time in my life that I approached weight loss as something I had to do forever and not just as a quick fix to lose weight.

Overeating is a Spiritual Battle

[Tweet “I now realize my problem was a heart issue more than a diet issue.”]

I knew how to do every single diet imaginable! I now realize my problem was a heart issue more than a diet issue. I needed a lasting heart change that only the Spirit of God can bring and maintain. I pray daily to surrender my eating to Him forever.

[Tweet “Every pound of weight puts about 6 to 8 pounds of pressure on your knees.”]

I was so blind. People would try to help me, and I would go on diets and lose enough to make me look better, but then I would quit. I constantly cried out to God. I had no quality of life. Everything was hard. My knees are bad and every step hurt. Every pound of weight puts about 6 to 8 pounds of pressure on your knees. No wonder they hurt! About 500 pounds of pressure are gone now! My cholesterol went from 210 to 165. That was in 2 months. It’s probably less now.

I wake up ready for life and ready to go; whereas before, it took me hours to wake up from my food coma. It’s such a huge spiritual issue. Overeating is a tool of the enemy to defeat us and deceive us daily … and we let him!

[Tweet “Overeating is a tool of the enemy to defeat us and deceive us daily … and we let him!”]

I was so helpless and hopeless.

I knew I did not need another diet; I needed deliverance! God used a food plan, not a diet, to deliver me. It took months, but God gave grace and began to show me what the true spiritual issues were.

For me, I realized fear controlled me and I used food to medicate and soothe myself. But overeating only made my fear worse! I’ve learned to surrender daily to Him, trusting Him, believing that He has given me “everything I need for life and godliness.”

[Tweet “Many of us with this “little issue” have no idea how we’re losing a huge spiritual battle every day and Satan is thrilled.”]

This is a battle zone, as you know. Many of us with this “little issue” have no idea how we’re losing a huge spiritual battle every day and Satan is thrilled. By fighting this battle and dying to self, I am clinging to Jesus through His Spirit.

By walking in self-control, I’m proclaiming the Gospel! I’m shouting, with no words, that Jesus is enough, not only for eternal life, but also for daily life. Not just to be thin, but to be free to love and serve Him by loving and serving others. Thin is just a welcome benefit. When I’m absorbed and obsessed with food, I have no room for God, much less others.

Well, I could talk forever about this! I would love to get your input for a good maintenance plan.
Thanks for all you do.
In Him,
Debbie

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

Food Is Not the Enemy

[Tweet “Food Is Not the Enemy”]

I am NOT promoting Food Addicts for several reasons:

1. Overeating isn’t an addiction, it’s idolatry: food plays too important a role in an overweight person’s life.

2. Addictions are usually to something that is bad for us and the solution is to abstain and avoid. God made our bodies to require food so we can’t abstain or avoid food.

3. Food Addicts doesn’t include God, as Debbie wisely realized is essential to a lasting heart and health change.

However, the Food Addicts food plan is fairly balanced, and it’s natural food with reduced daily calories, portion control, and modifying eating habits, but as Debbie pointed out, you can become “addicted to the diet plan.” Debbie did mention she and some of the other members lost hair and that could be due to insufficient calories to provide essential vitamins and minerals or varying fruits and veggies.

[Tweet “Crash diets are NEVER healthy diets and can do long-term damage.”]

Food isn’t the enemy, Satan is. The only way to be free of Satan’s overeating stronghold is to put food in its proper place in our life as fuel and eat sensible proportions of a well-balanced diet with limited sugar and no processed foods. That’s a food plan you can stay on for life.

I wrote a Bible study for First Place 4 Health because they address the physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental aspects of eating and offer group accountability, menus and recipes for eating a balanced diet and suggestions for exercise programs. But most importantly their health program centers around God: “As we learn to keep Christ first in our lives, we will find that He is the One who satisfies our hunger and our every need.” When my churches Women’s Group did the study I wrote, God’s Best for Your Life, without even focusing on the food plan, one of the ladies lost 15 pounds by simply learning to love her body like God loves it.

https://womantowomanmentoring.com/publications/bible-studies/#best

God’s Best for Your Life

In November, I’ll share with you the maintenance tips I gave to Debbie for how to eat and stay fit for a lifetime.

Did you identify with Debbie’s testimony? Did you realize overeating is a spiritual battle?

Do you have questions for Debbie? Ask them here and she’ll answer.

If you receive this post by email, comment here.

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

September 28, 2015

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Love Your Body—Weight Loss Is NOT the Goal!

“I will read your posts on Loving Your Body. I have seen them before, but as you know, I wanted a fix but didn’t want to do the work.” Debbie Dittrich

If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed the same phenomenon I have, and maybe you’ve been part of this scenario. A peep suddenly posts a picture looking fabulous after losing a great deal of weight. Everyone congratulates her and “oohs and ahhhs” at how wonderful she looks as she joyously grins with achieved success.

Then as suddenly as the pictures appeared, months go by with no pictures, and then you see a picture and your heart sinks … at least my Dietitian’s heart sinks … she has gained all the weight back, and maybe more! Or some, like Oprah, we actually watch on television go up and down in weight over the years as she tried different diets.

What happened? Why wouldn’t they want to maintain their amazing loss? Why wouldn’t they want to stay thin and healthy? Why wouldn’t they want to enjoy wearing all those beautiful new clothes they bought?

I’ve discovered the answer is always the same—a weight loss regime they couldn’t possibly maintain for life. Fast and noticeable weight loss was the immediate goal, without a long-term goal and plan to keep the weight off.

[Tweet “”Weight loss without a realistic lifetime eating plan is doomed to failure!”]

Maybe they lost the weight by eliminating certain food groups, extremely low daily calories, shakes, drinks, shots, pills, surgery, ready-prepared boxed or frozen meals, eating the exact same thing daily …. Anxious for a quick fix, they did something drastic to get results with no long-term maintenance plan. They couldn’t go a lifetime on that regime. Once the weight goal was reached, or they ran out of money for the costly shots or products, they slowly, maybe quickly, went back to their old eating habits, which they hadn’t learned to modify or change.

Weight loss without a realistic lifetime eating plan is doomed to failure!

“While I know that I must eat properly I do not think that means eating the same thing for 17 years!” Debbie Dittrich

[Tweet “God made our body to operate best on the food He created in the quantities that maintain our body He created in optimal health.”]

God made our body to operate best on the food He created in the quantities that maintain our body in optimal health. When we try to circumvent His plan for good nutrition by eliminating a food group or going on a crash diet … we’re going to crash too. It’s not how God made us to subsist.

I recently saw a friend who had lost weight and I commented how great she looked. She said her goal was to be thin for her high school reunion. Her main concern now was keeping the weight off for the next two months until the reunion. And with those words, I knew that once the reunion was over—the goal of being thin for the reunion—she would feel the freedom to go right back to her old eating patterns and soon the lost weight would return. Unconsciously, she was acknowledging that what she was doing to lose the weight was going to be difficult to maintain for two months, not a lifetime. I mentioned that the first time I met her she was on a diet, and her comment was like those of so many, “I’m always on a diet.”

Maintenance is the Goal, Not Weight Loss

“This time it’s different,” my goal is to keep this and maintain this throughout my life. Before I’ve had more of a view of ‘Get to the goal, have the goal.’ Now I really looked at it as this is my life, and until I’m dead basically, I am going to keep this this way, instead of like, ‘Oh I lost 50 pounds and now I can do whatever I want.'” Kirstie Alley on the Today show January 6, 2015, after losing 50 pounds.

Kirstie Alley has publicly gone up and down with her weight. When she’s a Jenny Craig spokesperson, she does great, and when she quits the “program,” she gains it back. The above quote looks like she finally realized that weight loss was not the goal, she needed to eat the way she ate to lose the 50 pounds for the rest of her life to not gain it back. I don’t know if she was successful in sticking to the right goal.

[Tweet “people who lose weight gradually and steadily—about 1 to 2 pounds per week—are more successful at keeping the weight off.”]

Even though our human nature makes us want to see quick results, people who lose weight gradually and steadily—about 1 to 2 pounds per week—are more successful at keeping the weight off. Healthy weight loss isn’t a “diet,” “program,” or “gimmick.” It’s an ongoing lifestyle that includes long-term, doable changes in daily eating and exercise habits.

Once you’ve achieved a desirable weight, by relying on healthful eating and physical activity, you are more likely to be successful at keeping the weight off over the long term.

Losing weight is not easy, and it takes commitment.

The problem with all the fads, diets, programs, regimes …they’re meant for immediate gratification of quickly experiencing drastic change because that’s our world today. Slow and steady doesn’t’ give us the satisfaction we need. That’s why quick-fix “miracle” ads attract so many:

The 10-day Weight-Loss Program
How to Reach Your Desired Weight in a Month While Eating All You Want
Lose up to 10 pounds in a week

Or one I recently saw: “Secret Method to Getting Slim Fast.” I’ve been drinking this miracle drink for about 3 weeks now. My friends won’t stop asking how I became so thin in such a short amount of time. I’ve become half the size I once was!”

Here’s the Weight-Loss Secret Revealed—There’s NO Secret Miracle Way to Get Slim Fast and Keep it Off!

Everyone acknowledges, and few try to defy, how God created gravity—stepping off a cliff = downward plunge. But many have spent thousands of dollars trying to defy the way God created our bodies: calories in minus calories expended = our weight. There’s no big secret and no way to secretly, miraculously change it. But millions of people buy into a lie that it’s possible for them.

The Way God Created Our Bodies

Energy (calories) IN and energy OUT = maintained weight

The Only Goal that Equals Maintained Weight is a Life-Heart Change Goal

I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

Identify:
1. Why you want to lose weight?

Why you eat?
When you eat?
What are you eating now that’s contributing to your weight?

Then set realistic goals that are maintainable and healthy:

One to two pound loss a week
Exercise, 30 to 60 minutes most days that you can and will do
Learn how to choose and prepare healthy food. Understand what constitutes a balanced diet.
Reduce portion sizes and eat three meals a day.
Track what you’re eating.

[Tweet “A healthy diet means eating a selection from all the five food groups “]

A healthy diet means eating a selection from all the five food groups in portion sizes that will help lose or maintain weight without sacrificing health.

I love the colorful Choose Plate website because it gives great information on how to determine your caloric requirement, what’s in each food group, portion sizes and so much more for the whole family. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also has an amazing website to learn what “healthy” really looks and tastes like.

[Tweet “To be successful at long-term weight loss, we must adopt a new lifestyle,”]

To be successful at long-term weight loss, we must adopt a new lifestyle, just like when we became Christians and we put off the old way of life and put on the new. The new healthy you will make changes to adopt and embrace healthy eating habits, be more physically active, and learn how to change eating behaviors and habits.

Next month in our Love Your Body blog, the last Monday of the month, I’ll share a testimony from my friend and fellow author/speaker Debbie Dittrich who I quoted in this post. Debbie has lost a great deal of weight and shares with us the spiritual battle that kept her chained to bad eating habits for thirty years. She’s working at breaking those chains, and as they fall off, so does her weight.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Are you ready to make a dietary commitment to your health to love your body like God loves your body?

Can you see why having a weight loss goal isn’t successful without a long-range maintenance goal?

If you received this by email, comment here.

August 31, 2015

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Love Your Body–Use Technology to Lose Weight

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

It’s Love Your Body Monday and today my beautiful daughter Kimberly Mancini is our guest blogger. Here’s her story of how even a fitness instructor has to count calories—exercise alone will not get you to your ideal body weight unless you’re willing to also reduce caloric intake. I recently heard a woman say, “I know I don’t look like it, but I’m on the treadmill every day.” I wanted to interject … if you would change your diet, you would look like it!
Many people tell me, “I don’t eat anything all day. Or I barely eat anything. I don’t know why I can’t lose weight.” They are eating because that’s what puts on extra weight–maybe it’s mindless snacking, or cleaning up a kids plate, or eating the wrong foods at meals. So Kim has a great calorie-counting-made-easy encouraging story:

Forty is the New Twenty … Naught

By Kim Mancini

Forty is the new twenty. At least that’s what they say right? I entered my forties feeling great. As a fitness instructor for the past 10 years, I work hard to stay physically fit. I’ve always eaten healthy foods in moderate proportions. I’m by no means a “clean” eater, but I do make healthy choices.

With each child I birthed, I held onto a residual five pounds, which I embraced. In the six years since my youngest was born, I’ve been the exact same weight. No matter how good or bad I was with my eating, the scale never budged one way or the other.

That was until this past year. It budged … I stepped on the scale and to my surprise, a new number appeared … up two pounds. No biggie. I was slightly alarmed, but no need to panic, yet. I would simply skip the ice cream tonight, and problem solved. I confidently stepped on the scale the next day fully expecting to see a familiar number, but that was not the case ….Up two more pounds!

I tried to convince myself that I was probably just retaining water since I had done a hard workout at the gym the previous day. My body was most likely holding onto the extra water weight to cushion my sore muscles. Of course, there was a perfect explanation. I would wait a week or so and weigh again when I wasn’t feeling sore after a workout.

When I did decide to revisit the scale, I didn’t expect to see what I saw. That darn thing moved up two more digits. What was happening? I had now crossed over into a new set of tens, and that wasn’t something my head could easily wrap around. I panicked a little at this point. It looked like it was time to get more serious about things. I would need to end my love affair with ice cream. We’re talking about the girl whose freezer is constantly stocked with what my mom likes to call “31 Flavors.” Drastic times call for drastic measures.

Fear of the Scales

Product Details

I became frightened of the evil scale lurking in my bathroom. It took me a while to work up the courage to revisit my old friend, but eventually I came around. Two more pounds … Ugh! And then again, two more a couple of weeks later. A total of eight pounds gained within about four months. Things were not looking good.

I seriously needed to re-evaluate what was happening in my life, and it was time to make some changes. I had recently started substitute teaching while my kids were at school and this had been cutting into my gym schedule. I had gone from teaching about 10+ classes per week at the gym to now only 5 per week. Even though I had cut my exercise in half, I was still working out regularly and staying active. This shouldn’t be so hard. I had to come to terms with the fact that I was now in my forties. Even though I felt like I was in my twenties, this was not the case.

Getting Serious About Losing the Extra Pounds

[Tweet “Eating more calories than your body uses equals weight gain!”]

My husband received a Samsung smart watch for Christmas, and let me borrow his device to accurately track my physical activity. (Some people use a Fitbit). Once I saw that I was reaching the minimum goal of 10,000 steps per day (sometimes more than double that), I realized my eating was leading to my sudden weight gain.

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In May of this year, I began to log on a fitness App, linked to the smart watch, what I ate and drank. I could calculate how many calories I should be consuming based on my activity level and how much weight I wanted to lose in a given amount of time by going to a website such as this: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html.

You simply plug in age, height, weight, gender, activity level, and how much weight you want to lose over a given time. The calculation tells you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, or lose desired weight and maintain your new weight.

Now to count my calories. I used a default App on my Samsung phone, but there’s many health and fitness free Apps available through the play store on Android phones, or iTunes on Apple. Just search “health” or “fitness” and you’ll find many choices. Another popular site is myfitnesspal, and my husband uses mapmyfitness.

Now, armed with this new information, and logging EVERYTHING that went into my mouth for a month, (including the three pretzel sticks dipped in Nutella), the weight came off rather quickly. I lost seven of the, “being Forty-something is NOT Twenty-something,” eight pounds that I had gained over the last year. I was on a roll! I only had one more pound to go, in addition to the extra baby weight I’d become accustomed to over the years. Might as well lose that too right?

Counting Calories Works!

At this point, I thought I had things under control, so I backed off logging my food/drink intake, and guess what happened? As soon as I stopped logging, I stopped losing. Could there be a correlation? I think so. Suddenly all my progress came to a screeching halt.

There’s something about knowing I was going to have to log that extra handful of (fill in the blank _____________). I would ask myself if I really wanted those calories to take up some of my total daily intake. Watching the calories add up throughout the day, put a stop to the mindless snacking and kept me sticking to portion sizes. It looks like I’ll be back to food logging. It works!

Why do you spend your money on junk food,
    your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
    fill yourself with only the finest.
Pay attention, come close now,
    listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.–Isaiah 55:2-3

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July 27, 2015

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Love Your Body—Don’t Drink Alcohol

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

I know this isn’t going to be a popular post for some of you, but as Christians taking care of this temple of a body God has given us, I feel we need to talk about it on our Love Your Body Monday. If you start to get defensive while reading this blog, ask yourself: “Why can’t I give up alcohol?”

I don’t drink. There was a time in my backsliding years when I did drink, and I can tell you for certain no one could ever convince me to go back to those dark days. Alcohol is a “socially acceptable” drug that is high in calories, expensive, hard on your body, and results in distinct changes in your personality and actions, lowers your inhibitions, and is an inexcusably horrific and often deadly role model for the next generation.

[Tweet “Alcohol is a “socially acceptable” drug “]

When I read Wikipedia’s definition of alcohol, I have to ask myself why any Christian would want to spend their money, calories, reputation, brain cells, and witness on this drug—

An alcoholic beverage is a drink which contains a substantial amount of the psychoactive drug ethanol (informally called alcohol). As one of the most widely used recreational drugs in the world, such drinks have an important social role in most cultures. Because of their potential for abuse, almost all countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption. Some countries ban such activities entirely. The global alcoholic beverages industry exceeded $1 trillion in 2014.

Let me further define psychoactive drugs. I don’t think it’s what God had in mind when he told us to purposely renew our minds and run from worldly pleasures:

A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is any chemical substance that changes brain function and results in alterations in perception, mood, or consciousness. These substances may be used recreationally, to purposefully alter one’s consciousness.

Parents and Grandparents The Children in Your Family are Watching You!

I’m most concerned about the parents and grandparents who drink and role model—yes mentor—drinking alcohol to their children and grandchildren in what should be a safe place for children, their home. Children are drinking at earlier and earlier ages and where do they first see it consumed? 99% of the time, it’s in their own homes. If you’re a parent who drinks, you have to take full responsibility if your child starts drinking. I’m not saying they won’t drink if you don’t drink, but at least you’re not leading, enabling, and displaying to them that it’s acceptable.

[Tweet “If you’re a parent who drinks, you have to take full responsibility if your child starts drinking.”]

Mariel Hemingway,, actress and granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, said in an interview: “What I DO know is that my father drank, and when he drank he changed. And I watched it with both my parents. I watched it with my sisters. By the fourth glass of wine they were not the same people … there was a darkness that had sort of overcome them.”

[Tweet “Mariel Hemingway said, “What I DO know is that my father drank, and when he drank he changed. “]

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5

Here’s an alarming trend amongst mommies…It’s called…

Moms Who Need____________

How would you fill in that blank?

Whatever you put in the blank—a rest, a break, a nap, love, peace, quiet—if you fill it in with “Jesus” and His Word, He’ll help you with all He knows you need.

Moms Who Need The Lord and His Word would be the right answer.

But I was saddened to learn that over 707,872 moms fill in the blank, and fill-up their glasses, with “Wine.” Yes, the “Moms Who Need Wine” Facebook page has that many “likes”. They also have a website that sells T-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags, and water bottles with their logo (picture below) and, of course, sell wine by the case.

“Moms Who Need Wine” Facebook profile picture and logo

The premise of this group is that they can’t get through a day of mothering without drinking. Does that alarm you as much as it does me? These are moms who are responsible for infants, toddlers, kids, neighbor’s kids, your kids, carpools, driving with innocent children in the backseat. No one can dispute that alcohol impairs all your faculties, and yet, these moms laugh and cavort on Facebook about their drinking while mothering like a group of barroom drunks.

Kids Play, Mommies Drink

Play date “snacks” from the “Moms Who Need Wine” Facebook page

[Tweet ” wine-drinking mommies aren’t hanging out in bars…they’re changing diapers, vacuuming, cooking, driving cars, pushing strollers, helping at school, “]

These wine-drinking mommies aren’t hanging out in bars…they’re changing diapers, vacuuming, cooking, driving cars, pushing strollers, helping at school, and meeting at play dates to share a bottle of wine, referred to as “mommy juice”. Maybe some of them are your friends or neighbors…maybe one is you….

Mommies Beware—You’re Being Targeted

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”—1 Peter 5:8 NLT

A Times Magazine article titled “Mother’s Liquid Helper. Raising children? Raise a glass!” reported that wineries are marketing directly to moms of young kids. “Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington has begun a Facebook campaign asking women to customize an equation to sum up what makes them want a glass. (“Me + a glass of wine – juice boxes + quiet time for 15 minutes = My Chateau.”) The ads tagline: ‘It’s where you become you again’—will run in places women go when they’re stressed out about taking care of their family, including Food Network Magazine, parents.com, and Rachael Ray’s website”.

Clos LaChance Winery has a “MommyJuice line, and another winery calls their mommy-targeted wine, “Mommy’s Time Out.

When I spoke on this alarming trend at a retreat recently, a young woman came up to me afterwards thanking me for taking on this challenging topic. She said she was an ER Nurse and had recently seen three young mothers die because of cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism. Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, who championed this mommy-drinking trend with her blog and best sellers Naptime Is the New Happy Hour and Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay, eventually had to admit she had a drinking problem, and quit.

[Tweet “An ER Nurse recently saw three young mothers die because of cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcoholism.”]

Sobering Topic

I’m not judging whether someone chooses to drink alcohol, but if you care about your health, your body, your witness, your children, your grandchildren, your finances, possibly your life … I am questioning the when and the why.

“Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” Proverbs 20:21

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April 27, 2015

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Love Your Body ~ Drink Tea for Your Health

Love Your Body Like God Loves It

Our guest blogger for Love Your Body Monday is Penelope Carlevato. Penelope is my expert “tea friend,” and I asked her if she would write a post for us on the health benefits of drinking tea. Many of you know that I’m a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy a good cup of tea in the afternoon or I drink Organic Traditional Medicinals teas when I am sick. In fact, I’m having a cup of Organic Chai Black Tea right now as I post this. So pour yourself a cup of tea…or coffee…and enjoy! Oh and leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Penelope’s book Tea on the Titanic.

Tea provides you with a warm, calm feeling when sitting down in your favorite wicker chair on the porch, but it also helps combat and prevent many common health issues. As with most nurses, I tend to let Western Medicine be my “go-to” for health related issues. I have to admit that I am a black tea girl and don’t drink many tisanes or infusions, unless I have a cold or the flu. Even then, I would rather have a cup of Earl Grey than some flowery cup of “tea.” But, as the former owner of a retail tea business for many years, I began to hear testimonies of the health benefits of the herbal teas. After I did some research and testing of my own, I had to agree with the results of including herbal teas into my diet.

Herbal Teas for Your Health

Herbal Teas

While doing research for my last two books on the Edwardian era, I realized that women of that time did not have a bottle of Ibuprofen or Tylenol in their bathrooms to take for a headache or sore muscles. Instead they relied on herbs and tonics. Many still used old remedies made from herbs and spices that were passed down from generation to generation in the form of a hot drink. Plus their afternoon tea-time included the beverage of tea into the daily diets, of both the wealthy and poor.

For years, tea and herbs were the main source of helping sooth that upset tummy or a sore throat. In today’s world of chemical wonders, tea still has a prominent place in providing relief. The leaves that revitalize and restore health are from the Camellia Senesis bush, a member of the evergreen family that thrives best in fertile hilly regions. Tea is very economical, yielding 300 cups of tea per pound, and is second to water as the most consumed beverage in the world. It is one of the few drinks that has no sodium, no fat, no carbohydrates, no sugar, and no calories, unless you add sugar or other additives. Tea includes four varieties: green, black, white, and oolong. Taking tea hot or cold does not change the chemical content or benefits of tea.

[Tweet “Scientific research acclaims that tea has incredible health benefits. “]

Scientific research acclaims that tea has incredible health benefits. Tea is rich with natural flavonoids and polyphenols that contain catechins. These catechins help in the prevention of oxidative stress, modify carcinogen metabolism, and can prevent damage to our DNA molecules. The catechins in tea can have a preventative effect on cancer, heart disease, cholesterol, clogged arteries, strokes, autoimmune diseases, and cognitive issues.

The most potent of the flavonoids is ECGC, which appears to fight against free radicals that can contribute to many chronic diseases. Last year, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, published 11 new studies that highlight the many benefits of tea. For several years, UCLA Center for Human Nutrition has been studying the benefits of tea and Alzheimers, and recently found that those who drank 3 or more cups per day could prevent the onset of heart problems. Harvard Medical School reports that the catechins in tea are responsible for many health benefits and helps to improve cognitive functioning and attention. From what I gather, drinking tea is a good idea.

What’s “Real” Tea?

[Tweet ““Real” tea must contain leaves from the Camellia Senesis plant in order to be called “tea.””]

“Real” tea must contain leaves from the Camellia Senesis plant in order to be called “tea.” Herbal “teas” are products of fruits, flowers, leaves, bark, seeds, or roots from plants other than the tea plant. These drinks are tisanes or infusions, and are usually caffeine free. A tisane is simply a cup of “tea” made from something else other than a tea leaf. All tea from the Camellia Senesis bush, including green tea, has caffeine. Contrary to popular belief, tea does not have more caffeine than coffee. A cup of tea will contain about 50 mg of caffeine, while the same size cup of coffee will have almost 200 mg of caffeine. Tea is also a natural source of fluoride and will protect teeth from dental cavities. Both teas and tisanes (or infusions) have many healthy benefits, plus being a tasty beverage to drink.

[Tweet “Tea consumption can positively affect mood and may improve creative problem solving. (The Tea Association of the USA)”]

Let’s Meet for Tea

[Tweet “God has used tea as a tool in my life.”]

God has used tea as a tool in my life. I am blessed to introduce many women to the art of afternoon tea and for some, the actual beverage of tea. Tea time continues to amaze me. What is there about a cup of tea that will charm a woman’s heart? Is it the lovely ambiance that usually occurs over a cup of tea, or is it such a different mind-set than the frantic world in which we live? I know it is a wonderful setting for creating friendships. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 expresses the essence of being a friend. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his (her) friend can help him (her) up. But pity the man (woman) who falls and has no one to help him (her) up.” Tea has benefits far beyond our physical health.

What Kind of Tea Should You Drink?

Black tea, green tea, or one of the tea infusions. All good choices, but remember, only the leaves from the Camellia Senesis plant count as tea, and will have the benefits of the flavonoids. Caffeine-free infusions, (herbal teas) also give healing benefits in a wide variety of ways. Many of the herbal infusions contain minerals and vitamin complexes that are good for our health. Some can be used cool as topical astringents. Just because herbs are natural, check that your medications won’t interact in a negative way with the herbal tea you choose.

Peppermint is easy to grow and can help clear a stuffy nose, constipation, or upset stomach.
Rooibos is a naturally sweet tea made from a South African Red Bush. It is rich in vitamins and minerals and can help with tension and headaches.
Ginger tea helps with motion sickness and is especially beneficial after surgery and for headaches.
Chamomile has a calming and anti-inflammatory effect and is helpful for those with insomnia.
Rosehips are the fruits from the rose plant and a great source of Vitamin C.
Lavender teas can help with depression and help decrease fevers.
Lemon balm is said to help with brain function and also relieves cold sores.
Hibiscus flower helps lower blood pressure, and because it is rich in Vitamin C helps strengthen the immune system.
Yerba Mate is full of antioxidants and vitamins and is said useful in weight loss.
Pu-erh is a tea category all its own, but boasts of being able to relax stomach muscles and relieve bloating.

[Tweet “It’s a known fact that drinking water is good for your health, and since tea is 99% water, add tea to your daily liquid intake of 8 glasses of fluid. “]

Herbal infusions should be made with water that has just come to a boil. If the water is too hot it will destroy some of the precious and essential oils that account for their health benefits. Always read the labels and avoid those infusions with artificial flavorings. A new finding for brewing infusions is letting them steep for longer periods of time than you would a tea.

Tea Beauty Tips

[Tweet “Tea and herbal infusions can also provide inexpensive beauty aids”]

Tea and herbal infusions can also provide inexpensive beauty aids. Here are some quick remedies for everyday uses for tea bags:

Reduce dark circles and puffy eyelids – Place used bags of tea on your eyelids.
Relieve the sting in sunburns – Cold compresses of tea bags help to relieve the redness and pain.
Smelly feet – place tea bags inside your shoes. Soak your feet in a solution of cooled tea as it helps stop the spread of bacteria and fungus.
Condition dry hair – make a quart of warm tea as a final rinse after shampooing.
Soothe and dry a rash – dip a cotton ball into strong brewed tea and dab on the affected area. Repeat as necessary.
Antique new items – soak garments in a tea bath to create an “antique” look for tablecloths, or other linens and lace. Steep in strong tea solution for 20 minutes.
Rose bushes – put used tea leaves around your rose bushes to give nutrients to the roo

Making the Perfect Cup of Tea:

Always start with fresh cold water in your tea kettle.
Warm your teapot by swirling a small amount of boiling water in it or fill teapot with hot tap water and pour out just before the water in the tea kettle comes to a boil.
Measure your tea and place into the teapot or into an infuser basket. If using teabags, place then into the teapot.
Pour the freshly boiled water over the tea leaves or teabags. If using green tea or a tisane, use the water just as it comes to a boil.
Leave the tea leaves to steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the leaves from the pot as an extended time can make the tea bitter.
Pour tea into a cup and enjoy.

While the benefits of drinking tea not only add nutrients and healing properties, just the fact of taking the time to sit down and enjoy tea time adds to our well being. Tea is not just a leaf on a tree, it can be the gift of eternal life if we share Jesus one teacup at a time

[Tweet “Tea is not just a leaf on a tree, it can be the gift of eternal life if we share Jesus one teacup at a time”]

Proverbs 4:22 “For His Words are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

Penelope Carlevato

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Tea on the Titanic.

About Penelope Carlevato

Born in England, Penelope was raised in an English home on the plains of South Dakota. Her mother, a British war bride, loved to have friends and family in for tea. Penelope grew up with an apron tied around her waist and has continued the tradition of hospitality learned at her mother’s feet. She and her husband, Norm, reside in Colorado and are the proud parents of 3 and the grandparents of 11. Whenever the grandchildren are around, there will always be a tea party!

Penelope has been involved in Women’s Ministries in her local church, a Bible Study leader, mentoring, and is an international speaker. She is the founder of Penelope’s Tea Time, a retail tea business, which she operated for 20 years. She has taught classes on “The Art of Afternoon Tea” and co-hosted a cooking show called “Cooking up Wonders,” and currently writes a column for the magazine “Leading Hearts.” Her love of England and tea was the stimulus for her “Taste of Britain Tea Tours.” Her books, Tea on the Titanic, and First Class Etiquette are available on Amazon or her website . Please sign up for her blog, Tea Musing from Penelope.

March 30, 2015

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Parents and Grandparents The Children in Your Family are Watching You!

Here’s an alarming trend amongst mommies…It’s called…

Kids Play, Mommies Drink

Mommies Beware—You’re Being Targeted

Sobering Topic

Herbal Teas for Your Health

What’s “Real” Tea?

Let’s Meet for Tea

What Kind of Tea Should You Drink?

Tea Beauty Tips

Making the Perfect Cup of Tea:

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