nov2005

The first thing we need to recognize in this weight loss journey is that losing weight is not the battle. The battle is with our minds. Our minds have been so corrupted by the world, by what we see, by what we hear, that trying to retrain is the battle. Billy Blanks says that our 2 biggest enemies are our Eyes and Ears. What we have to do is start feeding ourselves the spiritual food of God instead of the junkfood of the world in order to get that mind changed. When my mind faces a huge battle, my biggest weapon is to use the Word of God, to fight it with scripture, fight it with the truth. Quoting scripture outloud can do such incredible things. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" "I will walk by faith, not by sight" I could go on and on! You will find many scriptures thoughout my website that help. I also quote things like, "Where I am today is where my mind put me, where I will be tomorrow is where my mind put me." If you are unhappy where you are today, it is because it is where your mind put you. You have to change that mind, change that will, change that attitude and put yourself where you want to be, where you should be tomorrow. I can't stress enough how important this is. We must change the mind, the inside in order to change the outside. If we work only on the outside, then you will fail over and over again. Retraining the mind is similar to learning to walk as a toddler or being potty trained. It has to be consistent, you have to have help (God can hold your hand & fellowship for accountability), and it takes time and determination. I never see a toddler give up trying to learn to walk. Everytime they fall, they get right back up and try again. If the get hurt on the way, their Daddy comes and kisses the boo boos and helps them along, just like our Heavenly Father. You can do this, but you have to committ to it and be determined. I promise that once you conquer your mind, everything will come so easy. Ever since I conquered this, it has been so easy to get into shape. We just have to realize where the real battle is. I have added a page about 2 mountains I climbed in October. Please read it and see how putting on positive eyes can change the outlook of everything. Click HERE to read it.

The No Scale Challenge has been such a blessing! I have really learned a lot from the experience. I was truly a slave to the scale as it would determine how I felt that day. That is not where our joy must come from, it must come from just knowing we are alive, God is in our hearts and that we are living another blessed day in Jesus! "The Joy of the Lord is your strength", not the number on the scale. I did have to be weighed the other day at a doctor appointment. I tried hard not to look, but the nurse told me because she was in amazement at the weight loss. It had me 8lbs up! I was so upset. I have been working really hard, how could I have gone up like that? Well, later that night, I went clothes shopping, grabbed a size 8 skirt thinking it would be too small since I gained weight. Well, it was TOO big! I got a size 6 and even that was loose! So even though I gained, I lost a dress size. Most likely, I gained muscle from my extra training. So that is proof that the number on the scale means nothing. I am 5'4" and some people my height look overweight at my weight, some don't. We are all different sizes and shapes so nobody can tell us what our weight should be. Go by how you feel, how your clothes fit and be happy with the knowledge that things are changing inside and soon you will see the outside change. Keep up the challenge my friends!

There are many different theories on how many calories we should be eating each day. Some say 10 calories for each pound you weigh. Some say to figure it according to your exercise level, for example if you do light exercise, multiply your weight by 12, moderate, X 14, heavy x 16.

These figures are fine if you are already at your goal weight because these are designed to help you maintain your weight. But if you want to lose weight, this is the figure I believe is best.

Take the ideal weight you wish to be, for me it is 140

and multiply it by 10.

140 X 10 = 1400

Then add your goal weight to that figure

1400 + 140 = 1540 calories

Now, does that change if I exercise?

No, because I am still trying to lose weight. I need to burn 3500 calories in order to lose 1lb of fat. So if I eat more calories when I exericise, it just puts me back at maintaining. Now if I were to go run a marathon or do something extreme, yes, I would add more calories. But if I want to get this weight off, I stick to the 1540 in order to get the weight off.

Now, regardless of this calculation, you should NEVER eat less than 1200 calories per day. Anything lower is very unhealthy and what will happen is you will begin to lose muscle instead of fat. This is why anorexic people look disturbing because they have lost a lot of muscle and water and are simply bones with fat on them. In fact, if you eat less than 1200 calories, your body goes into starvation mode and begins storing fat. So if you eat that little and see the scale going down, it isn't fat you are losing. If you lose anymore than 2lbs per week, it is not fat.

So remember, calories are not a bad thing! We need them in order to lose weight, to get that metabolism working and to help build muscle, not lose it.

**Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or a doctor so always check with a professional before making dietary changes.

1. Make sure and eat a little something before the meal. Waiting for the turkey to finish cooking can make you ravenous if you have been trying to hold out. It will keep your blood sugar from dropping and from overeating out of starvation. Also, do not fast the day before or all day before the meal. This will mess up your metabolism and put your body in "store fat" mode before you eat!

2. Decide ahead of time if you are going to eat bread or a dessert. It is amazing how eliminating the bread or dessert can save calories.

3. Drink water with your meal. You will save a lot of calories by avoiding juices, tea w/sugar, soda's, etc. Also, that water will help flush all that sodium out.

4. Bring something to the dinner that is healthy, like these recipes:

Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Pepitas

Simply Roasted Turkey

Cranberry Compote

Sweet Potato Souffle

Current and Walnut Stuffing

Apple Cascade

5. Think of other ways to celebrate besides eating. Start a game of charades or a board game. Start a game outside in the yard. We have a tradition of playing flag football on Thanksgiving.

6. Don't torture and deprive yourself. If you see something you REALLY want to eat, eat it, but just eat a small portion, enough to satisfy you.

Most of all, ENJOY yourself! This is such a special time to be thankful for all we have and all we have been blessed with. Time to spend quality time with your family. I think if you go with that attitude, rather than, "let's stuff our face!", it will be so much nicer.

200 CALORIE SNACKS

1 oz. peanuts, about 25 peanuts

• 1 oz. cashews, about 17 cashews

• 1 oz. mixed nuts

• Almonds, about 18 almonds

• 2 medium hard-boiled eggs with 1 oz. low-fat cheese

• 4 oz. grilled chicken, skinless

• 6 oz. white meat tuna, in water

• 2 scrambled egg whites with 2 oz. low-fat cheese

• Turkey roll-up: 3 oz. deli turkey slices with 2 oz. low-fat cheddar

• 3/4 cup strawberries with 1 cup 1% cottage cheese

• 1/2 cup dried apricots

• 1 apple with 1 tbsp. smooth peanut butter

• 15 celery sticks with 3 oz. low-fat cheddar

• 1 cup cubed cantaloupe with 5 oz. deli turkey slices

• 8oz vanilla soymilk w/ half a banana

• 1/2 cup slow-cooked oatmeal with 1/2 cup skim milk

• ¾ cup 2% cottage cheese with ½ cup cantaloupe, cubed

• Apple w/ 1 oz. cheddar cheese