oct2005

After being in a plateau for several weeks, I decided to do some research to find ways to break it. In my research, I realized that I because I didn't take a multi-vitamin or calcium, I most likely was not getting enough nutrients in my diet. When you are on a reduced calorie diet, it isn't easy to get all those vitamins in. I am also not a big dairy eater so I was not getting my calcium. Apparently, some studies have shown that a lack of nutrients can prevent weight loss because what happens is if you are not intaking them, your body produces a hormone that stores fat to make sure your body has reserves. Your body will also steal calcium from your bones if you do not get enough. This is similar to what happens when you do not eat enough food/calories. Your body is signaled to store fat and so those who eat too little lose muscle and store fat. It really make sense.

I found this very interesting and decided to test it out for myself. Although the milk industry is greatly promoting the 24/24 diet where you drink 24 ounces of milk a day, I declined to get my calcium that way. Although I do drink milk and enjoy it, I have never believed it was designed for humans, it was designed for cows! 2 studies showed that milk improved weight loss as opposed to a supplement and they couldn't figure out why and just said that it probably had to do with the mix of vitamins in the milk. That was enough convincing for me. So I went with supplements. I got a liquid multi-vitamin and liquid calcium/magnesium supplement and started being faithful to take it. After one week, I was down 2lbs. I hadn't changed anything else in my life, so wow, it worked!

The next week, I skipped 3 days taking my supplements, not on purpose, just forgot, and my weight remained the same.

I have taken the "No Scale Challenge" (see right) and therefore I haven't been able to finish this experiment, but I think the conclusion is clear. Whether vitamins/nutrients help you lose weight or not, they are still important in your overall health. Calcium is so vital, especially to those of us who are over 30 and are no longer storing calcium. So I highly recommend that you make supplements a habit unless you are sure you are getting enough in your diet alone. If you decide to see if this helps breaks your plateau, please share with me!

Members from the Billy Blanks website have encouraged me to take up a challenge that I didn't even realize was a challenge for me! Being a slave to the scale! I weighed myself twice a day because it helped me monitor whether what I did that day helped or hurt. What I didn't realize it was doing though, was dictating me. I was putting my faith in what that scale said and that contradicts what my ministry is all about. I don't need to have a trust in a number. So until 12/24/2005, I will not weigh or measure myself. I will go by how I feel and how my clothes feel. I know that what I am doing is working and so there is no need to let the scale dictate to me how I am doing. I am encouraging all of you to do the same and then on Christmas Eve, we can get on the scale and have our own personal Christmas present. If you decide to do this challenge, please let me know!

Belly Fat. It has been my biggest challenge! After having 4 kids, the area below my belly button has just been a battle of the bulge. The slimmer I get everywhere else, the larger it seems to look! I know a whole bunch of us battle this, but there is hope! That area HAS gotten smaller, it is just taking more time and work than other areas. I have lost over 13" off my waist, so I keep reminding myself of that! The area you first gain weight will be the last to lose so don't give up hope.

One of the best ways to reduce belly fat is not doing sit-ups and crunches until your head turns blue, it is actually doing cardio. Yes, lots and lots of cardio will melt that belly fat off. Running, jumproping, trampoline, anything that gets your heartrate up and your blood pumping!

Next to tone the muscles underneath the fat, do AB workouts. Unfortunately you cannot spot reduce fat off your body, but between cardio and Ab workouts, it won't be long before you will have rid yourself of your built in innertube!

Every day thousands of thoughts come to our minds—some good, and some bad. In order for us to stay positive and healthy, we must focus on the good thoughts and let go of the bad ones. It's always such a temptation to hold on to the bad thoughts. Our minds have had so much practice operating freely that it seems we don't have to use any effort at all to think wrong or negative thoughts. The effort comes in learning to think positive thoughts.

Positive minds produce positive lives. The opposite is also true: Negative minds produce negative lives. Positive thoughts are always full of faith and hope. Negative thoughts are always full of fear and doubt, which can ultimately destroy your life. It can be very difficult to switch your way of thinking. Some people are afraid to hope because they have been hurt so much in life. They have had so many disappointments that they don't think they can face the pain of another let down. Therefore, they refuse to hope so they won't be disappointed.

Battles are fought in our minds every day. When we begin to feel that the battle of the mind is just too difficult and we are about to give up, that's when we must choose to resist negative thoughts and determine that we are going to rise above our problems and succeed. We must decide that we are not going to quit. When we are bombarded with doubts and fears, we must take a stand and say: "I will never give up! God is on my side, He loves me, and He is helping me! I am going to make it!"

No matter how bad the battle rages in your mind, don't give up! You must step out and regain the territory that has been stolen from you through negative thinking. Regain it one inch at a time, if necessary, always leaning on God's grace and not upon your own ability to get the desired results. In Galatians 6:9 the Apostle Paul simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! Don't be a quitter! Don't have that old "give up" spirit. God is looking for people who will find the courage to rise above all the negative and pursue the positive.

Whatever you may be facing or experiencing right now in your life, I want to encourage you to stay positive and refuse to give up! God will be with you, and He will help you make spiritual progress—strengthening and encouraging you to "keep on keeping on" in the rough times. It's easy to quit—but it takes faith to press on through to victory.

When the battle seems endless and you think you'll never make it, remember that you are reprogramming a "worldly" mind to think as God thinks. In the same way that computers are programmed, our minds are programmed. From the time we are born, our minds are like computers that have had a lifetime of garbage programmed into them. But God, who is the best "computer programmer" around, is working on us everyday to reprogram our minds. As we cooperate with Him and allow Him to help us control our thoughts, He will "renew" our minds.

This process of reprogramming or renewing our minds will take place little by little, so don't be discouraged if progress seems slow. Don't get down when you have setbacks or bad days. Just get back up, dust yourself off and start again. When a baby is learning to walk, he falls many, many times before he develops the ability to walk without falling. However, the baby is persistent. He may cry for a while after he falls down, but he always gets right back up and tries again.

Learning to change our thinking works the same way. There will be days when we don't do everything right—days when our thinking is negative. But never stop trying. God is gradually bringing us around to His way of thinking. Just don't give up!