Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wednesday Worship: Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Pastor Daryl Coley is one of those people who can truly "sing the phonebook"!

But here he's singing my favorite hymn, the one I gave to my oldest son. (Each child was "given" a hymn at birth that I sang to them as a baby.)



UPDATE: The original video, Great is Thy Faithfulness, was removed from YouTube for copyright infringement. But I found another Daryl Coley "back in the day" song that I love, He's Preparing Me. Check it out:



Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Monday, January 26, 2009

Turning A Corner?

I hope I'm turning a corner on this weight loss journey. It may be one of many corners. I won't know until I get to my destination but it's the first corner.

I exercise in the mornings, Mon - Fri, from 5:30 (or thereabouts) to about 6:30. It's a bear to get up that early, unstick my eyelids, clear the cobwebs from my eyes, and actually work up a sweat. But I do it because I know that if I don't, I don't stand a chance of meeting my health goals.

I've been pretty consistent since I bumped my workouts up to a full hour, just before Christmas. In addition to that, I've been doing a lot of walking.

And I have a 9 lb. weight loss to show for all this activity.

I realized this morning, when I missed my workout because I overslept after a late night grocery store run while the kiddies slept, one that had my husband and I falling into bed sometime after 1 and before the alarm rang at 5, that I don't like missing my AM workout.

Wuh? When did that happen?

I don't know but I was actually a little put out by not having a chance to workout today, especially since I won't have have the opportunity to make it up on Saturday. (Oldest Son is participating in an all-day Latin Forum.)

Drats!

But for me, getting to the point where I miss not working out vs. dreading the workout is turning a corner.

Maybe I can walk a few extra miles this weekend... I'm trying to drop another 5 lbs by my birthday, Feb 4th.

How are you doing?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Friday, January 23, 2009

Savoring the (Little) Successes

One thing I'm learning to do with this weight loss journey is to savor the mini successes.

And sometimes they are truly miniature but hey, every one counts.

Like losing a pound, or maybe only half a pound.

Like my ankles looking thinner (at least looking down at them).

Like the waistband on my pants fitting better.

Like being able to make a fist and my hands not feeling puffy.

Like walking up the stairs and not breathing hard.

Like being able to stand up for a long time and not feel stress in my lower back.

I try to savor these moments. I even close my eyes at the moment of realization and try to file away the feeling. Because in the rough moments when I don't see results, I try to recall these little successes.

Down 9 lbs since Christmas. Gotta stay focused and keep working hard.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Wednesday Worship: For Every Mountain

I stumbled across this video looking for something else.

For every mountain, for every situation, for every obstacle, for every time You bring me out (and You always do), Lord, I give You praise.



Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The Inauguration of President Barack Obama




If I've ever wanted to be anywhere, I wish I were in Washington, DC today, personally witnessing the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the first African-American and 44th president of these United States of America.

I am so proud.

Last night, I heard Rev. Jesse Jackson asked a question on CNN. I don't recall the specific question or answer but his response, although inflected with pride, took on a "wait and see" attitude that I've heard from many. Something about, if in four years, there is stil poverty, judicial injustices, and other significant issues in the African-American community then, it's all been in vain.

I nearly spit.

I've said it before but, it's worth repeating. If only for the impact President Obama's election has made on the hopefulness and expectations of not only the African-American community but the world, and on how African-Americans, and African-American men in particular, are viewed, his presidency is already not in vain. My three African-American sons now have a world in which their dreams are truly limitless, something that was not true before November 4th, 2008 and not before today.

Yes, I too want more change. Lots of it. Change I can feel in my pocketbook and see in the community around me.

But as far as I'm concerned change has already come.

My daily prayers are with President Barack Obama, his family, and his administration.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Importance of Dreams


Today we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy of peaceful, non-violent protest during the civil rights era to help achieve the world in which we live today.

As time passes since the institution of this holiday, more and more cries go out for us to spend this day in service to mankind. So if you have or can create the opportunity to be of service today, if no other day, please do.

Because of Dr. King's dreams, I went to high school at a predominantly white school where I could get a better (in some ways) education than what was available in my hometown.

Because of Dr. King's dreams, I received an education at one of the finest universities in the country, Cornell University.

Because of Dr. King's dreams, I worked for one of the oldest and largest corporations in America, Procter & Gamble.

Because of Dr. King's dreams, I have lived where I wanted, gone where I wanted, and done pretty much what I wanted.

Because of Dr. King's dreams, and now President-elect Obama's magnificent victory, I can tell my children, three African-American boys, that they truly can be whatever their hearts desire in these United States of America.

Dreams are important.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Not As Easy As You Might Think

I'm continuing my daily AM workouts with weights. It's some serious effort first thing in the morning but the only time in the day when I can possibly do it. And I deserve the benefits that will come from the workouts so I force myself to get up.

Yesterday, when I got home from work, something my husband said brought a smile to my face.

He'd popped in my Biggest Loser Cardio workouts DVD and done the entire thing. (I only do half of it, about 30 min, and I'm both hurting and sweating profusely.) By early evening, his thighs were hurting and he couldn't lift his arms. Paraphrasing, he said, "I give those people more respect. That thing is no joke."

I smiled, made a few comments, and kept cooking dinner. I realized later that by way of his increased respect for the BL contestants and how hard they worked out, perhaps he was also increasing his respect for me.

My hubby has always been supportive of my weight loss efforts. In his own way. Not always in the way I would like, which has occasionally led to tensions between us. I truly don't think many men, especially men like my husband, a former professional athlete, understand just how hard a woman has to work in order to lose weight. At any age, much less when she's over forty, has endured four pregnancies, and is pre-diabetic.

Maybe he has a wee better understanding now. Of course, he probably dropped 3-5 lbs from the one workout. I would have to do that every day of the week and eat very strictly in order to lose the same amount.

Sigh.

But welcome to a peek into my world.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Diet Book: Never Say Diet by Chantel Hobbs

Over on my writing blog, I do book features all the time. I'm not going to do a whole lot of that here but when I learn about a particular book or other weight loss/fitness aid that I think might be interesting, I'll pass it along. I'm reading this one now but haven't finished it yet.

The first will be Never Say Diet and the Never Say Diet Personal Trainer by Chantel Hobbs. This book feature came from the FIRST Blog Alliance.


It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!


Today's Wild Card author is:


and the books:


Never Say Diet

WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition (December 16, 2008)

and


The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer

WaterBrook Press (December 16, 2008)


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Chantel Hobbs is a personal trainer, certified spinning instructor, and motivational speaker whose no-excuses approach to fitness has won her a grateful following across the country. The author of Never Say Diet, Chantel hosts a weekly fitness program on Reach FM radio and is a regular guest on Way FM. Her “Ditch the Diet, Do the Weekend” bootcamp takes place several times a year in a variety of locations. She has presented her unique approach to lasting fitness in People magazine and on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox News, The 700 Club, Living the Life, and Paula White Today. Chantel enjoys life with her husband and their four children in South Florida.

Visit the author's website.

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTERs:


Never Say Diet Product Details:

List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition (December 16, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307444937
ISBN-13: 978-0307444936

The Night That

Changed My Life

How to Choose

to Do the Best

Job of Living

It should have been a scene of American family bliss. A Sunday afternoon in our home on a beautiful fall day in South Florida. My husband, Keith, was watching the Dolphins game in the living room with some friends. He’d waited all week for this. Our girls, six-year-old Ashley and four-year-old Kayla, were helping me in the kitchen. Well, kind of. Our six month-old, Jake, was jumping and laughing in his Jolly Jumper. I was baking Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, our favorite, and everybody could smell the cinnamon and butter and couldn’t wait for the cookies to come out of the oven. Especially me. As I worked in the kitchen, I could hear the football game coming from the living room. The announcers were talking about a player who had arrived at training camp completely out of shape. He was six foot four and weighed 320 pounds. “That is a big boy,” they said. “Wow! He is huge.” “Would you look at that guy,” I heard my husband say with disgust. “I can’t believe he got so fat! What a lazy bum.” Those words cut me to the heart. I had created a happy home, with a

happy husband and happy kids. But at that moment I wanted to die, because I outweighed that player by at least 10 pounds. I was bigger than anyone playing for the Miami Dolphins. And I knew I was anything but lazy. I pulled the cookies out of the oven and felt nauseous. I was pathetic. I’d been overweight my entire adult life, but I was bigger than I had ever been. I was miserable but doing an excellent job of faking out everyone who knew me. I was five foot nine and weighed 330 pounds, maybe more. I didn’t know for sure because it had been months since I’d dared to step on a scale. Besides, the only one in the house was a conveniently inaccurate discount-store model with a wheel underneath that calibrated the scale. I had adjusted it to register the lowest weight possible. I was in denial, but I was also without hope. It was the autumn of 2000. I was twenty-eight years old and was starting to believe I would never live a long and fulfilled life. Not this way. If an angel had landed on my shoulder and whispered in my ear that, in less than two years, Oprah Winfrey would have me on her show to tell a feel good weight-loss story, I’d have sent that angel packing and gone back to my cookies. I wasn’t Oprah material. And there was absolutely nothing feel-good about my life. Call me when you want a feel-bad story. That was me. If that angel had whispered that I would one day run a marathon, I’d have checked him in to an insane asylum. I couldn’t run around the block. Even in high school I hadn’t been able to run the required twenty-minute mile. My knees hurt all the time. I was morbidly obese—a term that I knew meant an early death. If one thing was clear about my life in the fall of 2000, it was that

I could never, ever run a marathon. But I did. I finished my first one in 2005 and after that ran four more— in less than a year. I went from weighing nearly 350 pounds to less than 150 pounds. And I have appeared on Oprah and Good Morning America and the cover of People magazine as one of America’s great weight-loss successes. Getting fit wasn’t easy—there was plenty of pain, deprivation, tears, and hungeralong the way. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I won’t try to sugarcoat any of that. But, honestly, I didn’t give myself a choice. Once I made the unconditional decision that I was going to lose weight and get healthy, nothing could stop me. And nothing will stop you if you make the Five Decisions to break the fat habit for good. That’s a guarantee. Here is the secret I learned—the same secret I want to share with you. I realized I had to change my mind before I could change my body, my health, and my life. I discovered the Five Decisions, which brought about an unconditional commitment to getting healthy and fit. Once I started, I treated it like a job so that no matter what else was going on in my life, I did what I had to do to achieve daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, and eventually the target weight and fitness that I desired. After making the Five Decisions, getting fit was a matter of showing up for work each day. The process developed from the inside out, which was a new concept for me.


FIRST, YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND

People constantly ask me how I lost 200 pounds and started running marathons. When I explain that it took several years to achieve those goals, they wonder how I was able to stick to the plan when so many others can’t. I ask myself the same question. I had failed plenty of times before. I’d tried a few diets and failed, including a bit of foolishness called the chocolate-wafer diet, which I’ll tell you about later. I’d resolved so many times not to eat the entire package of Oreos, without success. So how did I lose all that weight and keep it off reclaiming my health and gaining a new life in the process? Here’s the simple answer: my brain changed. I decided to first become a different person in my mind and then learned patience as my body followed. My success wasn’t measured only by a declining number on a scale; it was much deeper. I had to change on the inside. I needed to change my mind before I could change my body. It will work the same way for you. First you must get to the right place in your head, and then you can create the lifestyle to go along with that. Your body reflects your daily choices, so stop confusing it by the way you think. The mistake so many people make is to focus on weight loss and how long it will take. In fact, the multibillion-dollar diet industry banks on people thinking this way. Don’t get stuck in the weight loss weight gain cycle. What you should focus on is the person you want to be. Set your sights very high, and keep your commitment level even higher. In this book I’ll explain how I did that. I went from being someone who weighed more than a Miami Dolphins lineman to someone who is strong and trim and can run twenty-six miles. I went from a state of hopelessness to a life of incredible confidence. And I want to help you achieve something great in your life. If you change your mind before attempting to change your body, you can do this.


HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

While I was learning how to lose weight and regain my health, I faced setback after setback. My husband lost his job, and my mother was diagnosed with cancer—and those were only two of the crises that came along. Changing your life will never be easy, and that’s why in order to succeed, you first need to be ready to succeed. It’s a choice you make. In the fall of 2000, when I was baking cookies and overhearing my husband’s criticism of an overweight NFL lineman, I fell into despair. I realized my life was out of control and I was headed for an early grave if I didn’t change. But even then, I wasn’t yet ready to make the commitment that was necessary to change my life. The truth is, on that dark day I still wasn’t miserable enough to change. I hit rock bottom about six months later. I was at my heaviest ever—349 pounds, I think. Though I was still mostly in denial, I was starting to see myself clearly, and I hated what I saw. I’d look in the mirror and say, “You are pitiful! How could you have let this happen?” My appearance started to affect my family life. We live in South Florida, where every weekend is a pool party. My daughters were young, but they were being invited to a few parties, and I was horribly uncomfortable in a bathing suit. I knew it wouldn’t be long before my girls would be embarrassed by their mother, and that made me want to cry. It did make me cry. But that was the least of it. I was more worried that their mom would die young. I’d seen fat people, and I’d seen old people, but rarely had I seen fat, old people. If I couldn’t change for myself, maybe I could do it for my kids. One night I was driving home alone from an event at church. I felt trapped in despair. At age twenty-nine, my body felt old. I had recently had an emergency gallbladder operation, and the doctor had told me he was afraid to cut through all my layers of fat because of the risk of infection. Imagine being worried about your diseased gallbladder and experiencing anxiety about surgery. And then you learn that your weight problem makes you more prone to infection. That night in the car I felt like the most pathetic person who had ever lived. I believed that God had made me and put me on earth for a purpose, and I was not living the life He intended for me. I knew I had to change. As I drove, drowning in self-pity, I began to envision what my life would be if I weren’t fat. I thought of all the things I could do—even simple things, such as walking down an airplane aisle without having to turn sideways. I’d be able to board a flight without getting fearful stares from people hoping I wouldn’t sit next to them. And there were deeper things, such as being able to go down a slide at a playground with my kids. And I wanted never again to feel as if I was embarrassing my husband when he introduced me to business associates. I was tired of feeling prejudged by every server in every restaurant for what I ordered. I wanted to be able to shop in the same clothing stores as all my friends. I wanted a normal life. As I drove home from church, I came to the realization that I absolutely could not go on with my life as it was. I pulled over, sobbing. In total despair I cried out to God. I remember every word. “This is it!” I said. “I can’t live like this anymore. I’m done. I give all this pain to You. I surrender this battle. I need You to take over and give me a plan. Otherwise, I don’t want to live anymore.” Almost immediately a sense of inner peace filled me, and I calmed down. I had gone to church all my life and had a relationship with God, but I had certainly never felt anything like that before. The peace was real, and in my mind I heard from God. I clearly heard these words: You are not being the best you can be. It wasn’t a booming voice like in a movie, but it also wasn’t a voice coming from me. The words were a jolt to my soul. And that moment would change my life forever. Again, with crystal clarity, I “heard” a whisper: You are not being the best you can be. And for the first time in my life, I understood that this was a choice. I could choose to be the best I could be or not. We all have the same choice. We can’t choose our natural talents or what opportunities life is going to throw our way, but we can choose to do this one thing: we can do the best job of living that we are capable of. After praying alone in my car, I knew I could do better.


THE CHOICE IS YOURS

No matter how overweight and out of shape we are, our bodies and minds are capable of much more than we think. No matter what battles we face in life, we can have victory. The amazing thing is that so many of us choose not to. I know this is true because I was as guilty as anyone. For years I’d made poor choices and come up with excuses for why I really didn’t have a choice at all. I was big boned. I let myself overeat because I was pregnant. I skipped exercise because I didn’t have the time. I was too far gone to ever recover. I told myself whatever it took to hide the truth that I was not doing the best job of living. I was also being scammed by the diet industry. We all have been taken in by the hype. “We’ll give you your eating points,” the industry tells us, “and let you spend them on any food you want. And we’ll love you when you get on that scale, whether you’ve lost weight or not. We’ll keep hugging you for the next twenty-three years if need be.” Counting my points was not going to save me. Choosing the right frozen entrĂ©e and having it delivered to my home for the next two years was not going to save me. I didn’t need the unconditional love of strangers; I needed unconditional commitment from myself. I was also scammed by the “fat gene” scientists who insisted that my weight problem was out of my hands. They were wrong; it was in my hands. Chantel, I told myself, this is not cancer. I knew, because my mother had leukemia, and I had spent more tearful nights than I could count praying for her recovery something I couldn’t do anything about. I prayed that chemotherapy would work and that God would heal her. But I realized that I’d been thinking of my obesity in the same way, as an illness. I’d even been told by experts that drastic surgery might be my only option. But that was another lie. The way I lived my life and how I contributed to my health were completely in my hands. Every one of us knows what we should do, but we don’t always do it. Instead, we pretend it’s out of our control. We take the easy way out and let ourselves down. Gaining weight doesn’t come about by accident, and it’s not forced on us. We gain weight through a series of poor choices made on a regular basis over a long period of time.


We gain weight

through a series of poor choices

made on a regular basis

over a long period of time.


The same process holds true for achieving a goal related to your health and fitness. Whether it’s weight loss, athletic accomplishment, or any other personal or business goal, you achieve what you seek by learning to make the right choices and not being scared of self-sacrifice. I began wondering what my life would be like and what I would be capable of if I simply started being the best me I could. It was time to find out. After hearing God tell me, You are not being the best you can be, I made my decision, and I said it out loud: “I can do this. I will do this.” I repeated it, and I meant it. At that moment by the side of Cypress Creek Road, my life turned around.


DO IT, THEN TALK

Having made the commitment, I knew I was going to change my life, but I didn’t have a specific plan. I knew I’d have to start exercising, no matter how much I dreaded it. I knew I would have to change the way I ate, and I would need to learn more about nutrition. And to become a different person, I knew I would have to start thinking like the person I wanted to be and not the person I had allowed myself to become. I didn’t know how I was going to do all this, but I knew I would have God by my side. He might not make it easy, but He’d give me the strength to do everything that was needed. When I got home that night, Keith was already in bed. He had never criticized my weight, for which I was incredibly grateful, but I knew how he must have felt. I looked into my husband’s eyes, told him that God had spoken to me in the car, and announced that the next morning I would begin losing weight and getting healthy. (I even mentioned that one day I would write a book to reach others in my situation.) I made it clear that I was totally committed to being the best I could be. Keith smiled at me and quoted one of his favorite sources of inspiration, the self-made billionaire Art Williams: “Do it, then talk.” He was right. I shut up. Keith fell asleep, but I had a burning passion that kept me awake that night and has kept me up many nights since. Making the unconditional decision to change—the complete commitment with no turning back—had to be followed by action. First you change your mind. But to change your body and your life, you have to get moving. You have to do things and do them differently from the past. Do it. How incredibly simple—yet how long it had taken me to get to a place where I could see that clearly. Getting fit and accomplishing my dreams was simply a matter of choosing to do it, following through every single day, and understanding that failure was not an option. I could do it. I would do it. And I did.


w

Keep reading, and you’ll find out how to change your life through five crucial decisions. The Five Decisions change your brain, giving you a new way of thinking about yourself, your life, your health, and your future. As long as you keep thinking the same way you always have, you will keep doing the things you have always done—including the unhealthy habits you have developed. Join me in the next chapter as we explore the past—including all the influences that worked together to bring us to where we are today. Understanding the messages that influence our self-perception and the way we respond to obstacles enables us to make the new decisions that are necessary for permanent change.



What Do You Want to Change, and Why?

As you prepare to make the mental changes that will lead to permanent life change, think through the reasons you want to change. What is motivating your desire to lose weight and reclaim your health? Use the questions that follow to think in detail about your life, your goals for the future, and what you’re willing to do to make this happen finally and forever.


1. Beyond losing weight, what do you most want to change about your life?


2. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to see certain areas of your life undergo radical change? If you’re not yet willing, what is holding you back?


3. When in your life have you felt the most hopeless? Are you now ready to move past those scars and never look back?


4. When you gained weight in the past, what factors caused you to lose your focus on health?


5. Identify three reasons or influences from the past that convinced you that you couldn’t achieve permanent life change. After considering these reasons, can you now admit they were merely excuses?


6. Think about the necessity of changing your mind before you attempt to change your body. Do you agree that lasting change begins on the inside? As you consider being the best you can be, are you ready to work from the inside out?


7. A total life change involves your mind, body, and spirit. Think about the spiritual aspect for a moment. Do you accept the role that faith plays in the process of changing your life for good?


8. When have you been held back by a fear of failure? Write down your biggest fears in this regard. As you face your fears, can you decide to let them go and give your all to permanent life change?


Never Say Diet Personal Trainer Product Details:

List Price: $10.99
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (December 16, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307446425
ISBN-13: 978-0307446428

Week 1 Training Plan

The Perfect Body Type: Yours!

You Are Lovely Today


Scripture for the week: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.… When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.”

—PSALM 139:14–16


Quote for the week: “Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ.”

—A. W. TOZER


As you begin the journey to never say diet, remember that your value is based on who you are in Christ, not what the number on the scale says. God created everything about you, and He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows which foods are your weaknesses, and He is there whenever the temptation to overeat or consume unhealthy food seems overwhelming. The Lord knows the tears you have shed out of desperation. He was there to comfort you when it seemed like no one understood your pain. Trust me, on days when I feel the most flawed, I need the verses from Psalm 139 to remind me of what is true. The living God formed every part of my body, even the parts I would like to change. Although I used to struggle and fail in caring for my body, God always knew it best. When I finally cried out to my Creator and invited Him to help with the repair, I knew I could succeed. He wants you to succeed too. Start this week by thanking the Lord for the gifts of your life and your body. By focusing on making some improvements, you will ultimately be honoring Him more and more each day. Find a recent photo of yourself, or take one, and tape it in the space that follows. This picture will be a powerful reference for you in the coming weeks as you begin your transformation.


THE MIND FACTOR: CHANGE YOUR BRAIN

In Never Say Diet, I make a big deal about the Five Decisions—and for good reason. You will fail in this new attempt to change your life unless you first change your brain. To succeed, you need to be willing to do whatever it takes—unconditionally. I want to be your cheerleader and your friend. And for us to get going, you need to commit to the five Brain Change decisions found on pages 76–82 of Never Say Diet. Think about how each of the Five Decisions applies to your life. Also, try to memorize them. They will form the backbone you need to stand up to and overcome every area of weakness in your life. Create your personal surrender statement.


THE EXERCISE EQUATION: ARE YOU WILLING?

This week your first assignment is to start building a foundation of discipline. You will be successful over the next month if you show up for exercise thirty minutes a day, five days in a row, every week—no matter what. There are many choices for your cardiovascular exercise. Below is a list of suggestions. Even if your week gets hectic, finding the time to make this happen is imperative.


Cardio Exercise Suggestions

Basketball

Bike riding

Cross-country skiing machine

Dancing

Elliptical machine

Jogging/running

Kick boxing

Racquetball

Spinning class

Stair climber

Stair stepper

Stationary bike/recumbent bike

Step aerobics

Swimming

Tennis

Walking


How to Take Your Measurements

Taking your measurements at the beginning of each month is an important part of the process of losing weight. You will begin to see precisely where you are losing fat. As you start building more muscle, there will be months where your progress is more evident in your measurements than on the scale, because muscle is denser than fat. You will begin by taking six measurements. You should be able to do them by yourself, with the exception of your upper arm. (Ask a friend or your spouse to help you.) For instructions on taking accurate measurements, see pages 97–98 of Never Say Diet. Record your measurements below.


Bust: ______________

Chest: ______________

Waist: ______________

Hips: ______________

Thighs: ______________

Arms: ______________


Be sure that you consistently measure in the same spots each month. I also recommend taking your measurements before your workouts.


Weigh Yourself

Weigh yourself, and record your weight at the beginning of each week.

Week 1 starting weight: ________


WEEK 1 CARDIO TRAINING

Complete your cardio exercise five days in a row, for at least thirty minutes per day. In the space provided, write down the day, the date, the exercise you completed, and the duration of each exercise period. This serves as a reminder that you always found a way to get the exercise done, whether you felt like it or not.


Day 1 date/exercise/duration:

________________________________________________


How did it go?

________________________________________________



Day 2 date/exercise/duration:

________________________________________________


How did it go?

________________________________________________



Day 3 date/exercise/duration:

________________________________________________


How did it go?

________________________________________________



Day 4 date/exercise/duration:

________________________________________________


How did it go?

________________________________________________



Day 5 date/exercise/duration:

________________________________________________


How did it go?

________________________________________________


THE FOOD FACTOR: BREAKFAST IS

WHERE IT’S AT

This week you must place your nutritional focus on the most important meal of the day: breakfast. Plan to eat every day within two hours of waking up. Listed below are some fresh food ideas. Each one is about three hundred calories, which is perfect!


• Quaker Weight Control oatmeal, 1 tablespoon of raisins, cinnamon to taste, 2 slices of turkey bacon.


• One slice of whole-wheat toast, light spread of peanut butter (natural is best), and ½ grapefruit.


• Chocolate strawberry shake. Blend the following: 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 10 small frozen strawberries, 1 packet sugar substitute, ½ cup low-fat milk, a few ice cubes.


• Egg white omelet. In a skillet with nonstick spray, cook veggies you like, 3 lightly beaten egg whites, and 1 tablespoon fat-free cheese. Accompany with half an English muffin with a dab of peanut butter.


Each of these breakfast meals provides a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat. This ensures your day gets off to a good start; it is igniting your source of energy. Find a few meals that you enjoy, and keep repeating them. This way you won’t stress out over deciding what to have.


Week 1 Breakfast Log

Using the space provided, record each day’s breakfast menu and the portions.


Day 1 date/time: ___________________________________ ________________________________________________


Day 2 date/time: ___________________________________

________________________________________________


Day 3 date/time: ___________________________________

________________________________________________


Day 4 date/time: ___________________________________

________________________________________________


Day 5 date/time: ___________________________________

________________________________________________


Day 6 date/time: ___________________________________

________________________________________________


Day 7 date/time: ___________________________________

________________________________________________


Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Wednesday Worship: You Are My Daily Bread/Lord of the Harvest

I can never get enough of Fred Hammond so he's back for another Wednesday worship.

You're the Lord of the harvest and we worship you
We worship you

You are my daily bread.
You are my living well.
You are my present help.
You are, You are, You are.




Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

In Need of A Heart Fix?

I was reading the current issue of Christian Women Online Magazine. One of the articles is entitled, "2009: The Year You Take The Weight Off". The article is about physical body weight but it speaks moreso to a different kind of weight. What I call "heart weight", referring to weight-loss struggles as a matter of the heart.

That's the second time this year I've heard that. On Oprah's Best Life show in which she discussed her weight loss struggles, her trainer, Bob Greene, used those exact words. "It's a matter of the heart."

Is it?

Is being overweight simply a matter of the heart, of things that weigh us down mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

I'm not sure it's that simple, because there is absolutely a physical component relative to how the body responds to food intake and to energy expenditure, but I do believe it's worth consideration.

As one fellow blogger in the struggle quoted, the Bible tells us
"...we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
I definitely wrestle with losing weight. So what am I really wrestling with and what heart issues do I need to resolve through Jesus?

I'm not sure.

I know I eat when I'm bored.

When I'm stressed.

When I'm alone.

When I'm idle.

The best thing I've done this year is make a commitment to be deliberate about my writing. If I'm writing, I'm not eating. Better yet, if I'm writing away from the kitchen and the pantry, I don't even think about eating. That makes my evening, and thus, my daily calorie consumption plummet.

Nonetheless, the notion gives me pause. I've heard it before. Although Bob and Oprah tried to make this seem like new revelation for them, they pretty much said the same thing when they teamed up nearly fifteen years ago and put out that first diet book together, Make The Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life. Even the title sounds like more of the same, right? I no longer have a copy but I recall that the book encouraged you to dig deep and find out what issues remained unresolved in your life.

Back then, in the mid-90's, I wasn't open to the idea that there was anything more going on with me other than consuming too much of the wrong foods and not getting enough exercise. I now know it's not quite that simple either.

If you're aware that you have issues that make you eat more than you should, by all means, deal with the issues. Go to God. Get help. Be healed and set free.

If, like me, you're not so sure, or the issues are buried deeper than first glance, take some time and think about it. Pray. Meditate. Journal. Ask God.

Then, be healed and set free.

I'm seeking freedom from the weight-loss struggle this year.

BTW, I maintained over the holidays and I'm down 3 lbs to start the year!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Wednesday Worship: You Are The Living Word

...Manger born
You died and rose
You are the living Word


I love Fred Hammond in worship. If you have a chance to experience him in worship live, GO!

And when you're experiencing difficult circumstances and need a lift, Fred Hammond's praise songs are some of the best!



Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Making Lemonade

The year has begun with some personal challenges I should have seen coming but I didn't, in part because I was in denial about some things.

But I'm handling it. Years ago, though even then I loved the Lord, my initial reaction was to crumble, then pray when unexpected things happen. Now I take a deep breath, then pray.

I'm pleased that I don't crumble anymore. I wish could say my response is perfect but it's not. I still get queasiness in my stomach and my mood sours, in a quiet, not nasty, kind of way.

But I've truly learned to make lemonade out of difficult circumstances.

Part of that learning comes from personal experience. God has brought me through some things over the year. When that happens enough, you surely begin to trust Him to bring you through again.

I know what's important. The things that used to knock me off my axis but don't anymore are temporal. Short-term. Passing.

Granted, until these things pass, life can be difficult, inconvenient, even overwhelming in moments. But again, I take a deep breath, which allows me to shake off the willies and the moodiness, and I pray.

I pray for peace.

I pray for sound mind and clear judgment.

I pray for open heart and listening ears to hear God.

I pray for the specifics of the situation.

In this case, while I wait on God, I find myself with unexpected time on my hands. I've cleaned my sons' bedroom, organizing and reshelving all of their books. I've cleaned out their closet. I mopped the tile floor which covers our entire first level. I've played basketball with my two youngest. I've exercised for an hour every day and I've walked about ten miles. I've kept my commitment to my writing, writing every day. I've gotten sleep.

I haven't kept up with email so when I have an opportunity to get to it, it will be a bear. (The computer I'm working on likes Blogger but not Yahoo so much.)

I hope this year is starting off on a high note for you all. But if it's not, don't get depressed, anxious, or angry. Center yourself and get prayerful. God is still a waymaker.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Thursday, January 1, 2009

It's a New Year and I'm Celebrating...Me!

How cool is this?

Thanks Disney World!



Happy New Year!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia