This week I wanted to share a few of my eating tips with you.
I do want to stress the fact that I do not believe in focusing on a diet to get thin. The diet is just the tool to use in the process. The main emphasis should be on the mind and spirit for lasting change. However, I want to give some really good tips to help you see results.
1. To raise your metabolism it is very important to eat every 2 to 3 hours. Preferably something healthy or balanced like protein, fruits, vegetables, & whole grains, etc. If you keep your serving sizes to the size of the palm of your hand or a small orange, you will be safe. This will fuel your body sufficiently and speed up your burning potential.
2. Try to eat within an hour of waking up. Your body has been fasting for about 8-10 hours and therefore your metabolism needs a boost. The longer you put off eating the slower your burning rate will be for the entire day. Get something in your body to start your metabolism going again and you will indeed break the fast (breakfast).
3. Drink water! Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. Not only does it flush the body of burned calories but it also speeds up your metabolism...so drink!!!
4. Try to eat a balanced diet. Develop a plan that would work if you were going to implement it for the rest of your life. If you eat some crazy fad diet to get fast results but know that you will not stick to it long term... you are asking for trouble. Start eating like you would be able to eat for the rest of your life. This is why a balanced diet makes more sense. The food groups are proteins, starches, fruits, dairy, fats & vegetables. Keep a balance of those foods in every meal if possible. You will feel good and you will see results!
5. If you exercise over an hour each day of heightened cardiovascular activity then you need to eat more. You can't underestimate the importance of fueling your body for burning. If you don't eat enough of the right fuel... your body will stop losing correctly! This is a very hard fact to swallow but it's true. Eat more food and your body will let go of more weight.... otherwise stop exercising so much! It's one or the other!
These are just a few body/diet tricks to help you. I want you to succeed so much! I know that if you have your heart and mind in the right place that you can overcome any temptation that comes your way! Keep on trying every day! I believe you can do anything that you believe you can!!!!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Big Seven
I have thought about this subject on and off over the years. I never really researched it until now, even though I was attracted to the overall meaning.
I know that the Catholic religion is predominately known for this teaching, even though I was surprised to read that they weren't the ones that originally taught it. Regardless of who supports it or brought it forward, it bears great wisdom and insight for all of us to think about, which is why I am going to discuss it this week.
The subject is on the Seven Deadly Sins.
Let me list them for you in no order of importance.
1. Pride
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Lust
5. Sloth
6. Wrath
7. Envy
For a better explanation of each one of these, I encourage you to click on this wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Deadly_Sins#Pride_.28Latin.2C_superbia.29
This is a great resource into understanding each one and the history about how they came into existence.
I think it's probably obvious why I am attracted to this teaching. It combines all that I have been trying to explain in my newsletters.
It's labeled the Seven Deadly Sins for a reason. These vices can kill us internally and can cause us external death as well, in one way or another. In thinking about this principle I connected it to the purpose of the Ten Commandments. I used to think the Ten Commandments were God's way of boxing me in and giving me rules. I really did. I looked at them as if they were a way for God to judge me. While there is some truth to that, I realize now that the Commandments were put in place to protect us and in essence, Free Us! Which brings true happiness!
Paying attention to these seven areas of concern can protect us from our human nature. I guess in other words, they protect us from ourselves. When we participate in these behaviors, we typically minimize the effects they will have on us. We justify our actions and stubbornly engage. However, the end of most of those roads...run us, smack dab into a wall of regret, pain and sorrow. Much of the time they produce addictions to the body or mind, which enslave us. Making themselves god over our lives and deny us of our freedom.
I believe, if you look at the list of deadly behaviors, you will be able to see most of what's wrong with our world. For this reason, instead of looking at the list with a feeling of moral obligation, look at it as wisdom. In one of my messages, I talked about the importance of gaining wisdom and understanding it in an attempt to change the course of your life. These seven deadly areas provide a wise instruction for all of us to absorb!
First of all, gluttony (or over-indulgence) is the big issue that's had an impact on all of us in this forum!
I completely understand why this would be on the list. I understand how it kills! It destroys lives! It masquerades as a mild issue, especially when you compare it to some of the others on the list. But over-indulgence is an emotional and physical nightmare that turns into a complete life altering problem. These results are the consequences that occur because of it. I am always amazed at how people don't connect over-indulgence and spiritual consequences. You cannot over-indulge in food and have it isolated to just a mind and body consequence.... it effects the spirit. Our desecration of the body is our desecration of God's temple. Our body houses the Holy Spirit of God (as stated in the Bible). We have to remember this point. It's vital to the balance of life, which is the balance between Mind, Body and Spirit! If one is out of balance, then the other two are effected. You cannot negate any point of the triangle. You can try, but you will eventually have to come to terms with this. I am not trying to condemn or convict anyone... I am just trying to open your eyes to this disconnection.
The good news is that we can change!
When I was reading about this on Wikipedia, they also listed the 7 corresponding virtues that the Catholic religion teaches in correspondence with the 7 Deadly Sins. You can understand them more thoroughly by linking to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Virtues.
Here they are:
Vice & Virtue
Lust Chastity
Glutton Temperance
Greed Charity
Sloth Diligence
Wrath Patience
Envy Kindness
Pride Humility
I understand the importance of adhering to these principles and I agree with them wholeheartedly. Many of these are obvious opposites, but I like that they have shown us the specific behavior to magnify in order to stay to the right course.
I urge you to study the links I provided. I believe it will give you more understanding. Being aware of the pitfalls in the road, make falling into them harder. That's why we must see how these things are absolutely deadly to us!
Getting gluttony under control will absolutely come when we attain proper self love. We won't over-indulge because we can't. They oppose each other. They don't match. Pouring a strong dose of God's light into our hearts will undoubtedly affect the way we act and treat ourselves and others.
You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then lust after someone. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then over-indulge in food or drink. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then be greedy. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then be lazy. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then lose your temper. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then envy someone. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then operate in pride. You just can't!!!
I know that we all have light. Good people can still struggle with some of these things (I know I do). But if we keep pouring more and more of God's Word and His love into our hearts, we will eventually minimize and hopefully push all of those ugly behaviors out, because we can't tolerate light and dark at the same time. It says in the scriptures that a house divided against itself will fall. Therefore, we will either choose to fall or stand. Turning completely into the light, is STANDING! This isn't perfection we are talking about, this is wisdom. This is choosing good and straight paths so we don't stumble!
So keep your eye on those seven vices and virtues in your life. Be aware and then be purposeful in your decisions regarding them. When you are full of light & centered love for yourself and others, you will indeed....BE FREE!
I know that the Catholic religion is predominately known for this teaching, even though I was surprised to read that they weren't the ones that originally taught it. Regardless of who supports it or brought it forward, it bears great wisdom and insight for all of us to think about, which is why I am going to discuss it this week.
The subject is on the Seven Deadly Sins.
Let me list them for you in no order of importance.
1. Pride
2. Gluttony
3. Greed
4. Lust
5. Sloth
6. Wrath
7. Envy
For a better explanation of each one of these, I encourage you to click on this wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Deadly_Sins#Pride_.28Latin.2C_superbia.29
This is a great resource into understanding each one and the history about how they came into existence.
I think it's probably obvious why I am attracted to this teaching. It combines all that I have been trying to explain in my newsletters.
It's labeled the Seven Deadly Sins for a reason. These vices can kill us internally and can cause us external death as well, in one way or another. In thinking about this principle I connected it to the purpose of the Ten Commandments. I used to think the Ten Commandments were God's way of boxing me in and giving me rules. I really did. I looked at them as if they were a way for God to judge me. While there is some truth to that, I realize now that the Commandments were put in place to protect us and in essence, Free Us! Which brings true happiness!
Paying attention to these seven areas of concern can protect us from our human nature. I guess in other words, they protect us from ourselves. When we participate in these behaviors, we typically minimize the effects they will have on us. We justify our actions and stubbornly engage. However, the end of most of those roads...run us, smack dab into a wall of regret, pain and sorrow. Much of the time they produce addictions to the body or mind, which enslave us. Making themselves god over our lives and deny us of our freedom.
I believe, if you look at the list of deadly behaviors, you will be able to see most of what's wrong with our world. For this reason, instead of looking at the list with a feeling of moral obligation, look at it as wisdom. In one of my messages, I talked about the importance of gaining wisdom and understanding it in an attempt to change the course of your life. These seven deadly areas provide a wise instruction for all of us to absorb!
First of all, gluttony (or over-indulgence) is the big issue that's had an impact on all of us in this forum!
I completely understand why this would be on the list. I understand how it kills! It destroys lives! It masquerades as a mild issue, especially when you compare it to some of the others on the list. But over-indulgence is an emotional and physical nightmare that turns into a complete life altering problem. These results are the consequences that occur because of it. I am always amazed at how people don't connect over-indulgence and spiritual consequences. You cannot over-indulge in food and have it isolated to just a mind and body consequence.... it effects the spirit. Our desecration of the body is our desecration of God's temple. Our body houses the Holy Spirit of God (as stated in the Bible). We have to remember this point. It's vital to the balance of life, which is the balance between Mind, Body and Spirit! If one is out of balance, then the other two are effected. You cannot negate any point of the triangle. You can try, but you will eventually have to come to terms with this. I am not trying to condemn or convict anyone... I am just trying to open your eyes to this disconnection.
The good news is that we can change!
When I was reading about this on Wikipedia, they also listed the 7 corresponding virtues that the Catholic religion teaches in correspondence with the 7 Deadly Sins. You can understand them more thoroughly by linking to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Virtues.
Here they are:
Vice & Virtue
Lust Chastity
Glutton Temperance
Greed Charity
Sloth Diligence
Wrath Patience
Envy Kindness
Pride Humility
I understand the importance of adhering to these principles and I agree with them wholeheartedly. Many of these are obvious opposites, but I like that they have shown us the specific behavior to magnify in order to stay to the right course.
I urge you to study the links I provided. I believe it will give you more understanding. Being aware of the pitfalls in the road, make falling into them harder. That's why we must see how these things are absolutely deadly to us!
Getting gluttony under control will absolutely come when we attain proper self love. We won't over-indulge because we can't. They oppose each other. They don't match. Pouring a strong dose of God's light into our hearts will undoubtedly affect the way we act and treat ourselves and others.
You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then lust after someone. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then over-indulge in food or drink. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then be greedy. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then be lazy. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then lose your temper. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then envy someone. You can't be full of light & centered love for yourself and others & then operate in pride. You just can't!!!
I know that we all have light. Good people can still struggle with some of these things (I know I do). But if we keep pouring more and more of God's Word and His love into our hearts, we will eventually minimize and hopefully push all of those ugly behaviors out, because we can't tolerate light and dark at the same time. It says in the scriptures that a house divided against itself will fall. Therefore, we will either choose to fall or stand. Turning completely into the light, is STANDING! This isn't perfection we are talking about, this is wisdom. This is choosing good and straight paths so we don't stumble!
So keep your eye on those seven vices and virtues in your life. Be aware and then be purposeful in your decisions regarding them. When you are full of light & centered love for yourself and others, you will indeed....BE FREE!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The story of me and my body
One thing that I have come to realize is how much our history with weight gain or loss can reflect on who we are as a person. Our bodies reflect a constant story that we tell. A reflection into our souls. A mirror of our life and state of mind.
My journey is so clear when I look back now, but at the time it was just a frustrating set of events. I can really see how my roller coaster ride up and down with my weight was reflecting my self image. I think I lost and gained a significant amount of weight during my first marriage about 4 different times over a 13 year period of time. I have often told people that I have been overweight more than thinner. This is very true. But why did I put it back on after losing it every time? I used to think it had to do with having babies or moving or something like that. While that is the surface truth it wasn't the real reason that I have come to understand now.
My first marriage proved to be a school of learning for me. I want to explain that I went into that marriage with very unrealistic expectations. I didn't really love myself and I looked to him to fill in that void. No human being can do that for someone else completely. When I still felt my needs were unmet by him, I coped with food (unknowingly). I was not the best wife but I wasn't the worst either. I could have done a lot of things better but I was stuck. Stuck between my own unhappiness and the nonacceptance I felt from him. I always felt like he was a better person than me. I felt like I was the screw up and it didn't help that he eventually reinforced my fears by his comments and disapproving nature. All of these things led eventually to the divorce.
During and after the divorce I began to lose weight, but very slowly. It's been about 4 years since that divorce and I have lost about 70 pounds total. The thing that has amazed me the most is that I haven't gained it back. I never maintained weight loss in my past. I lost it and maybe maintained it for a few months but always began to gain again. Why now? What's different? That is what I have thought and thought about and the answer is so obvious to me now. It's because my self image is different! When I was married for all those years I had a very low self image. I saw myself as ugly and fat and lazy. I lived up to that image, over and over again. When I got away from that situation, I began to redefine myself without even knowing. It certainly took awhile, but as good people came into my life and spoke words of belief into me, it lifted. When I began to read positive books and scriptures, it lifted. When I accomplished things that I never thought I could, it lifted and consequently my weight matched my self image. I never put weight back on because it wouldn't match the way I see myself internally. Does that mean that I don't ever gain any weight? No! My weight fluctuates up a bit here and there, but I don't let it get out of hand. Without being aware of all the undertones, I pull in the reins and eat less instinctively. It's almost bizarre to me how subtle all of it is.
An illustration of your body naturally matching your self image is when you hear people say that their body seems to gravitate toward a certain weight. They think it's because their body feels comfortable at that number. What I believe is that they gravitate toward that number because it is as comfortable as they feel about themselves. They can't see themselves as thinner in their mind and they certainly don't have the esteem to support more. Passing that weight feels foreign to them and the sabotaging begins until that person get's to a place that is too far in the other direction and their self image and self esteem kick in to stop them from overeating anymore.
The point I'm making is that you must change your self image before you can change your body for good. You may lose all your weight but you won't keep it off if your self image and self esteem don't support it. The way to change your self image comes in changing your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is what makes up your belief systems about anything and it is what governs your long term patterns or actions. It records everything that your conscious mind is taking in. When you keep having recurring thoughts about yourself or situations it develops into a belief system internalized into your subconscious mind. The way to reprogram your subconscious is to pour new information about yourself in. Start reading good positive books like "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Begin to read the Word of God which tells you how the Lord thinks about you. Listen to great speakers on CD while your driving, etc. Surround yourself with people who believe the best about you and tell you. Then you need to get a new image fixated into your mind. Really see yourself as you want to be. Get very clear about this image because that is a necessary ingredient in matching your body.
Pour new truth into your heart and head and over time your conscious reprogramming will begin to change your subconscious. Then and only then will you get the body you really want because you will feel like you fit into it! You will feel worthy to receive it naturally. It will just happen!
My journey is so clear when I look back now, but at the time it was just a frustrating set of events. I can really see how my roller coaster ride up and down with my weight was reflecting my self image. I think I lost and gained a significant amount of weight during my first marriage about 4 different times over a 13 year period of time. I have often told people that I have been overweight more than thinner. This is very true. But why did I put it back on after losing it every time? I used to think it had to do with having babies or moving or something like that. While that is the surface truth it wasn't the real reason that I have come to understand now.
My first marriage proved to be a school of learning for me. I want to explain that I went into that marriage with very unrealistic expectations. I didn't really love myself and I looked to him to fill in that void. No human being can do that for someone else completely. When I still felt my needs were unmet by him, I coped with food (unknowingly). I was not the best wife but I wasn't the worst either. I could have done a lot of things better but I was stuck. Stuck between my own unhappiness and the nonacceptance I felt from him. I always felt like he was a better person than me. I felt like I was the screw up and it didn't help that he eventually reinforced my fears by his comments and disapproving nature. All of these things led eventually to the divorce.
During and after the divorce I began to lose weight, but very slowly. It's been about 4 years since that divorce and I have lost about 70 pounds total. The thing that has amazed me the most is that I haven't gained it back. I never maintained weight loss in my past. I lost it and maybe maintained it for a few months but always began to gain again. Why now? What's different? That is what I have thought and thought about and the answer is so obvious to me now. It's because my self image is different! When I was married for all those years I had a very low self image. I saw myself as ugly and fat and lazy. I lived up to that image, over and over again. When I got away from that situation, I began to redefine myself without even knowing. It certainly took awhile, but as good people came into my life and spoke words of belief into me, it lifted. When I began to read positive books and scriptures, it lifted. When I accomplished things that I never thought I could, it lifted and consequently my weight matched my self image. I never put weight back on because it wouldn't match the way I see myself internally. Does that mean that I don't ever gain any weight? No! My weight fluctuates up a bit here and there, but I don't let it get out of hand. Without being aware of all the undertones, I pull in the reins and eat less instinctively. It's almost bizarre to me how subtle all of it is.
An illustration of your body naturally matching your self image is when you hear people say that their body seems to gravitate toward a certain weight. They think it's because their body feels comfortable at that number. What I believe is that they gravitate toward that number because it is as comfortable as they feel about themselves. They can't see themselves as thinner in their mind and they certainly don't have the esteem to support more. Passing that weight feels foreign to them and the sabotaging begins until that person get's to a place that is too far in the other direction and their self image and self esteem kick in to stop them from overeating anymore.
The point I'm making is that you must change your self image before you can change your body for good. You may lose all your weight but you won't keep it off if your self image and self esteem don't support it. The way to change your self image comes in changing your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is what makes up your belief systems about anything and it is what governs your long term patterns or actions. It records everything that your conscious mind is taking in. When you keep having recurring thoughts about yourself or situations it develops into a belief system internalized into your subconscious mind. The way to reprogram your subconscious is to pour new information about yourself in. Start reading good positive books like "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Begin to read the Word of God which tells you how the Lord thinks about you. Listen to great speakers on CD while your driving, etc. Surround yourself with people who believe the best about you and tell you. Then you need to get a new image fixated into your mind. Really see yourself as you want to be. Get very clear about this image because that is a necessary ingredient in matching your body.
Pour new truth into your heart and head and over time your conscious reprogramming will begin to change your subconscious. Then and only then will you get the body you really want because you will feel like you fit into it! You will feel worthy to receive it naturally. It will just happen!
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