So it has been 19 days this AM since the change in my life. I have seen great changes and am feeling WAY better day by day. It has been tough to give up the "normalcy" of things I used to do without thinking, but it has been wonderful to feel the difference in how my body reacts to things now.
Not only am I 10 pounds lighter today (woohooo!), but I also feel more ready for my day when I get up. I have the energy to think about what I eat, and drink, and do in my day. I am able to consider the consequences of slacking off and remind myself of the joy of staying on track.
This last week I had chinese food. Now, I tried to do it the best I could; but I think I ate too much, and chinese in and of itself is pretty much anti-dietetic. After dinner I felt the ooops. I did my excercise and had to kick it up a notch to try and burn off the extra calories and "yuckies" that my body did not need. I was able (for the first time) to do the intense version of all the work outs on my workout video for at least 1/2 the time I was working. Followed up with weightloss yoga, and a dip in the hot tub - I could still feel the extra meal attaching itself to my body. The next morning, I felt miserable, hungry, fat, and even worse when I saw that I had gained 1.4 pounds. AAAGGHHHH!!! How could I do that? What am I going to do now? The answer - work out twice as hard and get it off! That chinese was not welcome to travel with me thru the week. So 1 hour 45 minutes in the morning, and working out for 1 hour and 30 minutes during The Biggest Loser (tuesday nights at 8pm), and the next morning all my work paid off - back to pre-chinese weight.
Then there is last night. Dan went to class and I found myself craving candy, chocolate, pasta, ice cream, etc. No, what, how can this happen again? Be strong Ellie! And then I realized, how cool would it be if I was able to have something out of this group without ruining things? So I went to my Biggest Loser Family cookbook and found a chocolate sundae! only 198 calories and right in my range of calories left over for my day. So there I sat, happily eating chocolate peanutbutter smothered ice cream, enjoying every single bite. Wow, that is a cool feeling. And this morning - no regret! And the scale is cool with it too. 4 /10ths of a pound overnight! Yayah!
I hope this is an encouragement to everyone that it is worth the effort to excercise your self control, even when it feels like you have separated from your goal for a moment. Every day is a new day, every hour a new chance to make your self and those who love you proud.
Have you been slacking in the self control department? Is there something hovering over you that you just keep ignoring, hoping it will fade into the past? I encourage you to dig deep and find your self control, and begin to use it on the easy and the hard circumstances in life; that you might find the joy in once again choosing to support yourself, and be willing to address serious issues that God needs to bring up in your life.
God Bless you all!
I would love to hear from you if you are enjoying this blog, or even if you have questions, comments, or disagreements. This is a chance for us to dialogue what can happen this year if we are able to become available to our Heavenly Father.
My body, and therefore every day's activities, is a temple for God. I am ready to fling open the doors to Him and start holding services! Are you?
Friday, January 23, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
It's just tooo hard!!!! (enter whine here...)
I was once asked how I could believe that an all knowing, all powerful God could care about my petty issues in life.
Psalm 10:14 says, "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless." If God is able to see our grief and sorrows, holds us in His hand and cares for us when we are the most alone -- don't you think he cares about every detail of our lives? To answer the question “what is bothering you?” truthfully, most of us would have a whole laundry list of things from the huge hurdles to the miniscule problems of the day. And yet this verse promises that God not only sees the smallest item on our heart and mind, but He sent his precious Kid so that the struggles we make it thru have a reason, and a direction to give glory. (2 Corinthians 5:15)
So, if God sees my trials and is letting me live thru them, what is the point for me? What is my purpose here on earth? Do you know people who utter considerably more dismal and discouraging comments than praises on a daily basis? I do. I am one of them. So am I being disobedient? Sometimes, yes! God tells us that, “… if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 Just as a parent looks forward to a child’s first steps, so God is patiently waiting for us to learn from our trials and walk to Him in faith and reverence praising His Name.
As for me, it sometimes seems that I am an infant striving for that first crawling motion. I want so badly to go the right direction instead of finding myself in the same place day after day. But, as I reflect on the life I have led (as dreary as it may seem), I realize that every moment of praise to God was a getting ready to walk moment. From catching a glint of His grace for allowing me to hear again (after loads of internal ear issues as a young child), fighting with Him over whether to attend college or the coast guard, and the weeklong discussion about who REALLY owns my son – and in the end finding the strength to devote him wholly back to his Heavenly Father (who can take better care of him than I). Every one of these was steps to seeing another piece of who God is. It's not easy. But the effort is worth the reward.
So not only do I believe that He sees my struggles, and cares about them immensely; but also that He has my best in mind at all times, and can see further than I can into the future He has created for me.
This year, I believe, He is revealing a piece of that future, and I am joyful that He has given me the “heads up” to the possibilities this year will bring.
Psalm 10:14 says, "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless." If God is able to see our grief and sorrows, holds us in His hand and cares for us when we are the most alone -- don't you think he cares about every detail of our lives? To answer the question “what is bothering you?” truthfully, most of us would have a whole laundry list of things from the huge hurdles to the miniscule problems of the day. And yet this verse promises that God not only sees the smallest item on our heart and mind, but He sent his precious Kid so that the struggles we make it thru have a reason, and a direction to give glory. (2 Corinthians 5:15)
So, if God sees my trials and is letting me live thru them, what is the point for me? What is my purpose here on earth? Do you know people who utter considerably more dismal and discouraging comments than praises on a daily basis? I do. I am one of them. So am I being disobedient? Sometimes, yes! God tells us that, “… if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 Just as a parent looks forward to a child’s first steps, so God is patiently waiting for us to learn from our trials and walk to Him in faith and reverence praising His Name.
As for me, it sometimes seems that I am an infant striving for that first crawling motion. I want so badly to go the right direction instead of finding myself in the same place day after day. But, as I reflect on the life I have led (as dreary as it may seem), I realize that every moment of praise to God was a getting ready to walk moment. From catching a glint of His grace for allowing me to hear again (after loads of internal ear issues as a young child), fighting with Him over whether to attend college or the coast guard, and the weeklong discussion about who REALLY owns my son – and in the end finding the strength to devote him wholly back to his Heavenly Father (who can take better care of him than I). Every one of these was steps to seeing another piece of who God is. It's not easy. But the effort is worth the reward.
So not only do I believe that He sees my struggles, and cares about them immensely; but also that He has my best in mind at all times, and can see further than I can into the future He has created for me.
This year, I believe, He is revealing a piece of that future, and I am joyful that He has given me the “heads up” to the possibilities this year will bring.
You just gotta "Give, Give, Get!"Give up your junk – God has blessings to give you, but your hands are too full to carry anymore!!
Give glory – Keeping your thoughts in the light with God, keeps you prepared for purification, and in turn gives you more to give glory to Him for!
Get answers – Learn from trials the 1st time - you'll be better prepared for what God has in store for you next.
Looking at "The Good"
My husband came home last night from his philosophy class, with an interesting question that I contemplated for a couple days... "If everyone knew what 'good' is, would anyone NOT work as hard as they could to obtain it?" Let’s think about it: everyone in America knows that it is bad to eat fast food and be sedentary. We have all heard about people who have changed their lives with diet and exercise, and therefore see the "good" in their life, and know it to be truthful; but still most of us aren’t willing to change. So what is "knowing good"? I believe each and every one of us has to experience it in our own lives. We must taste it, smell it, touch it, and in turn be touched by it in such a way that we never again want to stray.
For instance, this year begins with the 15th+ diet I have started in my lifetime. Why have I started and stopped so many times? I never tasted that bit of victory that made it worth never going back to my old lifestyle and eating habits. This however is different. I have now lost 9 pounds in 11 days. I have tasted the “good”! Although I HATE counting calories, fat, carbs, and fiber; making my body sweat and still striving to fight harder, and not having the time to sit and do nothing all day. BUT I have felt the joy of “relaxed fit” jeans being relaxed, of being able to take the stairs without groaning, and feeling the lack of exhaustion by the afternoons.
Today, January 16th, only 2 weeks and 3 days into the New Year, God has given me a sense of hope, immeasurable courage, and the strength to reach the goal called "good". To quit now would be foolish and irrational.
Luke 9:62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Stand strong! See the good. Taste it. Feel it. Run toward it and strive for it with all you are worth, not straying from the path you have been chosen to travel.
2009 can rock, if we let God work his plan thru us!
For instance, this year begins with the 15th+ diet I have started in my lifetime. Why have I started and stopped so many times? I never tasted that bit of victory that made it worth never going back to my old lifestyle and eating habits. This however is different. I have now lost 9 pounds in 11 days. I have tasted the “good”! Although I HATE counting calories, fat, carbs, and fiber; making my body sweat and still striving to fight harder, and not having the time to sit and do nothing all day. BUT I have felt the joy of “relaxed fit” jeans being relaxed, of being able to take the stairs without groaning, and feeling the lack of exhaustion by the afternoons.
Today, January 16th, only 2 weeks and 3 days into the New Year, God has given me a sense of hope, immeasurable courage, and the strength to reach the goal called "good". To quit now would be foolish and irrational.
Luke 9:62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Stand strong! See the good. Taste it. Feel it. Run toward it and strive for it with all you are worth, not straying from the path you have been chosen to travel.
2009 can rock, if we let God work his plan thru us!
Friday, January 16, 2009
I'm back, and a bit more "enlightened"!
So I have been away.... not because I forgot about this, or because I have fallen off the train and felt unable to write... but because I have been giving up my computer time for God. He has called me to do great things this year. He has created each one of us specifically for our investment in THIS YEAR!!!
This last week this song came to my heart during a really great sermon at my church.
"You are God. You gave Your Spirit.
You lay my path before me.
You put Your law in my heart.
I am Yours. I am Your child.
I want to do Your will for me.
To become an offering.
As I close my eyes, You draw me nearer now
To You heart. To Your plan.
Lord, I give myself to You."
It was at this moment I realized that all the scripture, prayers and thoughts I had these past weeks were pointing in one direction. To give it all up. To do everything will all my heart. From cooking, to exercise, to playing with the kiddos, to laundry. I need to do it all as to God!!! I know it may seem like nothing to some of you reading this. It is, after all, verbatim from Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." But think also of the teaching to women in Ephesians 5:22 - to submit at we do to Christ, meaning in EVERYTHING! And also to men in Ephesians 5:25 showing just what Jesus did for us. He gave everthing He had and submitted his very life unto death just to show His total and complete love for US! So I ask you, what have you done this week to show that same dedication to your "job" as a messenger of His -- for Him, for your family or friends, for a stranger?
Think about it!
Go outside your box today! Leave the comfort of "regularity" and "normal".
You can do it!
Go for it in 2009!
This last week this song came to my heart during a really great sermon at my church.
"You are God. You gave Your Spirit.
You lay my path before me.
You put Your law in my heart.
I am Yours. I am Your child.
I want to do Your will for me.
To become an offering.
As I close my eyes, You draw me nearer now
To You heart. To Your plan.
Lord, I give myself to You."
It was at this moment I realized that all the scripture, prayers and thoughts I had these past weeks were pointing in one direction. To give it all up. To do everything will all my heart. From cooking, to exercise, to playing with the kiddos, to laundry. I need to do it all as to God!!! I know it may seem like nothing to some of you reading this. It is, after all, verbatim from Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." But think also of the teaching to women in Ephesians 5:22 - to submit at we do to Christ, meaning in EVERYTHING! And also to men in Ephesians 5:25 showing just what Jesus did for us. He gave everthing He had and submitted his very life unto death just to show His total and complete love for US! So I ask you, what have you done this week to show that same dedication to your "job" as a messenger of His -- for Him, for your family or friends, for a stranger?
Think about it!
Go outside your box today! Leave the comfort of "regularity" and "normal".
You can do it!
Go for it in 2009!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Another day...
So. How is it going you ask? Pretty well considering I have been home for about 50% of the last 48 hours. I have been all over town doing errands and.. you guessed it... not eating my snacks. It seems like the only time I was home was to get something healthy in me. Not that it has been perfect, but I am proud of my self. Here are my daily totals for yesterday and today:
Monday: 1095 Calories, 44g fat, 8 sat.fat, 195 carb, 18 fiber, 53 protein, and 80% daily iron.
Tuesday: 1220 Calories, 64g fat, 12 sat.fat, 185 carbs, 17 fiber, 49 protein, 78% iron.
So with all that in mind, I am doing well with Cal, fat/satfat, and carbs. Need a bit more Fiber, but excitedly right in the zone on protein. Iron is still low, and I just wonder if I had kept track before if I would have even hit 15%?
35 minutes of workout is difficult for me. Partly due to timing, partly due to access to the TV, and greatly due to sore back and feet from carrying all this excess everywhere with me daily. I can close my eyes and dream of running with my kids and not getting tired. Not collapsing from exhaustion and trying to make it into a game. The image is not really what I am going for, although it will be a nice change ;) I just want the energy needed to do what I am supposed to do.
By the end of this week I will have planned the next 2 steps of this year's change. Keep reading!
Go for it 2009!!!
Monday: 1095 Calories, 44g fat, 8 sat.fat, 195 carb, 18 fiber, 53 protein, and 80% daily iron.
Tuesday: 1220 Calories, 64g fat, 12 sat.fat, 185 carbs, 17 fiber, 49 protein, 78% iron.
So with all that in mind, I am doing well with Cal, fat/satfat, and carbs. Need a bit more Fiber, but excitedly right in the zone on protein. Iron is still low, and I just wonder if I had kept track before if I would have even hit 15%?
35 minutes of workout is difficult for me. Partly due to timing, partly due to access to the TV, and greatly due to sore back and feet from carrying all this excess everywhere with me daily. I can close my eyes and dream of running with my kids and not getting tired. Not collapsing from exhaustion and trying to make it into a game. The image is not really what I am going for, although it will be a nice change ;) I just want the energy needed to do what I am supposed to do.
By the end of this week I will have planned the next 2 steps of this year's change. Keep reading!
Go for it 2009!!!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Getting started...
So, it is January again. Millions of people around the globe are excited and begrudgingly going into 2009 with the question in the forefront of their minds, "how will this year be different from last?" What will the goal be this year? Make more money, excercise, diet, find "inner peace", be nicer, time management, attend church regularly, pray before every meal, do devotions # times a week, or just become a better ____________ (you fill in the blank).
For most of us as soon as the pencil hits paper, or the mental decision is made... we almost immediately feel the pang of our concience diving deep asking if THIS YEAR we will acutally make it past February 19th! My answer... I need to. Years have flown into one another in my life. At first I was newly married to the man I befriended 8+ years before. Trying to figure out how to do this whole family thing with me not being the "kid" in the equation. Now suddenly there is no time to feel like the "kid" of the family -- I have 2 more that constantly remind me that my name is "MOM"!!! How, I ask myself, did 7 years pass by so quickly, and what have I to show for it.
Not that a wonderful loving (and adorable :) family is nothing, but personally... what have I done in this time to show the world who I am? How have I shown the love of God to more than those in and out of my life on a regular basis? Why can't I be the one to reach a soul in Africa, Asia, or the Dominican Republic? What is God really calling me to? What am I here for if not to make a difference?
But where do I begin? The one thing I must admit is my lack of energy and drive. How can I change the world if it takes all my strength to drag butt outta bed? Granted I normally don't eat breakfast and linger starving and tired all morning until around 1ish. Some would call that a diet -- eating less thru the day right? I don't think you can call it that when as soon as all the kids are down for naps the chocolate comes a callin' and gets u thru till the end of nap time. Many days it seems as though my time and life are not my own.
So here I go! Into the new year. I am going to Go for it in 2009!!!! Starting with breakfast every morning. Hight fiber, protein and iron meals. And only ONE BITE OF CHOCOLATE a day -- or less ;) Knowing myself well, I have decided to start smart. I will do excercise for 45 minutes a day for 20 days. Along with the new "dietized thinking", we will see what can happen!
So here I come January 24th!! This just so happens to be a Bible quizzing day in Tigard and I hope to feel a bit better by the end of the "always on my feet and using energy for a week kind" of day. My dear hubby is in full support of this and has said he will NOT let me fail or quit. Man I love him!!! His hope is that the change in me in the next weeks will be the drive needed for us to become an amazing healthy team!
Again... this is not just about diet and excercise. Not about finding the inner me. Not about "being better". It is about getting to the place that God can use me and bless others thru me. My job is to prepare myself to be the best sanctuary for Him to use, and to gain the strength and energy needed to follow the path that He will show me this year.
GO 4 IT 2009!!!!
God bless you all!
For most of us as soon as the pencil hits paper, or the mental decision is made... we almost immediately feel the pang of our concience diving deep asking if THIS YEAR we will acutally make it past February 19th! My answer... I need to. Years have flown into one another in my life. At first I was newly married to the man I befriended 8+ years before. Trying to figure out how to do this whole family thing with me not being the "kid" in the equation. Now suddenly there is no time to feel like the "kid" of the family -- I have 2 more that constantly remind me that my name is "MOM"!!! How, I ask myself, did 7 years pass by so quickly, and what have I to show for it.
Not that a wonderful loving (and adorable :) family is nothing, but personally... what have I done in this time to show the world who I am? How have I shown the love of God to more than those in and out of my life on a regular basis? Why can't I be the one to reach a soul in Africa, Asia, or the Dominican Republic? What is God really calling me to? What am I here for if not to make a difference?
But where do I begin? The one thing I must admit is my lack of energy and drive. How can I change the world if it takes all my strength to drag butt outta bed? Granted I normally don't eat breakfast and linger starving and tired all morning until around 1ish. Some would call that a diet -- eating less thru the day right? I don't think you can call it that when as soon as all the kids are down for naps the chocolate comes a callin' and gets u thru till the end of nap time. Many days it seems as though my time and life are not my own.
So here I go! Into the new year. I am going to Go for it in 2009!!!! Starting with breakfast every morning. Hight fiber, protein and iron meals. And only ONE BITE OF CHOCOLATE a day -- or less ;) Knowing myself well, I have decided to start smart. I will do excercise for 45 minutes a day for 20 days. Along with the new "dietized thinking", we will see what can happen!
So here I come January 24th!! This just so happens to be a Bible quizzing day in Tigard and I hope to feel a bit better by the end of the "always on my feet and using energy for a week kind" of day. My dear hubby is in full support of this and has said he will NOT let me fail or quit. Man I love him!!! His hope is that the change in me in the next weeks will be the drive needed for us to become an amazing healthy team!
Again... this is not just about diet and excercise. Not about finding the inner me. Not about "being better". It is about getting to the place that God can use me and bless others thru me. My job is to prepare myself to be the best sanctuary for Him to use, and to gain the strength and energy needed to follow the path that He will show me this year.
GO 4 IT 2009!!!!
God bless you all!
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