Positive Thinking Thursday

I've been doing a lot of thinking about Friends.

No, not those Friends.

I've been thinking about all the friends I've had in my life.  Growing up, I always had at least one "best" friend, a close circle of girl friends, and several other circles of friends I fit into.  Sometimes those circles changed.  It was hard to grow apart sometimes, but there was always another group of people I gravitated towards then.
I went to a fairly small school for college.  I was in a sorority, so I lived with 64 of my closest friends all the time.  I was close to people in my department and I felt like I knew almost everyone on campus.  Friends were everywhere all of the time, whether you liked it or not!  I liked it.
I get along with people fairly easily, so I've always had friends at work.  No matter where I worked, there were people that I would spend time with outside of the 40 hours we put in together.
I've always had a lot of friends, but I haven't always had deep relationships that included complete trust and unconditional love. With the exception of a few people, I haven't experienced that much in my life. I didn't realize it until I started to take inventory of the friends I've got now.
I don't fit into the "Mom" groups where friends are usually made at my age.  I don't have a job outside of the house, so I don't have "work" friends.  I am not really part of any clubs or organizations, other than a fabulous church.  In spite of all that, I have amazing friends.
I have friends who I can trust with my problems and fears.  I can trust that they won't talk about it with anyone else.  And I can trust that they will support me and pray for me.
I have friends who are as nutty as I am :)  I can just be myself and I don't feel that I'm being judged.  They "get" me.  I don't know a better way to describe that.
I have friends who understand me.  They have been through some of the same things I've been through and they don't mind sharing the burden sometimes. They can empathize with me.
I have friends who love the Lord along with me.  We may not agree on everything, but we can agree that we love because He first loved us.

So, if you're one of my friends, thank you!  I love you!

Losing Steam

I'm having a hard time sticking to my plan. I need some serious motivation.  I'm still working out 6 days a week and I'm still eating low-carb, but I really don't want to.  And I've had some serious moments of weakness.  Saturday night I had chicken nuggets, french fries, and a strawberry cream pie at McDonald's. Not so much low carb or lean protein and leafy greens.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  And I thoroughly un-did a lot of hard work.
My scale is showing my weakness too.  I've re-gained a couple of pounds.  Not cool.  I know the scale isn't the only barometer.  I had lunch with two of my closest friends yesterday.  They had not seen me in a couple of weeks and they both commented that I look like I've lost weight.  I know I'm firmer, the work-outs have done that, but my nutrition plan isn't working for me, I don't think.  I need to do some serious tweaking, but I know it's going to be hard.  That makes me want to give up.  I keep thinking I'll just keep working out, but eat whatever I want.  At least I'll be strong if I'm big.  Not healthy thinking.
So, I'm in need of some serious motivation and a better program.  I don't want a"diet".  I want a way of eating that I can realistically stick to for life.  I want a healthy way of eating forever that I know I can stick to without having to obsess over it.  That's the only thing that works for me.
Since I need to get my excitement back, I decided to re-visit the book that first inspired me to start this journey.  I blogged about Candace Cameron Bure's book, Reshaping it All, before.  Here are some more of my thoughts after reading.

As I was flipping through the pages in the book, I found something I had underlined in the first few chapters:

"It can seem so alluring at times as we embark on new projects, but once we're involved in the process, we discover that reaching the finish line might take some tears and some sweat."

My initial excitement has lasted longer that it usually does.  I've just run out of enthusiasm and I've got to think about the reasons I am doing this.  

I want to be healthy.  I want to avoid things like diabetes, joint problems, and high blood pressure that run in my family.

I want to have energy.  I want to feel good while I'm working in Honduras.  I want the energy to play with the kids in my life - including running!

I want to be strong.  I don't want to doubt whether I can do something before I even try it.  I know I'm not going to become superman, but I'd like the confidence it takes to attempt just about anything.

I want to be comfortable in my own skin.  My weight and weakness has held me back long enough.  I want to live my life without even thinking about how I look.

Those are the things that need to drive me.  As Candace says in that same chapter:

"There is a place of freedom, when the trying just becomes living."  YES!

It has become even more clear to me that self-discipline is the true struggle for me.  I've proven that I have it and I can be very disciplined when I put my mind to it.  I've also proven that it is so easy to abandon all self-control.

"Struggling for the things we get teaches us the all-important lesson of self-discipline."

What have I struggled for?  Have I seen any results?  The answer is yes!  They just aren't the results that I thought were most important.  I've had to give away some jeans because they are now too big to stay on.  I've had to buy new under garments (woo!).  People have said they can see a difference.  Most of all, I FEEL stronger.  I like that feeling.  I even dug a ditch!!!  So, I've struggled for those things and I've achieved them.  That teaches me that self-discipline does produce results.  If I keep it up, I'm sure there will be more results to enjoy.

Candace sites a verse from scripture that I have been reminded of several times in my life.  It is from Matthew 6:34.

Therefor do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day is enough trouble of its own.

Candace adds:

"If you can make it through one day, you have the same ability to make it through each day that follows."

I've done this for at least 60 days so far.  I can do it one more...today.  And then I can do it the next.  Today is the only battle I have to fight right now.  I do need to plan ahead as far as my schedule and food planning is concerned so that i can rely on a plan rather than impulse, but I don't have to actually fight those battles until they get here.

I think her lessons on eating, such as stopping half way through a meal to evaluate how much more I really need to eat, are the lessons I need to refresh myself on now.  I've been eating low-carb, but I don't  think I've been paying attention to much other than that.  What kind of nutrition is my body actually getting?

There is so much more from this book that I'd like to share, but for now, this is enough!

Thanks for struggling along with me!  Now, I've got to Shred!

Dish Soap

In my attempt to save money and get healthy, I've been searching Pinterest for natural alternatives to the expensive and potentially unhealthy products I buy at the store.  One of those things is dish washer detergent.  Now, I'm pretty picky about what I use.  I've always been a strictly Cascade girl.  It is the only detergent that got all of the dishes clean in our cheap apartment dishwasher.  But I hate buying it.
I found a recipe on crazy craft bugs blog.  So far, I like it, but not as much as Cascade.  Its going to take some getting used to.  I've tried vinegar in the rinse agent dispenser, but my dishes still seem a little cloudy.  Any suggestions?
The only other complaint I have is my own fault.  I mixed it all up in a canister that isn't air tight enough.  I'll make the next batch in a jar with a lid that twists off and on.  That seems to be air tight enough for my laundry soap I've made.

I'm Back!

I just spent a week in Honduras building houses in the mountains with a bunch of college kids.  Sound miserable? It was one of the best weeks of my life!
My husband and I, along with several members of my church go to Mission Lazarus in Jayacayan, Honduras pretty often.  This was our first time to go during March, but we wanted to take our youth minister there for his first time without teenagers.  It was a blessing for all of us.
Before we left, I really worried about how I was going to keep up with my low carb diet and 6-day-a-week exercise.  Every meal is made up of mostly carbs - bread, tortillas, rice, potatoes, chips, and cookies.  I planned ahead and packed a lot of nuts, jerky, and other low carb snacks.  Turns out, I worked so hard that I really needed more carbs.  I was just smart about it.  No chips or cookies and I ate fruit for breakfast when pancakes or french toast was served.  I also gave away all of my tortillas.  I did eat some ice cream though - and it was really yummy!
I had nothing to worry about as far as exercise was concerned also.  The first day, I dug ditches for a foundation.  My arms and back got some SERIOUS exercise that day!  The next 3 days, I had to walk a mile and a half through the mountains to get back and forth from the site.  I was attempting to lift 60-80 lb bricks and sling mud while we were working.  I'd say I got my work out.

That's my ditch!

About halfway through the mountains to the site.

I skipped about 3 days of exercise between travel days and resting yesterday.  Today I started Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred.  I kind of hate her already.  But, it feels good to be getting back into a routine.  My scale says I've put on a pound and a half, but I'm hoping most of that is muscle.
I have a lot to share about the mission part of our trip, but I'm still meditating on it.  I'll share more soon!

The Pancake Quest

I heart pancakes - all of them: buttermilk, whole grain, blueberry, banana, German, you name it!  Pancakes love me so much that they stick to me when I eat them.  So, I've had to say goodbye to them.  I may have cried a little.
Since our tearful parting, I've been on a quest for a low-carb pancake recipe that doesn't require strange ingredients and might just actually taste pancakey.  Well, I've pinned a few on Pinterest that sounded like they could be contenders.  I've even tried a few.
This one from Delighted Momma was ok.  Mine were not as pretty as hers and neither of us could get over the mealy texture the almond flour gave it.  Several of her readers commented that they loved them.  Maybe it takes time to get used to it?  Maybe I did something wrong?

Her's were so pretty!







Low Carb Pinay shared a recipe from Sugar Free Sheila (who I am learning more from) for a pancake made with cream cheese.  Well, who doesn't love some cream cheese?  I tried it and I'm convinced!  These pancakes remind me of German pancakes...very eggy. Just my style!  I just have to find some egg rings to cook them in.  I haven't tried them on the hubs yet, but I will soon!
I really can't say enough about this recipe - try it yourself!  I wouldn't use syrup on these, but I put a pat of butter and some cinnamon on top - PERFECTION!

Hers:

 I don't have egg rings, but I did have a heart one!

 The finished heart!

Family Cookbook

I saw this bucket list pin on Pinterest and I could say, "I did that!"

My mother has been in poor health for several years.  She has always been the historian and cookbook of the family.  Because of her (and my dad's) medical bills, they are always looking for low-cost, but meaningful gifts for their family members.
After making the same meals for my husband over and over again, I decided I needed to be able to cook like Mom.  I asked her to type up all of the family recipes she could think of for me to refer to.  I wanted to have her skills for Christmas!  Well, she sat down and wrote them all out on a yellow legal pad along with a few stories that she relates to the recipes that have been passed down through her mother and grandmother.
Right after she got the recipes on paper, Dad went through some healthy trials and ended up losing his legs.  The house had to be renovated to fit his wheel chair and that meant everything was packed up in a hurry to make room for the contractor.  The recipes were stuck in a box somewhere and Mom had no idea where.  Needless to say, I didn't get the recipes for Christmas last year.
Fast forward to late last summer.  I get back in the country from a mission trip to find out that Mom is in the hospital.  Her doctor informed us that she is in stage 4 heart failure.  He placed her in hospice care.  This doesn't mean he has stamped an expiration date on her forehead.  She could be with us for several more years, God willing.  It just means that there is nothing else they can do medically to treat her heart.  It will not be cured and the effects of the heart disease cannot be reversed.
Once we got Mom home and came to accept that this is where she is in life, we decided to get some things organized.  She wanted to go through pictures, make sure all important papers were in order, and feel at peace in her home.  During this organizing, we found the recipes!!!   We also found some from my Dad's mother and some of Dad's recipes too. Mom didn't feel that she could type them all up or even get them to a printer to have copies made for my siblings and me.  I took the recipes and told her I would take care of it.
A few weeks before Christmas, there was a Groupon offer for a product called Picaboo.  The offer was for cookbooks!!! I bought the Groupon that would allow me to create 3 books (I have 2 siblings) for the cost of one.  It was perfect!

I thought about typing the recipes and even cooking each dish to get a picture of them to put on each page, but it didn't seem right.  Here I had the words my Mom's hand had written that I know I will cherish when she's not here.  I couldn't bear to type her words and throw the papers away.  So, I took pictures of each recipe (with my iPhone), loaded them on my computer, and voila!  I have a cookbook! I love it and I think my brother and sister do too.

Recipes in Maw-maw's handwriting

My hope is that these books will be handed down to future generations.  These recipes bring back so many fond memories! I can't wait to make more memories with these dishes in my own home.

Let me encourage you - don't wait until somebody is gone to try to capture their memories and their perspective on your own memories.  I'm so blessed to have the chance to really appreciate what Mom has to share with me. There's nothing like your mommy!

I hate coconut

As I mentioned in a previous post, the hubs had a big birthday and requested coconut cake.  Well, I hate coconut cake and so do the girls, but it wasn't our birthday!  I decided to give it a shot WITHOUT the shredded coconut - the texture is really the issue.
I found this recipe on Pinterest that seemed easy enough to try, since I've never even thought about making a coconut cream cake before.  I had a hard time finding the cream of coconut, but I accidentally stumbled upon it in Publix.
Here is the cake I was attempting:

And here is how mine turned out:

K said he really liked it.  I ended up liking it a little too much too.  No, it isn't low-carb at all.  LOTS of sugar in this baby!  I licked the bowl, risking salmonela, it was so good!  I have only had one piece of cake, but Ken says it is even better the next day while it's cold out of the fridge.

That is one thing the recipe didn't say.  It needs to be refrigerated because of the whipping cream frosting.  I didn't love that.  I think a coconut flavored or rum flavored butter cream would have made it even better - very rich - but better.

Grapefruit...my bathing suit

No, this isn't actually a blog about Jimmy Buffett, but I can't say grapefruit without singing that song!  Anyway, the hubby is a big fan of Saturday morning breakfast and he's had to suffer through my attempts to make them healthier and lower in carbs.  So far, he is not a fan.
So, I decided I'd make him REAL bacon and REAL biscuits with his scrambled eggs today.  Oh, how I love a biscuit, but I didn't want to blow the low-carb streak again this week (had more carbs yesterday, but not too bad).
Instead of having biscuits, I had grapefruit.  I know that sounds like a really unfair trade, but you've got to try this recipe that I found on Pinterest!  While you're checking out the recipe, browse the rest of her blog - it's pretty great!

Yes, there is sugar involved, but it is a fairly trivial amount and far less than the 29 grams in one biscuit.  It probably won't even use that much next time.  It doesn't really need it, in my opinion.  I added a bit of cinnamon to mine too.  What a great flavor!  I will do this often, I'm sure...very simple and satisfying!

 

Reshaping It All

Remember DJ Tanner from Full House?  If you are anywhere near my age, your answer is yes.  She was the adorable and slightly chubby big sister on that great TGIF show!

Well, DJ is all grown up and has a real name - Candace Cameron Bure.  Her brother, Kirk, has become quite the evangelist and she shares the same beliefs and convictions.  She's now a wife, mother, author, and public speaker.  She is also quite fit and GORGEOUS!

Around Christmas, I went to Lifeway Christian Store to buy a few gifts.  I had checked out the sale flyer and saw a book about weight loss that looked interesting to me - and only $5!  Well, I couldn't find that book, but there was Candace Cameron looking beautiful on the cover of another book in the same section.  It looked interesting and I loved Full House, so I bought it - without much expectation.

As we all know, the holidays are busy, so I didn't read much of the book right away.  And let's be honest, I wasn't excited to get into it.  My expectations of Christian authors are usually that their book is going to be really sappy and unrealistic.

She wrote this to me.  Seriously, she's been watching me and she knew exactly what I needed to read to finally "get it."  I couldn't wait to get to each chapter to see what she had to say to me next.  What revelation would I experience with each chapter?  She uses scripture to show how health and fitness are Godly - we aren't made to be gluttonous sloths.  Of course, we know that, but do we act like we know that?

She begins the book telling her own story of her struggle with healthy eating and activity.  Being a teenager is hard enough, but being a teen in front of the camera is even more difficult.  She really struggled with her appearance.  She points out that when it is your appearance, or how others see you, that matters most, you will not be successful.  She went through a lot before she came to that fact.  I enjoyed getting to know her a little in that first part, but what was coming later was what spoke to me.

In the next chapter she talked about things that hold us back and keep up stuck in our unhealthy lifestyles.  She asked a question that really got me thinking - what is your conviction?  Why am I committed to becoming healthier?  What's going to keep me on track?  I was thinking and thinking about how to answer that when I meditated on this verse: Galatians 5:16

"So I say, live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Ooh...I've been so focused on gratifying the desires of my sinful nature.  Food has been my gratification, as well as laziness.  Ouch - ya got me.  So, while I'm mulling that over, I read: stop abusing yourself with food.  Oh my - that's what I've been doing.  I've looked at it as treating myself or indulging myself, but I've really been destroying myself.

So, that is where I started - there is so much more that became ingrained in my thoughts after coming to this realization.  Too much to write here...maybe there will be a few more parts to this blog!  

She's coming to Birmingham as part of the Extraordinary Women's Conference in April.  I can't wait to hear her speak and I'm REALLY hoping to meet her and have her sign my book...and to thank her for writing it just for me!  I think we should be friends now - maybe workout buddies?

I leave you with these two quotes from her book:

"There is a place of freedom, when the trying just becomes living."

"This outer shell is simply an envelope for my spirit."

Part 2 - newest blog about this book.

Positive Thinking Thursday

Why is it that I always need an adjustment on Thursday???  I guess it works well with my decision to blog about it every Thursday!
Anyway, the hubs had a BIG birthday on Tuesday.  When I first started this trek into health and fitness I told myself that I wasn't depriving myself, I was just choosing not to eat unhealthy things unless it was really a treat - a special occasion.  Well, I asked him what he wanted to do.  He didn't want to go out, he wanted the girls here and for me to make a nice quiet dinner.  He requested steak, rice, green beans, "good bread", and a coconut cream cake.

I thought that was great because I don't like coconut - then I wouldn't be tempted to eat it!  Well, the kids don't like it either, so I made it without the shredded coconut on the outside.  Turns out I do like the flavor of coconut.  So much so that I couldn't resist licking the batter bowl - here's hoping I didn't give myself salmonella.
Anyway, I grilled the LEAN steak - good.  I didn't eat the brown rice - good.  I had a few butter bacon green beans - good.  I ate a super scrumptious buttery crescent roll - not good.  I gorged on a large piece of cake - bad!
Good news - the cake has been in the fridge since Tuesday and I haven't touched it again.
Bad news - I felt AWFUL Tuesday night and Wednesday all day.  I was sluggish, cranky, bloated, and craving sugar.  It was so not worth it!  Have I been away from sugar long enough that I can feel its affects?  If so - great!  Aside from the irrational cravings, I have no real desire for sugar now. Or simple carbs, for that matter.
I have stuck to my exercise schedule, which was really hard when I was feeling sluggish yesterday.  My pace was almost a whole minute slower this time, but I did it!  I'm back on the wagon again and my weight has not gone up from that night of abandon!

So...here's the positive stuff:
1. One mistake or off day does not change my goal.
2. I can have a treat here and there, but the treats can rule me.
3. I'm kind of happy that the carbs made me feel so bad.  It helps me see that they are not what I really want.