Fighting the "Don't Call Me, I'll Call You (After I Meet Goal Weight.....)" Sydrome

I love to fellowship and socialize with friends.  However, when it comes to my weight loss journey, the fastest way to self-sabotage my efforts are to go to a party of any sort.  Truthfully, my will power is attacked at social gatherings, and as I continue to pray about it and improve on it, it is still my biggest weakness when it comes to treating my body like a temple and practicing self control.  I do better to flea from this temptation and not attend social parties. 

However, that being said, I am personally a social being and cannot "starve" myself of fellowship.  Not only that, but we are called to gather together for friendship and support.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

So how do I cope with this challenge?  First, I've discovered that restaurants can be a breeze to navigate.  I love having a menu of choices.  And almost every restaurant I've ever been to will customize your order.  I order any burger, hold the bun and get a veggie or side salad in place of fries.  Or I order any dinner, hold the rice or potato, and substitute it with veggies, fruit, or salad.    I feel like I've had a real treat and I don't feel deprived at all.  Second, I offer to entertain at my own house where I can control what I serve.  This only happens on special holidays, as entertaining is quite the endeavor and saved for special events. 

The other,  most common thing I find myself doing, is meet a friend for coffee.  I have found that I love a nice cup of coffee (or 2 or 3).  I can order a regular cup of coffee (often with free refills!).  My favorites are the flavored coffees.  I've noticed that since I have largely eliminated sugar from my diet, I can clearly, and sweetly, taste the flavor.  If I can't get a flavored variety, then I get a bold blend coffee and sweeten it and make it a treat by adding sugar free sweeteners (I can bring my own flavored stevia - chocolate raspberry is my favorite - or I can use spenda or a sugar free flavor offered by the coffeehouse). I can sit and visit for, literally, hours, without ever being tempted by any other sweets or other savory downfalls. 

Of course, with that being said, the best activity is going for a walk or shopping at the mall, however, for myself, I  find it's hard to really connect and catch up with my friends in this type of activity.   I would personally prefer a more intimate activity, which, unfortunately, generally includes food.

However, some social events I can't avoid (like Easter at my In-Laws!)   When it comes to this, I remember that this is a lifelong journey and that the big picture and overall lifestyle is the key.  I can't starve myself, socially.    That is not a life I choose to live.  I choose to be joyful and a light to others.   These social gatherings are an opportunity to test my self control in the midst of temptation.  I can't improve it without practicing it.

So.... I refuse to live a "Don't Call Me, I'll Call You After Goal Weight" lifestyle.  However, I'm kinda busy for lunch.  But would you like to get together for coffee sometime?

Get Your Party On

It's important to me to provide a healthy, safe, stable home, with lots of fun memories and traditions for my children.  The emotionally healthy, safe and stable part is complete through my strong marriage and foundation of faith.   No question that is the best thing I can provide my children.   However, being a second generation full time working mom with 2 toddlers sometimes makes the "create fun memories and traditions" part of my "to do" list, and, to be honest, sometimes falls to the wayside.  Now, the big holidays such as Birthdays, Easter and Christmas are gimmies.  I really don't have a problem with those.  I have lots of things to pull from my own past and traditions that my family gave me to be able to pull from.  However, I want to create fun memories and traditions in our every day life - and this is where my challenge lies.  Not to mention the physically healthy part of this -- in my family, I'm truly going where no woman has ever gone before!

However, with that being said, I have been inspired!  I have a friend who makes every holiday a family party at her house.  She even includes special events, such as the Olympics and the first day of school.  She is a stay at home mom of 5 (!). She creates breakfasts, activities and desserts with these special themes in mind.  I have also been recently turned on to Jamie Schultz's blog This Lunch Rox  (http://thislunchrox.com/).  Jamie makes themed lunches for her kids.  Her lunches are also healthy.  School + Lunch = healthy AND fun???  Who knew this could even be done?!  So inspiring! 

So, with this inspiration, I've decided to up my Mom Game when it comes to dinner during holidays and significant events.  Of course, added to the creative challenge is the healthy challenge!  And it needs to fit into my "full time working mom" life.  But inspiration behold.... it IS possible!  I implemented my first inspirational project on St. Patrick's Day. 

This surprise dinner party featured rainbow veggies (cauliflower) with mashed potato clouds (mashed potatoes made with 2 scoops of unflavored whey protein, cream, and some butter), "gold" a the end of the rainbow (cheese), green eggs and shamrock ham, and a coconut flour rainbow cupcake.   To drink was Shamrock Protein Shake (Click HERE for the recipe).

                      

I also went to the dollar store and bought St. Paddy's Day hats for everyone, made green construction paper place mats, and found some old Mardi Gras beads to put out.  I spent a whole $4.00 on favors and decorations for our dinner party.

For activities, while the girls were at preschool, the leprechauns came and mixed up all kinds of furniture at our house.  They dropped coins along the way.  This was very exciting for the girls to see and of course they loved collecting the coins and putting the money their piggy banks.  (a whole 20 cents!)    We also had a few rainbow color games, as well as dreaming up tales of what those silly leprechauns were doing in our house!

The most exciting part of this for me was the fact that I could still provide a healthy meal for them that was packed with protein and vitamins, with very few processed carbs.  I kept the serving sizes small (something I learned from Jamie's blog This Lunch Rox at http://thislunchrox.com/) and offered a large variety of tastes. To my delight, they ate it ALL!   And really, this was not a difficult or labor intensive meal to make.  I made the cupcakes the night before, but otherwise, the whole thing only took me about 30-45 minutes to put together.    This is definitely a challenge I'm looking forward to rising to the occasion for.  What theme should I do next.....  hmmmm....  I notice Earth Day is coming up in April.....

To get the recipes for this dinner, click here to go to my recipe blog!



What's in My Pantry?

There are a few "must haves" in my pantry for me to be able to cook (and bake) successfully on a "no sugar low starch" lifestyle.  I keep these things stocked all the time so I can successfully "whip something up."

1.  Whey Protein (vanilla, chocolate, and original)
Whey protein is called for in many recipes.  I also make some incredible shakes using it, including   whatever speciality seasonal shake McDonald's is offering - most recently the Shamrock Shake.  But whey protein is also used as a flour alternative sometimes.  I find my whey protein at Sam's Club for a very reasonable price.

2.  Ideal Sweetener (white sugar and brown sugar)
Ideal Sweetener is made of Xylitol and really doesn't have any funny aftertaste that I can notice.  Or anyone from my family has ever noticed.  Believe me, they'd tell me.  I have found the best price for Ideal on Amazon.  You can usually find it with no shipping.

3.  Coconut Oil
I use coconut oil not only in my baking, but also in place of butter.   My favorite and most common thing to use it for is Chocolate Delight.  There are too many health benefits for me to outline here. It's worthy of an entire blog entry.  Check out Dr. Mercola; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/22/coconut-oil-and-saturated-fats-can-make-you-healthy.aspx

4.  Shirataki/Miracle Noodles
Have you tried these things?  **WARNING:  You have to make them properly or they are completely gaggable.  You MUST drain them, rinse them, drain them again, and then microwave them for 3-4 minutes before using them.  With that being said, these are a great addition to your cooking staples.  You can use them as a noodle substitute in whatever noodle dish you make.  They really don't have much flavor, they mostly just absorb the flavor of the sauce you are serving them with.  I love them best with pesto or Alfredo sauce.  A whole cup of these noodles are only 40 calories, 1 gm fat, 6 carbs and 4 fiber (equalling 2 "usable carbs."  I buy mine at Whole Foods for about $2.50 a bag.  They give you 10% off if you buy 12 bags or more at a time.

5.  Frozen Cauliflower
     I do SO MUCH with cauliflower!!!  Including make all kinds of rice dishes (using riced cauliflower instead), lasagna noodles,and even bread sticks.

6.  Baking Cocoa
     I have discovered Penzy's Spices baking cocoa and there truly is no replacement for that.  However, any baking cocoa will do the trick.  Add it to a little sweetener and you can make anything chocolate that you could ever want.

7.  Coconut flour
     This is a new find for me.  It can be used as a flour substitute.  I have made cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins, biscuits, and pizza crusts with it.  It can be found in the natural foods section of the grocery store, but I get mine at Whole Foods for about $8.00.  That may sound like a lot, but a little goes a very long way.  For example, 1/3 of a cup makes a dozen .  I bought a 16 oz. bag and finally used it up after 6 months of baking with it.  1 serving of coconut flour (2 TB) of coconut flour is 60 calories, 2 gm fat, and 3 usable carbs. 

8.  Veggies and fruit
   I don't want anyone to think that veggies and fruit are not a part of our lives around here.  HUGE.  PART.

9.  Cheese
All kinds.  All the time.

10.  Meats
Once again.  All kinds.  All the time.  We freeze them so we can pull them out and whip up dinner without ever requiring an emergency trip to the store. 

As you can see, with these 10 items always at hand, there is no reason to not be able to cook every day recipes. With these items on hand, I can always whip up noodle dishes, rice dishes, biscuits, desserts and even pizza!  I feel like there is nothing that I can't convert to a no sugar low starch dish.  Hmmm.  I think it's time to start thinking about dinner!

Happy shopping!

My Body, My Temple

Corinthians 6:19-20 (New International Version)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price.

Therefore honor God with your bodies.

What does it mean to treat our body like a temple of God?  How does one honor God with our body?  In today's society, this almost seems like an oxymoron.  Our society is one that wants to worship our bodies and ourselves not honor God. I have decided to make an intentional effort to honor God through my body, His temple, and not worship myself, nor material things, through my body.  I'll be honest... this is an ongoing effort. 

As much as we are created BY God, we are created FOR God, and we are also called to be the hands and feet OF God -- to go and do what he calls us to do. 

In Corinthians 6:19-20,  our bodies are labeled temples of the Holy Spirit.  And throughout the Bible we are called to go and do what God commands, then that makes us each a tabernacle (a portable temple) of God. 

The Tabernacle was first esblished in Exodus.  Once God had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He instructed Moses to construct a tabernacle--a temple that could be transported along with the Israelites in the course of their journeys.  These were the first temples.

Exodus 25:8
 ⁸ “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."

God then goes on to describe what the Tabernacle should look like.  I'll do my own little paraphrasing because it's a rather long passage.  He commands an ark made of wood, overlayed with pure gold, inside and out.  He then commands poles to be inserted into the ark to carry the tables of the covenant law.  These poles, carrying the tables, were not to be removed.

 A temple is a structure reserved for spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice. When I think of a temple, I think of a beautiful dwelling; one that people admire and want to look inside and spend time in.    It is NOT to be a place of idol worship or the selling of goods.  In Mathew 21; 12-13, Jesus became furious of what was happening inside the temple.  He raged and overthrew tables, one of the only examples (that I can recall) in the Bible where Jesus was clearly angry.

Mathew 21; 12-13

And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer;

but ye have made it a den of thieves.

So here we are;   we are walking temples.  Human Tabernacles.

What does this look like in my life (again, this is an ongoing process...)

1.  My body will be a house of prayer.  His laws will not be removed from this tabernacle, but will go wherever I go.

2.  I will present my body in an attractive manner, however excessive time attending to it cannot be had.  I will be clean, smell fresh, and be groomed.  My clothes will not be shabby.  For me, this means 45 minutes in the morning to get dressed - from start to finish.  My dress will not be gaudy or call attention to itself, but it will be subtle and sophisticated.

3.  I will NOT sell or advertise goods that are not of God.  This means that I will not advertise material items or brands.  I will not dress promiscuously or any way that call attention to my figure and draw attention away from God, the one who created me.

4.  I will ingest things that make me healthy and strong, and I will not be a worshipper of food.  Yes, this even means healthy food and healthy recipes that can take my attention.

5.  My sacrafice will be within my actions of being the hands and feet of God.  I will continue to strive for a meek and humble spirit (not a natural presence for me).  I will strive to be last, not first, and put my own intersts aside to be able to serve others and worship God.

If my body is a dwelling place of God where the Holy Spirit resides (Corinthians 6:19-20 ) this means that, in a sense, I drag God into everything I do with my body. It's not my body to do what I please with, to wear what I want, to drink what I want, eat what I want, watch what I want, listen to what I want.....   I shouldn't eat what I want, do what feels good with it, put poison into it, and use it for things God hates. This house was bought at a very expensive price; in fact, the highest price ever paid - the life of the sinless Son of God.

My new lease on life includes me treating my body like what it really is. It's the property of God!