Do Something

There are three preachers that I love listening to. I could listen to them preach all day every day: Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and Pastor Steve DeNeff. They all have a gift of intertwining stories and analogies with scripture in a way that makes God's message clear to me.

Today is a perfect example. I listened to Pastor Steve talk about how one in seven people revert to their previous behavior after giving their life to Christ and one in four move forward in their faith, while the rest get stuck and either spin their wheels (like a car stuck in a snowdrift) or they sit and do nothing waiting for someone to come along and move them.

I have to admit, I am in the majority that have stalled with my spiritual growth. I don't know what to do so I do nothing which is worse than at least trying to do something even if you do a miserable job of it. I think I haven't done anything for that very reason. I have a fear of failure that I attach to every calling which often stalls the idea before it begins.

So, I'm sitting in the pews listening to Pastor Steve plead to his congregation to "do something" when out of the blue, I hear a voice say, "The Daniel Plan". Over and over while Pastor Steve is preaching I hear "The Daniel Plan". Is that God telling me joining or leading The Daniel Plan study group is something I could do to move forward in faith?

I have led a Daniel Plan study group before and while it was enlightening, I didn't feel like it was particularly successful, at least not for me anyway. Nothing changed as a result of what I learned. Or did it? Did that class plant a seed?

God keeps nudging me in this leadership direction, but I keep dismissing it, preferring to stay in my comfort zone because it feels safe there. The problem with the comfort zone is that it doesn't take you anywhere. It's that place where you stagnate and stay stuck in mind, body and spirit. Comfort is the only thing being in the comfort zone brings, not success, spiritual growth, or happiness. The trade off for curling up in the comfort zone is the nagging knowledge that life has more to offer than what you have settled for.

This all reminds me of a story I heard years ago about a sailor stuck in a storm at sea, praying for God to calm the waters so he can reach the safe shore. God sends a rescue team, but the sailor sends them away because he is waiting for God to answer his prayer in the way he thinks it should be.

Is that what I'm doing? Sending away the ideas and help God sends to me? Dismissing his calling all the while praying for a miracle to help me get healthy and help others do the same?

It's food for thought. In the meantime, I think I will go with God's nudging and Pastor Steve's invitation to "Do Something" and get a group together to study The Daniel Plan!

Do Vs Done

I'm over talking about what I am "going to do." I will only report on what I've done to help myself get healthy. These past few months I have been fighting a vicious attack on my health in the form of edema and an upper respiratory infection that has left me so lethargic that all I want to do is sleep. I live in the real world though and must work for a living, so I force myself out of bed to go sit in an office chair 10-12 hours a day. I know the sedentary lifestyle contributes to the edema, but combined with a chronic cough and knees/feet that feel like they are on fire leaves little ambition to go for a walk or workout.

What have I done about it? The first thing I did was research edema, lymphedema and lipedema where I discovered that lymphatic massage may be beneficial to managing the progressive disease. So, I made an appointment with a message therapist Dawn Seigleman McKay who specializes in lympatic massage.

The massage left me feeling good for about seven hours afterwards. Good enough that I went to a street fair with my family, but after 15 minutes out in the 90 degree heat and high humidity, I felt weak and nauseous again. So, I spent the rest of the time reclined in the car with the AC on. Being sick and tired all the time is not how I want to live my golden years!

During my visit with the massage therapist, she recommended a functional medical doctor, Dr. Elliott of Intentional Living. That recommendation was worth the price of admission. I have been looking for a doctor who works at finding the root cause of health issues rather than medicating the symptoms. So, I made an appointment and blessed be they had a cancellation and can see me this week! Visits are not cheap, but I have justified the cost which I'll write about in another post.

I am writing about my journey to health on this blog because who knows if something I talk about or link to may help someone in a similar situation. Getting healthy and helping others live their healthiest life is something that makes my soul happy and helps contribute to the greater good in my own little way.

First Vegformation Meetup of 2016

Calling all vegetarians, vegans and anyone interested in the plant-based lifestyle! Our first Meetup of 2016 will be Saturday, January 23, 2016 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Marion Public Library in Meeting Room A. 

In this first Meetup we will set the agenda and meeting times of Meetups for the year and start planning the first ever VEGFEST in our community! I am excited to meet other positive-minded people who are interested in plant-based nutrition. If you are in the neighborhood this Saturday, you are invited to join us!

 

The Marion Public Library is located at 600 S. Washington Street, Marion, IN 46953.

 

Find Your Soul Mate to Lose Weight

I listened to the Chalene Johnson podcast where she talked about Oprah Winfrey purchasing Weight Watchers for 30 million dollars and doubling her money the next day. Wow! That just shows how desperate we all are for a diet that provides the magic answer to our weight loss woes. 

Chalene had some great advice about "diets" that made a lot of sense to me which is basically to find one that you can do for life! She also simplified how to find an exercise program that you will stick to. 

She called it "soul mate" exercise which is exercise that you love to do. She said to find your "soul mate" close your eyes and think about the exercises you enjoyed doing as a child, in your teens, in your early 20's and so on... When I did this exercise SWIMMING came up in every age category! I do love to swim. 

The water has always been a place where I feel light and free, but I don't swim as much as I like because I am not comfortable being in a swimsuit or shorts in public. My legs look like they are in the later stages of lipedema, swollen and lumpy. I am very self-conscious for anyone including my family to see it. 

Sometimes, I say what the heck and jump in the pool anyway, but it makes me feel very uncomfortable when I see people staring at my legs. I just want my body back! 

I know wishing won't make it happen, so I just have to get over my insecurities and dive in to become one with my soul mate!

 

Kathy G

Listen to Chalene's podcast and learn more about soul mate diet and exercise!

http://www.chalenejohnson.com/podcasts/oprahs-weight-watchers-what-it-takes-to-lose-weight-for-good/

 

All or Nothing

A few years ago I took an online personality test. It was a simple game where you predict how many asteroids you can shoot down in a minute. You could revise your estimate after each round. I played several rounds without ever adjusting my goal. I wanted to get

them all. I don't remember the exact number of asteroids, around a thousand I think. I knew I could get them all if I just kept trying. Each time I took out a few more asteroids, but nowhere close to my goal annihilating of ALL of the asteroids. Still, I refused to change the number. At the end of the game a message popped up that said something along the lines of, 'Perfectionist tendencies. Try adjusting your goal.'

 

That brain game stayed with me. I was glad to know how relentless I am about pursuing my goals, but it also made me realize that sometimes you have to adjust your goal to win the game.

 

The game comes to mind as I try to stop eating ALL addictive processed food. I joined Chef AJ and John Pierre's Ultimate Weight Loss 365 day abstinence challenge and did okay for the first three days, but I have given in to the junk food cravings every day since then.

The personality game keeps flashing a signal to me, "ALL or NOTHING, game over! Try adjusting your goal."

 

So, what if instead of abstaining from everything, I pick the biggest thing. Instead of saying no more alcohol, sugar, flour, oil, and salt, I go for the biggest one and tackle it, then move on to the next one. Alcohol is no problem for me to abstain from, I barely drink it anyway, maybe a wine cooler or Pina colada a couple times a year. Easy one to strike off the list. SUGAR is a different story. It is by far the biggest obstacle in my journey from SAD to WFPB. Flour, oil, salt... those are tough ones too, but the

three combined aren't even in the same arena as sugar.

And what if instead of saying "forever" abstaining, I break it down to the next bite. It seems so much more achievable that way. 

 

I am learning how to play the mind game. I first must have a very strong why, which I do. The reasons I want to abstain from eating sugar is a mile long and includes not only for the sake of my health, but to be a positive role model for my family, especially those who are struggling with their own addictions. I believe that if they see me overcome a lifelong addiction to sugar and junk food, it may inspire them to keep fighting for their freedom too.

 

Win the mind game. Win at life!

 

#winwin

Kathy G

 

Day 6 of 365 - Recovery 101

Five days into the new year and my plan to be abstinent for 365 days from addictive junk food blew up in my face the moment I walked into my office and noticed the chocolate toffee someone brought in. I wish there were some sort of glasses you could put on when you see trigger foods that makes it look like vomit or maggots or the poison that it is! 

Well, of course it didn't stop at a few bites of chocolate. Anyone who has been addicted to anything knows that once you have a taste, you crave more. Before the day was up I had eaten lots more processed food including three of my biggest triggers: potato chips, mac & cheese and sweet tea.

At the end of the day, I got online and checked into the UWL support group and seen the Recovery 101 picture that Chef AJ posted. Reading it made me tear up. I could so relate to the struggle and at the same time feel a sense of hope...

Recovery 101

It will be challenging
It will also be worth it.

You will relapse, and that's OK
as long as you keep fighting.

You may feel alone in your struggle.
You will help others who are struggling.

Your loved ones may not understand
but you can always explain.

You will have good days and bad days
but the bad days will get fewer.

Your problems won't magically go away

but they will be manageable.

You may not feel different at first

but when you are done you will be 

Happier

Healthier

Stronger

and Recovered 

That's why you have to keep fighting.


I. will. keep. fighting.

Day 2 of 365 - Vegetables For Breakfast

Checking out recipes from a few of my favorite plant based cookbooks - Plant Pure Nation, Love on a Plate and Thug Kitchen

Day 2 of 365 - I felt a little nauseous and drained today. I knew to expect this as my body detoxes from sugar. It usually takes about a few days to a week to get past those symptoms. If it gets real bad, I eat a few nuts which slows the detox down a little bit. I ate a few peanuts today, which isn't ideal (walnuts or almonds are better), but it helped.

Chef AJ recommends eating one pound of non-starchy vegetables for breakfast. Normally, this would be no problem for me because I love spinach smoothies, but Chef AJ recommends eating the veggies whole to have satiety. That makes sense, but I don't have a lot of ideas springing to mind as my sweet tooth gravitates towards fruit for breakfast. 

Fortunately, Wendy of Healthy Girl's Kitchen started a Facebook Group for everyone who is in the Ultimate Weight Loss (UWL) program to share what vegetables they are eating for breakfast which will be helpful to give me ideas for variety so I don't get burned out eating the same thing every day. I'm also going through my plant based recipe books for some ideas! 

  

Confessions from a Recovering Food Addict

Some addicts leave needles or alcohol bottles in their wake. For me, it's bags of chips and M&M's. That was what I wanted to eat on New Year's eve knowing that I may never have it or any junk food again. Ever. And I'm OK with that.

It's hard to know where to start this conversation. I have been here so many times before. So many New Year's Days filled with hope and anticipation of once and for all dismissing the foods that have turned my body into a lethargic blob of swollen skin.

When it comes to eating clean and exercising regularly, I have failed more times that I can count. Some of those times have been very public like two years ago when my weight was published in the local newspaper every week for three months!

If I couldn't overcome food addiction with thousands of people watching, what makes me think now is any different? A few things come to mind. First, every failure strengthens my resolve. I learn a lot while I'm trying to pick myself up and get back on the health wagon.

For months, I have been lurking in Chef AJ's and John Pierre's Ultimate Weight Loss (UWL) support group where I was absorbing information and inspiration from people who were taking control of their health. Chef AJ made a post that called the lurkers out. She said responses to her posts were not what they should be and that in order to make progress, we have to have accountability and be engaged in the process. Be part of the conversation! So I started chiming in and one of my first posts was about how strict I felt that the program was. No sugar, oil, salt, flour, alcohol or any trigger foods that are used for comfort rather than fuel.

After the post where I called the UWL program "militant" because it seemed so strict, it dawned on me that I was talking like an addict. I was in denial about how serious food addiction is for me and feeling deprived of the "good" food. How could I go the rest of my life without the comfort foods that I have been addicted to for decades? No more chips, M&M's, pizza, french fries, veggie subs, deep fried mushrooms, mocha frappes, root beer, sweet tea... how depressing. Shoot me now!

But here's the thing I have discovered as I have yo-yoed between eating clean and falling off the wagon, the pleasure of consuming comfort foods is short lived with long term consequences. For a few nano seconds I get the soothing stimulation to my brain that sugar, oil and salt provides, but what about the after effect? What about the lethargy that follows that makes it hard to even get out of bed? What about the moodiness, headaches and stomach aches? What about the constipation? What about the extra 150 pounds of flesh on my frame? What about the humiliation from my swollen legs and fat rolls that keeps me from swimming and socializing in public? Just today, I wouldn't go in a family friends house or in the store because I had on sweatpants that are too short and showed my swollen legs.

What about the rashes that appear when I eat junk food? I have no idea what it is that I am allergic to, but whatever it is makes a rash appear at random places on my body and ignites inflammation that makes me feel like a human balloon. These symptoms subside when I eat clean!

The pain, both emotional and physical has reached a tipping point, the place where change occurs because the pain of staying the same is greater than the pleasure I get from eating the junk food. It feels like the cravings switch has been turned off in my brain. I don't want the junk food anymore. It's just not worth the havoc it creates in my life. When the cravings switch is off I have clarity that shines a bright light on the truth for me and helps me see that junk food is poison to my body and my life! 

I hope the cravings switch stays off so that I can finally be free of food addiction and live the healthier life I envision that has been sidelined for so long. It makes me sad to think of all the years I have wasted because I allowed food to be my friend instead of fuel.

I hesitated about telling anyone this time. I'm sure some of the people who know me are think here she goes again! But, Chef AJ said I should shout it from the rooftops because it helps with accountability. I think it helps others who may be struggling with food addiction too. So, I am blogging about my journey in the hope of helping someone else along the way. I have always believed in paying what you learn forward to help others who are ready to make positive change. I am beyond ready. Are you?