Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind

So my intention was to do Part III of the biggest myths, but I have the urge to talk about something else.

My friend always tells me how she's not creative in the kitchen, but that I am SOOOOO creative.  Well, I'm here to de-bunk THAT myth.  I am really NOT that creative in the kitchen!

My mom loves to tell the story of when I was being a bratty 15 year old.  She told me put the spaghetti noodles in the pot.  Meaning to get them started cooking on the stove. Well, being the brat that I was at the time, I put that entire BAG (yes plastic bag) in an empty pot on the stove.  I said, "What? You told me to put the noodles in the pot and I did!"  And then my mom quickly proceeds to tell people how far I've come by adding spinach to my blueberry protein muffins and using Kashi cereal instead of rice krispy's for "Marshmallow Treats". And all the delicious dinners I make.

But here's the deal, as my dear friend said, "Vicki knows how to turn something bland into something tasty with 'a dash of this and a dash of that'".  But here's my secret.  I LOOOVE seasoned salt. But it is fuuuuul oooof SUGAR!  So, I just looked up the ingredients on the internet - where you REALLY CAN FIND ANYTHING!!  I wrote them down and put them in the FRONT of my recipe binder, where all of my other printed recipes are.  Sometimes I put all of those ingredients together, with much less or no sugar. If I haven't made the time to do that I just add them separate to whatever I'm cooking - I use the SAME INGREDIENTS PEOPLE!!  Onion powder, Garlic powder, Oregano, Paprika and a bit of Salt all go a loooong way when it comes to flavor-flave!!  I might get "creative" when it comes to adding more of this or that because the taste is just a bit off sometimes it works, but my family will definitely attest to all of the FAILURES in flavor that I've had as well. Those are times I REALLY got creative- not so successful.

(moving onto deeper things)
All of this "creativity" started when I was FORCED to find dairy free recipes for foods when my son was born and allergic to dairy.  Everything I ate had dairy. (If you know me and have been reading my blogs or emails you have heard this over and over again. It IS a recurring theme and obviously, literally, a life changer for me.)  I mean, butter and sour cream and cream of whatever soup make EVERYTHING taste good. Milk products tend to be fattening and have their very own built in sugars and added salts.  So of course it tastes good, it's full of JUNK!  Oh what society's taste-buds have come to!! And eating out is THE WORST.  People do NOT realize the dairy that is added to foods and seasonings!  I thought Chick-fil-A was safe. It's certainly healthier than it's competitors, but NO!! The chicken's MARINADE has dairy products in it!  Here's another great story. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant, seeing as my husband is Vietnamese. We ordered the "homemade soy milk". Hmmm, I thought! Now that's some work.  When we asked how they made it.... (this is good)  "We use whole milk and soy flavoring"   !!!!What The!!!!!  I CAN NOT STRESS TO YOU ENOUGH, You DO NOT KNOW what is in your FOOD that YOU DO NOT MAKE!

(moving to deeper issues)
My journey began, and still, does involve dairy allergies and there are other allergies.  But what about the DISEASES!   Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease.  So much of these are caused by FOOD and what is IN THE FOOD.  Sugar, Salt, Preservatives, Hormones, soooo much JUNK!!  I know life is busy, but wouldn't you rather be busy than dead!!??  Because, maybe right NOW you're alive and your surviving with the help of meds.  But I guarantee you, as I am witnessing first hand with my dad, your future is going to SUCK! Not only are you going to live the last of your days miserable, in pain, and in the hospital, but your family is going to suffer watching you.  If only everyone took the time to really find out and understand what is in their food. And more importantly what your body needs to function!  Protein yes, but not full of fat.  Carbs yes, BUT ONLY SO MANY and only good stuff like whole wheat, multigrain pasta, bread, potatoes - no need for crackers & chips!!! And did you know that Veggies are not only CARBS, but are full of the vitamins and nutrients need to fight bad stuff like colds, flu, cancer, soreness, eye sight, brain function, energy, menopause....etc. And although our bodies do NEED fat to function - brain function, joint lubrication, feeling full when you eat, we ONLY NEED SO MUCH OF IT! And we usually get it when we eat meat or drink milk.  We can easily get it naturally - avocados, nuts - there is NO NEED TO ADD IT TO OUR FOOD aka butter, creams, etc!

But we continue to live in a society of busyness and laziness.  No offense is intended to my awesome friend (only gratitude for giving my brain and you all something to think about and ponder on.) But you seriously don't have to be creative to cook delicious and HEALTHY food.  You do need to take TIME TO PLAN, TIME TO RESEARCH recipes, TIME TO PREPARE the foods.  I start cooking my dinner at 4p if I'm doing really good so that I can be done at 6p - I'm SOOO NOT EFFICIENT in the kitchen.  I can do some stuff in an hour, but very little in under that.  I take TIME TO PLAN: meat that I can use in several different recipes. I take TIME TO RESEARCH recipes, especially when I'm bored of burgers, spaghetti and pizza. And like I just said, I take TIME TO PREPARE my food so that it will be done in time for dinner.  I also create a menu based on our evening activities.  If we have stuff to do, I find something quick to make or I make it the night (or two nights) before.  There's nothing wrong with GRILLED chicken fingers for your kids.  And they really don't take that long to make.  You can marinate them yourself as soon as you get home from the grocery store. The grocery store even sells chicken strips unbreaded!  I usually just buy the chicken breast and cut it though. The more work I have to do, the less expensive it is and usually the less processed.

(even deeper things)
But I digress.  If you read the Bible or at least respect some of what it says, here is a verse I always come back to in this crazy society we live in:

"Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2

This world is about being being busy and lazy and giving into a society of fast, processed, and unhealthy foods. This world is about Kids being out and about, Parents being chauffeurs and doormats, Families staying busy doing sports or music.  Well, I say God intended families being together doing healthy things, including eating. So Renew your goals, Renew your life, Renew your body and Renew your health.  TAKE SOME TIME to be healthy for yourself and for your family.

No Pain, No Gain - WRONG

http://www.livestrong.com/article/557977-the-worst-fitness-advice-of-all-time/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10032012

Howdy all!

Part II of my 2 cents to the LiveStrong Article about 5 Myths

But here is my spin on it.
There are a few circumstances when I DO NOT feel like working out or even getting my butt out of my house to the gym.
1. When I have not worked out for a few days or a week or more, I DRED coming back to the gym.
2. When I'm exhausted!!  Sometimes the workout helps, sometimes it makes me more exhausted. If it makes me more tired, I know I just need sleep.
3. Sometimes after a stint of being sick.
The reason I don't want to get back to the gym is that I know the intensity that I was working before my hiatus and I DO NOT look forward to that intensity when I'm coming back! I know I can do it, but I certainly DON'T WANT to do it!  Then I psyche myself out and just don't go!  Sooo terrible.  So here is what I have to tell myself: "You Don't Have to Work That Hard!!!"  I go to the gym with the intention of doing a light/easy workout. ON the treadmill, with weights, whatever. And really, that's what we should all intend on doing when we're getting back into the groove. If you do too much, YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF!!  Or you'll be so sore you wont' want to come back or worse you CAN'T come back.

So, if you're just getting back into it or are intending to (cough cough new mom's/spring break workouters) start slow and steadily work your way up to those crazy classes or instanity workouts.  If all else fails and you just can't make it to the gym on a regular basis, refer to part I (You don't NEED exercise to lose weight. Even though it does a body good, too much of it, can do a body much bad) So be sensible in your workouts!

On a different note, be ware of getting...addicted/obsessed.  too much of a good thing can be bad. Unless you are training for a marathon, hours in the gym doing intense cardio, intense classes, intense weights can be detrimental if you are not EATING ENOUGH & eating HEALTHY ENOUGH to counter all of those calories you are burning.  All things in moderation, people!

By the way, when I go into the gym intending to get a light workout, somehow my energy spikes and I can't help but work harder. Just listen to your body, if you're tired because you didn't get sleep - GET SOME SLEEP. If you don't have energy to exercise because you ate 4 hours ago, EAT SOME FOOD FIRST. If lifting those weights is ridiculous hard, DO LESS. (but If you can do 30reps, do more weight unless your injured...I digress)

Listen to your body and do ALL things in MODERATION.

peace out--in health :D

There are no excuses except for the own barriers you create for yourself.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/557977-the-worst-fitness-advice-of-all-time/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10032012

This is a great article and it relates to sooo many people, from all the ladies who want "long, lean muscles" to the triathlete who carb-loads the night before a race.

And I just wanted to add my 2 cents!! :D of course. So, here is Part I

If you want to lose weight, you have to exercise.

You can only exercise so many hours in a day. And you can only exercise as hard as your body (or your mind) will allow you, too.  But honestly, we could all eat every hour of the day. Whether it's a frappaccino that you sip on the first hour of the morning or the pretzels that you snack on until lunch or the m&m's you snack on after lunch until dinner or the snacking you do while making dinner or the wine/beer you drink after dinner and before bedtime. Catch my drift?  The point is, if you want to lose weight, get control of your food!  

Be conscious when you eat!! Think about what you are doing and why you're doing it. Personally, my dad has been in very bad health for several months now.  I leave the hospital or his house sad and then angry and then I just want to EAT some CHOCOLATE!!  Or some kind of rich, sweet, fattening dessert, my brain just gets mad and then just wants to eat! Fortunately, at the same time, I think, OMG talk about emotional eating!!  And then, Ironically, I get mad at myself for even thinking of that since my dad's health is completely related to his type II diabetes, which was all a result of eating terrible foods - sugars mainly- whenever he wanted! Talk about accountability, not to mention a reality check.  Back to the issue, my problem is sugars, sweets, anything even considered sweet, I'm an addict.  But if I can just use some SELF-CONTROL and some AWARENESS, I can put the habit/addiction in check.

After my 2nd child, Damian, was born, I had to really watch my food intake because he was allergic to dairy. I started logging my food to make sure I was eating ENOUGH. I only worked out 3 days a week (1 hour each day-2 days strength, 1 day cardio intervals) for the first 9 months or year after he was born. But I logged my food and that was the key! The reason I'm the size I am now is because I finally could SEE what I was putting into my body. I could see how nutritious it was, or not. How many calories, how much fat, how many sugars, how many fibers, how much Vitamin A, B, C, Iron, etc.  Being Aware and conscious of what food contains is a HUGE part, I think, in maintaining your goals over the long run.  Notice, I did this for 9months to a year. I created a habit. I don't log my food all the time now.  I usually do when I'm doing really bad and need to get myself in check. (aka when my clothes start fitting tight!)

All this  to say, if you want to lose weight, look at your food. Exercise can help and give you motivation, not to mention all the great health benefits and toned body you can get, but if you're busy or your tired and exercise just doesn't seem like an option right now, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.  Eat Healthy Food and Eat it in Reasonable Portions!  (Healthier foods tend to be higher in calories). There are no excuses except for the own barriers you create for yourself.

Get the food log going!! whether it's on paper or on-line, Get 'er Done!

www.myfitnesspal.com
www.mydailyplate.com
www.sparkpeople.com
www.calorieking.com

just to name a few