I have to change my original title of my blog. Gluten is going to be taken out. I did not realize what gluten really was and I did not know it was in EVERYTHING. So I'm sticking to keeping out wheat, sugar and dairy. I have been looking into organic foods and doing a little research on how to eat the healthiest. When I feel the need I will be doing a detox to fully clean out my body and then the next step will be to live as organically as possible. But, I feel like this present diet is supposed to be 90 days. I will decide what the next step is at that point.
Tonight, I asked myself a question. Am I ready to say to Jesus that I will do whatever it takes to see Him move on earth? Will I do whatever it takes to seek Him? He has provoked me to ask the questions because He wants me to know that I will. He already knows I will do whatever it takes. But He wants to expose me to myself. Sounds a little weird right? Well, God is the One who created me and knows who He created me to be. I'm still in the process of discovering that for myself.
Before I answer that, my human nature wants to know what it's actually going to cost me. What are the terms, God? He won't answer of course. He answers in the midst of the situation. "Hey Precious, this is happening, you're desperate. Still wanna see Me? Still want My power? Still wanna see revival?" I have a taste of desperation. Fear holds me back. I don't accept that. I WON'T accept that. God knows me, He loves me, He has created me. He is the closest anyone can ever be to me. He will take care of me. I can have all the blessings taken away from me and He will never change. Fear of man, fear of poverty, fear of shame, fear of pride BE GONE.
WHATEVER IT TAKES...as long as You are by my side.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Day 24
I have lost 9 pounds so far. Since I was my heaviest (last summer) I have lost 25 pounds. Success! Of course, like I have said before, that was never the goal. No matter what, I look at myself in the mirror and feel confident about the way I look.
Yesterday I had a conversation with a good friend. We were talking about losing weight and she made me realize something. After my parents got divorced and 2 years later when they both got remarried I gained a good amount of weight. So now, I'm carrying around pain and depression physically on my body. I'm done with it. I want to get rid of it. This is my secondary motivation. I just need to step into another stage of healing. God is good and doesn't make us do more than what we can handle.
Yesterday I had a conversation with a good friend. We were talking about losing weight and she made me realize something. After my parents got divorced and 2 years later when they both got remarried I gained a good amount of weight. So now, I'm carrying around pain and depression physically on my body. I'm done with it. I want to get rid of it. This is my secondary motivation. I just need to step into another stage of healing. God is good and doesn't make us do more than what we can handle.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Day 17
I haven't talked about the kind of food I've been eating. That is how this blog started, so I'll update about that.
It has been fairly simple to think of meals. I thought this diet would be extremely difficult but staying away from wheat, sugar and dairy just forces me to eat more veggies, rice, soy milk, beans, etc. I have found enough good substitutes for crackers, milk, noodles and bread that I am satisfied. My mom and step dad are fabulous at putting a bunch of ingredients together and coming up with amazing meals so I steal a lot of their food.
I have cheated on this diet a lot this week, especially the weekend. My friend brought over cake balls. I couldn't pass those up! I went to a baby shower and had a ton of mini bagels with pumpkin cream cheese. I have snacked on the brownies left over from my little sister's surprise party. The good thing is that it has never gotten out of control. Before, I would start and not stop when I cheated. Now it's here and there, and I always resolve to hop back on the train. Plus, if this is a lifestyle, nothing changes even if I have an "oops" moment. It's not about the failure, it's about what you do after the failure.
Now on to the spiritual side of things. Like I have said before, this diet has cleared my mind and allowed me to hear God much easier. I have the energy to counsel like I know I am gifted to. I have been so depressed in the past that I needed counseling and was not a good listener. Now I can do what I know I am called to do. Also, I am in the middle of the grieving process for a friendship. I didn't think I needed to grieve but I guess I was in the denial stage! I have to let go of what was good about it and what I wanted it to be in the future. I have lived in the past and the future too much. The past is done, the future is unknown. I have to face what is now. The friendship is over. I have to get over it. The good thing is, it's not an actual death. God can revive it if it is in His plan to. I have to give it to Him, allow Him to work in me and trust that God will work in him.
I was thinking today about the excitement I still have when I hear God speak to me. I never want that to change. I love that His heart will always beat faster when I spend time with Him. I have loved God for almost 20 years and my feelings continue to grow. He continues to draw me closer day after day, moment by moment. He expands my capacity to love Him so when I think I can't love Him anymore, He stretches me a little more and I realize I have so far to go. I love it. I wouldn't trade this life for anything.
It has been fairly simple to think of meals. I thought this diet would be extremely difficult but staying away from wheat, sugar and dairy just forces me to eat more veggies, rice, soy milk, beans, etc. I have found enough good substitutes for crackers, milk, noodles and bread that I am satisfied. My mom and step dad are fabulous at putting a bunch of ingredients together and coming up with amazing meals so I steal a lot of their food.
I have cheated on this diet a lot this week, especially the weekend. My friend brought over cake balls. I couldn't pass those up! I went to a baby shower and had a ton of mini bagels with pumpkin cream cheese. I have snacked on the brownies left over from my little sister's surprise party. The good thing is that it has never gotten out of control. Before, I would start and not stop when I cheated. Now it's here and there, and I always resolve to hop back on the train. Plus, if this is a lifestyle, nothing changes even if I have an "oops" moment. It's not about the failure, it's about what you do after the failure.
Now on to the spiritual side of things. Like I have said before, this diet has cleared my mind and allowed me to hear God much easier. I have the energy to counsel like I know I am gifted to. I have been so depressed in the past that I needed counseling and was not a good listener. Now I can do what I know I am called to do. Also, I am in the middle of the grieving process for a friendship. I didn't think I needed to grieve but I guess I was in the denial stage! I have to let go of what was good about it and what I wanted it to be in the future. I have lived in the past and the future too much. The past is done, the future is unknown. I have to face what is now. The friendship is over. I have to get over it. The good thing is, it's not an actual death. God can revive it if it is in His plan to. I have to give it to Him, allow Him to work in me and trust that God will work in him.
I was thinking today about the excitement I still have when I hear God speak to me. I never want that to change. I love that His heart will always beat faster when I spend time with Him. I have loved God for almost 20 years and my feelings continue to grow. He continues to draw me closer day after day, moment by moment. He expands my capacity to love Him so when I think I can't love Him anymore, He stretches me a little more and I realize I have so far to go. I love it. I wouldn't trade this life for anything.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Day 11
Today I weighed myself. I have lost 6 pounds so far! I have never been so stoked to lose that little cause I've lost a lot more weight in this amount of time with other diets and exercise but after I see the good results I slow down usually. Now, I'm starting strong and ending strong. That's the plan anyway!
Every time I call it a diet, I hesitate. I hate what connotation it brings. But someone told me to look up the greek origin of the word. The greek origin is daiata (I think) and it means "way of life." I will now proudly call it a diet! And it encompasses every part of this journey, mind, body, spirit.
I tend to ramble if I write while watching a movie, which is what I'm doing right now. State of Play. Hello Russell Crowe....anyway...
Today I was playing with silly putty while tutoring one of my little kiddos and I hit a metaphor. When you work hard at molding silly putty, it gets harder the harder and faster you work at it. When you relax and slow down the silly putty just melts. It may not turn out the way you want it to and it doesn't stay the way you want it to but it's all about losing control. Life with Jesus is like that. The harder you strive the harder life is. You never actually get anywhere and if you do it takes forever and isn't worth it once you get there. But if you lose control, allow God to mold you in the way He wants to, it'll be messy, it won't turn out the way you want it to, it'll take longer but when you get there, it's all worth it. Then you start melting again and let God form you even more.
I feel like I'm at that point. I strived for six months to be what I thought I needed to be. I ended up depressed and unhealthy. So I let go. The funny thing is, I'm doing more than I ever did in my life. I've cut out gluten, wheat, sugar and dairy. A year ago, that was unheard of for me! I'm consistently writing a blog detailing my experiences. Usually I start something without finishing. Right now, life is just flowing. I'm allowing God to mold me in the way He wants me and will "arrive" at something and then God will say "good job, let's keep going" and do it again. Mold me Jesus :)
Every time I call it a diet, I hesitate. I hate what connotation it brings. But someone told me to look up the greek origin of the word. The greek origin is daiata (I think) and it means "way of life." I will now proudly call it a diet! And it encompasses every part of this journey, mind, body, spirit.
I tend to ramble if I write while watching a movie, which is what I'm doing right now. State of Play. Hello Russell Crowe....anyway...
Today I was playing with silly putty while tutoring one of my little kiddos and I hit a metaphor. When you work hard at molding silly putty, it gets harder the harder and faster you work at it. When you relax and slow down the silly putty just melts. It may not turn out the way you want it to and it doesn't stay the way you want it to but it's all about losing control. Life with Jesus is like that. The harder you strive the harder life is. You never actually get anywhere and if you do it takes forever and isn't worth it once you get there. But if you lose control, allow God to mold you in the way He wants to, it'll be messy, it won't turn out the way you want it to, it'll take longer but when you get there, it's all worth it. Then you start melting again and let God form you even more.
I feel like I'm at that point. I strived for six months to be what I thought I needed to be. I ended up depressed and unhealthy. So I let go. The funny thing is, I'm doing more than I ever did in my life. I've cut out gluten, wheat, sugar and dairy. A year ago, that was unheard of for me! I'm consistently writing a blog detailing my experiences. Usually I start something without finishing. Right now, life is just flowing. I'm allowing God to mold me in the way He wants me and will "arrive" at something and then God will say "good job, let's keep going" and do it again. Mold me Jesus :)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Day 10
I forgot to mention what ended up happening with the car break-in. The day after it happened, the police found all of my cards: debit, credit, gift, ID and social security. I was floored! Especially cause I didn't have to figure out how to figure out the social security thing. I was very thankful that I got those things back but there were still some things I missed. I loved my hemp lotion and berts beeswax chapstick. So one day I prayed, and told Jesus that it would be awesome if I got those back. Guess what? The next day the police station called and told me they found my purse and the rest of the contents of my purse. Including my chapstick and lotion! So I have closure.
As far as food, I've been a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I have cheated a few times. On Saturday I stopped by a friend's house and her husband offered to make me dinner. Part of it was pasta. I had decided before I even started the diet that if anyone offered me food, I wouldn't turn it down. Plus, it was chicken parmesan...VERY GOOD! So I ate it. I didn't feel the best after eating it, but it might have been cause I ate it too fast. Yesterday my sister and I planned a surprise birthday party for our younger sister cause she is turning 16 tomorrow. One of her friends brought very good chocolate chip cookies. I ate 3 and had a mad stomachache! I made a mental note on that one! I also drank a soda yesterday AND today. Fail!
I'm still on the diet train though! It's all about what you do after you make a mistake, not the mistake itself. I know that this is what God wants me to do and if I fall and stay down I have done a great diservice to myself and disobeyed what God has told me to do. Failure happens but after a few failures comes success! And success happens because you have learned from the failures.
As far as food, I've been a 7 on a scale of 1-10. I have cheated a few times. On Saturday I stopped by a friend's house and her husband offered to make me dinner. Part of it was pasta. I had decided before I even started the diet that if anyone offered me food, I wouldn't turn it down. Plus, it was chicken parmesan...VERY GOOD! So I ate it. I didn't feel the best after eating it, but it might have been cause I ate it too fast. Yesterday my sister and I planned a surprise birthday party for our younger sister cause she is turning 16 tomorrow. One of her friends brought very good chocolate chip cookies. I ate 3 and had a mad stomachache! I made a mental note on that one! I also drank a soda yesterday AND today. Fail!
I'm still on the diet train though! It's all about what you do after you make a mistake, not the mistake itself. I know that this is what God wants me to do and if I fall and stay down I have done a great diservice to myself and disobeyed what God has told me to do. Failure happens but after a few failures comes success! And success happens because you have learned from the failures.
Life is a journey
Not a destination
There are no mistakes
Just chances we've taken
Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now
Wake up in the morning
And get out of bed
Start making a mental list in my head
Of all of the things that I am grateful for
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my eyes and
I open up my mind and
I wonder how God will surprise me today
Early in the morning
It's the dawn of a new day
New hopes, new dreams, new ways
I open up my heart and
I'm gon' do my part and
Make this a positively beautiful day
~India Arie
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Day 5
I have almost finished week 1. I feel like I'm in for the long haul. My goal is to do it as strict as possible for 3 months and then start adding dairy in and see how I feel. I definitely feel better over all. I have more energy and I'm able to get through the day without being in tears! I am usually in a good mood which is a definite change. I am confident that this was the right decision.
I thought I had a lot more to say...However, I am a little distracted while watching The Real World DC. I am a reality TV nut! This season has many people who have grown up christian and there are half who have walked way and half who are still serving God. This will be an interesting season to study. I am truly a psychologist at heart. If you didn't know, I majored in psychology at school and I absolutely love studying people.
Doing a diet is naturally going to allow me to lose some weight which I am very excited about. Every woman wants to lose weight and I have a healthy goal that I want to reach. I would like to get half way to that goal by July 25th because I am in a wedding. It's always nice to look your best when you're standing in front of 200 people.
Update on the hair: I LOVE IT! No shampooing is wonderful. I am going to try to straighten my hair on saturday and we'll see how that goes. But I like the crazyness of how it is now.
Sorry for the ramblings on....Thanks for reading!
I thought I had a lot more to say...However, I am a little distracted while watching The Real World DC. I am a reality TV nut! This season has many people who have grown up christian and there are half who have walked way and half who are still serving God. This will be an interesting season to study. I am truly a psychologist at heart. If you didn't know, I majored in psychology at school and I absolutely love studying people.
Doing a diet is naturally going to allow me to lose some weight which I am very excited about. Every woman wants to lose weight and I have a healthy goal that I want to reach. I would like to get half way to that goal by July 25th because I am in a wedding. It's always nice to look your best when you're standing in front of 200 people.
Update on the hair: I LOVE IT! No shampooing is wonderful. I am going to try to straighten my hair on saturday and we'll see how that goes. But I like the crazyness of how it is now.
Sorry for the ramblings on....Thanks for reading!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Day 3
I'm not sure if I will actually be detailing my journey each and every day, but right now there seem to be enough noteworthy things going on in the beginning.
Last night at 1am I was woken up by my roommate telling me she just saw my car get broken into. The suspect smashed my window and took my purse that included ID, debit/credit cards, gap gift card, itunes gift card, chapstick, and other things that aren't very valuable and don't mean too much to me but they will be missed. I stayed up for about 2 hours, my step father came and helped me tape up the window, sweep up the glass, tell me what I need to do today and pray for me. I went to sleep, called in sick to both jobs, and my sister drove me around to figure out issues with the bank, DOL, and police station to get the case number. Basically, I can't start a new account at the bank until I have my ID. I can't get my ID today because the DOL is not open on mondays. I don't have money because I can't get into my checking account which means I don't have money to pay for gas, for the glass to be repaired, or for my replacement ID. My bank did let me cash part of a paycheck I was gonna cash anyway, but that was against their rules. Jesus definitely showed me favor in that situation.
The good news is, my dad is a giver and is paying for a lot of things. Also, I knew that after last night, something was going to happen. You can't go through change and standing up against the enemy without him getting very angry and wanting to destroy what you've done. So, I say, too bad, I am a child of God, nothing you can do can harm me. My God is bigger, my Jesus conquered the grave. What else is there?
As far as the diet goes, I have done surprisingly well today. This is something that normally would have made me give up and eat some chocolate. But again, I have refrained.
Breakfast: Leftover oatmeal that I hadn't eaten yesterday.
Lunch: Veggies and hummus (my favorite obviously). Meat, beans, and rice in a tortilla. Yes, the tortilla was a flour tortilla, meaning it had wheat and gluten in it but I had already bought the tortillas and my mom keeps telling me to not go insane on this diet. So I thought about it, and I decided that I didn't want to waste the tortillas and I needed something to put all the meat, beans, and rice into. I would have been able to get corn or rice tortillas BUT, no access to my money.
Dinner: I will probably finish off the lentil soup I made yesterday along with, you guessed it, veggies and hummus!
Last night at 1am I was woken up by my roommate telling me she just saw my car get broken into. The suspect smashed my window and took my purse that included ID, debit/credit cards, gap gift card, itunes gift card, chapstick, and other things that aren't very valuable and don't mean too much to me but they will be missed. I stayed up for about 2 hours, my step father came and helped me tape up the window, sweep up the glass, tell me what I need to do today and pray for me. I went to sleep, called in sick to both jobs, and my sister drove me around to figure out issues with the bank, DOL, and police station to get the case number. Basically, I can't start a new account at the bank until I have my ID. I can't get my ID today because the DOL is not open on mondays. I don't have money because I can't get into my checking account which means I don't have money to pay for gas, for the glass to be repaired, or for my replacement ID. My bank did let me cash part of a paycheck I was gonna cash anyway, but that was against their rules. Jesus definitely showed me favor in that situation.
The good news is, my dad is a giver and is paying for a lot of things. Also, I knew that after last night, something was going to happen. You can't go through change and standing up against the enemy without him getting very angry and wanting to destroy what you've done. So, I say, too bad, I am a child of God, nothing you can do can harm me. My God is bigger, my Jesus conquered the grave. What else is there?
As far as the diet goes, I have done surprisingly well today. This is something that normally would have made me give up and eat some chocolate. But again, I have refrained.
Breakfast: Leftover oatmeal that I hadn't eaten yesterday.
Lunch: Veggies and hummus (my favorite obviously). Meat, beans, and rice in a tortilla. Yes, the tortilla was a flour tortilla, meaning it had wheat and gluten in it but I had already bought the tortillas and my mom keeps telling me to not go insane on this diet. So I thought about it, and I decided that I didn't want to waste the tortillas and I needed something to put all the meat, beans, and rice into. I would have been able to get corn or rice tortillas BUT, no access to my money.
Dinner: I will probably finish off the lentil soup I made yesterday along with, you guessed it, veggies and hummus!
Day 2
Today, I succeeded in turning down apple cinnamon bread, cheez-its, and the same chocolate on the living room table that I haven't gotten rid of.
I was scheduled to be playing piano and singing on my church's worship team and I had to be there by 8:30am. I was a little nervous because I haven't been getting a very restful night's sleep no matter how much sleep I get. I went to sleep at 11pm, woke up at 7am and felt very restful. Lifestyle working so far!
Breakfast: Oatmeal and strawberries, sweetened with agave nectar
After church snack: made-from-scratch refried beans and corn chips
Lunch: Lentil soup with tomatoes, onion soup mix, yellow curry powder, carrots, celery, etc.
Dinner: I wasn't very hungry and the number one rule of eating healthy is only eat when you are hungry. So I snacked on veggies and hummus.
Like I have stated before, this journey is one of a total mind, body, and spirit restoration. In the evening I went to my friend's house and we prayed through a lot of good, hard things. Basically, I looked over this very detailed list of things that one might struggle with and that could cause a spiritual open door to negative things. I listed everything that is an issue presently. Then I prayed through each one of them, only to speak out what they were and cutting off any control they had on me. I also went through each one and replaced them with what God's truth is. All in all, a very calm, peaceful prayer time. I came home around 11pm and went to bed, and prayed through the armor of God (Ephesians 6:12).
I was scheduled to be playing piano and singing on my church's worship team and I had to be there by 8:30am. I was a little nervous because I haven't been getting a very restful night's sleep no matter how much sleep I get. I went to sleep at 11pm, woke up at 7am and felt very restful. Lifestyle working so far!
Breakfast: Oatmeal and strawberries, sweetened with agave nectar
After church snack: made-from-scratch refried beans and corn chips
Lunch: Lentil soup with tomatoes, onion soup mix, yellow curry powder, carrots, celery, etc.
Dinner: I wasn't very hungry and the number one rule of eating healthy is only eat when you are hungry. So I snacked on veggies and hummus.
Like I have stated before, this journey is one of a total mind, body, and spirit restoration. In the evening I went to my friend's house and we prayed through a lot of good, hard things. Basically, I looked over this very detailed list of things that one might struggle with and that could cause a spiritual open door to negative things. I listed everything that is an issue presently. Then I prayed through each one of them, only to speak out what they were and cutting off any control they had on me. I also went through each one and replaced them with what God's truth is. All in all, a very calm, peaceful prayer time. I came home around 11pm and went to bed, and prayed through the armor of God (Ephesians 6:12).
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Day 1, January 2, 2010
Today is the first day of my new lifestyle. I successfully stayed away from the leftover christmas chocolate sitting in my living room as well as the wheat bread that I am addicted to for toast (which I will be replacing with rice bread).
Breakfast - omelet with stir fry veggies (that's all I had as far as veggies!)
Lunch - carrots with hummus (and snacking on the food my parents bought and are sharing with me)
Dinner - amazing stir fry! My mom makes the best! Lots of good veggies, ground turkey, special sauce my step dad makes, and brown rice.
Also today we have been cooking all day long. We have black beans, refried pinto beans, extra brown rice, lentils, and many things I am forgetting. We will be doing this cooking party every week with me paying my parents for some of the food. I will be doing my own grocery shopping as well for things that I personally want.
So far, I have stayed away from snacking on bad food. I have snacked, but on veggies. I will be buying rice crackers and other food items that are good for snacking.
The end of day one!
Breakfast - omelet with stir fry veggies (that's all I had as far as veggies!)
Lunch - carrots with hummus (and snacking on the food my parents bought and are sharing with me)
Dinner - amazing stir fry! My mom makes the best! Lots of good veggies, ground turkey, special sauce my step dad makes, and brown rice.
Also today we have been cooking all day long. We have black beans, refried pinto beans, extra brown rice, lentils, and many things I am forgetting. We will be doing this cooking party every week with me paying my parents for some of the food. I will be doing my own grocery shopping as well for things that I personally want.
So far, I have stayed away from snacking on bad food. I have snacked, but on veggies. I will be buying rice crackers and other food items that are good for snacking.
The end of day one!
Living Without
2010
The year without gluten, wheat, and sugar
I am going to blog about my attempt at this. Hopefully, if you stumble on this blog, this will help in your attempt or give you inspiration for healthy living.
The reason for going on this diet is for a few different reasons. Lately I have been having some depression issues. Rather than call this full blown clinical depression, I am trying natural (and supernatural) ways to curb the depression and make me a happier, joyful person. Plus, it couldn't hurt right?
I hesitated to have the word "without" in the blog title. Such language scares people away from attempting something like this. However, it is a fact that I will be living 'without' many different types of food. But this makes me creative! Sometime in the next few weeks I will be attempting gluten free cheesecake as well as many other recipes. Sometimes they will flunk in a taste test, but there are many tasty recipes out there as well as already prepared gluten free foods like pancakes, cake mix, etc.
Part of this journey is a spiritual one as well. I do not have the willpower on my own to even attempt this. I feel like this is what I need to do and God does not require us to do anything that we cannot do. So He will be my main supporter in this! Also, I have a feeling like many things are going to be changing this year and this year will be beneficial to mind, spirit, and body.
Thanks for reading!
The year without gluten, wheat, and sugar
I am going to blog about my attempt at this. Hopefully, if you stumble on this blog, this will help in your attempt or give you inspiration for healthy living.
The reason for going on this diet is for a few different reasons. Lately I have been having some depression issues. Rather than call this full blown clinical depression, I am trying natural (and supernatural) ways to curb the depression and make me a happier, joyful person. Plus, it couldn't hurt right?
I hesitated to have the word "without" in the blog title. Such language scares people away from attempting something like this. However, it is a fact that I will be living 'without' many different types of food. But this makes me creative! Sometime in the next few weeks I will be attempting gluten free cheesecake as well as many other recipes. Sometimes they will flunk in a taste test, but there are many tasty recipes out there as well as already prepared gluten free foods like pancakes, cake mix, etc.
Part of this journey is a spiritual one as well. I do not have the willpower on my own to even attempt this. I feel like this is what I need to do and God does not require us to do anything that we cannot do. So He will be my main supporter in this! Also, I have a feeling like many things are going to be changing this year and this year will be beneficial to mind, spirit, and body.
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)