Wow!  Another 6 week session done.  And it’s a little like my Bible Studies, even if I have read it before, I find something different.  It is a blessing to go through this each time with a group that means so much to me and supports each other all the way.

Now, as we have moved through “Living the Lifestyle”, we will spend a little time on food again.  What,  where, and why.  Think about that for a minute.  What are you eating, where are you eating it (sitting at the table or in front of the TV?) and, this is important, WHY?  Is it because you are hungry or is it because you are bored, sad, mad or just because everyone else is?

This is when we take those five essentials and mesh them all together.  We use that Faith and Focus,   and combine it with our Food, Fitness and Friends to PURPOSELY eat to honor God and be good stewards of His temple (our bodies), to GROW in His word and to be an example by implementing a healthy lifestyle.  We are not perfect.  We still make mistakes and that is ok.  We know now that we can make that u-turn and get back on track.  We have also learned that we make choices.  Some good and some not so good, but I have found that the poor choices don’t happen as often.

So, where are you in your life?  Is it abundant and thriving or are you just… sick and tired of being sick and tired?  What can you change to make it more satisfying and abundant?  Where do you place your faith and trust?  If you need to make a change, don’t let it overwhelm you.  Determine what the most important thing that you can start with is.  Then – take one step at a time to a better life.

Pray Unceasingly!

In His light,

Lois

A Thriving Life

The Daniel Plan

These are the proverbs of Solomon…Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. —Proverbs 1:1, 3 NLT

Discipline is about creating habits. We need to create small habits in our lives that together build up into big results. These habits might be sleeping a bit more, moving our bodies, calming our minds, eating a little differently, adding a few new foods that are positive, refocusing our thoughts and replacing them with God’s Word—any habits like these will day by day shift us into a profound capacity for self-care and healing. The discipline of those small habits will add up to a thriving life.

One of the most fruitful habits we can form in the areas of food and fitness is to add joy to the way we move and the way we eat.

When we experience movement as joy, we celebrate the fact that our bodies can move in a particular way. Movement becomes an offering of our bodies to the God who made them able to move in so many ways.

Likewise, taking joy in trying a new food lets us celebrate the abundance God has created. We can look forward each day to the new pleasures God has in store for us.

Food for Thought: Small habits lead to ever greater enjoyment of the life God has blessed us with.

You know, sometimes the only way I can be honest with myself and to pull myself up by my bootstraps and move on, is to be honest and open with you and our Thursday group.  This group is my rock, my cheering squad, and sometimes the only motivation I can scrounge up on a particular day.  Sometimes, I get depressed, uninspired and really just feel like chucking it all.   Anyone else ever feel like that?

 It’s times like that when I really have to FOCUS.  It is so easy to just look at the negatives and totally ignore all the positives.  I believe we deal with spiritual warfare continuously and there is nothing Satan would like better than to pull us all down spiritually, emotionally and physically!  The Daniel Plan says our actions follow our thoughts.  So, if our thoughts are negative and hopeless, where does that take our actions?

 We need to focus on the positive.  I began this plan with the idea of getting healthier.  I have accomplished that.  I can do pretty well everything that I want to do.  The doctor is happy with my journey.  I need to stop focusing on my self-image and instead focus on how God sees me.

 It is where we allow our minds to take us.  Focus on where our God wants us to be and NOT where the enemy wants us to be.

 Pray Unceasingly!

 In His light,

Lois

Seeing Clearly

The Daniel Plan

 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. —Luke 11:34 NIV

When Jesus speaks here about our eyes, he isn’t talking about physical eyesight, whether we need contact lenses or cataract surgery. He’s talking about the eyes of our minds, what we focus on.

For each one of us, our minds create a pair of glasses through which we see the world. If those glasses are good, then we see things clearly. If they’re bad, we see everything in a distorted way.

So in order to have a healthy life, we need to attend to the direction of our thoughts. Where do our minds go automatically?

Pastor Rick says, “The battle starts not in your belly; it starts in your brain.”

Consider paying attention throughout the day to where your mind goes. When you think about food or fitness or the goals you’re setting for your life, how do you think about them?

Do you see them through a negative filter, or do you have – eyes that help you see things as they really are?

Food for Thought: If the eyes of your mind are healthy, your whole body and mind will be full of light, and you’ll be able to see everything in your world clearly.

Happy, Healthy Monday!

It is actually Sunday evening as I write this.  We are listening to the continuing weather alerts and watching it out the door.  I am so thankful that we have a warm, safe home to wait it out in.  Plenty of flashlights, batteries and FOOD if needed.

 There’s that word again.  You know, the one we can’t escape and don’t want to!  Food gives pleasure, comfort and satisfaction.  What if it becomes more though?  Sometimes, it can become an obsession.  It can become the only thing we think of and crave.

 I read once (I don’t know if this was substantiated or not) that when you have an intense craving for a food, that chances are very high that you actually have an allergy to that food.    I just found that very interesting, knowing how intense some of those cravings can be in some of my friends.

 I really don’t experience too many cravings anymore, I guess because I have eaten clean for a good while.  I am fully aware of two triggers for me though that I have to be aware of.  A tortilla chip and salsa is a little like the old Lay’s potato chip commercial – bet you can’t eat just one and the second is cheese.  I adore almost any kind.  For now, I just know I need to avoid them.

 It is so good to see a gradual move towards healthier options.  Both in the grocery stores and in restaurants.  If you are fortunate enough to have farmer’s markets nearby, take advantage of them!  If not, check in your grocery stores.  If they don’t have healthy options, speak to the manager and see if they would add some.  If you go out to eat, don’t be shy.  Ask them for what you want.  Most places are more than happy to accommodate as much as possible.

 Just keep on keeping on.  Do what you can and thank God we have the ability to do what we can.  God bless and good health!

 Pray Unceasingly!

 In His light,

Lois

10 Ways to Ditch Your Cravings!

Mark Hyman, MD

 According to a recent article in the New York Times, “Food Corporations Turn to Chefs in a Quest for Healthy Flavor,” Big Food companies like PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, and even fast food giants like Taco Bell, are changing their ways in response to the increasing public demand for healthier food options. To improve their image as healthy food manufacturers, Big Food corporations have called upon top chefs to help them create healthy menu makeovers, infusing real, fresh, whole food into old recipe favorites.

Why is this happening now? Intense pressure brought on by politicians and their constituents (you and me!) has given these food manufacturers no choice but to respond to the public outcry for healthier food. It’s no longer enough for these companies to earn a profit by selling food that tastes good.

People are beginning to use the power of the pocketbook to show these companies that the food they sell must also be nutritious. That’s because people everywhere are waking up. They are beginning to see the dangers of genetically modified ingredients and all the sugar, salt, and fats hidden in our food supply.

From fancy restaurants to fast food chains, chefs are catching on that people want their food to make them feel good, not just while they are eating it but hours, days, and years afterward.

Really, this news shouldn’t make the headlines. This is common sense! Paying for food that makes us sick is as crazy as shooting ourselves in the foot. It just doesn’t make sense.
Big Food is finally getting the message and getting on board.

But remember, no processed or fast food option will ever be better than a healthy home-cooked meal. The best way to ensure you are eating the highest quality, most nutritious food possible is to prepare your own food in your own kitchen. We are all chefs. You don’t have to be trained at Le Cordon Bleu to know your way around a kitchen. You just need a little knowledge, some imagination, and a sense of adventure.

A desire for real food is a fundamental part of our basic biological blueprint. Given the chance, our taste receptors will naturally gravitate toward the inherent sweetness found in vegetables, fruits, and even nuts and seeds.

So, how do you reprogram your taste buds to ditch the cravings for sugar, salt, and fats? You can start by eating real, fresh, whole foods. Avoid fake, commercialized foods that come in convenience packages or are made in a lab.

Here are 10 more tips to get you excited about ditching the sugar, salt, and fats:

Sauté or roast your veggies to bring out their natural sweetness. Properly searing your chicken or meat brings out the inherent sweetness by way of the Maillard reaction. This is a fancy name for what happens when you create that nice, brown crust on your meat. Want more cooking tips like this? Check out The Blood Sugar Solution Cookbook!

 Play with herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill, basil, and oregano to add flavor and phytonutrients! Finish a meal by adding fresh herbs before plating or serving. This last-minute addition kicks the flavor up a notch!

 Healthy fats found in avocado, coconut, and tahini not only increase the flavor of your meal, they also add that creamy, luscious texture found in many rich foods. See for yourself just how healthy and tasty desserts can be by trying this amazing Avocado Gelato!

 Try creating a savory, umami (Japanese for “delicious”) flavor. Add moderate amounts of tamari, umeboshi plum paste, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, dried mushroom, or sea vegetables to your next stew, soup, sauce, or stir-fry.

 Cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and even cayenne or chipotle pepper powder are all extremely flavorful additions to a meal. Spices like these excite your taste buds and grab your attention. This is helpful, because, as studies show, when we are focused on actually tasting our food rather than mindlessly gobbling it up, we actually need less food to feel satisfied.

 Befriend some kitchen must-haves like real vanilla extract or vanilla bean or coconut butter. Or use common, every-day foods like lemons in some creative ways. For example, use lemon zest to add real zing to any meal!

 For the most flavor, eat seasonally and locally. Canned or packaged foods or foods that have traveled great distances in the back of a truck just can’t compare to the succulence of a fresh piece of locally grown fruit.

 Check your hydration. Digestion starts in your mouth with your saliva, which helps us taste all the magnificent flavor in food. If you are dehydrated and not producing enough saliva, you won’t really be able to enjoy your food.

 Check your medications. Believe it or not, most medications interfere with the body’s ability to taste and smell. Some of them can even create an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth. Wondering how you might decrease the number of pills you take? Learn more about functional medicine.

 Got nutrition? Nutrient deficiency is an important cause of improper taste perception. A lack of certain vitamins and minerals can markedly impair your ability to smell and taste food. Most Americans have several nutrient deficiencies, but there is one in particular that can especially keep you from enjoying your next meal: zinc. Try adding foods like oysters, pecans, sunflower seeds, and lentils to increase your daily intake of this important mineral. Try the recipe for my Red Lentil Soup from The Daniel Plan Cookbook. If you are deficient, you might also need to take a zinc supplement. Work with one of my nutrition coaches to ensure your nutrition status is up to par.

For more ways to use your kitchen to take back your health, check out The Daniel Plan Cookbook. Get tips and tricks for making healthy and tasty meals. Learn what foods you should eat to boost your metabolism, balance your blood sugar, and lose weight.

Once again, we have begun.  Last Thursday, we covered “How It All Began” and an overview of the Essentials and covered the first main essential – Faith.

 Hebrews 11:1 says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  The Daniel Plan book tells us that “Faith is visualizing the future in advance.  It is seeing the future in the present.”  That says so much.

   Whether you began this journey in a desperate health situation, a preventative measure, just out of curiosity or because you looked at it as another Bible study, you can walk away with a new understanding of how what we put in our bodies, minds and hearts affects everything we do, think and say.  You also gain an understanding of how Faith, Food, Fitness, Focus and Friends all come together to accomplish amazing things for you!

 The best place to start a plan is at the beginning.  We need to set ourselves up for success, not failure.  I totally understand how difficult this can be when there is more than one person living in a home.  You need to get rid of the junk and replace it with better options.  Sometimes they are still not the best options, but better.  Ideally, you will have the support and cooperation of the rest of the family in getting healthier.  Ideally, you will ALL discover that healthy eating can be delicious and much more satisfying than the junk ever was.

 Are you sick and tired of feeling sick and tired?  Then let’s do this!

 Pray Unceasingly!

 In His light,

Lois

 The First Step to Your Best Health: A Kitchen Makeover

Dr. Mark Hyman

 “Dr. Hyman, over and over I find myself making unhealthy choices,” a reader writes. “Even while I am at home, I reach for something that I know is going to make me feel like crap. When dinner time comes around, I get so overwhelmed and end up making pasta or pizza. Please help me make better decisions about what I put into my body.”

Well you are not alone, my friend! This is a challenge that so many of us deal with on a day to day basis, and the only way around it is to do a kitchen makeover. Bringing fresh energy and fresh food into the kitchen and purging it of all of the foods and items that make us sick and unhealthy is an important step to making better choices and overcoming food cravings and addictions.

The cure for what ails us — both in our bodies and in our nation — can be found in the kitchen. It is a place to rebuild community and connection, strengthen bonds with family and friends, teach life-giving skills to our children, and enrich and nourish our bodies and souls.

We need to break the addiction cycle and halt your cravings – likely the same cravings that have sabotaged your weight loss efforts in the past. Why not stack the odds in your favor by removing the items that have kept you trapped, sick and miserable? Or, to put that a better way: Why not set yourself up for optimal success by making your kitchen a happy, hopeful place filled only with vibrant, real, whole foods that will nourish your body and genuinely feed your soul?

If you make your kitchen a safe zone, with only foods that nourish rather than harm, then you will automatically make the right choices.  If you fill it with crap, you will eat crap, no matter how much willpower you have.

 How to Purge Your Kitchen

Here are my four easy-to-follow steps to start your purge:

Step 1:  Reclaim your kitchen by replacing anything that is questionable with real, fresh, whole foods without labels. A fresh avocado or a kiwi doesn’t come with a nutrition facts label or a bar code or an ingredient list. The questionable items are those that come in boxes, jars, cans and other packaging. In other words most convenience foods.  It’s important to first shift your focus away from the often misleading nutrition “facts” list (which is mostly designed and developed under huge food industry lobby efforts to confuse and confound your efforts to eat healthy) and instead rely on the ingredients list. When reading through the ingredients, look for items which you don’t recognize, can’t pronounce, are listed in Latin or aren’t items you would normally have in your cupboard. Beware of foods with health claims on the labels. These claims usually signal a marketing ploy to make you think they’re good for you when they’re really just healthy pretenders. Things like sports beverages, energy bars and even multigrain breads (which often contain high fructose corn syrup) fall into this category.

Step 2: Now, you’ll want to remove ALL of the junk. This includes any food which contains added sugar, refined and processed flours and all processed foods. Even seemingly safe foods like spices and seasonings can contain maltodextrin, autolyzed yeast extract and even high fructose corn syrup that have no place in a healthy kitchen.  Scrutinize everything!

Step 3: Remove all BAD FATS. The wrong fats can wreak serious metabolic havoc. Toss out any highly refined cooking oils such as corn and soy, fried foods you may have stored in your freezer and margarine or shortening. These products have dangerous trans fats that create inflammation and cause heart disease. Scour labels for the words “hydrogenated fat” (another phrase for trans fat), which has finally been declared not safe for consumption by the FDA.

Step 4: Throw out  food with artificial sweeteners of all kinds (aspartame, NutraSweet, Splenda, sucralose, and sugar alcohols — any word that ends with “ol,” like xylitol or sorbitol). Stevia may be better than aspartame but only whole plant extract, not Pure Via and Truvia brands, which are made by Pepsi and Coke and are chemical extracts of stevia. And when using whole plant extract stevia, use it sparingly. A new non-caloric sweetener that comes from monk fruit that is rich in antioxidants can also be used in small amounts.  But remember, any sweetener can cause you to be hungry, lower your metabolism, create gas and store belly fat.

Don’t just tuck all of these toxic foods away –  toss them into the garbage! We’re going to quickly and easily replace them with delicious, healthy alternatives that will leave you more than satisfied.

Stock Up On the Right Foods

Next, you’ll want to fill your fridge with plenty of beautiful vegetables, fruits, healthy proteins and fats. You’ll also want to keep plenty of healthy snacks around in case you ever run into a food emergency. Instead of reaching for sugary, processed snacks, you can reach for nourishing ones like nuts and seeds, dips and veggies, fresh fruit and more.

Step 1: Focus on non-starchy veggies. These are things like broccoli, kale, tomatoes, bok choy, peppers, asparagus, cauliflower and so much more! Eat as many as you like! Limit fruits because they increase your insulin levels. Berries are your best bet. When possible, choose organic, seasonal and local produce.

Step 2: Stock up on dry foods. These staples usually have a longer shelf life and include raw or lightly roasted nuts and seeds, legumes, quinoa, and gluten-free grains.

Step 3: Include herbs, spices and seasonings. You’ll want to have a range of pantry ingredients, including seasonings and spices, on hand. Buy organic when you can. Because you only use a little of some of these, they tend to last a long time so you get a lot of value from them. Among my favorites include extra-virgin olive oil, extra-virgin coconut butter, sea salt, black peppercorns, and seasonings and spices like oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic and more. Just read all of the labels to ensure the products don’t contain hidden sugar, gluten or other problematic additives.

Step 4: Keep your fridge and freezer stocked with protein. Check out the Environmental Working Group’s “Meat Eater’s Guide” to choose meat that’s good for you and good for the planet. Optimal protein choices include: boneless, skinless chicken and turkey breasts; ground chicken and turkey; grass-fed beef, lamb and bison; pastured omega-3 eggs; whole forms of non-GMO soy food like tofu, tempeh and gluten-free miso; and wild seafood like sardines, salmon, herring, flounder, clams and more. Avoid those fish that are high in mercury such as tuna, swordfish and Chilean sea bass.

Step 5: Get Inspired. It’s easy to just say, I’ll buy tons of veggies and some fruit and healthy meats and fats, but what are you going to do with all of that food? Well, my new book, Eat Fat, Get Thin Cookbook not only goes through a step-by-step guide of how to reclaim your kitchen, but it features over 175 mouth-watering recipes to help you get healthy and stay healthy. I’ve included breakfast dishes, smoothies, some vegan meals, plenty of options for lunch and dinner, and even desserts!

 Eating food that is good for you is not about feeling deprived. If you choose the right foods and the right recipes, you can reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle without feeling denied.

To my dear friends, who have stuck with me throughout this journey:

It’s Christmas… the season of love, joy, reflection and Christmas music!  I really love music that affects me and makes me feel a strong connection to the words.  Two songs that do this are “Mary Did You Know” for Christmas and another favorite, “He’s Alive” at Easter.

Have you ever sat down, closed your eyes and let the words of either of these songs just permeate your heart?  Mary, just a young girl, knew her baby boy was very special, but could she possibly have really understood that her baby was sent to save the world?  She knew she was chosen by God to give birth to this very special baby, but could she possibly have understood the magnitude of what was to come?  And the pain that would come with it?

As I read these lyrics, I am nearly overwhelmed.  What if, when you kissed your baby, you knew you kissed the face of God? That after giving so much in His short time, He would make the ultimate sacrifice?

“He’s Alive” is really the natural progression from “Mary Did You Know”.   The Son of God was born, He died and He arose again.  It was the culmination of God’s plan.  And Mary saw it all. As the nails were pounded into His hands and feet, there is no doubt in my mind that she felt every blow.

If you have a few minutes, just sit down, close your eyes and listen to the words.  If you can’t listen, take a deep breath and read these lyrics and really let them sink in.  Imagine the magnitude of what took place and then put that together with the true celebration of Christmas.

Merry Christmas, God Bless you and Pray Unceasingly!

In His light,

Lois

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God

Mary did you know, Mary did you know, Mary did you know

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am

Mary did you know, Mary did you know, Mary did you know

“Mary Did You Know” Written by Mark Lowry, Music by Buddy Greene