139#

"Post your goals where you’ll see them often, 

along with notes of inspiration. Reminders are a good thing."

(from today's Motivation to Live Well in my sidebar)

Duh!

That's just about the only reason I continue this blog!

It's not so much for you (if there even ARE any "yous" out there)

as it is for me.

Goal:  139#

Note of Inspiration:  139#

Reminder:  139#    

No Vacation

This was my entree at Caffe REL - a French bistro style restaurant in Franklin, North Carolina.  Here I may have enjoyed the best salmon I've ever tasted!  It was served with  red currant sauce and chutney and delicious stir fried vegetables.

 I was too full to order a 3 tiered, 7" high chocolate cake "slab",

as some call the enormous piece of dessert.

While on vacation, we enjoy a fine meal daily and eat fruit either 

within 5 hours before or after the meal to continue the pattern of

Fast-5 eating that we enjoy at home.  

I love this lifestyle.  It is flexible, fulfilling, and fits well into vacation living.

Financially, it is pleasing also.  It frees up money spent on other meals to "splurge"

at least once a day on a great meal and good atmosphere.

No vacation from Fast-5 for me.

New Mercies

New mercies.
Renewed perspective.
Refreshed spirit.
Joyful determination.
Fresh wind.
Fresh fire.
HIS strength.
MY commitment.

"One person with commitment accomplishes more than a thousand with an opinion."  (Orrin Woodward)

Tattooed on my Eyelids

"Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you"

 (Prov 308-9). Excess can be deadly to the soul.

 (Nancy Leigh DeMoss' tweet)

Oh, my.  I should have this tattooed on my EYELIDS!
I looked it up in several translations.
Reading the full verses  is interesting.
I like Nancy's summary--Excess CAN be deadly to the soul.

Exercise - Nature's Way

 Working out(side)

 ...the way God intended it!

We've done our share of it the last couple of days.

I go to bed tired and sore

but fully aware of having used my entire body in a productive way!

Spring in my Walk

"Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

OK.  This quote that I lifted off of someone's facebook entry is just what I needed to get me going this spring.  I will quit using the cold weather as my excuse and walk.   Probably not fast at first. Just regularly and farther than to the post office and back.  I COULD wish for a more picturesque  route around my house, but that won't stop me from exercising an "eye for nature" and "vast curiosity"!

 

another word for "maintenance"

I'm on the hunt for it -- another word for THIS one.

Something positive.

Something life-affirming.

Something friendly.

Something energetic.

What do YOU suggest?

Raisin Bran Muffins

What a treat!  The dough for these raisin bran muffins can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.  I like it 'cause I can bake as many or as few as I want.  I cut the oil and sugar in the recipe by about 1/2.  Once again, the Fast-5 lifestyle lets me enjoy these goodies as long as they are eaten within the 5 hour "window".  Yum!

Preaching to Myself

She (on Fast-5 facebook page)  Ok, so I'm back. Grass is not greener and still want to lose about 25 pounds. :)

Me  There IS no greener grass - just blessed correlations between energy, effort, choices and consistency (at least in my experience).

Even as these words slipped easily off my fingertips,

 I realized it was MYSELF I was preaching to!   

Every day I must PREACH.

Every day I must PRACTICE.

Away From and Toward

"The current lap of our health journey is challenging us to reevaluate goals (more seriously explore and support the body’s self-healing properties rather than just manage symptoms) and modify lifestyle habits away from convenience and desire toward responsibility.  It’s a spiritual journey as well as a gritty marathon requiring strong will and stamina. We’re feeling challenged to care for our miraculous bodies as a test, a way to manifest faith."

I didn't ask Beth for permission to use this paragraph from her recent post 

here on my health/weight control blog.   

(I hope she is in a giving and forgiving spirit!)

But oh, my goodness!  The phrase "modify lifestyle habits AWAY from convenience and desire TOWARD responsibility" just jumped OUT at me! 
That is the epitome of self-discipline.

Caring for my miraculous body IS both a "test" and "a way to manifest faith".  

So much to think about.  So much to change.  So much to practice.

Thank you, Beth.

Help me, God!

Checking "Out"

Checking out for the week - just going on record that I achieved my goal of 30 minutes of indoor exercise without letting 2 days in a row go without... That added up to four days.  I'm feeling FIT and FINE. 

My plan is to continue the pattern next week.  After a third week, I'll consider it a "habit"!

Fast 5 Goes to California

Next Monday, my husband and I will be attending a conference that we attended a year ago.  This year it is in California!  I am suddenly aware that I'll see people who haven't seen me between conferences.  I weigh 45 pounds less than I did then.

The thought amazes and humbles me - both at the same time.  I am SO thankful for the past year.  Lessons learned. Health enjoyed.  A new "lease on life" (as some call it).

Though meals will be provided and scheduled at "normal" eating hours, I will continue to practice my Fast-5 lifestyle while there.  

I'm excited to escape the frigid weather
we are experiencing here in northeast Indiana

and hope to see some SUNSHINE.

Finally

Well, this morning I FINALLY added 30 minutes of exercise to my day. (Hangs head in shame.) I find Leslie Sansone's "Walk Away the Pounds" to be do-able at my age.  Plus it's something I can do without leaving the house or buying equipment.  However, I must say, the 45 pounds I've lost with Fast-5 last year happened without the discipline of deliberate exercise! I find that amazing.

My intention is to continue the 30 minutes of indoor walking without letting two days in a row go without it.  

Eating Out

 

 Lemon pepper broiled trout, baked sweet potato (is that a hint of cinnamon I detect?) and house salad with bleu cheese dressing.  And biscuits, of course!

Just sayin'...

Oh!  Have I said this before?

Phewwwwwwwww!

....that's all I can say!

Well.  Not quite all.  In the past, I let one incident (or day) of veering from my "diet" divert me, depress me, and derail me.  I seem to gain weight very quickly, and so after a few days of indiscriminate and uncontrolled eating, I would pack on five to ten pounds before I knew it.  THIS time, I stopped it before that kind of weight gain happened.  I woke up the next day and ate sensibly and stayed within the Fast-5 window.  And then the next day, too.  And today is Day 3.

Phewwwwwwwwwww!  That's all I can say.

Meanwhile -

...hope I don't alienate any of my thousands of followers :)