Chocolate

"I'd give up chocolate, but I'm not a quitter!"

I saw this hanging on the wall of a writer's office

in a blog post this morning.

Kind of says what's on my mind this morning.

I DO need to cut back to a sane amount, though.

Moderation in ALL things.

Little Foxes

Oh, how I HOPE you can read this!
Especially the paragraph that starts with "Compromise....")
 It's those darned "little foxes"!

I know what some of mine are,

and I'm "on" them today!

(This is a page from More Precious than Silver: 366 Daily Devotional Readings,

by Joni Eareekson Tada.)

The Thing about Inspiration

Have you noticed?  

There's SO much GREAT inspiration out there

that it's possible to be "hooked" on inspiration 

and never actually change ourselves?

 (I was going to copy/paste an example....

but it was too large & I couldn't make it fit.

But you've seen 'em.  Those clever pictures and quotations...)

They're REALLY good,

but at some point you have to leave the pep rally 

and start the game--
and STAY in the game!

Fish

Fish.  I don't catch 'em.  I don't like to "fix" 'em.  

But I like to eat 'em.

Especially grilled or broiled or baked.

We've eaten out a lot lately.

Two times this week, I've enjoyed Cracker Barrel's 

grilled lemon pepper trout.

With a baked sweet potato.

And a house salad.

And a biscuit with real butter.

I think their tartar sauce is tops, too.

Maybe that's why I've lost another pound this week...

Do YOU eat a lot of fish?

My State-of-Heart

If you aren't a regular reader of my Life and Godliness blog,
I invite you to today's post.

In it you will find my current State-of-Heart.
Wishing everyone on the journey to health
and a Happy New Year (a few days late).
I've been spending a lot of time getting acquainted
with my new "SmartPhone"!

Just Because....

 Breakfast is included in the price of rooms at Heritage Inn

this weekend.

 Just look at all the things we don't have to eat just because they're available!

 (I STILL have a hard time remembering it's not necessary to eat things

 just because they're offered, are part of the package price, 

 or even because they are healthier than other choices!

Plain and simply, my "window" for eating is not open.

Seeds of discipline produce a harvest of strength. Keep planting them daily.

(from Motivation to Live Well in my sidebar).

Hope & Help for the Holidays

The "title" of my blog REALLY comes into play during the Holiday Season, I'm noticing!

Each of the three words/concepts seems to take on a WHOLE 'nother dimension when sharing the house and mealtimes with additional people - of all ages, sizes, needs and preferences.  For today, I'm working on LOVE while giving up some POWER
 and maintaining SELF-CONTROL. 
(Can anyone relate????)

This is challenging,

but I can and WILL do it

with the help of God.

Holiday Appetites

In anonymous: Jesus' hidden years and yours, by Alicia Britt Chole, these words grabbed me last night as I read them.  How I needed them!  Particularly in this holiday season with its appeal to my appetite!

The second thieving rationalization that causes us to underestimate temptation in the area of appetite...says, It is better than...

In this lie, we abdicate our responsibility to discipline our appetite by convincing ourselves that what we are doing is the "lesser of two evils."  So we listen in silence to a slanderous rumor, but at least we did not start it.  We punish someone repeatedly in our thoughts, but at least we are not doing it with our fists.  We fantasize about impurity privately, but at least we are not engaging in it physically.

This kind of reasoning almost makes it seem as though we are doing God a favor by sinning, as though he should be satisfied or even proud that we are not doing something worse.  But when tempted in the layer of appetite, the question we need to ask ourselves is not, What is this better then?  but "What is this feeding?"  Whatever we feed will live to tempt us another day.

How ABOUT that last line?  

Whatever we feed will live to tempt us another day.

By the way, the FIRST "thieving rationalization" is 

"it is just until....."

as if today doesn't really count or that we will deal with the issue later.

"Today always counts," she writes.

"If we fail to deal with issues today, they will deal with us tomorrow."

Scaling Back

 Yesterday I wore the SAME skirt I was wearing in the sidebar picture a few years ago.

That was one of my goals, and I've achieved it.

Today (and the past week or so) the challenge to live 

with intention and will to eat well and wisely looms large!

VERY large.

I am leaning heavily on my bathroom scale

to keep me on track while everything around me says,

"Take!  Eat!"

(Weren't those the words of the serpent to Eve in the garden????)

So for awhile, I will weigh daily while rejoicing in the freedom and success that

Fast-5 eating has brought to me in 2012.

How are YOU doing?

A recent splurge - and dream come true!

Let the Good Times Roll!

The first of several Christmas parties and events happened last week.  We enjoyed a buffet meal and Christmas show at Bear Creek Farms (outside of Geneva, IN).   The weather was beautiful; we strolled outside and around gift shops, etc. between meal and show.

Once again, the Fast-5 eating plan was PERFECT for the day.  I simply switched snack and meal, enjoying a couple slices of a pear earlier in the afternoon and eating small portions of most anything I wanted at buffet-time!  I chose an apple/walnut dessert with a scoop of vanilla icecream on top to finish the meal.

I LOVE this season and, thanks to a decision last February, I can fit into several outfits hanging in my closet waiting for festive occasions such as these!

. 

Calorie Calculator - Check It Out

SO helpful - 

this Calorie Calculator!

I was directed there by someone on the Fast-5 facebook page.

It gives some quick and helpful information about how many calories

are necessary for weight loss, maintenance, etc.

based on personal information you enter.

Check it out!

Doing What I Can...

He knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive. 

Do what you can. 

One day He will fling it on the scrap-heap & give you a new one. 

 (C.S. Lewis)

Thanksgiving 2012

My first Thanksgiving meal while enjoying the Fast 5 lifestyle!

Nothing was off limits.  Turkey & stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes,

cranberry cream salad, cheesy hot veggies, rolls, and pies!

Lots of pies.

Two of my siblings and their husbands, 3 nieces & nephews,

 my mother and father at the table...

 Our meal was followed by aThanksgiving Trivia Quiz & Game Time.

 (We're great at table games!)

Counting my weight loss and health as MAJOR blessings this year

and praying the same for anyone who reads this.

Vacation Choices

The Fast-5 Lifestyle was ideal for our week's vacation!  I even lost a pound!  When the mealtimes of others were outside my "eating window",  I enjoyed a glass of water or cup of coffee along with the table company and conversation.   At restaurants, I chose salmon or fish.  On the train, I snacked on a Braeburn apple and some almonds.  Food just was not the focus - which meant more time and attention to spend on people and experiences.

Fast-5 = No food off limits.  How weird is that?
Fast-5 = Eating only during a 5-hour "window".

Have Your Cake & Eat It, Too!

Pumpkin Roll!

If you take two steps forward and one step back, you’re still getting someplace.
Don't give up the moment you slip up. Press on!  

This quote in Motivation to Live Well today came at a very good time for me.  I DID slip up a time or two this past week.  Sugar IS my nemesis!  A discussion about this with Myra earlier this week helped strengthen my resolve to control my intake of sugar.  I am determined to maintain the weight I am currently enjoying if I have to write and remind myself here EVERY week!

That being said, I DID enjoy a piece (or two) of the pumpkin roll I purchased from my favorite Amish baker and served at a small gathering we hosted Saturday night.  I ate it during my Fast-5 "window--so counted myself successful while enjoying a special treat.  Just proof that you CAN have your cake and eat it, too!