10/31/10 Overeating Is A Pain...

Article coming soon.......


"No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop after eating one peanut."  ~Channing Pollock


"Eat little, sleep sound."  ~Iranian Proverb


"No, I don't take soup.  You can't build a meal on a lake."  ~Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl)


"The inventor of soda crackers has a place in hell."  ~Martin H. Fischer


"The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor."  ~Chinese Proverb


"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."  ~Doug Larson


"Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us."  ~Peter De Vries

Let's Go Sugar Free Today!!!

Hey Y'all,

Let's skip processed sugar today and see how we do.  Let me know if you make it okay and we'll build on it!  Processed foods like sugar are full of empty calories that give us little if any real benefit while wearing down your immune system.  Who's with me?

My Little T-Tapp Success Story

In case you are interested, here are my results and Essay regarding T-Tapp's 2010 60 Day Challenge.

Runner Up Winner Average to Lose + Health Category Karen C. http://www.t-tapp.com/challenge2010/winners/karenc/index.html Health Improvements: Celiac Disease in apparent remission Chronic foot pain seems to be obsolete Chronic bursitis hip pain is so much better because of T-Tapp Stamina and energy much better now. No More constant limping thanks to T-Tapp! Allergies manageable T-Tapp, an answer to prayer…. Oh how I’ve prayed to be pain–free! About eighteen years ago, while working as a flight attendant, a 300 lb metal beverage cart ran over my left foot accidentally. The impact caused the joint of my big toe to crack. It never healed correctly. The pain made me limp. Walking, running and standing caused me agony. Before I injured my foot, I ran and walked to stay in shape. I had two subsequent surgeries to help repair the damage to my joint and physical therapy to increase mobility, but nothing seemed to help. If I was on my feet for any length of time the pain was crippling and my limp worsened. As an international flight attendant, you can imagine how being on my feet is unavoidable. I took several years off of work and became fairly sedentary. Unfortunately, being sedentary added to my physical problems. Besides gaining weight, I developed bursitis in both of my hips. The doctor gave me stretches to do, but nothing seemed to help. I suffered in silence. Whenever I would sit for any extended period of time, my pain worsened. So now I not only had pain from standing on my feet, but from sitting as well. It seemed like I was destined to live a life in physical pain as well as have a constant limp. I can’t tell you how old this got for me. I wasn’t about to live my life laying down all the time. I was in my early forties when my dear friend Barbara told me about T-Tapp and how it might be easier for me to do with my foot and hip problems. I tried it and liked it. I stayed with it for a while and even entered the T-Tapp 60 Day Challenge in 2008, but got self-conscious about my photos and quit at the halfway point. 2008 proved to be a difficult year for my family in so many ways. That year we nearly lost our business of 25 years and had to let go of 2/3 of our wonderful employees. We also could no longer afford our beautiful home and were forced to put it on the market. We attempted to adopt a second child, but our home study expired before we could be chosen. Then, out of nowhere, both of my husband’s parents died within a week of each other right before Christmas. It was all so heart and gut wrenching. It was hard to believe that Mom & Pop were gone. Add on top of that us leaving the place we called home for many years. Our systems were shocked. I started eating poorly. My physical pain compounded my emotional pain. I tried to be strong for my husband and daughter and found myself turning to food for comfort instead of relying on my faith completely. Neither was I doing anything to take care of myself physically. My bursitis in my right hip seemed to heal itself, but my left hip worsened. I couldn’t sleep on that side or on my back anymore because of the pain. I started cortisone shots in December 2009 for my hip and then my foot as well. I had limited relief from these shots and needed to come back for more treatment. However, the shots were very expensive for us with our high insurance deductible so I stopped getting them earlier this year. Finally, after much prayer, I felt a tug in my heart and strength in my spirit to get healthy with the hope of one day leading others to better physical and spiritual health. I didn’t expect success overnight, but started my days in prayer and scripture looking for guidance. I examined addictive eating patterns and made serious changes in my diet. I knew I needed to do more than just eat right and remembered how T-Tapp was so effective and easy on my joints. When I started this T-Tapp 60 Day Challenge, I’d hoped to lose a little weight, strengthen my body and hopefully help with my chronic pain. I had no idea after 60 days that not only would I lose weight and inches, but also have more energy. Even when I work international all-nighter flights, I find that I bounce back more quickly from my trips than I used to. I also sleep better at night and have fewer allergy symptoms. A couple of big surprise results for me are how T-Tapp has improved my posture and positively affected me as a celiac. I’ve had rolled shoulders since I was a child from many years as a severe asthmatic. My asthma improved and I’ve been off all my asthma meds since I stopped eating animal products regularly five years ago, but my posture still reflected all those years of attacks. It’s much easier for me to stand up straight now! As far as being a celiac, I don’t tolerate gluten well. Usually if I have something with gluten in it like bread, pizza, etc, I’m awakened during the night with pain in my legs keeping me up the rest of the night. During the 4th of July weekend I indulged in bread and meat, but I had no celiac symptoms whatsoever. This was also the most meat I’ve had in nearly 5 years and that usually means almost instant weight gain for me because of my low metabolism. However, I’ve actually lost weight instead thanks to T-Tapp! And how has the T-Tapp 60 Day Challenge helped my chronic foot pain and hip bursitis? Well, after two months on this Challenge it is now obvious to my family and myself that I am no longer immobilized by my pain. I hardly even notice my left foot anymore! I have more mobility in my hip and have a much easier time getting up from a sitting position. Whatever pain I still have in my hip seems to work itself out more easily. I’m also not limping like I used to! I am even sleeping on my back and left side again! I seem to get healthier and stronger every day. Thank you T-Tapp! I asked both my husband and daughter to share what differences they’ve seen in me over the past 60 days. My husband says I’m more energetic and have better posture. He’s also noticed how I get up early nearly every morning to make him smoothies and read the Bible together. He adds that I cook more, bounce back from trips better, limp less, and have fewer rolls around my sides and my shoulders look sexier. He also says without a doubt that if it weren’t for T-Tapp I wouldn’t have been in the waves at the beach boogie boarding with our nine year old daughter for hours on end like I did a couple weeks ago! As far as my daughter’s observance goes, she asked if it was okay to say that I look skinnier. She also added that I limp less and eat less too! So although this essay is longer than I intended, hopefully it accurately covers the many blessings T-Tapp has given my family and I. No longer are my days chained to pain and immobility. I’m standing straighter and taller and feeling stronger every day. No longer do I feel like my body is aging prematurely. In fact I feel younger. I chose to do the Basic Work-Out Plus because it worked best for my lifestyle and fitness level. I could do the exercises whenever and wherever I might be in the world with my job as an international flight attendant. I’ve T-Tapped in each of my hotel rooms across Europe and Great Britain as well as the airplane galley. Near the end of this Challenge I started increasing my workouts from once to twice a day as well as some occasional push-ups and bicep curls as I gained strength. So what’s next? More T-Tapp and healthy living! They go hand in hand!

10/11/10 Falling Into Idle Time

Well, Fall Break is in full swing for us and with it comes birthday parties, vacation, and idle time.  The least fun but easiest to accomplish is the idle time.  Oh dear what we do with those spare vacant moments of time!?  Hmmm.  Shall I exercise, find a cure for cancer, work on that Bible study or just sit here and eat left over birthday cake?  Choices, choices! Voilà!  I just ate an orange!  Oh the sense of accomplishment... even if I am still in my pajamas!

I've given myself quite the latitude in meal selections for myself and my family lately.  What am I doing?  No, chicken fingers with fries are not the new staple!  And I am supposedly a professed vegetarian sometime vegan?  Back on track we go kiddies!  Enough of the invisible calories and fat grams.  Enough idleness!  Time to wake-up!  So where does the time go during your breaks of life?  Is it unaccounted for?  Is it spent wisely?  I'm somewhere wading in the water of an uncertain current lately as if life were on hiatus.  I don't like the feeling of drifting though.  My house, my diet, and my family will easily reflect my "drifty-ness."  What would I prefer my surroundings reflect?  Perhaps they could reflect health, order, godliness and wholeness.

Okay so I just got up after that last sentence, walked over to the fridge, opened the door, looked in at the left over birthday cake and then shut it.  Phew!  That was close!  Let me go back to the thought of that orange I ate at the beginning of this article.  It was easy, light, refreshing and very orange.   There's no reason I can't make more "orange" choices throughout the day!  Don't oranges smell great too?  They continue their delightful aroma contribution after consumption by being put in the garbage disposal.  Ahhhh!

So, I wrote an article a little over a week ago about the slowing of our metabolisms after 40, but some how accidently metabolized that article shortly after writing it.  Couldn't retrieve it back no matter how hard I tried.  In essence I wrote that since our metabolism slows 5-7% every year after 40, it is of utmost importance that we choose what we consume and the activities we partake in carefully.  It's never been more important!  I'm 46, soon to be 47 so that means my metabolism is how much slower???? Oh, how sobering!  How much slower is your metabolism?

I just wish I didn't like food so much!  Last night we got a last minute invitation to join my sister-in-law and her husband at the International House Of Pancakes.  It was great to see them of course.  Anyway, although it was later in the evening, that didn't deter me from ordering a large ensemble of vegetarian crepes.  For good measure, I put the last two bites worth in a to-go-box.  Was it absolutely necessary to eat that much?  I dare say not!   I think it's safe to assume that I'm not the only one who overeats.  Why do we do that?  Why is food so important beyond it's simple sustenance capacities?  Oh the Psychology of it all!  We'll explore that another time!    

Well now it's time to get busy and move off of this chair and away from this computer.  Shall it be a walk to the fridge, a leap to the mailbox, laundry room or shower?  I think I will go about moving wisely and intentionally wherever I go.  If I do get that cake later, it will have to be with both eyes open and full intention or I might forget I even had it and go for another piece!  It could be worse, I could lament over it and still have another piece!  LOL!

8/04/10 Making Choices....

Okay, so I get to admit that I cheated and had a small piece of sausage today.  Now all my brain is thinking about is salty, fatty stuff.  No!  Stop the madness!!!

Doing well with T-Tapping and have recently joined the Y.  I have an evaluation type appointment at the Y tomorrow morning.  Gee, I hope I pass!  Hahaha!

Praying for the Lord to keep me centered and focused.  Prayed up on this particular scripture today:


‎"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

I was feeling a little anxious again about our financial situation last night and this morning originally, but praying over this scripture really helped me a lot.  I'm thankful to know that the Lord has me in the palm of His hand!  I'm also thankful that He has provided me with my flight attendant job.  So glad I didn't quit when I was thinking about it previously!   As much as I miss my family when I'm working, I feel like I'm totally in God's will doing this right now.  I see Him using me too.

I do my best to bring God's joy and love to those around me wherever I am.  I just have to focus up and out away from my needs and personal comforts.  I find it a real blessing as I greet the passengers or serve them on the  plane.  I try to remember to pray for them as they board and throughout the flight.  Perhaps the Lord will use me in some little way to encourage their faith in Him.  I don't necessarily preach, but I'm always available if anyone has any spiritual questions, etc.  Last trip we had a flight attendant who was searching for God and very hungry for the Truth.  He approached us for Biblical understanding.  Last month during a flight to Spain, I got to share my scarf with an orthodox Jewish woman who couldn't find hers in her suitcase.  She wanted to be able to take her wig off for a while, but is not allowed to show her hair to anyone, but her husband.  On another trip we had a very outgoing orthodox Jewish young man who wanted to discuss faith with myself and a couple other Christian flight attendants.   Another orthodox Jewish man shared in some food with me.  On a flight to work I sat next to a young Sikh woman who spoke about faith and religion with me.  I never know how the Lord may use me each trip.  It can be rather exciting.

I see so much disdain, apathy and complacency at work amongst many crew members who probably should have quit long ago.  I pray that in some way I can be used to make a difference for them.  Unfortunately I've encountered some who are just completely covered in darkness flinching at any hint of light.  I keep praying and and looking upward and onward!  Use me Lord!

Be blessed and be a blessing.
-Karen

7/22/10 In The Groove And Gaining Momentum!!!

Well, I've been a little busy with work lately traveling a lot, but I just had to check in and share some encouraging and hopefully supportive news!  Since my last post, things seem to be continuing in the right direction health and weight wise.  I'm at the lowest weight I've been in a couple years and I'm having little if any celiac symptoms.  My bad foot and hip are doing better than ever too.  Not only am I feeling stronger, but my body's healthy shape is coming back!  Clothes look more flattering and I'm actually needing a belt to hold up most of my pants and shorts.  I'm not quite back into my size 10s, but getting closer!  Taking it one milestone at a time.

I'm also about to hit my make it or break it weight or what I also call my "VavavaVOOM Threshold."  That is a weight that if I go under it I start getting my natural curves back and if I go over it, I lose them and get a little out of proportion, especially in my waist and hips.  Does anyone else know what their VavavaVOOM Threshold is?  I don't mind sharing that mine at almost 5'8" is 155lbs.  Of course the lower I go toward 150 and under the more VavavaVOOM I look!  I could definitely afford to lose more weight than that, but at least I'm now tipping the scales in the right direction if you know what I mean!  Enjoying some yummy juices lately, soups and fish.  I've been getting into grilling or lightly frying up salmon burgers and tilapia.  YUM!  I buy mine at ALDI for a  reasonable price.  Still doing the morning blended salad smoothie thing that is a great way to get, vitamin C, fiber and some extra iron.  YES!

Oh!  I also must share with you that I'm now able to allow myself a dessert occasionally without going overboard and craving more sugar.  Another huge milestone for me!  Woohoo!!!

I can also honestly say that T-Tapping is as natural for me me now as getting dressed.  It's a natural part of my day.  I do the T-Tapp 15 minute Work-out Plus twice a day 5 to 7 days straight with one and a half days off in between.  This is what seems to be working most effectively for me.

Here's hoping that everyone else is doing well too or at least encouraged by how this gal is finally seeing the fruits of her labor!  With faith, prayer, determination and T-Tapp, it's all slowly coming together.  Hallelujah!

May we never lose sight of our priorities and goals in life like the One who makes all things possible!  May God always have all the glory!  Talk to you again before too long.  In the meantime, I'm off to Milano again one last time this month and then London a few times next month.  Bless you friends!

Satisfied in Christ
-Karen

7/11/10 Husband Tells Me I'm Back!

I can safely say I'm experiencing a new level of fitness and health!  I was feeling pretty discouraged, per my last couple entries, but I'm seeing the whole picture more clearly now!  I even ate many foods I usually don't eat like meat and bread over the 4th of July weekend.  I kept eating them during the following week too.  Even though it upset my stomach a little one day, I realized I wasn't having my celiac symptoms like I used to with the achy, painful legs after eating flour.  I have stopped the indulgent eating now and am back to being a vegetarian, but enjoyed the yummy food for what it was and while it lasted.  Been drinking a lot of green tea and water now.  I prepared myself for the addictive withdrawals afterward, but they were minimal.  I even braced myself for possible weight gain, but had none.  In fact, I lost weight and inches during that time!  I contribute that to my daily T-Tapp exercises.  I recently increased them to twice a day.  Last night my husband notice some new muscular definition in my arms.

One thing that has really started to hit home is how my foot and hip pain are improved.  A good example of the difference is last night after sitting in the theater for a couple hours.  Normally I would be so stiff and in pain getting out of the seat that it would be very difficult to stand and walk for a while.  Well, what little stiffness I had worked itself out quickly.  I'm not limping constantly like I used to from either sitting too long with this bursitis or standing too long on my bad left foot.  Last night (on our date night) while my husband and I were walking from our car to the restaurant together, he turned to me and said: "It's like having the old Karen back!"  He's right too.  It took me a while to see it though.  I still have my bursitis mind you, but my exercises are strengthening my muscles around my hip joints, etc making me stronger over all.  I'm enjoying this new level of health and fitness so much!

Another huge improvement is my energy level.  That sure comes in handy not only at home, but at work.   My jet lag is so much better now.  I can do so much more on my layovers as well.  I seem to bounce back fairly quickly from a work trip too now.

I'm getting stronger every day.  I know I'm supposed to take a day off of T-Tapp, but I just feel so much better when I do it.  I usually workout in the morning and at night.  I play it by ear of course.  If I've done a lot of other physical activity for the day or I'm exhausted by the time I'm ready for bed I'll skip the second workout.  Honestly, it's only 15 minutes per work-out!  It's not like I'm working out all day or something.  That's one of the things I love about these T-Tapp workouts!  I wish more of my friends would try it for themselves.  Got to be careful though or I'll sound like I'm trying to sell them something.  Maybe after they see the changes in my, they will give it a try.

Oh, I almost forgot!  I turned in my essay and final measurements for the 60-Day T-Tap Challenge!  I'm so pleased!  It may not be as much as others, but it's a personal best for me.  I lost a total of 15.375 inches in two months!  It was difficult to keep the essay short since there was so much improvent to cover, but hopefully I did the results justice.

Well it's time for another work-out and then getting ready for church.  I better go.  Just thought I'd check in and give you the latest.

Satisfied in Christ!

-Karen

6/26/10 Disappointed With My Results Lately....

                                                                          
Tell me, have you ever felt this way?  Do you seem to be doing everything right to accomplish your goals but are making little if any progress?  That's where I am right now unfortunately with my health goals.   I know a big, big part of it is that I get to be more disciplined getting up earlier and going right to the Word of God first thing and gleaning what's important daily, but I've been sporadic.  I read it regularly, but not with the regimen that I need or It (the Bible) deserves.  

                                                                        
                                                                                                    
I haven't had sugar in my regular diet for months now and I am diligent with my T-Tapp exercise.  I've seen little improvement around my waist, abs or hips.   I'm now increasing the amount of workouts to see if that helps.   I don't eat a lot of processed foods, so my metabolism is slower than the average person's.  T-Tapp at least keeps me from gaining any weight should I eat something out of the usual that is more fattening.  I was so sure I'd have better results by now.  I could see some improvements in the beginning.  Yes, I'm only doing the 15 minute Basic Work-Out Plus, but I've been very consistent doing it nearly every day.  I keep reminding myself of all the great results so many have had just doing this work-out alone like Steve on the video.  I won't give up, but I do get to work on this discouragement factor!

With this chronic hip bursitis and arthritic foot pain, I'm unable to do other sporty things like walking, running, biking etc without exacerbating it.  Swimming isn't really an option either since we don't have free pool access nearby.  I'm starting to add squats with bicep curls to my daily routine.  I already do push-ups as well.  The more I work-out the large cell muscle groups the better I will burn fat, or so I've been told and read over the years.  I know I should start using my husband's Bowflex for more work on hamstrings and the back muscles, but I allow myself to be intimidated by that machine and have decided that walking upstairs through the attic to get to the work-out room is like traveling to the other side of Siberia.                
                                                                      
I was so hoping to see obvious improvements besides my slimmer arms and slightly thinner thighs, but I'm not.  My husband says my face looks a little slimmer too, but after seeing photos of myself from vacation last week, I'm not sure anything really looks slimmer.  Am I putting too much importance on being a healthier weight?  Why is it so hard to see my progress?

                                                                

I realize that these setbacks or frustrations are important for me to experience and that I can work through it Biblically.  I get to stay encouraged that I'm putting my trust in the Lord to lead me down the right path in all ways including health.  I'm praying for continued willingness and endurance as I seek the Lord's guidance and encouragement.

                                                                                

"Father you are our Redeemer, Counselor and Friend please forgive me for my lack of diligence with my prayer life and time in Your precious Word.  Thank you for all the precious Scripture and and Godly people you've been providing through this journey!  Please help me to see what you teaching me.   Please guide me and train me Lord into better spiritual and physical health.  Please also show me Lord new insights and concepts to support others achieve their health and spiritual goals as well.  To you Jesus be all the glory and forever praised!  Amen. "

6/09/10 "First Fruits"

Sometimes I feel like the woman in this picture walking on a high wire.  There she is trying to keep her balance as she moves forward while the waves of distraction try to knock her off her course.  Does anyone else ever feel that way?  What is the high wire and what is below it?  What are the obstacles?

Why does it seem so hard to see my little victories lately?  I do a lot of things right like preparing my food before work, but at home I don't always choose nutrient dense foods.  I'm keeping up with my T-Tapp exercise incredibly well though.  I do my exercises wherever I may be in the world even without the dvd.  I've done them so much I know every exercise by heart.  It's like I turn on a tape of Teresa Tapp in my head and go to work.  I even find my self saying to myself "Yes you can!" and "You did it!" like Teresa says faithfully each work-out.

                                                                                    

I see the inches coming off slowly now and there isn't much weight loss.  I keep telling myself that I'm losing fat and gaining muscle which is why I'm not seeing much weight loss yet.  Is the 15 minute a day T-Tapp Basic Work-Out Plus isn't enough for me right now?  Should I double up?  I am determined to make the 15 Minute Basic Work-Out Plus work for me.  I've seen the results others have had from doing just this work-out alone which is a real inspiration.

I've done a great job keeping off the sugar.  I did have a small bite of lemon cake a friend prepared for tea the other day, but it was out of politeness and not a craving.  I may be doing great with sugar, but sometimes I do get a hankering for cheese or meat.  The day I came home from my last work trip I took a small 8oz tub of cream cheese which was 2/3 full and ate it with a spoon.  Funny huh?  Well, then I took a few clawfuls of meat off a rotisserie chicken and devoured it.  I felt like I was breaking the law or something!  Most of the time I eat veggies and fish.  Sometimes more fish than veggies though.
                                                         

To me what's really missing here is something so basic, obvious and important.  It is the key that got me started on this path to health and kept me steady.  That missing link is my scheduled prayer and scripture time.  I've been winging it by praying here and there and looking up scripture when it suits me.  I've not made my time with the Lord my first priority of the day or as they say, I'm not giving Him my "first fruits."  Without the Lord as my foundation for each day of my life, I might as well just be a leaf blowing in the wind.

It's time to redirect and rededicate myself to the goals before me.  "Prayer that is born of meditation upon the Word of God is the prayer that soars upward most easily to God's listening ears."  R.A. Torrey

5/22/10 The Battle For Balance Continues....

I guess with all these changes in my food and exercise habits comes the awkwardness of adaption - the desire to pull away and go back to where I was.  Sometimes I feel completely on top of this healthier new lifestyle and other times I seem to barely stay afloat when my old, less-than-healthy habitual self cries out "What about me?"  "Did you forget about my needs?"  That's when I'm most vulnerable to overeat or make an addictive food choice.  

                                
For a couple weeks I had some sugar free candy and pudding on hand for those less than courageous moments.  It's funny but when I'm on my trips for work I don't battle that little food addict's voice like I do once I'm home in my familiar territory and daily life.  Looks like I have more praying and work to do on kicking the psychological side of food addiction.  

"If we allow the Bible to reveal the unseen spiritual realities behind addictions, we suddenly realize that addictions are more than self-destructive behaviors. They are violations of God’s laws: His laws that call us to avoid drunkenness and immoderate self-indulgence (Rom. 13:13), His law that calls us to love others (1 John 4:7), and His law that calls us to live for Him rather than ourselves (1 Cor. 10:31). This means that addiction is more about someone’s relationship with God than it is about biology. It reveals our allegiances: what we want, what we love, whom and what we serve. It brings us to that all-important question, “Will you live for the fulfillment of your desires or for God?" Edward T. Welch "Blame in on the Brain?" P&R Publishing, 1998, p. 193.

 When I start to lean too much on myself, I get a reality check that I can't do it alone.  Packing food from home for my trips is helpful and so is having good food in the pantry, but without dependence on the Lord and His Holy Spirit dwelling within me, my personal resolve only goes so far.

I am strengthened most by reading God's Word and standing in His promises.  Prayer is another powerful exercise of faith and trust that lays the foundation for each day.  

5/15/10 So Far So Good With The T-Tapp Challenge!

Today I decided to retake all my measurements that I submitted for the contest last week to see my progress.  To my joy I discovered I've lost anywhere from .25 to .75 inches in each area!  Yeah!  Double Yeah!  I still have a long way to go, but what a great start!  Just shows me the importance of exercise!  Here I was eating great, but without the movement of T-Tapp, etc, my fruit was limited.  Let's go team!

5/15/10 I Entered The T-Tapp Challenge!

As Teresa Tapp would say, "Yes you can!"  I signed up last week for the annual T-Tapp 60 Day challenge.  T-Tapp is this awesome regiment of exercises that Teresa Tapp, who worked in the physical therapy field, came up with.  According to the T-Tapp website:  "T-Tapp is a series of copyrighted, sequential movements designed to put the body in proper functional alignment. Its special sequence of comprehensive, compound muscle movement helps establish better alignment as well as increased strength and flexibility of the spine, better neuro-kinetic flow, lymphatic function, and increased metabolic rate. Its physical therapy approach to fitness makes it safe for those with shoulder, hip, knee, neck, and back concerns. Yet, it delivers a challenging workout for all fitness levels!"  http://www.t-tapp.com/faq/what-is-ttapp.html

So I've taken on this challenge with full abandon!  I've been doing the exercises nearly every day.  If I measured myself correctly this morning, I've already lost 3/4 of an inch around my waist in a week's time!  The challenge started officially on May 7th and ends on June 7th.  I've found that exercise is so important in addition to eating right whether you are trying to lose weight or just stay healthy.  Everything just works together so much better when you take care of your body like that.  It's amazing how my allergies are in check as well as my chronic hip, foot, back and neck pain.  Way to go Eat To  Live & T-Tapp!! 

                                                          "Yes You Can!"
                                                              (Teresa Tapp)
            For more info on T-Tapp, please go to http://www.t-tapp.com/

5/14/10 A Walk Through History...

 As much as I would like a positive declaration and attitude to be sufficient in the road to weight loss, it's much more complicated than that.  Sure it will take hard work to lose weight, but even that effort and discipline doesn't guarantee it will all come off or stay off.  If we are to truly get out from the inertia and comfort of addictive eating, we must look back on how it all began.  For some it's a lifetime, for others it may be a decades, years or months.  When and what caused the shift from healthy to unhealthy food choices?
As much as I want to stay in this feel good mode I'm in now,  I need to also look back at my weight gain history to see how, when and why it may have happened.  If I don't try to understand and study this personal history, then that old saying "History will repeat itself," could become a reality for me once more.  I've come too far now to allow myself to gently fall back into my old self defeating eating habits and choices again.

Looking back into my personal  history vault, I see my first real issue with weight gain happening after our miscarriage in the fall of 1997 which was within a year after my father's death.  In the summer of 1997, we had our first round of IVF which looked successful at first, but then began to unravel before I hardly began to show.  It seemed that 2 of the 3 embryos took.  However, one  died shortly after implantation and then just days shy of my second trimester, the other one died as well.  It was earth shattering.   It felt like this quest for children would remain unanswered forever.  It also seemed that no one else seemed to understand the pain of infertility that we were going through.
That Thanksgiving shortly after our miscarriage, it was as if we were expected to act like nothing happened and join the family for dinner, etc.  I remember being desperate for validation of my feelings.  My husband and I both agreed it was too soon to be surrounded by a house full of children and chose not to join the festivities that year.  I remember measuring my waist during my pregnancy and how it was obviously growing.  After the baby was gone the expanded waist size stayed.  I just couldn't shake the extra inches and pounds.  Then I took more infertility drugs for further procedures to no avail and the weight seemed to be steadily creeping up little by little.

I tried Atkins and the South Beach diets.  I finally joined Weight Watchers and  lost almost 30 pounds.  I got back into running and walking fairly regularly and was experiencing good health.  Around that time, just three years after our miscarriage, we adopted our precious daughter.   A couple years later we moved into a new home.  It was at that time I made a pretty stupid choice took some Adderal pills I had left from when I was convinced I had ADD.  I took them like one would take uppers while redecorating our new home.  I'd stay up super late plastering and wall papering, etc.  The next day I'd do it again.  Here I was, a stay at home mom doing all the things a mom does for her child in addition to getting everything done at record speed with the help of the Adderal.  Oh, it all got done quickly alright.  I removed and wallpapered 7 rooms within a week.  I even plastered and faux painted one of the bathrooms.  As you can imagine, operating on little sleep and a lot of adrenaline shortchanged my family, especially our daughter considerably.   I'd get so disappointed and resentful when she stopped napping at 2 years old.  I remember one particularly stressful day when I tossed my daughter onto the bed, shut the bedroom door and yelled from the other side, "NOW GO TO SLEEP!!"  My poor daughter just wailed until I came to my senses shortly after and rescued her from her nap time imprisonment.  I was getting irritable and moody regularly.  Where did my faith go during this time?  Where did I let God into my daily reality?  I would read the Bible only selectively.  Sure I was going to church, but I wasn't really focused on the teachings or implementing what the Bible taught in my home.  I decided to see a Psychiatrist who was convinced after a 5 minute question/answer review with me that I must be manic depressive.  I never divulged that I'd been misusing Adderal nor did he ask what medicines I was taking.  I was eager to stop being irritable and moody so I took the medications he  prescribed. However, the medicine he gave me just made things worse and gave me side effects of anxiety and weight gain.  I was not only anxious now, but constantly hungry.  The pounds started pouring on.

It wasn't until about a year later that we realized I was mot only misdiagnosed with ADD, but Manic Depression as well.  There are definitely real cases of these illnesses out there, but there are many people like myself that are hastily misdiagnosed with some sort of mental illness due to a temporary stressful situation or other influences and given potent medicines as a quick fix instead.  I'm just thankful we didn't continue blindly down the "I'm different so there must be something wrong with me" path.

So I got off all those meds that were an attempt to fix something that wasn't broken, but still had the extra pounds from the treatment to deal with.  I tried Weight Watchers again, but this time it didn't seem to click for me.  I was getting fed up with my lackluster results and asked my husband if he and his Bible study group would add me to their prayer list.  Within a week I found out about the book "Eat To Live,"

by Dr. Joel Fuhrman thanks to one of our employees.  I read this book from cover to cover and made the connection not only between food and addictive eating, but between food and disease.  I stopped eating animal products and started feeling better almost immediately.  The weight fell off and before I knew it, I was venturing into a 40 day fast.  In the first week of the fast I was off all my asthma medicine.  I did so well sticking to a mostly vegan diet.  Fast forward to 2007-2009 and I see myself choosing to make less than healthy food choices while under the stress of our financial situation and then losing both of my mother and father-in-law a week apart from each other.  It's not necessarily that I was simply using food as a comfort, but that I let my defenses down so to speak.  I chose to conveniently "forget" on a consistent basis, why I had originally chosen not to eat certain foods.  I was now eating cheese,  meats, sweets and other fatty processed foods that are highly addictive.  Before I new it I gained 30 pounds and was starting to wheeze again.

 So here I am today since I bit the bullet and chose to get off the mindless eating train.  I am nowhere close to my healthy goal weight yet, but I'm implementing healthy habits and choices daily.  I get to continue to stay grounded in the One who created me through prayer and His Holy Word.   As AW Tozar once said "An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly."

It is those times when I was scattered in my focus and didn't look to God solely for the support I needed that I've tarried into times of stress and the less than stellar fruits of those stresses.  Yes, a journey into one's history vaults can be a little dark at times, but it's just for a visit not a season.  As I revisit those dark places I do so with the lamp of the Lord.  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."  Psalm 119:105 

5/08/10 Veggie Breakthroughs For My Family

                                                          
Where to begin?  Well let me start by saying that except for some tuna I had earlier this week, I've stayed with my goal of eating vegan as well as staying away from sugar, dairy and oil! Occasionally I may have one piece of sugar free candy though but no biggie urges or anything.

In the past I may have been great sticking with a wholesome diet, but it was a challenge to get my family on board.  Especially my daughter.  Lo and behold, we had a major breakthrough in the veggie open mindedness department this week!    Hooray!!  My daughter has always been good about eating a salad, and certain familiar veggies like green beans, corn, potatoes, broccoli and asparagus, but that was about the extent of it.  I guess her veggie openmindedness started a few months ago when she started accepting some spinach in her salads along with some other wild and crazy stuff I was adding.  This week she ate and enjoyed portobello  mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, brown rice, cauliflower and an assortment of beans!  It certainly helps that I've been using "The McDougall Quick & Easy (vegan) Cookbook!"  A quick thank you and shout out to Lisa for lending me this invaluable book!  Thank you sister girl!   I've also found some great online vegan recipes.  Hopefully the next veggie breakthrough for the family will be cooked spinach, bok choy and collard greens.  We'll take it one veggie at a time though!  :-)

My husband and I have been having blended salad smoothies nearly every morning this week except for the morning after we got back from 5 hours in ER for complications from his broken rib he incurred from a biking accident over the weekend.  Thankfully he's doing better now since he's been resting under doctors orders.  I'm now grateful also that I was sick earlier this week which caused me to drop my work trip to Zurich.   I was supposed to be in Zurich Thursday when I rushed him to the hospital at 2 in the morning!  Thank you Lord for working that out for us!

These cookbook recipes truly are good in a pinch and have helped me tremendously this week.  Recipes we especially enjoyed so far are: Beans Florentine, Turnip Green Salad, Ratatouille and Cauliflower Poppers.  Yum!  Yum!  Yum!  Feeling like chilling tonight though.  Our daughter has been hanging out with a friend today who will be staying for dinner too so we may make a meat exception for them or I may go pick up Chinese.  We'll see.

Praying that my husband heals well, that I continue to be resourceful with the veggies and that everyone is willing and open to eat them!

                                                                

5/4/10 My Hips Say Hooray To Being Cheese, Butter & Oil Free Now!!!

Well,  after the Fuhrman talk I took the next plunge....  I've stopped including Dairy & Oil into my daily diet which means bye bye security cheese and butter baby!   I've increased my green veggies and lowered my intake of grains like rice bread.  It's really not hard at all.  Better yet....I'm losing weight and inches around my hips and waist already and it hasn't been a full week yet!  Mind you my body felt yucky at first and I came down with what I thought was a cold, but there's a good chance I was just detoxifying.  The "cold" is improving and I'm so thankful for what this healthy food is doing for me!

5/4/10 Notes And Info From Dr. Fuhrman's Durham, NC Lecture On 4/28/10

I enjoyed Dr Fuhrman's lecture last week!  It reaffirmed what foods I need to eat and which ones I get to steer clear of.  He gave a three hour talk highlighting the principles from his book "Eat To Live" and how to be a "Nutritarian."    Basically we get to have a nutrient dense daily diet that pretty much excludes any animal products or processed foods, limits grains and fats like oils and butter.

Here's a bunch of other stuff he covered during his talk per my notes:

He explained how you can have enough protein and calcium in your diet without animal products by eating plenty of leafy, green and cruciferous veggies.  He also reiterated the importance and significance of a nutrient dense diet in correlation to a disease free, healthy body.  He mentioned the importance of chopping anti cancer foods like leafy veggies, onions and mushrooms before you cook them to get the anti-cancer benefits.  Chewing them raw does releases those anti cancer effects as well.

Two kinds of Nutrients:  Macro & Micro.  Macro has fat, carbohydrates and protein calories, while micro nutrients do not contain calories.  Micro nutrients contain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals essential for normal human function.  For example, there are hundreds and thousands of nutrients in broccoli and strawberries.  You eat less calories in a high nutrient diet.

He also explained the differences in BP medicines and that ultimately they don't really help you long term.  However, eating healthy like this can reverse High BP as well as many other diseases like Diabetes, Lupus, Depression and more.

Eating green veggies and beans helps grow healthy bacteria in your intestinal track.

Health and life expectancy is dependent on micro nutrient per bite of food.

People don't think what they eat matters.  They just go to the doctor.

The ANDI scoring system measures the nutrient density of foods.  The higher the score, the more nutrient dense that food is.   ANDI stands for: Aggregate Nutrient Density Index                                   

The ANDI score, based on a Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutrient Density Scoring System analyzes many nutrients in a food product

Calcium, Carotenoids: Beta Carotene, Alpha Carotene, Lutein & Zeaxanthin, Lycopene, Fiber, Folate, Glucosinolates, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Selenium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, plus ORAC score X 2 (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is a method of measuring the antioxidant or radical scavenging capacity of foods).

Diagram below is provided by Dr. Fuhrman:





FYI animals eating natural plants based diets do not get cancers and heart attacks....

Dr Fuhrman's suggested food pyramid:


Beans are a unique source of carbohydrates .  Beans are a resistant starch meaning the body doesn't break it down to simple starches.  It has to be broken down by bacteria in the colon.  Half of all calories of beans get absorbed into the body.  Therefore the protein in it is higher than what the label says.

Nuts and seeds also don't give the full amount of calories in them that their labels state.  You should have 1 to 2 ounces of nuts or seeds every day.

Raw minerals in veggies protect the body against cancer.  You can't say the same thing about vitamin supplements.

Folate and Folic Acid are not the same thing!  You need to eat green vegetables instead of synthetic folic acid.  Folic acid  increases chances of ovarian, breast and colon cancers!

However, Vitamin D is the most powerful antic cancer substance in history.  More than half of all Americans are deficient in Vitamin D!  You need to be getting 2000 IUs of D a day.


There are FOUR DIMENSIONS OF HUNGER:

1.  Volume
2.  Nutrients
3.  Calories
4.  Addiction

The more you react to a toxin like processed foods, meats, sugars, etc the better.  A sign of good health is the lack in need of medicinal assistance.

You want low levels of Avanced Glycation End Products or A.G.E. in your diet such as pastas, oil, candies, chips which causes a build-up of toxins in your cells.  The more of A.G.E. foods are in your diet, the more disease prone you will be.  Not to mention that those foods are addictive!

Stop eating high protein and eat high volume foods instead.  Example of High volume foods that fill you up are:

• Raw Vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, celery, anise, snow pea pods, carrots, beets, cucumbers, water chestnuts, red cabbage, onion

• Most Fresh Fruits: melons, oranges, grapefruits, apples, kiwis, berries, papaya

• Cooked Green Vegetables: Brussels sprouts, string beans, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, bok choy

• Other Non-Green Vegetables: mushrooms, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, bean sprouts, cauliflower, spaghetti squash

Food addiction is what starts the fat cycle.  Two kinds of food addiction:


Toxicosis- The build up of toxic metabolites, toxic free radicals
Advanced Glycation End Produts (AGEs)


Fatigue is NOT a symptom of hunger, but of addiction.  Often folks even think they are hypoglycemic when they are actually responding physically to food addiction.  (I used to be one of those people, no I can go hours upon hours without eating more than fruit or veggies).


True hunger happens in your throat and gives you a heightened sense of taste.  Hunger only exists to protect our muscle mass.


DIETS DON"T WORK!!!
Portion control only results in weight loss that is maintained for five years for less than 3 out of 100.  I've seen this in myself and others using diets such as Weight Watchers, Atkins, etc rather than a lifestyle change like becoming a "Nutritarian."


Animal proteins, sugar and caffeine feed toxic hunger.


Veggies have proteins
Broccoli has 10 grams of protein per 100 calories.
Your food choices get to be influenced by nutrient quality, not addiction!


In the same way you put fat on the rest of your body when you gain weight, so do you put fat on your heart.


PEOPLE NEED SUPPORT!  THE MIND RESISTS CHANGE!

CHANGE CREATES ANXIETY & DISCOMFORT.

Adapting to a Nutritarian Diet...
   The mind seeks to-
                                  rationalize (illogically) addictive behavior to avoid discomfort

                                  avoid internal and external conflict

The book "Eat For Health" addresses why people don't make the healthy changes






**All graphics courtesy of Dr. Fuhrman