Routine can be the key to new growth towards your weight loss & spirtual growth.
With the weight loss doldrums behind us lets set our eyes on Jesus and set our eyes back on the goal of Spiritual & Physical Recovery. Press on by looking forward so to speak.
Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Proverbs 4:25 ESV
“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Lose more weight & grow spiritually with routine
Get back to a routine. For me this meant get back on the bike yesterday even though I didn’t feel like it. It meant starting my fast again the night before last, even when I was hungry. It meant get back on the supplements I was taking. It meant jumping back on the scale yesterday and today (which I was blessed by seeing some additional weight loss). It means doing what is right as far as eating right, exercising, and spending quiet time before the Lord. Doing so consistently. That’s the key. Routine will help you build momentum and help you power through the ups and downs of life that are thrown your way.
Look back on the last few weeks and analyze what routines have been working for you. What are some routines (maybe a new exercise routine or reading the Bible everyday) that you can add to your life that would help you become a more physically and spiritually fit person.
Do so and you’ll find that you’ve set sail again on the weight loss voyage of a lifetime. Remember all things are possible for him who believes.
“‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” mark 9:23 NASB
In working on some more blog posts for you, I saw this image and bought it for you. I added the Bible verses, which were the first things that came to mind when I saw this adorable little girl.
I created wallpapers for you to download to your PC or Mac (for tablets too) and also one for your mobile phone. You can download them for free below the images;
Here are the complete verses for the image for your reference. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Please like and share if you think it will bless the day of someone else.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Mathew 5:16 ESV
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 ESV
Well, first of all, I bet your wondering what the big controversy is. There are 2 that we’ll address today, in addition to listing some of the nutritional benefits & reasons why you should be eating these beautiful vegetables (or are they really fruits?).
Ok. The first controversy that I already hinted at, is whether or not Tomatoes are fruits or vegetables.
Scientifically they are…fruits! There you have it you can finally with confidence & conviction tell your friends you absolutely know the truth. If you are a cook and only interested in whether you are working on a savory dish or not, they are most often (by 99% of the Chefs out there) referred to as vegetables. So, if you want to be scientific, tomatoes are fruits not vegetables.
The second controversy, that has gotten press more recently, is the fact that tomatoes are in a family of fruits (or vegetables) that are called nightshades. There’s a great article written by my long-time mentor Mark Sisson here if you want his take on it, but basically nightshades are in a family of produce that can cause some minor reactions to a portion of the human population.
So, if you are not one of those people that are technically allergic to nightshades, the benefits outweigh any of the risk of minor reactions that you could have. If you are not certain whether you do or do not have an issue with them, try a 2-4 week hiatus from them to see if you notice any difference on or off of them. This is admittedly difficult to determine because how can you be certain that it’s not the tomatoes that made you feel funky that day or the Sushi you had with your friends. If you have any doubt, try a little bio experiment out.
Assuming you are not allergic to them, here are some great benefits and unknown facts about tomatoes that I think you’ll find valuable and interesting.
Tomatoes are a great source of Lycopene which may help prevent several types of cancer in humans
Fun Fact: Studies have found that tomatoes do not have to be dark-red in color to have high levels of Lycopene and researchers have also determined that paler tomatoes (orange & tangerine colored tomatoes) have a form of Lycopene that is easier for our bodies to absorb. This is definitely counter-intuitive to this certified nutrition counselor.
Tomatoes are a great source of numerous antioxidants including Lycopene which have been proven to help prevent bone loss (and osteoporosis) in post-menopausal women.
Researchers who compared conventionally grown tomatoes versus organically grown found that the growing method made a less overall difference than the actual variety of the tomatoes when looking at antioxidant capacity. While all tomatoes showed great antioxidant capacity the better varieties are: New Girl, Jet Star, Fantastic, and First Lady. Further research is needed, but these findings are interesting to say the least.
Researchers are only now starting to identify some of the phytonutrients in tomatoes. Several of the heart-health benefits that come from tomatoes are: preventing atherosclerosis, lowering total cholesterol, lowering (bad) LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. A couple of the phytonutrients in tomatoes that have these benefits are esculeoside, which is a glycoside (for you techie types) and also a flavanoid called chalconaringenin. Another one they believe to have significant health benefit is 9-oxo-octadecadienoic acid a fatty acid. Needless to say, you should put tomatoes on your heart-healthy list and stay tuned as the research catches up to our belief that tomatoes are great for you.
After going through this list, I’ll stop looking at pale tomatoes as the less preferred choice. I’ll definitely keep them on my list of go-to fruits (or vegetables for you die-hard cooks) and not feel guilty about buying the hot-house (non-organic) variety.
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Excerpted from the soon to be released Christian Fatloss™ Program
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My Journey Alongside Yours: A fairly normal day along the path of weight loss for me. I hit the mountain today and completed my 11-mile out-and-back mountain bike ride, even though it’s starting to get pretty warm here in Scottsdale, AZ. It was 83 degrees F when I started my about 1 hours bike ride. I’m not complaining about the heat in any way, as some of my friends in Canada right now are seeing -1 degrees C and snow at the time of this writing. I feel blessed to live where I do and don’t even mind when it hits between 105 deg F and 115 deg F on a regular basis in the summer.
I finished out the night right on my calorie budget and am thankful to have the opportunity to share this journey with you. Thanks for joining me on your own Christian Fatloss™ Journey.
Don’t Forget: You’re an awesome Victory in Progress™!
I’m glad we are in this weight loss program together. You’re often my motivation to keep on keeping on and I hope & pray that I am the same for you. Amen!
Booking empty calendar days lower stress & help make weight loss gains
Running the calendar for five kids and two adults could overwhelm the average person, but my wonderful wife Diana is gifted with organizational skills & talent and runs our family’s calendar. As you might imagine our family calendar is usually filled with baseball & softball games & practices with three kids playing on teams…one of which is playing for two teams in two cities.
Well, this morning Diana let me know that we have nothing on the calendar. “Nothing?”, I asked. “Yep, nothing”, she said. I was in shock when she told me. Sadly, I can’t remember the last time we had nothing on the calendar. Are you in the same boat with me? When’s the last time you had nothing on your calendar?
What a blessing it is to have an empty calendar, eve if it is only for one day. I have to work all day, but that means that my evening has no commitments. My wife isn’t off to run to a meeting somewhere (which she often does) and I don’t have to drive across the state of Arizona to get a child to a practice or a game.
Reduce stress on purpose by scheduling empty calendar days. It may help you lose weight or prevent weight gain by keeping your hormone (cortisol) levels in check.
Discovering you have nothing on your calendar may seem an opportune time to plan something. Don’t do it. Don’t kill the blessing of an empty calendar. Instead, surrender this chunk of time to the Lord and ask him what he’d like you to do.
Get yourself in a still, quiet place away from distractions and listen for the “still small voice”.
11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper (still small voice in KJV).13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
You’ll hear the Lord speak to you ever so softly. It’s almost like a gut feeling.
Then do what he says and look for the opportunity to serve him…to fellowship with him…to worship him.
This could mean you use the time to go to your favorite coffee shop with your Bible and open up your ears to allow God to speak the word of life into your life. This could mean you surrender your time to ministering to your wife & children. Whatever it is, do it without hesitation or guilt.
Why not schedule days on your calendar that have no plans…doesn’t that sound silly. Choose a day (for me its Thursday this week) where you refuse to schedule anything and let God take the lead on what you do.
It’s my belief that having a day every week that has no scheduled commitments will reduce the stress level in your life. Surrender that time to the Lord for whatever he chooses and be obedient to his calling it will open the doors of heaven for God to pour himself into your life. As I’ve often discussed before, lowering your stress is a good way to help keep your hormone levels normal and help keep you on the path of gradual and continuous (sustainable) weight loss which is the goal of some of the readers here.
On the opposite end of the spectrum if you keep yourself stressed out all the time its the quickest way to start putting on the unwanted pounds. Unhealthy pounds at that. Combine that with not enough sleep and you have a perfectly ugly storm brewing. Don’t do it.
Be blessed today my friend in the name of Jesus Christ!
What do you think? Will you take on my challenge to have an unscheduled day in your calendar? Share your victories and struggles in the comments below…
Conquer the groucies with an attitude of gratitude
We all have those mornings from time to time where we get up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe its because we didn’t have enough sleep, or we wake up stuffed up from allergies, or maybe its that annoying cat or dog bugging you to go outside. Whatever the stimulus is, we need to be careful about how we allow it to affect us.
If we stay in that grouchy state and start to allow that to taint the words we say, we can start to bring others around us down to, and before you know it (if not prevented) we enter a spiral downwards.
I speak of this today because I was guilty of allowing myself to enter the grouchy-zone this morning. Allergies were at an all time high and I had our little dog, Dolly, whining me out of bed. I started to get a little grouchy about the little things and even said the word “hate” a couple of times when describing little things like a malfunctioning toaster oven.
I pulled myself out of the tailspin of destruction by taking a break from everything and getting away to a quiet place. I prayed and asked for forgiveness from God and started to focus on things I was grateful for.
Very quickly I pulled out of the grouchy-zone into the grateful-zone and my attitude was now full of gratitude.
In Philippians it talks about focusing on the good…
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV
And in several places in Proverbs it talks about how words can be damaging or creative depending on how they are used.
Jesus also spoke about “from the mouth the heart speaks”.
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 ESV
So, if today happens to be a day where you run into the little things that could put you in the grouchy-zone conquer them by building an attitude of gratitude.
Be blessed today friend and stay away from the grouchy-zone.
Have you ever had a case of the groucies? Tell me about it in the comments? Tell us what you do to deal with trying times when your attitude needs a check in the comments below.
Dark Chocolate: God’s Gift to you and me that cures what ails you
Yes, Dark Chocolate, and more importantly chocolate with a Cacao content of 72% or higher is not only good for you it can help prevent some pretty nasty ailments.
I’ve been eating Dark Chocolate for about 2 years now. I was first turned on to it by Mark of Primal Blueprint fame, when he convinced me to give it and try it as a supplement to my diet, because it had so many benefits and was a nice replacement for this choco-holic who just quit his long-term sweet-addiction.
I started with 72% (and would recommend at least 70%), which today I’d say is a bit to sweet for me and a bit high in sugar. I slowly graduated up over time to an 86% Cacao (you can find it at Trader Joes if you have one close by) which is the highest I’ve been able to find.
I imagine if you ate cacao-nibs, you can increase the Cacao percentage, but I’ve not yet found a way to easily integrate those little guys into my diet. I’ve tried them and the experience was a little like chewing on little wood bits that had a slight chocolate flavor. I guess people who use them a lot use them in homemade shakes and smoothies. Evidently some people also throw them into savory dishes. Any way you can get them into your diet is a good thing and once you read all of the health benefits of Dark Chocolate I might have you convinced as well.
Dr Mark Hyman, in his great book Ultrametabolism recommends you eat between 1-3 ounces of dark chocolate everyday day. I’d like to add, that when you do so, make sure that it is after a meal or eaten with some other lower glycemic foods to help minimize the glycemic load of the chocolate. Even the very high cacao content chocolate has a pretty high level of sugar.
Another tip to keep in mind is that it’s very easy to go overboard on this super-food. When you are going to eat dark chocolate ration out your 1-3 ounces and put away the rest. You’ll be glad you did. I know, speaking from experience, I’ve gone overboard on more than one occasion in the name of super-food consumption.
Here are just some of the benefits of Dark Chocolate:
Dark Chocolate contains healthy fats. Mostly monounsaturated and saturated fat, with very little polyunsaturated fat. Most of the saturated fat is stearic acid widely know to have no bad effects on LDL cholesterol, so you don’t have to have any guilt to enjoy cacao fat.
Dark Chocolate is loaded with Polyphenols too. In particular flavanols. When it comes to polyphenols & antioxidant capacity, Dark Chocolate blows away any other super-food. The most studied polyphenol in cacao is epicatechin, a flavanol that is highly potent and potentially healthy for humans.
Dark Chocolate lowers your blood pressure too. Epidemiological studies consistently show that dark chocolate consumption is related with lower blood pressure readings. One study even found that eating dark chocolate for 15 days straight, lowered blood pressure and insulin sensitivity in healthy subjects.
Cacao consumption has been proven to improve arterial flow of blood in smokers.
Dark Chocolate can reduce cardiovascular disease.
Dark Chocolate lowered insulin resistance in diabetic patients (in addition to lowering blood pressure).
Dark chocolate is good for folks who have a fatty liver (some of us who have been eating sugar in high doses all of our lives are in this camp). The chocolate can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation as well.
Dark chocolate can help increase our body’s natural defense against UV exposure. In several studies recently it’s been proven that eating dark chocolate can increase our natural defense against the harmful affects of the sun by as much as double. So, you could stay out twice as long without sun-damage.
So, go eat some dark chocolate with dinner tonight. Make sure it’s high in cacao (70%+) and low in sugar. Eat it with your meal and feel good knowing you just took in some of the best tasting medicine on the planet. Thank you God for the gift of Dark Chocolate.
So, what’s your favorite dark chocolate recipe? Have you tried 86% Cacao ye? Tell me about your experiences with Dark Chocolate below in the comments.
A must read for people into Paleo, Cold adaptation, Fasting, Whole Food Nutrition and the like.
Just released to me on his “Private” email list is an amazing article backed by 103 research studies & publications about metabolism, fasting, nutrition, fitness, and the rest of what’s important to you and me and our health. A must read. Warning it is very technical and some of it may be tough to get through for the non-medical types. I think the average person would find HUGE value in reading at least the ‘Putting it altogether” and “conclusion” sections. Let me know what you think in the comments…
P.S. I’ll be writing up my top take-aways from the Metabolic Winter and sharing them with you soon. What’s your biggest ah-ha moment? Please let me know in the comments
You are going to laugh at me likely when I tell you that today I am so sore that getting up out of a chair is very difficult and walking is impossible without a slight limp. What terrible amount of exercise or activity was it that made this 43 year old fairly fit man so sore he can hardly walk?
I umpired a Majors Level Softball game for my 12 Year-old daughter.
Yep. Umpiring…
In hindsight if you look at the activity I was doing to Umpire the game I was either doing a movement very similar to a squat (you’d see in a gym) or and lunge (also a common gym movement). I did it for every pitch of the 2 hours worth of Umpiring. I estimate that I probably did about 150 – 300 repetitions of the movement with my full body weight.
To make things worse Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) which is what I am suffering from increases for activities and actions that involve long term muscle stress that elongates the muscle…kind of like a squat that is held or a lunge that is held for a few seconds. These are called eccentric contractions and are the most common cause of DOMS.
So, a little warning for you, when you try new activities there a few precautions you can take that will help prevent or reduce the amount of DOMS that you experience when you try new things.
Make sure that you stretch the muscles being used before and after the exercise or activity.
Make sure to stay hydrated before, during, and after.
Make sure to do a warm up of the movement using about 50% of the stress that you expect to see during the exercise.
Take recovery supplement(s) like L-Glutamine (5-10 grams) & Creatine Monohydrate (5-10 grams) immediately following the exercise and first thing in the morning the day after. I take both for a couple of days after, 2-3 times per day depending on how sore I am.
DOMS pain and soreness peaks at about 48 hours after the activity and slowly subsides over the days following.
Please don’t associate DOMS as a bad thing it is a sign that your muscles have had a small amount of damage to them and your body will grow the muscles stronger to adapt (the process known as hypertrophy).
And don’t use it as an excuse to not try new things frequently. Changing things up is a prerequisite of a healthy lifestyle and keeps life (and exercise) from becoming boring.
I hope also that my story about Umpiring will also highlight the fact that even something like Umpiring, which on the surface doesn’t look like great exercise, can have a fairly fit guy so sore he can hardly get up out of a chair. Always be trying new ways to keep your self moving.
Or another way to state it as a mantra to adopt “Always be moving!”.
Please share in the comments below your favorite activity and maybe an activity that you look forward to trying soon.
In times of failure whether spiritual or weight loss or nutrition. Don’t focus on the failure.
Imagine for a moment that you are riding a horse…I know you may not yet have had the pleasure like I have, but you’ve likely seen plenty of folks on TV or online to at least get the idea.
Ok…so you’re galloping along (which is faster than trotting, but not a full out run and your enjoying the scenery. The sun is shining and your surroundings are beautiful. All you hear is the rhythmic sounds of your horse’s feet hitting the ground and the snort from your horse breathing.
All of a sudden you hit a tree branch and are knocked to the ground flat on your face.
Ouch!
Your horse being an awesome, owner-loving-horse (nothing like my last horse Malika) stops just a few dozen feet ahead of you and does what horses do…immediately starts grazing on some grass next to the trail.
I share this somewhat painful imagery to hammer home a point of getting back in the saddle.
So, what should I do if I’ve cheated on my weight loss nutrition plan, or I’ve missed my workout three days in a row, or I binged on Chocolate Cake & Ice Cream last night…whatever the personal “failure” it doesn’t matter.
So, in a sense you’ve lost some momentum somewhat like you just did on your imaginary horse. So, what?
The good news is that its’ only been a little while since you were riding the horse off into the fat loss sunset, before you decided to gracefully (on your own accord) dismount and take a break. again…Ouch!
In our Christian Fatloss Program (not yet released as of the time I’m posting this) I designed some breaks from the diet & exercise on purpose. It’s helpful by design. It allows your body & mind a reset the system of sorts and help break up any thoughts of monotony.
So, partner, its time to saddle up and start back down the trail to your Spiritual & Physical Recovery. Dust yourself off (get rid of any bad foods you’ve might of indulged in during your free/cheat days) pick yourself up (get ready to exercise & eat clean again) and mount up.
Celebrate your accomplishments on your fat loss journey
It’s much easier mounting this horse this time, than it was when you started, isn’t it? You’ve likely made some gains and had some small victories. Allow yourself to celebrate them. You are a Victory In Progress.
Your new title: V.I.P.
Doesn’t that feel great?
Celebrate now…take a quick look down the road from where you came from and turn back down the road to a healthier happier You!
So, what changes have you made in your life so far that you can celebrate? Any diet or exercise changes? drop any pounds (or stones for my UK friends) that we can celebrate with you? Please share in the comments below…
This recipe is great for high nutrient dense low-caloire meals
One of my favorite parts of Saturdays is that I take a break from my Intermittent Fasting. I make sure that I not only eat breakfast, but I eat a Big Breakfast that any one would be proud of.
The overall plan of all of my meals if you haven’t already figured it out, is to eat only good fats, a ton of protein, and a ton of veggies.
One of the things that helps me do that on Saturday mornings is one of my favorite dishes (have to say my wife even likes it as long as I omit the mushrooms).
So, here’s the recipe and how to prepare it. There are many variants as far as the veggies are concerned, so I generally use what I have on hand at the moment. For me it typically consists of Zucchini (or yellow squash), purple onions (or shallots), green chiles, jalapenos, bell peppers, and some specific spices and of course Omega-3 eggs (cage free if I can get them).
Step 1) I set the pan to medium heat on our gas stove-top and throw about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in it. I use coconut oil for all of my cooking. I stay away from Olive oil for cooking and generally only us it uncooked. (the reason being is that olive oil and other oils tend to oxidize when they are heated…it changes their chemical make-up and they are no longer as good for you after you heat them). Coconut Oil (especially high-heat coconut oil) isn’t as susceptible to heat damage (oxidation) compared to other oils and it has some very unique nutritional benefits that are great for you.
Purple onions have polyphenols & flavanoids. Antioxidant miracle veggies.
Step 2) Chop your hot chiles, jalapeno, onions (shallots) and throw them in first. Cook for 5-7 minutes (constantly turning or tossing over the heat) or until they start to show some carmelization. I do so with these guys first because the heat tends to knock of some of the spiciness of them.
Step 3) Throw in your zucchini & yellow squash…the sliced (or chopped) bell peppers and chopped celery.
Celery’s components have been scientifically proven to kill cancer cells in a lab
Step 4) While the veggies are cooking throw in garlic powder, low-salt (or salt free) multi-spice, paprika, ground black pepper, and salt. Sometimes I throw in yellow curry which has Tumeric in it and is highly nutritious.
Step 5) Once the veggies have reached your desired tenderness throw in 3-5 Omega-3 eggs and stir in until eggs are completely cooked and water has evaporated.
Step 6) Serve and Enjoy! Knowing you are feeding your body with some great fuel and signaling your body’s DNA to keep you healthy & strong.
Ingredients:
1-2 zucchinis or yellow squashes
1-2 green chiles
1-2 jalapenos
1/2 a purple onion
2 stalks of celery
1/2 purple onion (purple has a higher nutritional value) or equivalent amount of shallots
2-3 cloves of garlic (to replace garlic powder if you have it)
1 red/yellow/green bell pepper
3-5 eggs
1/2 tsp of Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Power (if you don’t have fresh garlic)
How many calories in this dish? Well, the coconut oil is about 100 calories (minus what you lose to cook off). The eggs are about 70 calories each (I use 5 of them for 350 calories). The zucchini and squash are about 20 calories each. Celery is 10 calories per stalk. After all is said and done I have a HUGE plate of food worth about 600 – 750 calories. It’s so much food that I often give Diana half and still have a decent meal, but honestly…I most often eat the whole plate and am full for most of the day and half to force myself to eat lunch.
Please try this. I had it this morning for Breakfast.
You’ll love the ability to have a guilt-free pig-out-party and can feel good about feeding yourself full of an endless list of healthy nutrients.
If you do try it, please comment & share. I’d love to hear you feedback. Or please share your variation. I’m always trying news things and will give YOUR recipe a try.
Side note: If your are implementing Intermittent Fasting (like I did by only eating between 1:00pm – 7:00pm) this is a great way to get to fill yourself up with a relatively low number of high nutrient density foods and not feel hungry at all.
Will you try this? If you have, what do you think? Easy huh? Have any favorite low-calorie recipes to share with us? Please share your comments below…
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