I'm a bit of a drinker. I can't seem to break the addiction of sodas. (No, not alcohol silly!) My favorite soda of choice is Coca-Cola. It's like a deep-burn going down... which I'm sure does a body good.I've made verbal commitments to myself to quit...
It's been one of my new year's resolutions for years...
... but I look at my delicious soda and say "I can't quit you!"
Until now.
I've found a new product at Walmart that I love. It's Clear, Sparkling, Key Lime Water. I hate regular tap water... and I've tried flavored water before but I've never (repeat, NEVER) liked them. Perhaps I like this because of the carbonated water? A little Aspartame? (yea, we'll get to that in a second...) Regardless, it's GOOD. It reminds me of a Sprite... but better. I found a bottle of it in our kitchen at church and drank some and then went to Walmart and bought five 2-liter bottles of it! (By the way, whoever left that bottle in the kitchen I probably owe you lunch.)
I was a little sad to see it contained Aspartame. It was like a beautiful letdown because I've heard all the negative hype over it. I've even started researching the sweetner online and have read the 92 dangerous adverse reactions it could have on your body. I'm not convinced it's that bad... but I'm willing to drink it until my doctor says that I should stop. At least for now it has caused a MAJOR decrease in my soda intake.
So, here's to a leaner, trimmer bod! By the way, I've made a few other changes to my diet and lifestyle that I'm really digging right now. I'll share those in future posts.
Any new finds that you might recommend to me?
Labels: Health and Wellness, Personal
I am what the kiddos would call a "fatty." I own it. I am at the highest weight I've ever been. BUT, thats about to change.
A couple of months ago I thought about rolling out a "Big Loser" type incentive on my blog so that I could lose weight. I thought, "hmm...those reading my blog could keep me accountable." But then decided against it.
Considering my doc told me recently that I am a prime candidate for the Gastric Bypass (which is code for "you are really really fat"), I think I should start doing something about my weight.
Enter Marko.
Marko, as the youth workers call him, is the president of Youth Specialities and just rolled out a contest called "I'm a Bigger Loser than Marko" on his blog. Over 128 youth workers signed up as soon as he announced it. I really have no excuse (thanks Marko) and this IS the time. Sooo, the contest starts February 4th! And the winner receives FREE registration to the fall National Youth Worker Convention plus lots of books and goodies from YS.
Matthew McNutt, youth worker and former contestant on NBC's the Biggest Loser, will be providing encouragement and assistance to those who enter. The contest will go three months. I'll be blogging about it here and yes, you can keep me accountable.
If you want to sign up, send an email to Youth Specialties. I personally challenge ALL of you!
Labels: Bigger Loser Contest, Blog Shout, Health and Wellness, Personal, Youth Pastors
If you are like me it doesn't hurt to hear an inspiring story if you are trying to lose weight. Ironically, around the blogosphere I found a youth pastor named Matthew McNutt who may inspire you to drop some poundage.
Many of you may know Matt already, as he was on the hit TV-series "The Biggest Loser", Season Three. Matthew, even though he wasn't able to receive personal training on the show, dropped 150 pounds as one of 36 contestants who competed at home.
In a recently published article for Simply Youth Ministry, Matt tells of the correlation he sees between his spiritual health and his physical health...
Two years ago I became too heavy for the doctor's scale to even register my weight - apparently the scale designers don't think people over 350 pounds want to know. They were right about me! Except this one time when the nurse wrote 350+++. Seriously? Three plusses? I'm standing there thinking, c'mon lady, one would have done the job - now you're just being mean!(To read the rest of this article,click here.)
Something happened, though, that changed my life. I got convicted. Before then I just didn't see any connection between my spiritual health and my physical health. The one is eternal, the other temporal, right? So what's the big deal if someday I'm getting a resurrection body? Sounds like a free ticket to gorge now and get some divine intervention later! But then I stumbled across 1 Corinthians 10:31. "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God!" Between that passage, and the scriptures referring to our bodies as the temple, I started to get excited. Think of the beauty and responsibility of the maintenance of something so sacred and special as the dwelling place of God! Can you imagine? How we feed ourselves can be for the glory of God! Being healthy isn't about image, it's about worship. It's about pursuing the entirety of life that God wired us to enjoy.
Here is piece a television station did on Matthew after his weight loss:
Click here to visit Matthew McNutt's blog online.
Labels: Blog Shout, Celebrities, Health and Wellness, Television, Videos
Ok, here's the thing. I went to the doctor two weeks ago for a routine check-up. Actually, thats a half-truth. I went because I thought I had a hernia.
So the doctor checks me out and the verdict was. . . "no, no hernia."
Cool, right?
So then he says, "You know, I think you are a good candidate for the Gastric Bypass surgery." What?! I was totally taken off-guard by this. I mean, is he getting commission for these?
What is the Gastric Bypass?" Gastric bypass surgery makes the stomach smaller and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine. You will feel full more quickly than when your stomach was its original size, which reduces the amount of food you eat and thus the calories consumed. Bypassing part of the intestine also results in fewer calories being absorbed. This leads to weight loss.
Here's the thing... I just need to cut down my portions. It's PC for TC baby (portion control). It's a bit less intense for me than surgery doc. Besides, I know a couple of people who have died from it (um, I'm ready to see Jesus but living is kinda nice too) and people who have this surgery done (I know several that have been very successful. MANY kudos to them. Seriously.) are forced to live on strict diets for the rest of their lives. I; however, have never really been on a strict diet. That could be the problem here...
Here are the risks noted in an online encyclopedia. . .
I appreciate the offer doc, but no thanks. I'll try sweatin to the oldies and eat like the french for a while to see if that works for me.
Labels: Health and Wellness
