27 - It's not a magic number, but still feels great!

Twenty-seven pounds!  Yes, I am very proud to report that after what appeared to be an endless PLATEAU of non-weight loss, I am finally down another couple of pounds, bringing my total weight-loss to date to twenty-seven pounds.  This method of weight loss has not proven to be the "Speedy Gonzales" method by any means.

I'm hoping, however, that it will prove more like the case of the tortoise and the hare ...

And hopefully by changing my life-style in small increments rather than by following some radical diet plan, I will be able to keep the weight off once it's gone, and have a healthier lifestyle pattern.

So, here are 27 things I have been doing differently that are all helping me to have a healthier lifestyle, some of which are contributing to my weight loss:

1).   Almost entirely switched from white flour to whole wheat flour.

2).   Endeavouring to eat 80% fruits and vegetables and 20% starch and protein every day.

3).  Trying to remember to DRINK LOTS OF WATER!  (although I often forget this one!)

4).   Walking every day - a brisk walk of between 3 and 4 kms.

5).   Drinking 2 oz of Noni Juice everyday.  It tastes hideous but Dr. Oz highly recommends it.

6).  Taking my multivitamin every day.

7.)   Taking 100 mg of B6 every day.

8).  Taking 25 mcg of Vitamin D every day - which, by the way, comes in the form of a soft chewy chocolate so I consider it my chocolate fix for the day.  (Most days this works, although once and a while I feel the need for a bigger chocolate fix!)

9).  Taking my EstroSense everyday - a herbal blend that includes calcium, green tea extract, indole 3 carbinol (an extract from cruciferous vegetables), sulforaphane (broccoli sprout extract), turmeric (curcumin), milk thistle extract, rosemary extract, and lycopene (tomato extract) - all of which is supposed to do wonderful things for me.

10).  Sneaking veggies into everything!  Especially having veggies ready to snack on around 4 in the afternoon when I suddenly feel at my munchiest.  And trying to get the most "bank for my buck" with veggies in that I'm trying to focus on those veggies that are really crunchy and satisfying to chew.

11).  Eating an apple a day.  Yup, I know it's simple.  But it has really become something I look forward to as an extra treat during the day.

12).  Taking my metamucil once a day ... maybe this TMI, but the thing is, I have struggled with irritable bowel syndrome for most of my life and this really helps.  Also, it's supposed to help lower bad cholesterol so it seems like a good idea to take it.

13).  Wear bright colours every day.  The thing is, I love colours and it cheers me up to wear bright colours.  Maybe this sounds weird to stick this in here on the list of healthy life style choices, but if wearing a bright colour helps me feel better about myself and my day, then I figure it's a very inexpensive, painless way to help myself.

14).  Making myself find something humourous every day about my life.  Seriously (or actually, not seriously!), I sometimes forget to take a light-hearted approach to life and laughter really is great medicine!  So, I'm trying to focus on the funny side of life more often and I'm sure I'll lose weight by exercising those laugh muscles!  As a result, I am finding myself noticing more funny and peculiar things that come across my path during the day and I take great delight in sharing them with my husband so we can both have a  good laugh at the end of the day.  Like this hotel sign and the random weirdness of the picture ....

15).   Eat less, exercise more.  Yup, it really is that simple!

16).  Think about my husband's needs more than my own.  Once again, perhaps an unusual thing to throw on a list about healthy living, but healthy living does include mental health and one of the drawbacks of not having children, is that I can become a bit to self-absorbed sometimes.  It's really good for my mental health to think about someone else's needs.  It also makes it much easier to do my daily tasks (like laundry, house-cleaning,  and washing dishes) with a cheerful attitude when I look at them as ways to help Mr. Magnolia's life become easier, rather than just chores that need to be done.

17).  Okay, I admit it, I'm pretty much stumped at #17.  I can't really think of too many other things - except maybe to repeat the DRINK MORE WATER one since that seems to be one I have to constantly repeat to myself.  Maybe by the time I've lost 50 pounds, I'll have come up with 50 inspiring things to help with my healthier lifestyle.  But for now I guess I'll have to stick with 17 .... unless perhaps, I include one more ...

18).  Take time to celebrate the victories!   Yup, whether it's another pound lost, or another day of positive thinking, I am taking time to celebrate the victories along the way.  I am celebrating the fact that I am feeling stronger and healthier than I have in a long time.  And even though I don't want to get all obsessed with numbers, I am celebrating that there are 27 less pounds now that I have to lose than when I started!  :)

Marvelous Monday - A Bird in the Hand

We have the joy of living quite close to a beautiful botanical garden - the Royal Botanical Garden in Hamilton, Ontario.  Along with a number of exquisite formal and informal gardens, the RBG consists of 2400 acres of natural land, and 30 km of hiking trails.  It is one of our favourite places to go to enjoy spring flower displays in the incredible Iris Rock Gardens and the Lilac Arboretum.  But it is also one of our favourite places to go for a Sunday afternoon hike all year round.

We spent a glorious Sunday afternoon there last week.  The sky was blue and the autumn leaves were still full of colour.

The particular hiking trail we chose that day runs along an inner harbour, so periodically along the way we caught glimpses of the water through the trees.

And at one point, the trail took us right down to the water's edge.

We saw lots of birds and animals, like this nuthatch, flicker and this noisy little squirrel who gave us quite a scolding for venturing into his territory!

And we had a great deal of fun feeding the very tame little chickadees who love to take seed right out of your hand!

You know the old saying "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" ... a great reminder to me to practice being content with what I have instead of constantly wishing for something more, or something different, or someone else's life that looks more glamorous than my own.  

So this Marvelous Monday, I am especially thankful for Sunday afternoon hikes, for sweet little chickadees, and for all the other "birds" that are in my hand ... the blessings that are already part of my life that I sometimes take for granted.

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not;

remember that what you now have

was once among the things you only hoped for."

Epicurus, Greek Philosopher (341-270 BC)

Wordless Wednesday

My sweet budgies are adjusting well to their "winter quarters" in my bay window.

Marvelous Monday - Wonderful Parks

It's been several weeks since I posted a "Marvelous Monday" but I've been thinking all day about how much I'd like to write this one and finally now have a moment to sit down to the computer and blog away to my heart's content!

Yesterday afternoon, we spent some blissful time hiking in one of our favourite local parks.  Short Hills Provincial Park is an amazing 1600 acre park filled with hiking trails, waterfalls, beautiful trees and peaceful meadows.  Some trails are designated strictly for hikers while others are multi-use trails for hiking, mountain biking, cross-country skying, and horse-back riding.  Though Short Hills is a favourite of ours, we often take it for granted instead of realizing what a treasure it really is.  I'm so glad we have access to fantastic greenspaces like this.  As my husband puts it, spending time in nature allows us to shake the "clinkers from our thinkers!"

Here are a few shots from our energizing hike on a brisk autumn Sunday afternoon:

“If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking.  Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”   

-- Raymond Inmon


 

“Walking:  the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.”  

-- Carrie Latet


 

“When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body.  I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out.”  

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

“I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.”   

-- G.M. Trevelyan


 

“A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.”  

-- Paul Dudley White


 

“My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.”   

-- Aldous Huxley  

Down in the Depths of my Heart

I've been so grateful for all the encouraging messages since I last posted.  What a wonderful place "blog land" really is, filled with incredible people who truly know how to reach out in friendship and caring to one another.   You really bless me!

So, some have been wondering how my journey is coming along.  On the weight loss front, things are going slowly but good.  I've been continuing every day with my walking and enjoying it tremendously.  Had a few weeks where I hit a big plateau but finally lost another 3 lbs this week so that's good.   And my faith journey is becoming a real adventure too.  I'm amazed at how God is helping me to learn new things all the time and providing me with wonderful friends for comfort and prayer support along the way.

Do you remember that old Sunday School song "Down in My Heart?"

(If you want the lyrics for the whole song you can find them here in this children's song book:  All the Child)

Lately, the words of one of the verses has come to mean something special to me.  It's a bit of a tongue twister and if you know the song, you'll know that this is one of the hardest verses to sing, especially because as kids we used to try to sing it as fast as we possibly could without making a mistake on the words:

I've got the wonderful love of my Blessed Redeemer right down in the depths of my heart,

Down in the depths of my heart (where?)

Down in the depths of my heart (where?)

I've got the wonderful love of my Blessed Redeemer right down in the depths of my heart,

Down in the depths of my heart to stay!

And I'm so happy, so very happy,

I've got the love of Jesus in my heart, 

Down in my heart,

And I'm so happy, so very happy,

I've got the love of Jesus in my heart!

So WHY has this song become so meaningful to me now?  Well, I've been waking up with panic attacks lately in the middle of the night.  I'm not sure what's causing it but I've been waking up with my heart pounding and feeling horribly frozen in fear.  One of my friends suggested that maybe I should get tested for sleep apnea because it's possible that this is why it's happening.  My sister thinks it might be just a hormonal thing.  But whatever is causing it, I don't like it!  I wake up frozen in fear and so afraid that I'm scared to even turn over and reach out to my husband for comfort!  It doesn't last long .... just a moment or so, but it seems like a life-time to me.  

I've tried to "pray" my way out of the attacks and since I'm a very visual person, I have been trying to picture my way out of my panic.  So I have been searching my Bible for various "images" that will help me to picture my way out of the situation.  For instance, I thought about that lovely verse in the Proverbs that says that the name of the Lord is a STRONG TOWER, that the righteous can run into and find safety (Proverbs 18:10).   The only problem I have with this image is that when I'm frozen in fear, it doesn't seem possible for me to run anywhere even if it is to a strong safe tower!   I end up frozen in fear with this frightening picture of a little girl fleeing through the darkness, trying desperately to reach a safe haven.

So I talked to God and asked Him to give me the perfect visual to help me through the fear.  I know He doesn't want me to be afraid, after all, His word says that "God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).  That's exactly what I want - power, love and a sound mind!   So I prayed that He would help me .... and a couple of days later, this is the Scripture I read:

We know that we live in him and he in us, 

because he has given us of his Spirit. 

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son 

to be the Savior of the world. 

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, 

God lives in him and he in God. 

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. 

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

1 John 4:13-16

Yes, I've read these verses many times before, but suddenly I was struck anew with the fact that I don't have to go, run, walk, or flee anywhere to find God!   He, by His great mercy, has chosen to live inside of me!  He's right there in my heart with me through my most difficult moments!  I am not alone.  And that God who lives in me, is a God of LOVE!  So even though I feel like my whole being is flooded with fear, a big part of me is actually taken up by the unconditional, unmatchable, unchanging LOVE OF GOD! 

So for now, I am singing that little children's hymn over and over again in my mind, reminding myself that I really do have the "wonderful love of my Blessed Redeemer right down in the depths of my heart!"  And I'm continuing to feel incredibly humble and blessed that God answers my prayers when I seek Him.  He doesn't tell me to "buck up and get a stiff upper lip and get on with my life" ... instead, He has great compassion on me and addresses my fears directly by helping me to find the perfect Scripture that brings me comfort.

Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.  

Søren Kierkegaard

MIA but not Missing in Action

Just thought I'd pop in today and explain why I have been MIA the last little while.  Truthfully, while I have been "missing internet action" I have not been "missing in action!"  In fact, the very reason I have been less faithful with my blog lately is because I have been more active in real life.

This past summer, I have really struggled with anxiety issues for the first time in my life.  I am generally a very happy-go-lucky kind of person who has floated through life feeling pretty good most of the time.  So when I started noticing this past year that I was becoming a real "worry wort," I simply told myself that I needed to stop worrying and make some changes and things would improve.

One of the changes I made was that I started this blog.  In one of my first blog posts, that you can read about here if you are so inclined, I expressed the hope that I would start feeling better as the summer went on.   And I did most definitely benefit from all of the sunshine we received this summer!  I soaked it up and reveled in all that incredible Vitamin D.   And blogging helped me to make new connections.  I've met some wonderful encouraging friends whom I hope get a chance to read this so they know how much their kind words mean to me.  But at the same time, my anxiety levels were not going down, but rather seemed to be getting worse.

I decided it was time for further action!  And by action, this time, I mean literally ACTION!  I did some research and came to the conclusion that at 43, my body seems to be going into that awful "perimenopausal" state that so many women struggle with.  My hormones are a jumble, I'm having bad PMS, I've gained way too much weight, and it is time for me to take better care of myself physically.  I wasn't sure where to begin to make things better, but I knew I had to starts somewhere. There are few things I knew had helped me in the past so I thought I'd start there.  They are as follows:

 - make sure I have regular meaningful quiet time everyday where I read a portion of the Bible and spend time meditating on it and talking to God.

- make sure I get enough sleep every night but not too much sleep.  Get out of bed at 7 am every day!

- make sure I take a good brisk walk every day.

- make sure I eat regular meals that are healthy and supplement those meals with fresh vegetable juice made in my juicer.

- make sure I take my multivitamins, Vitamin D supplement, Vitamin B6 supplement and Estrosense supplement daily.  (Estrosence is a natural health product for women.  You can read more about it here if you are interested.)

As a result of the changes, I am feeling much stronger and healthier, both physically and emotionally.  I am walking 4 kms every day and have lost 20 pounds.  Although I know that I need to lose more weight, I am feeling like it is now a manageable task with reasonable goals rather than an impossible uphill battle that I can never win.  My pattern of "worrying" is being broken as I am working to renew my mind through reading more of the Bible and disciplining myself to turn off the negative thoughts by handing them over to the Lord whenever I start feeling anxious.  I picture myself handing Him all the things I'm worried about, and receiving a soft, fluffy comforter back in exchange.  It's a visual that helps to remind me that He offers to give us peace and comfort if we will turn our burdens over to Him.

Daily exercise, eating proper meals, juicing everyday, spending quiet time with the Lord --- all of these things take time and so I find I am not always able to fit blogging into my schedule as well.  But I will keep checking in here at least once a week, to keep you all up to date with my life, and check in to see how you all are doing.  It's so great to know I am not journeying through life alone, but have many wonderful friends along for the ride!

Blesssings,

Ro

Marvelous Monday - Autumn Day

Autumn Day:

Lord: it is time. The huge summer has gone by.

Now overlap the sundials with your shadows,

and on the meadows let the wind go free.

Command the fruits to swell on tree and vine;

grant them a few more warm transparent days,

urge them on to fulfillment then, and press

the final sweetness into the heavy wine. 

Whoever has no house now, will never have one.

Whoever is alone will stay alone,

will sit, read, write long letters through the evening,

and wander the boulevards, up and down,

restlessly, while the dry leaves are blowing.

Translated by Stephen Mitchell, 

"The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke" (Random House)

Ooooohhhhh ... doesn't that last stanza send shivers down your spine?   Just feels exactly like an autumn wind has curled itself around me and breathed down my neck!  And yet I love that poem, perhaps because it does get such a response out of me.  And perhaps, because I really do love autumn!

So on this Marvelous Monday, I am thankful for this glorious season of beautiful vistas ....

of leaves turning colour....

of animals seeking hide-away spots for the winter ....

and bright orange pumpkins finding ways to escape the farm!

I hope you are having a glorious autumn!

Blessings,

Ro