Devotion: Just Chill Out! I've Got This!

In Christ we were chosen to be God's people, because from the very beginning God had decided this in keeping with His plan. And He is the One who makes everything agree with what He decides and wants. We are the first people who hoped in Christ, and we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God's glory." Ephesians 1:11-12 

Photo Credit 

Blue lights flashed behind me. "What in the world did I do?" I was practically frantic. I was going under the speed limit; I turned my blinker on; I did everything I was supposed to do. So when the officer came to my window making me aware of a busted tail light, relief flooded through me. That is until I reached for my proof of insurance. It wasn't there! My heart rate immediately went sky high. Instead of a basic warning, I was actually going to get a ticket. So for three weeks my stomach ached at the thought of going to traffic court. All I had to do was show proof of insurance, and I was going to be let go. But all that kept floating in my head was that the last time I got a ticket, 15 years ago, the officer said the same thing, but then basically called me a liar in court, in front of a judge, in a room full of people. I had to pay the ticket anyway. I was just terrified that was all going to happen again. 

The morning of my court date I was a mess! I couldn't eat. I couldn't drink. My hands couldn't stop shaking. I know this sounds crazy, but I never get in trouble. I work real hard to do what is right because getting in trouble literally makes me sick. My husband, who takes everything in stride, was trying to calm me down. I begged him to come with me. "Why?" He said, "They aren't going to talk to me." I needed his presence, someone with me to give me a bit of confidence. I was on the brink of a panic attack when I shakingly told him, "I just need you there! I don't know where to go! I don't know what to wear! I don't know what to say that won't get me in more trouble!" I nervously alternated drinking my cold coffee and biting my nails. "I'm freaking out because I feel like everything is out of my control, and I can't get a solid hold on anything!" As those words came out of my mouth, realization dawned on me. Those words were so true! Everything was out of my control. I received a gentle nudge from God at that moment. He was in control. Whether I was going to be released of my ticket or not, He was in control of the entire situation. I needed to get my confidence from Him, and not myself. There are going to be circumstances in my life where there is absolutely nothing I can do anything about. I have to have faith that God knows what he's doing. When we pulled up to the court house, my husband and daughter prayed with me. Peace washed over me. I took a breath that for the past few hours I could not take. The Lord was going to take care of every little aspect of my life. 

We all go through circumstances in our life where we feel out of control. Some may be minor incidents like mine. You may get a ticket; your dinner party isn't coming together like you wanted; everyone cuts you off on the way to work on a morning you are already late. Or the circumstances may be major. Your daughter is sick and in the hospital; your finances are a mess and the debt collectors have your number on speed dial; you lost your job. The important thing to remember is God is in control. Of EVERY circumstance. His plan is greater than ours. One thing my pastor said the other night at church is this: "God does not cause bad things to happen. But he does allow things to happen in order for a purpose." He quoted scripture from Exodus. Joseph as sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of a crime, and was moved all over the place, away from his family. God's purpose was to have Joseph be the 2nd in command in Egypt when the time was right. The Israelites needed him to be there when the drought raged through Egypt. 

Maybe God's sole purpose for my ticket and anxiety was for me to be reminded how much I needed to rely on Him. I needed to remember that I'm not in control. Letting anxiety overcome me was a stumbling block for me, and I needed to get back on track with my Lord. If anything, I can do what the key scripture says and "bring praise to God's glory." 

My you find peace in the Lord today, trusting in His plan for your life. 

Devotion: Are You Truly Forgiving?

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13









As yet another election season rolls around, we see a mixed group of people lining up for a coveted office. Some have very little experience with politics, but are great business leaders in the community. Others are running under the shadow of famous family members. And then there are some who have had experience, on multiple levels, working on government. As much of an emotional struggle this past Presidential election was, this was more of an emotionally spiritual struggle for me. You see, one of the candidates running for office was highly endorsed by most of the members of my church, and many of my friends {let's call him Phil}, and another candidate {let's call him Bob} held another position a few years back, and who really worked hard to make our state fiscally responsible. Unfortunately, though, Bob made one crucial, very public mistake that almost blacklisted him from ever serving the constituents he loved so much.

As the election approached, my heart began to hurt for Bob. He messed up. He embarrassed our state with his actions. His sins became nationally known, often the topic of comedians and political commentators. And instead of trying to pass the buck, as so many other politicians do, he confessed his sins and asked for forgiveness. Not only did he ask for forgiveness for those he hurt personally, but he asked forgiveness from his constituents. I have even heard of stories where he would personally speak to those who once supported him, asking them to forgive him of his actions. At the time he was asking forgiveness, he was most definitely not running for office again. Fast forward a few years and an opportunity came up for another office he could run for. In his campaign, he did not bring up his last, very public sin. He didn't make it an issue, but be sure other people did. His campaign signs were defaced with hateful words spread across them; social media trashed him for the stupid, stupid thing he had done in the past. And my heart hurt for Bob. People refused to forgive him. As good as a politician he was at the time, the one dumb thing he did at the end of term was apparently unforgiveable, even though it didn't affect his constituents personally.

What really frustrated me the most was the people I saw who refused to forgive him. As a believer, if someone asks you for forgiveness, you are supposed to forgive AND forget. It is not our place to sit in judgement of whether or not he really meant it. Our job is to love him and forgive him. What if I were to sin? Would you refuse to truly forgive me, too? Bob's sin was so very public, and I can't imagine the emotional struggle this has to be for him. He will never be released, fully, from this sin, at least in the eyes of those around him. I can totally understand nonbelievers refusing to forgive him. But for those who constantly work at walking in the Light of God, His love should shine through our words, thoughts, and actions. Matthew 18:21-22 says, "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" And this is for how many times this person sins against you, not how many times you should forgive and re-forgive someone of the same sin. It is not our place to hold his sin against him. It is not our place to refuse forgiveness.

I don't really care if you vote for Bob or for Phil, or, for that matter, Susie, Jack, Mary, or Stephen. But what I do care about is how your words and actions as a believer reflect my Lord. We are to be his ambassadors here on earth, loving, caring, and forgiving each other and those around us. No matter what, no matter who you vote for, I ask that you pray for Bob to find peace, to soak up in God's love. If he gets voted into this new office, remember that was God's will. And if he doesn't, I pray it was because you believed someone else could do a better job, and that Bob can know with confidence it wasn't because people refused to forgive.

Here are the words of one of my current favorite songs. I ask that as you read the words, and even, if you like, see the video, think about those around you whom you have held forgiveness. Who are you hurting with your stubbornness. And if you realize you are sinning in your unforgiveness, maybe you should be asking for forgiveness as well.

And just a little side note. There have been times I have held forgiveness from others. I'm not just pointing fingers here. This entire situation has helped me to remember that I need to practice forgiveness more often, and show God's grace to everyone, whether their sins are great or small.

"Forgiveness" by Matthew West <----Click here to see a video
It's the hardest thing to give away
And the last thing on your mind today
It always goes to those that don't deserve

It's the opposite of how you feel
When the pain they caused is just to real
It takes everything you have just to say the word...

Forgiveness
Forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride
It moves away the mad inside
It's always anger's own worst enemy
Even when the jury and the judge 
Say you gotta right to hold a grudge
It's the whisper in your ear saying 'Set It Free'

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

It'll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what it's power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

I want to finally set it free
So show me how to see what Your mercy sees
Help me now to give what You gave to me
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

REVIEW: Low Carb Chicken Bacon Crockpot Chowder

I love chicken. I LOOOVE bacon. And it's been just cold enough to merit a good soup for dinner. So when I saw the recipe for Chicken Bacon Chowder cropping up all over all of my low carb/paleo FB pages, I decided it would most definitely be a recipe I needed to try.

I found the recipe on Peace, Love, and Low Carb, one of my new favorite websites for yummy recipes. The author's blog is full of beautiful pictures that makes it so simple to follow. Since I didn't have all the ingredients on hand when I suddenly decided to make this soup, I'll show below what I did, but, of course, please see the original post for details. Then see my review at the bottom where I answer the questions: "Was it easy to make?" "How did it taste?" and "Did it make me feel full?"

So here's my "adjusted" recipe. Please go HERE for the original. I will note at the end of the ingredients and steps what I did differently. There is also a * next to ingredients I changed.

Here's my finished product, served with a low carb, almond flour bacon and cheddar scone

Low Carb Chicken Bacon Crockpot Chowder

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 lb bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups water, divided *Recipe calls for chicken stock, but seriously shockingly I didn't have any
• 4 Tbsp butter, divided
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 leek
• 6 oz mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp onion powder *Recipe called for 1/2 large onion. The hubs doesn't like onions, but I like the onion taste, so the powder is a compromise for us. 
• 1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley *Recipe calls for a few springs of Italian Flat Leaf Parsely 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Ingredients in recipe that I did not have so I did not add: 1 shallot, 2 ribs of celery

Directions: This is pretty much word for word from the original. Any changes will have a bolded note next to it. 

1. Turn crockpot on lowest setting. 
2. Chop all veggies. Add the veggies, 2 Tbsp butter, 1 cup chicken stock {I used water}, a pinch of salt and pepper to the crockpot, cover and allow vegetables to sweat for an hour. 
3. Chop up your bacon and cook it until it is nice and crispy {and resist urge to eat half of it}. Set aside. 
4. At the same time, pan sear your chicken breast in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter until they are a nice caramel brown on both sides. They will NOT be fully cooked at this stage. 
5. Remove chicken from pan and cut into cubes. De-glaze the chicken pan with the remaining chicken stock {again, water}.
6. Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, cream cheese, and seasoning to the crockpot. Stir until well combined. 
7. Add the chicken and the bacon to the crockpot. Cover and let cook for 6-8 hours. 

She says the entire batch is 38 net carbs. Without the shallot and celery, that might lower that number just a bit. But it ended up being about 10 servings for us, which is roughly 4g carbs per serving. NOT BAD AT ALL. 

Here are some pictures of the soup about 30 minutes into cooking: 

Good and chunky

Nice and creamy

My "Official" Review

Was it easy to make? Yes. It was very easy to make. Putting it together took a little over an hour, and only because you are supposed to let the veggies sweat. That time went by fast, though, by cooking the bacon, cooking the chicken, and then de-glazing the pan. I only had two complaints, but I can't blame the original chef; it's just the way the ingredients cook. 1} I had to scrape the sides of the crock every hour or so because the cream was browning on the sides. and 2}Around the 6th or 7th hour, my chowder suddenly dropped about 1, almost 2 inches in the crock. I was afraid that my entire soup was going to be reduced to creamy veggies and meat before it was supper time, so I added 1 more cup of water and 1 more cup of cream to the soup. Unfortunately, this made my chowder more soup than chowder. So in the future I will either just leave it alone or plan to eat it in 6 hours, not 8. 

How did it taste? SO. GOOD. My house smelled wonderful all day, too. I really, really like this soup. It was very creamy and full of all kinds of yum. My kids loved it, and my husband gave his seal of approval. I honestly think this would be a great meal to make for someone who is sick, has family in the hospital, or brand new parents. 

Did it make me feel full? Yes, surprisingly so. I started to get 2nds {because it's really that good}, but about two bites into it, I realized I was just too full to eat anymore. It may have been that I paired it with a scone that helped with the feeling full part, but either way, I was happy with what I had. Nothing I hate more than having a thick soup that makes me want to take a nap afterwards. And this soup didn't do that. I was just full and happy. Two very good things. 

This recipe is a good one. For sure going on my list of soups for next winter, since spring is starting to peak around the corner. 

Making My Own Coconut Flour

If you are looking for a low carb recipe or something for your Paleo diet, you are almost always going to run across the ingredients almond flour and coconut flour. At first, you look frantically everywhere thinking for sure grocery stores carry such items. Then you realize, not always, and if they do, it's normally really pricey. The only thing I found close to me was Bob's Red Mill Flour I can purchase at Big Lots or, if I have a sharp eye, at Publix or Bi-Lo. I decided, although it is nice to have a back up bag, I really should just make my own. 

This week I experimented with making my own coconut flour. The process itself is really not all that hard. It can be a bit time consuming,  but other than that, it's really easy. The hardest step I found was trying to find unsweetened coconut flakes, dried or not dried. I looked e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, well, everywhere within a 30  mile radius. I'm sorry. I'm not driving 45 minutes to an hour away just to pick up a bag of unsweetened coconut. You can find sweetened coconut flakes everywhere. And you can still use it, but it adds carbs to your meals and unnecessary sugar that causes your body to crave more and more...and, yes, even more. I actually found some unsweetened coconut by accident. I was checking out prices on frozen berries at my favorite grocery store, Piggly Wiggly {"I'm Stickin' with The Pig"..."Local Since Forever"...yada yada}, when I saw small bags of unsweetened coconut, two bags for $3. I was so stinkin' excited!   So I figured it was a small enough amount that I could experiment on and NOT break the bank. And it worked out swimmingly. 

I made coconut flour two ways. Depending on what you have in your kitchen or what kind of time you are working on, you can make your own coconut flour for your meals. And as my daughter says, "Easy peasy, lemon squeezy". 

Homemade Coconut Flour

What's on the bottom is all but 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour
that I paid around 10 BUCKS for. The top half is all but 1 cup
 of my homemade coconut flour that cost me only 3 to make. 

 Step 1: Drying the flakes 

Method 1: Dehydrator 

1. Line your dehydrator with parchment paper. If your dehydrator doesn't have hundreds of little slats your coconut can fall through, then lucky you! 
2. Spread out the coconut in as much of a single layer as possible. 
3. Turn on your dehydrator and go about your day. 

This is a small batch and got me a little less than half a cup,
which is fine since most of the recipes I use are right around 1/2 cup of coconut flour. 

When I did this method, I did only one sheet, and it took about 8-10 hours for the flakes to dry. Honestly, if you are going to do it this way, I would prep it, turn it on, and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, you can quickly grind the flour and make some pancakes or muffins or something delicious. 

Method 2: Cookie Sheet

1. Turn your oven on LOW, between 170-200. I started mine at 170, but about an hour later, bumped it up to 200, and there it stayed until the end. 
2. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a cookie sheet. 
3. Bake for 2-3 hours. After the first 1 1/2 hours, I started checking every 15-20 minutes. You don't want to BAKE the coconut, you just want to dry it. And my experience with coconut is once it starts baking, it can cook FAST. 

This method is ideal if you are going to be home working around the house anyway. I worked in the yard, gardening, while my coconut was drying. I had the windows open so I could hear the timer go off every 20 minutes. It forced me to come inside, check the coconut, and drink some water before heading back outside. 

Step 2: Grinding the Dried Coconut

Now that your unsweetened coconut is dried, the rest of the process takes only about 2 minutes. 

1. Dump your dried coconut into your blender, Vitamix {if you are lucky enough to have one...which makes me super duper jealous}, or your Magic Bullet. 
2. Pulse the coconut. I pulse and then shook the container, then pulsed again. Coconut has oils in it that can cause all your hard work to clump together. So I just shake it a little between pulses to make sure everything stays separated. 
3. Keep blending until the coconut flakes become a fine powder and then STOP. If you keep going, you can make coconut butter, which I'm sure is delicious, and something I plan on trying next time, but it's not going to help you make your pancakes. 

That's it! Just dry and grind. "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!" 

I have kicked around the idea of purchasing some dried unsweetened coconut flakes in bulk online. I can use the coconut flakes, not ground up as a flour, to make all kinds of things, such as these Coconut Nested Eggs {see picture below}. I'm just not sure if it will save me money or if it all comes out the same. 

This is really just 1 egg, 1/4 cup of unsweetened dried coconut flakes,
and about 15 minutes of your time. I love, love, love this recipe.
 I made 12 in my large muffin tin. Each family member got two with a slice of bacon,
and the kids fought over who was going to get an additional egg. Win-Win.  

And if you are looking for a recipe using coconut flour, here's one I made this morning for breakfast: Lemon Coconut Flour Pancakes

I didn't have any lemon extract, so these were more "Cinnamon Coconut Flour Pancakes", but after making the batter I realized I could have used lemon zest. So next time....

I served these pancakes with frozen berries, a little LOCAL bee pollen,
and some powdered sugar. On my pancakes, I omitted the powdered sugar
and added about a Tablespoon of homemade whipped cream. Super yummy. 

Devotion: Saving My House from Destruction

Picture Credit

"But the one who hears my words and does not obey is like a man who built his house on ground without foundation. When the floods came, the house quickly fell and was completely destroyed." Luke 6:49









My life is busy, and this morning as I was flipping through my prayer journal, I realized that my busy life was getting in the way of my spiritual life. Each Monday I am committed. Bible study? Check. Prayer journal? Check. But when it came to Tuesday through Sunday, my prayer journal entries were spotty. Yesterday I was thinking about how long it had been since I did a blog post. For someone who tends to post two or three times a week, I was really lacking. My policy with doing a devotional blog post is to not push it. If I don't hear God's message to me, then I don't try and share something with you. Otherwise it's just forced. Then I started thinking of why I hadn't heard God speak to my heart lately, and it all goes back to my life being busy. I was so wrapped up with my own life to stop and let God wash me with His love and wisdom.

Remember me telling you that when God speaks to me, he does it in two or three different ways? Well, He did it again this week. My daughter learned last week in Sunday School the story of the two men who built their houses, one on stone and one on sand. She has been humming that song, "The wise man built his house upon the rock..." all week. And THEN, this morning's devotion in Luke that I'm doing through Good Morning Girls was about the story of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man. I really looked at this story hard. For years I have read this story; I have sang that same song. But what hit me the most was the phrase "house". I have always looked at this scripture as talking about my spiritual life as being the house. If I don't place all my trust and build my life on the Rock that is Jesus, then it will all crumble when times get tough. This morning, though, the word "house" struck a new meaning to me, my family.

My husband and I are constantly trying new tactics to teach our children about God in hopes they will come to love Him and desire to be in His Word all the time. We have tried to lead by example, by having our own devotional time each day. We have tried getting them to journal. We have had them listen and discuss lessons they learned through listening to devotions from Keys for Kids, Focus on the Family, and a kid's devotional app I found on my phone. We print out kid-friendly sermon notes {see here, here, and here for examples} for our kids to use during church, and we discuss what they learned during Sunday School and Church each Sunday.

All of that means nothing, though, if our hearts aren't in the right place. God is all about the condition of the heart. Look at King David. Acts 13:22 says, "After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.'" If my husband and I are encouraging our kids to have a relationship with the Lord because "it's the thing to do", then our hearts, and their hearts, will never be in the right place. If we are doing it because, well, we live in the Bible Belt, and if you don't go to church, something is wrong with you, then our kids will never value developing a relationship with their Creator. If we make them keep a prayer journal and sermon notes because it's something that Christians are supposed to do, then they will put their faith in Christian checklists instead of putting their faith in God. GOD must put that desire to love and serve Him in their hearts. We can't force that desire upon them.

BUT

As long as we continue to teach our children these things, prayer, devotions, journaling, taking notes during a sermon, and as long as our intentions are about developing a relationship with God, then a firm foundation has been established. The story of the Wise and Foolish man makes it clear. Floods will come. We will experience difficulty. But if we base our lives, our hopes, our fears, our desires, our struggles in God, then we can weather the storm. We can stand strong while things are tough. And we will come out on the other side standing strong.

And that's what we want to pass on to our children. And that's what I want to pass on to you. And that is what God wanted to remind me this week.

May your foundation be firm and you, too, save your house from destruction.

Low Carb Crepes: A REVIEW

As a low carb-er, I am finding that eggs are becoming pretty essential to my weight loss. And as much as I like eggs, there's only so much fried eggs, boiled eggs, omelets, and quiches I can eat for breakfast. And because I'm a new low carb-er, I still crave the taste of bread. So when I saw "Low Carb Crepes" on one of my new favorite food blogs, Your Lighter Side, I about did a flip in my kitchen. I have made crepes before {see here for a not-so-low-carb recipe}, using an egg-based flour mixture, and they are delicious, but not so good for someone who is trying to lose that nasty weight.

I attempted this recipe, keeping it as close as I could, based on what ingredients I had in the house. I put the recipe in MyFitnesspal.com to see if my adjustments kept it the same amount of carbs...and they did. So I will be sharing the recipe with you, giving you the review.

Low Carb Crepes {Original recipe found HERE}
Note: An asterisk * shows that this is an ingredient that was NOT on the original. Please see the original recipe, link above, for clarification.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 Tbsp Aunt Jemima low sugar syrup*
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil*
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 packets of Pyure Stevia*
• 1/2 cup frozen berries *{the original recipe does not say how much. For just myself, I used a little less than 1/4 cup}

Directions: Because I did almost exactly what she did on her recipe, I am just pasting it below. Any changes will have a bolded statement next to it. 

In a bowl, whip egg whites with cream of tartar until peaks are stiff (about 5 minutes).

In separate bowl, blend cream cheese, yolks, baking powder and Aunt Jemima low sugar syrup. Adding half of the yolk batter at a time to the whites and using a tall spoon (I use an iced tea spoon), make a lazy sine wave {not sure what a "lazy sine wave" is, so I just gently folded} through the batter once. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Add second half of the yolk mix and repeat sine wave two more times.

Using scant ½ cup scoop {I just spooned out batter to make 4-inch crepes}, drop batter onto heated pan. Let cook until bottom is firm (the batter’s not yours) about 3-5 minutes. Flip and press lightly. Let cook for another 1-2 minutes, until crepe is set. Move to a plate to cool.

When ready to serve:

Arrange crepes on a plate (best looking side down).

In a bowl, whip heavy cream with two packets Stevia until still peaks form. Spoon cream into the center of each crepe. Roll and place seam-side down. Tuck fresh fruit in, on and around the crepes. Sprinkle one packet of Splenda along the top (optional). {I did NOT do this}

Refrigerate leftovers.

She says further down that these crepes also make great wraps for sandwiches. So I immediately made some sandwiches and set them aside for future meals. 

My "Official" Review: 

Was it easy to make? 
Yes. It was very easy to make. My only major complaint is that it took me three bowls to make. BUT, it didnt take long. I'm thinking it would be easy for me to prep some of it before hand, such as the yolk mixture and the whipping cream, to speed up the process for a quick morning. One other problem, MINOR, was that her recipe had more packets of sweetener than I saw her instructions had, so I was all about using 4 packs of sugar, and ended up using only 2.

How did it taste? 
Oh. My. Word. I kept checking the recipe to see if I had done it right because it was SO GOOD. It tasted more like a dessert than it did breakfast, and it made me giddy thinking I was eating something so good. I am still getting used to the taste of stevia versus cane sugar, but this recipe really did a great job turning me around to the healthier option.

As for the crepe itself, without the cream and berries. It tasted like a flour-based pancake. No kidding. It was very good.

Did it make me feel full? 
I ate 3 crepes {1 1/2 servings} and was seriously sufficiently full. It's been about 4 hours, and I have not even had a craving for anything else. So I would say "yes", it did make me feel full. I don't like feeling so full I want to go to sleep, so this actually hit the spot.

I will be making these Low Carb Crepes a part of my regular menu. Very, very good.

It's Not a Diet, It's a Lifestyle: The Confessions of an Addict

Photo Credit

If you have been following my blog at all, you know that I have been struggling with my weight since I had my last child four years ago. Whatever used to work no longer worked. I increased how many times I worked out, how long I worked out each time, I ate less and less calories, I increased my protein, and I would tip the scales back and forth a few pounds, never really budging from that range. 

Then I had a talk with a friend who also was having a hard time losing weight. She basically said she needed to restart her metabolism, as it had been in "starvation mode" for far too long, never burning any fat. Her words of frustrations about her weight could have been my own. So I went home and researched "restarting your metabolism", finding that apparently it's not uncommon for most Americans. We have totally screwed up our bodies making them crave starchy, sugary foods. We kid ourselves thinking that eating a big ole bowl of fruit for a meal is healthy, when in actuality, that fruit has so much sugar in it. I realized after three days of constant research, I had sabotaged my diet. I make a LOT of bread; I eat a LOT of sugary fruit; I LOVE potatoes. Oh me. All this time I was thinking it was my thyroid or something, when really it was just my menu. 

I realized I had become an addict. 
I have never smoked, a rarely drink, and Facebook has really been my recent addiction, until I realized that I was seriously addicted to SUGAR. After reading research after research, I was finding how certain sugars were actually never satsifying my body, and only making me crave more and more food. So I would go through these bouts of cutting back how much I was eating, only to never be satisfied. Then I would gain 5 pounds, and then start the cycle all over again. It was so very, very frustrating, ending with me crying a LOT and even, a few desperate times, contemplating  my diet plan in high school: anorexia. 

So I decided I needed a change. 

A healthy change

As I raise my daughter, I want to set an example of healthy living, of working your body to make it strong, and of using your brain to be the best you can be. 

I started posting pictures on Facebook of things I was trying, and I started getting a lot of emails {many encouraging, some, sadly, not so much}. A friend told me she was in the same position as I {see? so many of us have messed things up} and she wanted to know what I was doing. This is what I sent her:

1. I started researching "Restarting Your Metabolism", and found this site: 

http://www.julianbakery.com/julian-bakery-helps-restart-your-metabolism-in-8-easy-steps/. This gave me 

an idea of how much water I needed to drink per day {which was a TON at first, but my bladder handles it 

so much better now, and I find I'm actually craving water all day}. This site also helped me get started. 

Research showed that the first week of a low carb diet is usually 20-40 carbs a day. I was completely 

blowing that out of the water before. Fruit have a TON of carbs.

2. I found this site today {http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm }. I wish I had 

read it last week. It explained my "carb withdrawal" and why I was insanely craving cake.

3. I roughly followed this menu plan this past week, and will be strictly following it this coming week: 

http://www.free-healthy-diet-plans.com/free-diet-meal-plans.html#

4. I found this site yesterday and signed up for the emails with recipes. Good site: http://yourlighterside.com/

So basically increase the meat in your diet and cut as many starch carbs from your diet as much as possible. 

No breads, pastas, starchy veggies such as carrots and most definitely potatoes of any form. If you eat fruit, 

keep it to berries, and keep your portions SMALL. Cheeses are all okay except processed cheeses like the 

kind you unwrap and put on sandwiches {especially velveeta}. Do this for a week or two and then 

slllooowly add carbs back into your diet, but keeping the breads, pastas, and starch veggies at a minimum.

For you long-time low carb-ers out there, I would love to hear your input on these things. I am finding more and more that I really am just going to have to change. I remember Oprah saying one time that she was "just always going to have to be dieter", and although I don't want to "diet", I do want to change my habits. I want to see results, and I want to feel full and happy and confident with myself once again. 

So as I go through this learning stage, I will begin posting REVIEW of low carb recipes, how they taste, how easy it was to make, and how full it made me feel. 

If you have any great sites you follow that have great low carb recipes, please share the link below in the comment section. 

Thank you so much, everyone. Happy Eating.