Wow! How is that possible?

DAY 3 of The Fast Metabolism Diet

I don't believe in getting on the scale any more than once a week while dieting, but because I am changing to the second phase-I just had to!  In the 2 days of Phase One I lost 5 lbs!!!  I had to step off the scale and do it twice because I was afraid it was wrong! 

Who would have thought that this CONSTANT eating (this is the first time I have EVER complained about eating a lot of food!) and too many cups of water (I have to get up twice in the middle of the night for trips to the bathroom!!!) would have such an impact on weight loss!  I have tried SO MANY different things and plans to try to lose weight and I have hope that this might work.

I am so excited!

There are a couple of key points in this plan.  Eat EVERY 3 hours, drink half of your weight in water EVERYDAY, eat organic whenever possible and keep with the food plan.

While eating every 3 hours you keep your body's furnace fueled to keep burning fat and while staying on this specific plan and doing in the order she has laid out, you are able to constantly keep the body confused so that it doesn't get to comfortable and stop burning.  The water helps flush everything from the body and out of the liver.  By eating organic your body isn't wasting time burning the chemicals that we ate with our food, instead it takes that energy to burn the fat in our body.

As I go along I will keep learning about this, but if you haven't run out to go buy this book, I would suggest that you hurry!!!  It is very interesting to read it and learn about the body and how it works.  Now onto the next 5 glasses of water....

Whoa...where did this weight come from?

Whoa...where did this weight come from?

I started a new plan...after years of doctors telling me that my metabolism was a "mess" I have finally come across a new plan that I am praying will get my body back in order. After years of yo-yo dieting followed by poor food and portion choices, my body has taken a beating and it is showing!

Because of a friends success, I have started "The Fast Metabolism Diet".  I am following the book written by Haylie Pomroy.  I am enjoying the book so much and I am sure not feeling deprived, if anything I am SHOCKED at the amount of food that I am eating!  I have got to get that metabolism burning!

My son told me yesterday that he thought that I should blog my experience with this diet, the highs and the lows, the successes and the set-backs.  I think that is a great idea!  I have a LOT of weight to lose so this may be a LONG journey!  I suppose that means that I should find a pic to put on here as well.

So, between having to eat every 3 hours and drinking multiple cups of water...1/2 of your body weight in ounces....I will blog my story!

I come from a long-line of weight issues and I can see the road that I am on.  I don't want to be overweight for the rest of my life.  I want to have energy and feel attractive, I don't want my weight to be what holds me back any longer.

Yesterday was the beginning of the rest of my life!

Phase one lasts for 2 days.  I started this yesterday obviously.  On these first 2 days you are eating specific grains moderate proteins and fruits.  I did struggle through this because I mainly get my fruits through juice or bananas.  Bananas are not allowed because of their sugar content (grapes are the same way).  Juice is also not allowed because of a couple factors, one being the instant sugar spike and 2 being that if you have the fruit you get the fiber as well.  The last 2 fruits I ended up replacing with cherry tomatoes because I just couldn't do another apple and I didn't have any other fruit available.

It is 10pm, I have got to go to bed....I DON'T want to eat again!!!

Organized Bliss!

I am having a nail-biting, heart-pounding day today!

I believe that someone broke into our house on several occasions within the last several days, months and years! It is so creepy...I am getting goose-bumps thinking about it!!!

Mark has gotten a new job after 8 years of being a Loan Officer...YAHOO, MARK!!!! I am so proud of him and excited for him! BUT....(I can almost hear the screeching tire breaking sound...oh, never mind I think someone almost missed the stop sign outside again!) ANY WAY. Yippee for Mark, Oh CRAP for me! We are now going to have 2 adults working out of our office in our HOUSE!!!!

OK, back to the Burgular...well, I don't know if you can call him/her that exactly. It would almost be a Burgular-in-reverse!!! I think they broke in and went through our desk drawers and LEFT STUFF!!! There is NO way that I could have accumulated this much...uhhh...CRAP!!!

Post-It Notes...Thank you for leaving those, I just don't think you can EVER have enough of those thingys...I guess they could tell that I really needed and would appreciate them when I use them to decorate my computer screen with them...of course I use them by writing my reminders on them first, I mean PLEASE, we can't just waste things! And can you really imagine a computer screen without all of those beautiful colors...just brightens up my day looking at the rainbow. They may have looked at my desk top also and have been able to see my need for such items...I mean THINK ABOUT IT...how in the world did our parents live without them? Ok, I am starting to relax about the Burgular thing...I mean how can you get upset or press charges over something as kind as that?

I looked in my cubby hole in my desk. (That is so awesome that I have something like that to store things I may need later.) Like the 10 calculators I found in there today. Some of them are my kids, I am sure of that...one is a special Real Estate calculator (that's mine), a couple were EXPENSIVE ones for the kids for Math class...I mean look at me, I didn't need a special one and I seem to have turned out fine. Why did we have to buy special ones??? Just because you spend that extra amount does not mean that you are smarter!!! (That's kind of like buying the weight-loss book that NEVER makes you lose weight, I have the receipt, it should work!!!) Ok, back to the calculators...I can't blame that on the Burgulars-in-reverse...I will look in another drawer.

Pens and Markers...how kind to leave them behind! I am starting to feel like this is Christmas! I really can't say how many Pens and Markers are stashed in each drawer and shelf as well as a couple of cups on top of the desk. (I would count all of them but I don't even know how to turn on those expensive calculators!!!) There will be no problem with Mark and I sharing a desk in this office we definitely have enough papers and pens. This Santa Claus-Burgular-in-reverse must really be looking out for us, knowing that we are so far from supply stores, how helpful is that!!!

Of course, there are a couple of things that I held on to. Duplicate check receipts since 2005, you never know when you will have to look back at those things...I could maybe put them with the Check Registers that I have tucked away since 1995. Oh, dear more work ahead for me!!! I will work on that another day! Another day, another chore, another Blog!!!

That second drawer down on my left seems to be the Memories Drawer! I found 5- 35mm canisters filled with film that hasn't even been developed yet! Never mind the fact that I have been using a digital camera for the last 5 years at least. Then there are the white tennis shoe laces...must have been from a time when the boys could wear shoes for longer than 6 months without outgrowing them or having them rot away from the stench!!! Memories! Eye covers for Tanning Booths, oh, the memory of a tan, I haven't used one of them in at least 3 years...you never know I may try that again someday, better leave them...just in case.

Mark is so lucky to be sharing a desk with me, we are fully equipped for a long time to come with our office supplies...now if I could just find a scissors here...

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward. It is the LORD CHRIST you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

playing a Caterer

I offered to cater an Open House for a couple colleagues. I can truly say that I loved making the tasty appetizers and setting the trays.

I even was able to use fresh herbs from my tidy little herb garden on my front deck.

Oh, I LOVE to make appetizers and I REALLY love to entertain...I would love to start this as a business. But, I am afraid that it would no longer be fun!

They had a Wine Tasting with the finger foods. The appetizers consisted of Marinated Cherry Tomato-Mozzarella Skewers, Cucumber sandwiches with Taragon butter, Antipasto Platter with Crostini slices and Forgotten Cookies.

Makes me ready to entertain by just thinking about it!

PATIENCE

I am sure I have probably had the word Patience in my Blog a time or two!!! And if I remember correctly, I did say that it wouldn't be the last time that you saw that word associated with my name!!! I didn't lie about that!

I can't believe how long it has been since I have blogged. It just seems like the last couple of months have held more excitement than I care to think about...actually some has been good, but then again...some has NOT!

I did pass my Personal Lines Insurance exam in April! Yahoo!!! That was a major accomplishment for me, I do not test well, nor have I EVER for that matter. The Lord and I had many discussions about that along the way and thankfully, he never forgot about me during that whole time. Obviously not, I passed it on the first try!!!

Now, to answer the question...Yes, I am licensed in Personal Lines of Insurance. No, I am not selling at this time. I had a possible job that was mentioned to me on MANY occasions...unfortunately the day after passing my exam, the brakes were applied and the story was "Whoa...I don't mean to burst your bubble...but, I can't promise a position...etc, crap, crap, crap" After the conversation of, "You would be perfect in that position, I sure hope you are serious, because I have had no opposition what-so-ever (that was strongly emphasized) when I have talked to management about this." That last comment was mentioned the day before taking the exam! Talk about an incredible high and then an aweful low.

There are so many conversations that made me think (and anyone else would have, too) that the only obstacle, was getting my license.

2 Thessalonians 3:3-5. But the Lord is Faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perserverance.

Through this heartache and confusion I have learned more things that I ever thought would be possible. I learned about the wolf in sheeps clothing that seems like they are your closest friend, all the while only nice to you to try to get what they need...and then they will walk right over you to get at it. I learned about the "mature" person that speaks before thinking and can cause a situation more harm than good. I learned about the person that knows something went wrong, but doesn't have the guts to fix the situation, would rather sweep it under the rug and find the easy way out. I learned about the person who always seems to have your back and as soon as you need them, they side with the other party...no matter if the other party was in the wrong or not. Finally, I learned about the person who had and has had my back all along and I never knew it.

There were more valuable Sunday School lessons in that situation than I can ever have time to mention. Up until now (actually not until I started to type this Blog) I hadn't taken the time to really think about the fact that I came out the winner of that situation! If I had received that job, I would be stuck in the middle of a company that I can't respect...how long would I last at a place like that???

My lesson was far more valuable than the paycheck I would receive at the end of the week.

Isaiah 40:31. But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

to being an Encourager.

Oh my goodness...this Blog's vision was about one thing and my mind is now in over-drive over the word Encouragement and it may go in MANY different directions!!!

There were four of us in the car on Tuesday. I do not know how the conversation started...but, one of my dear friends that I work with looked at me and said you have the greatest lips. Another lovely coworker said, "when I first started at the office that was one of the first things I noticed about you". I have heard this MANY times over my adult life, but you wouldn't believe what I heard when I was a child!

Obviously I GREW into my lips, as a child they must have seemed larger...thankfully for me, they didn't interfere with anything in my life...but, to a couple of other children they must have been a large distraction! I was teased by a couple of boys in elementary school, that would taunt me about it and call me "Nigger Lips" I hate that term, I even hate that word!!! Anyone that knows me knows that I don't use that word, but that IS what I was called!

Imagine my relief in my 20s when full lips were thought of as attractive. Who decided this? Why did they wait until I was 20? Why did I all of the sudden feel better about my lips because SOMEONE decided that they were more attractive?

There are so many things that come to mind about this WHOLE thing. Think about how ONE person can make us think low about something or someone. Think about how strong someone's opinion can be to our own opinions and sometimes our beliefs. Think about how ONE comment, Good or Bad can be to the person we tell it to...there is not ONE of us that has not said the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person and created a different opinion or belief in that person's mind. All of us have done this.

Do we boost their confidence by words of ENCOURAGEMENT? Or do we tear them down with negative thoughts, words and actions?

We create this in our personal lives when we talk to people about someone else. We want to tell someone what that other someone has done to us and how they hurt us...we want others to know. We want people to rally around us, to feel that someone is OUR friend, and that they are on OUR side. I have done this MANY times...I have been so frustrated and hurt and I feel I deserve to tell my friend about this. Hold it...I don't deserve to do this, it is WRONG! I am creating in someone else's mind a negative thought about another person...there is no way that I can justify this. I may have had a negative experience with that person and they may have hurt me deeply, but I can not be responsible for destroying what could be a beautiful and safe friendship between two other people!

We all have negative days, we wake up grumpy...or we had something happen to us personally that has made us grumpy...or maybe we are going through a depression...or financial difficulty...the point is NONE of us knows what another person is going through on any given day. What someone said that was hurtful to me on Monday may not have been said to me on Tuesday, by that same person. What was said hurtful to me on Monday may not have seemed as hurtful to me on Tuesday. AND we all need to remember (especially me!)... I can't judge someone for something that they say or do to me, I need to forgive that person...if I take the time to think about it, more than likely I have done the same thing to another person at one time or another. I need to forgive and I need to turn the other cheek.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV

The other direction that my thoughts ran on this Blog was....that one little comment about my lips, what if that was the ONLY positive comment that someone heard for the day, or a month or even in a year...what if that is the ONE comment that they want to hold onto, it may seem silly to one person that someone would notice that about another person, but....I held onto the negative one as a kid....

I have my bags packed, I am anxious to being on my journey to being an Encourager.

being a Loyal Friend.

I was reading through this book I have called The Handbook of Bible Application. The boys and Mark got it for me for Mother's Day one year when all the kids were very small. I use it to find a topic that I am struggling with or to find a topic that I should access in the Bible.

Today I was looking up Fruits of the Spirit...yes, I know I should just know where to go in the Bible, but I also like what this book has to say along with the Bible. I was going to do a topic on one of the Fruits for this Blog when I looked on my left side and it was on Friendship and specifically loyalty in friendship. If that wasn't a nudge I can't imagine what was.

A true friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17 TLB

It goes on to describe that real friendship involves face to face honesty. This week I needed to meet with a friend face to face and because of sickness I was not able to. I would have given anything to be able to be in her presence and talk through some struggles that we have recently gone through. But, it wasn't to happen. I pray that when I am better we can pick up where we left off and continue on as we were before. You see, I love this friend with all my heart and would never want anything to come between our friendship.

The book goes on to explain that the greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty (and loyalty is described as "loving at all times")-being available in times of distress or personal struggles. I so want to be that kind of friend and I am finally realizing that I need to pray to be this type of person, in all of my friendships. I want to be there to cry with as well as laugh. I want to be the person that is called in times of need.

So many times we get frustrated with people because of what we think they did or didn't do right. Instead of walking away, we need to step back from it and think about the times that we have done something to someone else. How many times have we been in the shoes of the person that hurt us? How many times have we hurt others, either from not thinking about what we are saying or by just not being there for them? How many times have we let slip, words said during a conversation with a dear friend, to someone else and then regretted it fiercely? I know I have done all of these things at one time or another.

This is when it helps to stop and think before reacting or jumping to conclusions. It is that other word from the Fruits of the Spirit: Patience. I struggle with Patience almost as much as I struggle with Contentment! I have a lack of Patience with myself as well as others and situations. But, I am continually realizing IF Iwould have had Patience and took the time to wait and think, situations would have turned out so differently and I would see that the things that I have imagined rarely come true.

I have been so blessed to have many friends that forgive me when I do wrong to them and I truly pray that I will always stop and forgive and love them, too!

So, I have started a new thought when I am hurt...I say to myself and outloud...I am sure I have done this same thing to someone else at one time or another. And then I forgive and pray that I will be forgiven as well.

Because you can't have Love or Loyalty without forgiveness.