Beyond Gorgeous

How are the steps coming?  Do you need suggestions for working more steps naturally into your day?  Here’s one that changed my numbers dramatically.

I used to be frustrated at the amount of time I had to spend on the phone.  I wanted to be moving, but felt tethered to my chair while I handled calls for my home-based business, church matters, friends that needed an ear, and elderly relatives who were lonely and wanted to tell me their life stories.  I wanted to be a blessing to all these folks, but talking and listening just don’t burn up many calories.

Then it occurred to me that I wasn’t really tied to my chair.  My phone doesn’t have a cord.  I started getting up and walking around the house during phone calls. Soon it became a habit and now I automatically start walking when someone calls me.

Instead of making me sedentary, those calls set me in motion. The sometimes tiresome calls — the ones that required me to be on hold or that involved listening to a beloved family member tell me a well-worn story yet again — became my gentle workout time.  They were transformed from an irritation to a boon. I would think, “Oh, good. It’s So-and-so. She’s good for a couple thousand steps at least!”

If you are having trouble getting in the steps you need, start walking when the phone rings. And if you don’t have a lonely relative or friend who calls you frequently to give your numbers a boost — I recommend you find one or two and start giving them calls.  It’s an easy way to be a blessing — and to get one.

Eating to live and living for Christ.
Susan Jordan Brown

“Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”

Dorie the Fish from Finding Nemo

“I have more than a hundred pounds to lose,” a friend told me. “It seems hopeless — like I’ll never get there.”

How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.

How do you lose a hundred pounds  One pound at a time. Or, as Dorie says, “Just keep swimming.”  Keep doing the healthy things and developing the good habits that will enable your body to burn off the extra fuel you have stored up.  Don’t get discouraged.

Just keep swimming!

Eating to live and living for Christ,
Susan Jordan Brown

So, what does a low glycemic meal look like?  What are you supposed to eat?  Here are some suggestions.

What’s for breakfast?

*You can have eggs  — scrambled, poached, or in an omelet. Limit fried eggs as they add calories.

*You can also have breakfast meats such as bacon or sausage.  Again, keep in mind that there CAN be too much of a good thing if it contains a lot of high-calorie fat.

*Cottage cheese and a low glycemic fruit.

*Yogurt and low glycemic fruit.

*Vegetables – We are the only country in the world that does NOT eat vegetables for breakfast.

*Whole grain cereals in moderation. Old fashioned, slow cooked oatmeal, for example, has a low to moderate glycemic load.  Sweeten with a natural sweetener like stevia a stevia blend.

*Low glycemic meal replacement drink.  I have a great chocolate one with a GI number of  35 and only 180 calories.  I drink it hot with a splash of coffee to make it a mochachino.    Very good and filling.  Make sure you have one that specifies a low GI number.  They are hard to find.

What’s for lunch?

*How about an big, interesting salad full of crunchy things and chewy things like carrots, mushrooms, celery, bell peppers, apple, grapes, and nuts.  Or spinach and strawberry. Use oil and vinegar dressing or Cesar dressing to keep calories and sugar down.

*Baked sweet potato.  You can have butter with it and cinnamon with a natural sugar substitute, if you wish.

*Sandwich makings, but wrapped in a romaine lettuce leaf instead of bread. Deli meat with tomato, pickles, black olives, and any other veggies you can add make a great, filling low GI lunch.  You can use mayo or mustard or Caesar dressing on it.

*A wrap using  the above on a whole grain tortilla.

*If you use bread for a sandwich, choose a dark, whole grain variety.  Usually, the darker the better.

*Leftovers — If you grill meat or make a low glycemic casserole for supper, save a portion for your lunch the next day.

*Eat raw veggies with dip as a side rather than chips or fries.

*A low glycemic fruit for dessert.

Supper?

*Grilled meat or chicken using an outdoor grill or a George-Forman type electric grill.

*Grilled vegetables.

*Stir-fried vegetables. To make it a main dish,  add cooked chicken or beef.

*Casseroles using low-glycemic ingredients: meat, eggs, cheese, vegetables. Pasta is okay if cooked al dente.

*Salad

*Homemade soups using chicken or beef broth, vegetables, meat, etc.

*Bean dishes like hamhocks and beans

*Sweet potato instead of white potatoes.

*Balsamati rice as a side instead of potatoes.

Snacks

Nuts — only a handful.

Fruit

Nut butter on celery or fruit — excellent if you have major hunger issues.

Cottage cheese

Cheese cubes

Boiled eggs

Olives

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A note on snacks:  Don’t munch on these all day long, but plan a mid-morning snack and one for mid-afternoon to keep your blood sugar steady.  Avoid snacks after supper.

Don’t forget to estimate calories. Too much of any of these low-glycemic suggestions can become high glycemic and a diet saboteur.

Happy Eating!

Eating to live and living for Christ,
Susan Jordan Brown

We’re back from a week at church camp.  It was a great week with no major problems — except for eight-year-old grandson Jeremiah falling off the climbing rope and spraining his ankle.

And a personal challenge for me.  When we hooked up our eighteen-foot-long trailer (which we dubbed “The Little Tin Box”), the floor was quickly awash in water.  We traced the source to a leak in our fresh water tank.  This was quickly remedied by turning off the water — which meant that we had to do without running water for the week.  This wasn’t too difficult, since the hydrant was nearby.  It was just pesky and inconvenient.

As I lugged in the bucket of “flushing water”  for the bathroom, I thought, “At least at home I have running water.  I may not have a refrigerator and my carpet looks nasty –but I can manage as long as I have water.  I won’t do this long term!”

And the Lord convicted me of that thought.  Do we give God ultimatums?  Should I say, “I’ll be glad to obey You as long as it isn’t too troublesome?”  If God wants me living in a 34 -foot travel trailer (which He does) I should be happy there, no matter what the inconvenience.  Who am I to dictate to God about how He provides for me?

So much of the Christian life is about surrender.  We surrender all to Him in salvation — giving up our “right” to be the god, the one in charge of our lives.  And our walk with Him is one of continually giving up.  It popped up again in my daily Bible reading today: “Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (II Cor. 10:5)

The blessing is that God is a good God.  Every time we turn loose of something that has become too important to us, He grants us something better.  In my case, the “something better” than running water was peace.

If we have limits — if we say, “I’ll go this far and no further in following You” — we set ourselves up to worry.  What if I lose this precious thing I own?  What if I have to do something I don’t want to do?  What if…. What if……

The cure for the “what ifs” is surrender. If I have given everything to God, then it is no longer mine to guard and hang onto.  I am free.  I trust Him to give me what I need at the right time.  He can keep my “stuff” for me or remove it.  He is all I really need.

Is anything worrying you today?  There is a way to get rid of the worry and to have freedom.   Bring it to God — and surrender.

Eating to live and living for Christ,
Susan Jordan Brown