Our Lady of Weight Loss

“Chuga-squeak, Chuga-squeak,” repeats the Grackle.

Our Tucson courtyard, amass in Palm, Olive, Mesquite and Cyprus trees, is home to the Grackle.

The Grackle is longer than most blackbirds, slimmer than most crows.   Grackle males are colorful; very iridescent with their long tails, distinctly creased down the center.  Grackle females are not as iridescent or as colorful, and their tails are not as distinctive.

As you click through this week’s Get Jiggy Weight Loss JigSaw Puzzle, “The Grackle: Chuga-Squeak“, set your mind to bird-like happiness, crow like the Grackle!

Remember, clicking burns calories.  Keeping your  hands and mind busy is always a good idea.

Send an e-card to your friends! “The Grackle-Chuga-Squeak e-Card/postcard.”

For more birds of a feather who stick together, visit Our Lady of Weight Loss’s KICK in the TUSH CLUB/Facebook Chapter!

Spread the word … NOT the icing,

Janice Taylor
wise * fun * utterly useful

Dictated but not read by OLWL.  Excuse all typos!
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For the best life, wellness and weight loss wisdom, visit Janice:
Our Lady of Weight Loss
sign up for the Kick in the Tush Club e-letter
join and chat: Kick in the Tush Club/Facebook

Q:  How amazing and magical is it when someone (a good friend, neighbor or even a relative) shows up at your front door with a bowl of somethin’ special that she (or he) has just whipped up to share with you–that is not only delish, but healthy as well?

A:  Very amazing!

I am happy to report that when our dear friend, Betsy, surprised us (DH and me) with a bowl of her famous (in these here parts) Gazpacho!  I asked if I could share the recipe and Betsy said, “Sure! FYI…it’s a variation of the South Beach Gazpacho.”

Without further ado, here is Betsy’s recipe, which I highly recommend, as does DH!   It was a spoon-to-spoon fight to the finish.  Loved it!!!

BETSY’S GAZPACHO:

Ingredients:
1 largish bell pepper, red or green, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 – sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, diced (optional-Betsy did add, but no more than one clove)
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, pettit, w. juice
2 1/2 cups of V8 juice (regular) chilled
3 T. white vinegar
2 T. olive oil
Worcestershire to taste
Sea salt to taste (optional-Betsy did not add)

Directions:
In large bowl, mix all ingredients together.
Chill.
Serve.

Note:  Betsy diced everything into little squares.  It was crunchy. Delicious! Heavenly! Fabulous!

DIET TIP:   For those who are “nighttime” eaters, consider this as your nighttime snack!  Chow down guilt-free!

For more mouth-watering, heavenly, Our Lady of Weight Loss approved recipes that lighten body and soul, visit Our Lady’s FACEBOOK/Kick in the Tush Club Chapter!

Spread the word … NOT the icing,

Janice Taylor
wise * fun * utterly useful

Dictated but not read by OLWL.  Excuse all typos!
———————————————————————————-
For the best life, wellness and weight loss wisdom, visit Janice:
Our Lady of Weight Loss
sign up for the Kick in the Tush Club e-letter
join and chat: Kick in the Tush Club/Facebook

Our inner guidance comes to us through our feelings and body wisdom first — not through intellectual understanding. ~ Christiane Northrup

Because thoughts come from our head, and said thoughts tend to be loud (very loud), we are inclined to live there – in our heads.

What happens when we live in our heads?
We disconnect from our bodies. That’s what happens! We disconnect from our bodies.  We lose touch with our bodies and the fact is -  yes it is a fact – that our bodies know us better than our minds do.

Imagine that … just for a moment.  Your body knows you better than your mind knows you. Our thoughts are often skewed and out right wrong.  But our bodies?  Our bodies don’t lie to us.  Our bodies are never wrong.

What we need to do is shift our attention from our ‘head’ thoughts and move it to our bodies. Notice your breath. Are you breathing? Deeply or barely at all? Scan your body. Are your muscles tense? Where are the knots? Where is the energy blocked?

Your body feels good when she (or he) is happy. Your body is the source of your vitality, your intuition, your enthusiasm; and it is the source of your motivation.

You want to know how to stay motivated, don’t you?
Tap into your body. Breathe deeply. Stretch. Release the tension. And ask your body, “Body, dear sweet body, that is under-appreciated for all that you do for me, what do you want?”

Listen to your body.

#OneWord Thursday – 10 Quotes that Inspire the #Body

1. Our own physical body possesses a wisdom, which we who inhabit the body lack. We give it orders, which make no sense. ~ Henry Miller

2. The word arse is as much god as the word face. It must be so, otherwise you cut off your god at the waist. ~ D.H. Lawrence

3. Man is an intelligence in servitude to his organs. ~ Aldous Huxley

4. The body never lies. ~ Martha Graham

5.  Your heart knows not how to lie. It is great that it lays deep in your chest and not in your mouth. ~ Kak Sri

6.  Emotion always has its roots in the unconscious and manifests itself in the body.
~ Irene Claremont de Castillejo

7.  Our bodies are apt to be our autobiographies. ~ Frank Gillette Burges

8.  Few of us have lost our minds, but most of us have long ago lost our bodies. ~ Ken Wilbur

9.  I love the body.  Flesh is so honest, and organs do not lie. ~ Terri Guillemets

10. If you do not care for your body, do tell … where will your soul live? ~ Janice Taylor

Which quote resonates most with your body?
Do you have another to share?  Please inspire the body today!

For more inspired quotes that motivate, visit:  Our Lady’s FACEBOOK/Kick in the Tush Club Chapter!

Spread the word … NOT the icing,

Janice Taylor
wise * fun * utterly useful

Dictated but not read by OLWL.  Excuse all typos!
———————————————————————————-
For the best life, wellness and weight loss wisdom, visit Janice:
Our Lady of Weight Loss
sign up for the Kick in the Tush Club e-letter
join and chat: Kick in the Tush Club/Facebook

“Perplexed” turns to Our Lady of Weight Loss and asks “How can I help my daughter? How can I restore family harmony?”

Dear Our Lady of Weight Loss ~ I have three teenage-young adult kids. They are all winners in their own ways and on track to be happy, successful people. But of course, they do have issues and need guidance.

My middle daughter needs to lose some weight – but has resisted all efforts on my part to help. She doesn’t want to go to Weight Watchers or try a planned diet. She says she is happy the way she is and asks me to cease and desist on the issue of weight.

I would be happy to let it be – but my husband pressures me to address it with her. He somehow thinks I am part of the problem – though I eat a pretty balanced diet and exercise allot. She is away at school, so I have very little control over what my daughter consumes.

I would like to wait and see and let my daughter deal – but my husband blames me and insists that I “DO SOMETHING!”

What can I do to get him off my back, her back, and restore family harmony?  ~ Perplexed

Dear Perplexed ~ May I be blunt and put it right out there? (I hear a resounding “yes.” Thank you.)

Whether your daughter ‘wants to’ lose weight or not is entirely up to her. It is her life, her journey, and it is her decision. Please note that I said that it’s about what your daughter WANTS. There was no should, have to or must in it.

Speaking in “should’s,” “must’s” and “have to’s” is a sure way of mucking up the works, creating stuck states of unhappiness with bucketfuls of feelings of blame, criticism and anxiety.

To my point, your husband thinks you “should” be in charge of your daughter’s behavior. How does that resonate with you? Does it feel like he is blaming you, criticizing you? Is it working?

I invite you, your husband and your entire family (and all who are reading this) to remove the “should’s,” “have to’s” and “must’s” from your vocabularies.  Substitute the word “want” for just one week.  Ask yourself what you want to do rather than what you should do, repeatedly, over and over again. At the end of the week just see what happens.

The best thing we can do as parents (as citizens, too) is to set a good example. You take care of you! Eat and serve healthful meals. Walk your 10,000 steps a day (or your form of movement). You glow! You make this the best life ever for YOU.

Focus on what is right. When you talk to your daughter, talk about what is right. Surely, telling someone that they ‘need to’ lose weight only serves to let them know that you think that there is something ‘wrong’ with them. (I speak from first-hand experience – having lived a life of chubb-e-tude. From day one someone was telling me that I ‘should’ lose weight and sadly, what a shame it was that I had a pretty face, which only led me to shamefully eat yet another candy bar.)

As for your husband, I am wondering what does it mean to him that your daughter–to his standards–is carrying around a few extra pounds? What stands in his way of communicating directly with your daughter? What stops you from communicating your wants to your husband?

As in, “Honey, I would appreciate your leaving me out of this unhealthy triangle. Our daughter is free to create the life she wants.” You certainly do not have to do what he tells you to do. End of story.

Be accepting, be compassionate, be healthy, be open–practice loving-kindness.

As Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~ OLofWL

To–Dish the dirt, chew the fat, unearth the best diet tips in town, visit: Facebook/Kick in the Tush Club!

Spread the word–NOT the icing!

Janice
Dictated but not read by OLWL.  Excuse all typos!
———————————————————————————-
For the best life, wellness and weight loss wisdom, visit Janice:
Our Lady of Weight Loss
sign up for the Kick in the Tush Club e-letter
join and chat: Kick in the Tush Club/Facebook