Fitness: Inside and Out

"Transformation is only valid if it is carried out with the people, not for them. Liberation is like a childbirth, and a painful one. The person who emerges is a new person: no longer either oppressor or oppressed, but a person in the process of achieving freedom. It is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors.” - Paulo Freire

The above photo and quote was shared over 25 times on Facebook from Paula Hannah’s wall. (You ROCK Paula!) I shared it on my personal page as well. Not only were the “before” and “after” photos inspiring, but the words in the left image spoke to a place that, unfortunately, I personally dwelled in for a long time.

Rejection

Bitterness

Unforgiveness

Shame

I can go really deep on this blog to demonstrate my point, but I will say this: Dealing with the root of rejection, in turn sprouted bitterness, unforgiveness and shame. It popped up in various areas of my life, both internally and externally. It showed up in my disposition when I perceived ANY form of rejection. Holding on to bitterness was a barrier to developing meaningful relationships. Unforgiveness, in short, was my emotional prison. Shame was the fuzzy cloud that I walked in if that makes sense. Even after I gave my life to Christ I still carried a lot of these labels.

Let me tell you, GOD is a healer and restorer! This is not a catchy phrase. YOU have to be REAL with yourself and real with God. He sees all anyway so why try to hide?

God dealt with me over time in layers. When I believed that I was healed from one area of my life, He brought another one before me to confront. All of these offenses were interconnected and had hardened my heart over time. I also asked God for forgiveness and prayed for the people that I have hurt in the past as well.

I love the themes on the right side of the photo!

Empowered

Renewed

Rebirth

Planted

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. – Philippians 4:13

I can BE spiritually, emotionally, physically and financially healthy!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am a NEW creature in Christ.

Regardless of the lies spoken over my life.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2

I can not continue to dwell on the world’s negative thought processes.

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night. ³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. – Psalm 1:1-3

Where are you planted?

Apple Pecan Salad

So I was inspired by a healthy salad at a fast food restaurant!

I love the mandarin chicken salad at Wendy’s! When my brother went to pick one up for me when I was in Virginia the other week, he came back with an apple pecan salad instead. I was disappointed to find out that it was not on the menu there. I believe that it is discontinued. Anyhow I tried the apple pecan chicken salad and loved it! I grabbed it for lunch twice when I returned home and then decided to pick up items to make my own at home, with or without the chicken. Here is the recipe for a single serving:

Bowl of Spring mix salad greens

¼ to ½ chopped apple

Glazed pecans (about two tablespoons)

Craisins (about two tablespoons)

Crumbled Bleu cheese

Raspberry Pomegranate dressing

Enjoy!

Note: Beware of caloric intake from the glazed pecans, craisins and cheese. In other words, go lightly.

App for Losing

I have NEVER counted calories. I admit I had a horrible diet which consisted of a lot of sweets such as late night ice cream binges and Pepsi. A slice of leftover chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a cup of coffee for breakfast was normal for me.  I never considered my daily caloric intake at all. When I was in my late teens, early 20s it wasn’t an issue. (Insert chuckle here!) Decades ago I used to smirk at people that diligently counted their calories.  

I don’t have to tell you that over the long term, this type of eating is detrimental to your health in a myriad of ways. I’ve encountered medical issues that I am sure was not enhanced by my former diet.

You know how WE know that something is not right, but we ignore the signs? I am not proud to say that THAT is how I was about certain aspects of my health. The obvious issues I addressed quickly but the issues that were self-imposed, I didn’t acknowledge it as such.

^“19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” – 1 Corinthians 16:19-20

Ok. Wake-up call yet again. This scripture calls for a closer examination of what I was putting into my body. I can’t just eat whatever I want, whenever I want, just because. How can I truly honor God if I am always tired or sick? It is easy to say “Oh I don’t abuse my body with drugs and alcohol.” but what is the heavy sugar intake doing? What does a lack of a balanced diet do? What does a NO EXERCISE lifestyle do over the long run?

I came across a video where a woman described her weight lost journey. In addition to exercise, she mentioned an app called “Lose It”. Immediately I went to my ipad and downloaded the app. This app helps you keep track of what you eat and your exercise. It is very user friendly. It was the last day of the month so I decided to eat what I would eat normally. I logged everything in from a normal day, snacks, the whole nine. It was alarming to me to see the amount of calories I consumed from junk food. The very next day I kicked Pepsi cold turkey.

My husband downloaded the app as well and we use it to encourage each other.

Have I seen results? Yes, I lost a couple of pounds. I am far from where I would like to be but it is not a discouragement. This lifestyle change is a process. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Faith is taking the first step when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Karate Ka For Peace Summer Camp

Karate Ka for Peace Camp is a wonderful free summer camp established by Hamilton College alumna Tiffany Sanders.

The mission of this camp is to provide a safe and unique enrichment program for adolescents living in high-crime areas throughout the city of Boston as well as to use martial arts as an outlet to begin to discuss peaceful approaches in high-anxiety situations before resulting to physical force. The camp met on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings for two hours from mid-June to the end of July.

The classes, taught by Sensei Anthony Sanders, covered diverse disciplines and fostered a great sense of camaraderie amongst the youth. For more information, contact Sensei Sanders at 857.919.7676 or via email at Karateka.summercamp@gmail.com

Literal Water

We are supposed to drink 8-10 glasses of water per day. I admire people who can do that effortlessly.

I used to keep a little poster up in my office cubicle for a visual reminder.  It was not actually a poster but a copied printout from a colleague. She was a serious runner and adamant about eating healthy, etc. At the top of the page was a drawing of 8 glasses and below it listed the benefits for water intake.

1. Lose weight: Drinking water helps you lose weight because it flushes down the by-products of fat breakdown. Drinking water reduces hunger, it’s an effective appetite suppressant so you’ll eat less. Plus, water has zero calories.
2. Natural Remedy for Headache: Helps to relieve headache and back pains due to dehydration. Although many reasons contribute to headache, dehydration is the common one.
3. Look Younger with Healthier Skin: You’ll look younger when your skin is properly hydrated. Water helps to replenish skin tissues, moisturizes skin and increases skin elasticity.
4. Better Productivity at Work: Your brain is mostly made up of water, thus drinking water helps you think better, be more alert and more concentrated.
5. Better Exercise: Drinking water regulates your body temperature. That means you’ll feel more energetic when doing exercises. Water also helps to fuel your muscle.
6. Helps in Digestion and Constipation: Drinking water raises your metabolism because it helps in digestion. Fiber and water goes hand in hand so that you can have your daily bowel movement.
7. Less Cramps and Sprains: Proper hydration helps keep your joints and muscles lubricated, so you’ll less likely get cramps and sprains.
8. Less Likely to Get Sick and Feel Healthy: Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu and other ailments like kidney stones and heart attack. Water adds with lemon is used for ailments like respiratory disease, intestinal problems, rheumatism and arthritis etc. In another words one of the benefits of drinking water is that it can improve your immune system.
9. Relieves Fatigue: Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body. If your body lacks water, your heart, for instance, needs to work harder to pump out the oxygenated blood to all cells, so are the rest of the vital organs, your organs will be exhausted and so will you.
10. Good Mood: Your body feels very good and that’s why you feel happy.
11. Reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.

Can you see the importance of water to your body after understanding the above benefits of drinking water?

 

I’ve also read that this is the formula for your own personal water intake.

Take your weight in pounds, divide it by two and drink that many ounces per day. So if someone weighs 160 pounds, divide that by two, get 80. So that person should drink 80 ounces of water per day. That is ten eight ounce glasses of water throughout the day, or eight ten ounce glasses of water.

Ok this is great. The information was right there in front of me. I knew of the benefits but yet I could not consume all of this water throughout the workday. I like water when I am really thirsty but other than that, I am not that motivated about it. Coffee, juice and other beverages do not count. I am talking h2O. I did however get into the habit of diluting cranberry or grape juice at home. I would pour about one part cranberry juice and three parts water. When I dined out I would ask for a glass of water with lemon, in addition to my other beverage. So I TRIED!

While online I happened to come across links for water recipes. This really caught my attention. “Water Recipe” made the idea of preparing a glass of water EXCITING. I will share a couple of recipes here:

Cucumber-Orange Water Recipe

6 cups cold water

6 thin slices English cucumber (I used regular cucumber)

5 thin slices orange

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Serve.

Sassy Water Recipe

2 liters water (about 8 1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 medium cucumber (peeled and thinly sliced)

1 medium lemon thinly sliced

12 small spearmint leaves

Combine ingredients and let it stand in fridge overnight.

I really like the Cucumber-Orange water. I haven’t tried the Sassy water yet. I have all ingredients with the exception of spearmint leaves so I will try that next. What water recipes do you use?

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