Eat To Live

Here is a question for you to think about.

Do you LIVE to EAT  OR  EAT to LIVE?

I've seen a few posts on social media that are telling people it is a GIVEN they WILL make poor choices on Thursday so just go workout or whatever. Is that true? NO!!!!!!! It is NOT a MUST that we make poor choices on a holiday or anytime of the year. 

When we focus our lives around food we will struggle to eat correct portions and with eating foods that are better for us. If it is all about food then we allow those foods that have addictive ingredients in them to control our lives. Many foods contain them. Our bodies have built up an addiction to foods with salt, fat and sugar plus unhealthy chemical additives that make us think we are still hungry, but we aren't. Although, if we are ONLY feeding our bodies those foods, our body is screaming for the foods and nutrients it needs but have no room for them in our stomach. We are over fed and under nourished. Our bodies were created to be fed certain foods. What foods are you feeding your body? 

And it isn't just about what foods but how much food. Why do we stuff food into our bodies without thought? We pile our plates high with so much food and then want to have seconds and thirds because it "tastes so good." Or when we eat out we get large everything or think we need to order very large plates of food. It's OK to enjoy your food. But it isn't a good feeling when we are so full we can't even keep our pants buttoned. I used to live like that. Many, many people do. 

THAT does NOT have to be your Thanksgiving this year. You can eat some delicious food and have a great day. But choose them in the right portions. A smaller amount of potatoes and stuffing is OK. A bigger helping of fresh salad or vegetables is great. Then pick a small piece of dessert, like a thin slice of your favorite pie. It doesn't have to be huge to taste wonderful. And you don't HAVE to have some of every dessert at the same meal. You could spread it out over a number of days so you can enjoy each one IF your like us and tend to make more than one kind of dessert. 

Have no regrets this Thursday. Don't give up on your goals for one day, for one day of food. 

But you say..."Can't I just workout extra hard before and/or after?" Well, I do recommend that you DO keep up your workouts as if it is just any day of the week. I try to workout between 5 and 7 days a week. I do SOMETHING active each day. But when it comes to fitness and weight loss, if that is your goal, it is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Done together will get you the best and fastest results. 

I'm not here to judge your Thanksgiving meal. I'm not here to judge you exercise habits. I am here to support you in your fitness choices and encourage you to make more healthy choices than you do unhealthy ones. We are human and can't do everything just right all of the time. But we can set our goals, figure out what it will take to reach those goals AND stick with it!!! Don't let anything get in your way of reaching them, including yourself and the temptations that come along every day for each of us. 

That is my job as a personal coach and trainer. I want to help you find motivation to set and meet your goals. I want to help you find food choices that you can enjoy and not just tolerate. I want to help you find exercise that you LOVE to do. I have found that if you love to do it you will want to do it more and won't like it when you miss a day. I have free groups that help with different areas of food and fitness. I also have groups that require a commitment to fitness program to be a part of. In those groups you get even more of my attention and support. 

I am here to help and encourage as I am on my own journey. I am real and upfront. I share my struggles and my successes. I don't sugar coat it. I am human just like you. I give you REAL advice to help you make REAL steps forward. I have a FB page that I post many things on the subject, videos and links to my challenge groups. Click on Fitness Fun on this page and it will take you there. You can also sign up for me to be your free coach on my website. There are ways to track your fitness goals on my website and much more. 

Let's finish 2015 strong and start 2016 even stronger! 

~~Helping Transform Lives One Day At A Time

New Game Plan

The past couple of months have been crazy busy in almost every area of my life. It usually is but I'm talking really crazy busy. I've been working on my kid care business, doing my best to fill the open spots and the ones that will be opening this summer. I have 6 wonderful kids graduation from our school. That will leave a huge hole in our hearts as well as our income, unless I get them filled. I do special things for the kids that are graduating and I have been getting those things together. I was also working really hard with those 6 kids to make sure they finished up the reading lessons before the end of the year. I am proud to say that they can all read, plus one 4 year old that isn't graduating until next year. If you know of anyone looking for kid care or a good preschool, send them to my website. 

Last week, I started a challenge to drink 1 to 2 ounces of NingXia Red every day. That stuff is wonderful. It has helped me keep down the cravings for foods I shouldn't have an abundance of. I have more energy. I don't feel like I am ready to call it a day after lunch. I feel like I could just keep going and accomplish so much. It is so worth investing in it for all the benefits you get. If you are interested in that, just let me know. I love my YL and my NingXia Red!!! We have been using our oils and our household products like crazy and loving the lifestyle with less chemicals and a healthier us. If you want to read more about it, you can check out my fb page here. You will find lots of great articles plus links to find out more about the products and company. 

I have let some personal areas of my life go during the past several months and it is time to get back on track. I know from experience that when I am eating right, sleeping enough and working out my whole day goes smoother. Sunday afternoon my youngest daughter and I cleaned out the cabinets and fridge before heading to the store for groceries and supplies. We got a few items to help organize our kitchen better and lots of good foods to make. I really had no rhyme or reason to what I bought, other than I wanted only good foods in my home. My oldest daughter came over on Monday and helped me in an enormous way. She knows how to prep and precook foods and plan meals for the week. She does it all the time for her and her man. She is also MY Beach Body coach. 

Together with my younger daughter, we managed to prep, store and plan for every meal this week, including the meals we serve the kids. We portioned out salads for me for lunch and made a HUGE bowl of salad for my husband and teens to eat. We made a huge bowl of mixed fruit and portioned it out for me but left a huge amount for the family and preschoolers to eat during the week. Extra fruit was washed and bagged to be eaten by itself when we need a little something or don't want the mixed fruit. My hubby grilled chicken and burgers on Monday. I made a huge bowl of rice and mixed in green onions, carrots, green, red, yellow and orange peppers. Each day at lunch I take three cups (1 for my hubby and each teen) and reheat it with some olive oil in a skillet. Today I added some boneless pork chops that I sauteed with olive oil and spices to make a main dish with veggies included. Other options this week for the rice will be seasoned hamburger meat or grilled chicken. We made the salad dressing from scratch. It is a bit tangy so we might work on that or just use less. My lunch is the salad with two hard boiled eggs for the protein. I am staying away from a lot of grains right now. I am making our bread to keep us away from all the added ingredients and I may or may not have a small slice with dinner from time to time. But I am limiting myself to that amount IF I feel the need to have a slice. At least I know it is healthier than the things we used to purchase all the time.  

For snacks we have fruit or nuts, or a healthy granola. I started dinner around 5 before heading into the den for my Turbo Fire workout. Some options for dinner this week are baked salmon and asparagus, steak and new potatoes, skillet pizza, and spaghetti. Any leftovers are put in a container or a baggie and available to add to one of the other meals. At the end of the week we may decide to have a combo meal with everything we have left over so it doesn't go to waste. 

I will be doing my shopping on Saturdays and my food prep on Sundays late in the afternoon each week, when time allows for that. I am going to be flexible when needed. Depending on the time I make it to the store on Saturdays, we COULD grill the meat and some veggies on a Saturday afternoon and then I would prep it to put into meal plans on Sunday afternoon. 

 I set timers to go off on my phone all day long. I had a timer for each meal and snack, for the workout (I need to change the time because I really like working out earlier rather than later) and for cooking. It was GREAT! I stayed ON TRACK, I ate well and I got my workout in. I know for me, planning and prep is KEY. I HAVE to have that, always. Today, the first day of this plan, went off like clock-work. My family ate the food I put on their plates and seemed to enjoy it very much. 

If you are interested in learning more about meal planning or Shakeology or great workout videos, let me know! I would be happy to help you any way I can. If I don't have the answer to something, hang on, I will ask someone higher up and let you know. I am super excited about this journey to better health and I would love for you to join me. If you want to check out my fb page on fitness it is here. 

Now for a really cool surprise.....drum roll please...... 

I decided to become a Beach Body coach. I did it for several reasons. I know a great deal when I see it. I get 25% off my BB products by being a coach. Who wants to purchase full price on something they purchase every month? I sure don't. I don't have all the details yet, but when I do, I will fill you in. While you are waiting, why don't you check out my pages and let me know if you have any questions about anything. We have monthly online and in person YL parties to share more about different oils. There are monthly challenge groups for BB that keep you inspired and excited. 

My goals for the rest of this year are pretty simple. I will get into a size 8 jean/dress again. I will get back to running in fun races all year long, maybe one a month, maybe more in the cooler months and less in the really HOT months. I will become an expert at every Turbo Fire workout PLUS PiYo. I am looking forward to the NEW Cize workout that is coming in July!!! I can't wait to get my hands on that one. I know my younger daughter and I will have super fun with that because she is my dancer. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my update. I hope to share with you more often, as my life allows. I love the fact that it is full. When my teens are all grown, I don't think I will enjoy the quiet and I will miss them deeply. 

Changing my life one day at a time.

Angelmom's White Bread

Angelmom's White Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2/3 cup white sugar (organic)
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup coconut oil (soften first)
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (organic)

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface (or in your very large bowl.) Place in a well oiled bowl and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Rising in a warm oven (turned off) works best.

Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. I bake it at 325 degrees instead for a softer texture. I use loaf stones (instead of glass) to avoid burning the bottom on the loaves.

I have also made this recipe for rolls. I cooked it at the same lower temp and it cooked the same amount of time. I used a muffin stone for it. I don't like burnt bread or cookies.

Also, if you have a Kitchen Aid mixer use the wire whip attachment to mix the flour into the other ingredients. Then use the dough hook to knead the dough. I love my mixer. It makes baking so much easier and more fun.

Until next time...blessings to you.

What's My "Job"?

Do you ever ask yourself that question? As a stay-at-home mom who also runs a business out of my home I sometimes can get caught up in the worlds way of looking at things. I don't know how many other moms have that happen but I can't imagine that I am the only one.

In my quest to honor my husband one of the things that has been brought to my attention is the house and laundry. I know my husband feels proud and happy when the house is clean and organized so that he can find things when he is looking for them. So I have been praying for the desire to get things done and the energy to do so.

When we went to a marriage retreat last March I purchased a few books. There are always so many great books for help and encouragement with marriage, parenting and other great topics. The one I picked up today that I have been reading through in little bits is Celebrate Home, Encouragement and Tips for Stay-At-Home Parents. It talks about going from a job outside the home to the one in the home. And how it is a calling as well as a job. I agree with that, although sometimes I have forgotten that it was true. Shame on me.

Today I opened the book up to Chapter 5 Your Agenda: A Stay-At-Home Mom's Daily Duties", page 134. The title of the section was Cleaning House: Do I Really Have To? Boy did that catch my attention. Of course, I knew the answer was yes. She put some scripture verses in a section about doing the work but not liking it attitude. They really spoke to me. I would like to share them with you.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

She mentions that it doesn't say "whatever you do that you really like to do." That is very true. I never looked at it like that before. Really makes you think about it.

"God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

She mentions that we are "giving" continually as homemakers. Giving of our time, talents and energy. More than we care to think about, at times. As a mom we have committed to so many jobs and as people say "we wear so many hats". It can be very tiring. And sometimes we are not the least bit cheerful.

"Do everything without complaining or arguing." Philippians 2:14

She mentions that again it isn't "do just the fun things without grumbling or disputing." And that even though we try so hard to teach our children to do things we ask cheerfully we don't always set the best example. How many times do we gripe because of the chores we have to do, the laundry that has piled up or the lack of help with any and/or all of the chores that we have to do? I know I have been guilty many times.

So if I can give these things to the Lord and admit that I fall sadly short in this area and take the steps that the book says I should take to get a grip on it : Organize, create a workable plan and delegate, then I know that God will be faithful to bless my efforts.

It does talk about how we are to not sacrifice our time with our babies when they need rocking and read stories while they want to be read to. We need a healthy balance. We just need for things to be workable and orderly for us.

"Let everything be done in a fitting and orderly manner." 1 Corinthians 14:40

So even though I can't do things perfectly the Bible does encourage me to find a fitting and orderly way of doing things. So as my days go by I am going to work towards a goal of finding a way of doing things that will line up with what Scripture instructs me to do. I know I have so many goals but they all seem to point to one big goal that each of them lead to: Bringing glory to God and pointing all successes to Him and reasons for getting up each day. The Bible teaches that "God's mercies are new each day." So we can rely on that. If we mess up one day then we can start over and begin again. We are to forget what was yesterday and face a new day with hope. I need to remind myself of that so often at times.

I hope that by my sharing what I have learned and am learning that it has encouraged someone else to keep their chin up and their eyes on Jesus. He is the only One that can give you the hope for each new day. Being a homemaker is a very important "job". One that the world has decided is beneath us and not worth our time. That is one of Satan's lies. Don't believe him. Chose to believe God's Words to us instead. They hold the key to true peace and happiness.

Until next time...blessings to you.