A little experiment...

Wow! Time flies. It's already Thursday? I have thoroughly been enjoying my workouts this past week. That treadmill is my new best friend! We've spend many hours together this week...:-)

I'm conducting a little experiment. After reading a book called, "Make the Connection" written by (of all people) Oprah and Bob Greene, I've decided to change around my schedule a little bit and see if it makes any difference. First off, I'm exercising in the morning - first thing. I wake up, grab my clothes and tennis shoes, and head down (quietly so as not to wake my family members) to the laundry room where I hop on the treadmill for 45-50 minutes. I love it! It gives my metabolism as well as my spirits a huge boost. I'm not already tired from the day, like I would be when I exercised in the afternoon, and I come out simply radiant! (Well, maybe more like shiny from sweat...) I have music playing in the background to keep me motivated and I copied down some verses on bright cardstock and stuck them on the wall in front of me. I'm having so much fun in there! It's just me and Jesus, and I find myself not wanting to stop. This morning, I went 4 miles and I was sad that I had run out of time.

Another change I've made is in my eating. Not changing any of the foods I eat, just when I eat them. They suggest eating the majority of your calories in the morning/afternoon, and then simply eating a light supper. Their logic for suggesting this is that our metabolism starts off slow in the morning (which is why it's so important to eat breakfast - it gives our metabolism a boost) and reaches it's peak around lunch time. Then it tapers off into the afternoon and evening, and by bedtime it's really slow again. So, by the time we sit down to eat our huge American dinners, our bodies don't burn calories nearly as quickly as they do earlier in the day. I'm re-adjusting my calories, and eating my "big meal" for lunch, and I usually have fruit and a salad for dinner. I thought I'd be starving after dinner, but I've actually felt just fine. :-)

I'm curious to see if these changes make any difference over the next few weeks. I'm planning to continue exercising in the morning whether it seems to help or not, and I haven't really struggled with re-adjusting my calories throughout the day, so I might continue that as well.

I have a ton more thoughts, but I'm out of time. Blessings to you all! ~Bekah

The treadmill story...

How many girls does it take to get a treadmill into the house? Our answer: As many as you have!

Actually, our main problem was not getting the treadmill into the house. We got it in just fine. The hard part was maneuvering it through the kitchen and down the hallway to get it to it's new home - our laundry room.

Once we cleared a big pathway, Mom and I managed to get it right outside the laundry room, but we couldn't fit the bottom of the treadmill through the doorway. So, we decided to push it back out into the kitchen and turn it around, thinking that if we came in a different angle it might fit. Well, that didn't quite work either. By this time, we were getting quite frustrated with the thing! And as you can see, we were ruining our nice wood door frames. All we needed was one more inch of space and it would fit! Then my Mom had an idea. She concluded that the only way to make it fit through required taking off some of the wood door frames. I mean, why not? We'd already taken 2 of our doors off of their hinges to get it this far. Why not disassemble more of the house? (Please remember - my dad wasn't home at this time. You should have seen his face when we told him what we did!)

After a little more pushing and pulling, grunting and groaning, we finally got it to budge enough to get it into the laundry room. Victory! It was quite the ordeal, and I have a feeling that we won't be moving it anytime soon. :-)

I have a nice wall to look at while exercising, and I plan on putting some Scripture verses or encouraging words on it. Because, it is kinda boring staring at a blank wall for an hour. I need to liven it up a little! Add a splash of color or something. Maybe I'll stick up a "Before" picture to give me extra motivation.

We've had a busy weekend around here, and I haven't gotten as much sleep as usual, so I'm going to catch a quick nap now.

Resting in Him ~Bekah

Better late than never...

I know, I know. I've kept you all wondering. So sorry! We had some special guests over to our house yesterday and I decided not to take the time and post while they were here. We were having too much fun!



Besides, I didn't have a whole lot to report. Though this week I didn't have to try and balance myself on the scale as my feet are all healed (PTL!), I found that my stubborn little body obviously liked where it was at. I weighed in at 174lbs. Not to worry! I'm not discouraged at all. I had a great week with exercising and eating, so I know it's not something that I did or didn't do right. And let me tell you, that's a really good feeling. It's not my fault! *smile* Not losing weight every week is a normal part of weight loss, so I'm keeping my head up and continuing to fight.



Oh, and I LOVE the treadmill!!! No bugs in my face or rocks in my shoes while walking. No farmers driving by and looking at me funny. It's great!



We made the "special salsa" last night for our guests. (Okay, it was mostly because I wanted it. But I shared it!) It was delicious! And as I was munching away, I just kept thinking of all the healthy nutrients I was putting into my body. You can eat as much as you want and not feel guilty at all! So, all you fellow salsa lovers - give it a try! (You can find the recipe in an earlier post.)



I'm going to try and upload some pictures for your enjoyment (and comic relief) tomorrow. Till then ~Bekah

Answered Prayer!!!

I've just gotten a huge adrenaline rush. A few minutes ago I stepped off my brand new treadmill! Well, okay. It's not really brand new, but it is to me.

I've been praying for (and trying not to covet *smile*) a treadmill for several months, and the Lord has answered my prayer in an unexpected way. I assumed that I'd just have to save up the money and then hopefully find a used one, and I was asking the Lord to help me find a good deal. Did He ever!

My grandparents moved from a huge house into a condo this week. My grandpa has a very nice treadmill, but he realized that it wouldn't really fit into their condo, and the condo has an exercise facility. Long story short - he gave me his treadmill. WOOHOOO!!!!!

So, I just stepped off of using my new treadmill. I got up at 6:00am this morning to put in a good 45 minutes of walking. We have a super busy day, and I knew I wanted to get my exercising in this morning. Plus, I'm going to try and start doing it in the morning. I like it better, and it gets my metabolism revved up for the day.

Don't have long to type right now, but I wanted to tell you my news. I'll type the long and funny story of what it took for us girls to get the treadmill in it's new home. (aka our laundry room!) We got some funny pictures that I'll upload, too.

May the Lord answer your prayers ~ Bekah

Our Great Physician...

Yesterday, as I was hobbling and limping around the house and trying to follow my younger sisters as they played outside, I was never more thankful for the fact that my feet are normally healthy. Sure, this is painful. But I'll only have to put up with the pain for a few more days. Then I'll be able to return to my normal, active self. :-) Oh, how easy it is to take things for granted! Even feet.

I was also thinking *again* about the change that God has made in my life, as I remembered what my life was like a year ago. If I would have had to go through this situation with warts a year ago, I would have secretly looked forward to it. Why? Because I'd have a totally legitimate reason to lie around all day, or several days actually! What person living according to the flesh wouldn't look forward to that? Yes, it's painful. But it's a perfect excuse, something that lazy people dream about.

But, that's not me anymore! I was dreading this trip, knowing that I wouldn't be able to exercise (as I usually do) for at least 3 days. Not because I was worried about the scale, but because I really do enjoy exercising. Well, most of the time. :-) As I've said before, I enjoy the feeling afterward. It clears my brain and gives me a boost of energy! More so than a coffee drink or energy bar.
So, these past few days have been difficult. I hate sitting and not doing anything! I hate feeling unproductive and I don't like the fact that I can't help with some things around the house. It doesn't feel right, almost out of sorts. Getting a glimpse of the "old me" has made me bless the Lord more than ever for the change He's made in me!

Oh yes, this is a Friday, isn't it? I hobbled up to the scale this morning and took a few seconds to figure out a painless way to stand on it. I almost tumbled head first into our bathroom closet a few times, but I finally managed to stand in a twisted and delicately balanced position long enough for the scale to get an accurate reading. And this week, I was pleasantly surprised. I lost 3 pounds. Whoa! A few seconds of passed as I stood there in disbelief. How is that possible? I wasn't able to exercise for the past 2 days. I thought maybe I wasn't totally standing on the scale, that maybe some of my weight wasn't registering because of my awkward position, so I scooted around and checked again. And though I'm sure I resembled someone posing like a Greek statue with my arms "spread eagle" as I stood on my poor, worn out tiptoes, the scale again read that I weighed 174 pounds, a loss of 3 pounds.

Hallelujah! God has been gracious. He's helped me to overcome yet another obstacle in my path. An obstacle as silly as warts. And you know what? I think He enjoys that. He enjoys setting us free and helping us along in the ordinary, every day things just as much as when He breaks us free from a strong bondage that's been holding onto us for years. Why? Because He's omni-present, and He wants us to invite Him into every little area of our life. He wants us to bring our every need to Him. Yes, girlfriends - even our "warts"!

Maybe you don't have physical warts, but what about spiritual or emotional "warts"? Things that you've struggled with that just won't go away. Things that you've wrestled with and fought with, and simple "over-the-counter medications" (advice from friends or suggestions from a book) can't heal. You see, we tried everything to get rid of our physical warts. We tried the OTC meds, and we tried every known "wives' tale" recommended by friends about how to rid ourselves from these pesky things. (We even tried using duct tape!) But, nothing worked. They either never went away or they just came back again.

So, how did we find the cure, the answer to our problem? We went to a specialist. Someone who had worked with patients for years. He knew the symptoms. He knew what to look for and He easily recognized our problem. But more importantly, He also knew the answer. And though He told us it would be painful for awhile, He also reassured us that the pain would pass and we'd be healed from our warts.

And our Lord does the very same thing for us. When you're dealing with "warts", don't settle for trying wives' tales, girls! Go straight to the specialist. Only He has the cure. He's longing to reveal it to you. He wants you to be free even more than you do! Ask, seek, knock. The door will be opened unto you.

Praising His name ~Bekah

Crippled Ballerina...

Planter Warts. Nasty little things! Yesterday afternoon, my mom drove all 4 of us girls to Dubuque to get our warts taken care of. We share everything - even warts! We found a wonderful dermatologist who puts some magic "blister beetle juice" onto our warts, and they disappear! Well, okay. It's not quite that fast. You see, after they put the juice on the warts, you get your feet wrapped up and you're told that you may not get your feet wet for 2 days. Oh, and the word "blister" in "blister beetle juice" is quite literal. The juice forms a blister around the wart, and then when the blister falls off it takes the wart with it. Sounds a little crazy, but it works. I just wish it didn't have to hurt so much! My feet have been throbbing all day. I had at least 10 warts on one foot, and about 3 on the other. And because of where my warts were on my feet, I have to walk around on my tip-toes. (Hence the "crippled ballerina" title...) My calves are getting an excellent workout!

But, I had to re-vamp my exercise for today. I was still able to lift weights, though my form was a little different than usual. I tried doing it sitting on my exercise ball - that was interesting. It was all I could do to balance as I could only touch the floor with certain parts of my feet! I don't know how effective that was. :-) And I figured out how to work some core strengthening exercises without bumping my feet. I also did leg lifts and things that I could do either laying down or sitting. No jumping jacks or walking today! Maybe by Friday I'll be able to start walking normally again.

Because I knew that this visit to the dermatologist was going to mess up my exercising schedule, I've been very careful about my eating habits this week. My meals have been approximately 3/4 fruits & veggies and 1/4 protein and carbs. And, eating has been great so far this week! Praise the Lord. We have fresh lettuce from our garden and I've been devouring that! We have peas and green beans ready to harvest as well. I think food just tastes better after you've done so much work to get it.

Limping for joy ~ Bekah

Mmm...my favorites!

As promised, here are a few of my favorite meals/snacks. If you didn't get a chance to post this past week, please feel free to do so now, a week from now, whenever! I'm always excited to get new recipes.

Alright, for breakfast I eat oatmeal at least 5 days a week. It's so yummy! I usually add a little bit of milk and cinnamon, and then pour in about a cup of frozen blueberries. Delicious! I've also substituted banana or nectarine, and I've sometimes added a little drizzle of honey, too. You can add raisins, nuts, dates, prunes, the list goes on! On the mornings I don't have oatmeal, I usually eat a bowl of plain Cheerios or Bran Flakes. I also really like the Kashi cereals! Again, I always mix some kind of fresh fruit into my cereal.

For lunch, I usually have either a salad or sandwich. When it comes to salads, the possibilities are endless! My favorite are salads topped with plenty of fresh veggies. I've also created a more "Mexican" flavored salad. I fry up some peppers and onions, and some chili powder and lime juice, and then put that on my lettuce. I usually add some black beans or grilled chicken, and then use salsa as my dressing. Simple, but good.

For snack, I love yogurt! Mix fresh fruit, nuts, or Grape Nuts in to make a yummy snack. Otherwise, I usually just eat a piece of fruit or munch on some veggies.

For dinner, I usually eat another salad and then pick what I want for a protein and a carbohydrate.

But here are a few good recipes I've used. When I first started changing my lifestyle, I thought it was going to be really hard to find healthy recipes that actually tasted good. Not true! These are just a few yummy recipes that I've found. I made these Blueberry Bran Muffins a few months ago, and my family loved them! And, this is the salsa recipe I was raving about a few weeks ago.

Blueberry Bran Mini Muffins

1 ½ cups unprocessed wheat bran or oat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
¾ cup of 1 percent milk or unflavored soy milk
1/3 cup of honey
1 ripe medium banana, mashed with a fork
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries


Preheat over to 400 F. Lightly coat 24 nonstick miniature muffin cups with cooking oil spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the bran, flour, flax seed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another medium bowl or in a blender, combine the milk, honey, banana, egg, olive oil, and vanilla until smooth. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in one-third of the liquid mixture. Using a spoon, stir until smooth.

Add the remaining liquid mixture and stir just until combined. Add the blueberries and stir again, but do not over mix. Spoon 2 tablespoons of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake about 8 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the centers. Do not over bake. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm or cool completely on the rack.

Nutrient Analysis per muffin:
76 calories; 3 g protein; 14 g carbohydrates; 2 g total fat; 1 g polyunsaturated fat; 1 g monounsaturated fat; 9 mg cholesterol; 2 g fiber; 85 mg sodium


Stephanie's Salsa (well, actually it's Stephanie's neighbor's salsa :-) )

8-9 tomatoes
1 white onion
2 tomatillas ( they look like green tomatos)
6-7 jalapeno
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch of cilantro
3-4 limes
salt

Dice tomatoes, onion, tomatillas, garlic, and jalapenos (take seeds out of at least half of the jalapenos). Cut up cilantro and add leaves. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Enjoy!

One thing that was tough for me to give up was pizza, but I've created my own pizza, and I like it even better! I use an Ezekiel 4:9 Pita Bread, then put my own lower-calorie spaghetti sauce on top. Then I load it up with peppers, onion, and mushrooms and sprinkle some fat-free mozzarella cheese on top. I bake it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until it's nice and crisp.

I'd love to post more, but I'm out of time for tonight. Happy baking! ~Bekah

Broken but Believing...

This week has been a little crazy. With Rachel in Dallas and Hannah and Leah in Kansas City, Mom and I have been taking care of Avalon and Bethany and trying to keep the house in order at the same time. It's not easy! :-)

But, yesterday was Friday, so whether I felt prepared or not, it was time to step on the scale. As I mentioned earlier, I was not looking forward to it. This past week I've been faithfully exercising, but my eating was a little rough this week (I didn't "jump ship", I just leaned a little too far overboard sometimes), and I knew that I'd gained back a few pounds from my two weeks of vacation. So, what would that awful scale tell me? Oh, girls. I didn't want to know! And yet, at the same time, I was curious. I remembered that at my last official weigh in I weighed 171 pounds, so I took a deep breath, and stepped on to see what damage I had done in about 3 weeks.

I peeked my eyes open, hoping to find that I was totally mistaken about feeling like I'd gained weight, only to find the sad truth. The scale read 177 pounds. Ouch. That hit home hard, girls. I'd managed to gain 6 pounds back in a little over 3 weeks! Now, some of that could be gained muscle or water weight. But, as I don't know for sure, I'm not using that as an excuse. So, I stood in the bathroom and had another "learning moment". It kinda hit me again yesterday morning - whenever I had decided to indulge my flesh these past few weeks, this was the price I paid for it. Gained weight. I basically pushed myself back 6 more weeks from reaching my ultimate goal, as I'm usually able to lose a pound a week. Was it worth it? Was the indulgence worth it? Definitely not. It seemed like it at the time, but not after stepping on that scale. Let me tell you girls - no pizza, chocolate, chips, pasta, or anything else tastes as good as standing on the scale and losing another pound or looking in the mirror and seeing your body shrink and your muscles toned. IT REALLY DOESN'T!!! And I know that, so why did I give in? We all know the answer to that. Why do any of us give in? Because we give into the "here and now" mentality and don't control our flesh. Such a simple answer...why does it have to be so hard to apply the truth?

Now, after having my "learning moment" in the bathroom, I realized that I was stuck with 2 choices. I could either become frustrated and depressed and decide to throw in the towel and believe the lies that "it's too hard", "it's not really worth it", "you knew you'd never really be able to do it", etc. That would be the easiest thing to do. It takes no work, no commitment, no time, no accountability, no struggle, no calorie counting, no daily exercising, no sweating, no painful muscles, no saying "no" to food, no growth.
Or, I could raise my head back up, claim the truth of God's Word that says "I can do ALL things through Christ", and keep moving forward. Yes, I stumbled. Yes, I fell down. That stinks. It's not fun. It's humbling. But you know what I love? With God, I don't have to stay there. That's not the end of the story. I don't have to stay beaten down! By His grace, He has lifted me up. He's grabbed my hand and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!". I love the verse in Psalm 40 that says He has "lifted me up from the miry clay and set my feet upon the rock". I've brushed myself off, and I'm walking again, hand and hand with Jesus.

Have you been struggling with something, too? Are you feeling beaten down in some area? Does the path seem hard? Harder than usual? Are lies swimming around in your head? Are you battling doubts and fears?

Take courage, my friend! Lift up your head! I think it's so fitting that after the Lord tells us to "lay aside every weight", He goes on in the next verse to say, "Fix your eyes on Jesus". That's the key, daughter of the King. We must re-focus! Because let me tell you, I've never once given into temptation while thinking about Jesus and singing praises to Him. It just doesn't happen! When I submit to Him and let Him take control of my life, (Yes, even my eating habits. Why not?) He imparts to me the strength to stand and the grace to find joy in this journey.

Ah! Look at the time! I have a date with my Norditrack, so I'll have to leave you with this thought. Nothing new, nothing profound, but if we really believe it, it will change our lives. Christ abundantly satisfies.

Keep those recipes and ideas coming! Thankful for His grace ~ Bekah

Your Turn!

Okay, everybody. I think it's about time for some "reader participation"! I've been so blessed to have wonderful friends who strive to eat a healthy diet and I want to hear from you. I'm always looking for new recipes and snack ideas which I love to use when I feel I've hit a "rut" in my eating habits. (A "rut" = eating the same foods over and over. :-) ) My body needs the important nutrients, but my tongue can get a little tired of repeating certain recipes and food combos. (However, salads and oatmeal don't count!) Time to break out of the cycle again! And I think all of you will enjoy getting some new ideas, too.

So this week (or after, if you don't read this in time!), please post a comment and tell me about your favorite dish, snack, bread, dessert, salad, fruit or veggie combo......whatever! If it's food, it'll work. I can't wait to read what you all come up with! I'll conclude by posting a few of mine at the end of the week.

To get you thinking, let me ask a few questions. What snack do you find yourself reaching for most days? What's your favorite breakfast? Is there a certain kind of salad that you could eat every day for the rest of your life? Do you know a "healthified" version of yummy breads/desserts? What's your favorite way to eat your favorite kind of meat?

Get the idea? Great! Now all you have to do is dig around for those recipes and...................POST!!!

Waiting to hear from you ~ Bekah

Whew! I'm finally home for awhile. The past two weeks have been wonderful - one spent helping with the Bright Lights Conferences and the other spent visiting our family in MN - but I'm ready to get back on track.

Yep. The past two weeks have been a "vacation" in the weight loss category. Oh, I tried my best. I brought along healthy snacks and ate as many fruits and veggies as I could get my hands on! And I had some tiny moments of victory. One of those moments stands out in my mind.

We were at the conference in Bemidji, MN. As a special treat for the leaders from our group, the B.L. group from Bemidji had given each of us some hand lotion and Dove chocolate. How sweet! And yet tempting. I was doing well - I threw the chocolate into the snack bag that Leah and I had brought along and decided to forget about it. (Well, forget isn't really the right word. How about "not focus on it"? :-) So anyway, I "forgot" about it until one night. I was very tired, kinda stressed, and that chocolate really sounded good. No! I shouldn't have it. I don't need it. But, chocolate... Yeah, you guessed it. I picked it up and plopped it in my mouth. Now, if you've ever eaten a Dove chocolate, you know that they have cute little sayings on the wrapper. So, as I was sucking on my forbidden chocolate, I looked at the wrapper. Don't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor! My wrapper read, "Temptation is fun, but only when you give into it." No way! What are the odds??? Okay, Lord! I get it. I immediately walked over to the nearest trash can and spit the thing out. (What a waste...*smile*) Sure, it tasted good. But not as good as I felt after deciding to walk in the Spirit.

But along with the tiny victories, I had times of struggle. I'm not against eating food, even "not-the-most-healthy" food is fine, in moderation. Yeah...moderation. The past few weeks I often found myself eating too much (You know, when your tummy puts up the "no-vacancy" sign. Smart people take heed.), simply because it tasted so good. Moderation...something that is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit.

I did a little better with exercising this past week. I took my weights (and I actually used them!!!) and we spent a lot of time walking. Not nearly as strenuous as usual, but exercise nonetheless. Every little bit counts!

So, we'll see what the scale says this Friday. I'm not looking forward to it, though. I know I packed on a few pounds these past two weeks. I can feel it. (Whoa! Kinda freaky, huh?) IT'S NOT FAIR!!! It goes on so easy, and it is so much work to get it off. Alright, done complaining.

I'm getting back on track! I'm pumped. Super excited. Can't wait to begin again. Oh, Lord. I need your help!!! This ain't easy.

Moving onward and upward (or should I say downward? Tee hee!) Bekah