My Battle Cry

I have finally found my battle cry. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!"

This is awesome! I really needed this one, lately I've been struggling with my eating behaviors and eating plan. I've been obsessing over food and fitness to the point of going totally whacko and feeling overwhelmed. What I was missing the whole time was that I need to put God first, then my recovery and my abstinence. This has to be the order in which I live my life! When I start to seek answers in diets and fitness plans to lose unnecessary weight, I start to lose my connection with my life source: my Lord. I need to always be connected to my life source because when I start to veer to far away then I feel totally lost and imbalanced. So now that I have been thankfully reminded that my Higher Power and Abstinence need to come first, and that I need to stop obsessing with all these stupid diets and fitness plans, I need to reconnect with what my abstinence really is. For me, I know that my body does not handle processed foods and sugars very well, and also refined carbs and basically "white foods" and "white carbs" these foods do not help me in any way, and I am very senstive to them.

Lately I've been trying all these crazy diets that allow me to eat all the sugar I want to as long as I burn some calories before... what a joke! I feel like a sugar addict again, and this has been happening slowly but surely since the holidays. I really need to get myself back on track and remember what my days were like before I reconnected with my sweet tooth...
I started my day with lemon water, sometimes a grapefruit, sometimes an omelette with lots of coconut oil, or other days a banana/protein/coconut smoothe.
I would have a snack of apple or sometimes just wait till lunch.
Lunch would be something I made like salmon salad with veggies, or a spinach salad with protein like eggs.
I would have a snack sometimes of apple or just wait till dinner.
Dinner would be either sweet potatoes, veggies and pesto and some nuts, or a protein/veggie/fat meal.
I would feel good, why did I start having sweets again?

well I think I was overtraining, was sad because I stopped running as much, and feeling like I needed something extra to eat but instead of eating more good food like protein I was practicing my old disease habits of turning to sweet treats. I don't need sweets! I want to stop wanting sweets.

Dear God,

Please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference...

Please help feed myself natural foods taht are not processed after this week of eating less than optimal food choices. Please help me to stop wanting sweets and processed foods. Help me to remember that I do not really want these foods and have an abundant diet to choose from of proteins, veggies, fats, nuts, fruits, and flavor! I will never be deprived if I just eat real food that you created.

Thank you for my life, amen.

New Game Plan Revisions...

Sunday Funday! I just wanted to close this amazing week by setting up some new goals for myself and my POE. First though I would like to recognize this awesome article, this woman is such an inspiration and has taught me a lot about change and thinking yourself to where you wanna be. Her name is Polly Mertens, and here are some questions from a recent article:

Ideas of questions to ask yourself when creating a new vision for your life:

• Who do you want to be? Who do you see yourself as?

I want to be a strong, peaceful, successful and inspiring woman. I see myself as woman that radiates health, abundance, life, joy, love, and compassion. 

• How will you spend a typical day at play and a typical day at work?

A day of play for me would be walking along a beach, maybe jogging or doing some physical activity and being in nature, then collecting some beautiful ingredients to prepare an amazing meal or going to a quaint exotic restaurant and sharing the experience with a loved one or a group. A typical day at work for me would be to create, inspire, solve problems, motivate others, and be a good role model. 

• What will you have in your life as a result of your recovery?

I will have a true sense of myself, freedom, love, and the willingness to let love in and shine. 

• What goals will you accomplish?

I will excel in my career, I will excel in my work life, create financial abundance and stability, I will have health and well being, i will show others that recovery and strength and healing are all possible no matter what; I will find love; I will  become a mother; I will help others; I will have healthy sense of self, body and relationships; I will love myself and the Lord. 

• Who will you assist or support with these accomplishments? Are there any special people, organizations or causes that will be an important part of your life?

I want to support OA and also help animals. I want to help people who have had addictions and also have had major spinal fusions. 

• What will your relationships be like? Picture yourself interacting with friends, family, co-workers and all you meet in a way that reflects your high self-esteem.

My relationships will all be loving, nurturing, inspiring, supportive, compassionate, fun, happy, joyful, positive and uplifting. I see myself as a beam of radiant light that attracts joyful and amazing people. I see myself having a loving relationship that celebrates love, abundance, positivity, support, patience, sex, intimacy, trust, and acceptance. 

I love those questions, what a great way to make me think. I will be looking back on this..

I would also like to list my goals because lately I have noticed that my emotions have been really affected by what I'm consuming, and here are the things that I know that I need to avoid:
  

AVOID!!!

• Artificial sweeteners
• Grains and most carbs
• Most dairy unless high quality
• Any sugars for at least two weeks
• No fake sugars ever, it's really not worth it
• Hot cocoa mixes at work - not worth it and makes me feel yucky. Just say no!

Here are the things that I want to concentrate on eating every day:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Eggs and egg whites
• Fish, salmon, seafood
• Pork and red meats
• Bright colorful veggies
• certain fruits like lemons, green apples, and cantelope and some dark berries every now and then
• pesto sauces
• coconut
• olive and red palm oils
• certain nuts like walnuts 

eating this way for at least two weeks will help me to detox the yucky stuff that I've been building up in my body. 

Remember: my body is a temple! I have been hurting it by feeding it some processed garbage and artificial sweeteners, and it is not good. My mind will be much better if I get rid of this stuff. 

After 2-3 weeks I can allow myself the freedom to have one day, a Saturday, of having some foods like chocolate, ice creams, and more carb foods but only if they are not fake foods and total junk foods! 

Most important: eat real food! Eat what God made and feel good about it. Avoid the coffee bar and don't drink calories. Just eat real food, thank God, and pray. 

Happy Sunday, thank you God. Amen  

Marvelous Meditative Monday

Goal today: Smile!!! and get through my weight routine after my AM spinning class.. yikes. Stay positive!

Craving today: cereal? Not sure which one but something fruity and sugar sounds good. I love carbs on training days!

Workout today: Spinning class at 5:30am, followed by weight training for an hour at 12noon.

Inspiration today: Be the like the Little Engine That Could... don't give up, I will get there.

Happy thought today: life is good!

Gratitude List:

• My amazing family, and our super fun and delicious family dinner last night: grilled rainbow trout, veggies, and chocolate for dessert.
• My brother for giving me a spare Bible of his... very happy about this.
• Having this year be the very best birthday ever!!!!
• My new bed - birthday present to myself. Love it!
• Sleep and rest - can't say thank you enough for this.
• God, he is so amazing to bless me the way he does.

Hello Monday. Well, I have not posted since Valentine's day, which was last Tuesday but for M and myself it wasThursday since we didn't want to be cliche and celebrate on that night, so there is quite a bit to update. Our Valentine's evening was awesome. Max was the epitome of Mister Perfect as he sent me the world's most gorgeous flowers (in my opinion) and a cute teddy bear, and I didn't even talk to him about V day at all!!! wow, I am blessed. Thursday evening I prepared braised lamb shank for the first time, and it turned out good enough for Max to proclaim it the best ever. Okay, now I don't care if he was fudging, he is just awesome for saying that :-) We had the best post-Valentine's day dinner and evening, it was just romantical and magical.
Friday was a day off from work, and another BEST DAY EVER, and best B-DAY follow up. To start, I had an amazing 2.5 hour workout at the gym, then ate a yummy double banana/strawberry smoothie, then turkey and yams, then rested. Later in the afternoon I met my mom at Nordstrom's where she treated me to my late birthday present: a deluxe massage at the spa. OMG!!!! It was just out of this universe. It was perfection and relaxed my entire body like wobbly jelly. I felt amayz. After our spa time we had a yummy impromptu dinner at this new trendy looking asian bistro in the Galleria call E Tao or something like that. It was awesome! Had wonton soup with steamed rice - which may sound like nothing, but each wonton was about 2oz of pork, so I ended up eating a ton of pork and this awesome rice. It was so filling and delicious.
By the time I got home it was later than planned and a horrible storm was on it's way. Max and I decided to meet up again in the morning instead of trying to hang that night. I was tired, but ended staying awake all night thinking. Hate it when that happens!
Saturday I woke up, cleaned the floors and did laundry, then met Max over at Backstreet Cafe for late brunch. It was epic! Eggs Benedict were delish, and his filet mignon was seriously butter-like. We then headed over to Gallery Furniture where I bought myself a new bed, and then walked around the Galleria to let our food digest. Finally later that night, after my new awesome bed was delivered, Max came over and watched a silly movie while I passed out like a lame old woman. I was wiped out!
Sunday morning we went to breakfast at La Madeline, then church, then Whole Foods, then Fleet Feet to finally finally FINALLY get Max some real running shoes. I can't believe that boy has been running in shoes that were a size and a half too small for him! ugh, guys are so clueless sometimes. hehe. He also bought two pairs of Sketchers at the Galleria on Saturday, so our shopping totals for the weekend were: Max - 3 pairs of shoes, 2 chickens, 2 juices; Danielle - 1 new bed, 1 new jacket from Loft, 1 chicken, 1 bag of rice. Are we crazy and strange or what?
Sunday afternoon we had an awesome short little workout at my office's gym, then headed over to my folk's house for a magnificent dinner and all around great night.
What an awesome month of February it has been so far! I am overwhelmed with how much I have to be thankful for. I am really excited for my new workouts, and reading the Bible that my brother gave me. I am feeling so much better with my new food plan, which basically just means I eat Low Fat/High Carb/High Protein on all my high training days, and Low Carb/High Protein/High Fat on my cardio days. I take Saturday to just eat whatever I want and skip training, and overall this seems like a winning lifestyle for me.

I am so thankful and happy, I just feel blessed. Despite the fact that I can't run a marathon ever, or probably even a half marathon, I am blessed.... for so many reasons. Thank you Lord, thank you.
Amen

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mood today: happy because it's Heart's Day!

Craving today: chocolate/cocoa coconut oil mixed with stevia and cinnamon. Mmmm wonder if I can make that happen!

Inspiration today:


Workout today: Lower body weight machines and abs for 30 minutes; heavy free-style swimming for 20 laps or 30 minutes.

Thought today: just keep on rowing that boat... gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

and one more to love:



So today is Valentine's Day, and oh what a day! Started out with an hour at the gym, actually a lot more than that considering all in between stuff, but got a really good workout in this morning, followed up with my protein/coconut/stevia drink for after. Then it was off I went to see my chiropractor for physical therapy, session 4... ugh. I'm really getting tired of this process. I would really just like to be strong and better already! I know that I can't run long distances and I've accepted that, but why do I have to keep going through all this other stuff? I am not a fan of the physical therapy, it really is not convincing to me that it is helping... at all. However, I really need to stick with this because I have Faith that God put me there and everything is an experience created just for us as individuals, by Him. I really do believe that, and with that in mind that means there is a good lesson and experience in this for me... somewhere. I am wondering what it is, but I trust in Him to show me. That doesn't mean that I stil can't pray for some quick healing in the meantime! I really am praying for God to heal my injuries and just get this strength training on the road. I'm so impatient. God knows this, which is why things don't get to happen as I want them to. Of course! Then I'd be some sort of monster. Patience defnitely teaches me that good things are worth waiting for, and that God always has a plan, no matter what the process seems like.

Okay I totally digressed there! After the PT appointment, which went fine but just took almost 2 hours, I went to work and it's been slow since my project team left on Feb. 8th... I should be really happy about it, which I am, but admit that I wish I could not feel so guilty for not doing much. I know I'll be busy when they return, so this quieter time is much appreciated. I now need to further do that and enjoy it!

Eating low carb and high protein/fat has been pretty good the last day and a half. I have been able to workout twice and feel like my energy is decent. Looking forward to eating some dinner tonight, it will be turkey something, hahaha.

The best thing about today has been getting the flowers and bear from my boyfriend... WHAT A GREAT SURPRISE!!!! He is seriously awesome.

With all that said, here is my gratitude list today:

Love
Laughter
Friends
Valentine's Day jokes and humororous cards
Carb days (so I can have frozen yogurt and enjoy it!)
The Lord

Love for everyone and everyone is loved.

Blessings and peace,

dg

Row Row Row Your Boat... & other Life Lessons

Mood today: happy, tired

Craving today: a fatty grilled steak and kale salad from central market

Inspiring thought today:

 

Gratitude List:

Friends
Family
Boyfriend
Ethnic Food
Kale salad
The Lord

Happy Monday... it has been a few days and lots of fun things since my last post. First of all, I am now a year older as of last Thursday, Feb 9, 2012. This was by far the most amazing birthday ever, for many reasons, but most of all because I am present and thankful for where I am and who I am, at last! I'm still a major work in progress but so far I am so thankful for what I've learned.

For my actual birthday we kept it pretty low-key. First of all my hormones were raging and my hip injury was in full pain, so overall I was in a bitchy mood. So I asked the b.f. to come over and eat my leftover curried turkey for dinner, and just requested that he bring over my-favorite-kale-salad in the world... yum! He was so awesome and not only brought MFKS, he also brought the most beautiful red strawberries I've ever seen/tasted, a lovely bottle of organic red wine (which was a lovely gesture, but tasted like crap. sorry, just speaking the truth) and some amazing dark organic chocolate. What a great night! Totally chill and perfect.

Friday I had to work, which was fine, and then that evening I went to the gym for a good stregth training session and then ran home to get ready. BF met me at home and then we drove over to an Afghani restaurant that I chose, where my mom, brother and stepdad met us for my birthday dinner. It was amazing! I wish I took some pics but we got so many lovely dishes: eggplant curry in a tomato sauce, lamb shank with orange rice, chicken curry, chicken and beef tandori, afghani beef sausage, and some other rice dishes and bread and rose water/ice cream desserts. Tons of amazing food, and a very full and happy tummy!

Slept in on Saturday and went for a nice walk, then chilled out, went to the gym to steam/sauna and shower, and then got ready to go to Anvil and Etro for my bday party night with friends. It was 80's inspired so I bought an outfit, and it turned out that nobody else dressed up so I was the only one wearing a costume. Great! haha yeah not really, but it was a super blast anyway.

here is said costume... and a look of non-amusement, which turned into a look of happy after cocktails

Anyhow, Saturday night was soooo much fun. Seriously it was the best birthday party/night I've ever had. it would not have happened without my amazing bf. He is just awesome! and it's only been 3 months that we've been dating, so I'm just amazed. We met at Anvil for cocktails, then headed over to the 80's club Etro for dancing, and stayed and danced for almost 2 hours. Finally we got home and just collapsed. Ahhhhh.

I woke up super early on Sunday and could not get back to sleep, so instead I decided to be productive and do laundry, laundry, dishes, more laundry, go to the gym and walk, shower, and clean. By 4:30pm I was exhausted but since we had dinner at Jacsun and Iris's house at 6pm, I had to suffer....

I picked up the BF and we headed over to Jacsun's for a Simple Supper Sunday Dinner, and it was pretty interesting! For $10 Jacsun prepares this awesome vegetarian meal of salads, breads, soups, desserts, and beverages, and provides us with literature, readings, fun things to do, and always has a cool guest list. The Dinners are never more than 8 people and were 7, which seemed pretty perfect. There was a woman who was a holistic eye doctor, another Latino doctor woman, another Afrian American woman, a glass bowl musician, and an Asian bellydancer/healer/interpreter/businesswoman... it was quite the interesting night indeed. We had some creamy pea/potato/carrot salad to start, then a Hungarian Eggplant, Squash and Mushroom bisque, with wholemeal bread, and a blueberry clofoutti and ice cream for dessert. Jacsun also made a watermelon aguas frescas which was yummy.

Overall the weekend and birthday festivities were a true sucess and joy and splendor... thank you Lord!

Today I am starting a new plan: began with a 15 hour fast, then just having protein and veggies and fats all week till Friday evening. I did stregth training today and will be working out all week, then will have a carb meal on Friday and all day Saturday, and then start the protein/veggie/fat thing again on Sunday. I'm going to see how this works for me and my body and mind and spirit... it seems simple and my brain seems to like the idea of it. I worked out today after I ate some rotisserie chicken and salad, and now I will have more protein again for dinner, probably some salmon salad that I made yesterday. I'm feeling good about it, and feel like it will help me deal with my daily carb/sweet cravings. Knowing that I can have them but need to wait till the weekend does wonders for my mind! Because I was starting to feel anxious about letting myself have them. I need more structure so I need to be honest with myself and do what will work for me and feel good.

Okay well tomorrow is cardio of some sort and physical therapy, and more protein/fat/veggies. Saving my carb cravings for the weekend, yay!

Blessings, thanks and peace

dg

Swimming + Roast Chicken = Happy

I needed a reminder, I was in a major funk recently and needed to snap out of it. No matter what I'm going through, there is someone suffering and my stuff is just never THAT bad.

On that note, I'm super grateful for a lot today. First of all, I swam laps this morning and felt strong. Yay! Then had lots of amazing roasted chicken at lunch time, and followed by a bushel of red grapes. Work is great, so far it's been an awesome day. Not so awesome is that Max is really sick... in fact, he's never had to miss a day of work and he's now missed 2 days. EEK! I'm worried but he has been sleeping tons and is hopefully healing tremendously.. ugh. I am celebrating 6 months of my new life, meaning it's been 6 months since I began living a healthy life and loving myself, and truly honoring my body, mind, and spirit. Yay me.

Mood today: happy, energetic, excited

Craving today: roasted chicken with skin, yumm

Inspiration/goal today: keep it simple, love myself, and have FAITH! I have been so confused lately about what to eat, how to workout, when, where, why, how, etc, and finally had a come to Jesus moment and realized that I just need to let got of it all and remember that I'm smart and know what I need. And most importantly, have Faith in the process! So I deleted a bunch of stuff that was cluttering my browser, meaning I deleted all these "health" links because I was starting to feel overwhelmed as I was always searching for more answers. I finally realized that I need to trust my Higher Power and not constantly look around for quick fixes or a magic routine :-) Done, bingo. Much better! Phew

Gratitude List:

Swimming - the pool at LTF
Roasted Chicken
Red grapes
My Higher Power
My amazing healing body... each day it is getting stronger and healing, thanks to God

Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for the healing and recovery that you have blessed me with. I am thankful for the pains, the struggles, and the victories and triumphs. Thank you for my life and every single thing about it. I trust in You and have Faith!
Amen

Back on Track... Right?

What a weekend... After all the rain, humidity, heat, allergies, emotional funk, and hip pains, I am happy to say I made it! without hurting anyone else or myself :-)


I'm so grateful for learning lessons because now that I'm seeking Christ for help, well life is just much easier. I used to try so hard to fix everything in my life: health, relationships, work, money, etc, and would constantly get frustrated because I would end up dissappointing myself. It was a constant cycle of dissappointment, with very little or short-lived reward.

Nowadays, when I am really struggling with an issue, I do one thing first: pray. I pray about it and ask for guidance. Now that doesn't mean that it's done and solved, and I just carry on with my happy self again, no! It just means that I realize that I am not in control and that God (or whatever you call your Higher Power) is guiding me and protecting me at all times - AT ALL TIMES. This is important to remember because there are just times when you feel like everything is way off and way out of whack, and if you don't have faith in your HP, than you'll feel really anxious and worried. I still worry and always think ahead about all the what if's but it's so much better now that I know in my heart and soul that ultimately my HP, God, is watching over me and everything will be okay... better than ok, in fact it will all be amazing.


Mood today: Grateful! Happy

Craving today: same old stuff: cocoa and coconuts

Recipe today: Chicken Curry in Coconut Milk - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/michelles-coconut-chicken-curry/

Inspiration today: all the strong and fierce women out there! Girlpower rulz

Gratitude List:

• The sunshine right after a storm
• A nice leisurely walk in a park
• Dim Sum
• 80's stuff
• This last Sunday service with Dr. Jill Carroll - she talked about sewing seeds and what kind of soil are you for the word? Fertile? Dry? Thorny? Stony? Good question...
• Realizing that I have weaknesses with anger and pride, and making peace with that and moving forward.

Okay, well Happy Monday and that is all for now. So thankful I got to talk to my dear old Uncle Louie today. He is always SO uplifting...

Blessings and Amen