Endurance

My husband and I began this journey to getting healthy physically, emotionally, & spiritually on Monday, August 29^th, 2011. It has been exactly 30 weeks of learning, growing, and changing! To date I have lost 57.3 lbs and my husband has lost 55 lbs. Our lifestyle is being transformed most especially our eating habits & regular exercise. The results have been amazing as we learn to honor God with our bodies, channeling our stress or anxieties no longer through food but to God. We are learning to give self care the priority that God requires and how essential self care is to all other areas of life & ministry.

Reflecting on our journey so far I can see so many ups and downs. Let’s be honest here, I am definitely not Super Woman. I wouldn’t have been almost 300 lbs if I didn’t have some major issues with food. At times it is a daily battle to make choices that will honor the Lord. It is a battle to not fall into those old habits that are so engrained after many years of practice. It would be so easy to sit around and watch TV instead of going to the gym. It would be so easy to order a pizza after a long busy day instead of cooking a healthy meal. That is not to say we haven’t done those things from time to time. Lord knows we are and will continue to be a work in progress. We are learning balance and balance is NOT easy.

As I reflect on the journey so far the word Endurance continues to come to mind. I touched a little bit on it in my recent blog "Never Give Up" so thanks for hanging in there with me as I continue with this theme. Endurance, persistence, stamina, patience, fortitude, and staying power all sound like great traits right? Whew they require a lot of hard work. I told you early on that our journey can’t be just about dieting, vanity, looking good, or only losing weight. It HAS to be more than that in order to find meaning and purpose day in and day out. There is a passage in Romans 5 that comes to mind, check it out below:

Romans 5: 1-5 (NIV)
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

So you might argue that suffering is a strong word for me to use in comparison to my journey to getting healthy. Most days I’d agree with you but I’ll tell you there have been days that are literally painful and for those I’ll whole heartedly make the comparison with suffering. By God’s grace it is endurance that changes suffering into perseverance, then into character, and ultimately hope. Endurance requires a daily connection with my source of Power, aka. my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ via the Holy Spirit. It is literally by His favor which I cleared don’t deserve and could never earn on my own (Grace) that I daily recommit to this journey.  Just like toaster that is not plugged into the electrical outlet, if I’m unplugged for my source of power I will not be able to continue on this path.

Endurance also requires me to set aside how I “feel” on any given day and just do what is part of my program. For instance yesterday Adrian and I got up with some possibly horrible news about unemployment which piled an enormous burden of stress. It was tempting in that moment to not stick with our program for that day and go to the gym to work out for 1 ½ hours, eat our healthy lunch & dinner, etc. We could have rationalized that we just didn’t feel like it, weren’t in the mood, or didn’t have the motivation. BUT we endured and went through the motions even without passionate feelings. I’d love to report that at the end we were miraculously free of all stress but that isn’t the case. I can report that endurance does mean going through the motions until your “feelings” are in check. In the end we were glad we went to the gym and followed the program. I realize that my “feelings” have been driving this ship for such a long time, but not any longer!

A permanent lifestyle change requires endurance. It is a hard lesson but a good one. Endurance requires that I stay connected to my source of power and that I learn to not let my feelings drive my choices. It is critical that I stay engaged on a daily basis with Christ to continue to maintain the direction He has for my life in every way, not just on this journey. I want to allow Christ to define the path, NOT my feelings. Feelings are unstable and can be manipulated at every turn. I found this quote recently that I think totally breaks down endurance. As we reach our goal to learn to honor God with our bodies, no matter the cost, It IS Worth it! Check it out!

Never Give Up!

I recently hit a major mile mark in this journey to getting healthy. Actually my husband and I both achieved over 50 pounds of weight loss each! Hooray! Updated photos coming soon I promise! As a reward we decided that we each could have $50 cash to spend however we wanted. That may not seem like a lot of money but I am unemployed and as a full time student he has a part time job so let’s just say money is super tight. That $50 might as well be a thousand and it certainly felt like a wonderful treat. I ran across this canvas and had to purchase it. The message and the picture connected with me past, present, and future. Plus it matches my kitchen ;) Yes I put it right in front of the refrigerator and my supportive husband did not complain at all!

This idea of “Never Giving Up” or never quitting has been very significant to me since I began to really follow Christ at 24 years old. I remember being a student at Christ For the Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas in the first week of October 2002. We had speaker that week that asked us to write in our Bibles “Jesus I Will Never Quit!” and put the date, it was 10/2/02. The message still stands out to me all these years later because it dealt with the raw and honest truths that this life is not easy at times. We all face moments of wanting to give up if we are really honest. I like to do everything 100% and nothing less. When I struggle with accomplishing something I have had a tendency in the past to just throw in the towel, give up, and move on to the next project, maybe it’s the perfectionist in me? What stood out to me in that message was that I will fall and fail in this journey of following Christ but I made a commitment that day before God that no matter what I would never, ever, give up on my relationship with Him. That is a commitment I continue to renew and to this day is written with dates in my Bible.

Never giving up translates very easily into this current season. In my post "Finding the path...to healthy eating" I describe my philosophy that dieting has a goal of losing weight whereas my purpose goes much deeper. I am following a path that I feel God has led me to get healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Allowing God into this area of my life and learning to honor God with my body is directly connected to my relationship with Him. I will never give up on my relationship with God and I trust that whatever path He places me on in life is so that I can fulfill my purpose on this earth. Therefore, I will NEVER GIVE UP NO MATTER WHAT!

Another part of the canvas that really spoke to was the target in the center. Do you remember my post "Targeting for Change"?  In it I share a visual used by Weight Watchers called the “Target of Change” which shows how we gradually make changes beginning with the external (Environment, Attitudes, Behavior) and eventually to the internal (Beliefs & Identity). The target posted below has hung on my refrigerator since we began this journey. So you can see why I was super excited to find a reward that had both the message of Never Giving Up and the Target for Change all with colors matching my kitchen right!?!?!

This week was a hard week for me. I don’t know if it was the rainy, cloudy, and generally gloomy weather here in Dallas. Or possibly the fact that I’ve suffered a bit of insomnia. My food choices were on plan and honored God; I exercised daily, took my vitamins, and drank my crazy amounts of water (lol). My mood and heart were just struggling for some reason unknown to me. We all have those kinds of days, weeks and possibly months don’t we?  I’m proud of the fact that even though my mood was “off” I pushed through and did not choose to use food as a remedy as I would in the past. By God’s grace I’m learning that even in the midst of an “off” week I don’t have to give into or turn to food. I don’t have to take on the “give up” attitude. He cares about those inevitable moments and wants me to learn to draw on Him instead of food. I found a really cool quote online by Fred Devito that says “If it doesn’t challenge you, It doesn’t change you.”  I am learning to welcome the challenges both big and small so that my identity can be transformed into a vessel in the Potter’s Hand that honors God!

Healthy Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Healthy Roasted Veggie Lasagna

Prep time: Up to 90 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes, cool time 10 minutes

This recipe is my creation derived from some recipes I found from The Pioneer Woman & Martha Stewart. I made them healthier but choosing leaner cheese, using less cheese, and cutting the oil in at least half. I also tripled the veggies from the recipes I found. This means it is more vitamin packed, however it also means it added about 30 minutes into the prep time. This makes 8 large portions that I have calculated to be 11 WWP+ per serving. If you are a WW please make sure to recalculate the recipe based on the brands you choose as the pointsplus values can change. So let’s get started.

Ingredient List
1 Eggplant, peeled and cut into ½” rounds
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
1 head of cauliflower
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow onion, cut into large dice
8oz package of Baby Bella mushrooms

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 Tablespoons of garlic powder, divided
3 teaspoon of garlic salt, divided
2 Tablespoons of Italian herbs, divided
1 cup parts skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs, raw
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 2/3 cups finely shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Olive oil cooking spray
36 oz of Classico’s Traditional Sweet Basil pasta sauce (which is 1 1/2 jars or whatever kind you enjoy), divided
1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 425* and spray two large cookie sheets. We will begin by prepping all the veggies for roasting. Roasting these veggies will take more time but it adds a tremendous amount of flavor and it is totally worth it!

*Very important when prepping the veggie to try to cut them around the same depth so that they will roast evenly. *

Starting with the eggplant cut the ends off and peeled it with a potato peeler.

Then cut the eggplant into ½” circles (rather than long strips) See the picture below.

Next I tackled the zucchini and yellow squash. In order to maintain the same depth for even roasting I cut in half length and depth, then in ½” thick slices. See pictures below.

The red bell pepper I cored and cut into 2” cubes.

Deconstruct the cauliflower and cut into bite sized pieces. Spray olive oil cooking spray on two large cookie sheets. Add the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, and cauliflower. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of garlic salt to each cookie sheet. Mix well and spread out evenly. Place on center racks in the preheated 425* oven for approximately 60 minutes.

Flip or mix every 15 minutes and rotate pans for even roasting. This photo was after 30 minutes, notice the browning on the eggplant. This color shows the added flavor that you are looking for in roasting veggies.

Cut a large onion in a large dice. Clean & cut 8 oz. of baby bella mushrooms into 1/2" thick peices. You can use any mushroom, I like the depth of flavor of baby bellas. Spray a large nonstick pan with olive oil cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and heat to medium high. Add 1 teaspoon of garlic salt and sautee onion and mushroom mixture until lightly carmelized and tender. *You could probably also roast the onion and mushroom in the oven I just didn't have any more room in my oven*

As all the veggies are cooking mix the cheesy combination: 1 cup of part skim ricotta, 1/3 cup of finely shredded mozzarella, 1/4 cup of grated parmesean, 2 eggs, 2 Tablespoons of Italian Herbs, 2 Tablespoons of garlic powder. Mix well and set aside.

Once the veggies are all complete begin building the lasagna by spraying olive oil cooking spray in a large & deep baking dish. Place 2 Tablespoons of pasta sauce and spread evenly.

Then place the first layer of pasta in the bottom of the baking dish. *Note* If you choose to use "oven ready" lasagna noodles as I did you will notice that they absorb ALOT of sauce and continue to do that each time you reheat the meal. So if you like alot of sauce and choose to use this noodle I recommend adding at least an extra 1/2 cup of sauce to each layer.*

Before I continued building the lasagna I mixed all the roasted veggies together with the onions and mushrooms EXCEPT the eggplant that I kept separate. Here is how I built the layers from the bottom up:

Olive oil cooking spray
2 Tablespoons of pasta sauce
Oven ready lasagna noodles, even layer
Pasta sauce, even layer
1/2 of roasted eggplant pieces
1/2 of veggie mixture
1/3 cup of finely shredded mozzarella
Oven ready lasagna noodles, even layer
Pasta sauce, even layer
1/2 of roasted eggplant pieces
1/2 of veggie mixture
All of the cheesy ricotta mixture
1/3 cup of finely shredded mozzarella
Oven ready lasagna noodles, even layer
Pasta sauce, even layer
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
2/3 cup finely shredded mozzarella

Here's what is looks like all built up! Looking good so far :)

Next wrap really tightly with foil. Place in preheated 425* oven for 60 minutes or until noodles are cooked completey through. After taking it out of the oven allow to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting into it. Cut into at least 8 pieces, serve & enjoy! Here is the final product when cut, super yummy!

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

This is a really easy, healthy, and tasty recipe. My grandmother gave me the original and I modified it just a bit to make it healthier. They call it Lazy Man’s Cabbage Rolls because it is a deconstructed roll that still maintains the same yummy flavors without all that hard work.

Here are the ingredients:

Cooking Spray
1 medium sized head of green cabbage, cut into 1” squares
1 large onion, diced

1 lb of extra lean ground beef (93%/ 7% at least)
½ cup instant rice (I used Minute rice)

1 ½ Tablespoons of garlic powder
1 Teaspoon of garlic salt
½ Teaspoon of ground pepper
15 oz can of diced tomatoes
15 oz can of tomato sauce
10 ¾ oz can of tomato soup (I prefer Campbell’s)

1 ½ cup of water

So here is how you prepare this meal. Preheat the oven to 350*. Spray large baking dish with cooking spray.  Cut cabbage into 1” squares, if you have a large head of cabbage as I did just use ¾ of the head of cabbage. Place cabbage into the bottom of the baking dish as shown below.

Brown ground beef with onion & seasonings until cooked well (mine was still in the cooking process in this picture.

 Add rice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, & tomato soup to the meat mixture and bring to a boil.

Pour meat & tomato mixture over the cabbage in the baking dish.

 Add 1 ½ cups of water, cover tightly with foil, and place in the oven to bake for 40-50 minutes until cabbage is tender and the majority of the liquid is absorbed. Here is what the final product will look like!

I portioned this into 8 servings and according to my calculations it is only 4 WWP+ per serving. It is low fat, packed with veggies, and super easy to prepare. Let me know if you enjoy this Pina Family favorite!  

What Message Does My Life Speak?

What Message Does My Life Speak?

Have you ever heard the expression “Live Out Loud”? The phrase is in a popular song and my interpretation is that our actions transmit a message. This concept has been transformed in my mind lately. I’ve never really sat down to think about how my life affects other people. I’ve definitely never functioned with a belief that I lived in an island all on my own or anything but as we have continued on this journey I am enlightened by the reality that how I live, good or bad, sends a message.

Up until this point I have been very content with the message my life sends to the world around me. My life resume speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

I am the child of wonderful and respectable parents who absolutely love me unconditionally. I have had the honor of having my life deeply impacted by not ONE but TWO sets of amazing and God fearing grandparents. I have a husband who is brilliant, handsome, absolutely adores me even after almost 7 crazy years together, and most importantly loves God with all his heart, soul, and mind. I have a wonderful & supportive extended family and friends. I could go on and explain all my academic and professional accomplishments but I think you get the point right? At the onset I am an outstanding citizen, from a good family, in a healthy relationship, educated, loved, and a productive contributor to society.  Right?

Wrong! The reality is that the message that my life sends goes a lot deeper than all of that. As I journey further down this path of getting healthy physically, emotionally, and spiritually I am humbled and horrified to look back and see some of the areas that my actions fell short of God’s glory. My obsession with food, gluttony, and obesity showed the world that my true worship was not 100% completely to the God I claimed to serve. My heart was divided between the physical desires that constantly scratched at my mind and my love for God. The message of my actions didn’t match my word! In retrospect I can see how my co-workers, friends, associates, even neighbors could probably see just by looking at me something that I was oblivious to. I have a problem with food! So rather than 100% of my life message pointing people to the Christ that I follow, the loudest message of my life was “Food is my god”!

Please hear me on this; I am in NO WAY stating that Christ followers have to be perfect in every area of their lives. I’m a firm believer that we are all a work in progress and no one will ever be perfect. However, when we live in such a way that our actions are blatantly in conflict with our words….well let’s just say there is a problem that must be addressed!

When I started this blog it never occurred to me that I would inspire others. It is a humbling reality that only God can get the credit for. Did you know that part of my new identity is a “regular” at the gym, oh yeah that’s what they call me, these strangers who walk up and tell me that I inspire them by how hard I’m working. Seriously only the grace of God can cause that kind of authentic transformation in my life and yours! I am daily in awe of how God has been using our journey to touch the lives and hearts of other people. It has been amazing the numbers of people from friends to complete strangers that email, stop us at the gym, talk to us at our WW meetings, and message us that express gratitude and encouragement from our New life message. I thank God for the opportunity to point people to Jesus on daily basis. God ALWAYS has a plan for our pain and struggles and when we are faithful to Him, He truly will bring something for the good out of it. It reminds me again and again that our daily lives speak a message to everyone around us. I thank God that He alone is transforming the message of my daily life to give Him glory! My new prayer is that I may live a life both outwardly and inwardly that honors God each day!

Questions for you to ponder…

1.       What message does your life speak to the world around you?
2.       What areas of your life message are you challenged to change?
3.       What is the first step for that change?
4.       How have you seen God use a struggle for good in your life?
5.       How would you like God to use your current struggle?