Physical, Mental and Spiritual Wellness, Simply Through Walking

As the weather turns hotter, our need to drink gets greater. What our body is craving is water. What we are feeding it is sugar. Here are a few facts to just wake you up:

A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola packs 140 calories and 39 grams of carbs. If you have one can a day, as an afternoon pick-me-up, with dinner or any other time, over the course of the year that adds up to over 51,000 calories — that’s roughly 14 pounds!

Want to get off sodas? Watch this video:

But of course, this doesn’t apply to you, because you drink the sugar free stuff. Well, here’s the scoop on “sugar free” from Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP

Products featuring Splenda are perceived as “natural” because even the FDA’s press release about sucralose parrots the claim that “it is made from sugar” — an assertion disputed by the Sugar Association, which is suing Splenda’s manufacturer, McNeil Nutritionals.

The FDA has no definition for “natural,” so please bear with us for a biochemistry moment: Splenda is the trade name for sucralose, a synthetic compound stumbled upon in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formulation. It is true that the Splenda molecule is comprised of sucrose (sugar) — except that three of the hydroxyl groups in the molecule have been replaced by three chlorine atoms. (To get a better picture of what this looks like, see this image of a sucralose molecule.)

While some industry experts claim the molecule is similar to table salt or sugar, other independent researchers say it has more in common with pesticides. That’s because the bonds holding the carbon and chlorine atoms together are more characteristic of a chlorocarbon than a salt — and most pesticides are chlorocarbons. The premise offered next is that just because something contains chlorine doesn’t guarantee that it’s toxic. And that is also true, but you and your family may prefer not to serve as test subjects for the latest post-market artificial sweetener experiment — however “unique.” (See our article on endocrine disruptors for more information on toxins and persistent organic pollutants.)

Once it gets to the gut, sucralose goes largely unrecognized in the body as food — that’s why it has no calories. The majority of people don’t absorb a significant amount of Splenda in their small intestine — about 15% by some accounts. The irony is that your body tries to clear unrecognizable substances by digesting them, so it’s not unlikely that the healthier your gastrointestinal system is, the more you’ll absorb the chlorinated molecules of Splenda.

So, is Splenda safe? The truth is we just don’t know yet.

Ok, well what about vitamin water?

According to Christopher Intagliata,

“Each bottle of vitaminwater contains 32.5 grams, or two heaping tablespoons, of crystalline fructose. Fructose is a simple sugar that sweetens many fruits, although the crystalline fructose in vitaminwater is produced from cornstarch, not fruit, by crystallizing the fructose in fructose-enriched corn syrups. As one would expect, nobody needs these extra sugars, according to Nestle, the NYU nutritionist. One research team has even indicated that the intense sweetness of sugary drinks may be addictive.

“The way that vitaminwater is marketed and positioned it’s made to look more healthful than other sugary beverages, but it’s not – it’s still just a soft drink,” said Margo G. Wootan, Director of Nutrition Policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “It has this aura of healthfulness that is not deserved. Adding vitamins and minerals to junk food doesn’t make it healthy.””

So really, your best alternative is water. Here’s a whole page on the benefits of drinking water.

Now of course, we need to be careful here, too because we’ve messed up our water supply so badly. Here is some advice from Jordin Rubin of “The Maker’s Diet“:

There is no perfect source of water for most of us, but the best solution seems to be tap water that has been treated with a filter. A ceramic or compressed carbon filter removes all heavy metals, chlorine and other impurities but leaves valuable mineral ions, such as calcium, magnesium, iodine, silicon and selenium.

So, how much water do you need to drink? Take the “self-hydration test” and find out!

Cheers!

Darlene

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HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Jenolan Caves to Hill End
Your Blue Mountains journey begins in Jenolan Caves. Jenolan Caves is home to the oldest discovered open caves in the world, approximately discovered in 1835-49, featuring numerous Silurian marine fossils and calcite formations. From Jenolan Caves walk to Gulgong a gold rush town which was founded in the 1870s and then on to Mudgee in the Cudgegong River valley, which is now a wine producing region. From Mudgee continue on to Hill End which was established in the 1850s as a gold rush town. Hill End is also classified as a historical site by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The GREAT NEWS is that you can join me, because I’m only walking “virtually” using this very cool website:

You just create an account (choose to join the step log on the bottom left), then go to the “I-challenge” link, and sign up at whatever level you’re comfortable at.  With the training I’m currently doing, I’m going for the second level.  I should be able to accomplish that.  Then get yourself a pedometer and get walking.  Every day log your steps and the rest is done for you.

Pretty cool, eh?

So sign up, find me as a friend on there, and we can walk together.

Happy Walking, Happy Canada Day!

Darlene

PS: I’m still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June - can you help? Just click the badge below and you’ll go right to my page

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I’m still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June - can you help? Just click the badge and you’ll go right to my page.

Countdown To Race Day (5 km)

Thanks so much!  Both I and the kids benefitting from your donations greatly appreciate your generosity!

So I’ve completed my first week of “The Lord’s Table” and here are my results (note, I didn’t lose 7.5 pounds in a week. I didn’t weigh myself before I started, so I simply picked up where I left off in the last round of weight loss. I would guess I’ve lost about 3 lbs. in total this past week):

This is an amazing course for any of you who are struggling with the weight loss yo-yo and with getting rid of those stubborn pounds that wont’ budge. Not only does it deal with food, but it also deals with your mentality, your heart, your focus, and your sin (yeah, sorry, overeating needs to be called what it is: the sin of gluttony. Doesn’t sound so nice when it’s put like that, does it?)

The course encourages “feasting”, but the feasting it encourages is feasting on the word of God. Here’s an excerpt from the course materials last week:

Crave the sweet food of the Word of God. That is the beginning of holiness–to crave God’s Word. Is it worth craving? I shout an emphatic, “Yes!” Crave it, for it will satisfy. Food hasn’t satisfied you for but a nanosecond; God’s Word will satisfy you from this moment on, even throughout eternity.

Read the Word, until you long for it. Read the Word until missing your time in it in the morning is unthinkable. Read the Word until you pant for it. Read the Word, after you have tasted that it is good.

Read the Word, until you have read every book of the Bible and have favorites. Read the Word, and cling to the promises of sanctification. Read the Word that you may grow up in your salvation.

The Word is the key to holiness, to growing up in your faith. If you love the Word and God’s commands, you will become more and more like Jesus Christ. Read the Word that you may become holy.

Teen Talk, by Sarah Visser from “The Lord’s Table“

I would encourage any of you who are frustrated with your weight to take the course. It’s free, and is just so incredibly encouraging.

Darlene

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So, coming up to race day (next Saturday) I’m challenging myself to reach a personal best speed.  So far, my personal best is 35 minutes and 21 seconds for a 5k.  It would be cool to get it down to 30 minutes, but that would be a 6 minute kilometer and today’s pace was 7.22.  I have a ways to go!

I’ve been using Podrunner’s free walking mixes to set the pace.  They give me an hour of music that’s a mix of house, progressive house, breakbeat, funk, tech house, pop remixes, downtempo, and  spoken-word poetry.  Some of it’s pretty weird stuff, but most of is is just a great way to train endurance.  When you start walking for longer periods of time your pace tends to be all over the map.  This keeps you focused at a certain speed and it’s pretty uplifting for the most part.  Podrunner is actually one of the most popular podcasts in the world.  Not a bad accomplishment!  They’re just one of the many very useful tools in my walking toolkit

Happy Walking!

Darlene

PS: Now if any of you are math whizzes, I need you to calculate for me:  If walking at 139 beats per minute gives me a 7.22 minute kilometer, how many beats per minute do I need to walk to get a 6 minute kilometer?  I’d love you to post the answer below!  Thanks.

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I’ve been overweight the whole of my adult life. Never hugely obese, but always struggling with that extra 30-40 pounds that need to come off! Even at the height of marathon training, walking 70+ kilometers a week didn’t change that fact.

I’ve done the yo-yo thing, the “change your lifestyle” thing, and even created something that worked quite well for the PraiseWalker system, but each time, I fall off the bandwagon and gain all the weight back.

I was chatting with a friend this week, and she told me about a program that we are now trying together. It seems pretty cool as it uses weight-loss as a form of meditation - kinda like the “PraiseWalker” idea for dieting. Cooool.

Here’s the amazing part: It’s free. It’s online. You don’t change WHAT you eat at first, just how, when, and why, so no complicated food things to start with. You understand what it is that makes you overeat, or where your weight problems come from, AND God plays the biggest role in the whole thing.

In addition to that, you get a personal mentor (still for free) to walk you through, and this is someone who has successfully gone through the program and is volunteering their time to help you see the same success.

I mean, HOW COOL IS THAT?!!

So, if you want to join me, go to: “The Lord’s Table“, a free membership, print out the eating plan (use #1 for best results) and put my e-mail in to be one of your accountability partners, and let’s get this area dealt with once and for all!

Darlene

PS - still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June - can you help? Just click the badge below and you’ll go right to my page

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Hello all!

As some of you may - or may not know - I walked my first marathon last October. I took a ridiculously short amount of time to train, and while I succeeded, it nearly did me in!

I want to do another marathon, but take loooooots of time this time to do it well. I decided to start right back at the beginning.

For the past two months I’ve been training properly for a 5k event (yeah, I know - I can walk it without even breaking a sweat, but I want to go slowly, remember?). This July 5th I’m entered in the “Race for Pace” event to raise money for Pace Kids

This isn’t a huge challenge for me, but it’s a huge challenge for these kids, and I’d love to have your financial support to give these kids every opportunity to succeed in their lives.

You can send a tax deductible donation to the cause through my page here: PaceKids Donor Page

I just started the fundraising for this, so if you hurry, you can be the very first sponsor! Woohoo!

Thanks so much, on behalf of these kids.

Darlene

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Here’s another “Amazing Walker” story - truly inspirational (I say just after I chickened out for my walk because it’s raining . . .)

First, a confession: I stole this word for word from the “WoW Power Walking” blog, dated Wednesday, June 10.

Johnny Rowe Marathon Walker

Been walking much lately? How about 3,200 kilometres? Today’s Globe and Mail obituary described the life of famed Canadian walker Johnny Rowe who averaged this distance every year for 27 years and who died on May 28. According to the Globe and Mail, Rowe described marathon walking as “a chance to accomplish something without mechnical aid”. I suspect he would have scoffed at those of us chained to our GPS devices.

Also, according to the obituary, Rowe considered marathon walking “a time to do a lot of deep thinking.” Now, I might not go so far as to describe my thought as deep, but I can say that on my personal walks, I frequently find myself enjoying a meditative state during which stream of consciousness ideas clarify issues that have been weighing on me or, better yet, I imagine ideas for fun things to do (side plank dips with band resistance anyone?). At the very least, there is a positive “filing and prioritizing” process that happens in my brain that makes me happier.

In any case, the description of Rowe is inspiring and many of you reading this will find common ground with a pioneer marathon walker.

Read more about him here

Now, put on your shoes and go for a walk (well, once it finishes raining, if you’re a wimp like me!)

Darlene

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I have an issue in my life that is causing a great deal of pain and turmoil.  I am working through different methods of healing with it, but it can often get overwhelming when it’s triggered.

Today was one of those trigger days, and I found myself wrestling with this to the point of complete frustration.  By 5:00pm I was at a loss as to how to get peace and move on.  I decided to go for my walk, which still needed to get done.

I set my Nike+iPod to a 1 hour walkand set it to play a shuffled playlist of soaking music , put on my Funky Feet, attached the dog to his leash, grabbed a poop bag, and headed out the door.

Sometimes I found myself mulling over the situation.  Other times during the walk I found myself just praying in tongues or allowing my heart to just express longing to Jesus, and sometimes I sang along - probably off key.

All around me, storm clouds were brewing, but I was in this warm place that had a lovely breeze, and I just allowed the whole experience to wash over me.

As I came to the last 1/4 mile before reaching my home at the end of the walk, I saw a whole bouquet of balloons that had been released into the air (we’d had a community celebration here at the opening of the new Transit Station behind our house) and I felt like I had been set free.  It was a symbol of the freedom that I now feel in my heart.

What a cool God we serve, Who would accompany me on such a hard, soul-wrestling walk, pour His love over me in the midst of my angst, and then end it with such a wonderful picture of healing and release.

I am blessed

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We are renovating.

We attempted an en suite bathroom renovation three years ago.  It’s still ongoing.  I doubt it will ever be done.

So now, we’re doing the main floor, but we learned our lesson, and this time we’re hiring it out.  New floors, new paint.

I don’t like renovating.  I don’t even like houses - too much work for shelter.  I’m not houseproud, I don’t like decorating, and I don’t really care about style and fashion.  However, the kitchen floor is coming off, their are nail-pops in the living room, and the wall-paper is peeling.  It’s time!

While the kids and I sat there scraping off the wallpaper in prep for painting next week, I thought about how house renovations are much like soul renovations.

You have something that’s been just fine up until now, and then realize that it could be so much better, but in order to get to the better, you have to take everything apart.  It’s messy.  It’s costly.  It creates tension, anxiety, and more questions than you thought you’d ever need to ask.  You need to get advice, learn new ways of doing things, and spend a while in serious discomfort.

Then it’s all over, and if you’ve done the work well, you sense a new spring in your step, and new energy, a new excitement.

This is the kind of journey I’m on in life.  I find myself “comfortable” with things, and then realize the comfort is not healthy, so I let God renovate my soul.  God tears apart those things I’ve used as crutches so that I lean on Him instead of on false supports.  He forces me to see things in a different way so that I’m never again satisfied with the way things were.  it’s painful, it’s frustrating, it creates serious anxiety, but when it’s all over, I have a new way of living, or looking at life, or loving people, or a new adventure I get to go on, and life suddenly has a new vigour, a new energy.

You never know how much your lifestyle weighs until you remove the garbage.  I am liking this freeer lifestyle.

Who knows, I may even become a designer!

Darlene

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It’s hard to know where to start as I sort through the emotions of yesterday’s incredible disappointment.  My initial reaction was anguished crying, which turned to anger as I lashed out at God.  For a brief moment, I considered tossing my whole faith in the bin and becoming an atheist, but just like Peter long ago, my response to that was “Lord, to whom shall (I) go? You have the words of eternal life.  (I) believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

The problem (blessing?) of a long and sincere walk with God is that you see and understand enough to know that there really is no other way of living that makes sense.

So then, how do I move forward here?  Last night the pain was so great I didn’t think I could.  I felt betrayed by God.  I felt He had led us to believe He really would heal, the signs were there, the confirmation was there, and I had really gone out on a limb in faith.  All the right ingredients were there to see a miraculous work done - and we believed it had been done.  Not just me, but those with me, as well.  This is where the betrayal came in for me.

It’s not that I believe everyone will be healed. Experience does not allow that belief, though I do believe many more people could be healed if we exercised our faith more, but I know God does not heal everyone.  Yesterday evening my beloved pastor wisely counseled me in the midst of my grief: “When we go pray for healing we don’t get one every time.  However if we go not expecting a miracle we get one NEVER.  So we always going expecting.” and “If we believe and get nothing it is still better than not believing.  Not believing produces nothing for sure.  Every time.”

I know bad things happen to good people.  We are at war in the spiritual realm, and casualties happen.  My issue was that it seemed as if God told us He would heal, and then snatched away that hope.  A little boy will have to spend the rest of his life wearing bags.

Nicholas is not a pawn here.  There is a greater story in his relationship with God in which this operation plays a big role.  That’s between him and God, and my behaviour, successes and failures have nothing to do with that particular story.  God has simply used Nicholas’ story to speak to me.  My personal story does not affect his outcome here - that choice was already made.  For me the issue is feeling betrayed by God when I believe I acted in full obedience to His will.

Again, my long journey with God helps me to understand that if I served a God whose ways were easy to understand, He would not be Almighty, Omniscient, and All-Powerful.  He’d be a puppet that I could manoeuver according to MY will - and what a mess that would be!  God - as God - is much, much greater than I can fathom, and I am glad He is, though it is sometimes hard to live with a God that big.  An Almighty, “beyond-my-understanding” God is so much more worthy of my devotion than a giant vending machine in the sky - as nice as that idea might feel in my more selfish moments.

So, where am I today?  Still wounded, still sore, still crying, but there is a sense of hope.  I must grieve, and I am allowing myself to experience the full force of my pain, but there is now an inner peace, as I turn my heart towards the only One who can bring me through to the other side of my grief in full healing.  “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:5)

This journey is not over - not for me, not for Nicholas, not for his parents, but God promises to be with us, and to help us carry the load.  I could decide that from now on I won’t get so involved or allow my faith to carry me away into areas that will only cause grief, but a lukewarm faith that keeps me in a safe place is anathema to God, and I will not go there.  Either He is who He says He is, and I will serve Him as that with passion and commitment through whatever He sends my way, or I will turn my back completely.  I will not live with one foot in both worlds.  I will not create a safe god.  My heart will not serve such a god.

So here I am.  Still crying, but with hope.  With a small glimmer of inner peace, on the road to restoration.  I chose to live with Isaiah 43, not without the fires and floods, but with them, in the hands of God, in spite of what I do or do not understand.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

Amen.

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