Yeah. Well, not quite the results I wanted, but we’re still fighting the “focus thing”. I can only focus on one thing at a time, and last week, that wasn’t weight loss either! Sigh. I’ll post because I need to be accountable, not because I’m delighted with the results! :S

Get your own graph at skinnyr

However, I did end up having a great call with a coach, the result of which completely changed the way I’m now handling my time. Currently I spend most of every day working on our HotSpot Promotion business, marketing and helping business owners with getting the word out about what they do. I enjoy that work and the delight I feel in helping others meet their goals.

But where I really get excited is in the area of healing – physical, emotional, mental – all of it. It really excites me to be able to offer people something that helps them get unstuck. The exploration I’m doing right now on the Emotional Release with Essential Oils program really has me buzzing, and I have 6 books to work through in order to really understand it. With my current schedule, I’ll be 80 before I get through all that, even with my current reading speed.

The truth, however, is that we have a great group of clients already with HotSpot Promotion and while we are certainly open to more clients, the ones we have are enabling us to both make ends meet, and move forward with some of our other goals. I don’t need to be marketing 4 hours a day to keep HotSpot Promotion running. So, I’ve decided to now work part time for HotSpot Promotion, and use the other days to further my studies. This has created a gentle weekly schedule for me that is still very productive, but it allows for much more flexibility with regards to reaching my goals in all areas that are important to me.

Kinda cool. This is the first day I’m trying it out, and so far, so good. I’ve kept up with my weight loss activities, and my HotSpot Promotion activities, and am still feeling relaxed.

How cool is that?! I love it when simple changes make a huge, transformational difference. Don’t you?

Happy Walking!

Darlene

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So, here we are at week 4! Lookin’ good. I’m so pleased with my results so far. My week was kind of up and down – a big birthday celebration for my daughter at “The Olive Garden where I simply enjoyed myself and my dinner consisting of Shrimp & Crab Tortelli Romana, their amazing endless tossed salad and breadsticks (only had one of those…) and a delicious dessert choosing the Tiramisu from their selection of tiny desserts called Dolcini. YUMMM! We had a GREAT waiter (Thanks, JB!) and lots of fun.

For the rest of the week I was pretty good, though I did enjoy the odd treat, which is how I like to diet!

My results? Take a look:

Get your own graph at skinnyr

No change in inches overall.

It’s been kind of an interesting week this week. I began working with an intentional goal dealing with increasing the set-point of my body’s very sluggish metabolism. I started experimenting with intentional goal setting a while back but (as usual) had trouble following through.

This time, instead of starting with an ideal weight set-point, I started with revving up my metabolism with the following intentional goal:

By the end of 4 weeks at the latest (Nov 6, 2011), I will have done whatever is necessary and appropriate to increase the set-point of my body’s metabolism by 10% – 15%. I will notice it because my body will be pleasantly and comfortably warm (including my hands and feet), excess fat will drop off, and I will feel healthy, lean, energetic, vibrant, clear-headed, strong, joyful, and alive.

I will have done all this joyfully and easily, according to the perfect will of God and for the highest good of me and of everyone else involved.

There is a specific, somewhat time-consuming method to wording this exactly right, and you can get more information on that here: Changing Your Unconscious Body-Weight Set-Point. Once you’ve got the goal exactly right you repeat it daily, 100x until you see the evidence that it’s working properly.

Now, the interesting thing is, while I’ve still been a little hit-and-miss with the goal setting thing, I’ve been plugging away at it, and the first thing that came to mind was a recipe I’d found and modified from Dr. Axe (whose site, while always great before, seems to be indicating some sort of malware, so I won’t share the link!). The recipe is as follows:

Detox Drink:

• 1/4 C. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 C. organic apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp cassia cinnamon
• 10 drops therapeutic grade Grapefruit Essential Oil (if it’s less than therapeutic grade it can do you harm if you ingest it)
• 750 ml iced green Oolong tea

Mix together, and drink 250 ml before each meal. (note, you might need to put 1/3 into a large glass and dilute it with water or more green tea. It’s quite strong! Also note that Cassia Cinnamon turns to a kind of mucous if you leave it in the mixture for a while, so add 1/3 tsp to the bottom of the glass, then slowly add the mixture and mix as you go).

This recipe is a strong fat-burning mix but I’m not sure exactly if/how it stimulates metabolism. I drink it for its fat-loss qualities.

Then a couple of days later I was reminded of the chapter on Thermogenesis for weight loss as recorded in Tim Ferriss’ book “The 4-Hour Body“. Taking their suggestion, I started drinking ice-water every morning upon awakening. Over the next two weeks I’ll be adding in other things that also fire up the fat-burning metabolism of my body.

Finally, I remembered that at a recent health seminar I went to they listed the main symptoms of hypothyroidism as being:

• Tiredness/Low Energy
• Forgetfulness/Slower Thinking
• Weight Gain and
• Cold Intolerance

All of which I have in abundance! So I started researching that, as well, with some fascinating results that I’ll share with you on Wednesday! Stay tuned!

And I’m off for my walk! Catch ya’ll later!

Darlene

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So, here we are – two weeks in a row. Yep, there’s hope for me!

I thought I’d check in today with the results from last week’s labours. My goals and results were:

1. Read “The Scroll Marked II” 3x daily from “The Greatest Salesman in the World”
2. Read Chapter 2 “Desire: The Starting Point of All Achievement” in “Think and Grow Rich” daily at lunchtime
3. Read “Principle 1: Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life” from “The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” daily at bedtime

   I didn’t do very well here. I forgot to factor in what happens in the “catch up” week after holidays! LOL! I gave myself grace. Feeling like I’m back into the reading thing again but I’m not as disciplined as I will be.

4. Exercise according to the schedule I laid out (walk 4 times along with 2 days of Gymboree).

   I did two walks and 2 days at Gymboree. I’m good with that. Probably do better next week. My walking partner had a cold, so between that and my catch-up stuff, we had trouble keeping up.

5. Begin each day with 1/2 litre of water sipped slowly over a couple of hours.

   Blew this completely, Hahaha!

6. Make a daily high nutrition protein shake for breakfast each morning.

   Success. I do allow myself one cheat day a week with regards to food, so 6 days I had the shake and one day I had poached eggs on toast.

For this next week I’m going to be doing mostly the same, but adding in lunch – a bowl of vegetable soup and a hard boiled egg. Again. Super easy, no stress, but nutritious. The only time I won’t eat this is on Gymboree days as I have neither time nor the equipment to prepare it, so on those days I’ll eat raw veggies or apples and a hard boiled egg.

Results of my efforts?

Weight loss: down .2 lbs

Get your own graph at skinnyr

Inches lost: 2.5 Woohoo!

And that’s me for this week! Gotta get dressed now and go meet my walking partner!

How are you doing with your goals? Have you had any breakthroughs or achievements this week?

Wishing you a successful week!

Happy Walking!

Darlene

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So, four months later, and here I am, finally. Nothing like a week of sitting around on your butt in Mexico at a 5 Star all-inclusive resort, being waited on hand and foot in a stunning environment to catch your breath and re-focus! (Yeah, that photo is a picture of one of the local beaches. Gorgeous!)

Still struggling with the balancing act here. Back to doing regular shifts at Gymboree in addition to everything else as they’ve lost some employees so I’m filling in while they get the trainees up and running. However, I’m not so stressed. I’m taking things in stride, and feeling quite good about everything. I’m much more disciplined and focused (though my desk has exploded again…) I have a major project in the works, which I’ll tell you about later, and I’m back walking, though not actually training. The weather here in Calgary is currently beautiful as I write this, and has been for weeks, so getting out for a walk is fabulous. I’ve found a great friend to walk with, and we get a 5k walk done 4x a week at around 10:00 am. Two days a week I teach at Gymboree, so that pretty much fills out a great workout plan! The training will come, but I think I’m really going to have to get into a type of Polyphasic sleep pattern (probably the 3 hour core sleep one) in order to actually get everything done well that I want/need to do, but I can’t follow that until I’m really done with Gymboree as a day at Gymboree has no breaks so I’d not be able to nap. Might take a look at this again in November.

I’ve been doing some great reading lately, which I’ll probably share along the way, and I’m feeling like I’m ready to tackle my eating habits. I need to keep it simple because I can’t handle anything more complicated right now. I’m thinking a nutrient dense protein shake in the morning, a vegetable/bean soup and boiled egg at lunch, and a protein and salad for dinner with natural yogurt and seeds for dessert. I’ll toss in some Omega 3 fatty acids along the way, and Bob’s your uncle! Not hugely varied, but for now, it’s easy, nutritious, low-calorie, and brainless. From where I stand now, that looks like a good plan!

One thing I’ve been doing is filling my mind with ideas that help me be more disciplined, focused, and aligned with my main purpose. This started when, for fun, I picked up Og Mandino’s book “The Greatest Salesman in the World“. After you get about half way through the book he suggests reading each of the seven scrolls (part of the story) 3x a day for a month. When you’ve done that with the first scroll, you move on to the second scroll and do the same thing – read that one 3x a day for a month. There are 6 scrolls to read like this. I actually scheduled the reading into my daily calendar and am finding it helpful for keeping focused on the important things and not allowing myself to be distracted by things that aren’t that important. Because I’m also trying to get a better handle on my finances, I started doing the same thing with Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” and since coming home, I’ve added Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” though the latter two I only read once a day – one at lunch and one at bedtime – as the chapters are much longer.

I think this is really helping me. My goal this year is to finally drop the extra weight (which has increased slightly since Mexico…Sigh…) and pay off our credit card debt. In three years I’d like to be fully debt free (including having our house fully paid off), and financially free through location independent businesses. I’d also like to be traveling regularly and living in a self-designed house somewhere in the mountains.

With that kind of clarity behind me, I’d like to get back into blogging on this blog (I still blog regularly at HotSpot Promotion) and sharing a bit of my journey. I want to go back to creating an “automated lifestyle” by adding habits once a week and mastering some of those things that are making me weak and ineffective.

If you want to join me, here are my goals for this week:

1. Read “The Scroll Marked II” 3x daily from “The Greatest Salesman in the World” (I already started this a few weeks ago, so I’m a bit ahead of the game here)
2. Read Chapter 2 “Desire: The Starting Point of All Achievement” in “Think and Grow Rich” daily at lunchtime (I started reading this last week, and up to this point the chapters are not really worth repeating daily, so if you want to start with this, read up to the end of this chapter first, as your first reading, and then just repeat chapter 2 every day).
3. Read “Principle 1: Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life” from “The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” daily at bedtime (again, let your first reading catch you up to the end of this chapter, and then read just this chapter each day).
4. Exercise according to the schedule I laid out above.
5. Begin each day with 1/2 litre of water sipped slowly over a couple of hours.
6. Make a daily high nutrition protein shake for breakfast each morning (currently mine consists of 1 Tbsp ground flax seed (I grind it fresh), 1 tsp Nutra Sea Fish Oil
   , 1 scoop Garden of Life – RAW Meal meal replacement, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 1 cup pure coconut juice (I use Sun Tropics juice from Costco), 1 cup Knudsen Mega Green Juice, and 1 cup Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Milk, Unsweetened Original)

That looks a little overwhelming for a starting place if you’re just jumping in with me here. I would recommend doing only one of the books (Og Mandino’s is the easiest and shortest read) and then start either with the exercise or the breakfast/water. Add the others in as it becomes manageable.

Comments? Questions? Post them below!

Darlene

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First of all, the good news! All the sleepless starvation is paying off in inches and weight lost! Here’s the newest graph:

The bad news is that I find I can cope with highly organized, super stressed living for a certain period of time, and get very excited about how much is accomplished in that time, and then I crash and burn. I’ve learned to give myself permission to do so, because when I give myself permission, I allow myself to recover, and then I rediscover the lost energy and focus I need to push hard again. Each time I start again, I last longer until the crash and burn.

So, currently, it’s “crash and burn” time. Three months of seriously reduced eating and sleeping is taking its toll: I’ve not been able to get up for the past two nights for prayer, I’ve been overcome with hunger at about 3:00pm, and I’m bordering on “zombie”. The kids find it entertaining – I lose my train of thought regularly, and vastly increase my steps by retracing them trying to remember what it is I forgot!

Starting Monday my family is taking some holiday time, so I’ve decided to allow myself to take a “grace break” from all of this, starting today and lasting until the following Monday (28th) when we get back (an end date is always helpful!)

So, back to eating 3-5 healthy meals a day, sleeping 8 hours, and containing my focused spiritual disciplines to a chunk of time each morning. Should do me good! But, to be honest, I’m already looking forward to getting back from the holidays and jumping in again!

Wish me luck!

Darlene

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So, still hacking….

I’m getting better at the Polyphasic sleep thing, and working to set up the right naps this week. Work will make that awkward as I don’t have the luxury of a break at any time in the workday, let alone at a specific time. Thankfully my shifts are fairly short so I can come home and have a longer afternoon nap on the two days I work at Gymboree. The rest of the time, I should be fine with a nap at 10:30 am, 3:30 pm and 10:30 pm. I can move them either way by about an hour, too, and they should still work out fine. They say it will take a couple of months to completely adjust, so I’ll keep you posted!

My latest hack is with resetting my ideal weight set point. I’ve had this tested with pretty sophisticated machinery, and based on my size, lean muscle mass, and other factors, my ideal weight is 120 lbs (actually it’s 121.something, but 120 works – I like round numbers). The problem is, my body seems to have a much higher set point that I find hard to push through. Several years ago I purchased an e-book called “How to Get Lots of Money For Anything – FAST” about “extreme” goal setting. One of the bonuses that came with it was called “How To Lose Lots of Weight – Easily and Quickly” and showed how you can re-set your your unconscious body-weight set-point. (note: the original version of this book was quite fascinating, and the suggestions work. However, the new version brings in elements that make me, as a Christian, quite nervous. Just sayin’)

If you’re trying to reach 120lbs but your unconscious is determined that your ideal weight is 150, every pound you lose below that point is going to be a battle. However, if your body believes that your ideal set point is 120, it will work with you to lose the weight.

Kinda cool.

So, following the steps in the book I have created a goal that should re-set this body-weight set-point. It goes into effect tonight. Let’s see how it works, shall we? I post the results here on my blog.

Wish me luck!

Darlene

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Well, the graph today is looking great! Probably mostly due to water loss during my “Esther Fast” which ended at midnight. Over the next 18 days I will continue to fast on an intermittent basis (fasting Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday) to complete the prayer challenge. The polyphasic sleep pattern isn’t really working for me yet, but I’m still pushing through to get to a place of comfort. I need to sit down today and work out the actual sleep rhythm for optimum rest. Currently I’m in bed at 9:00, I sleep until 11:30 or so, get up for 2 hours of prayer, back to bed by 2:30, and up around 6:30-7:00. Feel a little “thick headed” but I’m coping. I think I need to re-adjust my times for optimal results. I’ll keep you posted!

Anyway, here’s the graph:

Regarding the slow carb – the weight has come off more slowly than anticipated, but as I re-researched I realized that I’m not getting enough protein, early enough, in the morning. I’m up early but don’t usually get to breakfast until about 7:30. According to Tim Ferriss, I need to eat 25g of protein within the first 30 minutes of getting up, so today I started with a protein shake. Once I’m finished posting this blog, I’ll have my usual breakfast. It will be interesting to see how this changes my results.

Well, that’s all for today!

Happy Walking!

Darlene

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So this graph is looking MUCH happier these days! Very encouraging!

I’m settling into a rhythm with the eating plan. There are ways of tweaking it to be more effective, but I currently only have the book on my iPod Touch Kindle, and it’s really hard to use it as a resource there. The actual book should arrive any day now, and then I can work at adding those tweaks and improving my results.

Right now I keep it VERY simple. I eat within 30 minutes of getting up and I stirfry about 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables, along with about 1/4 cup of legumes (usually black beans or lentils). When they’re ready, I add 2 eggs, cook it all through, and off I go. Takes about 15 minutes.

I’ve learned to make soups by putting a bunch of chopped up leeks into the crock pot with some legumes, and letting them “steep together” for a while. After a few hours of simmering, I blend that all together until smooth, and I add cooked chicken, seasoning and a package of frozen mixed veg, and let it simmer some more. This makes a very easy complete meal that I then use for lunches.

We try to experiment with different ideas for dinner. Mexican is popular and easy, and we’re working with various recipes that enable us to incorporate legumes in an easy way. The current favourite is to cook some meat, and serve it alongside stir-fried fresh vegetables that have legumes mixed in (again, usually black beans or lentils).

So far, so good. I’m looking forward to seeing how much better it works when I can add in some of the finer detail and extra tips from the book.

Well, that’s my update for today! Hope you guys are enjoying the Christmas season! Have a wonderful holiday and warm family celebrations!

Darlene

Sometimes when you’re trying to lose those pounds, you need more than will-power, checklists, discipline, and hard work. You need warfare!

A while back, looking for just this kind of help, I found a great prayer online that is powerful, and keeps me well-focused on my goals. It’s long, but by the end of the few minutes it takes to declare it, you’re ready to tackle anything!

Weight Loss Prayer

I declare in the Name of Jesus, that my body weighs a healthy, lean, energetic, vibrant, glowing, strong _______lbs. calling forth things that are not as though they are, in accordance with Romans 4:17. I command every cell to function in wholeness. Every bio-genetic curse of addiction is broken. My DNA is correct and functions in line with God’s word. (Every generational curse of obesity and all other curses affecting my weight and health are broken.

I command every spirit of gluttony, sugar addiction, over-indulgence, compulsion, addiction, craving, lack of self control, anxiety, depression, anger, unworthiness, deformity, unbelief, oppression, self hatred, hatred of my body, ugliness, rejection, rebellion, inconsistency, deception, failure, fear, intimidation, loneliness, addiction and all other connected and related spirits not of the Lord Jesus Christ to come out now in the name and by the Blood of Jesus Christ. You are not allowed to dwell in, around or attach to me in any way, shape, form or fashion. It is finished. Be gone, now.)

My body is whole and healthy. I eat healthy food. I exercise physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally on a level of maximum efficiency. I am not moved by what I see for faith is the substance of things hoped for but not yet seen. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I love and respect my body and call it holy as the Lord my God is holy.

My metabolism, blood sugar levels, respiratory, cardiovascular, glandular, reproductive, digestive, neuro-muscular, and all other systems of my body, and every cell and every organ function as they were created to function, in perfect harmony and balance. I walk in the wholeness of Jesus Christ. I have outward and inward beauty. The beauty of Christ radiates from my very presence. The Jesus that is in me is beautiful and the fragrance of the Lord follows me wherever I go. I am the bride of Christ, pure, spotless and blameless before Him.

The favor of the Lord rests upon me and is unconditionally abounding toward me in every situation and circumstance. Jesus has plans and a hope for my future, and I will fulfill every inch, every centimeter of what he has for me. Satan is bound from interfering with the divine path of destiny the Lord Jesus Christ has called me to. I will no longer let fear, intimidation, rejection or any other thing stand in my way. I run the race with a victor’s crown on my head and feet that are swift to reach the high calling God has placed upon my life. I walk on high places in the power of the Holy Spirit who resides big in me.

I am violently and forcefully taking back everything the enemy has stolen from me. All of Satan’s plans and assignments are canceled. I am fully equipped and equipping others in the art of warfare. The high praises of God are upon my lips. I stand with a two-edged sword in my hand slicing into and pushing back the forces of darkness. The weapons of my warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. I am sharpened as iron sharpens iron.

I have the mind of Christ and the thoughts, feelings and intentions of His heart. I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus my Lord. Every fiery dart directed at my mind is quenched by the shield of faith. I do not entertain vain imaginations. I think only on glorious and lovely things. All God’s promises are yes and amen!(1)

To this prayer, add the following scriptural declarations:

According to Psalm 34:10 I declare that though the lions may grow weak and hungry, I, who seek the LORD, will lack no good thing.

According to Psalm 42:11 I declare that I will put my hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

According to Psalm 55:18 I declare that God ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

According to Psalm 97:10 I declare that as one who loves the LORD, I hate evil, and so God will guard my life as His faithful one, and deliver me from the hand of the wicked.

According to Psalm 103:5 I declare that God satisfies my desires with good things so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

According to Psalm 145:18 I declare that the LORD is near to to me as one who calls on Him, as one who calls on him in truth.

According to Proverbs 18:20 I declare that my stomach is filled from the fruit of His mouth; with the harvest from His lips I am satisfied.

According to Proverbs 25:27-28 I declare that I will NOT be like a city whose walls are broken down because I lack self-control.

According to Proverbs 30:8 I declare that I want neither poverty or riches, but simply my daily bread.

According to Isaiah 26:3 I declare that You will keep me in perfect peace, because I choose to focus my mind on You.

According to Isaiah 40:29 I declare that You give strength to me when I am weary and You increase the power of the weak.

According to Philippians 4:7 I declare that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

According to Hebrews 10:35 I declare that I will not throw away my confidence; it will be richly rewarded.(2)

Try it out and see if it doesn’t stir up new fire inside you to reach those goals!!

Darlene

(1) Modified prayer that I found on the Internet. Author unknown. If you are, or know the author, please let me know so I can properly credit him/her.

(2)This list of verses is from “Scripture Keys for Kingdom Living” by June Newman Davis. I have reworded them and based them on the Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Biblica.

So, we completed the Two Week Test.

It was hard to do. I can’t believe how addicted I am to carbs!! Obviously there was a problem, because Tom and I both lost about 8 pounds!

We are now slowly adding in carbs. One particluar carb at a time, two meals a day on alternate meals. So far we’ve tested chocolate chip cookies (LOL! THAT was a disaster – sugar buzz, major crash, useless for the rest of the evening…) fruit (I see I need to be careful here, too) and today I’m trying plain yogurt. We’re keeping an eye on how we feel, and what’s happening with our weight.

We also purchased a treadmill (but got a smoking deal on it!) The sidewalks are in such bad shape after our major dump a snow a couple of weeks back, that you can’t really train. You go from clear, to black ice, to iced-over snow, to deep snow – mostly you’re just trying to not fall down. We’ve decided that while there’s snow on the ground we’ll be training with a treadmill. We also need to use it for our MAF tests once a month to get a consistent reading on how we’re doing fitness wise. I’ll share more on those tests later.

So, we move on! Things are looking good!

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