3,500

3,500 is the number of calories in one pound. If it is your goal like it is mine to lose one pound a week. Do the math, you will need to decrease the amount of food you eat by 500 calories a day. Now if you couple that with exercise you can burn off some of that 500 calories. Walking and biking at a moderate speed for one hour will burn off 200 to 220 calories. Walking briskly will burn off 300 calories. To be healthy it is best to eat less and exercise moderately.

Buy a book that lists the number of calories in the food that you like to eat and then you will be able to see if these foods are the best choices for you. I have been on so many diets, at one time I could tell you by memory how many calories were in foods because I used to count them. You can kind of tell by instinct what you should and should not eat. If it looks really good and your conscious is saying better not than you probably shouldn't.

Here are some tips:In order to cut down on those calories I find an age old idea is just to simply take less and eat slower. Sounds simple and logical and it is. Why is it so hard?

When having salad your best choices for dressing are never the creamy ones, always chose vinaigrettes, or an Italian. Have your dressing on the side and dip your fork in it and then put on your salad. If you can stand the taste of those low fat dressings I suppose that would be best.Myself I have a strong dislike for them.

Watch those salad toppings. Too much cheese and croûtons can be bad choices.

Remember that a serving of meat should never be bigger than a deck of cards. I am not talking about those huge Old Maid decks ladies just the standard decks.

Watch those liquid calories. I just read that a Long Island Ice Tea has 400 calories!!! Most table wines have only 100 but even those can add up. Water or regular ice tea are better choices. They clock in at zero. A 12 0z can of regular pop has 150. If you are a diet pop person, that isn't always your best choice either. I am going to be doing some research on those artificial sweeteners and I will follow up in another entry.

Confession time!!! We had a very big weekend. We had a graduation party and a wedding on Saturday. I did well with food choices on that day. Sunday we had a family gathering at our daughters. We celebrated Fathers Day, and four birthdays! I didn't do well on Sunday. So much good food, it was hard to tear myself away from the buffet table. Does anyone have a plan to keep under control at a buffet table filled with good food? It so enjoyable to sit around the table with your family and their company and a good meal. I need to find a little less enjoyment in the meal and a little more with family.

I guess what we all need to remember is found in I Corinthians 10:31 Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. It all comes back to taking care of our bodies and making sure that we are bringing glory to God in all that we eat, drink and do. Take care ladies and make it a great week. I am praying for you to be less of a person. Just a little joke.

Looking for tips. If you have any please help me out and put them on the comment line or email them to me

caroline_11469@att.net

BE STILL

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. Last week Bob and I went to the show to see "The Karate Kid" There was a great line in the movie spoken by Jackie Chan, who played Mr. Han to Jaden Smith, who played the Dre Parker. Mr. Han was trying to train Dre and he told him he needed to be still. Dre responded by saying "You mean, do nothing?" Mr Han replied, "being still and doing nothing are two different things." Indeed they are! I looked up being still in the dictionary and as an adjective it means: Motionless, quiet,inactive. Not disturbed by agitation or noise; calm, and tranquil. In this world we are surrounded by noise. Our pastors wife, Elise, said at one time, the noises of the world drown out the voice of God. Being still and knowing who God is, is a learned thing. Once it is accomplished it brings with it an entirely different attitude of life. It is knowing that everything in life may not work according to what we planned but we have a God who is in control and he works everything out for our good. God has a plan for each of our lives and in order to get direction we need to read our Bible and learn God's character. He can not and will not act outside of his character. Along with being still, one can have a peace that passes all human understanding.

Being still is where I learned I wanted to write this blog. It was how I was convicted to care for this body "God's Temple".

Being still is also an adverb and it means: always, ever, and continually.

We need to be still in God as both an adjective and as a adverb.

Just as a side note:

Yesterday I went visit four grave sites with my two cousins, we cleaned off the graves of my beloved Aunt Mille, Uncle Charlie, Grandma Pero and Grandpa Pero. I know they are no longer there and visiting a grave site is not a thing that I do. I have always felt that these people are no longer there so why should I bother. Our bodies are simply a shell that God had blessed us with to use while we are here on earth. However, I learned from my cousins that it simply shows respect for our loved ones life. Their life did matter to me. They were used by God to mold and shape my life, they were a part of who I am. So now you may catch me at the grave site of other loved ones who have influenced my life.

I have given you a few things to ponder ladies. I pray you will feel the peace of God as you experience some quiet still moments with Him. You know what is really neat? God has a great desire to spent that time with you. Imagine that "The God of the Universe" wants to spend time with you and me.

TIP: I purchased a new exercise DVD It is by Leslie Sansone and can be purchased through Amazon or in stores I am sure. She does an in home walking program a 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile and a 4 mile. I have accomplished the one mile and moved on to the 2 mile. I tried the 3 mile but thought I was going to die! She makes the time go by fast and uses a exercise stretchy band along with the walk. I know it feels great to walk outside but sometimes the weather is rainy or too hot. This takes away those problems and keeps you on task. It is also fun! It is kind of marching in place with a little kick to it and I mean that literally. Start with "Walk Away the Pounds Express" ( 1 mile easy walk/ 2 mile brisk walk) Please let me know what you think and how you are doing!! Guess what I am down another 1 1/2 pounds. Just passed the 15 pound mark and looking for 20 YEAH!!

ROLLER COASTER RIDE

Losing weight can be a real roller coaster ride, except not as thrilling. I am sure you have experienced the ups and downs of weight loss before. Right in the middle of doing everything right you can step on the scale and have no weight loss or even worse gain weight. I am not an expert so I don't have any scientific answers I just know that it happens to me too. I had hoped to be able to write today and tell you I was down another pound making it a total of 15 pounds that I had lost but I can't. Last week I got on the scale in the middle of the week and wow I had lost another pound I was so happy! When I stepped on the scale this morning I hadn't lost a single ounce. What happened? I just don't know. I feel it must have something to do with water retention. The point is I know I am not alone with this problem. However, what we can't do when this happens is give up. We need to hang in there and keep going.

Sometimes when this happens it because we didn't stick with it. This can make us feel defeated. Well, don't be. Keep on task. Every time you slip up on your journey, you have two choices. To keep walking backward, which will take you further away or to accept your mistakes, forgive yourself and move on. Don't wait until the next day, the next week, or the next month to try again. Get up out of that pit and start NOW to exchange those bad habits for good ones. Don't expect perfection, we are not perfect. If we were I wouldn't be writing this blog and you wouldn't be reading it.

When I stopped to think about it I realized that weight is gravity defying it goes up so easily but getting it down is very difficult. We don't need anymore weight to get rid of so lets keep on track ladies!

Say along with Paul in Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Tips: Eat slower, you will be less likely to overeat and you will enjoy your meal more.

Go outside, enjoy God's creation do some gardening or go for a walk it

will rejuvenate your spirit.,

REFINED

Are you living a refined life? I have been! However, I am trying to cut back a little on how much refined foods that I eat. Refined sugar and refined flour. Did you know that eating a diet high in refined foods can lead to undernourishment. Now, how in the world could I possibly be undernourished? Well this is because refined foods are processed so much that they are virtually devoid of vitamins and minerals. Refined foods are typically high in fat and calories and eating them as the bulk of the diet causes the overall calorie count to rise. Refined sugars enter the body quickly, thats how I won the pie eating contest (just kidding) Anyway this can spike the blood sugar, causing the body to feel instantly energized. Unfortunately, the energy received from refined sugar is short-lived and will cause a sudden energy drop shortly afterwards. When the energy level drops suddenly it causes the body to crave more sugar. Thus the Merry go round. Its enough to make you dizzy!

Refined flours have been milled so much that nearly all the nutritional value has been lost. They enter the blood stream as quickly as refined sugars, causing the same spike and drop in energy levels. Around and around you go again!

While doing this little bit of research I found out that refined produce also exists they include canned fruits and vegetables. They have been cooked to the point that most of the vitamins, fiber and minerals have been lost, Better to choose fresh fruits and vegetables or flash frozen.

I looked up the meaning of refine in the dictionary and found that to refine means to become pure, free from dross. What is dross? It scum that is thrown off from molten metal. This tells me we need to be rid of scum. Scum reminds me of sin in our lives. I John 1:9 tells us If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness. I don't know about you but that is the kind of refinement and purity I am looking for.

Keep plugging away ladies and limit those refined products.

New habit exchange: That one dessert a day I was allowing myself has turned into a once a week treat. Now every evening I have chosen to have a piece of fruit with a tasteless diet cookie. I will give you the recipe for it at a later date. They really aren't too bad and they are high in fiber. Hooray! My weight loss is up to 14 pounds working toward that 15 pound short goal!