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Stress, Stress, and more Stress! Most of us know we have stress in our lives. That is the name doctors have given the state of feeling life is out of control.

We all experience times when we feel that everything is out of control. God challenged me to look at things differently. I don’t have to be in control. The hearts and minds of my friends, family, and children are completely out of my control. Truth be known, I have trouble controlling my own!

God told me to not worry. Worry is a sin, and stress comes from worrying. God wanted me to rest in Him. He is in complete control; I don’t have to be!

To let go of my worries, I had to let go of fear. Yes, stress comes from fear, that is its root cause. When I look back at all of  the times I was stressed over money, I was living in fear that I could not pay the bills. Yet, to this day, God has always provided for me. Just recently through a series of issues with my mortgage company, I was terribly over charged. Since I paid my mortgage automatically, the money had simply been taken out of my account. This put a huge burden on my finances and I did not know how the bills were going to be paid. It was to be weeks before they would return my money.

I had to leave the situation in Gods hands. He worked out a solution. A client wanted to hire me for an extra project. They pre-paid for the work and I was able to pay my bills on time. Yes, God has always had a solution to every problem I have faced.

It is hard to relearn how to think and I still mess up and let my fears take hold sometimes. However, learning to rest in Gods strength, Gods love, Gods knowledge, and His abilities is important. It is a lifelong process but never fear, God will always be there.

How much water should you drink daily to be healthy?

First, a couple of basic principles:

1. The simplest way to tell if you are drinking enough water is check the color of your urine: It should be clear or a very pale yellow in color (but note that some supplements and medications may also affect your urine color).
2.  Get in to the habit of drinking regular and adequate amounts of water. Never wait to drink until you’re thirsty, because if you’re feeling thirsty, dehydration has already set in!

Having said that, an adequate water intake for a sedentary but normal-weight adult during cool weather, is generally recognized as 8 x 8 oz glasses. You will need more water in hot weather, when you lose more water through sweat. You also need to drink more water when you exercise. Athletes attempt to enhance their performance by maintaining an optimal fluid balance while exercising, estimated to require 6 to 12 oz of fluid at 15 to 20 minute intervals. Even if you’re not concerned about your athletic performance, you should consume a similar amount of water when exercising, in order to maintain adequate hydration.

Here’s another important thing to remember; if you’re overweight, you’ll need an extra glass of water for each 25 pounds overweight, because the extra weight creates extra metabolic demand. Another way to calculate your estimated water intake is to take your weight, divide it in half and drink that amount of water ~ up to 1 gallon.

How can you drink so much water?

Weight loss experts secrets say drink 3 glasses of water with every meal. That’s 3 glasses with breakfast, 3 with lunch, and 3 with dinner. Plus, of course, additional regular water between meals when you’re exercising or when its hot. That sure makes it doable, doesn’t it?

So if you’re dieting, stalled on a weight loss plateau, or suffering some of the classic symptoms of dehydration, do, above everything else, be sure that you have an adequate water intake. It could be the missing ingredient in your diet regime and as easy to fix as drinking 3 glasses of water with each meal.

It is time to gauge our progress. Let’s take another test,one for your health. Just do the on-line health assessment again (or do it for the first time if you missed it before). The test takes about 5 minutes to complete and gives you a good idea of how healthy you are. Take your final number and keep track of it. The number you get should be an improvement over your previous one. Are you getting healthier? Are you feeling healthier? Continue tracking this number as we remind you every few months. Share your results and let us know how you are doing!

Sugar, sugar, sugar
Your empty calories
Stick to my thighs like glue
Yet your taste,
I remain true.

I eat you with haste
Every bite, every crumb
There is no waste
But yet you make me feel dumb.

All take and no give
A life for you, I cannot live.

For with you my days are short
By eating you,
Death I do court.

To my body you add fat
and hurt my self-esteem
You have no good qualities
Of which to redeem.

You have power over me
My cravings for you
Will not let me be
Sweets made from you
I don’t need to see.

Get out of my life
And healthier I will be
A slim, energetic, happy
person others will see.

 

When we start out seeking support, one of the best ways to find it is to support someone else. During my journey to lose weight, I have been the recipient and the giver of support many times. I have made tons of new friends by deciding to  lend an ear. We all need to be heard and to hear others.

I found friends through weight loss challenges, going to the gym, meeting them at the park, standing in line at the supermarket and the list goes on. Sure, it takes time to cultivate a lasting friendship, but it is amazing just how quickly you can get to know someone when you see them every day working out on the treadmill next to you or walking the same trail at the park.

Many times, I have found myself going to a workout alone, but quickly met up with someone else doing a workout at the same time. By starting up a conversation, I get to make a friend and pass the time more quickly. Have you made any new friends since your journey began?

During my journey, a great exercise program I found was the couch to 5k program. This program is designed to get you from being a couch potato to running a 5k in as little as 9 weeks. The program consists of intervals of walking and running for a set amount of time.

You do this every other day and progress to the next challenge as you are ready. Even though the program is set up to be completed in 9 weeks, it is perfectly acceptable to spend 2 weeks or even a month or longer on each challenge until you are able to progress in the program.

I found a lot of “helper” information out there on the program. There is everything from treadmill versions to music downloads with walk/run reminders and timers. All of these things help you to know exactly when to walk and when to jog so you stay on track and reach your goal. We are including a list of some of those links below. Take a look at the program and let us know what you think.

• Cool Running C25K Program
• Couch to 5K
• Free iPhone Ap
• Android Ap

We have been discussing what is sugar. With this long list of foods that are high in sugar, you may be wondering what the big deal is. Some of these foods may be your favorites or even a staple of your diet.

However, if you want less fat on your body, you need less sugar in your diet. Dr. Christiane Northrup discusses how “sugar makes us fat.” Our bodies take the sugar in all of these foods and quickly converts it into fat and stores it for energy to be used later.

We run into problems when our bodies never need that extra energy because we are over feeding it daily. In this state, the scales climb quickly as our health declines just as quickly. By watching our total sugar intake, we can turn this around by getting the weight off and improving or health.

Many of us set ourselves up for failure from the very beginning. We tell ourselves everything we have to give up and think of nothing else. My suggestion is to change your mindset.  This time, focus on what you are gaining by adding healthier choices one at a time.

Start by adding a healthy breakfast. Eat fresh fruit instead of sugary cereal or have a meal replacement shake from my Herbal Plan or Take Shape for Life.

By adding a nutrition dense breakfast, we get our off to a great start. Our bodies will thank us!

Generally speaking, mild dehydration can cause a number of health problems, in addition to your diet plateau. The symptoms of mild dehydration can include:

• Headaches; that light headed feeling as dehydration interferes with normal body processes, including waste disposal.
• Fatigue, as the body’s metabolism is slowed – mild dehydration is usually the most common cause of daytime fatigue.
• Hunger; cravings due to weakening of the thirst mechanism
• Fluid retention as your body tries to hold on to the water it already has
• Constipation, as the body works to conserve its internal water sources

Not a pretty picture but once you get your water in balance, you reach the “breakthrough point”, a concept pioneered by Dr. Peter Lindner, a California obesity expert. He says, “Once you’ve reached the breakthrough point, fluid retention eases, the liver and endocrine system start to function more effectively, you will start to regain your natural thirst and your hunger cravings will be significantly reduced. And so the end result of reaching and sustaining the breakthrough point in your water balance is that your body is able to metabolize fat more effectively.”

When I started my journey to health and weight loss, I was in a size 28 pants. I can hardly believe the change as I now wear a 10. Yet, there were times along the way that I felt I had gotten nowhere. The journey was too long and the finish line seemed nowhere in sight.

Those are the times to bring out that old pair of jeans, the jeans won’t lie. Even when I was still in an 18, the 28 pants were huge in comparison! Trying on those old pair of jeans proved to me just how much progress I had made!

So, when you are throwing out all those clothes, remember to keep just one pair. Let them be a measure of your success!