Intro Knowing you have to make big changes can be so intimidating. It is natural to feel paralyzed by all that you need to decide and do in order to take back control of your health. In this episode I’m going to lay down doable first steps for you to take as you get started in your journey. ***Routine Toolkit*** Build good habits through routines *** Personal So, we are having our state testing week at school and it is just a lot. There is a lot to coordinate and get done all while staying positive and encouraging. I love our school. We’re a little rural public school, preschool through 12th grade all in the same building. Because of that, a week like this affects everyone and we are all working together to make sure the testing students can do their very best. It is beautiful to see everyone come together like this but I’m also coming home mentally and emotionally exhausted and I’m not the only one. By the end of the week everyone will be ready for a break. So, that’s just a little of what is going on in my world. I know many of my listeners are going through their own trials and challenges right now, too. That is just part of living. It’s also another situation where you might feel paralyzed by the idea of having to throw additional strain or stress into your life with healthy changes. Concept The other day I was talking to a woman who has to make some serious changes for medical reasons, and she was just paralyzed by the enormity of it all. She had a very long list of what she need to start doing and stop doing. It was like a total life-make over. And, this comes up so much for my coaching clients. They’ll get a medical diagnosis or have surgery or even just have this wake up call moment while trying to climb a flight of stairs where they are convinced that they need to do a massive overhaul of their life habits and it is overwhelming. So, what do you do? I wanted to break this down into a few simple concepts that will establish a foundation that you can really work from. First, make a plan. I like to get out a notebook and a calendar and work through the process. List the habits you would like to establish, set goals, analyze the resources you have to work with, enlist family and accountability partners for help, and have a workable plan for getting started. REMEMBER: Plans are meant to be adapted and changed as you go. For the women I work with, we usually start with creating a protocol for eating and self-care that we commit to for three weeks then reevaluate and tweak as needed. Concentrate on habits more than the end goal. Would you make monthly payments on a home that you have to give back after you are done paying for it? Would you be willing to make payments a little longer if that meant you get to keep your dream home when you are done? That is the difference between habit building and crazy crash diets. Crash diets are often very difficult, getting the weight off fast but with no intention of continuing to live that way once you reach your goal. Because of that, you usually don’t keep that weight loss, instead, you have to give back your success as you go right back to the way you were living before. That is why habit building is powerful: you establish habits you can do indefinitely and lose your weight slower but with the ability to keep living in that smaller body when you reach your goal. Start Small. Seriously. I know the list is long but if you try to change everything all at once you will crash and burn. I’m guessing your life already has a lot pressure and stress so it is unrealistic to expect to have the daily energy, time, and mental space to make many drastic changes. Once again, concentrate on establishing your habits because if you invest time and attention to this, it will be changes you get to keep. Also, starting small is kind and will take away some of the fear and intimidation that is paralyzing you from moving forward. Lastly, trust in God’s timing because not all bodies and lives are the same. I laugh at myself often because I’m very good at setting difficult goals and then being seriously upset at myself when I don’t reach time. It is downright ridiculous. Only God knows what each day will hold and only He crafted the masterpiece of our bodies. We can set a goal of losing weight at a certain pace, but if it takes longer, please don’t bail on your progress. Surrender to God’s timing, especially when you know you are doing the right things for your body. Spiritual Application 1 Corinthians 13:4 begins with “Love is patient. Love is kind.” Just last episode we talked about being kind to the precious body God gifted you with for your time here on Earth. So, be patient with your life and be kind to your body. It will help you both move forward and stay the course as you make these important changes. Practical Application Once again, if you are looking at making some big changes and need some help moving forward, I challenge you to make a plan, concentrate on habits, start small, and trust in God’s timing. Journal Prompt Here is a fun exercise. Imagine for a second that you are the woman who has made all the health changes you are challenged to embrace. How does she feel physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually? How does she show up around friends and family? What lessons do you think she will learn? Sign Off I am praying for your strength and God’s provision for you. We are God’s church and precious members of the body of Christ. Your quest for change is important and precious. All my love to you, sweet sister. I’ll talk to you next week.
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Intro If you were to record a conversation you had with a friend about your recent diet, how would you really talk about your body? The way you view your body is a fundamental deciding factor in your success in losing weight permanently. Are you ready for this? Personal I recently fell into some incredible research on circadian rhythms and how our bodies function. I’ve changed some little things and firmly embraced others when it comes to what and when I eat, sleep, and the amount of water I drink. It is a whole new level of feeling great physically, emotionally, and mentally. I promise to share some of this in upcoming episodes, but for now, I want you to know that I do this because I see my body as a vessel, something to treasure and work with…not something to work against. Concept Back when yo-yo dieting was my bread and butter for weight loss, I totally did things to my body that felt terrible. I starved myself, feeling like the longer I went without providing myself with energy the quicker I would shed those extra pounds. I ate food based on caloric count instead of quality that would make me feel a little better and be something I enjoyed. I leveraged cheat days, stuffing my body with food that left me feeling lethargic and sick in order to squeeze some emotional pleasure and relief out of a few moments of binging. I hated my body. I saw it as soft, imperfect, frustrating, and something to cover up and ignore unless it was at just the right size to show off in my favorite dress. I saw it as something to disrespect and mold and push into what it should be according to my specifications. Permanent weight loss requires a complete shift. My experience is so similar and often identical to the women I coach. They have been thinking about and treating their bodies the exact same way and the results are sad and frustrating. The truth is, your body is like a life partner that you can never divorce and whose condition affects every moment of your experience. Your body’s pain, energy, and abilities are intrinsically connected to everything you do even when you are asleep. Crazy, right? And yet we treat it like an enemy instead of treating it like an asset. I’m sorry, but if you want your body to continue to work against you, keep treating it like trash and the results will speak for themselves. If you really treat your body like a life-partner whom you love and want to be at its best for all the plans God has for you, then you will be happy to drink the water instead of the soda. You’ll embrace those leafy greens and listen to whether or not it needs fuel, needs to move, wants to stretch, and needs some sleep. Somewhere along the way, we became so cerebral that the plan became squeezing as much out of our body’s as we could instead of caring for it and honoring it. Spiritual Application I’ve often heard Christian women talk about their flesh as being full of sin and yes, we are totally prone to giving into some fleshly desires that don’t serve us, but really, I feel that the original design of our bodies holds incredible life-giving potential and truth about what it needs. I love viewing my body as a precious and holy gift of God, a temporary home to my soul that provided me with. I love that verse in 1 Corinthians 6:19 where Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” Be honest, think about whatever diet strategy you are currently diving into and ask yourself, are you doing this because you are cultivating the health of your body? Are you treasuring and respecting the vessel God gave you in the process of losing weight? Practical Application When I am working on leveling up my own health, I always ask if it is something I could do long-term or simply something I am engaging in to get some quick results or changes. If it is something I could see myself continuing indefinitely, then I know it is a kind thing for my body and a loving choice. But, if I immediately admit that I would stop the moment I reached some goal then I have to consider that I’m not really respecting my body. Now, there might be exceptions, of course. You might be preparing for a medical procedure or surgery that requires physical preparations or doing some training for a race or event a couple months away. Also, sometimes change is uncomfortable, and we need to try something for a month or so before we really know if it is a good fit for our body or lifestyle. Either way, when you start seeing your body as a life-asset instead of an enemy to contend against, you start to notice that making healthy choices with deep-peace and confidence comes easier to you. Journal Prompt Before we sign off, I really want you to consider a couple questions I asked earlier: think about whatever diet strategy you are currently diving into and ask yourself, are you doing this because you are cultivating the health of your body? Are you treasuring and respecting the vessel God gave you in the process of losing weight? Remember, your body can give you powerful direction on whether or not your diet is something you can do long-term or is something that is truly cultivating the health of your body. Sign Off Remember that if you want some free help, guidance, and motivation in your health journey, take that quiz. Until then, it was so fun having this honest conversation with you, sweet sister. All my love to you! Bye for now. Intro Most of us are awake for over sixteen hours a day and we just go and go and go. We push ourselves so hard and then are bewildered when we break down and give in, willing to do whatever we can to release pressure and give ourselves a break. That often means giving in to food that will bring us a little pleasure and take the edge off the incredible stress we feel knowing we still have several more hours to get through the day. Well, sweet sister, let’s discuss breaking this cycle with a simple investment of time that will significantly raise your quality of life and keep you successful in your weight loss. Personal I am loving the warmer weather because one of my favorite things to do when I’ve had a long day and still need to get through the rest of the day full of caring for my loved ones is to get outside and go for a walk. I love going down the country road and listening to the birds and watching the sheep graze and hearing the cows in the pasture. I literally can feel the physical stress leaving my system and after a half hour I have the strength and perspective to start sorting laundry and answering emails. Concept Daily Decompressing is essentially doing something that lowers our stress-levels and provides some rest and restoration at a point where our emotional, mental, and or physical tanks feel like they are running on empty. This does and should look different for each person depending on personality, jobs, daily schedule, etc. So, why is this important? 1. Cortisol levels. Cortisol is a normal and naturally occurring hormone your body releases during times of stress. However, when it is constantly elevated, your brain and body also have a hard time doing things that are essential for weight loss such as going to sleep and utilizing fat reserves. 2. Learning to care for yourself without food. After years and sometimes decades of reaching for chocolate instead of meaningful self-care, it will take some time to unlearn that habit. However, each time you sit down for some journaling or share a cup of herbal tea with a friend instead of digging into a bowl of ice cream, you are solidifying the healthier choice. 3. Space to make healthy choices. Our lower brain takes over when we are stressed and it wants easy energy and pleasure-leveraging the release in the moment over any more longer-term consequences. Once again, that lower brain is like a toddler that is only interested in the present moment and not any repercussions of the future. When you take a moment to release stress with some exercise or a quick power nap, that lower brain will calm down. If you try to lower stress with food, the moment you stop chewing and swallow, you find the stress is still there. Hence you might end up seriously over eating. However, when you release stress in a healthy way where the effect lasts after the activity is over then your higher, more logical-thinking brain takes over which is willing to wait until dinner to eat and drink some water instead of stopping by McDonalds for an easy dinner. 4. Evidence that you do have your own back. Often women who have been yo-yo dieters for a very long time begin to feel like failures that always bale on themselves. By taking a few moments each day to truly care for your needs in a deep way, you will slowly build trust in yourself. You will also learn to start valuing and loving yourself which will feed into even more healthy practices. 5. Embrace something you could see yourself doing for a long time. How many of you have ultra-suffered for weight loss? Willing and ready to do all the hard stuff to see that number on the scale change with the eager hope that when you reach the finish line you’ll finally be able to welcome some joy and pleasure back into your life? Well, when you make daily decompressing an essential part of your permanent weight loss journey it truly becomes something you are unwilling to let go of no matter what the scale says because it feels incredible to take care of yourself that way. Spiritual Application Before we can go on, I need to talk about the elephant in the room, what you are all thinking about right now--that you don’t have time or opportunity to daily decompress. Hey, sweet sister, that was my theme song for a LONG time. Until I went back to teaching a few years ago, I was a stay at home mom for nearly a decade taking care of two little girls, one with many developmental and medical needs, and the wife of a man who farms and ranches so that meant I was also his side-kick in any way I could be, matching my life the the hours our lifestyle required according to the season. BUT, it wasn’t all that that kept me from resting. It was a nasty little voice that said that if I took a moment then I couldn’t get it all done and I would be lazy, useless, selfish, and unworthy of what God had given to me. I also was pridefully trying to do so much in my own strength without allowing God to bless me--as His very human and loved daughter. I’m reading through the Bible in the New Living Testament this year and I came across a verse in Hebrews that struck me. In Hebrews 3:19 it reads, “So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.” The writer of Hebrews is talking of the Isrealites that Moses lead out of Egypt. Over and over they refused to trust God, wanting blessings their own way and in their own time. I’m still learning to trust God that the home can stay a little messy while I rest on a Sunday or that it is okay to pause when I get home and take a moment to decompress even if it means that I won't get every single chore done before I go to bed that night. The more I trust Him, the more I see Him bless me, the more I am willing to take better care of myself. It is a faith-building cycle that amazes me. Practical Application Learning to establish a routine of daily decompressing is going to take some commitment and a willingness to go through the trial and error process. I find that the most important step is first to commit to a decompression activity at a certain time. Either tell a friend who can keep you accountable or write it down in your planner or journal. Even better, set an alarm on your phone reminding you to decompress. When the time comes, give the activity all your energy and focus and pay attention to how you feel afterward. Expect some resistance to spending some time caring for yourself. Your mind is going to offer you all manner of excuses and many will be based on fear that you don’t have the time or energy to spend in that way. Take courage. Trust God and accept the opportunity as a blessing from your Good Good Father. Journal Prompt To kick off your quest to take care of yourself by giving yourself daily decompression time, I want you to journal two powerful questions. First, if you had thirty minutes to do anything that didn’t involve social media, shopping, gambling, food or alcohol--what would you do? What does your soul long for? And the last question is, what is keeping you from taking care of your soul? Sign Off Just as a reminder, in our membership this month we are building the habit of this exact goal. The ladies in my membership have access to a PDFs support and weekly videos guiding them and encouraging them through this process. They also can connect with other women in the online community for fellowship in their health journey. I would love to have you join us. All my love to you, sweet sister. I’ll talk to you next week. Good bye for now. #130, The Barrier Before the Food Intro Without even realizing it, your feet walk you to the pantry. Like a sleepwalker, you reach out, open the door, and grab the package of oreos. You have a couple but find that they are eaten so fast that before closing the door you sneak a few more. Eek, a little crazy how quickly and without much thought it feels like we start eating food. So, what do we do about this? ***Membership Promotion*** www.loraarmendariz.com/weightloss *** Personal We went back to work this week after our Spring Break finished. I confess to doing a lot of work during my break. Tax season always seems to bring extra work with it but it was a relief to get so many things checked off my list, either way. Concept A lot of emotional eating due to weariness, stress, sadness, frustration, or fear can happen without a lot of thought. You might even feel like it's nearly an out-of-body experience without a lot of mental processes involved. Do you know why? When you're stressed in any way, your lower brain likes to take over, becoming loud and obnoxious. So it is super easy to just do what it says, feeling like you don’t have the energy to say no or stop yourself. When I am first coaching women on emotional eating, they often aren’t ready to simply give it up completely. Instead, we work on adding a single barrier between the urge and the action. For example, if they always pour a glass of wine after a long day, then a barrier might be that they do five minutes of journaling first or go to a quiet room to pray and breathe for a few minutes. Then, they can re-evaluate whether or not they want the wine. It doesn’t mean they are saying no, instead they are slowly teaching their brain a different solution besides food. After a while they learn that the first thing they do when in emotional distress is some quality self-care and eventually the wine loses that feeling of necessity and you can turn it down. Spiritual Application We are so human. I love the part of Romans where Paul says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” in Romans 7:15.+, NIV. I have to laugh every time I read that verse because it is exactly how I feel sometimes as I am fighting for health and personal growth. We definitely can benefit from some bumper rails in our life because your initial desire will often be based in the flesh. Practical Application This practice will take some planning. In my membership I like to encourage women to make an “If-Then” contract saying that they can have whatever they normally have if they first take good care of themselves. To do this, it is pretty simple. Grab a piece of paper and make a list of situations and food you usually turn to when you are stressed. Then list a few things that you would like to try or that typically make you feel better that are genuine self-care. The next time you feel the urge to emotionally eat, pick 1-2 things from the list and do that before turning to emotional eating. However, don’t view this as a license to eat or drink whatever. Instead, remember that you are using the practice as an opportunity to retrain your brain to care for yourself in a better way. Journal Prompt Now, here is a powerful question I want you to consider journaling. What are you needing this food or beverages to do for you? The answer to this is powerful because it will clue you in to the kind of self care you could use that would help you turn away from the food or soda or alcohol you’re craving. Sign Off You are a rock star, sweet sister! Keep doing all the amazing things you are doing. I’ll talk to you next week. Good bye for now. Intro Losing weight and getting healthy can feel like a really big job. It is easy to feel swamped by all the things you need to change and do. Then, a few days of a family emergency or an emotional funk can throw us off leaving us with the feeling that we need to start all over. Okay, so there is a better way to do this and we are going to talk about that today. ***Membership Promotion*** www.loraarmendariz.com/weightloss *** Personal I recently got my eldest daughter hooked on audio books. I swear she is listening to them all the time. In fact, she loves it so much that she chooses to listen to audio books and color and play way more than watching TV. I love it. As a mom and a teacher it makes my heart happy. I’m also an audio-book-aholic. No kidding. In fact, one of my favorite things to do on the weekend is listen to a good book while I take care of the chores of laundry, meal prep, and cleaning. A couple months ago a book called “Mini Habits for Weight Loss” by Stephen Guise https://a.co/d/eQFGLBn found its way into my recommended list. As soon as I started listening I immediately regretted that I didn’t have the ability to highlight so many wonderful and startling concepts he introduced. I’m going to place a link to this book in the show notes so that you can look it up yourself. It is wonderful. Since implementing some of these ideas I’m changed some things I coach about health changes and weight loss and my own quality of life has seriously improved. Concept At the end of the day, I firmly believe that the name of the game is habit change. When you change what you do on a regular basis, staying healthy takes a lot less brain power and so many good things you are doing for yourself goes on autopilot. Your entire brain, including the toddler-like lower brain, will be all for doing things like exercise and drinking your water because it is something you always do and it doesn’t like deviating from that path. A mini habit is the bare minimum you could do to say you accomplished that habit for the day. Exercise is a great one to use as an example. My own personal goal is to do 30 minutes of cardio or 15 minutes of strength training every day. But, in the past there were so many days where I just didn't feel like it. However, since installing mini habits I still either go for a five minute walk or lay out my yoga mat for a couple push ups or stretching. It is a huge win. First of all, I’m not skipping it completely like I used to when things were just off for me. Second, I keep the habit going and feel successful. And, lastly, often as soon as I get started I realize that I am totally ready for an entire workout. It is a game changer. Spiritual Application I just want to take a moment and have a heart-to-heart with you before we continue on this subject. What you are doing to take care of your health is huge. The devil has been working on tearing down the health of others for millennia. He’s used drug and alcohol addiction, STDs, Cancer, Diabetes, leprosy, epilepsy…and the list just goes on and on. If he can tear down our health than he can halt and slow down so much of the good work God has planned for you to do. Therefore, don’t belittle this journey. Figuring this out is important. It is physically important and spiritually important. In Ephesians 6:12, NKJV its reads, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” and I want you to remember this. The next time you feel like giving in or giving up just a little, remember that there are influences coming at you that you might not be considering. Keeping these mini habits is a way of taking a stand against that so that you may stand firm. Practical Application Today, I want you to take a moment and put some thoughtful planning into mini habits for you. List out all the healthy habits you are trying to put in place. Then, list two things for each habit: what a five-star completion looks like for you and what is the bare minimum you know you could do if you had the flu or if your kid was in the hospital. Then, lovingly tell yourself that you will always accept that because creating these habits is something you are fighting for therefore you will honor every time that you choose to keep that habit even if it is the bare minimum. Journal Prompt And, here is one more question I want you to consider: Does the thought of creating mini habits feel like not enough, and why? I know for me my perfectionistic tendencies kept me from feeling like doing the bare minimum was enough until I realized that it took so much pressure off of that area of my life AND I was more likely to actually do all my habits. Because, when you allow perfectionism to rule things for you, then it becomes an all-or-nothing attitude and if you can’t do it to 100% then you don’t do it at all. That is a huge loss because if you can only choose between 0 or 100% then you are totally missing out on the days when you would have done 5, 10, 15 or even 50% if it had been acceptable. Sign Off I hope you find this concept as revolutionary as I have. Remember that if you want some direction or support, join the Weight Loss from the Soul membership. It is only $5 a month and you can cancel at any time. All my love to you, sweet sister! Until next week! Good bye for now. Intro You’ve heard the saying, right? That for every “yes” you say in life, you are also saying no to something else. So, what are we saying yes and no to when we comfort ourselves with food? This single concept might have you doing some serious double takes from that box of doughnuts or that extra large fries the next time you are having a hard day. ***42DFC Promotion*** www.loraartmendariz.com/freeresources *** Personal The other night I overate a jar of chocolates. It was still leftover from Christmas. I just kept reaching into the jar while my head boiled over with all the emotional trauma that comes with teaching and loving your students. I was tired. My body still hadn’t caught up to the 3am start on Monday morning and there were dirty dishes and laundry enough to keep me busy through the weekend. My heart hurt, knowing that some of the situations at school were well beyond my influence and God alone could affect the much needed healing and growth of kids and parents. The warm sweetness of the chocolate momentarily made life feel doable, but when the flavor left my tongue, my hands reached for the next chocolate square. I know you’ve been here too. When our brains learn to turn to food or a beverage to help us feel better, it becomes very difficult to turn to something else. So, what helps in this moment when all your defenses are broken down and all you want is that drink or that bite that will bring comfort? Okay, so, my sweet sister, as I did that evening, I recognized that some prayer and an early night to bed would be my best bet and I had to walk away from the jar and wrappers. There is a very big truth that we need to hold on to in these moments, the one that will have our eyes focused back on something that brings us health and peace. The truth is that comfort food holds us back from all our real needs. Concept When you say “yes” to comforting yourself with food you are saying no to 1.Your physical health and needs. Over-eating food that doesn't support your body will affect your energy and digestion in the immediate future and then affect your overall health long term if those eating habits are encouraged. 2.Your saying no to taking care of yourself in a better way. As long as you are shoveling in the comfort food or alcohol, you will find that true healing is harder and harder to find. You’re more likely to stay up late with that bottle of wine or Netflix. It's more likely you’ll grab another handful of jelly beans instead of calling a friend or opening up God’s word. Those comfort food and beverages provide just enough relief that we feel like we can just keep hobbling along emotionally and physically. 3.Lastly, you are saying no to change. Permanent weight loss means we can’t just lose the weight and go back to doing whatever we were doing before. If we keep going back to the habits that don’t serve us, we are not helping ourselves practice the healthy choices and learn the skills to make losing weight and keeping it off part of who we are. Spiritual Application I love in the first chapter of psalm when the psalmist writes “but he whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-- whatever they do prospers.” (verses 2&3) Every choice we make, sinks our roots deeper. Where are your roots sinking in? Thankfully, our loving Father is there for us in this growing season, ready and willing to strengthen and protect us as we plant ourselves more firmly in Him. Practical Application I want you to take a moment today make a set of “Yes” and “No” phrases. My favorite is, “When I say “no” to sugar I’m saying “yes” to living my best life.” I know that as long as I’m eating that chocolate or cookie, I will feel like I can muddle through. But, when it is off the table, I have to dig deeper and open up to real healing and love and care. Then, I am truly living my best life. Journal Prompt The best way to start on those “Yes” and “No” statements is to simply make a pros and cons list of comfort foods or beverages and then use those truths to create statements that really resonate with what is true for your life. Sign Off Remember, my dear, that real change takes time. Each time you choose to show up and practice better healthy skills, you are developing those muscles and growing your roots in healthy practices. Remember to sign up for the 42 Day Fall Our challenge if you feel you would really like to target an unhealthy habit for six weeks. You are a hero simply by choosing to move in a way that is contrary to our world, trusting God, and caring for yourself. I’ll talk to you next week. Good bye for now. Intro Does the idea of having to drink 8 or more cups of water feel like a daily impossibility? You have good intentions, but when bedtime rolls around you are far short of the recommended number of H2O oz. This shouldn’t feel like a chore and it definitely should not feel so difficult. There are many things you can do to bring success into the hydration equation. *** Quiz Promotion*** www.loraarmendariz.com/quiz *** Personal At school the “passing period” which is the time between classes lasts four minutes. Which means I have that long to use the restroom from hour to hour. When I first started the school year I figured it wasn’t even worth it so I wouldn’t start hydrating until lunch or prep period was coming up. However, I realized that if I could squeeze in more H2O, I felt significantly better, had more energy, slept better, and struggled with less cravings. Funny how something so basic as water can have a huge effect on our lives. Concept According to the Mayo Clinic, water “Regulates body temperature
I’ll take a whole glass now, please, and thank you. But, how can we in our busy and chaotic lives remember to get all the water we need into our bodies? Spiritual Application Our bodies need water desperately, more than once a day, and we can not stockpile hydration sufficiently for our body’s need to do whatever we want without water. I love that God uses the illustration of water as our need for His presence in our lives and the incredible effect His word and His Spirit have on our health when we make Him part of our lives, the more often the better. One of my favorite verses that talks about this is in Isaiah 58:11, NIV, “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Practical Application I know that many of you are working hard to get a little healthier and perhaps shed some pounds. Prioritizing your water is key and I am so proud of you for working on this. In fact, it is our challenge right now in the membership, getting all our water daily for the month of March. When encouraging women to get in enough water, I love to walk them through a simple 3-step process:
Journal Prompt Here is a couple questions to help you get started: How do you feel when you drink enough water vs find yourself dehydrated? What are some tools you could use that would help you reach your hydration goals? Remember, the three steps: 1. Set a daily goal. 2. Set a rhythm. 3. Gamify your water drinking. Sign Off If you haven’t already, don’t forget to take the quiz so that you may get access to some great resources. You’ve got this, sweet sister. May our Heavenly Father fill you with life and truth and joy today. Until next week, I’ll see you then. #126, How Art Can Cut Down on Emotional Eating Intro The last time you felt stress drag your body to the fridge or pantry, how intense was the feeling? Was it a vague discomfort you had felt most the day that seemed to gradually increase? Was it a sudden onslaught of overwhelm? Maybe a combination of the two? That’s a terrible feeling and I don’t think the solution should be based on will-power not to emotionally eat. Instead, you need to release that feeling or else something is going to give. And you probably won’t like the results. ***2024 Like & Share Promotion*** *** Personal Every Saturday evening I take over either the coffee table or the kitchen table. I cover it with my sticker sets, boxes of washi tape, markers, pens, and my open planner/journal. It is probably one of the most therapeutic activities that I regularly do for myself. I spend about an hour selecting stickers, colors, and washi tape and put together a week in my bullet journal where I plan out each day, set goals for the week, and have welcoming journaling pages. I get to enjoy this little bit of art each day of the week with a theme of colors and images that make me feel relaxed and excited about by week. Now, I didn’t discover this bit of art all by myself, instead it developed over time. I used to try to draw doodles and use stencils. Then my sister mentioned that she uses stickers and my sweet friend Sharon introduced me to washi tape. I keep all my supplies in a bin and usually do set up my journal without TV. It feels so relaxing to think about my week ahead while designing something beautiful to look at all in the upcoming days. I even set aside an area to write my memory verse for the week. Concept Whenever we are wanting to emotionally eat, our brain is looking for pleasure and a way to ease the discomfort we feel from an intense or long-lasting emotion like stress. Food provides many sensory inputs that are pleasurable and can provide a distraction. Art does the same but with the added bonus of also giving us space to mentally process what we are thinking and feeling in a way that is relaxing and devoid of additional pressure. When I am creating my planner my eyes are full of color, my hands are busy, and the act of creating something helps me move through the thoughts and feelings I have about both my recent experiences and what I am anticipating happening in the near future. Other people that have an art or craft they do consistently remark that they feel the same way when they create or make something. Spiritual Application In Proverbs 31 I love it that the woman is noted to make things. I used to read that and think how amazing it was that she did that for others. But I want you to sit back and imagine her weaving, the feeling of the thread and fibers between her fingers, watching cloth take shape, fashioning the fabrics into purple robes. I bet that the activity was one she looked forward to and one of the reasons she was noted as a woman of quality was because she did things that felt good to her soul. That was life-giving. Practical Application I would love for you to have access to this life-giving practice. Getting started is simple. It takes three steps. First, explore. Look at different kinds of arts and crafts and try things out. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. In fact, taking a trip to the local dollar tree can get you set up with some basic, if lower quality materials, so that you can see if different arts or crafts jive with you. Some art activities I’ve seen others love are watercolors, cardmaking, sculpting, adult coloring books, and seasonal crafts. Second, set up easy access to the art or craft that you enjoy. I keep all my journaling supplies in a little bin. I can just grab it and go set up somewhere. When you find a craft you enjoy I want to encourage you to do the same. Often people don’t engage in activities they enjoy because it seems like too much work to get started. Having your materials organized will help you avoid that obstacles. Even better than a bin is setting up space in your house, if you have it, so that you can go to that space whenever you need to and get started. Lastly, pay attention to your before and after emotional intensity. Take a moment before you begin to note what level you are feeling emotional discomfort. Rate from 0 to 10 with 0 being emotionally neutral and 10 being completely overwhelmed or distraught. After you finish the activity, check in with yourself again to see if you need more time processing and to note the effect the art activity has on you. I want to give one note of caution, don’t do art activities that bring out perfectionistic tendencies. If you feel the need for your creations to be perfect, you might find that the activity doesn’t help you decompress and might leave you feeling more stressed or frustrated than before. Journal Prompt To get you started, take a moment to answer these quick questions: Did you enjoy any art or craft activities when you were a kid? Do you like being outside? Do you like doing things with others or alone? Has there been any art or craft activities that interest you? Sign Off I think that all of us have a creative side that we were meant to explore. It might be gardening or organizing or decorating or a thousand other possibilities. I’m so excited for you to embrace this part of the amazing person God made you to be and reap the health benefits you can feel all the way down to your soul. Goodbye for now. Talk to you next week. Intro As I coach women, it is so common for them to struggle on the weekends or late at night. And back in my own yo yo diet days, I remember being so frustrated with how I would epically blow it. But the solution is surprisingly so fun. ***2024 Membership Promotion*** www.loraarmendariz.com/weightloss *** Personal A few weeks ago, I was packing lunch for my husband and father-in-law who were building fence that day. I put apples, chips, water, and beef ‘n bean burritos together. There was extra burrito filling left over so I put together an additional burrito for Micaela who is obsessed with eating anything wrapped in a tortilla. But, when lunch rolled around she ended up eating something else so I ate that burrito and LOVED it. I realized that I hadn’t been eating burritos much the last couple years. I think it was because of the flour tortillas. So, next time I got groceries I added a couple packages of whole wheat tortillas to the cart. Since then I have been really enjoying my lunches at work, eating those beef ‘n bean burritos with some fresh veggies and an apple on the side. Concept I want you to think back to the worst diet you were ever on. What were you eating? How did you feel? When you got a “cheat” day did it feel like being let out of prison? Yeah, that's how pretty much all of us feel when our diets are full of food we don’t like and we long for what used to make our taste buds dance and didn’t leave us feeling like we still needed more food. Or, seemed to leave us starving after only a couple hours. There is a plethora of food available to us, if we are willing to honor our own taste and preferences, get to know our bodies, and be willing to invest a little time to have a plan. My burritos are a perfect example. Beans and lean beef are two things my body likes. I don’t add cheese but use whole wheat tortillas and make sure my mix has some spice. The burrito is a high energy food so I really don’t need much. However, to make sure I get that feeling of satiation from my meal, I bulk up the lunch with fresh veggies which I cut up once a week and put in little tupperwares for mine and Adela’s lunches. I also grab an apple for dessert. I don’t feel restricted at all with this meal. I feel like a queen eating it, not a lowly starving peasant. This is why so many diets leave us feeling unfulfilled. Often we feel like we have to eat certain foods or quantities instead of listening to our bodies and getting to know what we like. One thing that I teach the women I work with to do, is to make a list of “good, better, best” foods. These are things they enjoy and like to eat. It helps them make choices on how to pick food that they love that also makes their bodies feel good. In the membership you can access the video and worksheet for creating your Good, Better, Best list in Module 4. Spiritual Application Have you ever read the verses in the Bible where God gives us food? In Genesis 1:29 it reads: Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. Then, in Genesis 9:23 God tells Noah, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” Of course, we will have allergies and sensitivities to different foods according to our own physical individual makeup, but I challenge you to get some food, just the way God made it, and see what you think of the natural flavors and textures. He made wonderful, good things for us to eat. Take joy in that. Find what tickles those taste buds and make you feel fantastic. Practical Application I encourage you to take a moment to make a list. What do you like to eat that also makes you feel good? Be specific and honest. Don’t put a value meal from your favorite fast food restaurant that makes you feel sluggish and bloated. Do add things that you enjoy and don’t cause distress or inflammation, even if you’ve never seen them listed on the Mediterranean diet. A lot of diets don’t include meat, but I’ve found my body likes several servings a week so I honor that. This will boost your fight to lose weight and have better health, because you can eat your meals without feeling disappointed or like you need a snack because you little to no enjoyment out of your food. Being able to step away from a meal without feeling like you need to keep grazing is a huge win. Journal Prompt Now, as you make this list, I also want you to ponder these questions: How do you want to treat yourself? How do you want to feel when you eat? What importance does food play in how you are able to handle the stress and pressures of your life? Sign Off You are amazing. You are worthy of nourishment and joy. God has given you good things because He loves you. He cares about the health of your body and the joy of your heart. Have an amazing week, sweet sister! I’ll talk to you next week. Intro Do you ever feel like there are a million things you are supposed to remember every day in order to live that healthier lifestyle you envision? I hear you. In every aspect of our life, we grow in health when we cultivate positive habits. Lucky for us there are some simple ways to set ourselves up for success without feeling overwhelmed. And, one of those ways is with a daily routine. ***2024 Routine Builder Promotion*** Routines are the foundation for a healthy life. If you are a busy woman wearing a lot of hats, a proactive routine will save you time, energy, and brainpower. You don’t have to figure this out all on your own. I’ve got you covered. The routine toolkit I developed has a step-by-step guide, templates and examples. It’s free and you can download it today at loraarmendariz.com/freeresources *** Personal I am so excited to share with you all, my listeners, that I have finally went over a month without missing a single day of resetting. Resetting is what I call taking some time to decompress in the late afternoon when I’m at my lowest point mentally, emotionally, and physically and want a break. However, it didn’t happen magically. Instead, I created a routine that has really supported me in regularly getting this done along with other habits that benefit me and my family. In fact, I have my healthy habits broken down into three basic routines. Today I’m going to share this with you as an example while I teach you the basics on how to develop routines that help you hit your health goals. Concept Routines are essentially a series of habits that you do at roughly the same time each day. In fact, it is like a domino effect. One habit triggers the next habit which triggers the next habit and so on. This is a powerful tool because you only have to get the first habit going in order to remember to do several habits in the series. The truth is, we have a lot of things we come up against in our day to day life. Unexpected emergencies, physical exhaustions, distractions…and then we wonder why we can’t seem to follow through with our commitment to change our ways. Routines help take some of our human weaknesses out of the equation so that we don’t have to have to solely rely on memory, will-power, and motivation to help us make daily healthy choices. Spiritual Application Routines are not something that have been left unutilized until modern times. In fact, routines are very natural for us to have. I bet you have routines right now, series of actions you take at a particular time of day such as putting on your make up, prepping your coffee pot, or driving to work. In Proverbs 31:10-31, the woman of good character is mentioned to have several things she does regularly. In other words, she most likely had a routine that kept her productive and strong physically, mentally, and emotionally even as she served her family. Practical Application I essentially have three daily routines that help me accomplish my health habits. First, in my morning routine I wake up, get a cup of coffee, then exercise followed by getting dressed, doing my Bible Study, working on my memory verse, praying, making my daily meal plan, and planning out my top-3 tasks for the day. All that takes me an hour and a half. I have to wake up earlier to get it all done but that is a good solution for me since I am a morning person. My second routine is in the late afternoon or early evening. I read with Micaela then journal, rest, and practice my Spanish. My last routine of the day involves checking my meal plan, logging my food, doing my planner close-out, and tracking my habits. Journal Prompt Let me walk you through a simple process to get you started. First, list all the healthy habits you would like to implement. Note how long each of those habits take. Next, list 2 or 3 times of day that you could have a routine. Add habits in those slots in a way that makes sense. Make sure you calculate how long the routine will take. Lastly, try it out. At first you’ll most likely need to read the routine each time, like following directions. After a while it just becomes routine. And When you have a lot of changes to make, it is a smart tool to use. Sign Off If this is something you would like to try out, don’t forget to head to my website at loraarmendariz.com/freeresources and sign up for the free routines toolkit. All my love to you, sweet sister. I’ll talk to you next week. |
by Lora ArmendarizYou Can Do It!Do you want to fall out of love with a destructive habit? The first 42 episodes of this podcast are a resource for anyone who wants encouragement and information as they take a six week break from a habit in order to fall out of love with it. Archives
April 2024
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