It's getting to be that time of year again. We're through Thanksgiving and Black Friday 2010! I'm not going to spend time talking about these holidays and their true meanings. As deep as these holidays get we all know what happens during. We shop, we eat, we work overtime, we eat, we try to get in as much family time as possible, and we eat.
What seems to have also tacked onto the celebration of these holidays is the remorse that inevitably follows and the evidence that is left on our waist lines.
Then we have a Happy New Year when we spend our resolutions trying to put that figure back together. By March we seem to have fallen back into our old ways.
So have you had enough of this cycle? What is missing that keeps us on this constant cycle of deciding and undeciding?
I'm going to tell you that many of our eating habits are a result of a mentality that we've adopted due to some type of stress, trauma, and/or emotion. It's going to take a change of mind or more like a change of heart. Though this change doesn't happen overnight it starts with a decision that is made in moments.
We all have our life trauma's and stresses but there comes a point where we can no longer use those as an excuse to continue on our same path saying "I'll start back up again next week, month, or year." How many years have you been saying this to yourself, to your family? Will this be your year?
Have you decided yet? This article is not to change your mind. It's to hopefully provide you with the motivation you need to decide to make a lifelong commitment.
Truth. We can't keep going down this road. Our country is dying of things like heart disease and diabetes due to obesity. Due to the fact that they can trade one moment of tasty bliss for a lifelong illness that causes the person and their family to suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially.
It's time! No more! If we care at all for our families we will not risk putting them through such awful unnecessary trials.
I know what some of you are thinking. "I don't think I can." "What's different this time?" "What if I fall off the wagon again?"
First, we've got to change your mindset. Remove words like "can't" from your vocabulary. I know that sounds corny but again, where did the I can't, so sad, victim mentality get us in the past? We've got to change the way we think. Take time to look at the sky and smell the flowers. Look for the good in things. Be the person that others want to be around because you make them feel better. I've been around those people who are contagious downers. We'll do well to give these people limited time and space in our lives.
Next, what's different this time? Well you decide. Don't make a decision and give yourself permission to recant. Remove the "possibility that I may fail" factor from your mind. Dont' allow yourself to fail. Keep your motivation close to you. Whatever your motivation is for getting healthy whether it be your family, your dream life, your functionality, your health, etc. Remind yourself of it every single day.
Not only that, I want to be there for you as your coach cheering you on every step of the way reminding you of your goal, your motivation, your reasons. I'm here for you to hold you accountable. Together we can do this!
What if you fall off the wagon? So what! I've done it before, you've done it before. It doesn't give you a license to waist all of the hard work you've done. Get back on the wagon. I'll say it again. Together we can do this!
If you need some guidance on where to start and creating a personal plan for yourself feel free to email me at itsmedancing@yahoo.com. We'll get you on the right track to reaching your fitness goals and on your way to living life the way you we're meant to live it.
If you're ready let's do this. Connect with me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itsmedancing or Twitter @amandavburch. Ask me about our holiday promotion: Save $40 and get a 25% discount for the holidays.
Based off of my notes from the Joyce Meyer Conference. A little of the Scriptures, a little of Joyce, a little of my input...
Fear & Worry -
All four of these attributes come back to the first one, fear. Fear begins in the form of a thought and manifests in our emotions. How do you conquer fear? Joyce Meyer gave a simple answer. "Do it afraid." What is so great about this answer is that it's a revelation that it's not in our power to conquer fear. The question was "How do YOU conquer fear." The answer was YOU "Do it afraid."
So where is our relief?
Psalm 46:1 & 2 says God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
The mind is a difficult thing to control but as the children of God it is necessary to set our thoughts on Him. If we don't the enemy is free to take advantage.
Romans 12:2 says Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What good will it do us to have these four nuisances masquerading in our lives? Has it benefited you to be fearful of losing your job? Have you gained anything by worrying if you're going to have the means to pay bills and feed your kids? Have you progressed in your life by being guilty of sins committed 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, 1 week, or a day ago? And further more have any years been added to your lives but being insecure of yourself and unsure of who you are in Christ?
If you said yes to any of the following questions stop reading this article, go back to your own Facebook page and ponder, as this article won't benefit you.
Matthew 6:25-31 says "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear',
Our God is an awesome God! He is not visibly accessible to us on a regular basis. He is a Spirit. Therefore His communications are spiritual. This requires our complete faith in Him. We live by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7) Let's spend more time exercising our faith.
Guilt -
We've all fallen short of the glory of God. We are commanded to repent of our sins and repent doesn't just mean your sorry. It means turn away from it. In other words quit doing it! Naturally those that have a relationship with Christ love Him and therefore don't want to hurt Him. So yes we are truly sorry and we repent.
But...
It doesn't stop there for a lot of us. We've repented. We're sorry. We're not going to do it again. Tears... We've been forgiven by God. Then we continue walking around with that reproach. We're still carrying it. Hello! He forgave you. You just forgot to receive His forgiveness. Let it go! Don't allow the enemy to keep reminding you of it. YOU'VE BEEN FORGIVEN!
Romans 8:1 says Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Why is it that we feel the more miserable we are about our sins the closer we are to God? Do you want to know something? You're going to mess up again. Do you want to? No! Did you mean too? I hope not. Quit worrying about sins that you've already repented of. I guarantee God knew you were going to do it. You didn't surprise Him. You didn't catch Him off guard. Now repent, turn away from it, give it to Him and trust that He will keep true to 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
His grace is sufficient.
Contrary to popular belief the devil can bind us through our thoughts and we need to stop allowing him to have so much authority over them. There comes a point when we have to say, " I don't care how I feel, this is what I know." The Bible tells us that if we resist the devil he will flee from us (James 4:7).
I'm going to challenge you that when these thoughts start surfacing that you rebuke the devil out loud and command him in the name of Jesus to GO!
Insecurity -
How do you feel about yourself? Do you compare yourself to others? Do you feel belittled by people of stature? We are looking for our value in all the wrong places.
Isaiah 54:17 says No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the LORD.
Security is inherited through God. This means that as His children it belongs to us. Amen! (Time to shout)
STOP saying negative things about yourself!
Psalm 139:14 says I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
"Marvelous are your works," MARVELOUS are HIS WORKS. That's us guys!
Start talking to yourself. I encourage you to watch this video.
You're probably already one of the 5,602,486viewers that have already seen it but watch it again. This little girl is on to something. Talk to yourself guys. How many people speak to you on a daily, weekly, monthly basis? Not to mention all the talking to enemy is doing in your ear. I don't know about you but I hear a lot of negativity myself. What's stopping you from getting your own say in?
Remind yourself that you are a child of the most high God. That you are fearfully and wonderfully made and a marvelous work of God. You're loved and created special just for Him and His glory. You're beautiful. You're blessed. You're smart. You're prosperous. Keep going...
Stop thinking of the things you don't have and start thinking about how blessed you are to have the things God has given you.
Know who you are in Jesus Christ and don't have an identity crisis every time a problem arises.
Ephesians 1:4 & 5 says just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
God loves you. Bottom line!
Inevitables -
You will do a lot of waiting in life.
Not everyone will like you.
From time to time you will be disappointed.
Not all your plans will work.
The devil hates you.
When you do what is right you will be persecuted.
God does not always say yes when you ask Him for something.
People are not perfect.
These facts are inevitable in everyone's life. "It is what it is, so deal with it." - Joyce Meyer's daughter. What good is it going to do to worry about these things or try to change any of them.
I refuse to spend my life in fear, worry, guilt & insecurity. That's not a way to live. So starting now if you want to make a change, which not everyone does. Some people are comfortable playing the victim. But if you're tired of living this way and are ready to make a change then I encourage you to do so.
When the enemy starts speaking his lies to you, rebuke him and command him to "Go, in Jesus name!" OUT LOUD!
When the inevitable happens get in the Word of God and spend time with the Lord. When it happens the way we want, Praise the Lord. When it happens the way we don't want, Praise the Lord. God is sovereign and He will sustain us.
We underestimate the power of a breath. When life happens, and I assure you again it will, stop, breathe, meditate on His Word, and lighten up!
I will leave you with one final scripture.
Psalm 34:1 says ...I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Fat: Look at the total fat grams. You want to pay attention to trans fat and saturated fat as well. These are the fats that are derived mostly from animal sources (not all but most). They’re the ones you’ve got to look out for. They have a tendency to raise your bad cholesterol level, put your heart at risk, and add to your waist line.
Sodium: Too much sodium will actually dehydrate you. Not only that but because your body becomes dehydrated it will begin to retain water causing you to bloat (not comfortable) and add weight.
Fiber: The more fiber the better. Fiber is what cleans out your digestive system and intestines and keeps you regular. Very comfortable!
Sugar: Okay, here’s the thing. A lot of companies will get you with this one. Often times you see the terms “low calorie” “low fat” or “reduced” something or another. Guess what. Sugar turns into fat in your body! A lot of times what these companies will do is find a way to reduce the calories, or fat, or even sugar but it’s packed with one of the others. Watch out for that. It’s a marketing trick. I try not to buy anything with a Sugar content of over 10 grams if I can help it.
Serving Size: Again when you see the disclaimers “low, reduced, non-etc.” you need to be mindful of all of these elements. Serving size is a big one where they can get you. The ideal serving size for a normal person is not what’s listed on nutrition labels so ideally you need to think “how many servings of this will I actually eat?” Then do the math. They will sometimes reduce the serving size to make the calories, fat, or sugar amounts look smaller.
Ingredients: Ingredients are listed from the largest quantity to the lowest quantity. Ideally you want foods that start with more natural substances like whole grains, corn, healthy oils (oils that have more nutrients not made from animal fat, i.e. olive oil, canola oil, flax seed oil, etc.), and overall food words that you would recognize to be FOOD. Enriched means bleached (and stripped of its naturally vitamins and minerals) and high fructose corn syrup is processed in your body as sugar.
Try to stick to natural foods if possible (i.e. produce, meats from the “meats” department, whole grains, dairy) Most of those are found around the outward section of the store rather than the aisles.
This information can be overwhelming when you’re first learning it. But as you get the hang of it you’ll start to just get it. I used to spend minutes looking at nutrition labels in the grocery store. Now it takes a quick glance for me to know whether or not I want it in my house. I hope this information is helpful to you.
The number of people who suffer from Obesity is growing. Therefore so is the number of diabetics and heart disease patients. Further more the number of deaths from these diseases is also growing.The sad thing about it is that in most cases it can be prevented.
The Increasing number of Diabetes and Obesity
America is at the top of the list of countries for most obese & overweight citizens. Needless to say we have some work to do. If this is the land of opportunity then why is our quality of life slipping? Some of us have full time jobs. Some of us are full time parents. Some of us are parents that have jobs. Whatever the case it goes without saying that most of us are really busy people.
We care about our families and providing for them the best way we know how. Because we're so concerned about providing for our families we don't get a lot of opportunities to actually enjoy them. We get up early to go to work, or care for the house, or these days look for work. We come home from our jobs and are completely exhausted from the day and don't feel like doing anything. We worry about the income that won't be enough for their well being, education, future, etc.
A lot of us don't realise we're doing more damage than good. Our future plans get pushed back further and further. We work hard thinking "it's only a matter of time before I get that promotion or that job to where I'm making a great income enough for me to give my family whatever they want." But then 5, 10, 20 years go by and you're still working towards your dreams and still feel like your in the beginning stages. Do you know at all what I'm talking about?
Because it's taking a toll on you it's taking a toll on your family. You don't have time to take care of yourself the way that you need to. You don't have time to workout. You don't have time or money to eat healthy foods. Right?
Wrong!
Many people don't know the resources that are available to them to change their life. Honestly some people have completely lost hope, are stuck in a routine and are settling. Being in this position myself I decided to completely change my life and found that it's not as difficult as I thought. I stumbled across a company called Beachbody who creates in home fitness programs and nutritional supplements and my path to getting fit and getting paid started.
It started with the investment of one of their in home fitness programs and about 30 minutes to an hour a day. Now because I've been the gym drop out and new that wasn't working for me this seemed like a much better option because I could do it in my home, not have to drive anywhere, and it was so much cheaper because it didn't require any contracts or expensive monthly payments. Plus I had a complete team of people behind me cheering me on and motivating me to reach my goals.
Once I got through the first round of the program and saw some incredible results I felt so much better. More active and functional. Then I was offered to join Team Beachbody as a personal fitness coach and the opportunity to build a business and a significant salary with the company. After doing a lot of research on the company I decided to go ahead and do it.
It has changed my life and I'm well on my way to a six figure income. Because I refused to settle I did it! I have people that have arrived at the six figure income and some millionaires who are training me on how to get there and it barely cost me a bag of groceries.
A lot of people think it takes time to do this and effort. Which is true. Not everyone can do this because not everyone is a self starter. To those who have made excuses not to join this business like I'm occupied with my kids, I have a full time job, I don't have the time, I don't have the money. Believe me. I've made these excuses too. And I stayed right where I was until I decided to change it.
I started drinking Shakeology back in August 2010 and it is absolutely the best thing ever. After I became a coach I kept hearing about this product and every body and their sister was telling me I had to try it.
I was a little skeptical because of the price and wasn't really a shake kind of person but I knew I had to try it for myself so that I could accurately describe it to my clients. Plus because I'm a coach I get an incredible discount so I figured why not?
So when I purchased it and it arrived I was really excited about trying it because I've heard some really amazing testimonies about it.
My first week the First thing I noticed was how much energy I had. Lots of energy! Felt great! It was also in the process of cleaning me out. Getting rid of those toxins and junk built up in my system. Another thing I noticed is that it really did make me feel full and it lasted. Unlike other "meal replacement" shakes. I've tried a few.
Now After trying the product I've made it apart of my every day life. Just like brushing my teeth and eating food it's a daily routine. Once I did the math I actually found that I was saving money because I was replacing a meal a day at a cheaper price and I was increasing my health and my quality of life. I mean who gets a meal like this one for $3. Ridiculous.
What are some of the benefits of Shakeolgy?
What's the difference?
Shakeology vs. a Big Mac meal. It baffles me that people will spend extra money putting this poison in their body. When you invest in your health you'll actually find you're saving money (and not killing yourself quicker). How many people are overweight? I bet I can guess. Too many! It grieves me. McDonald's used to be a big part of my life. Not to be over dramatic but people are dying because of this company.
Now I don't know about you but I know many people that are buying Starbucks daily sometimes several times a day. It adds up. I get my energy from an all natural source that works and doesn't have me crashing later.
This is the most deceiving. People think when they drink these products that they are drinking health. Really all they're getting is a lot of sugar, carbs, juice, and ice. Because of the amount of sugar in these drinks they are going to have you crashing later and craving more sugar.
What are doctors saying about it?
This is one of my favorite parts of the research that I was doing on Shakeology. It's backed by doctors. Beachbody actually has well over 100 doctors that endorse this product and 35 of them give feedback about it in this video.
"This is great info! My daily addiction. No... I do not get paid to endorse it. In fact, I've never even been asked to mention it, but it is...by far... the best protein shake/meal replacement shake I've ever found. Period."- Chalene Johnson
Beachbody has been doing a lot of lab testing on Shakeology lately to ensure it’s, as they say, the healthiest meal of the day. As there have been a lot of questions about the effect of the sugar in Shakeology we had it tested on the Glycemic Index (GI) scale and it came back with a score of 24, which is a number lower than most fruits and many veggies. For reference, sugary snacks generally score close to 100.
What is the Glycemic Index?
glycemicindex.com puts it like this:
"Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels - is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss."
What's in Shakeology?
Many people ask what is in Shakeology which is such a great question. As an all natural product it has over 70 different ingredients in it. To equal the nutrition in it you would have to eat all of the food below. That is not cheap and definitely not easy.
Could you imagine how all this stuff would taste? Lol! Ewww...
How does it taste?
I get a lot of questions about how it tastes. Well my favorite is the Chocolate though I do like the Greenberry as well. My husbands favorite is the Greenberry. I had to get him his own bag because he was drinking mine.
Chocolate - It's chocolaty! It has a thicker consistency than the Greenberry. Me personally I like mine with a thinner consistency so I will add more fluid. About a cup and a half of whatever I'm making it with. Milk, water, orange juice, coffee etc.
Favorite Recipe - 1 1/2 cup of skim milk and a lot of cinnamon.
Greenberry - It is an acquired taste and when I first tried it I wasn't sure if I liked it. But the more I drank it the more I liked it.
Favorite Recipe - 1cup of Tropicana 50 Orange Juice (Reduced Sugar) 1/2 cup of skim milk.
Beachbody has a program called Home Direct where they will ship it to your house automatically every month and the perk is that you don't have to pay for shipping and you also get two work outs and a shakeology shaker cup with your order.
I started drinking Shakeology back in August 2010 and it is absolutely the best thing ever. After I became a coach I kept hearing about this product and every body and their sister was telling me I had to try it.
