Adulting 101: Fad Diets vs Facts Part 2

Fad Diets vs Facts Part Two

So I spent a bunch of time typing up 2 pages of notes that I took at Adulting 101: Fad Diets vs Facts then posted it for everyone! Then forgot about the other page of notes I took that was behind the hand out sheets I put in my notebook! Oops! So here is Part Deux!

How can you tell if there is added sugar to a product?
The ingredients list is listed by weight – the more there is of it, the higher up on the list it is. Sometimes companies will break down the kinds of sugars and so it looks like less, because they are further down the list!
Anything ending in OSE is a sugar!
Just Googled this -- http://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/hidden-in-plain-sight/#.WeQk-mhSyUk --- There are at least 61 different names for sugar listed on food labels. These include common names, such as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, as well as barley malt, dextrose, maltose and rice syrup, among others. The full list of 61 names is found on the right side of the webpage. SIXTYONE names!! That’s just crazy!
Sugar is sugar (salt is salt).

Wanna lose weight? Record everything you are eating. It will make you think twice about whether or not you want to it! This makes you mindful of what you are eating. How often have you sat there mindlessly eating a bag of chips (insert go to snack here) without thinking of just how much you’ve been eating?

Do not drink your calories! If you drink a 500 calorie drink before dinner, it will not make you eat 500 calories less. Liquid calories just do not make you feel full the way actual food does.
Starbucks Calories - https://www.starbucks.com/menu/catalog/nutrition?drink=espresso#view_control=nutrition 

Grande (16oz) Chai Latte (what would be my go to drink) -- https://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/tea/chai-latte?foodZone=9999 – 42 grams of sugar!!! :O :O :O (39g with coconut milk, which takes the saturated fat from 10% to 22%!)

Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte with 2% milk and whip cream – 50g sugar!! https://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/espresso/pumpkin-spice-latte

Ok, I will stop ruining all your favorite drinks! And this is not to throw Starbucks under the bus, I just know they are popular.

Tim Hortons - https://www.fatsecret.ca/calories-nutrition/tim-hortons

My fall favorite from Tims – Pumpkin Spice Muffin --- https://www.fatsecret.ca/calories-nutrition/tim-hortons/pumpkin-spice-muffin/1-muffin -- ouch! Think I am going to be doing a lot more baking at home! Yikes!!!

Eat a bigger breakfast and do not skip breakfast! When you skip breakfast, your body will store fat later, to keep you from starving! Eating a bigger breakfast will help keep you fuller throughout the day and you will eat less calories (don’t skip meals!).
3 meals and 1-2 snacks is what is reccommended but find what works for you! If 6 small meals/snacks works better and you are getting the correct calories and eating a balanced diet, then keep it up!

Eat high fiber foods. They make you feel fuller over time. These include fruits and veggies and whole grains. Eat these throughout the day. Best colours are dark green and orange!

To help you stay on track with diet and budget, plan meals ahead of time, make a list and stick to the list!
Shop the perimiter of the store, where the fresh, non proccessed foods are. Don’t shop when you are hungry. As one of the other participiants said, be mindful when you go shopping. Do you love chocolate and even the smell of it will make you want to buy it? Keep in mind around Christmas (or Halloween or Easter) when there is even more chocolate in the stores, in your face! Make a list, stick to it, ignore the chocolate!

Calcium is important. If you cannot have dairy products, make sure you are getting enough! You want 1000mg a day, taken as 500mg twice daily.

There is an Overeaters Annoymonus in town Monday

8:00 PM

Evergreen CCR Church

101 Tundra Dr
Fort McMurray, AB T9J 1G4
Canada

Contact: Linda

Phone: 587-644-0657
https://oa.org/find-a-meeting/?type=0&country=Canada&sort=ASC&distance=25&lat=56.7454238&longit=-111.47784130000002&zip=t9k%202h4&limit=100&submit=true

(no child care provided).

Also suggested to watch Embrace on Netflix – about loving your body!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__2AayArYfs
More support in Fort McMurray - The Primary Care Network -- http://wbpcn.ca/About/Pages/PrimaryCareinFortMcMurray.aspx

Adulting 101: Fad Diets vs Facts.

Adulting 101: Fad Diets vs Facts.

     95% of people will gain back the weight after coming off a restrictive diet. – This happens because people want to lose a lot of weight and quickly. So they greatly restrict their diets for a time, and they do lose the weight. But this new diet isn’t something they can sustain for the long run, so when they come off this diet, they gain back all that lost weight, sometimes more.
         We have to change our thinking of dieting from “what can I do for a time to lose this extra weight” to “what can I do, for the rest of my life, that will allow me to be a healthy weight and healthy over all”.
        It is not all or nothing. Think about one small change you can make today, that will benefit you in the long run.
       Drink a large Starbucks every day? Why not try a medium or small? Or 3 large drinks a week, the rest of the week drinking regular coffee/tea and water, water, water! Eventually you may be able to cut out those high calorie, high sugar drinks from your diet, enjoying them only occassionaly.
     Eat dessert every night? Why not cut back to 3 times a week instead. Try fresh fruit with a small amount of whip cream, instead of cake or ice cream!
     Eat off smaller plates.
     It takes 20 minutes for your brain to tell you that you’re full. Slow down and wait before going back for seconds.
     Watch your portions and read labels – check those portion sizes!!!


        If you continue to eat a very restrictive diet, you will end up losing more muscle mass than fat, which you may not be able to build back up.

     Fad diets that cut out food groups – like suddenly going vegan or cutting out all carbs, good and bad – cuts out nutrients and vitamins that you need in your diet.
If you are looking to cut back on or cut out animal products, dairy, carbs, etc, look at what those things provide for you and make sure you are getting what you need. Cutting our dairy? Make sure you are getting enough calcium. Cutting out meat? Look for good sources of protein.

Healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. That is a reduction of 500 calories a day! This will allow you to maintain lean muscle mass and lose the fat.

Low carb diets will help you lose weight in the short term because of reduced calories. To lose weight, you want to reduce calories safely, without compromising nutrients and vitamins!

There is no scientific evidence for cleanses or detoxes. Our body was created to natrually cleanse/detox our bodies, mostly through the liver, using nutrients. The best thing we can do to help our bodies detox is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, making sure to get enough nutrients and vitamins, and drink lots of fluids.

Eat fish twice a week! Flaked, or light, tuna is better for you than other tuna (less mercury). Salmon is also very healthy.

Wanna eat healthy but don’t like a lot of healthy foods? It takes up to 3 months for your taste buds to change. Keep trying new foods and continue to add them as much as you can to your meals!

We eat about double the amount of sodium we need. If you are trying to cut back on salt, foods may taste more bland in the beginning, but keep it up (remember 3 months!) and your taste buds will adjust. If you reduce sodium then go out to eat, you will notice the difference!
     Most of our excess sodium is found in processed foods. Check labels! 5% or less DV (Daily Value) is low, 15% or higher is too high!

Whenever possible, vitamines and minerals should come from food first. In Alberta we are all low on Vit D! Take 1000 IU daily!

Fad diets affect our moods and our thinking. We tend to have all or nothing thinking. We get on a restrictive diet and are doing well, but we slip up and eat a piece of bread/bag of chips/chocolate/pizza and we think that we’ve ruined our entire diet and all the hard work of the past is ruined. Remember to find a diet that works for you and to get to a place where you do not feel guilty over a slice of pizza or a chocolate bar! Don’t beat yourself up but continue, one step at a time, toward over all healthy habits. 2 steps back doesn’t erase the 50 steps forward you already took!

     If you want to lose weight, restrict your calories (reduction of 500 a day = 1-2 pounds a week). Fill up on healthy foods – 3 meals, 1-2 snacks a day – and cut out the junk food. Count your calories and check portion sizes. 2 cookies might fit into your calorie goal in a day, a box of cookies probably not! Although if you only ate a box of cookies, you might not go over your calories but you’ll compromise nutrients and vitamins and most likely have way to much sugar!!

     Exercise is important, but cutting calories is going to help you lose the weight in the beginning. You cannot eat however you want and just exercise it off (unless maybe your an Olympian or currently running a marathon!).
Find exercise you enjoy – like your diet – it has to be something you will want to continue for the long haul.

You cannot out run your diet!

The greater your lean body mass, the better your matabolism.

Gut health is important and can affect your weight. Get some probiotics and fermented food!

Plate portions – 50% fruits and veggies, 25% protien, 25% healthy carbs.

Again watch your portions – example, you need 6-7 servings of grain products a day. One serving is 1 slice of bread or ½ a bagel or ½ cup rice or pasta. If you go to a resturant and order pasta, you are getting about 6-7 servings in that one dish. Tip – ask for a to go container before you start eating and pack up half your food to bring home! Now you have lunch for tomorrow :D
Meat and alternatives – you need about 2 servings a day. A 6 ounce steak from the keg? 3 servings!
   My thinking is that you can enjoy these foods – like a 6oz steak – but in moderation! And if you want a full bagel for breakfast, just know that is 2 servings of grains, not one.
 The Keg tip – my husband and I will order a meal to share, getting 6-8 oz steak, with veggies (vrs a twice baked potato) and usually crab legs. We get to enjoy a good meal, cut our calories, and save on the bill!





https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/canada-food-guides.html

Wanna add more lentiles to your diet? You can replace meat in your meals (or do 50/50 meat/lentiles). Check out Pulse Alberta to find out more information. https://pulse.ab.ca/


What’s A Pulse?

Pulses (including dry peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas) are the edible seeds of legumes. Pulses are grown for food and feed in countries around the world, and they are unique among grain crops in their ability to partner with certain soil bacteria to take nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, from the air and turn it into a form that can be used by plants.

Are you new to growing pulses?

Looking for new crops to add into your rotation? Alberta Pulse Growers is here to come alongside you to ensure your pulse experience is a success.

Daniel Fasts, Elimination Diets and Intimacy with God

    My husband and I decided at the end of 2016 that in January of 2017 we would do a 21 day Daniel Fast. For us, that basically meant a vegan diet with no sugars (still did honey and maple syrup) and no caffeine (no coffee, but drinking decaf tea!).
The point of the Fast wasn’t to lose weight – though that would be a great benefit!! – but to break the old bad habits, addictions to sugar, get us thinking about healthy food choices and how we want to change our diet for the long run, and of course to draw closer to God.
          I also have struggles with allergic reactions, to I don’t know what, which are extremely frustrating, last for days and are painful. The area around my lips gets very red, tingles, burns and itches for a day or two, and for the next few days after are very dry and itchy. So in my journey to grow closer to God, I also want to find some answers and solutions to my physical aliments.

          Our Fast started Thursday, January 12^th and for almost 2 weeks was going very well. It is an adjustment to cut out all meat and dairy (and sugar!!!!!!!!) and trying to think of what you will make without having your favorite meals to fall back on... and very little eating out or ordering in! But it was going well and we were still enjoying so many healthy and yummy foods! Then on Tuesday, day 13 of 21, I had some Fast friendly pancakes for breakfast (I was getting really tired of oatmeal), which included some of my homemade applesauce, and I had an allergic reaction! Now I don’t remember if there is any sugar in that batch of applesauce but I was 90% sure it was just apples and cinnamon! So frustrating!
I thought that maybe I was allergic to cinnamon before, but then I tried putting cinnamon in my mouth with no reaction. I’ve been eating oatmeal with cinnamon and maple syrup for days with no reaction. I’ve been drinking cinnamon tea with no reaction. Ok... so maybe it’s not cinnamon.. Apples? My allergist said that apples could bother me... but I’ve been eating raw apples with no problems! I made an apple pie like filling with cut up apples, cinnamon, maple syrup and oats and baked it and had no problems... the pancakes were made with chia seeds... I use chia seeds a lot in my baking. But I don’t react to everything I bake, so this is the frustrating part for me. I also react to things that do not have chia seeds in them. (Pancake recipe can found - http://completerecipes.com/Healthy-Banana-Pancakes.html?back_url=./ - I used chia seeds instead of eggs, used my homemade applesauce, added cinnamon and no Vinnamon).
The day after my reaction to the pancakes, I bought some more hummus (which I had been eating so much of for the Fast) and it made my reaction worse! I bought a different brand than the one we had been eating all along! Ugh!!! Should have known!

          Anyway... at that point I knew I had to do a version of an Elimination Diet to try and start to get some answers to my very frustrating and seemingly random reactions. Then at least I might have something to go to the allergist with in the future. But I knew this diet wasn’t just about figuring out allergies. I knew this diet went so much deeper than that. I knew months ago I should be doing this diet, but then I would have a good couple of weeks with no reactions and justify and excuse to myself once again that I didn’t really have to do this diet. But when God is asking you to do something – something that will ultimately be a blessing to you – then no matter how much you put it off, excuse it, or try to justify it away, He is not going to let up! This reaction was my breaking point after 2 weeks on the Daniel Fast.
My husband is continuing on with his last week of the Fast but I broke the Fast a week early and am doing a 7 day Elimination Diet. I am on day 5 of eating chicken, beef, rice, salt and water... breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. Though I haven’t really been all that hungry lately, so it’s more like brunch, dinner and maybe a 3^rd meal in there somewhere.

          What makes me think God is the one nudging me towards an Elimination Diet and not just my body and my complete frustration and lack of answers to these allergic reactions? What is it that makes me think God is using the seemingly randomness of my reactions to get my attention?
          When I started the Fast I started reading this book, Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst (one of my favorite Christian authors! You just know that what she is sharing with you is a personal journey God has brought her through! So powerful.). I read the first few chapters while walking on the treadmill at the gym. I knew this book would hold a lot of insight, and of course, it spoke directly to me and to a lot of my struggles with food. At one point, she was talking about running 3 miles a day but one day she felt that God was telling her to keep running until He told her to stop. That day she ran 8.6 miles! I average 3km on the treadmill in an hour! I have no desire to take up running or jogging or any long distance exercise. Not saying it will never happen, but that’s not a desire of mine!!! But I felt like this Elimination Diet was my 8.6 mile run. I felt like this Diet was God calling me to walk with Him in His strength. That the Fast had a few challenges but still too many comforts. That instead of really pressing into God when having a craving for coffee or ice cream (or chocolate, or cookies, or chicken in our chili or beef in our tacos.....) I was just snacking on popcorn (big large bowls of popcorn almost nightly...it became my new major craving!) and drinking a nice, hot cup of tea. I wasn’t replacing my food cravings with God, but just different food.

          In Made to Crave, Lysa Terkeurst talked about praying to God to unsettle her. To bring out all the junk she needed to deal with to the surface. Well I have got to tell you, I am feeling very unsettled. It took about 12 hours into my Diet to be upset about not having a hot cup of tea, and knowing I wouldn’t be able to have a hot cup of tea (or coffee) for the next week plus. Who knows when I will be able to add back in tea, coffee (I’m ok with decaf), sugar and cream? And the very fact that you can only add one new ingredient every 24 hours (assuming there is no reaction) is DRIVING ME CRAZY!!! That’s like 72 hours before I can drink an actual cup of coffee (or tea, assuming it is one ingredient and not one of the many flavors I have like Birthday Cake or Caramel Popcorn....).
What has me feeling very frustrated is that I was drinking coffee (with cream and sugar) before my Fast and drinking tea before and during my Fast, with no reactions! Not around my lips anyway. So why, oh why, can’t I just have one darn cup of anything hot (besides just water!!) after my 7 days are over??!! WHY!!????? Ok, ok, yes, I understand how Elimination Diets are meant to work and why you only add one thing back at a time (in case you do have a reaction). This is just my flesh screaming at me. This is just my flesh yelling and screaming, slowly and painfully dying...
          I am feeling unsettled. I am feeling restless. I feel like I am going to go crazy! I dished out applesauce for my daughters lunches this week and I could smell the applesauce that was used in the dreaded pancakes that caused the reaction, and it smelled so delicious (kind of like apple pie filling), my mouth was watering and I have never wanted applesauce before so much in my life!
And I am feeling pretty miserable. My stomach is stilling giving me issues (thanks to being a woman! And the fact that I can only use salt for flavoring probably isn’t helping!), and almost 3 weeks into a Fast/Diet, with  lots of water and no caffeine, (and no processed sugars) and I am just feeling like crap! I’m still very tired and my stomach has felt hard and bloated for most of it. And it really doesn’t help that out of 3 weeks, I’ve had a week of PMS and a week of what follows PMS! So all of this is just adding to my frustrations of not being able to turn to food (or drink) for any comfort.

          I really want to make this journey about God. Not about what I can or cannot eat. Not about the number on the scale (though I do have a goal to lose weight this year.). I want it to be about denying myself in order to deal with all the junk and thanking God for the good and healthy food I can eat. I want it to be about finding my identity and building the foundation and rooting myself to the truths of God’s Word. I want it to be about finding satisfaction, comfort, love, joy and peace in God. But mostly it just feels like one big, miserable pity party, where my flesh slowly, and not willingly, dies, with no spiritual break through at all.
          I know I have been making poor food choices for decades (sugar is definitely my biggest weakness/struggle) and 3 weeks isn’t going to magically fix all my food/diet issues and struggles. I know that I must walk with God every day, and not just for 3 weeks. I am just at the beginning of this journey and not loving it and feeling miserable! I need a lot of prayer, that is for sure! And mostly I just want this Diet to be over so I can eat ice cream, and cookies and chocolate and drink coffee and tea, and eat more healthy foods and have all the things I cannot eat right now.
          So, if you’ve managed to read this far, thank you! This is just the beginning of a life long journey. I am miserable and this is my explanation of my Fast/Diet and my rant of my frustrations. And if you’re a person of prayer, I would really appreciate your prayers for strength to walk through this Elimination Diet, for spiritual break through and a closer, deeper, more intimate connection with God, and answers to the physical side of things like the allergic reactions and what is causing them.

Psalm 78:18New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ They willfully put God to the test
    by demanding the food they craved.

Psalm 5:1-3The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm

5 ^1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.

5 Years of Motherhood

Today marks the day I become a mother, 5 long, yet oh so short, years ago. As I have heard said before, the days are long and the years short. How true it is!
Technically I could say I  became a mom in April of 2011 when I conceived. I could say I became a mom in May of 2011 when I took a test that confirmed my pregnancy. Or in June when I had my first ultrasound to date the pregnancy and I found out I was 8 weeks, 1 day pregnant.
But I didn’t feel like a mom back than. I had terrible morning sickness from about 6 weeks till 16 ish, weeks. I enjoyed feeling the baby moving around inside my womb, which was fascinating and weird, and I loved watching my baby grow through the ultrasounds throughout my pregnancy (and being sure to tell them every time “we don’t want to know the gender!!! I was so worried they would let it slip!). But I did not feel like a mom.
On a Tuesday in January of 2012, 2 days before my due date, 3 days before I hoped to give birth (which would have been Friday the 13th), I was called in for my last ultrasound. My fluids were low and they sent me across the street to the hospital where they would induce me and in about 12 hours I would meet my baby.
I was scared. I wasn’t ready to be a mom yet! I wasn’t ready when I peed on that stick 8 months before and I wasn’t ready now as I stood in line waiting to register and be brought up to labour and delivery. This was my first pregnancy, my first baby, and I told my OBGYN that I did not want to be induced unless absolutely necessary. And here I was, 2 days before my due date, being induced and my OBGYN had the day off!
That evening, after 9pm on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012, our first baby, a baby girl, entered the world, making me a mother, making my husband a father! It was incredible and amazing, and shocking and I was in disbelief until the next day. We did not have a name for our little girl that night but sometime around 4am we settled on Sophie, meaning wisdom. We chose Marie for her middle name after both my grandmothers, both named Mary, my maternal grandmother having passed away in 1997. And my husband's family being French, we felt that Sophie Marie also sounded French :)
5 years ago, I gave birth to an amazing, 6 pound, 8 ounce, sweet little baby girl and I felt nowhere near ready to be a mother. 5 years (and 2 more children) later, and I still feel nowhere near ready to be a mother! Being a mother is an incredibly trying, difficult, hard, amazing, rewarding, exhausting, joy filled, stretching, breaking, rebuilding experience.
In one breath you want to run away forever and never look back, in the next you can’t believe how blessed you are to call these amazing, little humans, your children. On one hand you question your sanity in ever having one (then more) children and in the next moment, baby fever hits you HARD! On one hand I feel like I started my mothering journey when I was “so old” but on the other hand I think, how can I possibly be old enough to have 3 kids, including a 5 year old!
In 5 years of parenting, and with 3 children, I have learned that I am not strong enough to be a mother. I don’t have what it takes. Not on my own, not in my own strength. God gave me these incredible children, challenges and all, and I count myself beyond blessed. I am also married to a man who is the most incredible father and who balances me out so well. Without him, I do not know what I would do. But I do know that without God, I would be a complete mess and I would either run away forever and not look back, or I would be in the psych ward having gone completely mad!
You want to know a little secret? God does give you more than you can handle! God wants you to completely trust in Him and come to Him and surrender to Him and allow Him to sustain you. God wants my old habits and old life, and sin wrecked flesh to be torn down, broken apart, dead and buried, and He wants me raised up to new, abundant, joy filled, free life, walking not in the flesh but in the power of His mighty Spirit.
God didn’t just give me these children to mold and shape, teach and nurture, but to mold, shape and teach me!  
God gave me Sophie Marie 5 years ago, making me a mother, growing and nurturing a mother’s heart within me.
Sophie is wise, as her name suggests. She is hilarious, making all of us laugh, which is an everyday reminder to a prayer I had prayed over me and the child within my womb 3 days before she was born. She is caring and compassionate, always thinking about her younger siblings and trying to help me out. She is incredibly smart and her memory astounds me!
Happy 5th Birthday Sophie! Mommy loves you!! May God continue to guide, teach, shape and mold me, as I walk through this ever changing and challenging journey of parenting and learning how to discipline, nurture, teach and shape you. May I see the way God has made you and call out all your strengths, gifts and talents, while also teaching you to be humble, never thinking of yourself greater than you ought to, but putting others before yourself. May I be able to teach you how to be a strong, powerful, Godly woman of influence, while also being compassionate and loving towards others.
Sophie, you are a strong, funny, compassionate, beautiful girl of God. May God’s face continue to shine upon you, may His Spirit guide you, may your path be lighted by the Light of Jesus and His Truth be the foundation of your life.
God bless you, baby girl <3

Too Long for a Status Update

Between the fighting, crying, whining, and blaming, I hit a metaphorical wall. I wanted to turn on a movie and silence their little mouths. A nice screen trance would settle the tumultuous waters. Instead, I sent everyone to their bedrooms until I give the word.
We have to deal with rather than anesthetizing tension with TV or video games. It's easier to bypass relational snags with a convenient distraction, forfeiting the chance to improve problem solving and listening skills. I don't want my kids to be more comfortable interacting with a computer screen than a human being. We stay the course until we've resolved an issue, not allowing “Phineas & Ferb” to fill the space Instead. This is harder and requires more time, but my kids will marry people and have bosses and children. Learning healthy relational skills is now or never.  - 7, An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.

If we are dying of thirst, passively reading books about water quenches little; the only way to quench the parched mouth is to close the book and dip the hand into water and bring it to the lips. If we thirst, we'll have to drink.
I would have to do something. - One Thousand Gifts, A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.

I am reading these two books together, and I think they go really well together! I did not intend it that way. I bought 7 back in June while still in BC and I read 1000 Gifts 2 years ago as part of a women’s Bible study. I had decided I wanted to reread 1000 Gifts starting October 1st, as it is Thanksgiving this month and that is what the book is about. I had finished a parenting book at the end of September and was looking to start another book and instead of waiting 3 days to start 1000 Gifts, I picked up 7. I guess they were just meant to be read, together!
Both these books come at a time where I am so done with all the excess in our lives and I am getting ready to purge more of our stuff. I have known for awhile that I need to do a fast involving food (so many health issues and feeling disconnected from God) and I am completely overwhelmed and stressed by the amount of stuff in our home - mainly clothes and toys.
Last week I went through 3 boxes of my girls old baby clothes and donated one box worth and I went through 3 black garbage bags of stuffed animals and donated one bag worth. It’s a start and I am counting it as a victory. I know I could get rid of a lot more and I should go through it all again but I am thankful for progress. I am also going through my own clothes and getting my husband to donate some of his clothes as well. I will also being going through all our DVD’s and I have gone through our bookshelves a few times in the past. It seems like every time I organize our stuff or do laundry there is something else I am throwing out or donating, and it feels good! Soon I am going to be getting rid of a lot of toys, I just need to prepare myself first lol.
I am also tired and frustrated with Facebook. It sucks away my time and energy and I rarely get off Facebook feeling happier or more joyful. Usually I am mad or sad about something in the news or feeling very discontented with life. I just need a break!

Physical Health and Mental Well-being.

For the past 5 years I have either been pregnant, breastfeeding or chasing around a toddler. I got pregnant with my first in April 2011 and baby number 3 just weaned from breastfeeding in June 2016. So for the past 2.5 months I have not been pregnant or breastfeeding, only chasing around 3 tiny little humans.
For as long as I can remember I have had health issues including; headaches, trouble sleeping, fatigue, nausea, what I have figured is IBS, allergies and chronic health issues including asthma and eczema. Add to this morning sickness (since I was at least 13 I have dealt with feeling nauseous daily, pregnancy just added actually being sick to that), pregnancy induced restless nights, bouts of heartburn, pain in my back/hip from pregnancy, low iron, newborn babies, breastfeeding, infections from breastfeeding, being pregnant while chasing a toddler and working full-time, being pregnant while chasing 2 toddlers, having 2 dogs, giving up a dog, teething (lots and lots of teething), more sleepless nights with newborns, more breastfeeding, more infections AND this spring a mass evacuation from my home and city. This all adds up to one very exhausted, very sick, very frustrated and easily irritated momma!

Everyday I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. Yes, I know the scriptures (even if I can’t quote them verbatim), telling me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and that when I am weak, Christ is strong and even youths will grow tired and weary but the Lord will lift me up on wings like eagles. I believe in God’s Truth and I know these scriptures, along with all of God’s Word, are true and powerful and apply to me. I can name it and claim it all day long - but really, I am so tired and as a momma of 3 littles, most days I can barely think straight, never mind walk around quoting and claiming scriptures and just resting in the arms of Jesus.
I listen to Christian music (99% of the time ;) ), I listen to sermons and Christian talk radio on my iPod, I go to church every Sunday, I read my Bible and I read a LOT of Christian books (both fiction and nonfiction). I am steeped in the Christian world. But I’m still tired and I still struggle with being sick. I don’t believe this is a lack of faith or not praying hard enough, I think I am just stuck.
  Or at least at a crossroads, with my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being.

I know I need to make some serious changes to my lifestyle. I know I need to do something like a Daniel Fast and cut out pretty much everything from my diet for at least 21 days, in order to try and find out what is causing me so many issues. I know I need to set up, and stick to a routine. I need to work on getting regular exercise and getting adequate sleep. I need better time management.
The physical ailments are not only hard physically, but hard mentally as well. I believe our mental and spiritual well-being are closely related to our physical health. It’s hard to be emotionally or mentally well (aka stable!) when you are exhausted and sick all the time. And, personally, it’s hard to connect with God and have a healthy spiritual life, when you’re exhausted, sick and mentally overwhelmed and stressed.
I want to start a journey in seeking God, seeking physical health and mental well-being. I want to say I am starting, but, honestly, I am a procrastinator and I am extremely lazy and I have been putting off starting this journey for a very long time. For far too long, it’s been all talk and no action. I think what I really need is a partner, or 2, in this journey, where we can encourage and push each other along. Someone to work out with (which I do have) and someone to share healthy recipes with and maybe even cook with. Someone who is also a Christian and looking to deepen their relationship with God. I do have my husband, and he is my best friend and biggest support, but it would be nice to do this journey with another woman or even another couple.

Whatever happens next, however this journey plays out, I am hoping to keep journaling about it. In October I am going to an allergist, so I am hoping that is one step in the right direction for getting physically healthy, and I am thinking about going to a Naturopath for extensive blood work to find out all my allergies/intolerances. I will also be getting a membership at the gym as a step towards weight loss and strength building. And I am thinking in January 2017 I will be doing a 21 day fast. I am really going to need help and encouragement with that one!  

One step, one day, one healthy decision at a time. I am tired of being tired. I am sick of being sick. I need to do something to get better. As my physical health continues to be bad, I can see my mental, emotional, and spiritual health declining.
I am definitely feeling very messed up and completely overwhelmed. Not sure how I am going to make the changes I need to make but praying I can figure out how and where to start and continue on this journey.

Thanks for sharing with me in one small way by reading this blog! I have written a lot more about this, but wanted to keep this somewhat short. So thank you for reading and I hope you continue to follow me as I journal my way through life! Leave a comment and let me know you’ve visited my blog and what you think!
Until next time! God bless.

Through the Fire - One Evacuees Story

I never made it back home.
I got turned away. Traffic was jammed. I needed gas. I couldn’t get home. Should I go south towards Edmonton? North towards the camps? We agreed on north. I was able to get gas, praise God! I went to go north but I was turned south. North was grid locked, south was open again. The officer told me to go south. I called my husband. I couldn’t get a hold of him, all I knew was that he was home and waiting for his mom.
I had to head south, away from my husband, away from our oldest daughter, away from my mother in law. I was texting another friend who was stuck downtown and I had just heard on the radio that downtown was now under a mandatory evacuation. He had no way of getting out so I told him to hitch a ride with anyone. I kept calling my husband, but my phone kept dying and reception was spotty. I was getting really frustrated at this point.
I finally got a hold of my husband. I told him I was going south and to try to head south but if it’s safer, go north. I drove through smoke. I saw small flames on the hill. I saw fire on roof tops. The Super 8 and Denny’s were in flames, it was almost completely gone. The emergency alert had gone over the radio several times in the last couple hours. There was no “this is just a test”. This was no test. This was real. Everyone must evacuate. Stay calm and leave as quickly as possible.
I was a few kilometers outside the city when I had to pull over to nurse the baby; my husband, daughter and MIL were still stuck uptown.
I was pulled over, facing south. I saw clear blue skies. I looked behind me, at my city, my home, back to where half my family sat, for hours, on top of a hill, slowly inching toward safety. Looking north, it was black. The smoke was thick. Vehicles, all heading south, passed by me, 5km/h. The northbound lanes, all heading south. The only ones going north were emergency vehicles.
As I drove, as I pulled over to feed the baby, as I made phone calls, and stayed in contact with my husband, names kept going through my mind. The worship leader at our church, he’s a firefighter, he’s staying behind to fight this thing. His brother as well. Another from the church, a part of my bible study, her husband is also a firefighter. It was Tuesday, tomorrow was our wrap up for the Wednesday evening Bible Study. We had a farewell party planned for one lady, an RCMP Officer, who was moving on to BC. These people were staying to fight this fire and get everyone out to safety. Would they be ok? How long would they be separated from their families? The only prayer from my lips was “Jesus… Jesus… Jesus... “
I had to pull over just south of Fort McMurray, when I knew I was out of immediate danger. I had been traveling for hours with the kids. Baby was poopy and hungry. My middle child was hungry. Thank God I had just bought $260 worth of groceries; I was able to pass my child some fruit and a yogurt while I nursed our baby in the front seat. After I had the children somewhat satisfied, I took the dog out to stretch then continued on south, slowly inching forward, further away from my husband, daughter and MIL, who were still stuck up down. Further down the road I had to pull over again. I needed the break. I wanted to close the gap between myself and the rest of my family. For hours I traveled south while my husband continued to text me - we’re still on Confed. Traffic not moving.
It was a nightmare. I text my husband around 10:55pm, I had just passed the 1km to Wandering River sign. I was 200KM south of Fort McMurray. There were vehicles parked on both side of the road and the line getting into Wandering River reached from the gas stations to the 1KM sign. I did not need gas but I needed to get out with the kids. My little girl had been crying since the Wandering RIver sign that she wanted to go home and sleep in her own bed. Baby needed another change and some food. We all needed to get out and stretch and refuel...on coffee. At 10:55pm I had texted my husband “I am 1KM outside Wandering River”. Now, at 11:55pm I text him “just pulled over in Wandering River”. I had traveled 1KM in 1 hour! I was 200KM’s south of Fort Mac. I still had roughly 250KM to go.

We have been out of our home for over 4 weeks now. We will be going back tomorrow but it will only be for one night. A chance to assess any damages, to tape up our fridges and deep freezer and to grab what we can (and to finish the load of laundry I started that day 4 weeks ago!). We will be living away from home at least another month, possibly longer.
It has been a crazy rollercoaster of emotions. It is such a weird situation that we find ourselves in. Our small family, along with tens of thousands of other families and individuals, are all in the same boat. We all have different stories, different challenges. We have scattered all over the country. Some have lost everything. Others still have their home standing. Some will return, others will be moving on. Tens of thousands of stories, all different, yet all connected. I watch the news and it’s me they are talking about. The evacuees are myself, my family, my friends, my church, my city.  I have never been part of a major news story before. Never been part of a small news story before. It’s weird. I see the signs across Edmonton, everywhere I go, “donate to Red Cross here, all money goes to Fort McMurray and helping the evacuees”. “20% off to all Fort McMurray evacuees”. “Free entrance to evacuees”. It’s weird. It’s amazing. It’s humbling.  The Bible tells us that is it more blessed to give than to receive. I have always read that and thought, but in order for me to give, someone has to receive. You cannot give without a receiver. Now, I am the one on the other side of that equation - in a big way. My family and I, we are so very grateful. Without all the givers, we would be at a complete loss. We pray that those giving are blessed in return. We pray that someday we will also be able to give to others in need.
From the bottom of one evacuee’s heart - Thank you. On behalf of my family - thank you. These past 4 weeks have been a long 4 weeks.
The first week was completely overwhelming and exhausting. We were barely thinking straight, barely functioning. We had a lot coming at us, a lot to figure out, a lot to do. All of the help and support was overwhelming and amazing. Bless you! Bless you all.
This journey isn’t over yet. We still have a lot of questions to work through. We still have a few weeks to go before we can go home to stay. But we are making the best out of a bad situation and taking this time to spend with family and friends that we normally don’t have enough time to be with. I am working through a lot right now and I am hoping to journal more and post to my blog more. Thank you to all my readers, all 5 of you, for taking this journey with me.