Here We Go Again!

Here I am again. One and one half years after my South Beach blog weighing exactly the same as I did then. My belief is confirmed after yet another diet failure. Diets don't work. I believe it has to be a concious lifestyle change that you track on a regular basis. So this time, I am making my own lifestyle rules as I go along and tracking food and results on My Calorie Counter. It is a free online food log that tracks calories and many other things as you enter them after they enter you! A little accountability to yourself never hurts.

So here are the rules I've come up with so far. I will add to them as I progress.

1. Gluten is the enemy! I'm not sure why but I woke up one morning about 3 weeks ago with that phrase in my head. So I am going to try it since God sometimes communicates with me that way. One thing is for certain. It cuts out a lot of bread and desserts. No one ever said this was easy.
2. Never eat in the car. A little habit of mine that I am sure adds a significant number of calories to the day. I think I will keep a supply of chewing gum in there.
3. Never eat while watching television. Another bad habit. It occurred to me that food addiction is a lot like tobacco or alcohol in that there are certain habitual things that you do every day where you just subconciously reach for the food while you are doing them. Maybe changing those habits can have a positive impact.
4. Exercise 6 days per week. One day off for good behavior.

That's all I have so far. I've started my food journal and set up a weight loss tracking device (on this blog) for a visual reminder and (hopefully) encourager. I haven't decided how often to step on the scales yet but that will come.

More later.

Hebrew Roots

I have been reading and listening to a Christian author by the name of Skip Moen. PhD from Oxford, self-made millionaire who lost everything (material) in the blink of an eye, who seems to be committed to discovery of the meaning of scripture from the Hebrew perspective and world-view. I hadn't given it much thought before, but doesn't it make perfect sense? God chose the descendents of Abraham, molded them into a nation and used them throughout history to carry out His plan of restoration. They are still his chosen people and we Gentiles, by God's grace, are fortunate to have been grafted into that people. I have often wondered why we pay so little attention to our Hebrew roots when we are adopted into that nation. Dr. Moen's work is beginning to shed some light on that question and many others.

In a nutshell, Moen contends that post-modern Christians, influenced by the invasion of a Greek-based world view and perspective, behave as though the Torah, God's instruction book for life, only applies to the Jewish people, not to Christians. Jesus, Himself said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He and, with very few exceptions, the writers of scripture (old and new testament)were Torah observant Jews. Why, all of a sudden, does it not apply to us anymore when the One we want to be like, followed the Torah in obedience to the Father? Did God change? It really has nothing to do with salvation and never did. Salvation comes from Grace and Grace alone through our faith in the One who died in our places. So Grace determines my salvation but grateful obedience determines my usefulness to God in accomplishing His purposes.

It occurred to me that accepting God's grace and then ignoring His intructions about how to live would be like the man who, through unrighteous and foolish living, found himself completely destitute and owing $1,000,000. Then one day, he meets a man who shows compassion on him by paying 100% of his debt. In the process, it cost the second man everything he had. The two met afterward and the compassionate man outlined detailed instructions for living a financially wise life from this point forward. He even wrote them down for the first man to take with him. The man whose debt was paid listened to every word, nodding in agreement, then turned around, walked away and completely ignored the advice. Within a short time, the man was back in debt, wondering how it could have happened to him again.

I wonder what would have happened if he had followed the advice out of gratitude for what was done on his behalf. Do you think things might have turned out differently?

I wonder if we Christians should re-visit the instructions that our Savior left for us?

Fun at South Beach

Oh me! I tipped the scales at 233 last week and had to report to the cardiologist, Dr. Barry Ramo for my annual dressing down. He was happy with my cholesterol which dropped from 235 to 183 after taking Red Yeast Rice for a few months. BUT not so happy with my weight. He handed me an article that he had written about "metabolic syndrome" of which he says I am a card carrying member. The article had the title at the top, then Dr. Ramo's name and right under that was a black and white picture of a naked fat man, sitting on his haunches on the floor. I said, "Great! Where the heck did you get that picture of me?" Later, I said, "If I were you, I'm not sure I would put my name right above that picture!" He laughed and said, "Yeah, its not on the newer copies." Anyway, he went on to tell me that the next stop is Diabetesville and "you don't want to go there". Apparently, the only way back to Healthy City is through South Beach. So, I went immediately to the book store to purchase the latest version of the book, South Beach on Steroids or something like that and started reading. I discovered that the first two weeks takes away all grains (bread), starches, fruit and sugar. Crap! That's about all I eat! So, with my birthday coming up on the next Sunday, and thinking about how great that German Chocolate Pound Cake with cool whip and strawberries was going to taste, I made the decision to start South Beach on Monday. I was right. It did taste good. It's day 2 and so far I've managed to stay with it, spending a small fortune at the grocery store to stock up on things I can eat, then having to cook the receipes recommended in the book, all while staring at the leftover cake on the cabinet in a glass cake holder! Oh, the inhumanity. I think you lose some weight from chopping vegetables and slaving over a hot stove. I'll have to admit the food is not all that bad, pretty good actually and when I stepped on the scales this morning, I had lost 4 lbs! In one day!? At this rate, I should weigh about 110 by the end of the summer. Amy, my beautiful, skinny daughter said, "That'll be great. We can wear each others clothes." Oh me!