Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Changing Our Minds + Pizza Hummus

I believe, that a major step in leading a healthy lifestyle is getting our mind and thoughts right. What I mean is, I was (and sometimes still am, if I'm not careful), an avid black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinker. When you have this mindset, you've automatically set yourself up for failure.

Think about this... you're at the office and you've brought your lunch. You've eaten your lunch and you feel on top of the world, when a co-worker comes into your office and offers you a donut. If you're like me, it's pretty hard to pass up a donut, so you eat it. And here enters the mindset that leads to failure. See, eating the donut itself has not led you to failure...its what happens next. You know what I'm talking about. "Well, there goes my 100% perfect diet. I may as well just have 2 donuts. You know what? It's not worth going to gym now either. I think I'll just grab a pizza for dinner and sit on my couch, while I watch tv. I'll try again tomorrow." See? Failure.

Instead, what if your thought was this: "Mmm, well that donut was delicious! And totally worth every bite! Looking forward to the gym tonight and reaching my goal. And I can't wait to make that mouth-watering healthy recipe that I found on Pinterest for dinner!" See? Not failure.

So, how do we get our thoughts to go from example A to example B?

Well, I'm not going to lie. It's going to be tough. But, it IS doable! The secret? Jesus Christ.

I have failed every time I've tried to change my behavior or thought patterns on my own, unless I'm working with a professional Christian psychologist. Or unless I'm simply praying and asking for God's help.

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:23-24, "...and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."

We need God's help in renewing our mind, so we can be created new in His likeness. And Jesus was able to fight off temptations! (see: Matthew 4:2-4)

So, if you're tired of trying to change your ways on your own and you have no strength left. Why not give Jesus a try?

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Today was a blast!

First, I revisited my "Why" list for some inspiration. If you haven't created your own Why list yet, I highly encourage you to do so. And I highly encourage you to make sure "look good" or anything like it, should NOT be on your list!

Then, my girls and I headed to the YMCA. Today's challenge on TIU's Love Your Body series was to do a 45-minute interval treadmill routine. It kicked my butt! I ended up walking most of it, but I still managed to go 3.3 miles in 45 minutes! Not bad for having not run in quite some time. After the run, I did the Shoulders & Arms routine from P90X and did a version of the P90X Ab Ripper routine, too. I was dead tired by the end. And my exercise-induced asthma was going haywire. But, I made it through and was sooo excited about it! I can't wait to get to the gym and workout again tomorrow!

For breakfast, I had my usual shake mixed with black coffee, but couldn't finish it. I didn't have much of an appetite and didn't want to feel like I was going to hurl during my workout.

For lunch, I just threw together a MIAG with strawberries, kale, mixed veggies, almond milk, hemp seeds and a little bit of stevia.

Snack was cut up celery dipped in Katie's Melty Pizza Hummus. Yum!

I was craving warm comfort food for dinner, so I made up another batch of Angela's Gingerbread Pumpkin Vegan Oats, with just a few changes (mentioned below).
*sub: Raw Yacon Syrup for Blackstrap Molasses
*sub: Raw Coconut Nectar for Maple Syrup

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Don't forget to visit my Facebook page to let me know what your goals are for tomorrow!