fit friday

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My allergies might be out of control...or I have a continual respiratory infection (but I've done the antibiotic run)  - so after this weekend it's back to hard core diet stuff.

There are many facets to health and fitness, some are spiritual.  Is Christ honored in my body?  Keep that in the front of my mind...

 

This recipe wins out as a favorite - easy, healthy and (except for the rice) pretty paleo.  (This is a photo I took myself, no staging, etc.  So this is what "my version" looked like.)

lighterorangechicken

 

 

 

* Exported from MasterCook *

LIGHTER ORANGE CHICKEN

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 4     Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    :

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
3              large  boneless skinless chicken breasts -- pounded to 3/4 inch thickness and cut into bite sized pieces + salt & pepper to taste
1/2           cup  orange juice
1         tablespoon  orange zest
3        tablespoons  soy sauce
3        tablespoons  honey
2        tablespoons  rice vinegar -- (may sub white vinegar)
1/2      teaspoon  crushed red pepper flakes
2          teaspoons  minced garlic
1         tablespoon  cornstarch -- mixed with 1 T water and whisked until dissolved
1/4           cup  green onion -- sliced
1         tablespoon  sesame seeds
3               cups  cooked white rice

Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Spray a large pan or non stick skillet generously with cooking spray. Cook chicken 5-6 minutes, stirring through out for even cooking, until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a paper-towel lined bowl. Drain and wipe out the pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together orange juice and zest, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper flacked, and garlic. Add mixture to pan and bring to a slight boil. Add water-corn starch mixture and stir until thickened. Add chicken and stir to coat.

Serve chicken with cooked rice and garnish with optional sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 471 Calories; 4g Fat (7.4% calories from fat); 46g Protein; 60g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 103mg Cholesterol; 892mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

• 2 Comments

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It's interesting how my mind goes about "weight loss" and fitness.

If my goal is weight loss, it becomes about what my body owes me.  If I do the right things, eat the right things, my body owes me weight loss.

But there's a problem with that thinking (with me, anyway) when I also deal with hidden thyroid problems, PCOS, insulin resistance.  My body is not for me, it's against me in this goal.

There's a subtle change in my eating and exercise habits when my thoughts shift from what my body owes me (which leads to frustration = temptation => consumption) to what I owe God with my body.

When eating and exercising right becomes about worshiping Christ with the body that He purchased on the cross,  it becomes a positive act of worship, rather than an act of deprivation or hardship.

Next week I'm heading to California, where I'll have the opportunity to hike in one of my favorite places.  As I hike, for the first time in a while, it will be in my mind that taking care of  my health is my reasonable act of worship.

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I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1 ESV

This verse connects the body and spirit.  Presenting the physical is the spiritual act.  In mistreating my body, I am abusing worship.

Thinking this way changes the way I think about eating.  Is what I'm putting in my mouth right now, "right worship?"

That's a big responsibility - it puts eating wrongly in the category of "sin," by worshiping wrongly with my body.

The daily reading for yesterday in "Everyday Prayers" was about serving God, not man.  The author applied it to service, I applied it to my eating.  And it hit me in a good (effective) place.

Oh, the hope this gives me— the invigorating, liberating, consecrating hope this generates as I begin my day. It’s why this admonition from Paul feels more like a kiss than a kick today. I want to work more heartily at all things because of your finished work on the cross, your present work in the world, and your future work in the new heaven and new earth. Even in eternity you will shepherd us and lead us to springs of living water (Rev. 7: 17). No one will ever outserve you, Jesus.

Therefore, here’s my cry: continue to free me from doing anything for the approval of people, out of the fear of people, or to gain power over people. I work for you, Lord Jesus, not for mere men.

A frustration at work can equal "stress eating" - am I eating for the Lord, or am I eating for that co-worker?

I'm working toward a goal for my wedding.  Am I eating for God?  or for that wedding dress?  Oh...the wedding dress is a good goal!  And it's not as if we're not to have goals for this world.  But eating for the dress, to the exclusion of eating for God...is putting worship in the wrong place.I can "tag" eating as both worship, and dress.  Both apply, both work, both are good.  but in the "word cloud" in my brain, with word is largest?
And I will fail at this!  Over and over, I will fail.  But along with this failure is hope, because even the failure reminds me of the gospel. If I work/eat for God, it's because of Christ's work on the cross.

How I praise you, Jesus, that the gospel is the end of any sense of a wage-earning relationship with God. I work for you because you first worked for me. (What a humbling, staggering, and astonishing truth!) I serve you because you ever live to serve me, as my advocate and intercessor. Indeed, I love you because you first loved me and gave yourself as a propitiation for my sins. You are always first and last— the Alpha and the Omega. I’ll receive an inheritance only because of your work, not mine. And should I receive any rewards or crowns, they will be thrown at your feet, giving credit where credit is due. I pray in your quintessentially glorious name. Amen. ~~Everyday Prayers, March 20

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How do these work together?

I started "The Daniel Plan" by Rick Warren (and others) - yeah, yeah...same old, same old.  But as something to work through, there might be some meat there.

Consider the introduction of the book.

Stewardship.  Stewardship over my body.

Friends, I’ve been a poor steward of my health and a terrible example for you. While we’ve been helping many around the world, I’ve ignored the problem here at home.

So today I am publicly repenting, and I ask for your forgiveness! God expects us to take care of the bodies he has given us, but I have not done that. Now, I’ve only gained two to three pounds a year, but I have been your pastor for thirty years. So I need to lose ninety pounds! Do any of you want to join me in getting healthy?

Committing to giving my body to God first, is a way of putting the physical focus on Him, away from me.

Yet, in this season of Lent, of preparation, of looking forward in time to the work of Christ on the cross...it seems like a good time to start this way of thinking about health.

My body is not my own, it was purchased by Jesus, with His blood.

Today we make the same common mistake Greek philosophers did thousands of years ago. Aristotle, Socrates , and Plato believed in dualism, 4 which included the idea that your mind (or spirit) is important, but your body isn’t important spiritually. They devalued the body. In fact, some Greek philosophers taught that your body is evil, so it really didn’t matter if you messed it up.

The Bible tells us the exact opposite. Your body is holy because God made it, and everything God makes has a purpose. We are to bring glory to God with our bodies, so we can’t compartmentalize our lives and think that we can divorce our bodies and live as if only our spirit matters. God owns your body!

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Interesting week, in which I discovered a couple of things.

I'm working the detox and discovery part of "The Plan" and 2 things:

When you're in the discovery phase, you can plan to lose 1/2 pound a day (if you're sticking to the plan.) If you find a food that **you** are reactive to, you can bump up a pound.

Almonds (which are non-reactive for most) apparently give me a horrendous sweet tooth - and cause me to bump up a pound (although whether from the almonds or from the falling to forementioned sweet tooth, I'm not sure)

white bread - makes me feel icky and bloated and gives me insomnia leaves me to think (because of the 1/2 pound weight loss) that I'm not **reactive** but am sensitive to gluten.

Go figure.

• 1 Comment

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Purpose of the post: diet, exercise, injury

It was such a sucky diet week I didn't even weigh myself. I purchased the book "The Plan" and I'm shopping tonight for the 3 day detox. They say the "cranky stage" of detox last about 3 days and this is a 3-day weekend so hopefully I'll be good on it.

Sometimes it has felt like the healthier I eat, the harder it is to lose weight and if this book is right, it explains a lot. I'll try anything once...

This week I took about 3 short walks and none of them set off major achilles pain so that's good. The weather hasn't been very encouraging for walking outdoors, but I did take a group of students for a walk in the woods on a sunny day. One of them had surgery on her foot over Thanksgiving and is just now back at school (she's vision impaired and using a white cane; using that and crutches at the same time is...impossible so she was at home) - anyway, her good leg is about 30% larger than the one she hasn't been using (hopping and crutches at home where she knows her environment) so we want to get her up to speed and that means walk, walk, walk. Today we're going into the community and we're planning a shopping trip and I'd like to get about 3 geocaches in the Hobby Lobby area. 😉

My vicodin intake is less than it has been so I'm happy about that. At the worst of this I was taking 6 vicodin a day and I'm taking about 2 1/2 a day now (the lowest dose, 5mg.)

On the sciatica front, I haven't noticed major tingling so hopefully that means that piriformis swelling is getting a little better, although I feel like I'm chasing the pain down my leg. The main point of "big pain" remains on the outside point of my hip, with "pulling pain" at my tailbone. That pressure sets off my hamstring, which is tight as a drum, according to my massage therapist, and that (in turn) pulls on my Achilles' tendon.

I spend a major portion of my time at home leaning against my bad. (explanation: I have a tall bed with storage underneath and it's just the right height for me to put a couple pillows under my top half and stretch my hamstring and Achilles' tendon for my bottom half)

So I hit the three points and hopefully next week is better all around

• 2 Comments

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yucky diet week; I really have to get on this bandwagon. I lost .3 pounds (but that was after coffee)

On the other hand, I did walk twice this week - a good thing since my pain started for real.

It's going to be a nice weekend and I may try a (very) short bike ride. Last weekend I tried to climb (think walk on a steep incline) up a rock and discovered that since my sciatic nerve has been impinged, I don't have a lot of "ground feel" in my right foot. So I didn't want to be on slippery sand stone. But that also makes me a little timid about bike riding and my little walk yesterday made me realize how much stamina I've lost over the last months of pain.

Sooo...not a great week, but not a bad one either.

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New diet app for iThings

MyNetDiary rocks.  It's good for food tracking on the iPad - the iPhone app (they are different) lets you scan a barcode to enter nutritional info.  Things I would change:

  • stop telling me in red letters that my plan doesn't call for enough grams of carbohydrate.
  • integrate mapmyfitness.

that's pretty much it.

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Recipe of the week:  another keeper.  Note - next time way more cardamom and a little more turmeric.
* Exported from MasterCook *

Slow Cooker Beef Rogan Josh - indian

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 4     Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    :

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
1              pound  round steak -- cubed
1                     onion -- diced
4                     garlic cloves -- minced
2        tablespoons  cumin
2        tablespoons  coriander
1         tablespoon  turmeric
2          teaspoons  cardamom
2          teaspoons  minced fresh ginger
2          teaspoons  chili powder
28            ounces  crushed tomatoes
1                cup  yogurt

In a nonstick skillet, saute the beef, onion, and garlic until just browned. Drain off any excess fat. Place into a 4-quart slow cooker.   Add the spices and crushed tomatoes. Cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in the yogurt prior to serving.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 358 Calories; 17g Fat (42.4% calories from fat); 29g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 75mg Cholesterol; 367mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 3 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

• 4 Comments

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How to Destroy a Culture in 5 Easy Steps

This seems to work in both politics and religion...

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On the "dominionism" paranoia (or worse)

from patheos...

Schaeffer condemned theocracy and found civil disobedience frightening?  OMG, that's crazy!!  Lizza and Knight need to realize that they are the ones on the crazy train, not Michele Bachmann.  It certainly is crazy what drinking that liberal Kool-aid does to the human mind.

GetReligion:

Another dual category - history and religion (but I haven't read this article yet)

Four Myths About the Crusades

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Do you think liberals will EVER care about "fast and furious"?

More...

Screw Up, Then Cover Up...

and more...

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A new word:  theophobe.

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heh...WaPo (via NeoNeocon)

The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago.

From NeoNeocon

I suggest the following new and evolving nomenclature to further the cause (we already know about the one that goes “white conservatives: racists”):

thieves: undocumented owners

prisoners: unpardoned innocents

rapists: unsanctioned sex partners

embezzlers: unpaid workers

prostitutes: unmarried wives

terrorists: un-uniformed soldiers

I’m sure there are others you can add to the list.

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No prayers at ground zero.