Category: Health & Fitness

Don’t Squat in the Rise!

We watched as the mountain of chocolate slowly began to rise. This was going to be the Best. Cake. Ever! Then what to our wondering eyes did happen? Our cake started sinking and was suddenly mishapen!

There are several reasons why cakes squat in the rise. But, why, here on the pages of this health & fitness, overcoming in life blog are we talking about cake?!

Because, I have discovered, there’s an interesting analogy between life and cake. They both are made up of many ingredients and can be quite sweet, but they can also fall flat and be a quite a disappointment.

A quick Google search provides 7 reasons why cakes squat in the rise:

  1. Baking too slowly
  2. Over-mixing or under-mixing the batter
  3. Under-baking
  4. Batter is too moist or too dry
  5. Cake is moved during the baking process
  6. The oven door is opened during the baking process
  7. Too much baking powder or baking soda

We’ll start our analogy with the baking too slowly  proposition.  According to the website Cilantro: The Cook’s Shop if the oven temperature is too low or there has not been the proper pre-heating time, a cake will fall.

Likewise, in life, if we jump into everything that is going without any forethought (pre-heating), our life will begin to fall apart. God never intended for us to try and run in 50 directions at a time.

We stick that thing in the oven and take off! Someone gets something new; we want one too. Someone starts a new diet; we’ll try that one too! (never mind that we didn’t finish the first program we started). Their kid just got a new….; gotta get mine one too!  SQUIRREL!!!

There’s no preheating, thus our life does not cook evenly; it’ll be hard around the edges, sunken in the middle, and full of cracks. When the oven is not pre-heated correctly, the process starts at the wrong temperature and things don’t gel as they should. Our decisions need a pre-heating time, or in the words of the scriptures, we should consider the cost; think about it.

Before you buy that new thing, start that new fad diet, or join this or that, W.A.I.T.  Here’s three helpful things to do to pre-heat your next great idea:

  1. Sleep on it! If it’s a purchase, leave the store or change the channel. Seriously tell yourself that, tomorrow, if the need/desire is still there as strongly as it was, then you’ll reconsider. Most likely, it won’t be.
  2. Ask questions.  If it’s a new “diet” ask yourself some real questions. Why have the other diets failed? More than likely it’s because they are not realistic or sustainable, or worse, totally not good for you. Ask yourself: Is this something I can do forever? A real lifestyle change?  If not, it’s a fad. If, however, it is healthy, not unrealistically restrictive, promise drastic results in a few days, you see others maintaining long term, and you’re ready to commit, go for it.
  3. Talk it through with a trusted friend.  Have them go with you to the store; tell them about your idea. Proverbs 15:22 says plans fail for lack of counsel. If they are for you, they’ll tell you the truth. Naturally, weigh their opinion with prayer.

Ordinarily Speaking…

“When’s it going to happen for me?!”

It’s easy to get discouraged when things don’t happen the way we wanted them to or as fast as we wanted. Social media shows us everyone’s success, their vacations, their friendships, the new…whatever, and often it seems that our ordinary, little life just doesn’t stack up.

I posit that, if you are doing what you do, no matter how ordinary it seemingly is or unnoticed though it may be, if you are doing it with your whole heart as unto the Lord and not unto man, being faithful in the small things, then it IS “happening for you.” See Matthew 25

Check this out from a devotional on YouVersion:  “God isn’t asking you to be famous; God’s asking you to be faithful…BEFORE any great acts, AFTER any great acts, or WITHOUT any great acts… Faithfulness is a marathon not a sprint” (The Blessing of the Ordinary Devotional).

What may seem ordinary to us can become extra-ordinary when we recognize Who it is we are “working” for.  There’s a destination better than Cabo San Lucas, better than Puerto Vallarta, better than _____ fill in the blank.  Be faithful in the little (ordinary) things, and you WILL be ruler over much.

How can you be more faithful today, right where you are in that thing you do called life?

Feel free to comment. Sometimes just putting it out there helps. I will respond.

Living Life to the Fullest: Step Two

Step Two: Take Care of You

(Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven)

Where is “taking care of you” in the Lord’s Prayer, you may ask. When praying for God’s will to be done – the next part of the prayer – we should first pray for his will to be done in our own lives. Isn’t that kind of selfish, you may ask again?

Consider this: if our own lives are out of whack, how then can we help others?  For 30 years I have followed the Lord’s Prayer in my prayer time, first taking time to thank him and recognize his goodness in my life. Then, I pray for his will to be done in my life – to fix me – to forgive me – because, if I have something wrong in my life, whether it be with another person or between me and God, we are directed in scripture to first make that right, then He will hear us and we can proceed with confidence.

Therefore, give yourself permission to take care of you daily on your journey to living life to the fullest. For instance, every day take time for you in two areas in particular: your mind/spirit and body.

  • Every day we need to be doing some sort of personal development: reading books (or listening to them) on a topic in which you need improvement. Start with Darren Hardy’s Compound Effect. Don’t be thrown by the title; it’s not a financial book. It examines the compound effect of the little things we do in life daily and their “compound effect” over time. This is my all-time favorite. My next favorite is Punch Fear in the Face by Jon Acuff. If these books don’t stir you, you spoon has fallen out of your bowl.
  • Every day do something for your physical body. Stretch, walk, swim, workout. A friend of mine was battling an arthritis flare that lasted 3 months and she could barely walk. She joined one of my online challenge groups in which I sent one exercise per day via our Facebook private group. She could not get out of bed or off the couch at times, but she moved her arms in the manner of the video, or she would move her legs in repetition, and she would bend forward at her waist. When I lived in Texas, it would be so hot there was no way I was going to go run outside. Instead, I set the timer for 10 minutes and trotted all around my house doing a figure 8 as I jogged to the front of the house, into the office, back out and around the bar in the kitchen. Sometimes I’d jog up the stairs and in and out of the rooms! (this was before I discovered 10 Minute Trainer) Do what you can, where you are, but do something for your body. My mentor, Darren Hardy says:
  • Your body is a business. Take care of it or it will go out of business.
  • Today, remove one unhealthy thing from your kitchen. Throw it away and decide what one healthy thing you can replace it with. For instance, Oreo cookies. Yes, give yourself permission to toss them! It’s the best 3 bucks you have ever wasted, and don’t give them to the grandkids; remember, you’re taking care of you so you can take care of others – set the example. Replace them with a bag of dark chocolate morsels, and when the urge for chocolate occurs, grab a few of these instead. Do this once a week for a month, tossing a different unhealthy thing each week. For more healthy alternatives, go to my website: vickielperez.com and click on Fitness Coach.

ACTION:  1. Decide on a personal development book you will start today. Google it or browse on your favorite E-reader to find one. Start with the ones listed above if you are unsure. Write the title here (if you are already reading one, list it here as well) ____________________________________________________  (Comment to me what it is!)

  1. Decide right now what you will do for your body. Will you “trot around your house?” Will you sit on your couch and move your arms and legs if that is all you are able to do? Will you start a workout program? Write what you will do here:

___________________________________________________________________ (Need help deciding what to do? Let me know!)

  1. Get up, yes now, and go look in your cabinet and find one thing that is bad for you and toss it! Write what you tossed here ______________________________________ and what you will replace it with here ________________________________.

Faith Friday

A paraphrased quote from Darrin Hardy, motivational mentor and speaker, relates the idea that simply consuming more content is not the goal; instead, growth is the goal.

For instance, do you really need to read another fitness article? Another clean eating article? How many healthy eating ideas and exercise clips can you share or repost on Facebook?  Yes, reading all these things is good, but if “growth is the goal” then there comes a time to stop “consuming more content” and get to work. Right?

It’s the same with faith. Yes, reading and hearing the Word is how faith is “consumed,” but the spiritual growth is in the doing. James 2:17 says, “So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead.” Yes, reading the Bible is good, nay, absolutely necessary! But, if we are hearers only and not doers of the word, then according to James 1:22, we are deceiving ourselves. Our religion is dead.

Question:

What will you do? Continue reading and reposting, or will you rise up and grow?

Action:

Right now, do something with eternal rewards: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help the orphans.

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Indecision Is Paralyzing

Often, Lola will start to go up the stairs, but then she stops midway. Fear? (she’s fallen before) Confusion? (can’t make up her mind if she wants to go upstairs where Daddy is or downstairs where Mommy is) Weakness? (poms are known for weak legs and knees) Doubt? (not knowing if it is worth the effort – she’s been disappointed before)

Sometimes she will whimper, turn precariously around on the step, then simply sit down on the step as seen in this photo. She won’t go up or down. If it happens during the night, she will cry until I come and get her.

Watching her this morning, the thought of indecision and how it can paralyze came to mind. Even the scripture says, “why halt ye between two opinions (decisions)? If God is God, serve him.”

When there’s not a plan, time is frittered away.
When there’s no vision, life is stagnated.

Lola finally came back down the stairs this time. Likewise, indecision will never take us higher. It will only bring us down.

Over the next few days we’ll look at four things that make us indecisive and paralyze our progress.

Decide. Begin. Believe.

The Continual Prodigal

It ain’t over till it’s over! You can turn it around!

Most have heard the phrase “the prodigal son returns.”  Sometimes it seems that is my story over and over again; I’ve set my goals, planned the work, and am working the plan, then BOOM. Something happens, and it is not always a bad something. In fact, it is often a good something: a night out with the girls, a weekend retreat with co-workers, a family reunion. Then my plan gets put on hold and it is Katy-bar-the-door and it is party time. And, while I do keep my goals in mind, I seem to over indulge from time to time…

So, come Monday (it’ll be alright – come Monday, I’ll be holding you tight… sorry, old Merle Haggard song popped into my mind…) But, seriously, come Monday, I return to my father, aka, my plan – though sometimes, literally, to my Father when I’ve over-indulged to the point of sinful (and yes, I totally believe that is possible – all things in moderation…). Hence the title “The Continual Prodigal.”  I’m so thankful that God’s grace is able to reset me, to forgive me, to help me. Where would we be if we could not return home, right?

Likewise, we can return to our healthy lifestyle. I think some think, “well, I’ve blown it so, let’s just keep eating cake!” But that does not have to be the case. Phil and I have learned – tested and proven – that it is a simple thing to just get back on track. If you have a weekend of family, food, and fun, it’s just a weekend. Come Monday, put on your robe of right living (please don’t kill the fatted calf – that would simply not help your health at all!); instead, get back to your disciplined lifestyle.

This, my dear readers is the key. It is a LIFESTYLE, and NOT A DIET! People go off diets. Conversely, people enjoy their lifestyle and keep at it. As a person who has pretty much done what I please, eaten what I please, not done what I didn’t want to do (that was my lifestyle), I can now tell you that with some support and encouragement – people you know that will move you forward and not condemn you if you go backward – and with a doable plan, you CAN have a healthy lifestyle, have fun, and NOT STARVE.

In the past 3 months I’ve gone from a size 10 to a size 6.My husband has gone from a 36 to a 33. I have energy and breath to do things I want to do. Today, I not only mowed my yard, but I trimmed all the bushes with a hedge trimmer (thank you upper body strength) and while doing so, I purposefully tightened my abs which wasn’t too difficult because I had to in order to maneuver the trimmer) – then I edged the whole front yard, weed-eated, then cleaned up the whole mess. After which I had my Shakeology, blended with banana, strawberry, and blueberry SO GOOD! Then I went to the pool with a friend, came home and did the back yard – same thing.

You may say “goodie for you,” but this past weekend I had a reunion where I ate tortillas, beef tips in gravy, rice and beans and free margaritas. woke up Sunday to a Mexican breakfast – tortillas again, beef again, eggs and guacamole. And of course it was Father’s Day, so we went to The Angry Dog in Dallas for supper AT 8:00!! and had hamburgers (not turkey!), fries, fried pickles… etc… Thus, the prodigal daughter had to run back to the plan on Monday!

Here’s the thing. If you are looking for a way to live a normal life WITHOUT going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week (you can do it at home!) doing crazy crash diets, feeling like crap, then just check out Team Beachbody. I can help you stay on track. It’s not easy at first, getting into a routine, but it gets easier – for me, I noticed a huge change in two weeks. Depending on where you are, it may take less or a bit more, but you WILL see a difference all around in a month.  And what’s really cool, is there are so many plans to choose from. Me, I like quick and effective. That’s why my thing is the Ten Minute Trainer by Tony Horton. You might find that the 21 Day Fix is for you, or perhaps, PIYO, or P90X or a million other things (not really, but there is a lot). But, hey. It’s time. Stop eating the slop fed to the pigs and realize that the road home is there for you. No one is going to berate you, laugh at you, or turn you away. You can do this. You can be healthy. Don’t let the title Beachbody intimidate you. Not every one is going to be a swimsuit model. That is not the purpose, but you can have a “beachbody” one that CAN wear a swimsuit – maybe not a bikini – but then… maybe so!  Everyone’s healthy body is different, and that is great.

So here we go. Come home to good health. Come home to being positive. Come home to the Father if need be. We’ve all squandered our lives at one time or another. Leave it behind. Start over. You can, you know.

Check it out: beachbodycoach.com/suddenfit.  consider becoming a member for free and get on the team. Then, consider becoming a premium member and stream workouts in the comfort of your own home – or hotel – or cabin… wherever there is internet.

Talk Later,

Vickie…

It’s Definitely Doable

Workouts as a part of life…

I do not believe in the Theory of Evolution, but I believe that we are all evolving – not that we will one day become a fish or a butterfly literally – but that we are changing. I look back even 10 years, and I see so much change in myself that it freaks me out sometimes and makes me wonder if I even know myself. I’ve always been so confident. I’m still confident, but the things that I knew that I knew that I knew 10 years ago – well, now I know that I know…differently.  How can this be?

Perhaps the biggest difference is my attitude toward fitness. Most of my life I was simply fit, and it seemed no matter what I did – or didn’t do – or ate – or didn’t  – nothing changed… until it did.  I have always said, If I get fat, I’ll just get fat because I’m eating what I want. Then, when I looked in the mirror, I changed my mind. My son was getting married and I wanted to look cute, so I had to do something. My confident nature kicked in, and I did just that; I did something.

Before you say, “Here she goes on that health kick stuff” let me just say, I’ve tried the different “health kicks” and did without this, ate only that, drank this, walked 2 miles, etc. etc.  I will be the first to say, it was gung ho for a couple of weeks – a month perhaps, and then, ffft. Ain’t nobody got time for this!  I couldn’t stay satisfied and I simply don’t have time to walk two miles, or go to the gym or whatever! It was not sustainable and I flat didn’t like it.  It is my nature that, if I don’t like it, I’m not doing it. I’m not getting up at the crack of dawn to exercise – I hate mornings. I’m not shopping at the expensive whole food stores that are miles away, then cutting and chopping and throwing away vegetables and fruit that do not get eaten.

So the fact that I was able to get cute before the wedding, had to buy new clothes that fit my new body – including new bras because I shrank there too, and new underwear because my old ones were falling off – and the fact that I’m not starving or craving “something” all the time, tells you that I have discovered something that is sustainable. Something that does not require getting up at the crack of dawn, cutting, chopping, wasting, blah, blah, blah. Something that I can do for the rest of my life.

Wanna know what it is? And, I’m not getting paid to say this. What has worked for me is Tony Horton’s 10 Minute Trainer – you know, the guy who does the P90X and a host of other killer workouts. I have no desire to do 90 minutes, but I can do 10 minutes a day. I don’t have to cut and chop veges and fruit because everything I need is in the Shakeology. I’m not always hungry because I can eat normally – no abnormally mind you: rabbit food and nuts and berries – who wants to do that? Who does that! Rabbits. Of course I can’t eat fast food all the time, and/or crazy fatty stuff that will kill us anyway, but I follow his calorie counter chart, figure out the calories for my body, do my 10 minute workout daily, and live my life. Some days I do two workouts: One after I do my morning devotions, lay in the sun – you know, before I start my day, then another a few hours before I go to bed. Or… sometimes I’ll just do two in a row.

What is the coolest is that I really look forward to working out and doing my Shakeology every day. If I don’t, I feel blah. Even better, God willing, I will have grandchildren and be able to play with them, run in the park with them, and spoil them in the best kind of ways and NOT be one of those elderly people who have to have a motorized chair to cart me around with the bane of my conversations being about what’s wrong with me. I do not mean that arrogantly. I realize things happen and situations arise; may God’s grace prevail. Should such circumstances arise, it won’t be because I dug my grave with an unhealthy lifestyle.

I love the Beachbody mindset and lifestyle. There is something that will work for you too. Check it out. Try the On Demand and see what appeals to you. This may be all you need for a while because here you can sample many different workouts. You’ve got 10 minutes, right?

’til next time,

Vickie P…