STEP THREE- THE WHEN

Step 3- The When

The when is my achiles heel!
Moi! ex-compulsive, grazer, binger, emotional eater.
To make myself format into a WHEN was a wrestle.
Still is a wrestle.

Truth be told. There are times when we are convinced only food will make everything better.
And we want it better RIGHT NOW

But giving into the RIGHT NOW gives over your control

No, not right now.

You wait. That monster within waits.

You wait until you are awake in the morning.

Get up, watch the sunrise, gather your thoughts.... exhale and speak over your day.

Were not dashing to the fridge with our eyes half shut. No more of that.

It is the furthest from our first thoughts.

One big glass of lemon water and thoughts of thanks.

That is our morning.

So when do we eat during our day?

Rules of food combining~ 4 hours after protien, before a carb

3 hours after carb~ before a protien

1 hour after fruit

Never less than 2 hours before bed.

The bulk of my success (or failure) has hinged on these three steps. Where I eat, how I eat and when I eat.

When you keep yourself aware of this, the WHAT you eat is of less importance.

STEP 2 - THE HOW

Step 2~

Now that we have determined where we eat.
How about HOW we eat!!!

Yes, basic rules for how. Guaranteed to put the ky-bosh on compulsive munchies, grazing and unintelligent eating.

Intelligent! INTELLIGENT AND EXCELLENT!
Thats what we are and thats how we'll eat!


Chew, chew, chew, chew.... while you are sitting at the table, on your butt, with your fork and knife!
Yes, you sound like a train. But chew. Grandma use to say 100 times a bite.
Thats not bad advice. So CHEW
Dr Jessen says at least until the mouthful is completely liquefied.
Digestion begins in the mouth
Especially for the carbs.
So, NO MORE INHALING!

We chew. We give thanks, we sit, we taste and chew.
We let the digestive enzymes begin their glorious job so we don't have a rock in our belly in half an hour.

Then we rest. Between bites, we rest.

I actually need to make myself put the fork down and count to 10 otherwise I turn into a wild woman. Something similar to an anteater, with my face in my food slurping.

Is there someone at the table with you?
Then talk to them! (not with your mouth full!)
Engage! Listen to them.
The meal is not just about getting that plate licked clean the fastest!

Its an event!
An intelligent excellent event.

So we chew, we swallow, we wait....one, two, three, four (ughhhh... its too hard) five, six (you can do it, yes you can!) seven, (I'm not gonna make it.... I.... WANNA..... ) eight....(PIGOUT!!!!!!!) nine (hanging............) TEN!!!

YIPEE!!!! Another bite! Do you taste that?
Wowzie!
Have you ever tasted so many flavors so vibrantly before???

No company at dinner?
Thats ok too.

Pray! God is good company

STEP ONE- THE WHERE

STEP ONE~

Where do you eat?

At the table. On your butt. With a plate, knife and fork.

Not in the car. Not at the computer or in front of the TV.

Not on the run out the door.



This is where INTELLIGENCE & EXCELLENCE comes in....



You learn to enjoy the event of eating.



It is very purposed and deliberate.

Sit, give thanks, partake.

With inattentive eating your body does not digest properly.

You have no concept of how much or how fast you are eating, and guaranteed you will overeat

Realize how many people would love to have the privilege you are having at that moment.

Whether its a carrot or a Dorito, your food is a gift.

Take the time and allow yourself to be blessed by your meal.



The French diet has fascinated us North Americans immensely as of late.



How could a country eat such rich, decadent foods, but not suffer the health and obesity problems that we do.

Answer....Eating is an event for the French.



They set their tables, set a time, invest effort and love into the preparation of the meals, invite family and friends, and make meals a celebration.



An article where several french tourists were asked the most surprising thing they noticed about North Americans and their eating habits summed it up best....What was the most shocking observation from the french??




"I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY EAT IN THEIR CARS!!!! "

Tuesday August 19 2008

THE DREAM!!

EXCELLENCE...

What does that mean to Jo?

INTELLIGENCE....

EXCELLENCE & INTELLIGENCE

EATING WITH EXCELLENCE & INTELLIGENCE
(seeing as this is and eating blog...)


I've been attentive to the Olympics, not alot, but aware enough to be stirred.

Quite regularly an story or a person or just a dream will cross my path that will stir and encourage me. Remind me that there is indeed more.

I am more....
and only I hold the keys.

They are here, right in my grubby hands... and I hold them.
They have all been given to me.
The keys to life and death.

Life for Jo
Abundant full, complete life... nothing missing, nothing broken

Zoe life.

Michael Phelps the Olympian to watch, reminds us in his own words that he is not unique.
That we all can accomplish what we dream.

So what does Jo dream??

Well, maybe too much for this one little blog.
So we will try to keep it edible for context sake.

DISCLAIMER~~~

APPRECIATING THAT ANY NEW-COMER HERE WILL MOST LIKELY SEE ME AS SOME COMPLETELY FOOD-OBSESSED, SHALLOW INDIVIDUAL WHO IS COMPLETELY PREOCCUPIED WITH MY MOUTH, BELLY, DIGESTIVE TRACT, TOXINS, OR BOWELS....

REST ASSURED, I AM NOT....

I DO REALIZE THERE IS MORE OF IMPORTANCE IN MY WORLD THAN THAT.

BUT THIS IS MY FOOD JOURNEY BLOG.

THEREFORE I BLOG MY FOOD JOURNEY.

IT IS IN THIS JOURNEY THAT GOD SO OFTEN TEACHES ME OF THESE WEIGHTIER THINGS IN MY LIFE.

THE THINGS IN MY HEART AND SOUL THAT NEED TO BE UNCOVERED AND CHALLENGED.

A LIFE UNEXAMINED IS NOT A LIFE WORTH LIVING.

JESUS TAUGHT IN PARABLES THAT THE CROWDS WOULD UNDERSTAND.

THE HOLY SPIRIT, IN TURN, TEACHES ME THRU PARABLES THAT I UNDERSTAND.

THIS IS A FOOD JOURNEY BLOG... I BLOG MY FOOD JOURNEY

I AM A FOOD COACH... A COACH TRAINS YOU FOR EXCELLENCE.

A COACH MUST FIRST UNDERSTAND EXCELLENCE.

ITS MY PRAYER THIS QUALIFIES ME .

I dream of intelligence and integrity.
To the core. To my core.

I dream to preach what I already practice. So I can bring hope to you.

It is possible.

I want to control what I put in me with intelligence.
Knowing that what I sow is what I get.
I want the control.
It will not control me.

I want to see those monsters gone, you know the ones....

Do I dare say them out loud???
yes... I dare... because what is in the darkness must be brought into the light.

That pull that makes me want to eat when I'm not hungry.
That thing that makes me eat when I'm bored, sad, tired, lonely, broken.....
That pull that makes me eat till the point when I'm ill and then fight with the disappointment of another failure.
The thing that makes me do what I do not want to do, even when I know I suffer the consequences of it.

There is a path to become all that you can be.
I have some very clear glimpses of the steps I must take.
Not all of them, mind you, but some.

I want to know what its like to accomplish my goals.
To know I did it.

To know I took on the Goliath and , like David with God's strength, defeated him with an effortless blow.

I want to know what its like to put my life out there.
Completely vulnerable, in faith, for the whole world to watch what God will do.

What He will make of me.
For when I delight myself in Him, He gives me the desires of my heart.

Intelligence and excellence.

I know what I need to do. To get where I see myself.

I see myself strong, victorious and healthy.
I see myself able to make the changes and choices I know I should to get there.

I see myself thankful for all I have, all I eat, and free to enjoy.
At peace.

I am no longer my worst enemy, but my best friend.

I see my self strong.
Intelligence says.... get up, get moving, get working out.
There for I must.

I see myself healthy vibrant.
Intelligence says... you know what to put in your body to accomplish this...do it

Integrity says, there is no other way.
There are no short cuts.
There are no tomorrow starts.
What steps you do now determine where you will start from tomorrow.

Today I choose wisdom and control.

Today I choose intelligence and integrity.

Sunday August 10, 2008

Summer is more than half over. My 60+ day juice fast seems a thing of the distant past.
This fast was such a deeply private, long awaited goal for me. It was something I thought would profoundly change, and sculpt me.

Perhaps, in many ways, it did. By faith it did.
I am believing things were pulled out of my body, toxic, deadly things and that my body has begun a journey to rebuild.
I am believing that I have changed somehow intrinsically spiritually, that something has “shifted” but to be blunt, I don’t see it right now.

Life still seems par-the-course as it were.

I miss the fast. Everything was simpler then, clearer. And I do hope to do another. But I don’t know if now is the time.

It was almost to easy. Indeed, life was easy on the fast. And now here I sit. Appearingly, the same Jo.
So now what. This journey with food has not ended. It has become a profound tool from God for me. Opening up things in me that were once hidden from my sight. Things that go far beyond food.

Because honestly, life comes and soon it goes. There is more too it than an over anylitical relationship with my dinner plate.
But an unexamined life is not worth living.
And God in His brillance, has used this to show me, me. The good, the bad, the ugly.
Perhaps, that is not why I am done yet. This entire walk with my mouth and my belly goes far beyond calories and fat grams.
It is something that once controlled and stole from me. It held me in bondage. And now with prayer and the power of God, step by step, what was in darkness is being brought into the light.

So what path now, God?

A scrap of paper has floated around my house for months now, hap-hazardly scribbled on it a thought that I thought worth keeping.

“Eating with intelligence and excellence.”

A thought that has intrigued me.
Is there another way besides just stuffing things in your mouth at the refrigerator door, when I want to cry?

Intelligence and excellence….

I have devoted the past 6 years of my life, studying, learning, reading, absorbing all I could find about natural health.
I’m certain that could qualify as “intelligence”….

But what is excellence……

This, I believe is my next walk…

I need to discover and perfect with precision, my own personal excellence.

Because a life left unexamined is not a life worth living.

I will start by sharing some of my dreams…..