November 29, 2011

Good morning to all,

Hope everyone is weighing in daily.  I am steady, but still one pound away from my two pounds I gained by Friday.  Keepin it real - that one pound is coming off!   I only wanted coffee to drink yesterday, as it was so cold, and my water was way off.  I gotta get that water IN - it will pull that extra pound.  Do remember, fat that is burned will reconstitute AS FAT every 24 hours if not washed out of your body.  So, resist the urge not to weigh (it is your best accountability partner) and fight for that water.  These two elements alone are gonna cause us to do the victory dance on Jan. 1st.   :)

Here is a new recipe from Paulette: for those not doing sugar - agave nectar and honey are both listed as sugar sources in our HCG booklet.  But Paulette says these are TO DIE FOR!!!   I cannot wait to make them.   Remember, Jennie has a lot of recipes on my blog especially for Phase 2 people.   And, I will be sending out my Christmas recipe - German Chocolate Cake for all to try.   OMG - pinch 3 people.   Love you all, PK

PS - one of our fam, who has contributed links and recipes for the past several months, Bree, lost her mom this weekend.  Please pray for her and her family in the season.  We love you, Bree! 

ALMOND FLOUR BANANA MUFFINS

Summary: Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Low-Carb, Vegan option
Ingredients

Dry:
3 c. blanched almond flour (OR)

(1 c. Almond flour, 1 c. Flax seed, and 1 c. Oatmeal)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. sea salt
1 t. baking powder (aluminum-free)

Wet:
3 eggs (pastured, organic) for Vegan option see below (V)
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c. Xylitol (or honey or agave, etc.*)
1/4 c. coconut oil (or melted butter)
1 T. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2.  Grease** a 12-muffin tin (or 1 loaf pan)
3.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl
4.  Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl (in order listed)
5.  Add wet mixture to dry mixture
6.  Transfer to pan
7.  Bake muffins for about*** 20 – 25 minutes (or) bake a loaf for about 35 – 40 minutes
8.  Let cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes
9.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack

November 30, 2011

Hey gang,

Got all my water in yesterday, down .5 pound.  YEA!   Did want to tell you that if you are going to need drops for another round at the beginning of the year, please let me know now.  You know the mail service tends to run slow during this time.  :)   I want to place an order next week to be here by the end of the month.   If I don't here from you, I may not have your drops when you need them  (if you need them).   My husband and I are doing a round together to begin the New Year.  With that thought in mind, can you say he is "eating to his heart's content?"  It's funny - he is eating everything - EVERYTHING - as he plans to diet.  What is the net/net effect of that?  wink-wink   (However, I understand.  I lived there for 50 years)

Have any of you checked out Pinterest?  There are a couple of HCG recipes on there.  They look great!  Remember though as you check out recipes, some people do phase 2 differently than our books detail.  But some of the recipes looked really good.   As I look at recipes, most of them are in the dessert range and I know that calories are calories and sometimes we will choose the sweets and skip our veggies or fruit.  Not good long term.  Don't I sound like mommie?  :)   We need to always go back to protocol - lean proteins, fruits, veggies, and healthy fats.  Lots of water.  As my doctor told me - that is God's best plan for our bodies and yields the best results long term.

As we are talking about veggies, do you have a yummy veggie recipe to share?  If so, please let me know and I will pass it along to the fam.  I did see on Pinterest where they used three colored bell peppers (tops off and cored out), filled with dressing (maybe 3 types of Ranch), and used this in the center of a veggie tray.  I was thinking that for a christmas party we could use the red and green peppers and all red and green veggies on the tray.   YUM, huh?

Gotta run - time to read God's word and let it bring life to my soul.

Choose life and eat to live - PK

November 28, 2011

What a great morning to NOT have to go outside.  I was reading a little devotional for women this morning and the woman writing said when she was young her father would do an exercise with her where he would start a phrase and she would complete it.  One of her favorites was "A wise woman......." and she would say "has a servant's heart."   Now, I know we are not all women in this family, but I do know we could all rehearse statements that encourage and shape us.  For example, what if we were to train ourselves and our children to say, "Eating healthy........"   reply: "Is NOT an option."    OR   "Choose life........."   reply: "and eat to live."

Sometimes silly, little statements are just that to us: silly.   But we overcome by the blood of the LAMB and the WORD of our testimony.  I remember on January 1st of this year, while at my heaviest weight, I started writing sticky notes and asking myself for days, "What does a size 10 feel like?"  I wrote that in 10 different places.  I had no clue what I was to do, how to start, what was the plan????   I was in prison.  However, GOD KNEW.  And the more I confessed, the more action my SOUL began to take.  Three weeks later, Chip and I made the determination to do HCG and the rest is not just history - but VICTORY.

All of us wage war in our minds - that's where the battle is.  However - I couldn't just ask myself about a size 10 - I HAD TO believe, confess, confess again, bring my thoughts under subjection, remind my flesh - "you're not the boss of me," determine that cheating was not an option (BIGGEST BATTLE RIGHT THERE - one little bite can't hurt), fight and claw my way to a place of touching truth and gaining my freedom.  My desire to be out of prison had to strike my undisciplined life with such force that something changed.  What changed - my mind.   My will to fight.  My perspective that my children and grandchildren were being affected by my obesity. My joy - etc. etc. etc............

Can ONE statement really bring freedom?  YES!   "I believe that you are the Christ, the son of the LIVING God" is ONE statement that brings salvation to mankind.  

"Choose life and eat to live........." is ONE statement, but if we understand that eating is a choice - our choice - and that eating correctly gives us life - there is power in that ONE statement.   When you are tempted to cheat, say out loud "I choose life!"

Eating on protocol today because I CHOSE TO.   :)      PK

November 26, 2011

Well, well.  I made it through my first Thanksgiving SUGAR AND STARCH free.  I did, however, eat more than I normally do AND drank more coffee with a coconut la'creme (HCG) I made AND consumed much less water = I am up two pounds.  BUT - all healthy.  Back on protocol and watching the scale head down now.  :)  

It was amazing to me that my family responded so well to the HCG foods I prepared, they asked that next year we only do a few "real" things.  wink-wink.   I was very full, more than normal, because I ate my regular food AND 2 types of desserts (pumpkin-pecan spice cake and German chocolate cake - both HCG) and then another piece Thursday night - so I was totally over the edge on the dessert realm.  :)   I was proud that I was able to refrain from my favorite pumpkin gooey cake (Paula Dean) that my sister-in-law makes.  That was not necessarily easy, but added to the victory chant that evening.  I did have to remind everyone that while my dishes were sugar free and starch free, they were definitely not calorie free.  All and all - I can honestly say it was amazing to KNOW I scored a victory and my family is now willing to do it again.   YEA!!   The Sconyers family passed the test.

How about everyone else?  I talked to one fam member on Thursday night who did great also.   YEA!  My disappointment was NO movie to see that evening.  But I enjoyed a quiet evening with my husband.  :)

Halloween - CK, Thanksgiving - CK, Christmas SEASON - CK by faith.  :)

Remember as you are venturing out and grabbing those drinks from Starbucks, even the skinny ones, they are loaded with sugar.  I checked on Thursday evening when grabbing a cup of coffee with the girls - loaded.   The sugar free syrups have a lot of aspartame.  Always have your truvia or Splenda packet ready and be willing to ask.   :)

I am off to a day with my family again - keep looking at everything - and enjoying your health walk.  Isn't this the funniest journey ever?  Glad to be doing it with YOU.

Choose life and eat to live - PK

November 23, 2011

Hey and good morning - BEST morning ever - coffee, fire, my niece Heather and daughter Teree sitting close.  What a blessed girl am I.  Weight still stable - yea!

Not blogging today, tomorrow, or Friday - visiting with family and cooking.   Shopping today - blog on Saturday again.  LOVE to you all!   

Happy Thanksgiving - praying BIG for all of us to have a victory story!

CHOOSE LIFE!   

EAT TO LIVE - PK

November 22, 2011

Good morning all,

Preparing to go have my blood drawn and evaluated, so I cannot have my morning coffee.  YUCK!   I am going first thing this morning to the doctor and I plan to make a pot as soon as I return.  :)    I am a little nervous as I got such a great report last time - feel a little pressure for that to happen again.  :)   But, I do know I am eating well and everything should be fine!

I was glad to hear from several of you who are cooking regular and HCG meal choices this Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to see how I feel in the late evening when I am usually stuffed, tired, cranky and really feeling badly due to eating for 12 hours straight.  I am a picker - I stir and taste, cut and pick, pick, pick, pick.  I never really determined how many calories are in "picking," but I would imagine it's a lot.  wink 

If I sent you the stuffing recipe, cut the chicken stock back by half.  It made a much better dressing with less chicken broth, and boy was it good.  You don't want the dressing soupy as it goes into the oven.  I started my cooking journey last night by making a cranberry relish - whole cranberries from the bag (1 large bag - I think 2 pound), 7-8 cuties (baby orange/tangerine things) skin peeled but not sectioned out, 3 honey crisp apples, the juice of 2 lemons, and 1 1/2 cups of xylitol.  I put the first three ingredients, in shifts, in the food processor, added the lemon juice, and then the xylitol.  I then added a cup of finely chopped pecans.  This makes a BIG bowl.  It was fabulous!  My husband loved it.   It was a wee bit tart, but I may add another apple or two today, or a small amount of additional xylitol.

I was reading in Daniel Chptr 1 yesterday and could see our lives lived out through that story.   The Hebrew boys were given the choice food and the King's portions.   For us that could be Thanksgiving dinner - eating whatever we want.  Daniel could have agreed to do that for a season, but from the beginning he knew it was not the BEST choice for them.  How many of you know that sometimes we have to make a stand among the royalty and expectations of the household?  Daniel asked permission to eat differently and the results amazed everyone.  

It's okay for us to say to our families - "I have made a decision to eat more healthy and is it okay for me to bring..............."  Some people will understand, some will be threatened because you are "challenging" their meal plan, some may be jealous because they wish they had your strength to make healthy choices, and some may be in prison - as I was - and desperately desire freedom but have given up on any hope of life beyond the hell of obesity.   There could a number of responses - it's OK.   NOBODY CAN FIGHT FOR YOUR HEALTH MORE VALIANTLY THAN YOU.   I say, "let's be trend setters."  Let's teach our children to create Thanksgiving meals that feature a vast array of healthy choices.  :)   The more I explore healthy foods, the more doors I find to be opened.  I LOVE IT!

Happy Thanksgiving family,

Choose life and eat to live, PK

November 21, 2011

Good morning - I am in the stable zone with my weight although I am really having to fight for my water now.  Maybe because it's colder and I want warm drinks?   Maybe I got out of the pattern.  But I am really having to make a conscience effort in this area now.  Anyone else?

Want to share a testimonial again today - you know I LOVE sharing how our health, as a team, is improving and giving God all the glory!  One of the fam yesterday stopped me to say she has lost 25 pounds going into maintenance, her blood pressure is down to 110/70 AND the doctor took her off her cholesterol meds as her cholesterol was TOO LOW!  Isn't that amazing - one was too low and the other normal.  Her doctor switched her to fish oil and off her meds.  YEA!  GO GOD!   And, her breathing is SOOOOOO much better!

Does everyone have a plan in place this week?  I have been working on my menu so that both groups (HCG and non-HCG) eat well and are happy.  Here's what I am planning: turkey (reg and smoked), dressing (reg and HCG), mashed potatoes, mac and cheese (REAL and HCG), sweet potato casserole (real), salad, green beans, deviled eggs (HCG), squash casserole, rolls, cornbread (HCG), apple pie, pumpkin-pecan spice cake (HCG), German Chocolate cake (HCG) and various drinks.  YUM!   I have been working on this for awhile - "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."  AMEN!  What are the others of you making that perhaps we could share and help each other be creative?

If you plan to take a day off and eat what you want - listen, no feeling guilty.  My only request - it will be harder on Friday to get back on course, but you can.   JUST DO IT!   Don't let Thursday turn into, "well, I might as well eat through the weekend and start again Monday."  If you start making excuses BEFORE the meal - excuses AFTER the meal are twice as easy to make.  YES THEY ARE!   But, if you choose to take a day off - it's ok.  Stay in touch with me, don't drop our group, get right back in the game on Friday and follow protocol.  I have found that when some of the fam "fall of the wagon" they avoid me.  Listen - that is not what this about.

We are in this HCG group to support one another and if you choose to do something else - it's okay.  I promise.  if you no longer want to read the emails, let me know.  It's ok.  I am not the "end all, be all" of health care.  I am just a normal person, like you, fighting for my health.  And, i don't choose to be in the FIX HOLE alone.   I need you!

Plan well this week and let's "talk the smack" on the devil's head next week as we choose life and eat to live during the largest food week of the year.  :)

Much love, PK