Group walking picture

We've talked about walking as a group for so long that I cant believe we finally got to try it out. We met at the church and Glenn lead the way to the business park on Atwood. I know I enjoyed getting out of our usual 4 walls and spending some time in the sunshine with an amazing group of people. I hope you all were blessed in some way. Thanks to everyone for participating!
-Monica

Group Picture

I love this photo! If you weren't present for the photo then don't you worry; we'll try again sometime this summer. And here you thought you were off the hook. :)

Stacking the odds in our favor

This is the way our freezer looks after Monica has been cooking all day, 5 hours to be exact. Over 50 portioned containers with known calorie counts. Santa fe soup, Zucchini meal, Black bean chicken casserole, Chili Verde and crust less broccoli & feta quiche filling our freezer.

By no means do we do this because we are experts at eating right or anything of the sort. Whether it is society, having kids, both? I don't know, but we are apparently trained to want fast food.

We are most definitely weak and if these guys weren't readily available in our freezer then we would be just that much closer to going out and eating something that is quick, probably heavily processed, and certainly not real good for our health.

We are just weak ole humans who need to stack the odds to make up for our lack of will power.

Super Size Me

In response to the 2004 documentary Super Size Me a new Raw for 30 days film is coming out which will document the journey of five Americans subsisting on a standard American junk food diet and all suffering from Adult Onset Type II Diabetes. They undergo a radical 30-day raw food diet and lifestyle change in hope of reversing or reducing their insulin dependence.

The film will show the eating habits that led to the development of this disease and will posit an alternative approach to living and eating, one in which foods can heal and hold the potential to reverse Diabetes.

Should be interesting........

Please use approved receptacles

Certainly a key ingredient to the PRISM program is discarding sugar laden foods such as donuts and their rectangular, sometime maple covered, bar counterparts.

But please use approved trash receptacles. PRISM is a green program.

Bucking the trend in 2008

This is a cross post from my alter ego's site. Monica and I were both a little amazed, but not surprised. She was also a little hurt that she has to special order tall sizes even while new plus size sections are popping up.

Walking through Fred Meyers yesterday my wife realized we were in the junior plus size section. I thought plus size was the territory of Big & Tall or Lane Bryant. When did kids get a plus size section? I guess it follows from the supersize trend in America. Well bucking that trend is one of this year’s resolutions in the Wally household. Thankfully, we are continuing an effort rather than starting the tough road today.

Last year we embarked on a journey to change the way we view and consume food. Our goal; eat to live rather than live to eat. For us eating to live entails limiting refined sugar, refined flours, process foods in general and of course no gluttony. We and several friends have been pretty successful with this goal over the last 6-7 months, but it can still be a struggle for us from time to time. For our sake and the sake of our children, we pray for God’s continued assistance in 2008.

Happy New Year and may God bless you in all your efforts!

Prism on artificial sweeteners

In video #7, which we watched at the 1/3/08 meeting, happy hostess Shawna Marie spoke about artificial sweeteners. Being the lawless group leaders that we are, we have stolen the text and are presenting it here mostly for Phyllis' enjoyment. :)

....Now we need to address artificial sweeteners. Most of the low cal and diet foods we think will help us loose weight, contain artificial sweeteners. New studies show that foods and beverages containing artificial sweeteners may actually work against weight loss by increasing hunger and your cravings for sweets. These fake sweeteners can decrease your levels of serotonin, the brain chemical that hears the “I’m full, don’t eat anymore” message from your stomach. At the same time these sweeteners trigger the insulin response which reduces fat burning and increases fat making. According to Dr. Julian Whittaker….

“Artificial sweeteners play a significant role in our current weight problems. Far from helping us loose weight, aspartame has been proven to increase appetite, especially cravings for sweets. Imagine “diet” products that help you pack on extra pounds! And aspartame’s downside doesn’t end with weight gain: This sweetener is associated with multiple health problems. The most common adverse reactions attributed to aspartame are headaches, dizziness, attention difficulties, memory loss, slurred speech and vision problems. This cluster of symptoms has become so common that it is actually referred to as “aspartame disease.”
What about multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, depression and other mood disorders? I have reviewed scores of documented cases mistakenly diagnosed with one of these conditions, only to have all signs of disease completely vanish after getting off aspartame.
Aspartame is comprised of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid acts as an “excitatory neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger in the brain, stimulating neurons to fire. Problems can arise when aspartic acid is out of balance with inhibitory amino acids that calm things down. Phenylalanine also easily enters the brain, where it is transformed into neurotransmitters that can further interfere with normal brain function. This is likely the reason why aspartame lowers the threshold for seizures, mood disorders, and other nervous system problems. This altered brain chemistry may also be responsible for the addictive nature of aspartame. Some patients report that getting off diet soda takes more willpower than giving up cigarettes!”

Dr. Whittaker recommends that you don’t trade one bad habit for another by switching to sugar laden drinks and sweets. Avoid most bottles or canned sodas, teas and juices all together. If they don’t contain an artificial sweetener they’re loaded with some kind of sugar. Your beverage of choice should be water. Try perking it up with a slice of lemon, sparkling water, diluted fruit juice and homemade herbal ice tea flavored with the herbal sweetener Stevia are other options. If you haven’t already done so you must begin to wean yourself from any products containing artificial sweeteners.