Tonight's Reflection

Tonight, I was making potato salad for a lunch tomorrow. This is something that over the years I’ve done dozens of times. It’s a “family” recipe that I began learning as a kid and can now make it without much thought. As I was making it tonight, I was reflecting. After finishing it, I sat down and reflected some more. I pulled out an old journal that I haven’t written in for a couple of years, and in the last entry, I talked about how time changes things. I talked about the transition of life that had occurred and how different things were then. I started writing another entry and was reflecting on how even more different life is now.

Two and a half years ago, I had no idea the journey that life would take me on. I had no idea the twists and turns and ups and downs. In these last 6 months alone, I’ve seen huge personal growth, for me. I’ve seen God change perceptions of mine and teach me to trust Him no matter the circumstances. I’ve found and experienced His peace that goes beyond all understanding. I’ve seen God do incredible things in the people around me. I’ve seen Him orchestrate things that only He could have orchestrated. I’ve seen God move in lives and deepen relationships.

I sit here amazed at the pure goodness of God. It makes me think of the stereotypical verse, Jeremiah 29:11. “ ‘For I know the plans I have you,’ ” declares the Lord, “ ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” God knew all along the plans that He had and has. He knew the path and the journey that He had me on, and they were plans to prosper me, not to harm me. They have given me true hope and a future. As I sit back and reflect tonight, I find myself content. Life doesn’t at all look like what I thought it would at this point in life, but you know what they say about the best laid plans… I find that the journey has been and still is worth it, no matter how hard it gets. I find that God is always stretching me and teaching me something new.

I really sense and feel God sending me into the next phase of the journey. I see Him putting pieces together, and I’m filled with such anticipation and excitement of what it will bring. I’m truly excited to see what further change will come and how He will continue to grow me and stretch me. I’m excited to find Him hopefully in deeper ways and new ways. I’m excited to see Him continue to move and work and amaze me with his goodness and love.

These two crazy beasts have been part of the journey, and they say that they guess that they will continue the journey with me. Even if I make them behave like good dogs...

My Whole 30 Journey w/ My Personal Tips

Hey everyone-

As I finish my first Whole 30 month, I thought I’d share my personal thoughts and experiences and tips! It seems so intimidating at the start when it’s round one. What I love about Whole 30 is that it’s not a fad diet. The purpose of the Whole 30 isn’t to lose weight. It was designed to help you break bad eating habits and develop new ones. After my last cruise, I knew something had to change in my eating habits. I was eating out a lot out of convenience, and at home, I wasn’t eating very well either. I was throwing away all sorts of food that I’d buy at the store and then never eat (so this was also great for my budget overall). I desperately needed something to change. I know several people that had done Whole 30 including my therapist, who said that it was a great idea for me to try. So on July 7^th, I took the jump!

After 3 full weeks in, what do I think? I think it is so well worth it! My energy levels are so much better than they were. Truthfully before, I was struggling to get through the day without a nap and was not very productive in my personal life when I had spare time. I always felt like I needed to lay down. Starting during Week 2, I found my energy levels were so much better. I don’t need to hit the couch now when I get home from seeing patients for work. I have been really productive in my down time- I have cleaned out and organized my garage and my car, and I’m working on each room of my house bit by bit. In general beside energy levels, I feel better.

What are the hard parts? At first, it’s kind of annoying having to cook everything. Eating out is a lot harder, though down below in the tips section I have some tips for that. It definitely takes time to get used to the concept of preparing food, but like I said before, it is so worth it. Later in week 2 though I found that cooking or coming up with meal ideas wasn’t nearly as hard. The Whole 30 doesn’t mean you have to eat plain chicken and broccoli all of the time. I’ve had super yummy food, so most of the time, I don’t even really notice that it’s the “Whole 30”. The other hard part for me is getting enough sodium. My body is super sensitive to changes in sodium especially because during this, I’m still working out. I will win one of these Apple Watch challenges against Becca Cooley! I do use salt when I cook, but I don’t necessarily use a lot of salt. Prior to my workouts, I’ve had to take a couple of sodium tablets because otherwise I start feeling like crap when I start to work out and a little light headed.

Why the Whole 30 and not something else? A while back, I did a lot of research into generalized diet. I’m constantly preaching to my patients the necessity of adhering to their prescribed diet, so I wanted to know more about various diets and things. Patients ask me questions all of the time, so it’s best to be informed. During my research of peer reviewed research studies (not just a generalized google search. Thank you Wellstar for your academic search engine!), I found that some of the popular diets of today’s age are not as beneficial as people want you to think. They come with real risks for some people, and the problem is that you won’t know if you’re at risk unless you have an in depth conversation with your doctor and a nutritionist or unless something bad happens. Some of the popular diets of today are great for certain groups of people, but diets are not one size fits all. As I did my research, the Paleo diet concept (which is roughly Whole 30) tends to be the best option for every day people. It contains a balanced amount of meat, fats, fruits, and vegetables- more or less what our bodies are designed to eat. It limits the amount of junk food. The one other aspect of my studies showed that there seems to be truth to the benefits of organic. In the 1970’s and 80’s, we started using pesticides and herbicides to help protect crops. Since then, there have been correlating trends that show higher levels of digestive issues and problems as well as other things like kidney disease/failure. Those chemicals alter natural flora of our gut for one thing but also end up changing how we process food. Science is beginning to think that organic eating where there are minimal, if any, chemicals used is the best for our bodies. Summing all of this up, I’ve gone to eating more organically (which started prior to my Whole 30), and I like the fact that the Whole 30 is a stricter version of Paleo diet.

My Whole 30 tips for jumping on board:

1. Know from the beginning that week 1 is the hardest. Yes. You go through withdrawal. You aren’t eating added sugar and chemicals and crap, and you literally withdrawal from it. I had a few days where I was just purely a grump. I put on a good face for my patients, but it was a struggle. During week 1, you’re also getting used to everything.
2. Like I said earlier, Whole 30 does not equal plain chicken and broccoli, unless you just really love plain chicken and broccoli. I do not. Pinterest is definitely your friend. I have found ideas on Pinterest that I have tried that have really worked out. I’ve also created some of my own creations as well.
3. Eating out: Zoe’s Kitchen has Whole 30 compliant foods. Their grilled potato salad, which is compliant, is super yummy. I’ve been told that you could also do Longhorn with a plain baked potato. I did go to one restaurant and got a salad and brought my own salad dressing (I had checked the menu online first and knew they didn’t have oil and vinegar). Eating out is definitely a challenge, but ultimately it’s part of the goal.
4. There are some things out there that I have found made my life a lot easier.
1. There is Applegate, which is a brand of meats. You can find them at some Krogers and at Sprouts (though Kroger is definitely cheaper on the price for it). Applegate makes uncured bacon, all beef uncured hot dogs, uncured turkey bacon, and oven-roasted turkey lunch meat and all of those are compliant. They do make other meats though that are not complaint. I’ve read all of their packages to check. I love the bacon and eat it almost every morning. I love the hot dogs and the turkey as either a quick snack or a quick piece of a meal that doesn’t require a lot of effort.
2. There is Primal Kitchen- my lifesaver. They make all sorts of different products and Sprouts has them all. I think (you would have to double check) that Chosen Foods is also a brand very similar to Primal Kitchen and they are in regular grocery stores as well. From Primal Kitchen, I have a couple of different salad dressings, steak sauce, buffalo sauce, and a couple of different mayos. I love their chipotle mayo on hamburgers. Their regular mayo I have used in a several different things including making my own ranch dip and making my version of waldorf chicken salad.
5. I have found the longer I’ve made it on this journey the easier that it has gotten. I don’t struggle to come up with recipe ideas. I also have found that after week 1, if I eat enough at each of my 3 meals, I really don’t need to snack in between. Lunch for me is always the hardest though because it’s when I’m usually on the road unless I’m close to home for lunch. I usually will pack up some turkey lunch meat and some fruit. I did find unroasted cashews at Sprouts, so I have those in my car for a quick fix.
6. Sparkling water and coconut water have been a lifesaver for me. I drink a lot more water, which is really good for me. I do have lemon or lime slices that I throw in it usually to help flavor it up. But to be honest, I get bored with plain water. I usually will mix in a can or bottle of sparkling water because I love the carbonation. Especially before or after my workout, I will usually drink a carton of coconut water for the electrolytes. I do also drink unsweet tea, which I would occasionally drink before the Whole 30.
7. Lastly and maybe the most important, have some accountability partners in your life. I don’t talk about doing the Whole 30 all of the time. Quite honestly, I tend to get annoyed when I listen to people boundlessly talk about their current diet. My close friends know, but it isn’t a frequent topic of conversation. I do have people that are my accountability partners in it though that do hear me talk about it because that’s their role in it. It keeps me accountable, which keeps me on track.

What have I been eating:

               I promise that it isn’t as hard as you probably think it is. It DOES require that you read labels. I tell my patients, since 99% of them are heart failure patients, that they have to read labels for sodium content, and I tell them that it can be a challenge. It is definitely a challenge. A LOT of things have added sugar in them that you wouldn’t expect would have added sugar in them… But like I said, I have still made super yummy food.

1. Hamburgers: I usually make some guacamole to go on top with some lettuce and onion and my chipotle mayo.
2. Waldorf Chicken Salad: I made this for the second time this week because it was so yummy last week. It’s a mix of chicken, grapes, apples, celery, with mayo, terragon, minced dried onion, and some lemon juice. It’s so yummy as both a meal or a quick snack.
3. Taco Salad: My mom gave me a good recipe that she found of taco spices that made yummy taco meat. So, I made a yummy taco salad.
4. Buffalo Chicken Baked Potatoes: I took a recipe I found on Pinterest for Buffalo Chicken Sweet Potatoes and just used regular potatoes, ad it worked really well. It was very tasty especially since I love buffalo sauce.
5. Stuffed Peppers: I’m obsessed with my stuffed peppers. I like stuffed peppers normally too, but I’ve never been this obsessed. I made up the recipe quite honestly based on normal stuffed peppers. I use green peppers stuffed with ground beef, onion, and a little garlic. There is a brand of spaghetti sauce called Rao’s that is compliant- I know it’s at Kroger. I use their spicy sauce and mix a little into my meat before stuffing the peppers and then put some on top. Bake them. And so super yummy. I love the mix of the spicy yet sweet of the spaghetti sauce in combination with the meat.
6. White Chicken Chili: Recipe from Pinterest. It was super yummy though I overcooked my chicken. But is super yummy.
7. Pumpkin Apple Bake: Recipe from Pinterest. I did add some extra apples and quantity of the spices in it. I like it is as an easy breakfast and something different.
8. This week I’m making my usual chili recipe. I made sure all of the canned ingredients that I got were compliant, and we should be good to go. No crackers with it, which is a little sad, but I can make do without them.

As the weeks have gone on, I haven’t found that finding things to cook as been difficult. Pinterest is teeming with ideas, but I also find myself making my own ideas and creations.

Ultimately, the Whole 30 is completely do-able. Yes, week 1 is a hard, but after week 1, I promise that for me it has gotten so much better! I love the way I feel over all, and I really love all of the energy I have to do things and be productive. Will I continue this after the month is over? To some degree, yes. I may not be as strict about it- I will eat my tacos and queso occasionally (Oh, I can’t wait for tacos……..) and not have such a huge grain restriction (I really like grains especially rice…. Sushi….. oh yes….). I do though want to roughly continue to follow it to keep me from jumping into terrible habits of eating huge amounts of processed food and fast food all of the time. I love it though, and I love the change that it has made for me.

Journey to the Center of the Earth

The title of this blog that has outlined all of my adventures is titled Journey to the Center of the Earth. When I left for DTS, I had two goals in mind- 1) to know God in a deeper, more intimate way. I wanted to get to truly know my Creator who is good, trustworthy, kind, compassionate, and gracious because I didn't know Him from those perspectives. 2) To get to the center of myself and essentially fix the very broken foundation that existed. One day on outreach, near the end, I realized that I reached both of my goals. I had found the center of myself, I had journeyed down to the center of the earth, and I can say that it was a hard process. Geologically speaking, the center of the earth involves intense heat and like magma and stuff. To travel there (besides essentially being impossible) would be probably more of a feat than getting to the moon (I am no geology expert, so I could be totally wrong on that fact).
Over DTS, I found God in amazing ways. I found a Creator who has immense love for His creation, a love deeper than you and I could remotely understand. I found a King who rules with justice but who also is slow to anger and deeply merciful and compassionate. I found a Father, who literally gave up the one most precious thing, and I found a Son who was willing to lay down everything- all for me. That truth in its wholeness is mind blowing. Right now, I've been captivated by a few verses in Titus 3- "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." He did it all simply to make me an heir, simply to adopt me as His child because He wanted a relationship with me. What greater love exists that one who completely empties Himself, laying down the incomprehensible glories of heaven, so that He can have a relationship with me?
I found God in the little things from the incredible nature around me to the friendships formed. I found God through amazing lectures and amazing stories of others. I found God as we emptied ourselves on outreach. I found God in so many places and in so many people.
Through this time, God rebuilt the foundations that I stand on- the foundations of my faith, the foundations of who I believe I am, the foundations of everything. He taught me how to actually replaces lies with truth- even if I can only manage to focus on a very elementary truth. He taught me to fight for myself because He said I was worthy to be fought for. Are there still moments of struggle? Yes, I am human after all. There will always be struggles in life of some kind. But in the midst of struggle, I've learned to lean and depend on Him. It's beautiful.

So, since I have been talking about the center of the earth... While we were on Tanna, where we stayed for 2.5 weeks in the bush with the most amazing family, God blessed us with the amazing opportunity to go to the top of Tanna's active volcano. Yes, that is correct. Our team was on top of an active volcano that was technically exploding. Thankfully, it was a "sleepy" day and was only at an activity level 2 of 5. We even performed our dance on top of the volcano for some of the tour guides that were waiting around. (Tourists go on tours of the volcano all the time, so what we were doing was exactly unusual for a tourist on Tanna. However, because of the risk, it's pretty expensive to go up, and God totally provided for us to be able to go up!) It was really amazing to see the volcano doing its thing and shooting up some magma!