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My First Red Color Diet Christmas

12/25/2014

This is my first Christmas since I began my diet and the first time I've been "good" on Christmas day. I feel so good.
Well except my grandson is standing next to me waiting for this computer to play mine craft on. My daughter and 2 of my grandchildren showed up 4 days early to stay until Jan. 4th. So way longer than I planned. I'm really happy to have them, but I admit stressed me out, and all that sweet stuff and my favorite pizza here has me tapping like crazy and mixing sweet orange essential oil with my usual grapefruit ( for weightloss) to help me with the first cravings I've had in months.
But I've made it. Luckily we went to the park today and a nice time watching the kids play and soaking up sunshine helped a lot. Well Alex will probably have this computer till they leave-so Have a Happy New Year also.

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A Wonderful Winter Solstice Day.

12/21/2014

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     Ok, First of all, the above picture was taken a dozen years ago on Winter Solstice . The Only December snow I've ever seen. A very rare thing in Louisiana. Today was a beautiful warm sunny day. It is officially the first day of winter. The winter solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the sun. This is the longest night of the year. The days get progressively longer after the winter solstice until the summer solstice. This year winter solstice began at 5:03 here in central time zone Louisiana.
     Many people around the world celebrate winter solstice as the beginning of the return of the sun. Just type in winter solstice in your search engine and you'll find a lot of info on the history of the winter solstice celebrations among people.
     For me, I think of how that while my plants may look dead, I know they are gathering strength for springs growth. I see this time of year as a time my Inner Light is kindled in spite of outer darkness. It is a great time for inner work and deep meditation.
     I highly recommend the chapter " Rite of the Winter Solstice." in Ted Andrews" Nature-Spirit." it's a wonderful way to experience a different way of celebration. Personally , as I did my morning spiritual rituals, I had 3 signs in a row that told me ." Get Out To Moon Lake On the way to Katy's TODAY!." first I was redoing my alter for this season early this morning and just knew I had to put my Moon Goddess statue on it to hold my tiny ruby I'd be meditating with this season. I sat down with my nature oracle cards and pulled a Moon Card at the same time that the song "Moon River" came on Pandora! To really appreciate this you have to know that "Moon Lake" is really just a small offshoot of the Ouachita River.
       After my personal winter solstice celebration I went on to exchange gifts with my daughter and her family. A great time outside full of love, joy and laughter. Then tonight My other daughter called to see if her family could come a few days early. They had just exchanged their gifts, including Santa coming for winter solstice!! Ok by me, I'm thrilled!! But in my home we celebrate Christmas and open our gifts then What does this have to do with weight loss? I didn't think of food once all day! Had to remind myself to have dinner. Imagine!

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One Pound Down and i Food Diary

12/18/2014

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      Only one pound down today. I kind of expected it. Tons of personal stress this last 8 days. Actually under the circumstances it's a miracle I didn't turn to my old comfort :Sugar. I didn't allow this to throw me because last time I lost 1 pound, twelve days later ( my next weigh in day) I had lost another 8 Pounds! So many things can affect that number, including stress.
       But, of course, what you are eating can also make a difference. Here Is one of those tools I talked about. Journaling and or Food Diaries.
       I want to recommend that you write down everything you eat, when you eat, and your feelings when you eat. In the past I did this in notebooks, that tend to be misplaced, or even used by other family members for scratch paper. This time, I have a nook and found this great app on it. You can find it at (www.ifooddiary.com/mobile) I think mine was free, but certainly no more than $3, because I won't pay more than that for any app.
       Now, I don't count calories as you know, but by quickly checking my ifooddiary " My Food Journal's log I could see what I'd done differently this week, where I need to cut back a tad. This app does have nutrition references for brands and restaurants making eating out easier. It has space for keeping your stats and, the what, when, where and why of your food life. Also exercise as well. The picture above ( sans writing) is their logo to look for in Nook Apps.
       So now I know what to change to see those numbers go down. BTW I also tapped out my feelings that came up when there was only a pound lost. I used an old guided tapping session on when you encounter feeling you are at standstill. I'll post about that later. Have xmas gifts waiting to be wrapped.

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Reiki For The Heart And Soul by Amy Z. Rowland Review

12/13/2014

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What does Reiki have to do with weight loss? Let me tell you a little story. January 2008 I started a diet. I stuck with it. It was not a healthy diet ,really, because I didn't give up sugar. But Lost weight. Then in June 2008 Louisiana Tech offered a summer course of both Reiki 1 and 2. A 2 month summer of learning that changed my life in amazing ways. Well, up till then I had lost 3o pounds. Then I started giving myself daily Reiki. From mid June until mid Oct. I lost another 42 pounds ! Now let us compare : The first six and one half months 30 pounds ( when you usually lose fastest) , the second four months 42 pounds! The only thing that changed was Reiki.
Yes I gained it back. I started gaining back when I was stuck out of town as another Hurricane headed for home. Did I say I eat over emotions? I still had lots to learn.
Anyway I believe Reiki is a great weight loss tool. I'll be getting into it and several other healing energies you can learn on your own later, but right now I want to talk about the Reiki Principles and this book. Here is one way these are represented in Ms. Rowland's book. I counted at least 6 variations in her book, my teacher showed me several other ways and I've seen many other ways that people say this daily, but it all means the same thing.

I believe this book should be required reading for all Reiki 1 students. It really is all about where you are coming from. This is the only book I've seen go into such detail about each of these principles, how to use them with reiki and as part of your spiritual path and even emotional healing. I wish I had this book back in '08. The chapter titles will give you a clue:
1.The Path Of Reiki
2. The Reiki Principles
3. Peace
4.Serenity
5. Gratitude
6. Integrity
7.Kindness
8. The Double Chapter: An invitation to Happiness and a promise of Miracles
Epilogue: The Spiral Path
" The simple words "just for today" invite us to be gentle with ourselves in attempting to live by the Reiki principles. These words center us in the present moment..... Whatever our hopes and ambitions, lets do the best we can today. With heartfelt gratitude for the good in our lives and with self-respect and integrity, surely we can be kind to everyone we encounter today-including the person we see in the mirror." Amy Z Rowland.
Here is a more traditional version of the Reiki "Precepts" or principles. The back ground picture is The Japanese Garden in New Orleans Botanical Gardens. A great place to sit and read this book.

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Gluten and Sugar Free Macaroni and Cheese

12/10/2014

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        Thoughts of home can be a relationship, a house or even comfort food like home made Mac & Cheese. This easy recipe review is from " The Gluten Free Good Health Cookbook." In that book it is listed under " Macaroni and Cheese" in the Grains section. Once again my men folk liked this one as well as I did. I'm slowly working them into a healthier lifestyle. At least when they are home. No substitutions in this one, perfect as is.
       Serves 4 as main course and 6 as a side. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
        8 ounces gluten free elbow macaroni
        2 tablespoons unsalted butter
        2 teaspoons potato starch
        1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
        1 cup milk ( whole is best)
        2 and 1/2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided
        Salt & pepper to taste

     1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place the rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 1 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
     2. Cook the macaroni in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain the macaroni; do not rinse it with cold water.
     3. While the macaroni is boiling, melt the butter in a medium sized, heavy saucepan over low heat. Mix the potato starch and dry mustard into the melted butter and cook slowly, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the milk. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the white sauce is smooth, thick, and reaches the boiling point.
     4. Reduce the heat and add 2 cups of the shredded cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Spoon the sauce into the macaroni and stir until well combined. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
     5. Spoon the macaroni and cheese into the prepared dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
     6. Place the baking dish in the center of the oven and bake at 350F for about 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on top. Serve immediately.

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Rituals and Five More Pounds Down!

12/9/2014

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         Today was a weigh in day for me. I lost another 5 pounds , making 42 pounds total in my first 3 months. I made a ritual of this being the end of my first three months and the beginning of the next three. Three months ago I started with building an alter-sacred space place for rituals. Tonight I'll redo that space. But I have another very special sacred space to me, My fairy garden above. I took my oracle cards out to sit at this pink table and drink in a beautiful, sunny, 60 degree December day. Ahh! I love Louisiana Fall and Winter.
      I actually started my day ( after weighing in ) with my daily ritual : Every morning the first thing I do is look out my window from bed and say Good morning to God and to the trees and creatures and Mother Nature ( I call her Gaia) and tell them all I love them. I thank God with a gratitude list and say a Baha'i morning Prayer. After absolutions and a glass of green tea I light a candle in my window , put on Gary Stadler music and meditate and then read spiritual books . All this takes about an hour. Then it's on to a big breakfast and my day.
       What a great day to start my next 3 month cycle! Penny and I worked in the garden for over 4 hours. Even my hubby came out ,pulled up a chair in the sun next to us and read. It's been hard to drag him out of the house since he retired.
       When I came in I had another ritual I recommend as a weight loss tool: Baths. Make a ritual of a beautiful bath. Use what makes you happy to look at. For me: I light candles, after physical labor I use Epsom salts and lavender Oil for my muscles; other wise I choose an appropriate aromatherapy oil to burn and take a bubble bath. I read in my tub, or give myself reiki, I even meditate there sometimes. I keep a pen on the ledge to write in my books when ideas and revelations about my life come. I always start by greeting the tree outside my bathtub window. I've been having a love affair with that tree from the moment the builder 1st put the tub in. I lay in the new empty tub and gazed out the window up into this tree, watching the squirrels play in it. I grinned at the builder and said Yep, that is where the window goes. That tree has seen me through a lot and I thank it all the time.
         As you see in my bathroom below I am surrounded with Fairies and Unicorns, and now also My Little Ponies my granddaughter leaves there.
Bath rituals are so relaxing, spiritual, healing and downright fun. I wonder how many times my hubby has yelled in asking if I'm still alive, I stay in so long. This is one place I have never eaten, and never had cravings. Try It-Set up your own bath rituals-and or other rituals that take you far away from food. I'd love to hear about your alters and rituals.

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Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer by Gregg Braden

12/5/2014

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Prayer is my favorite weight loss tool. This book gave me my most useful prayer. I call it the blessing prayer. I wanted to do this review where I can quickly find it when I need it or want to share it. According to Gregg Braden the power of blessings is that it elevates us beyond the ancient trap of the rightness and wrongness of what has happened. He says that the reason we would bless the very things that have hurt us is simply " We have two choices regarding how we deal with life's hurts: Either we may mask and bury them( in my case eat over them), and allow them to slowly steal from us the very things that we cherish until they eventually destroy us, or we may accept the healing that comes from acknowledging life's hurts, and move forward with healthy, vital lives."
   Before you can use this modality of prayer Gregg says you must ask yourself this question" Am I ready to move beyond a 'gut' reaction or an old belief that 'someone must pay' or 'I need to get even' in order to write a wrong?" "In other words are you ready to move beyond the type of thinking that justifies hurting someone because they hurt you?"
    The blessing is in three parts:
1. Blessing Those Who Suffer ( including yourself)
2. Blessing whatever or whoever causes the suffering
3. Blessing Those Who Witness the Suffering.
     In the book you will find a template for this and great detail on each part of this. For me this is the meat of this book, but getting there is a beautiful journey and a lovely chapter follows on beauty itself. It's a small book and a great gift.
     Not long after I read it I was driving by myself to my daughter's home and found myself using these blessings on the almost 3 hour country roads journey. It ended up being a life changing journey as I "blessed away a life time of perceived wrongs. Foremost was to my deceased Mother, whom I felt had not loved me, certainly never said so. After I did the blessing on her I felt like she came to me to let me know she had loved me. I "saw" her holding me as a child. It was very moving as I have no memories of her ever holding me and yet it was visceral in every detail. A few minutes after this I pulled over in a park along the way and went up a hill to sit against a tree and meditate on it and do more blessings. I asked if what I had "seen" was real. When I got back in my car and reached over into a box of CD's (at least 50 of them) without looking I pulled out a CD to listen to for the rest of the trip. I pulled up my answer in a CD I forgot I owned, only played once years ago. It was Celine Dion's " Lullabies!"
     I have to say my life changed in so many ways after this and now I start "blessing" ASAP! This happened the last time I lost major weight (72pds). I blessed a lot over my life at that time, felt I had covered everything and slowly got out of the blessing habit. Major health issues and a regain of all my weight slowly brought me back to this book and blessing. Thank God, It's my intention to go on using this blessing tool through a completed health trip. And as needed on a daily basis. Try It, you won't regret it!

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Weight Loss Tools

12/2/2014

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           I call these power tools because they help power up my "willpower" to stay on my healthy weight loss plan. As I blog over the next 16 months ( my intention is to make goal for my 65th Bday ) I'll be writing individual articles about these tools I use. I only write about what has been helpful to me personally over the years as well as in the now. A few of these I've studied intensively, even earning certification and used professionally.
       Right now I just wanted to give you a quick list of what I'll be recommending. If you have other tools I'd love to hear about them and share them. So here they are, ways to "power " up:

    1. Tapping or EFT ( Emotional Freedom Technique)
    2. Use of Numerology. I just realized that I started (still in) the Red Color Diet in a "9" birth age year. I'm 63! That number 9 has just been great for me!
    3. The Feelings Script ( already written)
    4. Journaling or Blogging
    5.   Self Hypnosis
    6. Reiki and other energy healing modalities
    7. Creativity and Making Mandalas
    8. Passion
    9. Meditation
    10. Prayer
    11. Vision Board
    12. Aromatherapy
    13. Music
    14. Using Non Dominate hand
    15. Crystals
    16. Support Groups
    17. Subliminal tapes
    18. Visualization
    19. Water
    20. Exercise
    21. Alters and Rituals
    22. Detoxing
    23. Space Clearing
    24. Nature
    25. Use of Pendulum
    26. Intentions
    27. Having fun Learning to cook healthy
    28. Acupressure
    29. Foot Reflexology
    30. Guided meditations
    31. Yoga
    32. Tai Chi
    33. Breath
    34. Feng Shui
    35. Gardening
    36. Baths

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My First Red Color Diet Christmas

A Wonderful Winter Solstice Day.

One Pound Down and i Food Diary

Reiki For The Heart And Soul by Amy Z. Rowland Review

Gluten and Sugar Free Macaroni and Cheese

Rituals and Five More Pounds Down!

Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer by Gregg Braden

Weight Loss Tools

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