let's talk supplements

Those of you who know our family know that some of us are invariably chugging a pile of vitamins and supplements down. This, along with a healthy diet, active life, and presence of the Holy Spirit, has contributed to our health and vitality over the years. The combination of all this has enabled us to successfully run our businesses and live full and happy lives.

Our journey into supplements began when Mom had a stroke in 1993. It was a wake up call. We immediately dove into juicing massive poundage of veggies, grinding and baking with whole grains, drinking purified water, and learning about all the nutrients that not even the best diet can provide. Mom started researching and learning. I remember many late nights pouring over the Drs. Balch books, Prescription for Dietary Wellness and Prescription for Nutritional  Healing. It was not only a wake-up call; it was an education.

So that the why. Here is how we got to where we are now with all this.

Over the years, our supplement-taking ebbed and flowed. Some of us girls went away from home. Periodically we would receive big boxed of supplements and Barley Green powder from back home. Then wjhn back at home, I invested several years into establishing gardens and a chicken brood. As I began to get busier and busier with the school, I had less time to spent on these hobbies and less time to plan meals and organize my health better. It just slipped to the wayside as unimportant. And I started to gain weight and have aches and pains.

Then in 2004, Hurricane Ivan hit. And I developed sciatica in its cleanup aftermath. Let me tell you, that was no picnic. I tried everything, from ice packs & heat pads to anti-inflammatory teas to meds and chiropractor adjustments and finally an ND who knew just what to do to relieve the pain. Now I use Young living essential oils to maintain my pain-free existence. To God be the glory for pointing me in the right direction.

And it was my last visit to Dr. Garry Hendricks, N.D., in Ft. Walton that prompted what came next. As I lay on my stomach on his table during the adjustment, I felt really obese for the very first time ever.  It was fall of 2012. By Christmas I had joined Weight Watchers and lost 15 pounds in 3 months.

And then nothing for the next 3 months. I was faithful to log my food/points, yet nothing was happening. The point logging was time consuming, and I hated it after awhile. Then over the summer I gained it all back. In February I had attendees an Above Rubies ladies treat, where Nancy Campbell mentioned the new book her daughters had just written, Trim Healthy Mama. I bought the book and shelved it. Later that summer, at the prodding of my sister Cori, I read it and started THM officially in August 2013. I have, over time, added to my vitamin and supplement regimen. As my endocrine and digestive systems "reset" themselves, I needed more help with balance and nutrition. So I would hear about "X" that could help with "Y," and I would add it in to see if it helped. And that is where I am at right now.

Here is the how.

Start out small. Five years ago, I started my current regimen with Vitamin C, Barley Max, and a cheap multivitamin from Walmart. Slowly I added to my "bottle basket," including supplements that I knew my body needed. This is what my morning dose looks like now. Now that I have lost almost 60 pounds on Trim Healthy Mama, I know that my health and various body systems DEPEND on my obtaining optimal nutrition from the food I do eat. As I gain strength and energy, I know that I need to fuel my body properly. 

So, I hope that you take the supplement plunge. The research that we did before settling into the brands that we purchase was extensive. They are from the best sources, the most usable and absorbent products for your body, as well as GMO-free and gluten-free as possible.

Take care of yourself, so that you can gain the energy and vitality to take care of those you love. And treat God's Temple right!

my THM journey so far

When I read Proverbs 31 and Titus 2, passages that specifically list the accomplishments, activities, labors, ministry, and industriousness of godly women, it makes me think that maybe we as the Church have missed something very powerful...God wants His daughters to be equipped and ready to fulfill our ordained roles, doing His work. If we are too heavy (weight and spirits!), depressed, discouraged, sick, diseased, and energy-less, how can we fulfill all of this?!?! 

I love THM and all that it has brought back to my life! Thank You, Lord!

I bought the $35 book at an Above Rubies Ladies Retreat at Camp Baldwin in Elberta, Alabama, last February. Nancy Campbell prayed over me that week, that God would send my Boaz soon and enable me to birth children for God's glory, not just have spiritual children in my line of work/ministry. I spent last summer reading, working in my garden, and catching up in the office. Then Cori (older sister) asked me if I had heard about THM, that she had already started on the THM journey. I laughed and told her that I had the paper version, but hadn't started it yet.

I started reading the 600+ page THM book pretty soon afterwards. The rhema word that the Lord used to spur me towards this was that He wanted me to clean my body-Temple out, in the same fashion as He had commanded the priests to clean the Tabernacle and Temple out daily. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" (NASB).  He told me that His Temple, my body, has been trashed, and that I had done it. I knew He meant business, so I spiritually saluted and dove in. 

I started on my Trim Healthy Mama journey officially on August 5, 2013. To date, I have lost 45 pounds, the first 35 pounds dropping off pretty fast as I cut out my coffee creamer, breads/muffins/rolls (all white flour products), white potatoes, corn, and tandem fueled home-cooked meals. My cravings started to disappear, especially my evening after-work cravings. Drinking coffee without my go-to creamer was the most difficult change, but after three months or so, I had made that transition smoothly with help from some good flavored K-cup flavors.

I have renewed vigor and valor, energy and strength. I feel good, good, good!!! Basically, THM is a low-glycemic index diet, not low carb or low fat. It is based on the idea that our bodies are NOT made to tandem fuel all the time (there is a place for "crossover" meals but just not constantly). So my meals are either fat-based (S meals) or carb-based (E meals). Delicious food and a new way of cooking and eating for us all the way, baby!

As a side benefit (and since I do most of the cooking and meal planning), Mom has lost about 40 pounds, and Tricia has lost over 25. No more fast-food lunches, no more shakes and donut treats, no more feeling yucky. Yes! to a variety of salads and wraps, dark chocolate and nuts, homemade smoothies and signature drinks. I am not hungry. 

In the beginning, I received a lot of recipe help from bloggers like Gwen's Nest and Stacy Makes Cents. Then Pinterest recipe boards started popping up, and other food bloggers took up the gauntlet. The FB support group for THM is tremendous (although HUGE now!), and Cori and I have hosted several local support meetings for the ladies in the Florida Panhandle area to meet and encourage one another. The next one is coming up in June. I am fueled by a desire to help point women towards what the Lord has helped me to do, get their house--their Temple--in order for the Lord, to empower them to do what He has called them to do, and fan into flame His gifts that have been latent within their hearts. To God be the glory, great thing He has done...and is doing!

My weight loss is not just a few pounds, nor is it baby-weight or other short-term weight. My weight is lifelong weight. I have been almost 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds for almost twenty years now. What has taken a long time to accumulate should take awhile to come off if it is to stay off. 

I've come a long way, and I am not done yet!