3-4 th Week Update From Genevieve

Hello Ladies. It’s encouraging to read your progress. My diet & exercise have been up and down in the past few weeks. Week 2-3 I did well with keeping consistently active, making sure to get a half hour of rebounding in before breakfast and taking 2 mile walks several times a day. But since Monday this week, I’ve been down in energy and have not been exercising regularly. I just have a hard time getting started. Today I'm going to try to get 3 miles in.

At the beginning of this challenge I was doing phase one of the Makers diet (no grains, almost no beans/nuts, and generally limits insulin producing foods ), but I’ve not been as consistent with staying on it as I should be since then. I have been eating all “nourishing foods” (avoiding white flour/sugar and artificial foods) and I’ve been concentrating on increasing the digestibility of the food by soaking/sprouting grains, beans, nut & seeds. Since I’ve not seen any changes on the scale since last time, I’m strating a more restrictive diet for 1 month (March 18th-April 18th). 1 month seems a lot less intimidating than “until I reach my weight goal”. I need definite structure at least until I can gain better control of my habits. For extra accountability, my sister, Evelyn has agreed to help me stay with it. She knows my weight, and diet plan this time. Here's the plan:

Foods to enjoy
Animal Products -

Organic & Free Range Kosher Meat - Beef, Lamb, Deer, etc
Kosher Poultry, Chicken, Turckey, etc
Kosher Fish- Salmon, Tilapia, etc
Organ Meats-must be Organic
Bone Broth
Eggs

Oils-

Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin
Sesame Seed Oil
Cod Liver Oil

Olive Oil

Beans, Seeds, & Fruits-

Miso-in small amounts
Lentils-Must be Sprouted
Flaxseeds-in small amounts, soaked
Grapefruit- 1 per day max
Lemons
Limes

Raw Honey -in small amounts
Coconut- Meat, Milk, & Extra Virgin Oil

Beverages-
Coffee-Fresh ground, organic
Tea-Herbal- Black, Green , Root
Water
Lacto-Fermented Beverages
Ginger Ale- Homemade
Kombucha-1 cup max per day
Kvass-Homemade
Root Beer-Homemade

Culinary Vegetables-
Avocado-in small amounts
Anise
Artichokes
Asparagus
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery-Stalk & Root
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Fennel
Garlic
Lacto-Fermented Vegetables
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Pickles
Ginger Carrots etc
Leafy greens- Endive, Escarole, Radicchio, Arugula, Fraise, Watercress, Mesclun, Chard etc
Lettuce- Leaf of All Kinds (Romaine, Red, Boston etc)
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Peppers
Pumpkins
Sea Vegetables-Nori, Kelp, Wakame etc
Spinach
Squash
String beans
Tomatoes- including Canned in small amounts
Tomatillos
Turnips
Zucchini

Foods I'm Avoiding:
Grains- (Pasta, Rice, Quinoa, Bread, etc)
Beans- Except Miso & Lentils in small amounts
Potato's, Sweet Potatoes, & Yams
Sweeteners-(Heated Honey, Sugar, Molasses, Maple Syrup etc)-except Raw Honey
Nuts & Nut Butters-Except Coconut
Seeds & Seed Butters, Except Flaxseeds & very small seeds, mustard etc
Fruits- Except Grapefruit, Lemons, & Limes
Canned Olives

Dairy
Sausage, bacon, hotdog & Luncheon type meats

Jordan Rubin (author of the Makers diet)-reccommends 1 partial cleansing fast day per week. I'm doing a Fast Friday and will not be eating breakfast or lunch, but will make sure to stay hydrated with water, tea, & bone broth, and will eat a light evening meal. This fast is not for weight loss and is only meant to give the body a healing break.

Mommy will be doing this plan with me, but not quite as restrictively. She is going to eat a little bit of raw dairy and is not going to do the partial fast day.
I’m hoping this plan will help reduce our insulin sensitivity, increase our energy levels, boost immunity, restart our worn out digestive system & help boost weight loss =).

Blessings,
Gen

Genevieve's Week One Overview

Week One went fairly well except for some grains and uncultured dairy products that snuck their way into my diet. My muscles are telling me I’ve certainly increased my exercise since the start day. I’ve been doing a Walk/Run Combination plus Rebounding on a mini trampoline. The weather has been slightly wet, cool but not to cold, perfect for outdoor exercise. I was sick one day this week and haven't caught up on that hour of exercise yet. I'm going to try really hard to not fall behind on my 1 hour per day.

On Thursday I was up 2 lbs, most likely from the extra water I had drank the day before, but I was able to those lbs plus one! Even though it’s not much, that last pound was important because I’ve been trying to get that low for the past 15 months. The scale would move up and down but never that low! I’m going to measure every other week, and here are my measurements from last Wednesday.

Weight: -1 lb
Bust: 39
Chest:30
Waist 28.25
Hips:40
R Leg: 23.5
L Leg 23.5
R Arm: 11.75
L Arm 11.75

Starting tomorrow I’m going to increase my Coconut oil consumption to 4 Tbsp per day. This has worked very well in the past to increase my metabolism and weight loss. Have any of you used Coconut oil For weight loss? I know it doesn't work for everyone, but it really helps me feel full and it takes away my sugar cravings.

Keep calling upon the Lord.

Psalm 55:16-17 As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aload: and he shall hear my voice.
`

Dress It Up

I've been trying to add more leafy greens into my diet. But I find an undressed salad unappetizing. There is no need to eat something that is bland just because it is lower in fat that way. In fact, the dressing on you salad, if it is properly prepared, can help you digest and assimilate the nutrients in the leafy greens, help keep you more satiated between meals, and make this healthy choice a meal we relish instead of dread. The problem is that so many of the dressing available at the local super market contain highly processed, denatured vegetable oils (often soy, cottonseed or corn which have their own set of health consequences), as well as preservatives, msg, sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Thankfully you can still find a few bottled dressings on the market that don’t contain those weird ingredients (Caldwell's for example)

In my experience homemade salad dressing is simple, really yummy, and much more frugal and nutritious than anything you can buy in the store. Salad dressing is one of the best ways to get raw olive oil into the diet.

Here is a good basic salad dressing:
1/2 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-2 farm fresh egg yolks (for emulsification)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
plenty of sea salt and black pepper
1 – 1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

In a canning jar or bowl combine vinegar, mustard, egg yolks, garlic, and seasonings. Mix well.
While whisking, slowly drizzle in about a cup of the olive oil. Taste the dressing with a lettuce leaf and if it is too tangy for you continue to add olive oil.
Transfer to a pour able container (or leave in a pint or quart jar) and refrigerate until needed. Shake before serving. Keeps for at least 1 1/2 weeks in the refrigerator.

There are lots of variations you can do with the basic dressing like adding herbs, balsamic vinegar, yogurt or parmesan cheese. The raw egg yolk can be a bit intimidating especially since most of us are not used to using raw egg yolks. I wash the outside of the eggs before using them to ensure that no bacteria are on them. I think the results are most satisfactory when I use the egg yolks. Plus with the egg yolk, raw cheese, and good fats it is a super nourishing top to any salad.

Gen's Spring Introduction

Howdy from the Texas Hill Country. My name is Genevieve, I'm 18 years old and I am humbled to call myself the daughter of the King of Kings. I Have been apart of this fitness blog since last years Spring Into Shape. I look forward to starting this one tomorrow with you.

Following Jordan Rubin’s Makers Diet phase 3 I have lost and kept off 10 pounds since November 2010. Which is the Lords grace on me. Last week I was feeling very discouraged about my lack of progress, when a friends of ours asked if I had been losing weight. That was such an encouragement and it was just what I needed to keep going. Even though I was not able to keep up with the blog last time due to internet trouble, it was a great help; I hope it will be an helpful for you as well. This time around I am going to continue to follow The Makers Diet but I'm going to go back onto phase 1 until I reach my goal weight of 120. Then I plan to slowly add back the higher carbohydrate foods. I am also making it a goal to exercise a minimum of 1 hour every day (except on The Lords Day).

This is my family and I (in the blue top) at the end of last November.

I'm still working on cutting out the snacking-all-day-habit, and instead eating 3 square, carefully measured meals. I've been using this site to cound calories and carbs http://www.nutrimirror.com/join.php.

Mommy and I are looking forward to starting this challenge. I know I do so much better with the accountability.

Blessings,

Gen <><

Real Milk

This year we have been blessed to be in an area of the country that sells certified Raw Grass-fed Jersey cow milk. I can’t tell you what a different animal it is from the “burnt“, homogenized milk you buy at the grocery store. The butter we make from the cream is a deep yellow showing it is full of vitamins. Today I made a batch of Raw cheese with the older milk as well as some sour cream. For some reason I haven’t been feeling well after eating most store bought cheese or dairy products. I’m not sure if it’s from the pasteurization or what but the Raw cheese has sat very well with my stomach (which is good because it’s high in enzymes, calcium, protein and healthy fat and it's low in carbohydrates).

I’ve also taking a liking to the uncultured raw milk. The bad thing is it’s become a comfort food for me and I tend to over drink it. I know it’s very healthy but not the beast thing for weight loss since it’s so high carb. Last week I tried going completely dairy free for a few days but that took away all the energy I needed to exercise. I don’t have a problem with overeat the cultured raw dairy, just the fresh milk. So I’m going to limit myself to one cup milk per day as a reward for having a good day of diet and exercise. I can plan that into my day ahead of time and then work around it. Plus with the raw milk at the end of the day I won’t feel like I need any ice cream (especially if I put a drop of vanilla in it, yum)!

I’m still trying to get myself used to the taste of kefir ( http://www.kefir.net/ it's like yogurt but it's supposed to be even healthier) made from Kefir Grains. If I could get used to that I could give up uncultured dairy. The Fermentation process makes milk easier to digest so you get more nutrients out of it. Not to mention the beneficial bacteria.
Here is a list of comparison between Pasteurized milk and Raw milk from ‘The Raw Truth About Milk’ by William Campbell Douglass II, MD (pgs. 13-28)
_____________________________________________________
Pasteurized Milk:
*Pasteurization may be used to mask low-quality milk

*Heat destroys a great number of bacteria in milk and thus conceals the evidence of dirt, pus and dirty dairy practices. To combat the increase in pathogens milk goes through ‘clarification’, ‘filtering’, ‘bactofugation’ and two ‘deariation’ treatments. Each of these treatments uses heat ranging from 100-175 degrees Fahrenheit. Dairies count on many heat treatments to mask their inferior sanitary conditions: milk filled with pus, manure and debris.

*Homogenization of milk causes leucocytes (pus) to settle as sediment in the bottom of milk. The milk industry calls this pus sediment ‘slime’: a grayish-oily sludge. This slime is removed by ‘clarification’

*Pasteurization destroys vitamin C, and damages the water soluble B vitamins diminishing the nutrient value of milk

*Calcium and other minerals are made unavailable by pasteurization
Milk enzymes, proteins, antibodies as well as beneficial hormones are destroyed by pasteurization resulting in devitalized ‘lifeless’ milk. Milk enzymes help digest lactose and both enzymes and milk proteins help to absorb vitamins

*Pasteurized milk is more likely to lead to decay in teeth and interferes with the proper development of the teeth

*Infants do not develop well on pasteurized milk

*Pasteurization removes the stimulus to remove diseased animals from milking herds

*Pasteurization has contributed to an increase in allergies

*Pasteurized milk can be held for as many as four to five days in holding silos. The date on the carton is calculated from the time of bottling, not the date of milking

*It’s cheaper to produce dirty milk and kill the bacteria by heat, that to maintain a clean dairy and keep cows healthy

*Consumer Reports found 44% of 125 pasteurized milk samples contained as many as 2200 organisms per cubic centimeter (fecal bacteria, coliforms)

Raw Milk:

*Raw milk may contain no more than 10 coliforms per cubic centimeter

*Raw milk is usually bottled and sold within 24 hours, and yet can be held safely for four to five days because of the strict standards required of the raw milk dairies. The milk is also clean because the natural enzymes in raw milk eat and destroy any pathogens.

*Raw milk is not homogenized. Homogenization destroys milk fat which releases lipase which turns milk rancid.

*Raw milk is filled with fat digesting enzymes (removal of these enzymes by pasteurization causes lactose intolerance)

*Raw milk is filled with absorbable calcium, vitamin C and minerals

*Raw milk does not have the cream ‘skimmed’ from it. Cream contains CLA (cancer fighting and immune boosting organisms). Absence of cream (non-fat milk) is called ‘blue milk’ in the dairy industry and is poured into the ground as it makes animals sick

*Pasteurization was originally used to clean up milk from filthy diaries at the turn of the century. Rather than cleaning up the diaries, pasteurization has enabled dairies to continue to produce dirty milk: cheaply. Raw milk does not need to be boiled, clarified, filtered, aerated and bactofugated. It is clean and healthy. It is the mainstream dairies that are dirty. Contact your state representatives concerning the legalization of raw milk. Demand that they not be swayed by the high paying lobbyists of the dairy industry who would rather produce dirty, cheap milk than spend the money on clean dairies and healthy cows.
______________________________________________________
Still, real dairy, even pasturised dairy is so, so much better for you than the cheap imitation stuff that is made with nasty partially hydrogenated oils. If you can't believe it's not butter, believe me, it's not. =)

Have a blessed evening and keep Crunching for Christ,

Genevieve

By Way Of Introduction.

Howdy from the Texas Hill Country. I am humbled to call myself the daughter of the King of Kings...what follows is all by God's grace. I'm an 18 year old girl named Genevieve and my favorite part of "me" right now is being a daughter at home, with two brothers and three sisters. The other aspects of my life dim in comparison. My average day is spent cooking, cleaning, helping my mother homeschool my younger siblings and trying to keep up with my own studies. When I can, I try to through some sleep into the mix too. My mother (Annie) and I were a part of the last 2 fitness challenges, Spring Into Shape, and Sweat Off The Fat. We will be doing this one together also!

I'm excited that I know several of you ladies already and I look forward to meeting others as we seek to honor the Lord with our bodies. I Met Danni Joy at church in El Paso, Texas when I was (???), quite young anyway. She has been such a dear friend and a great encouragement to me.

Moving on..brace yourselves cause here comes my basic fitness history. When I was 13 I thought I needed to lose weight so I changed the way I ate and cut out most starches and sweets. I felt great from not eating all the junk food but after a few months I got too small and had low energy from not eating enough. My parents counseled my so I started eating a lot more good foods to get my weight back up. It took 3 years to reach my start weight of 115 (I'm 5'7"). The problem is, my body has gotten used to gaining ( I haven't been as diligent as should be either) so I need to reverse that cycle. I'm somewhat afraid to; afraid that I'll get to thin again. The Lord has been gracious and has helped me change my body image. I no longer want to be the super skinny girl that is popularized now a days. I want to be a healthy weight.

^ This is at a summer bible club I did last year. I'm about the same weight now as the picture.

I'm working on cutting out the snacking-all-day-habit, and instead eating 3 square measured (I've been using this site http://www.nutrimirror.com/join.php) meals a day while sitting down with my family. This is a big step for me (but I've done it successfully for the past 2 days!).

^Mom, little sister and I boating.

I also need to get more consistent with my exercise regimen, instead of 1 hours one day and none the next. We've gotten a mini re-bounder since SOF which is so nice. Last week Mom and I increased our 2 mile morning walk to 3 miles. I am looking forward to starting this challenge tomorrow. I do so much better with the accountability.

Blessings in Christ,

Gen <><

Hi y‘all from the rolling hills of Texas. I was a part of the last fitness challenge, Spring into Shape, but we were in the middle of a big move so I was not as diligent as I should have been (or plan to be this time around).

I should say more in order to properly introduce myself…I’m just an 18 year old girl named Genevieve (better known as Miss-Better-Late-Than-Never) and three days after I was supposed to have this done I have finally gotten around to joining the more social facet of the program. The question now is…Can I fit myself into a nutshell?…Well, here’s a go at it….

First off, I am humbled to call myself a daughter of the King of Kings…what follows is all by God’s grace. My favorite part of “me” right now is being a daughter at home, with three younger sisters and two brothers, one older one younger. I have the most wonderful family ever! The other aspects of my life seem dim in comparison…I am working on my degree with an innovative program called College Plus where I’m able to do most of my studying from home. Some things I enjoy are reading, writing, playing the piano (quite average) play with children (does that count?) and most aspects of homekeeping. When I can, I try to throw some sleep into the mix too.

I met Danni Joy at my church in El Paso, Texas when I was (???), quite young anyway. She has been such a dear friend, I just wish we got to see her more often (which is one I’m so excited to be a part of this summer sweat off).
That's me and my dad in the picture.


Okay, moving on to the diet and exercise part…I’m a health food nut, I get that from my mom. I’ve actually been trying to gain weight for most of my teen years (I was way to thin). But now I’m at the point where I’d like to lose some weight and tone up a little. I‘ve been following the makers diet, but I need to cut down on my honey consumption =) My beautiful Mother (Annie) and I will be doing this challenge together. Since we’ve gotten mostly settled in to our new home, she and I have been walking 2 miles in in the mornings and any other time we can. I’ve taken up biking (for fun), running and hiking (I just finished a long hike up a big rock/mountain and now my legs are killing me which is a good thing). I’m thinking exercise will be the catalyst to getting the weight off and I’d like to get down to 120 (I‘m 5‘7“). This is a recent picture of my brother and I.

Whew…sorry to make this into such a lengthy “nutshell” of me…I’ll close here before I end up writing a book. God bless!!!

Gen <><

Genni's Goals

Christmas 2009.

This is our family picture from last summer.
This is spring 2009

Well, it's about time I get with the program and tell you all a little bit about myself. My name is Genevieve (or Genni). I live down in the west Texas town of El Paso where you can go swimming in January (not really). I'm a 17 years old stay-at-home-daughter, I enjoy cooking, cleaning, jumping on the Trampoline, and being with my family.

I am 5´7"
134 lbs (I weighed 120 last year at this time:(

My goal si to get down to 120 pounds again.

I'm an ultra health nut, but in the past year I've let myself slip quite a bit eating cookies, ice cream, sugar etc. those never kind of foods, but I'm very excited to get back in shape with you all. My mom and I are doing this together. The plan is to do the Makers Diet by Jordan Rubin. It has three, 2-week phases.

Phase 1 you can eat:

*Meat : Kosher, red meat, poultry & fish

*Eggs: whole with the yolk like they are naturally

*Dairy (raw, unhomoginized is best): Lacto Fermented from goat or sheep milk

*Oil (non-hydrogenated): Coconut oil, olive oil, flax oil, or grass fed butter.

*Beans (soaked or fermented): lentils & Miso

* Nut's /Seeds (soaked or sprouted): Almonds, Sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, Pumpkin seeds, Tahini, & Hempseeds.

*Fruit (fresh or frozen): Berries, limes, lemons, grapefruit.

* Beverages: Water, lacto-fermented drinks, Tea, vegetable juice, Coffee,

*Sweeteners: Raw honey (1T/day), Stivia

*Vegetables (fresh or frozen): all, but potatoes

*Grains: none

*Salt: Celtic Sea Salt

Phase 2, add to phase 1 foods:

*Dairy (raw, unhomoginized is best): fermented cow milk products, Raw goat's milk

*Oil (non-hydrogenated only): Peanut oil

*Beans (soaked or fermented): White, Kidney, Black, Navy

*Nuts/Seeds (raw or soaked):Walnuts, Hazelnuts, Pecans, Macadamia , Brazil.

*Fruit (fresh or frozen): all but, Bananas Papaya, Mango,

Vegetables(fresh or frozen): Potato, Corn


Phase 3, add to phase 1&2:

*Beans (soaked or fermented): Pinto, Lima, Black-eyed pea, Red, Garbanzo, Braod, Edamame.

*Nuts/Seeds raw, soaked, dry roasted): Peanuts, Cashews.

*Fruit (fresh, frozen, dried, canned): Banana, Papaya,

*Wholegrain (soaked /fermented, in small amounts):Ezekiel bread, Essene bread, Desem bread, Quinoa, Buckwheat, Kamut, Oats, Spelt, Amaranth, Millet, Cereal, Brown rice, Barley. Pasta.

I have felt very good doing this diet when I've done it in the past. Just goes to show you that God knows best and we do best when we follow him (even his diet). One more thing I have as a goal is to eat oly at meal times with the rest of my family, which will, I think, have a big impact on my fitness goals. God bless you all. May we seek to glorify Him with our body and minds.

Genni