Still Vegan, but No Longer Starch Based

It has been one month since I last posted having good results with the "calorie density" McDougall/vegan approach to eating. But things did not stay that way.

I continued doing the program but soon my blood sugars were back to where they were before I started. It was more than a little scary and a lot frustrating to see this happen.

As I began to analyze what the problem might be I realized that I had been thinking about that "20-potato-a-day" diet guy and the good results he had, so I had increased my potato consumption. I don't think I was doing 20-a-day, but I was eating them for perhaps 2 out of 3 meals a day. I never fried them. I was still eating low fat, so I steamed them with some onion and applied some herbs and low sugar/no fat ketchup to the top layer and plunged in. In doing that my vegetable intake also plummeted. I was eating the potatoes alone -- like he did.

I like potatoes but my blood sugars went back to what they had been before. And I was even beginning to have anxiety and panic attacks. What the heck? After I had gone through that about three or four days, with sleepless nights and pacing, I drove to Walgreens and wildly purchased some double chocolate dipped peanuts and ate half a bag. Oddly enough all the anxiety went away. I also stopped eating potatoes. I still don't know what happened there, except I had noticed that some of the potatoes I had were sporting small sprouts that I was cutting off. It might have been the sprouted potatoes but, never the less, I'm not eating them like that anymore.

I finally had to admit that the "20-potato-a-day" regimen might work for a middle aged healthy man, but it was not working for this post-menopausal pre-diabetic woman, so I got rid of the unopened 5-pound bag of yellow gold potatoes by giving them to a friend, and moved on. I have two small red ones in the fridge and am not sure whether I will throw them out or eat them with some sauerkraut.

I was also having brown rice meals. Sometimes by itself, and sometimes with veggies. As I continued the experiment I could see that my blood sugars never again went down to normal and I felt very frustrated. I had been following the advice but it was not working for me. I had even begun to notice that my stomach was having a lot of "burning" which, in the past, has been associated with too many starches.

I continued to consume about two servings of fruit during the day. I continued having either oatmeal or rice with every meal with a few vegetables to add variety. My blood sugars did not get better.

I even had an "I am so discouraged with this that I'm going to binge" episode, for a few days too. I ate a whole bag of corn chips with beans or refried beans. That was a monumental disaster. The good BM's I was having disappeared and I was suddenly constipated again which of course meant the scale was now going up again. Eye. Yi. Yi. After a few days of that, I utilized some magnesium to help get things moving again. In a few days, things were finally back to normal -- more or less.

So in looking it over I'm thinking I've got to forget about "starched-based veganism" and head towards something better. I don't want to go back to being a meat-eater, although I think a little meat now and then should not be a problem.

I am now going to try out Joel Fuhrman's vegan approach which is not starch-based but vegetable-based. I had previously found a graph of his that I had downloaded and it suddenly showed up on my background screen. As I looked at it, I realized that this should be my adjustment to the experiment.  Here is the chart:

I had already  made the decision to reduce the grains and increase the beans but had not been thinking about the vegetables. I felt odd in the produce department at the grocery store as I realized I am a vegan who does not like or eat a large amount of vegetables, so I might need to make an adjustment.

I am aware that on this chart the percentages do not add up to one hundred but will make the effort to remember these pictorial proportions throughout the day. I'm single so I usually prepare a meal with two of the sections from the chart at one meal and then at the next I may repeat or alternate choosing from two other sections.

A note on the beans: they give me horrific gas so I had previously reduced my intake just for the noise reduction. But as I continued reading and finding out how well beans go hand in hand for a diabetic I wanted to know how to cook them so I do not get such horrible gas.

I found some advice from a fellow vegetarian who already experimented and found the following guidelines produce cooked beans with less gas -- although, so far, in my experiment the gas is not totally gone but it is somewhat better than it was and I don't have it for such a long period of time using just the first 4 guidelines:

1. Soak -- this is imperative. Even if you cook them in a pressure cooker (like I do) you still need to soak them over night in plain water. Soaking is said to actually get them to "sprouting" stage which produces some enzymes that pre-digest the fibers that cause the gas.

2. Change the water 2 or 3 times. --  It also helps to then, the next day, cover them with fresh water and bring them to a rolling boil for about 5 minutes and watch the gas foam up to the top of the pan. Pour this water off, rinse the beans in a colander, and then cover them with water and do it all over again. After that then cook the beans.

3. Do not cook the beans in salted water. -- This one was a surprise to me but I decided to try it out. They are not actually too bad that way. They said it was OK to add salt AFTER they are cooked so that is what I do. Of course I use "Real Salt" which is unprocessed and has lots of minerals.

4. Add some gas reducing herbs to the cooking water. -- I used cumin, dill seed, and curry powder because I had that on hand. They also recommend: ginger, cloves, coriander,  and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I don't know if they help but the beans I tried cooked this way did seem to be less gas producing -- although not entirely gone. Note: If you like onions and garlic in your beans do not add them until the beans are already cooked. After the beans are cooked you can add any thing you like to make your final recipe.

5. Kombu in the water is supposed to magically remove the gas from the beans. -- This is a sea weed product. I have just cooked my first pot of navy beans with a six inch strip of the stuff in the water. I have just tasted them and they are not bad at all. When I was reading up on this stuff I noticed that it is 100% iodine as listed on the label and I thought that was a good thing. I had been worrying that I was not getting enough iodine so had started mixing my good salt (Real Salt) half and half with some iodized sea salt. Perhaps with the Kombu in the beans I may not have to continue that practice.

My new-found adviser (Alex Picot-Annand, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach) said that after the beans are cooked you can either remove the sea weed or cut it up small and just leave it in the beans. When I brought the steam down and removed the lid on my pressure cooker to view the beans I stirred them around a little and noticed the sea weed was being broken up, so I decided to encourage that and leave it in the beans. I don't see where it would hurt anything. After my first tasting of the kombu/beans I'm enjoying them. So, this is a good taste addition, at least. I'll have to see if the gas problem is reduced and will get back to you on that one. I think the next time I might use my scissors and cut up the strip rather than putting it in whole.

I have just ordered Dr. Fuhrman's book, "End of Diabetes" (Paperback) and also his cooking DVD called: Secrets to Healthy Cooking

His web site gave me the opportunity to also download one of his past newsletters for free, so I chose the one on diabetes from September 2003. Right there on page four the head line reads: "Starch-Based Diets No Answer for Diabetic" -- which I had just found out -- the hard way. Well live and learn.

In the mean time, I also have read about water intake and have attempted to keep my water consumption up to 64 oz (at least) per day. Although some days I have a little less. I am still drinking more water than before.

So that is where I am. I am down a few pounds but not enough to be memorable. My blood sugars are not dangerous (100 to 134) but they are not yet improved -- like they were in the first 11 days (80-95). I want those blood sugars back.

Love you. Hope all is well with you.

Be back soon,

Marcia

Good Results for the First 11 Days

OK. I am surprised. I've been trying out the McDougall/Calorie Density ideas that I shared about in my last post and they seem to be working. No one is more surprised than I am based on the fact that it kind of goes against all the "low carbohydrate" ideas that I've been attempting to live by for the past few years. Unsuccessfully, I might add. That's why I tried out the new programs, I wanted something that worked and that I could stick to.

"So, what have you been eating?" I've been eating potatoes, rice, oat meal, vegetables and some fruit. I've been eating on the top side of the below chart (where the big red star is) and leaving out the things on the bottom (where the big red X is):

I've also been eating beans but the gas is monstrous and unwelcome so I'm not eating them as much as the other things.

"How do you know it is working?" I've been randomly checking my blood sugars and they are much lower than they were. In fact I've even had one fasting blood sugar reading of 86 -- which is smack dab in the middle of normal!! I've never had a  normal blood sugar reading before in my life!! This morning's reading was 96 after having eaten a whole cup of dry brown rice cooked up a couple of hours before going to bed. I had two small sweet potatoes before that, too.

"Are you losing weight?" Yep. For the first six days I did not lose any weight. I also did not gain any. I stayed at the weight I had been at a couple of weeks before.  Then on Wednesday I checked and suddenly, in one day, I had gone down 2.75 pounds. I weighed myself again this morning (three days later) and I've lost another 2.25 pounds for a total of 5 pounds in 11 days.

That is why I am posting today. It is so nice to finally have good news to share.

"What has the process been like?" If I compared what I am doing now to what I believed I should be doing before I heard about this method, I would have to say I fell off the deep end. It has been even a little scary to try out, because it goes so far against the low-carb directives.

Here is how my eating day goes: I now eat within an hour or two of rising because I am hungry. I used to wait as long as six to eight hours until I actually ate anything.

I eat whatever I feel like eating. I might choose to put some frozen hash brown potatoes (with no oil and as few additives as possible) into my steamer pan. On top of that I like to cut up an onion, because I like the mixture of flavors and the onion makes it easier to eat the potato with no butter or other oil or dairy toppings. On top of that I put on a layer of frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas, corn, green beans), and fill up the rest of the steamer pan with shredded cabbage, right up to the rim. I salt and pepper the layers as I add them, and dump on some curry powder which is my favorite spice. I steam them for about 10-15 minutes and then fill up my deep cereal bowl with food. I eat that bowl and usually have another. I still seem to be attached to the "clean your plate club" and I eat whatever is in the pot, even though I often think I am over eating.

Another meal I like is to cook some Bob's Red Mill whole rolled oats. I like my oatmeal stiff and thick so I use slightly less water than is called for in the recipe on the bag. Sometimes I just eat the oatmeal. I do not put any sugar in it and I'm not doing dairy so I just eat it plain, right out of the pot. It is salted and is one of my favorite things. I often feel like I'm cheating when I have my oatmeal because I love it so much! If I eat any fruit in the day, this may be one place I add it. I just put some frozen blueberries, or strawberries right out of the freezer, right on top of my bowl. I stir them in and the hot oatmeal thaws them and they cool down the oatmeal to eating temperature. Mmmmm. Good.

I also love brown rice. I cook it in the bottom of my stove top steamer pan and near the end of the rice cooking time, before the water is no longer visible, I put some veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots) in the steamer pot above the rice. Every thing gets cooked at the same time. I salt the rice and add some curry powder to the water. I salt and pepper the veggies and put some curry powder on them, too. When the rice is done, I ladle them into my deep cereal bowl in layers with the rice on the bottom and enjoy! I usually have two bowls of this, too. I do sometimes just eat plain brown rice.

I like my rice sticky so I use three cups of water for every cup of brown rice. It takes longer to cook, but I don't like the rice to be like soft rocks, so that is how I adjust it to my tastes.

I have been worried that I am eating too much. Turns out, I'm losing weight, so, I guess it is not a problem. I suppose a little lesser on the eating would put a little more in the weight loss camp, but I am so enjoying the eating. That may come along a little later as things progress. We'll see.

"So how is the plumbing department?" I'd like to cover this delicately so let me say that things are moving along nicely. Even surprisingly well. When I first started I was going up to four or five times in the day, but now it seems more like two or three.

I made the mistake of making my first meal on the program a pot of split peas with veggies and the plumbing really had a bit to deal with on that one. The gas and the go was almost overwhelming, but since I knew what caused it (my stupidity and the beans) I just weathered the storm and learned my lesson.

I did make another pot of beans (13 bean soup) which again caused gas, but I did not eat them alone, that time. I ate them with rice so the experience, while not perfect, was somewhat better than the split peas had been. I had used some Herdez salsa for flavor in my bowl and really liked the addition.

When I have plain potatoes (with onion) I sometimes put some Kroger Simple organic ketchup on it (lo sugar, no oil) and like the punch of sweet flavor.

I don't know if this had anything to do with not losing any weight in the first six days but I had originally purchased a bag of mixed unsweetened fruit (peaches, mango, grapes, blue berries, etc.) and was trying to stick to two servings of fruit per day. It made me feel guilty to be eating so much fruit so when the bag was empty I did not replace it. I'm thinking that was from the old mind set still holding on, so I might try another bag in the future, to see if the weight loss stops or continues.

One thing I've noticed is that I really gravitate towards the starches in the program and have to remember to include the veggies which are nutritious and low cal, and also add good flavor to the starches.

I've not been eating any bread (processed food) and am still leary of including it, because I can really get carried away with bread. It is less tempting, though, because of the lack of butter (high calorie density). For now, I am sticking to the whole grains (brown rice, whole rolled oats) which I am cooking myself, and white and sweet potatoes. Mostly white, some frozen, some fresh, always with onion.

"Did you notice anything that was not positive about this program?" Well, the first thing I noticed, after the split pea incident, was that I had gotten some very dark circles under my eyes. I've seen this before, and simply watched to see what happened there. They are no longer as dark, now, but are still there, just not as bad.

Also: the skin on my hands seems to be a bit dryer. In the past I chalked that up to the carbs stealing water from my tissues, which I suppose could be happening again. But I've also noticed I have to really pay attention to drink my water or I just drop it out.

The really odd thing is that I "feel" like I'm binge eating. I think I'm kind of "over eating" on quantity. But the blood sugar readings and the weight loss are evidence that I must be fine. I guess I'll have to just keep my eye on things and see how it goes.

So far, I am excited at the results, enjoying eating again, and hoping to leave my fears behind.

So. I'm off to have some oatmeal.

Have a good one!!

Be back soon,

Marcia

Calorie Density Trial Run

Hi,

In the last two weeks I've been doing a lot of reading and searching as I have investigated the Calorie Density approach to weight loss. In my last post I was not at the place yet where I had given myself over to this approach but I am now at the stage where I have begun to try it out.

I am incorporating the ideas of Jeff Novick, a nutritionist, and Doctor McDougall and his wife, Mary, with some input from the 20-potato-a-day guy, Chris Voight who is the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission. I've also found a lot of other useful information as I searched around the web following my questions on this subject.

As I read and studied I have become convinced that I should try this approach once again, but carefully. For three days now I have been eating in this style and checking my blood sugars which, surprisingly, seem to be very good. Better in fact, than I expected.

I am eating on the upper "starred" portion of this calorie density chart that I found on the net:

Jeff says that eating in the less than 800 calories per pound category, the upper part of the chart with the star on it, will give you a lot of low calorie food to eat. The foods that should be reduced or eliminated are in the 1000 calories section on the lower portion of the chart with the big X on it. Those foods are high in calorie density and if you eat them and remain within your desired calorie range your body will not be satisfied with the small portions. It is hard to eat low calorie with high calorie foods. You simply get to eat less in volume and have to hard knuckle it to continue doing it. I have always hated the hard knuckle approach to eating, so this is a blessing to me.

I was worried that my blood sugars would go sky high but they are well within normal ranges and are often lower than I was expecting. So I am relieved about that. My ankles still seem to be swelling up, but that may be from sitting at the computer for long periods of time. The county pools that I usually exercise in three times a week were closed today for spring spruce up, so I won't have the opportunity to exercise in that way for the next week. I should probably find some alternative that my knee will allow me to do.

I had not planned on starting on Wednesday but I was on my way home from the pool and wanted something to eat. As I cast about in my head figuring out what I could do it dawned on me that I could stop at Panda Express and get a large side of vegetables and a large side of brown rice and I could try out the new program. I was worried that the bland brown rice would be unpalatable to me for my first meal so I also stopped at Popeye's Chicken and got a side of red beans and rice. I knew this side was not fat free but I remembered that in the past I had liked it and decided I could dilute it with the sides from Panda. Jeff talks about diluting your high density calories with low density calories so that was what I was doing.

I brought it all home and mixed some of the brown rice with a portion of the red beans and rice in a bowl and put some of the veggies on top. Wow, it was delicious! It turned out to make three meals for me that I really enjoyed. I checked my blood sugar an hour after I ate and it was 142. This was a little higher than I would have liked but it was not too extreme so I accepted it as OK.

I had enjoyed the meal so much I decided to go ahead and try out the program for at least 10 days and see how it goes. The next day I made up my shopping list using the guidelines of the program and purchased everything I would need to immerse myself in this style of eating.

The first home made meal I made was split pea soup with an onion, two cloves of garlic, a cup or so of frozen corn (ignoring the GMO issue), spices and a pound of split peas. The pot I had originally chosen ended up being too small to accommodate so I got out my big pressure cooker pot and used it as a regular pot. As it cooked it began to smell good. I kept testing to see if the beans were done but it took 30 minutes or more for them to become soft cooked and edible. Finally when it was done I ladled out enough of the soupy broth and soft beans to fill a deep cereal bowl and enjoyed it. It was very good and I wanted more.

Knowing there was no fat and nothing in it of a high calorie nature, and also knowing the instructions are to eat until you are full, I ate another bowl. I was still not satisfied so had a third one, after which I was completely satisfied -- and maybe a little overfull. I left the pot on the stove for later knowing that as split pea soup cools down it thickens into a kind of paste, which I also enjoy eating. Later that night I finished off the last remaining paste-like bowl and was completely full with the one serving.

Of course, I had gone overboard and with gas-causing beans! My goodness, the next morning and well into the afternoon I had so much gas I think I could have blown up a bouncy house!! Ha ha! But it was unique in one way. It did not have a detectible odor to it. This was new. Gas explosions with no bad odor!! 

When I checked my blood sugar an hour after the first three bowls it read 123. Well within an acceptable range, especially for something that was a carbohydrate. I was really pleased with that. I checked it again an hour or so later and it was 95. Wow! That was great! I think I'm going to like this way of eating.

Today I started the day with a large pile of hash brown potatoes and onion that I tried to brown in my cast iron skillet but I did not want to add a lot of fat to the pan so I put in about a tablespoon and when that dried up I used water to continue cooking them. I also seasoned them with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and curry powder. They ended up sticking to the bottom of the pan but they were not burned or anything. They were not browned the way I usually like them but I am willing to let things be different this time around. I had purchased some low sugar no fat ketchup and squirted the top layer with that. My gosh they were good! I ate the whole bowl full and did not want anything more for the next eight hours, at least! My blood sugars were also good after this meal but I don't remember the actual numbers to share.

Later in the evening I cooked up some oatmeal and put in some frozen blue berries. It was so good, I had another one. Blood sugars, still good! This is amazing to me, as I had believed if I ate this way it would sky rocket my sugars. I think the difference may be the whole food versus refined food, thing, and also the resistant starch which does not feed me but feeds the good bacteria in my gut.

I got the idea to try this from "Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet" which is potatoes for every meal with a little fruit and veg on the side. After doing some research on the potato thing I was willing to try it out for myself and see.

The potato meal was the most filling, and stayed full the longest of anything I've so far tried so I shall not be reluctant to try them out further.

If you'd like to see where I'm getting my ideas, here are some links to the stuff I used to guide me:

20 Potatoes a Day interview

Mary's Mini-McDougall Diet

Jeff Novick on Calorie Density to Lose Weight

So that's where I am right now.

Be back soon,

Marcia

More Food, Less Calories... Naturally

Hi,

I have not posted here for a long time. I got off track and did not want to continually share with you about my "always" doing the wrong thing. I have put back on more than half of the weight I had taken off and that is so discouraging to live with and have to admit.

I recently stumbled across a guy named Jeff Novick who is a humorous nutritionist. Listening to his video on Youtube was easy because he has such a logical and simple approach. He is a vegan who endorses the McDougall Program. I've had a problem with the McDougall Program ever since I did it in the mid '90s. It was while I was on that program that my feet started to daily swell up. I concluded that it was from his "starch based" approach.

After I discovered that I am a carbohydrate addict, it began to make sense. I know that if I sit for too long at the computer in conjunction with eating junk food, or even healthy food that has starchy carbs in it, my feet will become the size of posts. In listening to Jeff Novick I became tempted to try out some of what he says without actually going vegan, again. I think I need some animal protein in my diet. It helps to keep my blood sugar stable.

I am feeling motivated to try out his calorie density theories. He talks about the volume of a food in relation to the number of calories for that food. It is a way of reducing your calorie intake without limiting or reducing your actual volume of food.  On one of his charts he shows the different calorie counts of a pound of certain foods. On the left he has broccoli and on the right he has olive oil with fruits, meats and unrefined carbs in between the two extremes.  Even though it would be ridiculous to actually try to consume a pound of olive oil, the numbers on the chart let you know whether a food has a low or high caloric density which is useful information.

Some food, like the broccoli, has a much lower calorie count for one pound than others. He points out that vegetables whether cooked or raw continue to have the same calorie density. Meaning that if you were to eat a pound of broccoli you would end up being very full because it has a lot of volume, but it would not put fat on your body because the calorie count would still be low.

His presentation reminded me about the volume of vegetables and how you can eat more and suffer no conscience or remorse because it has lots of nutrients and will not make you fat. He also lists fruit which has more calories than most vegetables but way less than, say, olive oil or oreo cookies. The foods that are calorie dense and therefore to be avoided are processed foods (i.e.: oreos) and meats or animal proteins.

I found his DVD called "Calorie Density, How to eat more, weigh less and live longer" and ordered it. He has no qualms about cooking his veggies, which I like. I know I used to be married to the idea that my veggies needed to be raw to be of benefit but have since found that my blood sugars don't go up when I eat cooked veggies and I like the fact that I can buy them frozen and they don't go bad so fast as raw does.

I was also tempted to try to eat grains again, because he says that "whole grains" while being more dense than veggies are not as dense as oil.  But this time, I went back in my blog to my previous "grain experiments" and after re-reading them, decided to not go through that again, so I am back to the tried and true: veg and meat approach. I'm going to do a lot less protein, this time, though. I don't need to eat half a pound of hamburger in one sitting. This will reduce the number of calories per meal and allow for more vegetables, meaning larger meals with fewer calories which should, hopefully, allow for a loss of actual weight.

I guess I'll try it out and then let you know how it goes. 

Be back soon,

Marcia

Beyond the Lust: Christ in Me

While reading: “Humility” by Andrew Murray (published by Hendrickson Christian Classics) the Lord gave me this illustration in my mind:

Arrogance is one side of the self coin. It can be illustrated like this: On one side of the coin is Arrogance which states “I am in charge, I am right, I know best.” This is the side which contains conceit, egotism, superiority, pride, overconfidence, self-importance and condescension. This is recognizable to others and is often felt as being offensive to others, but the person who is exhibiting it, is usually blind to it.

The other side of the self coin is the opposite or negative side of the same thing which is best illustrated with the words “I am not in charge, I am not right, I do not know best.” It is self denigrating, a personality that feels bad about itself. It makes attempts to be modest. It appears altruistic but it is, at best, an act. It relishes its inferiority. It tries to be humble but ends up still being self-important and condescending. This side of the coin is much more “acceptable” to people in society but, when you realize what it really is, you recognize that it is still offensive to God and is simply the opposite side of the very same coin.

One side feels very good and superior about itself and the other side of the same coin feels very bad and inferior about itself but it is all the “self coin.”  These are the two sides of pride.

Humility is not the negative side of the self coin. Humility is not focused on the self. Humility is the space in which God is given room to be Who He Is. Humility is grace towards God.

I have a friend who refers to the self coin activities as “navel gazing.” That is not what being a Christian is about. I’ve been struggling for a long time in my attempts to overcome my own nature and not until I had the above revelation and then read the following did it finally become clear what "putting myself under the hand of God" truly means.

From the above mentioned book under subheading: “The need”:

“It is pride that made redemption needful; it is from our pride we need, above everything, to be redeemed. And our insight into the need of redemption will largely depend upon our knowledge of the terrible nature of the power that has entered our being.

“No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. The power that Satan brought from Hell, and cast into man’s life, is working daily, hourly, with mighty power throughout the world. Men suffer from it; they fear and fight and flee it; and yet they know not whence it comes, whence it has its terrible supremacy. No wonder they do not know where or how it is to be overcome. Pride has its root and strength in a terrible spiritual power, outside of us, as well as within us; as needful as it is that we confess and deplore it as our very own, is it to know it, in its Satanic origin. If this leads us to utter despair of ever conquering or casting it out, it will lead us all the sooner to that supernatural power in which alone our deliverance is to be found – the redemption of the Lamb of God. The hopeless struggle against the workings of self and pride within us may indeed become still more hopeless as we think of the power of darkness behind it all; the utter despair will fit us the better for realizing and accepting a power and a life outside of ourselves too, even the humility of Heaven as brought down and brought nigh by the Lamb of God, to cast out Satan and his pride.

“The Nature. No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. Even as we need to look to the first Adam and his fall to know the power of the sin within us, we need to know well the Second Adam and his power to give within us a life of humility as real and abiding and overmastering as has been that of pride. We have our life from and in Christ, as truly, yea more truly, than from and in Adam. We are to walk “rooted in him,”  “holding fast the Head from whom the whole body increaseth with the increase of God.” The life of God which in the incarnation entered human nature, is the root in which we are to stand and grow; it is the same almighty power that worked there, and thence onward to the resurrection, which works daily in us. Our one need is to study and know and trust the life that has been revealed in Christ as the life that is now ours, and waits for our consent to gain possession and mastery of our whole being.

“In this view it is of inconceivable importance that we should have right thoughts of what Christ is, of what really constitutes him the Christ, and specially of what may be counted his chief characteristic, the root and essence of all his character as our Redeemer. There can be but one answer: it is his humility. What is the incarnation but his heavenly humility, his emptying himself and becoming man? What is his life on earth but humility; his taking the form of a servant? And what is his atonement but humility? “He humbled himself and became obedient unto death.” And what is his ascension and his glory, but humility exalted to the throne and crowned with glory? “He humbled himself, therefore God highly exalted him.” In Heaven, where he was with the Father, in his birth, in his life, in his death, in his sitting on the throne, it is all, it is nothing but humility. Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness and gentleness, to win and serve and save us. As the love and condescension of God makes him the benefactor and helper and servant of all, so Jesus of necessity was the Incarnate Humility. And so he is still in the midst of the throne, the meek and lowly Lamb of God.

“If this be the root of the tree, its nature must be seen in every branch and leaf and fruit. If humility be the first, the all-including grace of the life of Jesus – if humility be the secret of his atonement – then the health and strength of our spiritual life will entirely depend upon our putting this grace first too, and making humility the chief thing we admire in him, the chief thing we ask of him, the one thing for which we sacrifice all else.

“Is it any wonder that the Christian life is so often feeble and fruitless, when the very root of the Christ life is neglected, is unknown? Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so little felt, when that in which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought? Until a humility which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self, which gives up all the honor of men as Jesus did, to seek the honor that comes from God alone; which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that the Lord alone may be exalted – until such a humility is what we seek in Christ above, our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world.”

And this also: “Humility is the only soil in which the graces root; the lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure. Humility is not so much a grace or virtue along with others, it is the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God, and allows him as God to do all.

“God has so constituted us as reasonable beings, that the truer the insight into the real nature or the absolute need of a command, the more ready and much fuller will be our obedience to it. The call to humility has been too little regarded in the Church, because its true nature and importance has been too little apprehended. It is not a something which we bring to God, or he bestows; it is simply the sense of entire nothingness, which comes when we see how truly God is all, and in which we make way for God to be all. When the creature realizes that this is the true nobility, and consents to be with his will, his mind, and his affections, the form – the vessel – in which the life and glory of God are to work and manifest themselves, he sees that humility is simply acknowledging the truth of his position as creature, and yielding to God his place.”

Take the focus off of your self, and put it on God!!

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Philippians 2:6-8  who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

1 John 5:3-5 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Philippians 4:12-14 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Colossians 1:26-28  (NASB)  that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

1 Peter 5:5-7  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you

 Be back soon -- I've got a new plan which I will try out and then report on!! Today is day one.

Marcia

Deceitful Lusts

The Lord has been putting words in my mind again for me to meditate upon. To give them a look see from more than one side. The words "deceitful lusts" have been showing up for quite some time. I came across them again in the Bible study that I'm teaching and they have been popping up over and over again for me to think about.

Those words come from the Bible.

Ephesians 4:22 (NKJV) that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

I am often amazed that the Bible which was written so long ago is still so spot on today.

Lusts that lie to us. Lust is always a lie no matter what the object is. It is not the object that lies, it is the lust. The thought or feeling or compulsion that some action or thing will cause a desired state of being in ones self. That is the lie. Food does not speak to us. Only our desire for it speaks to us.

Since this is a Diabetes blog I will be focusing on food but the idea applies to all addiction whether it be food, heroin, cigarettes, or sex. It is impossible for the object to fill the need.... or desire for it.... or the lust. That is why it is a lie. It makes us think that we will be better off when we have that "whatever" it is that we lust after or desire.

The online definition at m-w.com for lust is: to have an intense desire or need : crave; specifically: to have a sexual urge. The obsolete definitions are: a: pleasure, delight; b: personal inclination: wish

 These are the examples of usage that are provided, too:

1. He was consumed by lust.
2. He was driven by a lust for power (___________or whatever you want to insert in the blank).
3. Lust for chocolate drew her into the candy store.

Look at that! "He was consumed by lust." It was the lust that was doing the consuming and what got consumed was the person!!

And the next one "He was driven by a lust for (fill in the blank)" really describes the compulsion, the drive, the relentlessness of unbridled lust.

And you know they had to include CHOCOLATE!! It was the lust that drew her into the candy store not the chocolate!!

Included in the word is the idea that there will be some pleasure, something that will delight us. It is a very personal inclination.

Inclination being:

: a feeling of wanting to do something : a tendency to do something
: a slanting surface

: the act of bending your head or body forward : the act of inclining your head or body

I think the word "addiction" somehow softens the blow because it is rather abstract, but "lust" seems more concrete or accurate. It pictures the intense feeling of want, the inclining of the body in the wayward direction of the object.

I observed my lust for oreo cookies again tonight. It got so strong I nearly set out to get some but came up short and prayed instead and God soon made it disappear.

In the past when I've gotten a craving for a particular food, it has stayed on my mind until I satisfied it. It could be days, but did not disappear until I acquired the object and ate it. The eating of it usually takes only minutes so it just seems odd that it could stay on my mind for days. But tonight was different and I'm not clear on what or why, other than to say the Lord helped me because it did disappear.

I think it is rather odd that I crave Oreo cookies because, as kid, I really did not like them. There were other cookies that I preferred. I'll not go into listing those because that would be a distraction. 

"Grows corrupt" is another fascinating idea. Corrupt means decay and this decay spreads. It is like a radiating or sprawling festering, disintegrating grayness.

Our spirit grows corrupt through the deceitfulness of lust. If we believe the lies, it leads us nowhere good.

Definition: Ambush -- to attack (someone or something) by surprise from a hidden place (lurk, waylay) ... related words: assault, attack, strike, mug, jump, pounce, capture, ensnare, entrap, hunt, prey on, stalk.

That is what it feels like when the craving suddenly appears but since I know it is deceitful, I don't have to believe it, any more. It cannot do for me what only God can do.


PASSAGE OF TIME........

I did not post the above because it did not feel complete to me at the time but I've got more to say on the subject now.

A few days later the Oreo craving was still showing its head but getting a little less loud. I had been not acting on it until I went to QT and got some gas. It occurred to me that if I was going to get some Oreos this is the place because I can get a smaller package of them, than at the grocery store. So I went in, bought the small pack of Oreos and a king size Payday. I felt like I was a robot.

Later when I got home and opened the package and ate I sat there and noticed the eating process... how they felt, what they tasted like, what they looked like. The eating was "OK" but nothing special. The same with the Payday which I no longer wanted after the first bite but finished it anyway.

That was very odd, I thought. Later, I realized I really needed to eat some protein so I got out a can of tuna and seasoned it and put some horse radish mustard on it. As I was eating I noticed that the experience of eating the tuna was exactly the same as eating the Oreo, or the Payday.... there really was no difference in the experience of eating.

O my gosh! Since the experience was exactly the same it made no sense to crave one over the other and put my body at risk at the same time. If it does not matter, why don't I just eat the good stuff and help me be and do what I'd like to be and do? That is a question to ponder, too.

I kept thinking about that and then remembered that there have been times in my life when I've dreaded doing something and procrastinated putting my hand to it. Then later, when I finally did do it, I discovered that it was not nearly so bad as I had expected and I usually felt a sense of accomplishment when I had gotten the job done.

I put these two together and realized that the experience of doing something is not the thinking about it beforehand. You can look forward, or crave, or dread something and all of that is just thinking, or imagination. None of the before thinking really has anything at all to do with the doing... or the actual experience of it.

That has been sticking in my thinking and has made making better choices a whole lot easier. Wow.

Then this scripture came to mind:
James 4:13  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;  whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow....

It is like that. No matter what my plans are, or what I anticipate, or desire, or dread.... thinking is not outcome. We do not know what will happen tomorrow or in the next instant. I get a sense of freedom from this. It does not really matter what I think will or won't happen.... or what I desire or dread... my thinking has nothing to do with the reality or experience.

Imagination is not experience or doing. It is simply thinking. No need to stop imagining but to begin to recognize it for what it is and call the shots or make decisions based on truth and not feeling.

Choosing to eat healthy and realize that cravings are deceitful lusts that I no longer need to conform to is very freeing. Unbridled lust can be bridled once you realize what it is: deceitful.

Thank you Lord!!

Be back soon,

Marcia