DAY 3- HHCG DIET

I made it through today. The first day is always difficult for me only because I pick at food throughout the day. I kept busy today. I finished painting my interior chimney. I am so amazed at the energy I have by cutting a bunch of "junk" out of my daily intake. Hey, any energy is good energy! For breakfast I had my drops then 30 minutes later I had my coffee; for lunch I had drops and a 3.5 oz chicken breast (87 cal) and 1 lg. cucumber (34 cal) and 1 small apple (55 cal)= 176 cal. Supper consisted HHCG drops then waited 30 minutes before having 1-3.5 oz ground chuck patty (150 cal) wrapped in 4 leaves of loose leaf lettuce (20 cal) and 1 small apple (34 cal)= 204 cal which gave me a total for the day of 380 calories. This total for the day is too too low. It needs to be as close to 500 calories as possible. I'm through for the night and will have oranges tomorrow for dessert to get the calorie count up. I also forgot to have my Melba toast with supper today. Wow, that sounds really weird. I'm having to make myself eat 500 calories a day. It's definitely not a good thing to go too far below the 500 calorie mark. I'm also drinking plenty of water as well as having coffee in between meals. I have my usual pot of caffeine for breakfast then it's decaf rest of the day. I will have to be more careful with the calorie intake. I don't want to put myself in starvation mode. Thanks for hanging out with me tonight. I should start seeing a weight difference in the morning and will report the pounds lost each day forward.

DAY 2- MY HHCG DIET

Well I was up throwing up from 4 am this morning till 6:30 am and have been in bed most of the day. I don't think I'm coming down with anything but think I just ate too much yesterday. It was stomach acid that came up and I didn't have heart burn. You would think given the opportunity to eat high fat food would be a good thing but I don't normally eat high fat foods. My problem with food is picking at it all day long. I know you may not wanted to know all that but I have to be honest in this blog. My son, Johnathan, brought me breakfast this morning. It was so sweet of him. He had no clue I was ill all night. He brought me gravy & biscuits, bacon, egg, and hash browns. I was only able to eat half a biscuit with gravy, bacon and two hash browns. For lunch I tried eating some ravioli, about half a cup, which I never eat but just couldn't think of eating anything else. I munched on some Cheetos around 3 pm. I went to KFC this evening when John (my hubby) and I ran to Harlan to pick up some things. Not feeling 100% so only ate a chicken breast,small amount of mashed potatoes/gravy, okra and a biscuit. Oh and a small piece of bread pudding (I've gotta learn how to make that, it's soooooo good). Going to bed now, will fill you in tomorrow night on how tomorrow, Friday, goes. I will not have breakfast in the morning but will take 10 drops of HHCG, wait 30 minutes, then drink my coffee. See ya tomorrow night!!! :)

MY HHCG DIET BLOG

Today is January 4, 2012 and I have been praying how to approach this year in the name of my Heavenly Father. I will continue to post what the Lord lays on my heart but I also will be posting something new. I am trying to better my health and hopefully get myself off of insulin and blood pressure medicine. A couple of years ago I shared with my church something the Lord spoke into my spirit. I was praying for a healing from diabetes and high blood pressure. I had prayed for almost a year when the Lord spoke into my spirit that he would heal me through what I ate. I wasn't sure what he meant. In the flesh I knew I was overweight and needed to lose weight to get my health under control. I'm not one to share my process of weight loss with the public but feel this is something I need to do so I can be held more accountable. Now does that give you permission to come down hard on me if I fail? Of course not, I would like to believe you will help motivate me to stick to this "change of eating habits". I don't know how much you know about the HCG Diet or if you know about it at all. I'm not going to go into detail about it here except to tell you it is a pregnancy hormone used with a 500 calorie diet and I'm using the homeopathic version. I tried the diet before Christmas and decided due to all the cooking I'm better off restarting in January when things have slowed down and I'm staying at home more. During the week I was on it I lost 17 pounds and have since only gained 2 pounds of it back. It's not a diet to play with. The HCG Diet is a serious diet to consider and I will discuss it with my doctor. In my online research some claim homeopathic versions only possess very little of the pregnancy hormone but the HHCG drops I purchased worked well for me. I enjoyed the energy I suddenly acquired. When you're diabetic you have many many days where you are sluggish and it takes an act of congress, so to speak, to just get basic cleaning done. Before diabetes I was a very "hyper" person but since becoming diabetic I struggle with doing some basic things around the house. At times I struggle to stay awake even after sleeping 8 hours the night before. I'm not a lazy person but feel like one more times than I can count. Someone shared how the HCG diet worked for them and I'm a skeptical person but hearing about this diet became very intriguing to me. I begin my online research. For me the good out weighs the bad. I hope you enjoy walking through this diet with me. Please help me pray this is the way the Lord was speaking of when he told me he would heal me through what I ate. This is a difficult step for me to take because as I said I don't usually share my weight loss process with the public. I don't like singling myself out. I feel like I'm saying, "Hey look at me I'm fat". I know I am overweight and dealing with it is one thing but bringing public attention to it is another. Please love me through this. *Taking a deep breath* Here goes: HHCG Diet I hate scales and believe they should be banned!! Oh Lord I hate writing this down but my weight today is 215. Day 1 - On the first two days I'm to take 7-10 drops of HCG under my tongue and hold it for 60 seconds before swallowing. I will wait 30 minutes before eating. I'm then to eat high fat foods, as much as I can hold, each day for two days. So today, Thursday, I will eat out since I have to run to Harlan and will decide between now and then what to eat. I'm not good with greasy foods other than Long John Silvers (love it!!!) so we'll see. I never considered myself a big eater but I'm pretty sure my weight gain comes from lack of exercise and picking at the M&M's and Hershey Kisses I keep in my candy dishes. Isn't it amazing how much we pick at food items and don't realize it!

2012 - A Time of Sharing or Not?

What are your plans for the New Year? Anything you can stay true to? Well that sounds like me. I make new resolutions each year only to fail at the majority of them. Of course my relationship with the Lord is my first priority. There is nothing to make a decision on there other than being a better servant for the Lord and finding out what he has for me to do for Him in the upcoming year. My life with the Lord is not up for questions when it comes to a new year. He's my Savior, my healer, my friend, my everything!!

Now weight loss seems to be the usual on the list of resolutions each new year. I've spoken with a lot of people over the years who desperately want to lose weight and many do only to gain back the same amount or more. I'm going to make another attempt at the HCG diet. I began it three weeks before Christmas and made an abrupt decision to stop until after the holidays. Holidays is never a good time to begin any change in your eating habits because many can't stick to it and I am most definitely one of them. If you think it's easy then you are among the very few and I'm jealous of you, lol. I will be the first to admit I love to eat. There are even times I absolutely adore what I eat. Food is not only a comfort food for me it is a joy. I know that probably isn't politically correct to say but hey I'm being as honest as I know how. The actual week I was on the HCG diet I lost 17 pounds. I lost 10 pounds the second day. I don't know what it was, fluid or fat, but it's gone. I lost 5 pounds the third day and 2 the fourth day. The fifth day I had to do some running around, paying bills and such and didn't have my HCG with me. Let me tell you if you have a very busy lifestyle keep your HCG with you. I began failing :(

What is HCG? I won't give full description here. You can look it up on the internet. In a nut shell HCG is a pregnancy hormone which combined with a daily 500 calorie diet can make a way for quick weight loss of abnormal fat (belly fat). There are loads of pros and cons concerning HCG. All I will say is I liked what I read about the pros and I know someone who has went on it, lost weight, and loves it. Unless you've been overweight you'll never understand how those of us feel who are desperate to get the weight off not only to look better but many of us are diabetics and this may be our way of being insulin free. I can't speak for anyone else but I hate taking insulin and I hate being sluggish and weak all the time. I know I'm getting older and my energy levels will slow down but I need some much needed energy I once possessed. Weight loss is my only way and I'm terrified of having gastric bypass. Please by all means research any diet you attempt to follow. I am not pushing the HCG diet nor making any health claims. I'm only sharing my experience thus far.

Now if you're wondering if I'm going to do a daily blog on here I'm just not sure at this point. Allowing all of you in my personal dieting may be just what I need to encourage me to stay on this diet. My question is, will you encourage me? I still need more time to think on this one but will publish sooner or later. One thing I enjoy about this diet is I can still have my coffee!!! That is such a plus for me. Do I hear an Amen from my coffee drinking friends and acquaintances???? If I do report on here about my last approach at weight loss I will also share what moods I'm in and what I'm going through at the time. I may turn into a coffee junkie. My son thinks I'm already there! Coffee is my "thing", flavored and non flavored.

So while I'm praying about rather to put my weight loss in the public eye or not you have a wonderful, safe Happy New Year and if you have nowhere to go or nothing to do come be with us at Gilliam Chapel Baptist Church, Clutts section, Cumberland, Kentucky on December 31 beginning at 10:00 p.m. for a "WATCH NIGHT" service. We'd love to have you with us! If you can't make it then please help me pray that I'm doing the right thing and ask God to lead me in the right direction to becoming insulin free.

Thanks for allowing me to share with you tonight as I sit here crashed on my couch after a weekend of much needed family time with my children and grandchildren. I'm at my happiest when my children are together in 'our' home. Lots of wonderful memories are shared. Even all the little dogs had an awesome time visiting together! God Bless!

Merry Christmas Jesus

Merry Christmas Jesus!! What a wonderful time of year to celebrate. Commercialism would like to draw you away from the true meaning of Christmas but we all know rather we are told it's a myth or the truth, we know the truth in our hearts. God Bless those born on Christmas. I'm sure the Lord doesn't mind sharing his day with you. Christmas is a time of celebration and thankfulness.

Last year I wrote about "Born to Die" because that is what Jesus' birth on earth was about. He came to die for our sins so that we could accept him as Lord and Savior. You may disagree and that's ok. Many will disagree with me. My prayer is that you come to know the truth. What a better gift for Christmas than to see the star leading the wise men to the place where Jesus lay. I've been told that on Christmas Eve, many animals bow on their "knees" in reverence to the birth of Christ. I don't know if this is true but I'd sure like to spend the night in a barn to witness such an event if there is truth to the story.

I'm not concerned with receiving gifts at Christmas. It so much more fun to give to the children. I feel gift giving is geared toward children and as adults we should focus on enjoying seeing a child's face at Christmas and watch their enthusiasm. Everyone can be a "Santa Claus" if you give from the heart. We know Santa isn't real in the sense that a man travels the earth over in one night delivering presents.I don't think we cheat Jesus by allowing our children to think there is a Santa Claus. Actually we honor the Lord by knowing he has placed a love in our hearts that has compassion on others and wants to give to others. We can teach our children that everyone is a Santa Claus by the wonderful love God has placed in our hearts. I am only speaking from personal experience and what has worked for me. I don't feel I lied to my children as they grew up. I once read a wonderful story, "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus". I explained that everyone who enjoys giving is a type of Santa Claus. Just as I taught at Easter that it's not about the egg but there are three parts to an egg just as there is three parts to the trinity of Christ. There is the white, the yellow and the shell of an egg yet it is one egg just like there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit yet it is one Godhead. There is ways of teaching children without destroying some joyful time in their lives. You may disagree and that is ok. When my son was around five years old we were walking through a mall at Christmas. I saw him gazing at Santa with pictures being taken with children. He looked up at me and said, Mom, I know Santa isn't for real but can I go sit on his lap and have my picture taken with him? I said sure feeling content I had taught him well and he understood what I had been teaching him about Christmas. I don't feel I disregarded my Heavenly Father at all.

Many will mourn over the Christmas season because Of lost loved ones. I could do the same but have determined to focus on the joys of the season. My mother went home to be with Jesus on Christmas Eve 2007. I could get all depressed feeling cheated and question, My God, how could you take her on such a day. My mom absolutely loved the Christmas season. What a better time to go home and be with the Lord. My mother hadn't spoken for three days before her departure but around an hour before she flat lined she tilted her head to the left and said in a soft voice plain as day, "Lord, let's get out of here". I know what I heard and as much as I didn't want my mother to die I knew I was in the presence of the Lord. Angels didn't escort my mother home but Jesus Christ personally escorted my mother home to be with him for his birthday. What a time of rejoicing and grief mixed into one. The nurses tried to comfort me but I told the nurse that was in the room with me. I'll always miss my mother but I was just in the presence of God. Tears filled her eyes because she was a Christian and she understood what I was speaking about. My mother gave me the greatest gift of all by allowing me to be in my Heavenly Father's presence if for only a moment. For some reason last year was such a struggle for me at Christmas. It's not easy when we lose someone so close to us. This year I have focused on decorating inside my home like never before, not alot but more than I would normally do. I am celebrating Christmas in memory of my mother and dad who loved holidays. I've told my children everything I do this year is in memory of my parents. My dad loved poisettias so my tree is full of poinsettias. My mother loved anything to do with mangers, angels,even Santas and baked goods sitting around the house so I've done exactly that. The Lord doesn't want us to feel depressed or sad around his birthday. Let's enjoy, lets celebrate. Give a gift to someone you wouldn't normally give a gift too. I like giving gifts without the person knowing who it came from. It doesn't matter that they don't thank me. I know what I've done and the Lord knows what I've done. Giving without expecting anything in return is the one of the best gifts of all. The better gift is knowing someone has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you today. I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. Stay safe, stay warm and drink plenty of tea, coffee, or whatever puts a smile on your face (non alcoholic of course). God Bless!!!!

ThanksGiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I don't know about you but our church has Thanksgiving Jubilee where we celebrate the weekend before Thanksgiving Day. We invite visiting preachers, singers, and community to come share a three day celebration with us. We have snacks each night and after services on Sunday morning we will have a Thanksgiving Dinner. By the time Thanksgiving Day comes around we are ready for hamburgers or something else besides turkey or ham.

But Thanksgiving, as much as we enjoy the food, is not about the food. It is time for us to recollect all the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us. Being kind to others and letting them know how much we appreciate them for the things they have done for us down through our lives. There is so much to be thankful for in this day and time. When I think back I know the Lord has blessed me with a great and not-so-perfect family and friends. Even though diabetic I'm blessed with life. I'm blessed with the ability to touch, feel, see, taste, and hear. There is so much to be thankful for and so much we take for granted. Daily I wake up grateful I can still walk. Another day of life is not to be taken for granted. I know you have lost someone close to you as most of us have. I know you can look around you and see how blessed you are. Don't take things around you for granted. Be appreciative for everything about you. You are greatly made and the Lord wants to be a part of your life so he can bless you even more.

Mom and Dad are gone now. Family has drifted apart. There are no more Thanksgivings and Christmas' like there use to be. Family gatherings doesn't take place any more like they use to. We get so wrapped up in our own lives that we don't take time for each other. I miss cooking along side my mother. We talked about almost everything when we shared those moments together. We loved to share recipes and discuss how we could make some of the foods we served a little different. Every Thanksgiving Dad did what he did best. He laid on the couch and watched the Macy's Day Parade. He would drift into the kitchen during commercials and pinch a piece of ham (we served ham and turkey back then)or grab a roll. I would always arrive early to help out and by the time everyone else arrived the house was full of wonderful fragrances and children playing. It was very very good times. Then I would lag behind to help in the cleanup so Mom and I could chat even more.

Yes, we have much to be thankful for. I want the Lord to know how much I am thankful. I want my Heavenly Father to know I'm so very grateful for what he has done and still does for me. I thank my friends for being here for me when no one else was. I thank my family for loving me during my hard times and during my not-so-perfect times.

Thank you Father for what you mean to me and for dieing on the cross for my sins.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

FINDING PEACE WITH GOD

I haven't worked in public since May 2011 due to health issues. I thought I was having problems with my hip and left leg only to find out it is my back that is generating the problems. I can't get much sleep at night. I walk the floors, can't rest, can't seem to find peace within my body. Have you ever been like that? I'm not normally whiny nor am I usually a complainer but it appears that lately I am so whiny and complaining to the point I can see the disappointment in my husband's eyes. I'm not one for pain medication so I tough it out. Tylenol or Excedrine are my pain medications of choice. Have you ever dreaded going to sleep. I have always been ready to go to bed when I'm sleepy and tired. Lately I hate seeing night time come. I hate the thought of trying to fall asleep because I know either it's going to be a difficult time going to sleep or I'm going to wake up feeling stiff and once my feet touches the floor the pain is going to return. This really messes with my head sometimes. The Lord told us in his word he will not put more on us than we can bear. I've questioned that lately. Now don't freak out, I think it's ok to question what we don't understand. When you were a child didn't you ask your mom or dad if you wanted something explained that you didn't understand or if you felt you needed more information? That is how our relationship should be with our Heavenly Father. I think we get so wrapped up in our own pain and suffering that we fail to look beyond it. We fail to reach out toward the only one who can assist us and answer our questions. When we are suffering rather it be physically, mentaly, or emotionally we fail to take notice of God's presence in our lives. We fail to realize our Heavenly Father is only a prayer away and his arms are outstretched waiting for us to walk into them. At times I think we subconciously blame God for not making our lives perfect. You know what? God's son, Jesus Christ's life wasn't perfect either. He was perfect but his life here on earth wasn't. Do you think it was? He died on the cross for your sins and mine. He was spit upon, his beard was plucked out, his clothing was gambled away. How perfect is that? I woudln't want that type of perfection in my life. When I came to the realization that Jesus Christ went through all of that so I could become a Christian I felt so ashamed of my sins. And on top of it all, when I repented of my sins Jesus Christ had mercy on me. OMG, he had mercy on me. He still loved me!!! I may not have peace in my body but I have spiritual peace and that is most important. I know through the pain, through sleepless nights I can turn to my Heavenly Father and he will be there for me. I'm never alone. My relationship with God grows on a daily basis. I don't want to turn my back on him again. I did it once years ago and it was the lonliest dark feeling I've ever went through. When I'm in pain there may not be someone here to hold me and comfort me but I can fall into Jesus' arms and find a comfort man can never give me. The lord tells us in Hebrews 13:5 ...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. When you feel you can't take much more just remember someone else is suffering more than you are. Don't be selfish with your feelings, allow God to hold you and comfort you in a way no man can. God will bring peace into your life and you'll learn to turn to Him for your every need. I've drank my coffee for the day. I will make a pot for my evening rest, decaf of course. Have a blessed day and thanks for allowing me to share with you today.