Nothing feels more frustrating than holding the key and still not being able to unlock the door. I ran into that yesterday. Three keys sit next to each other on my key chain. They all look similar, but only one unlocks the house. I know which one it is, but there are days when I am not paying attention and I have to go through them one at a time to find the right key.

Yesterday I had to go through them twice because I apparently was REALLY not paying attention.

The key still worked. I just did not use it. A key not used will leave a door just as locked.

12 years ago I found a key for my healthy living journey. Six years ago I chose to put that key away. Two years ago I started trying all the keys on my keychain to try and unlock the door. I knew that I had a key to open it, but I did not want to have to inconvenience myself to get that key.

The door stayed locked and I became frustrated. I decided last night it was time to use the key I know to use and accept that any choice I make – even one that is NOT a choice – will cause some type of inconvenience in my life.

Day One in the Retraining Journey

Breakfast – the family ate late so I had plenty of time to get hungry. I still moderated what I was eating, thought about each bite and stopped at satisfaction (or that this is where I stop eating on a first date) point.

Lunch – I worried that I would not be hungry for lunch, especially after such a late breakfast. We ate late again and I kept to some simple basics. I think sitting down at the table with the family makes the biggest difference for me.

Dinner – I broke down (mostly because I was alone in the house and COULD) and watched a show while I ate. I did do okay and never pushed my full meter to its limits. I confess that I ate and early dinner because I was tempted to breakdown and eat a snack which would have pushed dinner way late.

All and all – day one was a winner!

What are you doing that will help you retrain your brain to begin thinking and acting towards your success?

3 John 1:2
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Week One

Forget all that you ever learned about counting calories, good food and bad food and “eating right.” If you are anything like me, it doesn’t work anyway. Oh, it might work for a time, but then I quit counting, or measuring or spending the time to shop and eat what I should and fall back into the habit of convenience or procrastination.

For the majority of people struggling with weight the problem isn’t the diet it’s the fact that any diet is just a temporary fix. Getting to a place of health will require a life change and that comes from the inside, not the outside.

This week we will work to reshape our ideas about what food is and how it should come to play in each of our lives. Keep in mind that this is a personal journey. What you understand today may be different from your friend or family member. What you learn right now may change in a few weeks. Just allow God to guide the path and you will get where you need to be.

Day One – Week One

The experts know nothing compared to the Creator. He knows exactly what you need, how you need it and when you need it. The best part is that he programmed it into your body. The trick is to learn how to listen to your body once again. Today take some time to go for a walk or spend some time contemplating this verse before you sit down for your meal.

Colossians 2:22-23
These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

What does it mean to you that the teaching of today might perish tomorrow?

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Day Two – Week One

Scientists and doctors are some of the most educated people when it comes to the workings of the body, but they are STILL discovering every day. There are lessons that the teachers tell about foods, eating and exercising but those lessons change and even reverse as the new discoveries change the old way of thinking. The real truth does not lie in what is discovered, because the whole truth may not ever be revealed. The truth has to come from the heart and from the only One that is not bound by the rules. His wisdom and knowledge goes beyond creation because He it the Author of that creation.

Today, think of all the rules and regulations that you have heard over the years and compare them to what God has to say in the scripture about food and eating. Write down the rules and scripture and include your feelings on how each makes you feel about your own body, your own life and the journey you have begun. Remember to take some time to also go for a walk today and enjoy the blessings that God has laid out before you.

1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”

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Day Three – Week One

My family is filled with nurses and doctors. The medical profession runs in the veins. Trying to uncover God’s will for my health, my body and particularly my eating has been a challenge. Just when I think I have it all figured out, someone in the family tells me a new fact or discover that sends me plummeting into a state of confusion once again.

I am beginning to learn that when it comes to the ways of God it is best to leave man out completely. My family is wonderful, but they are not the ones to share this journey with. It is hard to overcome the teachings and rules of this world and I know that they struggle with the things that I am learning and doing. It doesn’t all make sense, but it doesn’t all have to make sense.

God’s ways are so different from the world and they are also different for each individual. He did this on purpose. If it was a formula that could get you where you needed to be then why would you need Him? The only way for you to discover the answers that you need is to begin to develop a personal relationship with the One who has the answers.

Today it is important that you spend time talking to God about the concerns you have over your health, your body and your eating. Be honest with Him. He already knows where you are and He already knows how to get you where you need to be – if you will just join Him in the journey. Write down any thoughts or ideas that you have during this time with Him. Remember to take a little time to walk around and give thanks to God for all the blessings He has poured into your life.

1 Corinthians 2:14
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

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Day Four – Week One

The only way to recognize the wrong path for my life is to understand the right one. Every answer that is needed for every moment in your life is in the Word and your health or weight issue is no different. You will have to build a relationship with the Creator in order to gain a complete understanding of the creation.

It is not complicated. The directions have been written out in a clear manner. All you have to do is read the directions and then follow them to the person you were created to be.

It just is not easy – at least for most of us in some aspect of our life. It is far easier to do what you want, to find a quick fix or a temporary patch, than it is to make the necessary changes and sacrifices that can open the door to life long freedom.

Today spend time talking to the Creator about His creation – YOU. Share your concerns, your current understandings and your misunderstandings. This is a chance for you to pour it all out so that the Creator can then fill you back up. Write it down, write down your feelings as you pour out and He pours in, or just write about you day.

Psalm 111:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

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Day Five – Week One

There is nothing that you are facing in your life today that God can not handle – and that includes your health. Relying on God to get you through it is the only way to come out on top.

Learning to listen to that God voice inside you is the way you can walk the path of freedom and peace. No matter what your need, the problem or the situation the answer lies in the same place – a personal relationship with God.

The world has many answers and even some “quick fixes” but each of this will turn to dust in the end. Learning to hear the voice of the Creator is the only way for to make lasting changes to His creation.

You have made it through the first week. You have spent time walking and talking with the Creator about where you are and about where you are going. What changes has this first week made in your life?

Psalm 119:104
I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

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What are you planning to do different in your day to day living for this next week based on what you have learned or experienced this week?

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Lord, you are the answer to all of the questions for my life. Help me to look to you, to listen to you and to take time each day to share with you all that I am facing in my life. Give me the wisdom and knowledge I need to follow the path that You have already prepared for me.

© SoulFoodDiet and Peculiar Producation for Kathryn C. Lang

My first through was amazement that something so big could fit into such a small mirror. My next thought involved disgust with a dash of anger.

“THAT IS IT.” I told myself with some force. It was time to get real and to get real often requires that I choose to drop my barriers and carry on naked. I have to be willing to shine a light in my darkest corners if I am going to clean up my life and live the way I know that I should.

I have made my share of excuses, given plenty of valid reasons, and even come up with some brilliant explanations over the last sixteen or seventeen years to explain my situations. Everything from pregnancy to tornadoes became my prop for letting the Temple of God waste away – or in my case blow up until it was no longer an asset to the kingdom.

Nothing changes until something changes, and today I am calling myself out – and asking you to support and encourage me through this exposure.

Confessions of a Pharisee

1. I confess that I have chosen excuses over actions.
2. I confess that I have known the key but chosen the chains.
3. I confess that I have chosen the things of this world over the blessing of the Lord.
4. I confess that my physical wants have taken precedence over my spiritual needs.
5. I confess that I have chosen to hide in my sins instead of living as the example that I know that I should be.
6. I confess that I may have been consistent in my choices for a season, but I have not been consistent in that consistency.

My choices have failed me in my desire to live a healthy life and to be a Temple that makes my Father say, “Well done.” I have failed you in being a leader and encourager by not walking the walk and just spewing words instead.

Confession provides hope and possibility for the change that I desire.

Plea for Forgiveness and Support

I ask for your forgiveness for not being more than words.

I ask for your support in holding me accountable each day to walk in the path that I know to walk for my unique journey.

I have asked God to give me the strength to forgive myself and to take this moment and the one that comes behind it to choose better.

Commitment to change

I see the pain and discomfort in the eyes and words of so many others. Despite the cries and moans of this world, it does not have to be a difficult or painful journey. I KNOW this, and I am beginning to let it settle and grow in my knower.

God did not create food to torture and tempt. Food nourishes the body and provides joy to the spirit. The key lies not in the food, but in the Creator of that food.

My Father knows what works for my body because He designed my body. I hear Him saying what I say so often to my own children, “Just do what I say because I say it.” I hear His guidance and now I have to choose my obedience.

Today I take one step closer to the freedom that He provided for me. Will you join me in this journey to Transform the Temple?

Kathryn Lang lives in North Alabama with her husband, Keith, and their three boys. Their home was severely damaged by the tornadoes on April 27th of this year and they have spent the last four months rebuilding. Kathryn speaks and writes on topics that are good, positive and uplifting. Her new book, Practical Proverbs, is available through Nook, Amazon, and other locations. You can find out more by visiting The Peculiar Life of Proverbs, her inspirational website.

The 21 Day Green Smoothie Detox ended with me having dropped nine pounds. Additional benefits including the first time in my post-puberty life that I have gone through a month without cramps – that alone would have been worth it. I also learned to eat new foods, enjoy new tastes and dare to experiment.

Taking that journey through three weeks (four if you count the prep week) of sticking to mostly raw foods reminded me that food can be enjoyed and not control my life. Great flavors can come from fresh ingredients instead of artificial substitutes. And most importantly, I have rediscovered that eating is NOT what causes my weight issues.

Yesterday I began stepping back into my life without diets.

3 Keys to a Life without Diets

1. Waiting until my stomach growls is tougher when I am doing NOTHING. Sitting around watching television and being completely passive makes my head want to eat. I have to find ways to get my head to line up with my stomach. Taking a walk, doing some cleaning or organizing, and even some writing all help me to take my mind off the food and make it easier to wait for actual hunger to set in.

2. Eating healthy can be more exciting than eating stuff. I have found that I am just as quick to crave the amazing flavors that fresh vegetables and herbs offer as I used to be for craving fries. I have a confession to make – in the last month I have not eaten a single French fry (and I survived).

3. My food choices reflect back on my family. Teaching them now to make better choices when it comes to fueling their bodies will help them all throughout their lives. Helping them see that food is one more tool in that success will allow them to avoid the issues I have had with weight and food most of my life.

I know that I am nowhere near my end destination. I also know that I need more support and encouragement on the rest of my journey. This site will be one of those places as I continue to share my path with all those that stop by. The rest is still a work in progress, but your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Two weeks of the Green Smoothie Detox (and three weeks with the concept). I weighed this morning and two more pounds have been removed from the body.

The best part for me is that the Green Smoothie Queens do not try to force me into their box. They are using the tools at their disposal, the recipes and encouraging emails, to help me make better decisions.

That means that eating a veggie sandwich when I am out with my mom causes no guilt. Grabbing a few pieces of chocolate covered popcorn while playing cards with our friends does not make me feel like I have failed. Best of all, for me, is that eating celery or spinach or drinking a green smoothie has not become a chore.

The variety that is offered up through the Green Smoothie Detox recipes keeps me interested (and keeps my taste buds happy). It has helped me reconnect with what I know are the right eating habits for my body. I am listening again, and sometimes the difference between where I am and where I want to be is in that moment when I will be still and listen.

Three weeks and nine pounds is a good thing. I know that there are probably ways I could enhance the weight loss (through exercise mainly), but for now I am content to take it one step at a time.

This down turn for my weight began because I ate outside of the way my body required. The journey back to the place of balance must also start back at that beginning. Recognizing my stumbles and struggles are key to my recovery.

Fresh ginger packs a kick!

Green Smoothie Day Five

My body rejected the fruit from the Green Smoothie Detox. It was more the sugar IN the fruit than the actual fruit, but either way my body balance was knocked out of whack. There are three options I have at this point:

1. Carry on without regard to the balance.

2. Look for advice and support through the forum and the ladies at Green Smoothie Queen – or just listen to the advice they have been sending each morning about making my journey my own.

3. Quit – because this is one more thing that has not worked out the way it was supposed to.

The third option can be the easiest. I have an honest and even scientific excuse. BUT this whole process has been a walk of change for me and I refuse to let a little “budding” distractions keep me from discovering the me that is crying out for freedom.

Day Five Menu:

Breakfast: 2 bananas, ¼ cup blue berries, ¼ cranberry juice, 1 inch fresh ginger, large handful of spinach. It was a very good smoothie, but be warned that the ginger gives it a kick!

Lunch: 3 celery stalks, 1 inch fresh ginger, 10 baby carrots, ¼ cranberry juice, 1 small bunch spinach – plus a veggie salad with 1 large tomato, ¼ white onion, 1 celery stalk, ¼ red bell pepper, 1 small bunch of spinach, 1 small handful of butter crunch lettuce mix, 1 pinch parsley (chopped fine), 1 large pinch of fresh dill (chopped fine), pinch of salt and GENEROUS helping of pepper to season. I ate the entire salad – which surprised me – but the smoothie was soooo thick that I ended up just drinking half and saving half for supper. It would probably have been better as a soup.

Dinner: 4 pieces thinly sliced turkey, 1 tortilla, large bunch of butter crunch lettuce, dill chopped for seasoning – the rest of the lunch smoothie. This is COMPLETELY off the reservation, and I know it. But I was eating with the kids and I did something I can honestly say I have never done in my life – I ate my wrap without condiments OR cheese. I think I need a medal for that!

I feel a little like I cheated but my body has to flush out all of that extra sugar. I have been adding cinnamon to my drinks to help my body get back into balance. The thing I have to remind myself is that it is not about eating raw, or about following a set diet. This Green Smoothie Detox is helping me listen to my body and choose better.

My journey with dieting began at an early age before I even needed to go down the path. They told me that I needed to be a certain weight and look a certain way in order to be right.

Each step I have taken down my path has revealed that there are no RIGHT people walking along. We are all just a little off – a bit unique – because no two people are created the same. Looking at other people and expecting my reflection will keep me judging instead of living.

I let the need to do what They say go but only at the time when I really did need to be paying attention to my weight. Pregnancy and a slim or trim figure did not go hand in hand in my circumstances.

I discovered the Weigh Down Workshop. It is not so much a diet plan as it was a revelation for me. It helped me focus on what my body actually needed and wanted instead of just eating to be eating. I learned and listening to my body I dropped down near my ideal weight. Along that same path, I discovered “Thin Within” that helped me keep that focus discovered through Weigh Down.

The years (and another pregnancy) left me back where I had started – only worse. There was no Weigh Down group to get me centered and back on the path of eating when I was hungry. Doing it alone was not an option. I was worse off than I had been when I made that first discovery.

Recently I found the Green Smoothie Detox program – which is also NOT a diet program. The last week has helped me rediscover my true hunger and begin listening to my body and not my taste buds (although listening to my body actually satisfies my taste buds – who knew?).

This morning I received and email from the Raw Food Divas. It talked about all the things that I already knew but could never really explain. Food is addictive – and probably the only socially acceptable addiction as long as it does not get TOO bad according the They. Weight loss and weight control are NOT about portions or exercise – there is more to the problem than calories.

I have been trying to discover that magic key that I know everyone that struggles with food, weight and health are also seeking. This morning I found it. No matter what path you choose to take, you have to find one that will reconnect you to your own body and help you find the right way to eat to gain that health that you are seeking.

Enlightenment is not a quick fix program. The knowledge that leads to lasting weight loss will come to a heart that is willing to change and a mind opened to the new course.

I weighed this morning. It was not a good idea since I could hear the scales taunting me from their storage space. I pulled them out, stepped up and cringed. Three more pounds were now ADDED to the total I wanted to release from my body.

All of my good intentions flew out the door over the last couple of weeks. I can talk the talk, but I struggle to walk the walk. The truth is that if I had gotten on the scales before the weekend then the results will likely have been worse. I did some corrective measures over the weekend, but it is still not enough.

I was healthy when I was younger. I could run a two miles without passing out (and was even on the track team) and I was a smoker. My swimming and diving kept me fit and tan. Ballroom dancing kept me on my toes and shapely! Skinny never came near my body, but I was fit and healthy and much more confident in my skin.

I do not remember a time in my life when I sat around and watched television – until now. There were nights when we would rent three or four movies and have a movie marathon, but I never remember sitting around watching television for hours.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that television sucks me in and before I know it I have eaten a bag of chips and wasted the day away. The worst part is that I watched nothing worthwhile or something I have already seen a dozen times (curse those marathons on USA).

I bit the bullet. I picked up the phone and called DirecTV to cancel our service. It will save us a little money each month and it will save me a HUGE chunk of time. The representative was a real blessing and he suggested I put the service on hold for six months. That should be time to determine if I can survive without my daily dose of nothingness.

The big step may not be something major when others are looking in on our lives. Sitting at the table to eat every meal, cutting off the cable television service, or getting up every morning and getting dressed for company may seem ordinary activities to others. A struggle only has to be something that gets in my way to be a struggle.

What are you facing? Look around and see what is getting in your way and then determine that today you will move towards taking it out of your path.

Ten years ago, I found the path to doing nothing for weight loss. I gave up diet drinks. I took up drinking whole milk. I even went to eating and using real butter. Thirty pounds fell off my body in just 12 weeks, and I did nothing.

I gained back all of that lost weight with two miscarriages and a third child.

These last couple of years have been focused on getting in shape to lose the weight once again. Cardio, resistance training and combination efforts have all be part of the experiment. I put in hours and weeks and saw only minor differences. It has been a frustrating trial.

In one of my most desperate moments, I found my journal from that first weight loss journey. It reminded me that it was not my actions that made the difference. It was my focus that got me back to a place my body needed (and deserved to be).

I am back on that path once again, and this time I am doing nothing.

Would you like to know how you can do nothing and still lose the weight?

Nothing changes until something changes. It really is that simple. The problem for most of us is that change does not come that easily. I know I fall into the pattern of “this is the way I have always done it” and struggle to make a turn that will allow me to get around the hurt, habit or hang-up that hinders my way.

My weight struggles are not about food. Technically, they are because I eat more than my body needs. But I try explaining that to a husband that wants to help. My issue has been food, and overcoming that issue will not happen by changing to diet drinks, controlling calories or even creating a detailed regimen of exercise. I HAVE to change.

I have made the commitment in the past, only to find myself back in the hole a few weeks, months (or even years) down the road. The right excuse sends me back to the comfort of “I have always done it this way.”

The truth is that I have NOT always done it that way, no matter what IT may be. I have changed my actions in the past to get to where I am and all I have to do now is change my actions once again to get back in the place I want to be.

Tips for Making Major Changes

1. Start with minor changes. I did not get to this weight overnight, and the weight will not be released overnight. Even the folks on “The Biggest Loser” have to put in major hours in order to get the results we see on television each week, and even then it starts with the first step.

2. Be consistent. A small change, made every single day, will become a new action. Make a schedule that you can mark off each day and then you will be able to see the change begin to unfold.

3. Build a support system. You will be more successful in every aspect of life when you have encouragement in place to help carry you over hurdles. Start a group, share online, or get a partner that is also determined to make changes.

4. Fuel the body well. The car you drive to work has to have fuel, fluids and other necessities to drive well and be safe. The body you wear everyday also needs these things. Food has been put here for our pleasure, but first and foremost it was designed to fuel the body. What kind of fuel are you using?

5. Speak the change. Begin to verbalize the change that you desire. I am exercising every day. I am healthy and happy. I am shaping my body to where it was designed to be. Thinking good, happy thoughts and then speaking them out loud will go a long ways to helping lift your spirits and drive your change.

I am making the change, and I refuse to wait another day. By the time the New Year rolls around, I will be on my way to the person I was designed to be.

Share your tips today on making changes, and also share how the little changes you make are adding up to a big difference in your life.