In case you didn't know, I am the worship leader at my church. [I am also the office manager but that is another story :) ] We are having a congregation-wide prayer and fasting emphasis for 40 days during Lent. The emphasis officially started today but some in the congregation started last week.
During the weeks leading up to this emphasis Pastor Herb and I (along with others) spent considerable time learning more about the spiritual discipline of fasting and then shared what we learned with the whole congregation on Sunday mornings. On March 6 I shared a teaching time called "How to Fast" during our worship services. Here is a link to the audio of my sharing time...
Wendy Talks About "How to Fast" at a New Song worship service
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Spotlight on Success!
Curves International interviewed me after receiving my application for the 100-lb Club! They made my story the "Spotlight on Success" in their March Inside Curves Newsletter...
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| Publication of Curves of Mt. Lebanon/Castle Shannon – March 2011 | ||||
  | Spotlight on Success - Wendy Scott For years Wendy Scott was trapped on an emotional roller coaster. Her brother passed away in 2004, then her dad in 2007, and her mom in 2008. As Wendy grieved, she felt convicted to lead a healthier lifestyle. Yet, in the back of her mind there was a nagging voice asking her, how many times do you see a 260 pound person succeed at losing all that weight? In March 2009 Wendy approached her husband with the idea of joining Curves. She describes his initial reaction, "He looked at me as if I had five heads." Undeterred, Wendy joined a healthy lifestyle group at her church where she learned the value of a food journal. With the food journal as her accountability partner, Wendy quickly lost seven pounds! Wendy was thrilled and her husband took notice too. Was it Wendy's commitment? Or maybe it was the seven-pound weight loss. Nonetheless, Wendy's husband had a change of heart and surprised her with a two-month gift certificate to the local Curves for her 42nd birthday. Their agreement was simple-if Wendy went to Curves consistently and didn't miss for the entire two months, they would talk about a full membership. So, on June 15, 2009 Wendy walked into the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Curves with her two-month membership. Her initial goals were simple.
Wendy's philosophy has remained the same since day one-make changes that I can live with for the rest of my life. She's successfully applied everything from the Curves Weight Management classes to her lifestyle. Wendy explains, "The Curves Weight Management plan provides me with the strategy to make my accomplishment maintainable for the rest of my life!" Today, Wendy is maintaining a whopping 112 pound weight loss! Pittsburgh Curves owner, Jill DePra says, "I'm so proud of Wendy. She inspires everyone on the circuit. She's amazing!" Wendy sums up her journey, "You've got to love who you are now, take one day at a time, and embrace every little milestone." Wendy's Everything Salad
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Determining my Maintenance Guidelines
Now that I am no longer in weight-loss mode and maintaining, I am working on updating my daily plan/guidelines to support my changing priorities. My new plan will address not only what and when I eat and my exercise regimen but also my sleep patterns and some Spiritual disciplines.
Some of the guidelines are very new and fresh but for the most part I have already begun to implement them over the past several months. It is the putting them in writing and sharing them openly that forces me to think about them in a more rational and structured way so I realize they may need some tweaking. But I have been thinking and thinking about them and it is time to start writing them down and seeing if they are useful at helping me create more balance in my life.
One new development/complication that I have to incorporate into my plan is my diagnosis of "Low Estrogen Secondary to Weight Loss." After a physical exam and lots of blood tests, my doctor has ruled out other causes of my amenorrhea. He does not want me to gain any weight as a solution and I think that he is anticipating that this is a temporary condition that should stabilize on its own as my body adjusts. I have been looking into ways I might be able to help the adjustment with tweaks to my eating and exercise regimen. I have been looking online at forums and blogs to find other women who have experienced similar difficulty and what they did to recover. I am a little confused as to why I am having this problem because it typically happens to long distance runners and professional ballerinas. I don't think I quite fit those profiles but here I am sharing a common problem with them! I am listing the possible causes that I have identified so far and my thoughts on them...
My priorities...
1. Improve BALANCE in my lifestyle
(Spirit/Emotion/Body) (Personal/Family/Work/Ministry)
-- not sure how to measure this :/
2. Restore Estrogen levels
-- not sure how long this will take :/
3. Maintain an average monthly weight between 140-150 lbs
-- easy to measure and track success :)
4. Maintain "Superior" body fat %
-- easy to measure, accuracy is a question and is "Superior" too low?
Every January "My One Word.Org" encourages the selection of one focus word for the year instead of making New Year's resolutions.
A Bible verse that I read recently speaks to me about the importance of thinking of my Spiritual growth in the same way as my physical transformation...
2. Attend weekly Christian accountability group. (LTG with Christine & Marie)
3. Active and consistent participation in weekly church worship services.
4. Active and consistent participation in monthly prayer and fasting day(s).
NUTRITION GUIDELINES...
1. Never Skip Breakfast!
2. take good nutritional supplements every day
3. eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies per day or more :)
4. eat at least 25g of fiber per day (try to get above 50g)
5. aim for at least 140 g of protein per day (1 gram for each lb of goal weight)
6. at least 20% of daily calories from fat (try to get above 24%)
7. 2-3 Red Meat servings per week (3 oz servings)
8. Limit eating after 7:00pm (or within 3 hrs of bedtime)
9. Eat minimum of 2000 calories per day; creating desired deficits with exercise
10. Eliminate calorie deficit when weight is under 142 lbs
11. Minimal calorie deficit when weight is under 150 lbs
12. Daily calorie deficit never >800.
13. Spend no more than 7 consecutive days with a >500 calorie deficit.
HYDRATION GUIDELINES...
1. 9 or more Cups plain water per day.
2. 12 or more Cups green tea per day
3. Additional beverages allowed but must be non-caloric with NO artificial sweeteners.
EXERCISE GUIDELINES...
1. Continue at Curves 3-5 times per week (minimum of 20 hr recovery between workouts)
SLEEP GUIDELINES...
1. In bed by 10:00 pm at least 5 nights per week.
2. Average 8 hrs of sleep per night.
3. Establish better internal sleep "clock" by striving for 10 pm - 6 am daily sleep pattern.
HEALTH AND WEIGHT ACCOUNTABILITY...
1. Daily monitoring myself with FitClick.com
2. Be accountable to someone (person or group) and report status monthly.
Some of the guidelines are very new and fresh but for the most part I have already begun to implement them over the past several months. It is the putting them in writing and sharing them openly that forces me to think about them in a more rational and structured way so I realize they may need some tweaking. But I have been thinking and thinking about them and it is time to start writing them down and seeing if they are useful at helping me create more balance in my life.
One new development/complication that I have to incorporate into my plan is my diagnosis of "Low Estrogen Secondary to Weight Loss." After a physical exam and lots of blood tests, my doctor has ruled out other causes of my amenorrhea. He does not want me to gain any weight as a solution and I think that he is anticipating that this is a temporary condition that should stabilize on its own as my body adjusts. I have been looking into ways I might be able to help the adjustment with tweaks to my eating and exercise regimen. I have been looking online at forums and blogs to find other women who have experienced similar difficulty and what they did to recover. I am a little confused as to why I am having this problem because it typically happens to long distance runners and professional ballerinas. I don't think I quite fit those profiles but here I am sharing a common problem with them! I am listing the possible causes that I have identified so far and my thoughts on them...
- Rapid, Sudden Weight Loss? (I lost my weight over an 18 month period at an average rate of 1.6 lbs per week)
- Under Weight? (Ideal/Normal BMI range = 18-25. My BMI: 21)
- Over Exercise? (I exercise at Curves 3 to 6 times per week. My new plan will require at least 20 hrs of recovery between workouts)
- Under Nourished? (I get RDA or better for all tracked nutrition.)
- Extreme Calorie Deficit caused by combination of exercise and diet? (I don't think so but I need to keep a better eye on this. New plan will have calorie deficit parameters.)
- Low Body Fat? (My BF % averaged 20% in December & January. Most sources say it would have to be as low as 14% to cause amenorrhea. Would like to keep BF % in the 18%-20% range.)
- Low Fat Diet? (I was guilty of eating too little fat earlier in my journey. I had corrected this before the symptom began. New plan increases my daily percentage of calories from fat.)
My priorities...
1. Improve BALANCE in my lifestyle
(Spirit/Emotion/Body) (Personal/Family/Work/Ministry)
-- not sure how to measure this :/
2. Restore Estrogen levels
-- not sure how long this will take :/
3. Maintain an average monthly weight between 140-150 lbs
-- easy to measure and track success :)
4. Maintain "Superior" body fat %
-- easy to measure, accuracy is a question and is "Superior" too low?
Every January "My One Word.Org" encourages the selection of one focus word for the year instead of making New Year's resolutions.
"This process provides clarity by taking all of your big plans for life change and narrowing them down into a single thing. One word focuses on your character and creates a vision for your future."My word for 2011 is DISCIPLINE. God is asking me to apply the same discipline that has given me success in my physical body to other areas of my life. Ultimately I know this will help with priority #1 above.
A Bible verse that I read recently speaks to me about the importance of thinking of my Spiritual growth in the same way as my physical transformation...
I Timothy 4:7-8 (MSG) "Exercise daily in God--no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever."
1. Daily Bible reading 1st thing in the morning (3-4 chapters) Matthew 6:33 (NIV) "But seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."SPIRITUAL GROWTH GUIDELINES...
2. Attend weekly Christian accountability group. (LTG with Christine & Marie)
3. Active and consistent participation in weekly church worship services.
4. Active and consistent participation in monthly prayer and fasting day(s).
NUTRITION GUIDELINES...
1. Never Skip Breakfast!
2. take good nutritional supplements every day
3. eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies per day or more :)
4. eat at least 25g of fiber per day (try to get above 50g)
5. aim for at least 140 g of protein per day (1 gram for each lb of goal weight)
6. at least 20% of daily calories from fat (try to get above 24%)
7. 2-3 Red Meat servings per week (3 oz servings)
8. Limit eating after 7:00pm (or within 3 hrs of bedtime)
9. Eat minimum of 2000 calories per day; creating desired deficits with exercise
10. Eliminate calorie deficit when weight is under 142 lbs
11. Minimal calorie deficit when weight is under 150 lbs
12. Daily calorie deficit never >800.
13. Spend no more than 7 consecutive days with a >500 calorie deficit.
HYDRATION GUIDELINES...
1. 9 or more Cups plain water per day.
2. 12 or more Cups green tea per day
3. Additional beverages allowed but must be non-caloric with NO artificial sweeteners.
EXERCISE GUIDELINES...
1. Continue at Curves 3-5 times per week (minimum of 20 hr recovery between workouts)
SLEEP GUIDELINES...
1. In bed by 10:00 pm at least 5 nights per week.
2. Average 8 hrs of sleep per night.
3. Establish better internal sleep "clock" by striving for 10 pm - 6 am daily sleep pattern.
HEALTH AND WEIGHT ACCOUNTABILITY...
1. Daily monitoring myself with FitClick.com
2. Be accountable to someone (person or group) and report status monthly.
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