Amen.

I, too, am back briefly to clean up anything I may have inadvertently contributed. It feels like going back "home", driving past your old house and looking to see what changes have occurred, reliving memories, looking to see if old neighbors might still be there and outside for a quick chat. I'm so sorry, SWB, for this mess. I'll help in whatever way I can.

Someone in my church passed this very interesting article along to me today. I love the article because I think it gives great food for thought. Before posting this, I searched to see if it had already been posted here. While I haven't seen this, I did see that Susan Cain's book and her talk on TED has already been linked (another source I was going to mention, but now I won't :D). I am posting this here for one main reason - to help those that are introverts not feel guilty at church and to maybe experience the freedom in Christ that might be difficult in such an extroverted society and church. As an INTJ, sometimes I feel guilty that my worship isn't as "worshipful" as others because I do NOT like to raise my arms or clap my hands. I like to really think about the words I'm singing, determine if they're true of me, and sing them in my heart to the Lord. My worship can be very powerful for me, but sometimes I think, since so many in my church will raise their hands or arms, that maybe I come off as arrogant or not as "spiritual," even though in my head I know that is silly and simply untrue. In addition to the point that introverts are most likely to come in to church service late in order to avoid the "meet and greet" portion (Yes! That is SO ME), I especially love the 4 points given on the 2nd page. They are spot on to me. So again, this is to hopefully ENCOURAGE someone who may be feeling less superior because they are more introverted and NOT to start a debate or negative thread. :D

:iagree:

Thanks, Shannon, for these tips and the encouragement!

She knows that in her head, and she's watched documentaries about this, but it's a lifestyle change that she just doesn't seem to have the willpower to do. I don't know why. I think she, like so many others, thinks that if you can just take a pill to fix things, not matter how much it costs, it's easier and faster. Proper nutrition is challenging (at first), expensive up front, takes time and dedication, and the results are slow. She seems genuinely intrigued when I give updates about my dad (a cancer patient who has chosen to forego chemo and fight with nutrition. His results have been outstanding) and I know it is his story that has peaked her interest more than anything else. But she is so resistant to change. It's SO FRUSTRATING. Especially when I see how her kids struggle with their bowels and when she complains about how much medication she is on (so much that it won't fit in the pill boxes). Last night she was telling me about her trip to get another ultrasound of her liver this morning, as well as her trip to the dietician. She said she knew the dietician would tell her that her problems would go away if she lost weight, at which point she would "shut down". She has heard that for years. What people don't understand *in her words*, is that she's "always been overweight. Even when doing competitive figure skating from 2nd grade to 9th grade, [she] was big." What I couldn't say, but was thinking, was that it doesn't matter how much exercise she does - if she's taking in more calories than she's burning, she's going to gain weight. And by her admittance that these are the same foods she grew up with (her parents and brother are also overweight) and her parents also have no idea how to eat healthfully, then the calories she was taking in during those years weren't only high, but empty. But she is convinced this is her body and she'll always be this way. It makes me sad for her. Seriously, how does one help that mentality?

Yes, this is by far going to be the biggest challenge.

That makes sense! Thanks!

All of these are wonderful, practical ideas. Thank you! Best wishes in your journey! Congrats on starting it!

These are fantastic ideas! How did that affect the cooking times, though? I wouldn't have thought to mix the pasta and grains because they take different times to cook. I can't see her being willing to use one pot with WW pasta, and a 2nd pot with regular pasta and then mixing them once they're cooked. She would consider that to be "fussy" and she insists she is NOT a "fuddy duddy"...whatever that means, lol.

Well let's start with this one first, since I'm a raw foodie, lol! Which one did you order? Inquiring minds want to know! What if she doesn't care about that? She's pretty defensive when it comes to changing to a more healthful diet, but at the same time, she knows she NEEDS to. What if they are the family that prides themselves on "extreme couponing" and how much they can get while spending virtually nothing, so eliminating HFCS eliminates virtually all of their food purchases? What if she works and doesn't "have time" to make homemade food? Until this changed, did you just have to keep telling yourself to eat it? How would you not give up if you didn't like it? My friend is at a dietician even as I type because she has recently been diagnosed with 2 autoimmune diseases, with the possibility of a 3rd. All 3 of her children suffer from bowel obstruction, with their youngest (she is 5yo) still pooping in her underwear sometimes because of her bowel issues, even on Miralax and they are sick all. the. time. Seriously, not a week goes by where her fb status doesn't say someone in the family is sick. I am 100% convinced her autoimmune issues are diet related. But, I also know that you can line up 20 dieticians and they'll all have something different to say. I can just her the one she's seeing today telling her to eat margarine, Sweet and Low and that HFCS is all a hype.:confused: She is a pretty close friend (more than an acquaintance anyway), and I KNOW I can help her, but 1.) she's so defensive about this and 2.) I think she's afraid I will tell her she needs to juice and eat spirulina and dulce regularly, lol. I wouldn't tell her that...on the first visit, anyway. :lol:

went from eating mainly packaged and canned foods to more nutritious, home-cooked foods, eating more fruits and veggies and whole grains? If so, how did you accomplish this? Was it before or after you had a family? If after, was your family supportive? Did your husband and children eat that way with you? How would you recommend to someone who is moderately overweight, if not obese, hates anything "green", grew up on canned and packaged foods but knows they need to change their eating habits, accomplish this? What would be the first thing to eliminate? How slowly (or quickly?) to said change?

OK. Well, I'll put a hold on it. There are several copies that the library owns, so it shouldn't be too long before one is up for me. In the meantime, may I ask why you want to go raw? A strong reason, with anything, is going to help you keep up with it. If it's something you just wanted to try, it's going to be easier to stop. But I want to reiterate, if you don't want to do everything raw, it's OK. I don't do everything raw every single day either. But 90% of my diet is. Some days, 100% of my diet is. It just depends on so many factors. Knowing that so much of the food I eat is raw makes it a lot easier on myself to have the very few things that aren't. Give yourself some grace. :)

Is it her "Essentials" or her "Raw Food Kitchen" book? The "essentials" has a hold on it, making me 2nd in the queue. The "Kitchen" one has one copy still available.

I've never had kefir water, so I can't help you there. I have books due at the library - when I take them back, I will check out Ani's book and give it a look through. I'm not sure why she would have so many sweeteners.