Have You Kept Your New Year’s Resolution?

Well, we are just over four months into this New Year, and I’d be willing to bet that there are a lot of people out there who have fallen off of the wagon…. In fact, it might be safer to say they’ve left the reservation and possibly even thrown themselves over the cliff. 

When it comes to achieving your diet and weight loss goals, accountability is king! Many well-intentioned dieters have tried to shortchange this process only to realize that failure is looming overhead. Humans are “relational” creatures - we need each other. It’s just that simple. 

Other dieters struggle with discouragement. It’s very common to struggle with peaks and valleys during the weight loss process. Understanding the normal physical patterns that come along with weight loss is essential to successfully attaining weight loss goals. Having someone to coach you through all of the pitfalls will make you more likely to succeed. 

Lastly, tracking everything that you eat is essential. Research shows that people who journal their daily food intake are 50% more likely to get the weight off and keep it off. 

At Matrix Wellness Solutions, we provide intensive support, coaching, and encouragement for each of our clients. If you’d like to get your weight loss train back on the tracks, give us a call so that we can discuss your personalized plan. 

To Your Health, 

Brian Brown

FEAR NOT

Every day we wake up with a choice. We can choose to walk in the promises of God that he has set before us or we can choose to be afraid. I believe that “fear” is a choice and is the exact opposite of faith. In fact, Jesus said “perfect love drives out all fear”. What is perfect love except the kind of love that he can give and we can choose to walk in daily. Scripture tells us “God is love” not “God has love”. What that means to me is that its not a matter of whether God has love available to give to us it’s the fact that everything he is is LOVE. It is not by coincidence, I believe, that the Bible has 365 references to fear within its pages. It is God’s way of telling us that there is a new and different word available to us every day that may present us the opportunity to be afraid. 

Here is an example of the fear that I have been confronted with and maybe you can relate to also: “Fear of The Unknown”: As you know Abraham was called to go to a land that he knew nothing about. God was requiring of him to leave home and family to enter into the place of promise and his ultimate destiny. I believe that nothing great ever happens until we are willing to step out into the unknown and walk in faith and trust in God for his provision. We should not look for faith to always make sense. In fact, faith rarely aligns itself with our logic. Remember with God, “his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts”. I have said many times, “life is what’s happening, when we are waiting on life to start. 

My family and I are on the last legs of a journey that will end in us bringing our son Jaeden home from south of Beijing, China. Jaeden is one of only 3 children that have ever been adopted from this small orphanage in a province south of China’s capital city. Jaeden will bring great joy to our already overfilled life of change and adventure. In the natural, it doesn’t make sense that as my wife and I, being just south of our fifties, would once again embark on such a quest. As you know, most of the people our age that we went to High School with are enjoying their grandchildren and have been for some time. Our adoption which will be final as early as 6 weeks from now creates a great opportunity to be afraid for us. Questions like, “what will we do as parents to meet his needs as a child with cerebral palsy”? How will this affect our current family structure and already loaded schedules”? “How will he be accepted”? Questions like these and numerous other ones can swirl in one’s minds, if allowed too. 

Even while writing out those questions that have stared me in the face many times, I realize that they are selfish in that they disallow God into the equation. In fact, what does it really matter in the grand scheme of things when God has already given his best, Jesus Christ, and he has called our family to be a part of his heart, through adoption? If God has called us to do it, then I believe it is upo to God to work it out! In fact, I hope that you will take courage in this “If it is God’s will, it is God’s bill”. With that said , I have decided to come back next BLOG and share some other areas of our lives that fear can attempt to divert us. Until then, Keep the Faith. 

David

John 20 43 & 44

In the passages of John, we see the Apostle Peter arriving at the scene of an empty tomb, hewed from the rock of a "BORROWED" tomb. I shared yesterday that the reason it was "borrowed" was that God already knew that he would not need it for long. Is that not amazing? God, had from prior to the foundations of the earth, already devised a plan whereby his only Son would be sent to die on a cross, but would only taste death for 3 days and then be gloriously raised from the grave. To this reality do we owe the gratitude for a promise that is forever true. That promise, is the foundation on which every Christian builds his/her faith. To know that Jesus had the grace and ability to bear our sins upon the cross and then to realize that he further threw aside the power of sin and the death as he burst forth from the grave clothes that day is absolutely amazing. 

With that point made, I feel that Jesus was again confirming to us that "It is Finished"! You see, on the cross, he said "It is Finished", but what he was referring to was that every sin ever committed and ever to be committed was laid upon his shoulders. This picture was so gruesome that even the Heavenly Father had to turn his gaze away from the Son as he bore the brunt of our wrongdoings. But then Jesus, according to Colossians, took those sins and nailed them to the cross and thus made a public spectacle out of Satan himself. In other words, Satan became an embarrassment to the Universe as Jesus turned and took all that Satan did and declared again his eternal judgement to come. 

There is actually more to the tomb scene that deserves attention also. The fact that those grave clothes lay wadded up to the side is amazing, but what is even more amazing is that the relevance of the "napkin" that lay folded at the place where Jesus head once lay. You see, culturally speaking, the folded napkin signified the same thing that it would have signified in those days in Jewish Culture. Let me explain: If a guest were to eat at a home and at some point in the dining experience have to leave or get satisfied with his meal, he would wad the napkin up and thus signify his readiness to be done. In other words, "I am finished". But this is not what happened in the tomb that day. In fact, Jesus did just the opposite. He took the napkin and the neatly folded it leaving it where the inquiring disciples were sure to notice. You see the folded napkin, culturally speaking, meant that the person who sat at the meal of the host, should he need to be excused for any reason, would then fold the napkin and thus signify to the host, "I AM NOT FINISHED". WOW-Did you just see that? Jesus was proclaiming the message here that he was indeed not finished. In fact, though his earthly ministry was ending, I believe he was pointing to the fulfillment of the coming ministry through the Holy Spirit and the eventual birth of the Church. So, in closing, Jesus is not only not done, but he is just beginning in many of our lives and our ministries. I choose to believe that indeed he is not finished, but that "he who began a good work in me is able to complet that work". I am thankful today that through the cross we have the forgiveness of sins and through HIS resurrection we have the promise of new life and life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

--David B. Hughes

Momma Taught Me To Clean My Plate…Part 2

In my last installment, we talked about the problem of being driven to overeating by our subconscious.

So what do we do about it? Here are some techniques that you can use to help overcome this problem. I want you to try this for the next week and see how much of a difference it makes.

• Write down everything you put in your mouth… even if it’s a piece of gum; keep a daily record. Research shows that people who do this one thing are most likely to lose weight and keep it off.
• When you eat, concentrate on chewing more slowly.
• Don't eat in front of the T.V. or while listening to music.
• Prepare your plate of food and put the rest away, so that there’s no temptation to go back for seconds.
• After you eat a meal, ask yourself these questions (for POSITIVE REACTIONS):
• Feel full and content?
• No sweet cravings?
• Not hungry at all?
• No need for a snack?
• Feel recharged?
• Energy is even (not high or low)?
• No “crashing” feelings?
• Feel uplifted?
• Mind is clear and not foggy?
• Can easily put words and thoughts together?

• After you eat a meal, ask yourself these questions (for NEGATIVE REACTIONS):
• Physically full, BUT still hungry?
• Desire something sweet?
• Already hungry?
• Need a snack?
• Energy has not improved at all?
• Feel wired, but tired underneath?
• Crashed and burned; need a nap?
• Feel anxious and/or irritable?
• Brain is foggy?
• Gut feel heavy?

Here are some quick rules for interpreting these NEGATIVE reactions:

• Excess Fat and/or Protein will result in the following:
• Physically full, BUT still hungry?
• Desire something sweet?
• Energy has not improved at all?
• Gut feel heavy?
• Insufficient calories and/or excess carbohydrates will result in the following:
• Already hungry?
•  Need a snack?
• Excess Carbohydrates will result in the following:
• Feel wired, but tired underneath?
• Crashed and burned; need a nap?
• Feel anxious and/or irritable?
• Brain is foggy?

These techniques may seem a little crazy at first, but as you get used to them, you will begin to develop more self-awareness. In the long run, you’ll be more in tune with your body and your body’s response to foods, and this will lead to A BETTER YOU!

To Your Health,

Brian Brown

Are the Giants Bigger Than the Grapes?

Number 13: 1-20

The Book of Numbers is quite phenomenal. In the chapter listed above is a recount of God’s desire to give to the Children of Israel his blessings and provision. It’s just like God to want to give to us more than we are ready to and more than we are sometimes willing to receive. This story starts off by God speaking to Moses and instructing him to pick from among the leaders of Israel 12 men who could go up and spy out the land. Moses did as instructed and 12 men were chosen. It is interesting to me that, it was not God who needed to know about the land, nor was he curious about the inhabitants, or even curious about the size of the fruit that was there. But, on the contrary, God wanted the Israelites to know what they would soon be up against and what they could soon possess. I said that, to say this: “God desires to keep us informed of every battle that we are in & the battles we are about to face. He wants to give us insight into the good things that lie on the journey ahead for us”. In essence, God wanted them to know about the size of the Giants, but he also wanted them to know about the size of the GRAPES!

It’s amazing, in some ways to me, that 12 men went up into the land, but only 10 men came back with a good report. At the same time, I don’t think the results would be much different today. There are those in our faith that can be faced with any situation and seem to be unshakeable, then there are those who worry constantly at any resistance or any confrontation that life brings them. I like to think of it like this: “What they (the spies) said about what they saw determined where they went.” I feel it is no different today. There are plenty of opportunities to worry and fret and get anxious, but at the same time those same opportunities are times that we can trust in God and his undying faithfulness. It truly is about our perception of life that makes all the difference in the world. 

Let me ask this, have you ever gotten tickled (laughing) to the point that you couldn’t stop? I have and it never fails to happen that those around you begin to laugh also. In the same way, fear, doubt, anxiety, or whatever you choose to label it are also very contagious. Ultimately, what we see and how we respond to it verbally will affect our children, coworkers, spouses, etc. I am not sure about you, but I want to be a person that when I influence others I want it to be a positive impact on their lives. 

So with that said, let me close by asking you a question. Had you been one of the 12 sent up to spy out the Promised Land, would the Giants that lived in the land been bigger than the Grapes that hung from the vine? Remember, it’s all about how you see it.

David Hughes, NP

Co-Owner, Matrix Wellness Solutions

How Can I Prevent or Reverse Type II Diabetes?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about diabetes remission. Edward Gregg from the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) summarizes the common thinking of today very well… 

Kind of a long-term assumption really is that once you have diabetes there's no turning back on it, and there's no remission or cure -- Edward Gregg 

However, in a recent study that Edward Gregg and his team at the CDC published in the Journal of The American Medical Association (JAMA), 11.5% of those with Type II Diabetes who participated in a one year program of intensive diet and exercise were found to have blood sugar levels that approached those levels of their “pre-diabetic” state. 

Additionally, those who were more newly diagnosed had a greater chance of falling into the 11.5% group of people who went into remission. The hallmark of the research findings was that weekly accountability and support played just as important a role as diet and exercise. 

This gives hope to those with Type II Diabetes that aggressive lifestyle change & proper accountability can have significant impact on overall health outcomes with Type II Diabetes. It’s no longer a mandatory sentence that has to be accepted. It can be fought, and the battle can be won. 

At Matrix Wellness Solutions, we have had a number of clients who have reduced or stopped their diabetes medications under the close medical supervision that we offer through our weight loss programs. Below is a graph of one such patient.

Upon admission to the clinic, this person had a fasting blood sugar of 260; he was also 320 pounds and taking 60 units of insulin along with two different oral diabetes medications. Over a 6 month period, his blood sugar continued to decline and he lost 70.4 pounds. The end result was that he came off of insulin & one of his oral diabetes medications completely. The other oral medication has been cut in half and we are hopeful that he will be off of this one in the next 3 months. 

During this six-month period, this particular patient was seen on a weekly basis. He was also given dietary education, support & accountability for a customized diet plan with moderate exercise. His lab work and blood sugars were monitored frequently throughout this period and adjustments were made to his medications as needed. 

At Matrix Wellness Solutions we have real people with real results.

If Protein Is “King”, How Much Do I Need?

Most people don’t realize that, as we age, our demand for protein grows. Problematically, as we age, we generally consume less protein. As such, our body’s defenses become weaker which makes us more susceptible to diseases and illnesses. Additionally, without the right amount of protein, we also struggle to maintain healthy blood sugar and insulin control, we feel hungry more often, and we struggle to regulate our weight. 

Sadly, most Americans consume a larger proportion of carbohydrates vs. proteins in their daily diet. This imbalance only accelerates the problems mentioned above and sets us up for failure with regard to our health. Another longstanding trend is to reduce fat intake. While there’s nothing wrong with reducing saturated fats in our diet, going to an extreme low fat diet can be detrimental to your health both physically and emotionally. Low fat diets are notorious for causing depression in those who ascribe to this type of diet modification. 

We must strike a healthy balance between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. In my recent review of current medical research, there is a large amount of evidence that proves the health benefits of a high-protein, low-carbohydrate, moderate -fat diet. These benefits include weight loss, blood sugar regulation, insulin reduction, lower blood pressure, less blood vessel inflammation, and preservation of healthy metabolism. 

There is a quick way to calculate your protein need per day. The formula is as follows: 

Your Weight (in pounds) ÷ 2.2 = Your Weight (in kg.) 

Next… 

Protein Need FOR WOMEN: Your weight in kg. × 0.82 = Amount of Protein Grams/day 

Protein Need FOR MEN: Your weight in kg. × 0.89 = Amount of Protein Grams/day 

When increasing your dietary protein, it’s best to be medically supervised when doing this type of diet, so make sure you drink plenty of water and consult a wellness specialist before embarking on this type of diet.

Anniversary Special