Summer is finally here. I can tell, not just by the month showing on
the calendar on my wall, but by the fresh summer air, the beautiful
flowers (that my kids pick from neighbors yards for me) and their lovely
aroma but also by the sign of bear on the trails that we hike. That's
the scary part I suppose of hiking the trails here in Alaska. We have
only seen a few bears and they are always showing me their hind-end by
the time I catch a glimpse of them but their hiney is enough to remind
me of whose land I am really on.
In the past month while my husband and I were out exploring together
and even when we had taken the kids along, I have really been able to
appreciate God's ingenuity and creativity. While my husband and I were
out scoping good fishing and picnicking spots a few weeks ago, we had
stopped at a spot off the road a bit. A few people were there enjoying
the view and fishing, etc. I went wandering off toward the water and
looked back wondering why my husband was staying behind. When I came
back his way he asked me, "What did you see?" "Well,
rocks, shells, the water..." I answered him sarcastically thinking
it was kind of a stupid question he asked when he gently took my head in
his hands and turned it toward the bay. Wow! It wasn't a stupid question
at all, he was just making sure I saw the most beautiful sight that I
could have seen on that day. Out in the ocean bay there was a pod of humpback
whales breaching the surface of the water. It was awesome! Chris, my
husband, said they were feeding. There was also a few seals as well
feeding closer to the shore. I was so busy looking at the ground that I
never bothered to look up and see the true beauty that was before me. I
think that can be a lesson for us all. Take time to look up and see the
beauty of God's creations or you just might miss out on all His awesome
stuff as I almost did. Thank you honey, for pointing my eyes in the
right direction.
Why Water?
Angela
J. Perez
With summer arriving I get reminded of the need for hydration in the
increasing heat and with the increased outdoor activities I enjoy.
Adventurous hiking, longer walks in the blazing sun, swimming at the
beach and even at the pool, bike riding and more all require you to
drink your water. But why water?
A lot of people argue that they are getting plenty of hydration from
the water in their coffees, kool-aides, teas, fruit juices and even diet
sodas but are they really giving their body the actual water it needs to
survive. Your metabolism alone requires 1500ml of water every day,
according to the training I've had as a Health and Fitness Specialist
with the NAHF. That's water, not drinks with water in them. Then with
the increased heat this summer, even indoors, that means more water.
Then you add in those summer activities and what does that equal? You
guessed it, more water. Anyway we look at it, sooner or later you'll
have to admit that your body is probably needing more water than you are
actually giving it. The fact is coffee and teas as well as some other
drinks such as alcohol might even cause dehydration as they are natural
diuretics. And diuretics as most of us know actually cause you to
urinate more than normal thus leaving your body in need of yup, that's
right, more water.
You may have heard it said that drinking more water helps you lose
more weight. Why is that? Well let me tell you. Metabolism. That's
right, your body needs water in order to metabolize everything you eat.
Your metabolism separates fuels and nutrients, delivers the proper
nutrition to the proper cells, regulates your body temperature and
regulates the amount of fuels used at any one time. Another thing to
know is that water is a nutrient that your body cannot produce. So how
does your metabolism alone use the required 1500ml of water if you are
not drinking that much? Your body finds a way and thus we have side
affects. Sixty percent of our bodies are made up of water. Water is
needed not only for our metabolism but also for our saliva, tears,
urine, sweat, lubrication and organ protection. Our bodies require loads
of water daily thus it is not only important it is our responsibility to
replace the water our bodies are using.
You probably have even heard that 64 oz, the typical eight glasses of
8oz of water, daily is a bare necessity. My belief is that 64oz is
required for the first one- hundred pounds and then another 8oz of water
for each ten pound increment after that initial one- hundred. One thing
is for sure, no matter whose or which water guide you follow, you can
never overdose on water. But you can land yourself in the hospital and
even a coffin if you don't drink enough. Sound graphic? Well I could get
more graphic by explaining the actual clinical effects of dehydration,
but I will leave that to your imagination. After all, I want to
encourage you to drink your water, not totally freak you out. So how do
you know if you are getting enough water?
We have some fitness tips on our site that if you haven't checked
them out already you should go ahead and take a look. While you
are at it you can contact us with your own treasure trunk of tips
and tricks if you would like us to consider adding them to our
site. Last month's issue of the Fit4Jesus Newsletter listed some
tips in the form of "Summer Strategies for the Busy
Parent" with a slew of ideas for exercising as a family this
summer. If you didn't get last months issue just contact us and
let us know that you would like us to forward one to you.
In this issue I wanted to really impress on you the importance
of water and I feel that gem is probably the biggest tip I can
offer you since it can be a lifesaving one as well. Remember when
drinking your water, the colder the better. Ice water is best when
hydrating yourself if you are trying to shed some extra pounds.
The reason? Your body burns more energy (calories) when it
metabolizes ice-cold water because it needs to heat the water to
the temperature of your body. So cold water does in fact burn more
calories then water fresh from the tap.
Another fluid tip (no pun intended) is that not only when you
are exercising for more than twenty minutes do you need to drink
your water, as stated in the featured article, but did you know
that if you are exercising past that time, say for 30-40 minutes
or more that your body needs more than just water? That is where a
good sport drink comes in. One that will replace not only the
water your body is expelling but one that replenishes lost
carbohydrates and most importantly, electrolytes as well.
And of course for safe exercising, whether it is summer or not,
not only do you need to drink your water and other fluids but you
need to stretch each major muscle for 15-30 seconds each in a good
static stretch-no bouncing. Do this not only before but after your
workout as well. And when working out with weights you need to do
a good warm-up set before you start your work-out. A warm-up set
consists of a regular set you would normally do in your routine
but with using very light weights. If you are not doing warm-up
sets already in your work-out routines, then you are not letting
your muscles work to their full potential.
Our new recipe this month is just too yummy and too fattening.
It is full of pretty healthy foods but honestly, when you put
them all together they create the most delicious and
carbohydrate packed Enchiladas!
Ingredients:
* 12 Corn Tortillas.
For the Sauce:
*1 Can Red Chile Sauce
*1/2 C. Swiss Cheese, shredded
*1 pkg. Cream Cheese
*4 oz. Sour Cream
* 2 TB Flour
*1 C. Water
*1 Can Tomatoes, diced
* 1 TB Garlic, minced
* 2 TB Taco Seasoning
* 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
For the Filling:
3 C. Turkey or Chicken or Beef, cooked and cut up
*2 C. Cheddar Cheese, shredded.
Directions: Combine all the ingredients for the sauce
in a saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring frequently
until blended. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a
rectangular cake pan. Heat corn tortilla in microwave or oven to
soften (30 seconds in the microwave) and fill with filling
ingredients-I used turkey then sprinkled with the cheddar
cheese. Roll tortilla with filling and place seam side down into
the cake pan. Repeat for remaining tortillas. Cover all the
filled and rolled tortillas wit the remaining sauce evenly. Top
with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in oven preheated to 375
degrees until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted.
Approximately 30 minutes. Serves 6 people 2 enchiladas each.
I served this to my kids and guests that we had over for
dinner last Tuesday along with Spanish rice and corn. It was a
real hit and I think I gained 10 pounds from that alone!! (Well,
not really but if I had, I think it would have been worth the
extra 10 miles I would have needed to walk in order to take off
the extra weight!)
Well one thing that is new and never seen before on the website
this month is that nothing is new. In the past couple of weeks I
honestly have been so busy with our kids being out of school, my
son Zack, who is eleven, coming to visit us for the summer and
our daughter's tenth birthday, that I haven't added the new
pages to the site yet. My bad, but at least I am honest with
you. My family means everything to me and I haven't yet learned
how to put them second to my work, and I hope I never will!
There was definitely something very cool though that I will
tell you about. Several months ago our daughter, Cristina,
accepted Jesus into her heart as her Lord and Savior (Woo-hoo!!)
And at that time I spoke with her on the importance of the next
step, baptism. At that time she decided she wanted to be
baptized on her 10th birthday, and so she was! I had forgotten
about her request since it was several months ago but she had
not. When my eleven year old, Zachariah, heard of the plan he
decided he wanted to get baptized as well. He had asked Jesus in
his heart on one of his past visits with us, so why not. I made
up invitations for Cristina's Birthday and Baptismal Party and
she sent out almost twenty of them. I prayed for nice weather
and believe that was definitely God's birthday gift to Cristina
because it was the most beautiful day we had here in at least a
week or more. Cristina and Zachariah both were baptized on
Cristina's birthday one June 8th, 2003. It was so awesome that I
wished I had brought my video camera as well as the camera I did
bring. Especially since when Cristina came out of the water she
raised her arms in the air and yelled out, "I'm
baptized".
So as far as What's New! On the Fit4Jesus website, you'll
just have to keep checking the site and watch for the pages of
Junonia clothing for plus sized women, Athletic shoes for the
entire family plus music pages as well for kids as well as
adults. We are going to get some great music on the site that
you can work-out to. Keep watching for the changes.
With yesterday being Father's Day I can't not at least pay a small
tribute to fathers, at least the ones that I know, to honor them
for Father's Day. First I will start with mine. I honestly don't
know him well as he and my mom split when I was about five years
old. But I know some of him must have passed onto me. I look a lot
like him and he is a little scatter-brained as I am (thanks dad)
and he is very much into Fitness. He was an amateur body builder
for several years and has been a gym rat to say the least for the
majority of his life and even owning a few gyms even now. He even
allowed me to manage his gym for the better half of last year and
paid for my training. The exercise bug I have always had in me
since I was a young girl did, I'll have to admit, come from him
and I thank him for that.
The second Father that I would like to pay tribute to is my
Dad, not to be confused with my father. He is the Dad that God had
placed in my life when my mother remarried when I was fourteen. He
was always there for me no matter what time of day or night it was
and no matter how silly or monstrous the problems were. He taught
me about the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, the importance
of paying my bills before I spend my money on 'toys' and that God
does make Daddies for you when yours leaves your life. He passed
away on April 12th, 2000 just a few days before my father came to
Alaska to see his daughter for the first time since 1981 and to
meet his five grandchildren for the first time. Why God allows
things to happen sometimes we will never understand but how he
worked this one out in perfect timing I will never need to know
but I am glad he did. I lost one dad and gained another. I miss
you Dad.
My husband is a wonderful man that I cannot leave out of this
special Father's Day tribute. He has been a wonderful step-dad to
my kids and a wonderful father to our son. He accepted a huge
responsibility several years ago when he married this single
mother of four and took her children under his loving wing. I
thank him for loving my children as well as 'ours', I thank him
for not beating them even though I know sometimes he probably
wants to, I thank him for teaching them to fish, hunt, wrestle and
burp real loud, I thank him for all the times I know he has read
his Bible looking for answers to many questions Dad's have asked,
I thank him for the many prayers he has whispered to the Lord
pleading for the protection and more for our kids and I thank him
for raising our children with the love of the Lord. Thank you
Honey for doing your best and for keeping our kids from their
worst.
Last, but never least, I would like to pay tribute to my one
and only true Father. My Creator, my Maker, my Lord and my Daddy.
All other dad's will eventually pass away and some will even hurt
you, but the one true loving Father we can all rely on at all
times is our Father in Heaven, our God. No matter how silly or
monstrous our problems are, no matter what time of day or night,
no matter how busy he is with all of his other children, he has
always been there for me and I know he always will. He has saved
me from all of my sins and continues to do so through the precious
blood of his son Jesus. He has saved me from myself when I start
to make a bad decision for my life. And he has helped to pick me
up and dust me off on several different occasions when I ignored
his advice and went through with my bad decisions anyway. Thank
you Daddy God for being my Savior, my Rescuer, my Advisor, my
Doctor, my Counselor and more but most of all, I want to thank you
for being my Father. Happy Father's Day.
We are in need of news and articles that would be of interest to
our readers and their fitness buddies. If you have any you would
like to share please let me know.
We also want your recipes, pictures, poetry and anything else
you think may be interesting to use on our site and/or our
newsletter.
Also, I would love to hear from you. Any specific scriptures
you would like to share, any questions, comments or suggestions
you may have or any ideas you would like to express. Please
share them with us at Fit4Jesus!
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things yet to come."
