Just What I Needed to Hear Today

Why Does Heavenly Father Love Us?

"Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you.
God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.
He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.
What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Love of God,” Ensign, Nov 2009, 21–24

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A Couple Healthy Breakfast Ideas

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It should never be skipped. Eating right away when you wake up gets your metabolism going which will help you lose weight, and can regulate blood sugar levels which can relieve morning anxiety.

Here are some yummy but healthy breakfast ideas I have found in The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook:

Banana Split for Breakfast?

On top two banana halves, substitute ice cream with fat-free, sugar-free vanilla yogurt. Add some fresh cut strawberries, a tablespoon of crunchy high fiber, low sugar cereal (such as Grape Nuts) and some fat-free, sugar-free hot fudge.

Your looking at a YUMMY breakfast that's only 195 calories.
 
Smoothies:

Instead of using Fresh fruit and ice cubes to make a smoothie, skip the ice and use frozen fruit. That way you don't have to worry about your fruit going bad or that your smoothie will be too watery. You can use fresh fruit in season and freeze it yourself or you can buy the packaged varieties.


Make your own smoothies instead of going to the smoothie bars. If you look at the nutritional value of their smoothies, they can pack upwards of 600-800 calories and tons of sugar!


Ever heard of green smoothies? I hadn't until I saw this video of Robyn from Green Smoothie Girl. It has me very interested since vegetables are really hard to get down any of my family member's throats. I don't think my blender would work but maybe I could throw in a few baby spinach leaves next time...

 

Do you have any healthy breakfast tips or ideas? Whats your favorite?

Don't forget to sign up for the free online therapy giveaway! First come first serve, so anyone can still win...

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5 Tips for Starting an Anxiety Reducing Exercise Program

There is a poll on the sidebar right now about how often people exercise. I am surprised to see that it varies all over from NEVER exercising (that's the one I chose) to everyday!

Mr. T and I decided to get gym memberships to follow through with our goal of being more healthy and exercising. And more specifically, I am expecting it to help me reduce my anxiety. This is the best option for us because the gym has a child center where Lil' P can play while we work out. It also has a rock climbing area which we love. A little while back I had my first day at the gym.

I got to start out with a personal trainer who assessed my fitness levels. Overall, it appeared on paper as though I was in pretty good shape. However, when I started an actual workout I ran into a problem. After any exercise set my heart rate would skyrocket into the 170's. I had to wait for a few minutes everytime for my heart rate to go back down before I could continue. The trainer explained that my heart is really out of shape and that I need to do more cardio to get it used to working out. He suggested 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week.

I am so out of shape that I couldn't move for the next two days. I was soooo sore! I have a lot of work to do.

Here are a few of my favorite tips (from The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook) for starting a new exercise program in order to reduce anxiety:

• Expect some initial discomfort. If you are out of shape, aches and pains are normal. As your strength and endurance grow, the pain will pass.
• Ideally exercise should be aerobic.
• Optimal frequency is 4-5 times a week with 20-30 minute sessions.
• Optimal intensity for aerobic exercise is a heart rate of (220-your age) X .75 for at least 10 minutes.
• Avoid exercising only once a week. Infrequent spurts of exercise is stressful to your body and generally does more harm than good. (walking is an exception).

Don't forget to sign up for the free online therapy giveaway! First come first serve, so anyone can still win...

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Healthy Swap: Drink More Water, Less Caffeine

Never would I do this if I wasn't contractionally obligated. I hate being on camera. Too many imperfections and too much to judge. Every month I have to post a video on The Nitty Gritty of Anxiety. So even though I cringe when watching it, I decided since it goes along with the monthly challenge, I might as well share it here as well. I learned that I am no where near drinking the amount of water that I am supposed to. So the first thing I am doing this month to get healthier is to drink more water!

Joe Barry Mc Donagh from ezine articles says this,

"Nearly every function of the body is monitored and pegged to the efficient flow of water through our system. Water transports hormones, chemical messengers, and nutrients to vital organs of the body. When we don't keep our bodies well-hydrated, they may react with a variety of signals such as anxiety, which we would never think are related to our poor drinking habits."

And only for The Reality of Anxiety readers, here is where I got my information about the dangers of caffeine for anxiety suffers, and a diet to help eliminate anxiety.

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A Giveaway! Free online therapy sessions!

WebEMDR.com is an on line provider of EMDR therapy for anxiety, stress,depression and PTSD. According to their website, EMDR is "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a powerful new short-term psychotherapy technique which has been very successful in helping people who suffer from trauma, anxiety, panic, disturbing memories, post traumatic stress and many other emotional problems. Until recently, these conditions were difficult and time-consuming to treat. EMDR is considered a breakthrough therapy because of its simplicity and the fact that it can bring quick and lasting relief for most types of emotional distress."

These sessions usually cost $18.00 each but they are giving 100 free sessions away to the loyal readers of The Reality of Anxiety!

How to get one of these free sessions:

1. Become a new follower either by subscribing via RSS or email, or by "following" the blog through blogger, or following through twitter. You will have to let me know if you do this by leaving me a comment with your email address and how you joined.
2. Leave a note on the discussion forum. This can be a response to someone else or a new topic altogether. Again I need an email address so I can contact you if you win.
3. Join the monthly challenge. Let me know you are joining by leaving a comment and what you plan to accomplish this month (plus your email address).

Disclaimer: All winners need to send me a valid email address so that they can be contacted of winnings and also to set up their session. I have been guaranteed that your email address will not be emailed by the company after your free session. There is no after session marketing or sharing of your email address. Only one free session per person.

These will be given away in first-come-first-serve style so hurry and enter!

This giveaway will be valid until March 2, 2010 (30 days).

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