Inspiration

Being inspired is simply sweet. In these moments life is a candy-like playground of never ending sugariness. Every breath is filled with the scent of chocolate and caramel swirls of success while the ever flowing cold milk of inspired thought pours out in refreshing quantities. At some point we have all had moments where we were inspired by something. But as we all know, these moments are simply a short term guest.

After its time is up we are once again left to face the crappy days of the uninspired grind. If you are anything like me my years seem to flow like a roller coaster. During the moments of inspiration I arise to the occasion and get tons of work done. I come up with all sorts of good goals and destinations that would undeniably bring my work to incredible success. For a moment I forget what its like to be uninspired, and for some weird reason, I assume that this inspiration will never leave me.

Then comes the day when I wake up feeling…well nothing. At that moment I would almost rather go through a crisis then have to walk the drudgery of the unexciting, uninspired, seemingly cut-and-paste day of work; where nothing is too exciting or depressing. Lukewarm is a great description. All those great visions and ambitions I had dreamed up before seem to go by the waste side and I lose focus. I know what I need to accomplish, but I just can’t seem to get anything done. A sense of guilt fills my evenings as I look back and ask, “Did I accomplish anything today?”

Here is the reality. These days will come. No matter how much you fight them, it will happen. But is there a way to limit their damage? Is it possible to still fulfill the dreams and visions you saw in the rousing moments of inspiration despite it all?

An old British Theologian once said this:

“Routine is God’s way of saving us between our times of inspiration”*

If you want to be successful in life you can not rely on the rare moments of inspiration. They can not be summoned at will. But they do serve a purpose. The point of the great times of “seeing the light” are to help develop the common lukewarm days by giving you direction.

If you want to make it through the muckiness you must develop the following:

A Great lasting System; also known as Routine.

The greatest leaders know this about people. They spend countless hours taking their dreams and visions and inventing incredible systems or routines that will guarantee to keep them on track even when they don’t feel like it. This is why, for example, people with a written down workout and nutrition plan are more likely to stay in shape than those who don’t. Then add a workout partner—who relies on you as you rely on them—and you’ve got a pretty long term system.

Great systems help you keep on track. Times of inspiration determine where you should go and how you should do it.




*”My Utmost For His Highest.” June 15. Oswald Chambers.


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Creating a short film

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Carrot Cake Bars

Protein Carrot Cake Bars
Makes 16 bars



What you’ll need:

1 cup coconut flour
2 scoops vanilla whey protein
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 egg whites
3/4 cup Stevia
8 oz baby food carrots
4 oz water

How to make them:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, whey protein, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix egg whites, Stevia, baby food carrots and water.
4. Pour the egg/carrot mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together well.
5. Lightly grease a 9×9 baking dish with non-stick butter spray and add mixture, spreading evenly.
6. Bake 20-30 minutes until done. Enjoy!

What’s in them:

Each bar has 47 calories, .75g fat, 5g carbs and 5g of protein.



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To eat "paleo," or not to eat "paleo??!!"
That is truly the question of our time! I'm more of a paleo guidelines kind of guy... I don't follow it to the "T" but I do recommend many recipes b/c they definitely are delicious. On that note, they can also be expensive.

Here is my favorite recipe to date.

Banana Paleo Bread

Ingredients
4 bananas, yellow (2 1/2 cups mashed or 575 grams)(they can be yellow bananas)
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond butter (140 grams)(or coconut, sunflower seed, macadamia nut, etc butter)
4 tablespoons grass-fed butter, melted (can substitute coconut oil)
1/2 cup coconut flour (75 grams)(or almond flour, macadamia nut meal, etc)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder (gluten free or homemade)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of sea salt

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit
Combine your bananas, eggs, and nut butter, and grass-fed butter in a blendtec, blender, food processor, or mixing bowl and mix well (if using a mixing bowl you need a good hand-mixer)
Once all of your ingredients are blended, add in your coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and sea salt and mix well
Grease a 9×5 glass (see notes) loaf pan with a fat of your choice (I used grass-fed butter). If you use a metal pan it will probably bake in 35-40 minutes so start checking at 35 to ensure the middle stays moist
Pour in your batter and spread it evenly throughout
Place in your preheated oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
Remove from oven and flip your bread out onto a cooling rack
Slice and serve

Variations
Cranberry Orange – Only use 3 tablespoons of butter. Add zest of one whole orange diced, juice of one whole orange, and1 cup dried cranberries or fresh if you want
Chocolate Blueberry – Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
Pumpkin Pecan – Reduce the almond butter to 1/4 cup and add 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree and 1 cup of roughly chopped pecan pieces

Notes
If you want to make these into muffins, use the same recipe and for mini muffins bake approximately 25 mins and normal size muffins 30-35 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 206 Fat: 17 grams Carbohydrates: 10 gram Sugar: 1 gram Sodium: 207 grams Protein: 6 gram




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Supplements

Supplements are helpful, but do they really make a difference??

I have spent hundreds of $$$ on different supplements. Here are my findings.

You need: a basic multi-vitamin! I get mine from GNC.
I have taken some type of caffeine pill since day one. Caffeine comes in many forms, the cleanest version is green tea.

I have also taken many "Thermogenics." They are designed to speed up metabolism so that you burn more calories through your day and specifically your workouts. The common ingredients that you find in Thermogenics are Niacin and more caffeine. Also something popular in high-end supplements is Cayenne Pepper Fruit.

So.... Now a days I take cayenne pepper as a stand alone product, as well as cinnamon bark extract, which is designed to control hunger and glucose levels. I also take a CLA (stops your body from storing fat) and that includes my green tea.

In summary, find cayenne pepper, green tea, and a CLA of some sort and you'll be in good shape. Don't spend ton of money on crap that has a name on it. Keep it natural. You'll get amazing results with just eating clean, and training hard!

On a side note; I do take a protein shake once daily at least to add in 20-25grams of protein. Get one with minimal sugar (less than 2g) and very few carbs (6g or less)... Hopefully this is helpful. Message me with questions.



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Breakfast!

It is the most important meal of the day, and many of us trying to lose weight don't eat it. The most common excuse that I hear is, "I don't have time."

Plan your meals including breakfast. Hard boil eggs for the whole week. 2 dozen, and keep them in a bowl in the fridge. Fast, easy, and healthy. I am not eating the yolks at night, but in the morning, 2 hard boiled eggs, and apple or banana is more than sufficient.


I love making Smoothies. One of my favs is called the Apple Pie smoothie.

1 apple, seeds and core removed.
6 ice cubes
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk.
10 almonds
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg, and ground clove.
1/2 cup of plain  or vanilla greek yogurt, or 1/2 of banana.

Blend for 30 seconds minimum.


Yum Yumminess!!!!

"Everything to Lose"


On December 4th 2011, I started a journey that I honestly never thought that I could finish. It's been a year and nearly 6 months time since I started and I am still going strong. 100lbs lost and a lifestyle change obtained.

It started with a goal. A goal that said, I need to be healthy for me, and for my family. I wanted to lose the weight for me. I wanted to be able to tie my shoes without getting out of breath. I wanted to be able to hike to the top of Multnomah Falls and not feel like I was going to die.

The change all started back 2 yrs ago when my dad had a stroke that nearly killed him. He was in his late 50's and on top of the world, in my opinion. I look up to my dad in many ways. He has been there for me and helped my grow into the man that I am today.Through his stroke, I really started thinking about what it meant to "be healthy."

That is when the mental change started. I kinda went to the gym, like 2 times in a month, sorta stopped eating at fast food joints, but I truly never gave it 100%, actually, I would be stretching it if I said I even gave it 10%.

Later that year, there was a man who came into my at&t store that I work at, and he worked for Nike. I treated him well, and he felt like "tipping" me a pair of shoes to show his appreciating for my help on his account. I had never owned a new pair of Nike's.

It all started with those two instances. With a pair of Nike shoes, and everything to lose, I began my journey...

About 2 months later, one of my co-workers, Matt Anderson, noticed that I had started to lose weight. He said "Tim, you've lost some pounds bro."

Matt, if you are out there and reading this blog, THANK YOU! If it hadn't been for that compliment, I don't know if I would have kept going.

I started taking pictures of myself every week.... I am not prepared to release those yet. But when I do put them in a slide show, It will be super cool to see the changes happen. Since this transformation, I have grown physically, mentally, and some ways, spiritually. I find myself more disciplined, and determined to do and achieve things that I never thought possible.

Through this time, my wife has been extremely supportive. She has sacrificed so much of her time to let me be in the gym and working out.

Crystal, Thank you for some much sacrifice and so much encouragement. I love you so much and I know this would have been nearly impossible without you by my side rooting me on!

That's it for now.

It's been a long time since I've last blogged. Feels good just to get this out.

-Cheers
Tim Reed








#weightloss #motivation #pdx #oregonlove

Make peace with who you are.

Love yourself and God.

MAKE PEACE with who you are
and where you are
at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.
If you can't hear what it's saying
in this noisy world,
MAKE TIME for yourself.
Enjoy your own company.
Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.
Take chances.
MAKE MISTAKES.
Life can be messy and confusing at times,
but it's also full of surprises.
The next rock in your path
might be a stepping-stone.

Be happy.
When you don't have what you want,
want what you have.
MAKE DO.
That's a well-kept secret of contentment.
There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow.
You have to MAKE YOUR OWN WAY.
To know where you're going
is only part of it.
You need to know where you've been, too.
And if you ever get lost, don't worry.
The people who love you will find you.
Count on it.

Life isn't days and years.
It's what you do with time
and with all the goodness and grace
that's inside you.
MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE...
The kind of life you deserve.