Author: Lori Casto

How I Really Feel

I mentioned my husband and I have been on a “journey of wellness” for 6 months. I began by taking a mile and a half walk and working my way up to 6 miles a day carrying 8 pounds of weight for half of it. I’ve made variations and changed things up. I added weightlifting to my routine about a month ago. I had to cut back on some walking to add lifting.

I don’t like weightlifting. In fact, this morning I thought about several reasons why I could skip. I didn’t skip, but if I’m ever tempted to skip any part of my routine, it’s lifting weights. I lift around 4 days a week. 2 days upper body and 2 days lower body. I admire those who lift. I just hate doing it myself. This part of my routine takes the most discipline. Honestly, most days I’d rather pick lint up of the floor and eat it than lift weights.

So why bother with weightlifting?  Here are a few reasons.

1. Lifting weights will cause me to burn calories beyond my workout
2. Lifting weights will help me to gain muscle, which I hope will boost my metabolism.
3. Muscle is so important for longevity, mobility, energy level, and overall health. I feel I’m helping my 75-year-old future self.

The older we become; we tend to lose muscle and replace it with fat. The more this happens, the slower our metabolism becomes. There are other reasons for slow metabolism, but this reason is something I can work on, so I will.

***The benefits of weightlifting are worth more to me than the fact that I don’t like doing it. ***

I’ve told many about an accident my husband and I were in earlier in the summer. God delivered us from a very serious situation. When I opened my eyes after impact and all the extreme pain inside my body had subsided, I noticed all the air bags had been deployed, even airbags in my door. My passenger door was mangled and there was no way I could get out, so after getting the ok from emergency personnel, my husband and I exited through his door. I wanted to get out because I was afraid the car might catch fire or something. I could smell gas and tires, and it was awful.

I noticed soon after I got out of the car that I thought I was going to pass out. I really thought at that moment that I had internal injuries and that I might die. Randy was doing remarkably well. I now believe it was an adrenaline thing because he felt worse later. When they got us in the ambulance, they found my blood pressure was 190 over 110. I was lightheaded and felt like I needed to sleep. (Randy & I were in the same ambulance and he was sitting  up beside me.)

Once we arrived at the hospital, the trauma team was amazing. Randy and I separated at that point. They checked my heart, blood, neck arteries, brain, abdomen, etc. They did x-rays with and without contrast, ultrasounds, etc.. They were very thorough and outstanding. The process from beginning to results was incredible. I never saw the results that day, but they told us everything was ok and released us after maybe 2 hours? My blood pressure was still high, but it had lowered some.

A few weeks later after I had an opportunity to get online and look at all the test results, I found out that since they had taken the scans, they felt the need to look at everything. It turns out my results showed my brain, heart, arteries, etc.. are “Grossly normal” or “normal for my age” That made me feel pretty good. Though I did get a good laugh at the “normal for my age” results.

They did request I go to my doctor within 4 weeks to investigate my blood pressure. The trauma from the accident and all the internal pain was certainly a big factor, but I absolutely agreed and made an appointment. I bought a blood pressure monitor 2 weeks prior to my appointment and found my BP was still too high. As days went on, it began to lower. When I went to the doctor, she wasn’t convinced that I should be put on a BP med even though it was a little high. Since all my x-rays, scans, etc.. looked good, she decided to have me record my BP for a month and come in for another appointment. I still a have a few weeks until my appointment, but my BP has come down significantly and is looking really good. PTL

I say all of that to say this:

I really believe If we had not started or gotten back into our wellness journey in March, I could have had a heart attack or stroke the day of the accident. Yes, God provided us the miracle of survival and life, but I also believe He planted in us the desire for wellness so that we could be prepared for our journey ahead. God can do anything. And yes, He could have kept us from having the accident, I don’t understand everything. I do understand that I have an amazing God who does like us to do our part when we can.

Our body is a temple of God. We are supposed to treat it as such. I can’t be perfect, but I certainly have goals moving forward to continue this wellness journey. I am very open to BP medication if I need it, but I sure would love to see if I can control it through diet, exercise, and weight management.

I am a proponent of the food pyramid. God created food to enjoy. It’s amazing how He created foods with different vitamins and value for our bodies.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Every morning before I begin my weightlifting & morning walk, I get motivated by waking each day around 5:15 and pouring a cup of coffee. I participate in “the morning scroll.” I than go to my Bible Gateway app and read wherever God is leading me. Sometimes He really isn’t leading me anywhere. There are seasons. Sometimes I’m reading continuously through various books of the Bible. Sometimes He’s got a lot to say to me and it’s obvious. Other times, I pick a passage and see where it leads and what direction He may take. Sometimes I feel He’s really pouring into me other times not so much. But the most important thing to me is that I keep reading even when I’m feeling like I’ve hit a dry spell because just when I least expect it, He shows up in a big way. When I say he “shows up”, He is always with me, I’m just not quite feeling a stirring, if that makes sense.

I love meditating on God’s word. It’s a key component to my overall wellness. There are so many scriptures I can meditate on any given day depending on what is happening in my life. Meditating on God’s word allows me to not only continuously pour positivity into my life, but it also makes me open to allow God’s Holy Spirit to work. (**His word is like medicine) I rely on The Holy Spirit as I rely on water to keep me hydrated. It isn’t always easy, and I’m not always disciplined. Some days it’s like starting all over. It’s kind of like learning to ride a bike…except you never fully learn. It’s always important to get right back up and right back into His word even when you don’t feel like it. If you exercise, there are days you simply don’t feel like doing it. Often, though, those are the days you experience the best workouts. It’s the same with reading and studying God’s word.

**Proverbs 3:7-8

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.

**Proverbs 4:20-22

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.

These words went through my mind as I was heading into work: “Don’t limit God by limiting yourself.” Sometimes words reach out and grab me. This is one of those moments. It was a God- kind of moment.

Last night I was watching a sermon called “When God says Let Go.” It was such a powerful message and reminder in my own life about hanging on too tightly to my own understanding of how things should unfold moving forward and really trusting God with the details. Several months ago, my husband and I received a text that said they had been to a conference and were introduced to a 6-word challenge. They shared a scripture reference that included God’s 6 word promise but also included our responsibility before the promise could manifest. Their challenge was “in all your ways acknowledge Him.” The promise was “And He shall direct your path.”  I adopted my own 6 words that day… “Lean not on your own understanding” it includes the same promise… “And He shall direct your path.” I typed it out and put it in a place where I could be constantly reminded of my part in the promise.

This morning, I was reminded about a skit I was in when I was in High school. I’ve been reminded about this skit several times in my life. It’s amazing how God knows me so well that He would have me perform this skit and use it as a reminder throughout my own life. He knows what we struggle with.

In this skit I was mountain climbing and got detached from the equipment holding me up and keeping me from falling to my death. The only thing keeping me alive was the end of the rope I was holding. I found myself holding the rope and crying out to God… “Help! Help!” In the skit, the voice of God answered me with this response… “Do you trust me?” I asked God to repeat Himself… He said it again… “Do you trust me?”  I responded… “Of course I trust you, God.” He said, “If you trust me, let go of the rope.” Of course, in the skit I was going over all the obvious possibilities and reasoning in my mind why I shouldn’t let go of the rope. I was truly at the end of my rope. My own understanding was that I would obviously fall to my death if I let go. But in the skit God said again… If you trust me, let go of the rope. Finally, I made the decision to trust God and let go of the rope. That was the end of the skit. I had to trust that God would take of me.

God has been talking to me over the past few years about our future. I couldn’t be more excited with anticipation. However, lately I’ve gotten caught up in my own understanding. In Lori-like fashion, my overthinking gets in the way. I have questions and don’t understand what I should do next. I feel like I need more answers. I wish I understood more. The fact of the matter is, the more I trust God, the fewer details I need.

The more I trust, the less I need to know.

Now that I’ve been gently reminded of this important detail, God is telling me yet again, “Let go of the rope.” It’s one thing to say I trust God and another whole thing to live it out by letting go of my own understanding and the rope.

I’ve learned so much on this area of letting go and trusting God, yet often I feel I’m at square one.

Lord, help me to truly lean on your understanding, not mine. Help me to trust you so much that I don’t need the details.

My husband and I began strict exercise and diet modification March 1^st.  The end of August will mark 6-months into our journey of wellness. My exercise routine begins with weightlifting in the morning followed by a brisk half-hour walk. Later in the day I try to get a half hour of Kayaking, and another half hour walk. This routine gets changed periodically.

My morning eating routine consists partially of overnight oats. I put ½ cup of oats in a cup, add one 8-ounce glass of 30-calorie almond milk, and cut up a few raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries and throw that in. I obviously make this the night before and get it out after my shower each morning. Before I eat it, I drizzle a little honey on it. I absolutely love it. At around 9:30 or 10 I eat a very small handful of plain walnuts. I follow up with a normal half portion of lunch and a very clean dinner. Before bed I will have a small apple with a little peanut butter or a banana and highly concentrated beat juice. I try to balance my calories so that I have enough energy to exercise and few enough calories to lose weight. That is always the most difficult part, as my greatest goal is to feel energized, not sluggish.

My wellness goals are to:

1. Feel healthy & energized
2. Improve my overall health- body & mind (physical, mental & emotional)
3. Lose weight

So far, over a 6-month period, I have lost probably 18 pounds. I would be discouraged if I didn’t look at the big picture. My concentration and energy level are better, and my overall health is excellent other than a hereditary blood pressure concern.

I am not a supplement person. I am not against them; I would just rather get my nutrition from my food when at all possible because I’m a foodie at heart. The Italian girl in me loves to eat.

Over our 20-year marriage, my husband & I have adopted exercise routines for a larger majority of the time. We haven’t been as strict with our diet. We have come to the point more recently where our diet was getting way out of hand and we needed to make improvements.

The longer I stay disciplined, for the most part, the easier it is to stay disciplined. I absolutely love my morning walk. It’s like therapy. It clears the cobwebs and helps me with my focus and positivity. Pretty soon, though, I’m going to have to make the switch from my morning walks outside to my treadmill.

If you have hit my age and everything that comes with it, or you are looking for an overall improvement in health, I would encourage you to begin an exercise routine if you don’t already have one. You may not even realize how bad you feel into you notice how great you’re beginning to feel.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.  Psalm 9:1 

From the birth of our first grand to our youngest daughter graduating high school and leaving for college, along with a terrible car accident, my emotions have been everywhere. Through all the tears, fears, happiness and sadness, one thing is certain through it all- I am very thankful and grateful. God has been so good to me. He has been good to my family.

God is my protector, provider, sustain-er, and comforter. God is my joy and strength. He has saved my life and my soul. He has allowed me to enjoy precious time with my amazing grandson. God has allowed me so much time with my kids and family through a variety of trips and family functions. God has allowed me to be surrounded in beauty. God has provided every need I’ve ever had according to His riches in glory. He has not only provided needs, but He has also provided wants. I am truly a favored child of God. God has provided me a great place to work. God has provided a wonderful husband.

There would be no way I could ever thank God enough.  I look forward to God’s plans unfolding as we begin this new chapter without kids at home. The last 2 years I’ve felt the deep understanding that God has more. I really believe God has been preparing my heart. I look forward with grateful anticipation and a deep desire to serve The One who saved me. I desire His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

To God be the glory!

My husband and I were in a bad accident a few weeks ago, but we’ve been praising God for His hand of protection on us, as we walked away only with scrapes, bruises, and soreness.

A few days before the accident, as I was packing for a family trip, I came across an old pair of glasses I hadn’t seen in a long time.  I was thinking I hadn’t seen or touched those glasses in at least 3 years. For whatever reason, I decided to open the case and put on the glasses. I was so shocked at how well I could see that I threw them in my suitcase and went about my business. You have to understand, I’ve never considered taking an old pair of glasses on a trip and it’s rare for me to see a set lying around. I never give it a thought.

Fast forward to the day of the wreck. After we had gotten home after being checked out at the hospital, Randy handed me my glasses he had recovered from our vehicle. They were unwearable. I knew then that God had provided me with another set that I easily found in my suitcase. I was so thankful for God’s provision, even down to my glasses.

Recently, I went to the eye doctor to get a new pair of glasses. It turns out the glasses I had found and that I could see so clearly out of were from 2018. I’ve had 2 prescriptions since then. I truly believe God provided me those glasses and the ability to see clearly out of them. Praise be to God for His provision, even down to a pair of glasses.