Keto Friendly and Healthy but Anointed With Power!

Yes, it's a weird title, but here we go. What is that stuff in the pan? Above is a pic of my excellent and very spicy keto friendly brunch at 10:40 AM this morning. While my sons were on break from homeschool, I got to cooking. The food in the pic is raw. I usually don't eat till around 11am and sometimes after 12 noon, and I cut off all food consumption by 4 or 5pm. I made that recipe myself. Let me tell you about it.  

 

My recipe:

 

Put butter on frying pan. I made a smaller homemade waffle (yes, it has some carbs) surrounded by sliced pepperoni, topped with pepper jack and baby Swiss cheese, three whole eggs, with a finishing touch of a generous amount of the tasty Sambal Oelek (oriental) ground and fresh chili paste. Put a lid on the pan because the chili paste will splatter some as it cooks. Also, the lid helps the eggs cook without having to turn them over. Let it cook a bit. I like to crisp the bottom for a little while. 

 

I love ALL the hot stuff from just about everywhere on planet Earth! I evangelically baptize (not sprinkle like Catholics) everything with hot sauces, chilis, and hot peppers. Yes, it was a joke but a real thing. 

 

Here is the bottom line. My recipe was awesomely delicious, filling, and very satisfying! Period! Wow! 

 

Pic of the finished product before I chowed it all down:

 

 

Yep, I am a good cook, and I have a lot of interesting recipes in my head that I have used over the years. I have a Latin background together with growing up in my dad's and mom's chain of Italian restaurants in Puerto Rico, and it gave me a rich and varied food experience. Dad was of the Olivieri family of Italians that migrated to Puerto Rico in the mid 1800's. So, it's in my blood. My parents traveled often with my sister and I, and we were exposed to cuisine from many quarters of the globe.  

 

I am 66 years old going on 67 in January of 2023. Keto alone quit working for me some years ago. I couldn't control my weight. I had to change my approach and some of my eating habits. I was praying for over a year on what to do about my weight. The Lord first impressed my spirit with a starting point, so I began by cutting off some unnecessary food items. I added keto friendly stuff, but with little weight loss results. Something was missing, and then I found my answer. I needed a combination of healthy and VERY strict keto (as close to zero carbs as possible) together with intermittent fasting. That was my breakthrough moment, and within a week, I started seeing results. It hasn't stopped working, so I will stay with very low carb and be very strict for a little longer. 

 

Yesterday, for the first time since I started my healthy keto and intermittent fasting plan in June of this year 2022, I weighed myself and was shocked! In the picture of myself that appears with this podcast, I was weighing about 230. Needless to say but probably important here is the fact that I have triplet 10-year-old boys at 66 years of age! So, a massive increase in stamina and strength were needed when I weighed 270. Now, thank God, I have increased stamina and strength! I lost a lot of weight after the triplets were born. You try it some time. You will get it. Not so easy to deal with three babies at once, and especially because you get very little sleep. 

 

When I started my lifestyle change, I was aiming for 225 or 230, about 45 lbs. of fat loss. I started at a muscular 270 pounds, BUT covered in a lot of excess and UGLY fat! My apologies to all of you struggling with weight loss. Not really. You have to get off your fat behind and do something about it. Nothing will change until you change what you are doing. I am giving you a body-altering solution here. The recorded message will be rich for your spirit and soul, but this here is for the body. Our bodies must be under subjection to our spirit and soul. We cannot allow it to get away from us. It is not to do its own thing in sin or bad habits. (See 1 Corinthians 9:25-27.)

 

Now, I am ab-showing and muscular and slightly under 215 lbs.! I haven't weighed that since the 90's. Don't be concerned. I am not selling anything. There is nothing for you to buy. I don't sell supplements or anything like that. I don't even have a subscription for a fee thing going on. It's all free of charge.

 

Do the math. I've lost at least 55 pounds of fat !! There has been NO muscle loss and I increased my workout with weights substantially. Maybe I'll continue till I get to 205 or 210. We will see. 

 

I don't do aerobics! Yuk! I like long walks, leisurely outdoor bicycling, swimming, and practice with the Jo (Japanese style staff of approx. 4 feet) and the forms associated with it, BUT I do this with weighted bars and not a wood stick. As of a few weeks ago, I do these forms with a 42 lb. hybrid bar I made from two other bars. 

 

 

They don't make 42 or 45 pound bars that are also 4 feet long. A six foot bar or longer is VERY uncomfortable. I was using a 36 pound bar before using this hybrid I put together, but it was 6 feet long. I smashed my toes with it twice. Not any fun and highly painful for a few days. My toes screamed at me, "Ok, Dan, raise your arms a little more when twirling the stupid 36 pound bar!" In the pictures above you can see the main 30lb. bar. I've used that one for a very long time before I upgraded to the 36 pounder. Recently, I added a 12 lb. bar to the 30 lb. bar and then attached them with some glorious duck tape. Who knows. I may post a short video of what I do. For now, know that I started doing the forms with 5 pounds back in 1996. I didn't get to 42 pounds overnight! There were a few breaks in there over the years for other reasons, but mostly I kept doing the forms, and kept increasing the amount of weight. I first learned all the forms and got pretty good with my custom made wood Jo. I still have that jo. 

 

Sometimes I put a 12 lb. wrap on each leg and do leg lifts and kicks, though not too fast. I don't want to injure anything "down under". I have gone from a tight fitting pant size 44 (big as the side of a barn) to a loose fitting size 36. I won't post a picture of my fat former self. It is too embarrassing and super awkward. I know people like posting before and after pics, but I don't want a picture of that fat dude in my head or floating around for posterity. The fat guy (and I don't mean Santa Claus) is long gone and won't be back in Jesus' Name.

 

Losing all this weight did a number on my wardrobe. I went from a closet full to a handful, and no suits to boot. It's become a great opportunity for an upgrade, overhaul, and makeover, but not a radical one. I still won't wear printed stuff with too many colors like my pastor does. He looks good in that stuff. He wears it well, but I would feel out of my own skin dressed like that. I also dislike flannel or country style stuff. Keep your boots and big cowboy hats to yourself. I won't wear them. I tried and my feet felt suffocated and my head wasn't any better. I like wide and airy shoes and beach sandals. I like the beach and I like sunshine. If I have my way, I prefer no shoes at all. Surprise! I wonder what would happen if I preached barefoot with my size 11 to 12 Flintstone toes (as my sister calls them) out in the open? Haha!

 

This was a really different kind of testimony. Hope you enjoyed it. Now to the Word.

 

Love all of you,

 

Dan A. Rodriguez

 

***The recorded message attached to this post was one I preached at a church on St. Thomas (USVI) in 2000. The service started with a wonderful move of the Holy Spirit. Many fell out and were all over the floor under the powerful anointing present there. It was a glorious meeting where Jesus showed up in a demonstration of His holy presence! Listen to the 30 minute message preached AFTER the power fell in that place. The message title is, "Anointed with Power."

Be mightily and supernaturally blessed!