New direction is lookin' good

Last week, I decided to take small steps to make a big change for both my hubby and my own health.

I'm currently down 5 pounds and my husband is down 3 pounds from last week. I'm so excited to see how this week turns out. 

Yes, I'm starting to meal prep for both of us. This is my lunch & snacks: 1/2 c cottage cheese, 1/2 red bell pepper, 1 c grapes, & whole wheat bologna sandwich. 

I know bologna is not a good meat to eat. It is definitely a cheap meat to purchase and I'm going from 2 bologna sandwiches on white bread to 1 bologna sandwich on whole wheat. It's a change. Everything is small steps and eventually, this will pay off. 

I'm drinking water instead of any energy drinks today. I didn't have any soda either. Water seems to be the one thing that quenches my thirst these days which is awesome. 

Today is definitely a great day and this week will be even a better week than last week.

Enjoy the week!

Small steps lead to big changes

It's been a long time since my last post. I am working on making this blog a weekly post like it was at the beginning of the year. I'm happy to be writing this blog again. It means I'm working on finding a healthy new me and helping my hubby get healthy, as well. 

It is true that small steps lead to big changes that one might never have thought possible. 

Right now, I'm taking small steps that lead to eventual huge changes that will better my life expectancy. I'm starting off this week with no sodas except for one energy drink a day. Eventually, the energy drinks will stop, as well. 

Next step is to start removing the extra carbs in my diet like pasta & bread and find healthy replacements. 

I bought 2 heads of cauliflower which is just sitting in my fridge begging to be turned into garlic mashed cauliflower. YUM!

Yesterday for dinner we had a whole spaghetti squash instead of regular pasta with Italian sausage meatballs. Definitely a great small step forward to a brighter big picture change to the future of both my husband's and my life.

Change is good and pushes you to further discover new things. Enjoy life and make those small steps to better yourself!

Life changes start with one little step

Last week, I made the decision for my hubby and me to start down the old fashion way of losing weight. 

There was a hiccup, but nothing that stopped progress. I have had this persistent cough for over a month thinking nothing of it until Tuesday of last week. I started coughing up bloody mucus. It worried both of us and finally broke down to see an urgent care doctor. Good news is that it wasn't pneumonia. He didn't hear any water in my lungs. It is just a bad case of bronchitis and so I'm taking some strong antibiotic. So I'm on my way to recovery. YEY!

I lost 1 pound last week. A pound is still a pound gone. 

I compared today's measurements with the ones taken on 12/26/2016:

Neck:       17" (same)
Biceps:     14" (+2")
Forearms: 8.5" (same)
Breast:     53.5" (+2.5")
Waist:      50" (+2.5")
Hips:        55.5" (-0.5")
Thigh:      24.5" (+2")
Calf:        12.5" (-1")
Weight:    272 (-6 pounds)
Total inches: +7.5

I'm still doing great. Pounds are down. Inches will start falling off once I hit the gym which that starts today. I'm excited to see where I will be in the next month. 

Back for the long haul

Yes! Yes!! I know. It has been a very long time since my last post. That post talked about starting a new lifestyle with Keto. I wish I could say that Keto was the way to go for me, but it wasn't. Both my husband and I had a bad reaction after 10 days being faithful to it. We decided to re-group and try to figure a better way of getting healthy.

Unfortunately, it took me until now and a heavy work week to realize that old fashion is better than any new age for us. Weight Watchers is the way we're going. I have been paying for the online services for over a year and haven't been utilizing it any.

This week is going to be a 64 hour work week and I need to figure out quick, but healthy meals for us. What way is better than finding some super easy slow cooker meals ready when you open the door after a long 12 hour shift. 

Another thing that is missing in our lives is activity. That doesn't just mean going to the gym. We can go have a nice swimming pool at our apartment complex. We also on our days off, can go hiking or take a leisure walk after a super long day at work. 

Today's meals are simple. Eggs for breakfast. Lunch was a simple BLT on wheat for me and on white for my hubby. Dinner will be a simple chicken bacon dinner salad. We're starting off slow and light. 

Next week, an update on how this new old fashion lifestyle change is going for us.

Change

Change! Most people shiver in the sight or sound of such words being used. Change is often hard and scary. The truth about change is that in life, change is the way to grow. This is why I'm not shivering at the sound of that word: CHANGE.

Today my husband and I are starting on a new path to better our health. I have done a ton of research on Ketogenic Diet. When I say I did a ton of research, that means for the last three weeks or so, I searched all the details I can find about this diet. I searched the internet until I ended up reading the same information over and over again. 

My husband and I talked about it. We discussed what it is all about. We are very comfortable on taking the keto diet. I find it funny I'm calling it a diet when in all actual fact, it is definitely a lifestyle change that takes dedication. We decided we need this in our lives.

I weighed in at 278.6 for the first weigh-in for Keto. I can't wait to see next week weigh-in. I'm even more excited to see my husband's weigh-in next week. I want us to be alive to live life to the fullest we can. One way to do that is to get our bodies healthy. 

I have 2 recipes already to share on my cooking blog for keto. I made last night ham & turkey egg cups for this morning. I also made pepper popper fat bombs.

They both are completely delicious! I'm super excited to discover new recipes.

Choices

This last week has been amazing by way of weight loss. My choices are reflected by the loss I had.

I'm down 3.1 pounds this week. I was 281.5 last week and today I'm 278.4. 

This last week I decided I need to go back to Weight Watchers. It is where I found people who are on a journey like me that are looking on making themselves healthy and cheer each other on. It is a place where I originally went from 320 pounds down to 280 pounds. 

Just by looking at the points I am eating, made me realize how much I'm feeding myself and my husband. We need to change the portion sizes and throw in some extra salads to get our daily vegetable intake we need.

By just doing a few extra steps and making wiser choices in what we're eating, I already lost weight. I'm going to keep this going until we're both healthy and strong. 

I know this can be accomplished. This last week was definitely a win-win week. 

Goal for this week:
Go to the gym at least 2 times.

Life after

I realize that I'm not the first and definitely not going to be the last person who has been traumatized by a car accident. This week I want to discuss life after my latest car accident.

Last Monday a semi turned into my car and pulled away just before serious damage to the car and me happened. I'm still thanking my lucky stars that is wasn't anything worse than it could have been.

I've had two other car accidents before this and in no way was I traumatized like I am after this one. Those two other accidents totaled the cars and each of us: my mom, my brother, and me had injuries that still bother us today. 

I walked away from those accident without being nervous to be on the road. But this latest accident has me questioning myself on being out there driving. Short trips to even Bountiful which is about 15 minutes away from work, I had full blown anxiety attacks. I mean tears streaming down my face, body shaking fear, & heart pounding so hard that it actually feels like a heart attack. 

Yes, I'm traumatized. I have been told that I'll eventually get over it. I'm sure I will, but right in this moment, it feels like a lifetime away. 

What is worse from this all, the people I love and care about seeing me like this. I feel helpless and sometimes just want to disappear so they don't have to worry so much.

My mental health at this moment is being worked on, as I work on my physical health, too. I feel that mental health is just as or even more so important as your physical well being. You can't have one without the other is all I'm saying.