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. 

 

Near Death experience

Nothing like a near death experience to open your mind and realize that life is too short to dwell on small things and live life to its fullest potential.

Yesterday was my near death experience that has made me thankful that I'm alive. I'm still shook up from it and am very happy that my experience didn't cause any harm to me. It was an extremely close call is what it was.

I was heading to work. It was wet and gloomy out. I have to be at work for 6 AM and so with that said it means it was also still dark out. The sun was still sleeping behind the mountains. There was no standing water to cause an accident such as hydroplaning or fishtailing. I'll explain in a moment as to why I brought those two up. 

I never trust semi trucks and often avoid them like a plague. Yesterday morning, I tried, but the traffic didn't allow it. I was stuck on the right side of the truck, side-by-side. I was heading north and about to hit the west bound exit when the trucker last minute put his turning signal on. I was hoping he saw me and then he'd wait to get behind me, but he didn't. 

What the luckiest part of this whole accident is that the trucker realized he hit something and immediately went back into his lane. 

The next part was extremely upsetting for me. I see it as fleeing the scene, but the hwy patrol gave the trucker the benefit of the doubt. The trucker said he took the eastbound exit because he was looking for a place to pull over. I followed him until I could get his plate & truck # info. I called my husband from the call features the car has and had him write that information down in case the guy kept going. 

Finally he stopped and I was able to get the hwy patrol to report this.

The whole thing could have been worse. I could have lost my life and the car could have been totaled. I walked away without a scratch, just shook up enough to flare my asthma. The car just has a small tear in the skin of the car by the left back tire. Very minor repairs needed.

Today, I'm very grateful to be alive. It has opened my eyes to realize how short life really is. I need to spend as much time with the people I love so much that I haven't lately. I need to tell those I love how much I love them and let them see it. I don't want to leave this world with any one of those people not knowing how much I appreciate them in my life. 

Today I will start appreciate everyone I have in my life and do whatever I can to spend time with them. Even though yesterday was the most scariest day of my life, I'm grateful that it happened. It opened me up. 

Strawberry Habanero Jam

Yes, that's right. I decided to try my hands at making a jam. My husband makes this amazing chicken waffle sandwiches and I wanted to make a condiment that would give a little bite, as well, as sweetness to it. He dips his chicken in waffle batter and then deep fries it. He puts a homemade cheese sauce that gives a little saltiness to the sandwich.

So I came up with this strawberry habanero jam that is to die for. It doesn't have too much heat coming from it, but it has enough to know it's there. The jam doesn't have too much sugar, making a perfect balance between sweet & spicy.

The jam is made up of:
16 oz strawberries
3 habanero peppers (sliced and seeded)
1/2 c sugar
1 orange zested and juiced
1 T instant pectin

Cook it on the stove on a medium light and turn it down when it starts bubbling. Let it cook for 1 hour.

Let it cool and take out the slices of the pepper. 

Blend it until it is smooth. 1 Tablespoon of instant pectin is all that is needed to thicken this lovely jam.

Pour into the jars or containers you plan to keep the jam in. 

It should yield no less than 3 8oz jars.

Enjoy!

Simple King Cake

There isn't anything like a good king cake to kick off a non-stop party like Mardi Gras. This year I decided to try my hands on making a simple one. The original one is make a nice yeast risen dough. Definitely quite an airy and tasty treat.

This cake is made of:

3 cans of Grands Cinnamon Buns with the icing

purple crystal sugar

gold crystal sugar

green crystal sugar

1 jars raspberry preserves

1 1/2 cream cheese blocks (8oz each) -- room temperature

Mix the preserves and cream cheese together until smooth. Place the mix into the fridge for 30 minutes to harden.

Make each can of buns into one roll and open to spread the cream cheese mix into it. Roll up the buns and attach each end to the other big rolls making a large ring. 

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. The rolls will be a golden to darker golden brown color. Let it cool completely before icing it and decorating with the colored crystal sugars.

It can easily serve 12.

Enjoy!

Stress

Today I'm going to change up this entry. It deals deeply with a huge health issue. It's mental health mostly, but affects all parts of health.

Let's discuss something that everyone deals with every day...STRESS! 

It is a very nasty word that can hinder your weight loss goals. It can make you loss weight by having no appetite or making you gain because you eat your emotions, trying to bury them under a big plate of down home mac & cheese with the gooey warm cheese. It is like a blanket of pure love and understanding right there. 

This last week I have been hit hard and completely stressed. When something you depend on for living your life shows to be not a stable thing to rely on, it makes for a serious stress and deep concern. 

As most who know me, I live at work. I work tons of overtime and am known as a reliable person in case someone doesn't show up to work. I'll stay late and work on my days off. I like knowing that I can be counted on when things happen. 

BUT...this last week, I found out from the agency I work for that my job might be coming to an end. The contract to keep me working may not be renewed even though I have been working for the company a year and a half. I know it's not a huge amount of time, but I feel it is a good amount of time to prove I'm devoted.

So all of this last week, I've been pulling my hair out of my head as to what to do. I absolutely love my job and would like to keep it, but if the contract isn't renewed, there's nothing I can do to keep it going.

I have to admit one thing. I absolutely don't like looking for a new job. I even dislike more the interviewing part. I am so clumsy trying to remember event of 18 years experience to best answer how I did this and how it made me feel kinds of questions. Honestly, I sometimes don't remember the simplest things in life and to remember that is even harder.

I made it through and decided it is time to take my agent's suggestion on looking for a new job before the contract expires. 

I looked at the Post Office which has a crazy test to take. I give a hands up to all those Postal workers who past that test. My head hurts still trying to practice for it. All I can say is WOW!

I also submitted to Netflix. I did their video interview and was asked to come in today at 5 PM for an in-person individual interview. I'm super stoked and finally the stress filled week I had last week is slowly dissipating. 

Let's just say that last week's stress gave me an excuse to not do the things I should have. I gained 4.5 pounds. I'm back to 279. 

This week I'm looking forward to pushing past this and doing what I need to get back on track. 

Let's do this!!!!

Positive verse Negative

I could start off with how I missed every day this week going to the gym. How I am very disappointed that I didn't make the time to go at least three times as I stated was the goal this last week. 

BUT...here's the thing, I rather focus on what positive came out of the week and learn how to overcome the negative to push me to be more motivated on continuing down a healthy road for myself.

Positive things that I saw this last week were: 
1) I was able to get my sugars down to 182 this week. A huge kudos to myself for sticking with taking my diabetes medication. 

2) I didn't gain this week. I'm still 274.5. Anything, but a gain is a huge positive in my book. Of course, I'd rather have a loss, but no gain is still awesome.

I'm excited to see how this week turns out! Anything is possible!

Change is coming

Gym is my next step to changing my life. It will help me get healthier and be able to go on the hikes I have been missing for the last few years. It will give me more stamina to climb the 3 flights of stairs to the front door of my apartment. My lungs and diabetes will become better. Change is what I need and to fear such change is to stay in a life where I will eventually not be able to be me. I must take the next step to changing my life forever and that is to go to the gym. Work hard to lose all the weight that has been weighing me down for years. 

I lost 1.5 pounds this week. I'm down to 274.5. I'm happy with my results for this week even if I didn't make it once to the gym. I will make it to the gym this week at least 3 times. 

I have decided that if I need to force myself to go, I will. It is the only way to start a habit that will stick. It takes 21 days to make a habit. I will start the making of a healthy habit TODAY! In fact, for the first time in my life, I'm actually excited about starting the gym habit.

In May, I'm planning to go hiking again. I miss the outdoors so much. The gym will help condition my body to be able to hike again. YEY!!!

I'm not giving up anything except bad habits that eventually lead to death. I want to live and enjoy my life. 

One step closer

One step closer in the right direction is definitely something to celebrate. 

Last week, I was disappointed with how high my sugars were and that I weighed 279.4. I said that I was going to start taking medication. I set out what I planned except going to the gym. 

So before I started taking my medication for my diabetes again, my sugars were in the 450s regularly for nearly a year now. Yes! Shame on me!!! That's dangerous and I most certainly know better. 

Now that I'm on the medication, I'm sitting at 190s to 205. Yes, still a bit high, but nothing like it use to be. With this being said, I was sick for like 3 days until my body got use to them being that much lower. I felt like I was withdrawing from drugs. I didn't leave the house for like 3 days until it stabilized. 

I know this all sounds like an excuse, but until I could walk down the 3 flights of stairs without worrying about falling down them, I wasn't taking a chance to lower my sugars even more by working out. 

I'm happy I took the first step to getting my health back. Today I will be heading to the gym after work and killing my legs on the weight machines. I'm totally stoked about it too. I can't WAIT!!!!

I'm also proud to say that I'm officially down 3.4 pounds from last week. I'm now an even 276. YEY!!! 

I can't wait for the rest of this week! I can do this. 

Diabetes

This week's blog is about something that is very personal to me. I'm going deep about it.

DIABETES! 

I do not speak lightly of such a disease. It is devastating for both the family and the one who has it. It causes great stress and extreme worry. It's a silent killer. 

I was diagnosed with it since I was 23 years old. I'm still dealing with that diagnoses. I at one point just gave up completely. I know. I know. But when you get diagnosed with diabetes, it sorta causes a depression that I can't even begin to describe. 

My father had complication from it nearly losing limbs. My grandmother died from complication from it. So hearing my doctor tell me I have it, everything shut down and I went into immediately denial for nearly 10 years.

I had ER doctors yell at me about not taking at least pills to reduce how high my sugars would go. I had doctors scare me into changing my eating habits and losing weight just so I didn't have to start taking insulin. Yes, I have a very strong fear of taking insulin. It scares me into change. When that's off the table, I go back to my bad habits. 

I'd be good for a little while by taking my meds, watching the carbs I eat, and going to the gym. These three things go together in order to lower those crazy sugars. Then I get out of the habit. If one part of that equation for me is not being done then I'm back to where I started.

Since I got married, I have seen the upset in my husband's eyes when I check my sugar and it is in the mid 400s or higher. It breaks my heart and I don't wish to keep him so worried and stressed about it. I have to take hold of what I have and make it better. I can and I most definitely will. 

I was 320 pounds and now I'm 278. If I can do that, this disease is just another challenge I can overcome. I'm determined to get better. Going to the gym every day I can with my husband, I am planning it out with him. No soda whether it is diet or sugary kind. More salads and smoothies daily are another change. Starting up on my diabetic medication is another thing I am getting with my doctor on. I'm done with diabetes. 

Yes, I'm willing if that's what I have to do, take insulin. I just have to accept whatever it is to get healthy again and be the best me I can. If not for my family, for myself. I will do whatever it takes.

Today my starting sugars was 353. I'm most definitely not happy about it. It tells me that today is the day I start working on lowering that number. 

TODAY is the day I take my life back!

Accountability even on good & bad weeks

Last week and most of this week, I skipped out on the gym. I'm definitely not proud of that. I need to push myself even when tired to hit the gym. I shouldn't let a long 10 hour day to drag me where I'm too tired to drive around the corner to the gym. I have to find my willpower and push it. 

No punishing myself for a bad week. I'm learning from it and running with it.

My weight is back to 278 and my measurements say I gained +1". 

2nd Measurements & Weight:

WEIGHT -- 278 pounds (same)

NECK -- 17" 

BICEP -- 13" (+1)

FOREARM -- 9" (+0.5)

CHEST -- 50.5" (-0.5)

WAIST -- 48" (+0.5)

HIPS -- 55.5" (-0.5)

THIGH -- 21.5" (-1)

CALF -- 14.5" (+1)

TOTAL: +1"

It definitely could be worse and so as I continue on the road to getting healthy, I learn and grow. It's not an easy road, but it is so worth it. 

May this week be a much better one starting today (Wednesday, Feb. 15th). 

Gym Time

Yes, this last week has been much better than the week before. My hubby and I went to the gym a couple times. My arms even yelled at me that they aren't use to doing weights. I felt that for a few days afterwards. That was a weird feeling. It felt like each day the pain increased until the third day when it stopped bothering me. 

I'll tell you what, I'd rather my arms scream at me than to be sick in the bed because I'm not doing the right things for my body.

I lost 2 more pounds. I'm not 275 pounds and feel great! 

I'm actually looking forward to our workouts after work. I'm disappointed when we can't. Some nights it is nearly impossible to and I understand that. I'm just getting into a habit where I really am starting to like working out and moving more. 

Here's to a goofy me and a better life!

Another week down

Another week down! Yes, it is. 

This last week was my birthday week. That means I had cake and foods that I maybe wouldn't normally have. In fact, I think I let this week be the week I wasn't working hard on getting healthy. 

AGAIN, I'm not upset with myself for this. Why beat yourself up for allowing yourself to do whatever it wants? I love myself and want to know why I do things. This week is a week on reflecting what is going on and how to work on it.

Still it was a birthday week for me. I turned the ripe old age of....should I say? Of course, I should! A number is only a number unless you give it power and feeling. I turned 38 on January 27th. I have 2 more years until my best years begin. I heard 40 is the new 20. 

I took last week off and I didn't have a gain. I'm still 277. I'm very proud that I didn't run wild and do whatever I felt like. I did a lot of what I normally would have done in moderation. I consider that a break through and am proud of that.

Here's to another week down and many more to go.

Almost Behind

I'm almost behind a week on my health update. I thought to wait until I went to the gym and get a picture of my husband and me working hard. This week has been a bit crazy. In the middle of the craziness, my birthday happened. 

I lost 2 pounds from the week earlier. I'm now weigh 277 pounds. Last week, my husband and I went to the gym four times. We worked the weight machines and did 20 minutes of cardio. I'm pretty proud of myself on this lose. I'm definitely moving in the right direction.

I like to talk about breakfast drink. It was eye opening for me. It was basically my body already starting to notice the difference between good healthy water verses an icy creamy frappe drink. 

I went to McDonald's this morning. I picked up a large chocolate chip frappe.  I only drank half of the frappe when my stomach began hurting. It was on fire that of which I hadn't felt in a long time. It's the kind of pain you get when your ulcer is screaming at you. 

I'm proud of myself. I felt it and instantly threw away the frappe. I realize from that point on that I need to keep on the path of drinking water. In fact, I actually crave water above any other drinks lately. 

I started noticed that even diet sodas make me so thirsty all the time. When I drink water, I feel very satisfied.

Here's to drinking water and living life to the fullest!

Change is good

Change! Most people say they fear it or hate it. But change is a great way to grow and learn. Right now, I'm welcoming it. Change to a better life and health for my husband and me is definitely a must.

We decided to get a whiteboard. It has our daily workout schedule, as well as, our dinner meal plan for the rest of the month. This month we have 2 celebrations which are: last night was the 6 month anniversary to our wedding and my birthday in a week. 

Posting on the whiteboard what we plan on doing will keep us both focused on the big picture, our health. We can always tweak it if it needs to be, but still having it on the board let's us know what we need to do that day. 

Sometimes we need this kind of reminder especially on days that you just don't want to do anything. You just want to go home and relax. Maybe it was a bad day at work and you just want to jump on a video game to kill something. You can still do that, but after you have a nice workout. Plus a good workout is a great stress reliever. 

We started halfway into the month with this idea. It's a great idea and we plan on keeping it.

I'm so excited for this much needed change. Plus I have a partner who wants this change just as much as I do. Everything is great! It will be a long hard journey, but so worth it. 

Looking Up

Last week wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been. I went from weighing 283 down to 279. That's a 5 pound difference. Very exciting for me. Definitely seems to be going in the right direction.

The change in weight came from a slight change in diet. I am eating more fruits and veggies. In fact, my husband is also. This makes me happy. We both need to change our habits. 

I say one step at a time. Small steps lead to big changes. I'm grateful for the changes. These changes will in the long run make it possible to live life to the fullest with more energy. 

Another great thing happened this week. I was able to get my sugars down to 295 one day this week. I now need to get it down more than once this level and work harder to get the sugars to stabilize, but this is a victory for me. My sugars normally being in the 400s is very much not okay. 

Today I take that victory of 295 for the day as a step in the right direction. 

Here's a picture of a very happy girl this evening:

Good night everyone! 

Resolution or Life Goals?

I'll be honest here, I partied like it was 1999. I overate and drank sugary drinks like there was no tomorrow. 

You see, in my mind, I knew I was going to ban myself from drinking sodas including the diet kind. I read somewhere that even the diet drinks aren't good for diabetics. So in my mind, I better get in what I will not be able to have in 2017. 

Where in the world did I and others get a mindset like that? It's like eat everything on your plate or you will starve kind of thinking. 

WELL....that caused my sugars to be 538 Sunday morning and my weight went up to 283 this week. That's a 5 pound weight gain for this week. Honestly this is quite disappointing. 

BUT this isn't causing me to get angry at myself and belittle what I did. I recognized what I did and learned that I can't have this kind of thinking. I have to move along and realize that each decision I am making for my health is a life goal decision. It is to make me healthier and live longer and enjoy life even more.

You see, this spring when the snow has melted, I plan on going on hikes again. I miss them. I absolutely love hiking and haven't done that in almost 2 years now. 

I'm going to post a picture of me this morning as the first picture of the new year at work. I'm thinking that I'll post a picture of me once a month to show my progress. 

Stop thinking that your goals are just resolutions! Make them life changing goals that you will keep forever and know that they will improve your life.