Been a while!

Good morning!

Been a while since I've made a post in here! My own fault, I gave up on my journey before I even really got started. I tried to begin again and failed a few times. My body has suffered for it and by the end of December, I couldn't take it any longer. My blood sugars were constantly high, my colitis was out of control, and my liver hurt all the time.

I took action!

I decided I couldn't do this anymore. I needed to fix my body. I needed to get healthy, to feel better and feel in control of it once more. I was tired of letting my ailments rule me.

I discovered, at some point, a way of eating that can help fix a lot of my issues, Whole 30. It is not a diet plan, but a way of life, a major shift and change in eating and thinking about food. This way of eating cuts out all the fun stuff, all the sugary tasty things that make me feel horrible, all the processed foods and chemicals that make my liver ache, that have made it congested in the first place.

I eat only compliant foods now, lots of protein and fiber, meats, fruits, veggies. Nothing artificial any more.

My first try failed only 14 days in. I gave up too easily again. It was too hard, I wanted the sugar, the cake and cookies, I wanted the pizza and pasta, the ease of throwing a pre-made meal into the microwave. I got sick, a cold, and shut down. I didn't want what would make me feel better, make me healthy, I wanted easy junk food.

I gained back the weight I had managed to loose, I felt horrible and finally, decided that even though last year was horrible, so many bad things had happened, with being forced to move due to severe raising of rent, the robbery, and then my Gramma passing away, I would not let this year beat me down! A change was needed, and this was the first step!

January 2nd, I began anew. I started Round 2 of Whole 30. I cut out all the sugars, the empty carbs. I wouldn't be lazy, I would meal plan, prep and eat healthy! I even joined a support group on Facebook. It helps to know I am not the only one with troubles, with trepidation.

It was hard! But I was determined. The first week, I wanted a milkshake so badly! I felt like crap as my body began to purge all the crap it had accumulated. The second was a bit easier, but still hard. This last week was the easiest by far.

I was proud of myself, I bought Tim a slice of cake for his bday, and it made me feel ill just smelling it. None of those foods sound good to me. About the only thing I miss is sushi, so that is to be a special treat from now on.

I have defeated, what is called by Whole 30'ers, my Sugar Dragon.

I am now 21 days in. I feel so much better! With only 8 days left, I feel amazing, and will continue to plan my meals and eat this way in hopes my blood sugars will come all the way down, that my colitis will go into remission with out the drugs, and that my liver will stop aching and slowly detox, though it will never return to normal.

I have had a lot of No Scale Victories, NSVs, already. I can get though the store with out wanting the crap, the junk food. I no longer crave or need it. My jeans that were tight are loose, I am almost into the next size down! My belt can be buckled at a lower buckle, though it's rather tight yet. I turned on my camera and it was front facing, but instead of cringing, I was impressed. My double chin wasn't so bad! I had contours to my cheeks. I can feel the difference all over my body. I can feel more curves instead of flubbery rolls. Some of my bones are a bit more visible.

I am happy. I feel great and want to continue to feel this way. So with day 30 approaching, I go towards it eager to continue, eager to feel even better.

On day 31, I will post my first picture of myself, when I started down this road, before it became full of pot holes that threatened to break me, and a picture of me now. I wish to see the difference in myself. It may not be much, but it will be something!

I am determined to do this, to see it through, to change myself  for the better. I have many goals I need to still accomplish to do this, but do it I will. First step, learn to eat better, and I am well on the road to that goal. Next, to not be so lazy, to get up and exercise more.

Keep me in check people! Ask what I did during the day, make me feel bad about not getting up and moving! I need the motivation, the pushes. Give words of encouragement, praise or even criticisms. Anything to get me up and going!

Thank you all for reading, for supporting me. I will try to post more again. Pester me if you dont see anything for a while. I will maybe do a weekly post instead of daily, daily becomes tedious after a bit.

For today, that is all. Thank you again!

Good Morning!

Its been a while! Far too long actually, but things have been super crazy this last month.

So, last you heard from me here, we were waiting on the appraisal. It went perfectly, papers were signed! It was lots of signatures! Apartment fully packed and ready to go, dog very confused by everything, lots of daycare time for him, truck rented and then we waited. Friday, May 27, we got our keys around 10 am. It was an amazing feeling! Our first house! We made a few trips back and forth with stuff, came back later with Nate and the dog. Dog had no idea what to make of things and was ready to go home again.

Next day, got the truck, took dog to daycare, loaded up and got most of it in two loads. Ozzy was super confused. He left the apartment and everything was fine, got home to find all of the stuff was gone. Or most of it. He had no idea what to think. He was ok at finding his things at the new place though. Its taken him this whole time to finally settle in and start to relax. He is seriously enjoying his freedom, and his own backyard! He went out all on his own the other day, went potty and came back looking all proud of himself!

For our side of things, it was crazy! Painting happened in every room but main bedroom and bathroom. Tim's office was blue and he made it a soft gray, my craft/guest room was white, and we made it a soft creamy tan like color, the kitchen got the same, and we got a color called Eider White for the living room and hallway. So much better! Curtains were purchased and hung, as there were no window coverings. The bathroom got an update, a new fancy Dual Flush toilet, a nice vanity and medicine cabinet. Lots of little things happened as well. Furniture was arranged and made how we liked it. It now feels like home!

We are very grateful for Tim's parents. They came and helped out with everything, with out their wonderful help, it would never have gotten done as fast, we would probably be still working on it! Thank you!!

We ate like crap as well! I am seriously surprised I didnt gain too much. Only a few pounds which I am working to get back off. Lots of fast food, pizza and Chinese, donuts. Not good. Was super happy when my kitchen was in working order and I could make food again! It was great! Been trying to eat better, but its slow going.

I also stopped taking my Melatonin supplements. Read how a study had been done, and they found that some people have a genetic thingy that makes it so that Melatonin doesnt work how it is supposed to. It absorbs into cells and blocks insulin resistance and causes much higher blood sugars. So, as I was having very high numbers, out of curiosity sake, I stopped taking it. And low and behold, the numbers dropped! Still high, as I am not eating right, but they dropped! I was also having to take quite a lot just to fall asleep, and then waking up two hours later anyway.

Beacuse of this though, I've seriously messed up my sleeping. Which is why Im posting this so early! Im still awake! I slept till 4pm yesterday as I didnt sleep the night before. Going to try and stay up as long as possible today and try and fix it.

Our friends came to visit us last weekend, and it was fun! The boys did projects, they flew a drone and took video of the house from outside, Sarah and I went and had sushi! So tasty! We also went and checked out Bradley Lake Park and walked around it.

We stopped into Sports Authority, they are going out of business, and the sign said 20-40% off, but the only thing higher than 20% were cleats. Dont need those! I did get a jump rope. Tested it out when I got home and discovered a serious need for a better bra!

Well, there is the update! I hope to start doing better about writing these things as I hope to start eating better and working out more!

Have a great day!

Bad me!

So I am apparently very bad at this whole blogging thing. *sigh* I just forget to do it each night, or just don't have anything to talk about so I put it off.

Doing pretty good though! Have managed to stay mostly under 170lbs and I've been trying to eat better still, though now I've been fighting with my blood sugar. Its been up rather high again as I've been sort of snack eating instead of meals. And it doesn't help that both Tim and I are like Hexagons... All our Hecks are Gone! We are in a limbo stage, just waiting. I hate waiting. The appraisal was on Wednesday and we still haven't heard back yet. So I'm in wander mode, which usually leads me into the kitchen, which means I find something to eat.

Getting things done with this though, most days. Some days I feel overwhelmed and don't know what to do with myself, and not knowing what is going on with things, I retreat to my room and read to take my mind off of things. I've read quite a number of horrible romance novels this last week!

Tim has been home the last two days, so he's been a bit busy. He got the office mostly packed up and his desk dismantled so I have room to stack boxes as I pack them now. Things are starting to look empty.

Anyone ever heard of Pre-move Inspections? I certainly haven't! But apparently its something that this company does. They will be in on Monday to do so. I have no idea what its about, but maybe to check and be like, Ok, this this and that need to be cleaned, we are going to charge for this that and that or something like it? Not sure. Means I have to clean tomorrow. House is a disaster... as usual!

Cleaned out the fridge the other day, it was full of junk and old stuff again. Lots of half or mostly empty cartons of chicken broth.... gunna have to go back to cans I suppose! It was rather empty looking inside once I was done too! Then I cleaned out both the top freezer and the big chest freezer and everything is now in the top freezer. Trying to use as much as I can with out buying more so I don't have to transport or find a way to store it if closing goes longer than we have here.

Went shopping today and filled the fridge a little more though. As I am trying to get my sugars under control, and eat better, it was lots of fruits and veggies to nom this week. I am only cooking for myself until Friday. Tim is out of town for a Training thing for work. Ill be taking him to the airport in a few hours for that.

Been walking with Ozzy more, but I'm a bit afraid to go anywhere with him at the moment. There have been 4 shootings around here this last week, one less than a mile away from here. I don't even like taking him out for his pre-bedtime potty trip.

For some odd reason, last summer I bought a pair of shorts that were on sale, and they were a size 9. I remember trying them on and they fit ok, but a week later, I couldn't even get them buttoned and haven't been able to since. Today I tried them on again, and I got them buttoned! Omg they were tight but I buttoned them! Woo! Progress! I think if I can keep my weight under 170, before we move, Ill do another dreaded picture.

I need to restart that Planking challenge again as well. Had a few days where first my knee hurt really bad, then it was both knee and hip, then my lower back. It was to the point that walking made me want to cry. I think its that stupid Sciatica Nerve thats causing it all. But with all that going on, I missed a few days. Was up to 45 seconds too. Im sad, was doing so well! Oh well. I will start again once we are moved and settled in. Too much else going on right now!

Well thats all for now! Ill try to update more often. (even facebook doesnt get many posts, just lots of shares) For now, good night!

Planking!

I'm feeling pretty good right now! Got my weekly fitbit report and I've walked 40,421 steps in the last 7 days! I've averaged 5774 steps daily. Obviously some more and some less. My best day was 7153 steps! Woo! Go me!

I am on day three of this 30 day Plank Challenge too. Day one and two were 20 second ones and I barely  made it! Thought today was going to be super hard at 30 seconds, but I made it through the 20 second mark easy! Last ten were harder, but not bad at all! For whatever reason though it makes my left shoulder hurt, so I will have to be careful. By the end of this, I should be able to hold the plank for 5 minutes!

I am doing this because my core strength is horrible and this will help a ton! With all the walking and packing I'm doing, I hope to loose maybe 10 more pounds by the end of the month! I need to stop snacking though. After being stressed out for a week, and hardly eating the whole week, I seem to be hungry all the time now and keep finding myself snacking. I need to get some good healthy low/no carb things to munch on instead of chips or mochi.

I am really trying to keep from adding to the fridge though. I want to try and use what I have before the move, just in case closing goes a few days beyond our last day here and we have to store stuffs. Canned goods are fine, but fridge and freezer need to be emptied as best as I can get them.

We still have some stuff to do to get this whole thing going, mostly some info we need to provide, and if we can get it all done, hopefully we can close early! That would be great!

Tim will be gone middle of the month, most of the packing is going to be up to me anyway, so that's not bad. I am just not sure I am comfortable being home alone for six days after we were broken into. Anyone wanna come stay with me? I mean, I know they caught one dude, and the other is probably laying low for the time being, but still. I'm still not secure feeling in my own home. I keep locking my front door just to take Ozzy out potty, when I'm not going more then a few feet from the door. Cant wait to be out of here!

And before you ask, no, Tim cannot cancel his trip. It is a training thing, and he was recommended for it and accepted, and it apparently cost a ton, and there are no more for this year. He would have to be recommended and accepted all over again to take it next year.

Oh well. I am sure I will survive. The windows are all barred and I keep everything locked down tight now.

On that note, I am hungry, so I am off to make dinner! Spaghetti!

Things and Stuffs

Been a week since my last post. Things have happened! A few hours after I posted the last post, we got the call that said our offer was accepted on the house! Woo! They are paying our closing as well so that's great! So happy!

As the week went by, I started to calm down after the break in. Not as scared to be alone in the apartment now, which is good since Tim has to go away for a week in two weeks! Then on Thursday, even more good news!!

If you are on my Facebook, you will have seen this already.

They caught one of the thieves and we got some of our stuff back! Not a lot of it, but some, and that is huge for us. My Macbook Air (which I am using right now!), my kindle, Tim's work laptop and backpack, and some personal things from nightstands. Its not nearly everything, but its something. They are looking for the other guy still, know who he is and everything. So there is some possibility we will see more stuff again, but I'm not holding my breath.

Saturday we had the inspection on the house, and it went great! Only a few cosmetic fixes, they kept good care of the house, so now we wait for the septic inspection, the appraisal, and loan stuff to finish up. Aiming to close end of the month!

In health news, haven't been quite as stressed so I've actually been eating again, which means I'm having to fight to keep those few pounds I lost off! Today, as its the first, started a core strengthening challenge, started with a 20 second plank. Now, you wouldn't think it would be that hard... yeah that was super tough! I was shaking so hard at the end. Soon as the 20 seconds were up I collapsed! Dog thought it was the best time to attack and lick me! Evil thing!

Been walking a lot too, averaging around 5500 steps each day, need to get that up higher. But trying to not over do it. Its going to get crazy here with packing everything as the month goes on.

I'm so excited for it all! I cant wait to have our own place that I can paint and do as I please to! Well with in limits as I wont have much money, but still! My own place!!!

All for now! Need to get back to tidying up!

Yeah...

Friday started out as a fantastic day. We found a cute little house we liked (and when I say little I mean it lol) and is perfect for us, so we went ahead and started the offer process. Waiting to hear back now! Hate waiting.

Great day! Went to the store and got home.... bad day! Door was unlocked, house ransacked, stuff gone! Police called, report made, credit cards cancelled, checking account frozen, all passwords changed. I set my macbook to lock and leave a nasty message should it be used. It pinged the internet yesterday afternoon and locked up. I forwarded the info to the officer. Hoping to hear something soon.

Stress... so much of it, lots of fear too. Haven't been sleeping well, not eating much, no will to do anything. Lost a few pounds.

Today was actually better though. Still super upset, have the fireplace poker by my bed, dowels in every window. But I ate today. I had burritos for lunch, and didn't feel sick after, so I got the motivation to cook and actually had a healthy meal for dinner. Pork chops, salad and wild rice.

The exhaustion caught up to me this afternoon and I slept a few hours. So that probably helped quite a bit too!

My neighbor is awesome. She brought me chocolate cake that she made.

One of Tim's coworkers is awesome and is going to let us store stuff at his place until we get moved, and he came by tonight to get a bunch of Tim's work electronics to get them to a safer place. We know the likelihood of it happening again is low, but we just do not feel safe at the moment. And because of that, we are moving regardless of if we get this house or not. Though we are seriously hoping we do, because I cant take anymore negative right now.

I just need all this over with so I can move on. Should know tomorrow if we got the place or not. I will keep y'all updated!

For now, Im going back to being curled up in my chair.

Nighty night

Waiting...

We found a house we liked! Woo! Put in an offer, but they will not review them until the 24th, which sucks. But we really like it so we are willing to go into this bidding war swords drawn! Now we play the waiting game! I hate waiting!!!

We got to see some really amazing houses... not in good ways! One of them, was a 4 bedroom, 1 bathroom farm house styled home, that I loved from the listing pictures. Yeah... place was a maze. It was quirky and random and I loved it. What turned us off? One, it needed a lot of work... everything in the place was painted white, even the floors, which were a mix of wood and concrete. Number two? You walk into the bathroom, and you are like ok... its a bathroom. Look to your left, wall and window, to your right... OH looky!! The kitchen!! While this wouldn't be so bad normally, THERE WAS NO DOOR!!!!!!! There wasn't even a place a door used to be! It was just an opening into the kitchen! Maybe it used to be a small room that was converted at some point and the place used to have an outhouse? But why NO DOOR????? Why wouldn't you put in a door? Bizarre!

I've managed to keep myself at 169.3 lbs the last two days! I'm super happy about that! Haven't been eating as much because I've been so busy and not at home, but what I was eating amounted to fast food and snacks. Today I tried to be a bit better, but I need to go shopping.

Not sure if that will happen or if I am going to have to try and leave dog home. We got up this morning and he had a nasty red mark on his belly. I thought maybe he bruised it or something. Well as the day went on, it faded down some and now it sort of looks like ringworm. Have a vet appointment in the morning. Sigh... Not what we need right now, extra expenses and him not able to go to day care! I seriously hope I'm being a hypochondriac about this! Also... I spelled that correctly on the first try! Woot! Go me!

Dinner is Madras Lentils over brown rice, with curried chicken and veggies! Mmm... cant wait! I know I am eating super late, but wasn't hungry till recently and then got distracted and forgot to start my rice to cooking!

All for now! Nighty night!