Health Experiment Day Three

We have successfully finished day 3. This has really been so easy for me to maintain so far. Everybody is loving the food and and getting plenty to eat. It is interesting that when you set your day by snack times, your body is quick to remind you that it wants food. What I find even more interesting is if you really look at the signal your body is sending it is most likely not hunger.

It could be your thirsty or maybe even just bored. Your mind and thought process play such a key role in when you eat, what you eat, and how much you eat. Imagine how much extra food you take in one day just because your body is sending a signal? Take the time to search the signal out before you give in to hunger. You might be surprised at what your body is really saying when you're reading the signal wrong.

I have noticed 2 small positive changes so far, and that is a good thing. First of all I am going back to sleep after a midnight bathroom jaunt very fast. I usually have a very hard time falling back asleep but that seems to be changing. This is a good thing considering the amount of water I drink in a day.

The second thing I am noticing is the oil content of my skin seems to be evening out. It is not cool to be 30-something and have oily, teenage girl skin. Hopefully these are just the beginning of the amazing changes my body is going to make over these 30 days.

Breakfast

3 egg omelet with spinach and peppers

½ cup roasted sweet potato

Lunch

1 cup roasted spaghetti squash

½ cup sloppy joe

roasted brussel sprouts

green beans

salad

Dinner

sweet potato chili

salad  with ½ avocado

To learn more about this experiment, read the intro here!

Health Experiment Day Two

Day 2 was a pretty easy day as well. I think that it will be an added bonus for us that we eliminated a lot of bad stuff in our diet over this past year. I think my favorite part so far has been getting to try new vegetables and new ways of cooking things. I also figured it would look way more appealing to actually see a plate of what we had at each meal. It is one thing to list the recipe but add a picture and you're hooked.

Breakfast

1 turkey sausage patty

2 over easy eggs

kale medley

Lunch

1 chicken thigh with lemon pepper

Salad

Bok choy

Acorn squash

Dinner

Garlic chicken w/ gravy

1 cup mashed potato

green beans

roasted cauliflower

For more information  on this experiment, go read the intro!

Health Experiment Day One

Day 1

     I spent all of yesterday doing prep work for this week. I roasted veggies and sweet potatoes. I made a big batch of Sloppy Joe as well, and got my turkey sausage made.

     I feel ready to start this and have some meals prepped and ready to eat. I also got an accurate weight and measured inches just to have a record of how my body responds to this. I will not check them again till this experiment is over.

     Day 1 was very tasty. The only complaint I got was from the little dude (he is 6) on the acorn squash. He thought it was a little too spicy.

Breakfast:

peaches and

greens eggs

Lunch:

½  cup Sloppy Joe

½ cup roasted cauliflower

1 cup roasted sweet potato

salad

Dinner:

1 piece flounder

avocado salsa

½ cup roasted acorn squash

½ cup roasted root veggies

salad

For more info on this experiment, go read the introduction!

Sneak Peak of Day 2 Meals

My Latest Health Experiment

     For months now my husband has been asking me to try to figure out why his joints are always aching and why his psoriasis won't clear up. My big question has been is it something that we are eating or a lack of something in our diet? Like a good wife I have been tweaking a little here and a little there. Adding some of this and taking out some of that. Nothing seems to be helping him.

     I have also noticed in my own body that several things seem to be going crazy. From hot flashes that keep me running to the freezer for a quick cool down to not sleeping more than 2-3 hours straight. I have been feeling so heavy and sluggish all the time. This is just not my idea of living a healthy, productive life.

     Then I stumbled upon a very interesting book called It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. This book goes into extreme detail about how certain foods and chemicals in our food cause all the problems that my self and the hubs are dealing with. This book introduces you to the “Whole 30 Plan”. The goal is to eat only whole, natural, healthy foods for just 30 days so your body can begin to heal and reset -- kinda like a factory reboot. This book totally just made sense to me. It was kind of like a light bulb moment. Eliminate some things. Eat lots of good healthy foods to heal the body. After 30 days start to slowly add back foods and see which ones are the culprits. This is something that is totally doable for my family!

     My plan is to keep a record of this entire experience on this blog with links to what my grocery list looks like for each week, what my menu is for all 3 meals each week, and finally a recipe link to everything I make. This entire experiment is built around feeding a family of 5 with a grocery budget of $160 a week.  I will be using a lot of the stocked-up chicken, fruit, and veggies that I have in my freezer. I do all my shopping at Dillon’s(Kroger), Walmart, Aldi’s, and my local farmers markets.

     Well there you have it. Stay tuned for my daily updates to see how we are all doing on this.

     I am purposely not going into very much detail on the intricate phases of this program. I really feel that you need to arm yourself with knowledge and search things out before you start a program that involves your health. If you're interested in doing something like this then read the book. Get all the facts first, don’t just take my word as the final answer.

     The book is called It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. Get a copy from a library and read it. They also have a very information-packed website.

Let the journey begin!

Week 1 Grocery list
Week 2 Grocery List
Week 3 Grocery List
Week 4 Grocery List

Full Circle

Today was one of those days where you realize that you have come full circle.


A day where just having one conversation with a stranger makes everything become clear.


I was at the gym today to get my 2 miles in and being the friendly chap that I am I struck up a conversation with the only other person on the track. It started out as simple small talk like, "How were the roads on your way in?" and "How many times a week do you come here?" Simple chit chat. . . . or so I thought.

I made the comment that I was glad it was just her on the track today since I was trying something new and didn't want to look like a falling duck with a lot of people around to witness it. I told her I was going to try and add some jogging in small intervals today. I was pretty excited about this since I had injured my ankle a year ago. I have been through shots in the foot and physical therapy to get to this point. I was pretty excited about this to be sure.


She told me that she wished she was able to run and how she envies people that have that ability. She has back problems that keep her from doing that. I kinda chuckled at this and told her I had back surgery a year ago so I understand. She was even more intrigued by me and wanted to know more. I shared my story with her about my journey to better health.


I shared that I had lost 100 pounds and was in the best shape of my life. That is until the day I ruptured a disc in my back and was down for the count waiting surgery. This woman was silent for a minute as she thought about all I had shared.


Her response was, "Wow! You really have come full circle haven't you?" Yeah, I guess I have. I told her that one thing I have learned this past year is to not take anything for granted. It isn't until you lose the ability to do what is normal that you can really appreciate it. She thanked me for sharing my story with her and continued her laps. I however continued to do small bursts of jogging which had turned into jogging a full lap by time I was done.

It was during this time that I really started to think back to where I was and really see where I am at. January of this year marked a year since my back surgery. During that year I have had to learn to walk, bend, and exercise with out adding stress to my back. This March will be a year since I injured my ankle and have had to learn how to walk without a limp and balance again.


I can look back and see the hand of God in all of this. I had the best surgeon for my back and a great team of therapist that helped me a lot. With my ankle I had a great doctor and my therapist was a God send. He helped me reach my goals and also gave me the confidence to try things that I was terrified to do.


There was one day in therapy that he wanted me to do something, and I was so overcome with fear that I was positive I couldn't do it. But he looked me in the eye and said, "Karen, do you trust me?" Way to make me face my fear head on. Yes I trusted him, I had never had a reason not to. And yes I was able to do what he asked of me.


On my last day of therapy he told me that there were no exercises I could not do. From a medical point of view I was ready to rock. "Except for running," I said. You would think I would have learned my lesson to keep my mouth shut because he just loves to prove me wrong when I doubt my abilities (Thank God for that). My therapist made me face my fears and run on the treadmill.


Fast-forward to today and I am running on the track!!!!


It has been a long year for me. A year where I have had to face so much pain, doubt, and fear. A year where I have found out what I am really truly made of. I am stronger than I think. I can do more than I think. Fear has a grip that can strangle you if you let it. I have found out where my faith is and how strong and loving my family is. No, it has not been an easy year but I really have come full circle.


Look at me now!


I am unstoppable!


Joseph tells his brothers in Genesis 5:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people."

God has brought me to this position so that I too can help change the lives of many people.

My future really is bright and full of endless possibilities!

Why is this so hard???

Woke up this morning and realize that it was time for my monthly weigh in. Not looking forward to it because I know it has been a not-so-good kinda month. I know I have failed myself in so many areas in regards to my health. I have not been a good steward of the body God has given me to take care of. Way too many desserts and not enough exercise. Larger portions of food and not enough water. All these "excuses" run through my mind during the 5 seconds it takes me to walk to the bathroom. All negative thoughts.

Nothing  positive and uplifting  to say to myself and I have not even gotten on the scale yet. With all these facts running around in my head why should I be shocked when I look at the scale and see an increase? After all didn't I just accuse myself of being lazy and not doing enough? Turns out that what I was calling it is what it became. I was calling it a month of failure and it was. I was calling it a month of being lazy an just letting too much slide by. Why was I surprised that everything that I had been speaking over myself had come to pass?

But in the midst of all these thoughts swirling round in my head I can still hear the loving voice of my Savior telling me that today is a new day and has no mistakes in it. Today I have a whole new set of mercies. Today I can start fresh and yesterdays excuses are just that, they belong to yesterday. What a peace! The decision is in my hands.What am I gonna make of this new day? This new chance to get it right? I can either live under the condemnation of what I have done wrong or I can try again. I can grab this new day with an excitement and anticipation that this is the day that I took the control back. This is the day that I stop finding excuses to not do what I know is right. After all isn't an excuse just my finding a reason to not do what I know I should do?

Fighting internal dialogue in a moment of desperation

Have you ever made a decision that at the time seemed like a really great idea, but as you walk the decision out you realize that there is a lot of conflicting emotions that come to the surface? This describes me the past 19 days. If your not familiar with my journey then let me sum it up. About 2 years ago I started on a journey to better health. Fast forward and I had lost 100 pounds through a very set diet and intense exercise plan. Fast forward one more time and you have me getting back surgery for a ruptured disc that I most likely got from the intense workouts I was doing.

So here I sit today. Not able to do the workouts I want to, due to my limitations, needing to lose another 40 pounds, and trying to wrap my brain around what I can do to make this happen. Knowing that I needed to start back at the beginning of my journey I decided to go on a 30 day sugar fast. The first time I did this was when I first started 2 years ago. I lost 15 pounds that first month. Well obviously if it worked then with such terrific results then it should work now right? What I did not expect was the internal dialogue that I would have to face and deal with.

You see I am not the same person I was 2 years. I have learned so much about food and have made so many healthy changes to my food consumption that there really isn't any "bad" food involved. But you see I am just like everyone else in the world that is trying to lose weight. I get these moments of desperation where I feel so disgusted with how slow things are moving that I feel like I need to make a big change to get me jump started. All rational thoughts of my reality and limitations just fly out the window. Everything that I have learned and believed, everything that I have manged to accomplish,  just doesn't seem to matter in those moments of desperation. I analyze everything I have eaten over the past week and berate and belittle myself  for not caring enough about my end goal. After all if I really wanted to lose weight then I would not have had the second helping of food or the bowl of ice cream. I am amazed at how cruel and degrading I can be to myself. I would never dream of saying the things that I say to myself to another person. Then why is it all right for me to talk to myself like this? Why am I so negative and hard on myself in these moments of desperation? I think it all comes down to a lie that I have always believed about myself. I am not good enough. If I don't have the perfect body or the perfect hair and clothes then I am not good enough. If I don't eat all the right food in the right amounts then I am not good enough. If I don't do crazy and intense workouts then I am not good enough. But what if I stop believing this lie? What if I look at where I was 2 years ago and compare it to where I am now?

I was 260 pounds, had no energy, and was just getting through life not really living it. I am not that woman anymore. I have grown in so many ways that the woman from back then is not even recognizable to me. I have come a very long way. That is why I call this my journey to better health. This is not a sprint for me. This is a life long journey of learning and trying new things. Some of it will work and some of it won't but that should not dictate how I see myself.

Back to this 30 day sugar fast. This was a decision that was made out of desperation so the question then becomes should  even continue to do this? I realized that this was all part of my past dieters mentality. So I went out and bought some ice cream. I had every intention of having a bowl and not feeling any remorse about it. I would love to say that is what happened but it is not. I scooped myself out a bowl and was about to put it in my mouth when...yup you guessed it..that dang internal dialogue kicked. I had come so far on this fast could I really not do two more weeks. Was having that bowl of ice cream worth sabotaging all the detoxing of sugar my body had already accomplished? I actually gagged looking at the spoon and could not put it in mouth. I have made the decision that I will finish the fast out to the full 30 days. I mean it is not like it is harming my body in anyway. This whole experience has shown me that I still have a long way to go in correcting my internal talk.

How am I going to respond the next time I have a moment of desperation and get all frustrated about my progress? I guess I really do need to keep looking at how far I have come in the past 2 years. I need to be realistic about what I can and cannot do now. And I also need to realize that allowing a small occasional treat is not going to ruin all my progress. It is like the amazing Jillian Michaels says that if you eat right 80% of the time and splurge the other 20% your still going to see some positive results. I know for me I could never allow myself that 20% option but 1 treat a week isn't going to destroy everything.   I hope. Guess I still need to work on that internal dialogue some more. I am still a work in progress still striving to be the best me I can be.