Well, April has been a hard month.
First the side effects from the medication were the worst ever. Usually they start right before and stop after ovulation but they kept going, no fading, just strong discomfort continuing day after day. It made me exhausted, hungry, emotionally hungry, uncomfortable, hot, cold, bloated, emotional, but mostly in pain. With Easter I know I fell off the wagon with chocolate quite a few days before these symptoms hit their worst, so I knew I had gained a pound or two back, but then I gained back 5 and my stomach was sticking out like I was 3 months pregnant (which I am NOT, so therefore DO NOT want to look like it). I had to wear loose clothes so as not to put any more pressure on my abdomen, but not so loose it looked like I was trying to hide a belly. Yuck. Some pretty tough, and not so healthy, days.
But, I went up for prayer after Church and the next day it was all mostly gone, just a slight bruised feeling from all that pain. I haven't yet dared step on the scale yet but the belly bloat is back to almost where it was before, so I'm happy about that.
Thankfully, one thing that helped alleviate all the above, AND helped me feel like I was making more of a healthy effort, was going on walks now that the weather is permitting. I walked about 2 hours last week over 3 trips and it was the one time I was feeling fairly good. Another highlight of April, because chocolate isn't a cheat (despite the chocolate overload) I didn't cheat at all on anything this month! My first full month of no cheats! :) That makes me very happy!
Oh, and I realized I forgot to add milk and chocolate milk to my list last time, I have not had milk to drink in 121 days and have not had chocolate milk to drink in 48 days. Although the only reason I cheated with chocolate milk (and forgot to record it in March) was because for some reason I wasn't able to swallow my medication with just water that week, only milk, so I figured if I'm going to cheat for necessity it's going to be chocolate milk :)
So yeah, a step back, a step forward. All I can say is I'm looking forward to ownership of my body back next month, because I'm off the meds. Maybe permanently, don't know yet. All I know is I need a break!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Wellness Wednesday
Just wanted to remind myself of some victories.
It has been at minimum 113 days since I have had:
coffee/cafe latte's
hot chocolate
cappuccino
frappachino
slur-pees
cookies
donuts
brownies
cupcakes
It has been 87 days without tea/tea latte's.
It has been 68 days without chips.
It has been 53 days without alcohol.
It has been 41 days without cake.
It has been 27 days without coke.
It may have gotten rougher but now it's getting easier again. :) Yeah!
Now if only I had forfeited chocolate for the month of April :/ Yikes!
It has been at minimum 113 days since I have had:
coffee/cafe latte's
hot chocolate
cappuccino
frappachino
slur-pees
cookies
donuts
brownies
cupcakes
It has been 87 days without tea/tea latte's.
It has been 68 days without chips.
It has been 53 days without alcohol.
It has been 41 days without cake.
It has been 27 days without coke.
It may have gotten rougher but now it's getting easier again. :) Yeah!
Now if only I had forfeited chocolate for the month of April :/ Yikes!
Friday, April 18, 2014
The Inheritance
Insurmountable debt.
This is your inheritance.
An outrageous obligation!
What?! How?! Why?!
You didn't ask to be born into this!
You will NEVER be able to repay what is owed.
Not in your life time.
Not in the life time of your children, or your children's children.
In this fashion it was passed down to you from previous generations.
Which is why the debt persists.
And the burden of the liability weighs heavy on you.
It wasn't yours, but has now become yours.
It seems impossible.
It wouldn't have mattered if you'd known from day one, there would be no earning a way out of this.
Until.
One day, a man comes to you and says he will take the debt on your behalf.
ALL OF IT.
'You're crazy! No one in their right mind would sacrifice that much just to help me.'
'I promise, I can and want to do this for you. Just sign it all over to me, I've got the paperwork already drawn up.'
'What is this, some random act of kindness? Is there a camera rolling somewhere?'
'I promise you, this is not random. I have thought this through, long and hard. Now will you let me help you?'
You are at the end of your rope.
At the end of yourself.
You don't know what else to do.
What do you have to lose?
And so you do it.
You release the debt to this stranger, who seems to good to be true.
The bank statement shows zero outstanding.
It is finished.
You owe nothing.
Not even to your benefactor.
And then a surprise twist.
You start to read the 'paperwork' he drew up.
You drop the papers along with your jaw.
You pick it back up, studying the words carefully.
You read it over and over again, looking to convince yourself of their truth.
But there it is, in black and white.
You are now the heir to a king.
Your inheritance has been swapped, from pauper to prince.
You are royalty, bequeathed a kingdom, a mansion, land, riches.
Riches far more precious than mere gold.
You received an inheritance so vast it will take all of eternity to fully comprehend it.
You were not only freed but you were blessed.
Now that is Good News.
1 Peter 1:18-19, 3-4
This is your inheritance.
An outrageous obligation!
What?! How?! Why?!
You didn't ask to be born into this!
You will NEVER be able to repay what is owed.
Not in your life time.
Not in the life time of your children, or your children's children.
In this fashion it was passed down to you from previous generations.
Which is why the debt persists.
And the burden of the liability weighs heavy on you.
It wasn't yours, but has now become yours.
It seems impossible.
It wouldn't have mattered if you'd known from day one, there would be no earning a way out of this.
Until.
One day, a man comes to you and says he will take the debt on your behalf.
ALL OF IT.
'You're crazy! No one in their right mind would sacrifice that much just to help me.'
'I promise, I can and want to do this for you. Just sign it all over to me, I've got the paperwork already drawn up.'
'What is this, some random act of kindness? Is there a camera rolling somewhere?'
'I promise you, this is not random. I have thought this through, long and hard. Now will you let me help you?'
You are at the end of your rope.
At the end of yourself.
You don't know what else to do.
What do you have to lose?
And so you do it.
You release the debt to this stranger, who seems to good to be true.
The bank statement shows zero outstanding.
It is finished.
You owe nothing.
Not even to your benefactor.
And then a surprise twist.
You start to read the 'paperwork' he drew up.
You drop the papers along with your jaw.
You pick it back up, studying the words carefully.
You read it over and over again, looking to convince yourself of their truth.
But there it is, in black and white.
You are now the heir to a king.
Your inheritance has been swapped, from pauper to prince.
You are royalty, bequeathed a kingdom, a mansion, land, riches.
Riches far more precious than mere gold.
You received an inheritance so vast it will take all of eternity to fully comprehend it.
You were not only freed but you were blessed.
Now that is Good News.
1 Peter 1:18-19, 3-4
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Wellness Wednesday
Well it's about time I did one of these again, on time! So I'm starting a few days early and posting today :)
Well, it has been 4 weeks since my last cheat, so 98 days down and only the 6 cheats. I'm pretty pleased with myself! Especially with how many have been flaunted under my nose lately. Donuts, cookies, cake, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls....and more than half the time it's for work and I have to order and arrange it!
I have sensed myself cracking though. Thinking about the temptations a lot. I have had to really proactively deal with this and reach out for accountability. When I selected my luxury foods to eliminate, I did realize a grey area that didn't fall into my 'allowed' but also not in my 'not allowed.' My caveat was that I wouldn't have those items (i.e. candy & popcorn) more often than I would have had if I wasn't removing luxury foods, which is probably only about 3 times a year, each. I have now had my 1/3 candy and 1/3 popcorn. :/
Another thing I have noted is that I am eating out more, and only half/half on the healthy choices, other half not so much. For both my wallet and waistline's sake, I intend to be cutting that out. Entitlement at missing desserts has crept in at work, and busyness has taken over supper hour, but I have a meal plan for the next 7 weeks, so I intend to do much better!
That being said, as of Sunday morning, I have lost another 2 lbs. So, if I pretend the 5 lbs I gained and lost between Dec.24th-28th didn't happen, I have otherwise lost 11 lbs since January, and 8 lbs since starting Shaklee vitamins (and coincidentally haven't worked out either) 6 weeks ago. And now that snow is almost off the sidewalks, and I get out for my regular walks again, I hope to see even more of that happening :)
Spring (if you can call it that) is off to a good start!
Well, it has been 4 weeks since my last cheat, so 98 days down and only the 6 cheats. I'm pretty pleased with myself! Especially with how many have been flaunted under my nose lately. Donuts, cookies, cake, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls....and more than half the time it's for work and I have to order and arrange it!
I have sensed myself cracking though. Thinking about the temptations a lot. I have had to really proactively deal with this and reach out for accountability. When I selected my luxury foods to eliminate, I did realize a grey area that didn't fall into my 'allowed' but also not in my 'not allowed.' My caveat was that I wouldn't have those items (i.e. candy & popcorn) more often than I would have had if I wasn't removing luxury foods, which is probably only about 3 times a year, each. I have now had my 1/3 candy and 1/3 popcorn. :/
Another thing I have noted is that I am eating out more, and only half/half on the healthy choices, other half not so much. For both my wallet and waistline's sake, I intend to be cutting that out. Entitlement at missing desserts has crept in at work, and busyness has taken over supper hour, but I have a meal plan for the next 7 weeks, so I intend to do much better!
That being said, as of Sunday morning, I have lost another 2 lbs. So, if I pretend the 5 lbs I gained and lost between Dec.24th-28th didn't happen, I have otherwise lost 11 lbs since January, and 8 lbs since starting Shaklee vitamins (and coincidentally haven't worked out either) 6 weeks ago. And now that snow is almost off the sidewalks, and I get out for my regular walks again, I hope to see even more of that happening :)
Spring (if you can call it that) is off to a good start!
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