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Toast to Moving Forward


Emma

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Last night we went out to dinner.  There were so organized reintroductions for us, but nor did we binge and go all out (though there was a moment I wanted MORE).  First we went and had a beer and some sushi.  Then we went to another place and had another beer and some nachos.  Those nachos were de-darn-olicious.  We shared them with the kids which meant we didn't have lots and we all wanted more.  Order another one we pondered? We were tempted, but alas (or thankfully) the server wasn't very attentive and we couldn't easily re-order.  So, we picked the dried cheese off the plate and went home.  Any issues?  Nah, nothing obvious.

 

I'm pretty certain that that inflammation in my system is low grade and layers and layers and layers and each non great food that I eat just adds to it until I get the "straw that broke the camel's back" syndrome.

 

My neck and shoulder are super tight today again.  Not sure what's going on with that, but glad I have an appointment this week.

 

It's super cold out, but also clear.  I ought to get up and go outside, but it's so much easier to sit on the sofa and think about doing some work.

 

Meals for Today:

Breakfast - Pumpkin pancakes (egg, pumpkin, seasonings)

Lunch - Bison burgers with sweet potato buns and kick ass ketchup, tomatoes and onions

Dinner - Salmon chowder

 

Rough Draft of Goals for February:

Continue to meditate every single day (almost forgot last night, but I didn't!)

Exercise for 20 plus minutes 5 days a week (or should I say 7 days a week and say even if it's just a leisurely walk?) Ideal exercise would be strength 2x/week, 2x/swim, 1x yoga, walks

Track my calories?

Eat Whole30 template at home

Split restaurant meals in half right away

Driving reasons for my goals:  healthy mind and body, lose weight

Challenges in my life: big portions, slothness, hard to fit in exercise, achy body

 

I'll return to this unpleasant goal setting later.  I like goals, but I want to know that I'm committed and that they are achievable.  I shall return.

 

 

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YAY!!! I'm so glad you are over here now! Congrats on finishing your W30. Your goal list looks good and challenging.....and still something I have yet to make myself sit down and do. I'm fighting some stuffy sinuses, which could just be from the oil pulling, but regardless, it's no fun. Especially coming off of having to fix a bad tooth. I sure hope you get the issues worked out with your shoulder and neck. Pain is never a fun thing. I hope things keep going well for you!

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I like the exercise goal.  But my suggestion is make it 6 days, not 7.  It is nice to know you have one day you don't have to worry about fitting it in, and if you do the 7th day, then it is a bonus.  Just my thoughts.

 

Glad nothing too negative.  I hope things go well at your appt for neck/shoulders.

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Had my appointment and it was GREAT!

Two older woman massaged and twisted and pushed and rubbed and addressed the tendons and ligaments and muscles from my neck to my foot.  It was so much more than a massage and it felt like exactly the kind of whole body thing my body needs.  Afterwards I was shaky and then super tired and now I find I'm a bit sore.  The problem areas (left foot, behind left knee, left shoulder, left arm) are not resolved, but how can they be so fast.  I, at least, feel like everything was straightened out and my tendons are lined up as they ought to be for the moment.  It was also the first time that anything was done holistically.  It really is amazing that the crazy expensive doctors and their MRI's and lab tests won't make a connection between pain in one's foot and pain in one's knee.  Also, while there, it didn't seem ridiculous that situps would cause pain in my knee since everything is connected through my hips (they spent a lot of time on my left hip).

 

Afterwards, I dropped in at the chiropractor's office and asked some questions.  The chiropractor is a really nice personable man and he and I talked a bit about my complaints and my visit to the traditional healers and my wigginess of chiropractors.  Tomorrow I'll go see him for an assessment and I'm feeling pretty positive that he'll give me some good insights into how I'm holding my body wrong and how I can improve my posture and symmetry.  

 

For now though, I feel like just lying on the sofa and taking it easy, but our house is a mess (a real mess), Valentine's need to be made (need), and dinner started (ugh - no inspiration yet for that one).  I'm drinking a green tea and mentally gearing up.  I also need to share my goals which I'm still working on.

 

Goals for February:

1. Meditate daily

2. Sleep 8 hours 

3. Exercise 30 minutes a day for 5 days, even if it's just walking  (At my appointment I was told to just walk and do mild stretching)

4. Sticking to the template for all at home meals

5. Lose a couple pounds by:

  - tracking calories in for one week

  - setting aside half my meal when we go out

  - watching my portions at home

  - planning my afternoon snack ahead of time

 

I've really been in a funk for quite a while now and I'm not sure why, but I know I haven't been enjoying feeling like an out of shape sofa sloth.  I miss being out running and feeling strong.  I don't feel good about the weight I gained over Christmas and will be glad when it gets down (10 more pounds) to where I had been before the long Thanksgiving/Christmas off track fest.  It's no fun backtracking and that's what I feel like I'm doing, but I have lost some weight and, even though it's only a pound a week, those weeks add up in the long run and at some point I'll be close to the healthy BMI zone and that will feel motivating.  So for now, I'll just keep plugging along and trying to make all these healthy choices part of our daily life.

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I hear you on the back tracking, I'm up a pound over where I started the W30.  It is frustrating, as I really have been compliant, dairy is the only thing I eat regularly that isn't part of the W30.  That is one of the reasons I'm cutting nuts, obviously calorie dense and it is something I don't need.

 

And remember, 1 pound a week is really good.  Keep it up and it will build in no time.  Plus you are getting yourself healed, long-term that will have huge benefits.

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I hear you on being in a funk. That is pretty much the only way I can describe things for me too lately. I've had a really good accomplishment finishing my W30, and I was happy and excited about it, but even that was short-lived. I do know that I have several stresses going on that are very much impacting my life right now though, so I guess I need to start working on them. And this weather. This weather is just kicking my butt. Here in Florida it has finally been beautiful and pretty much perfect the last couple of days, but my husband is an over-the-road truck driver and I am his dispatcher. Trying to keep him moving, making money, and staying safe is really, REALLY stressful. When the weather got bad up north we just decided to keep him more south, but now even that has blown up in our faces over the last couple of weeks. These last two storms in ATL he has gotten stuck in. And where we live is just far enough away to keep him from coming home to wait out the storm.

 

Anyway, sorry for rambling! Your goals sound great and totally reachable, as usual!! :) I do hope you start to feel better soon Emma, physically and mentally!

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I agree with Julie - the weather could be part of what's dragging you down.  This is the worst month - cold and dreary.  Give it another month and it might still be cold, but we'll start seeing early signs of spring.  That will help.  In the meantime, avoid the nuts, get some movement and be kind to yourself!

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I've wondered about the weather.  In past years, I used a special light inside, but this year didn't.  Maybe that's it.  I also wondered if it's because my blood pressure is lower than normal - maybe I'm used to have a bit of a coffee blood pressure zing that I don't currently have.  Or maybe it's just hormones resetting and rebalancing.  This Loving Kindness meditation stuff I'm doing is certainly good and I feel a nice healthy deeper awareness growing during those sitting sessions, but not during the rest of my day :)

 

I went to the chiropractor today and it went great.  Between yesterday and today, I feel like my body is getting some of the things it needed.  My neck pain is substantially less, but still there.  He said my hips were uneven which could attribute and exacerbate all the knee/foot issues in my left leg.  He loosened me up and did some small adjustments and I left feeling positive.  I'm going to go back next week as well.  I also am going to add into my goals daily arm exercises to help alleviate my forward shoulder rolls that I've done all my life.

 

As for food for today.  BOMB!

 

I made some practice Valentine's treats this morning before sending my kid off to school and they were amazingly delicious.  There are none left and I pretty much ate all of them.  I'm not feeling so good about this.  Ingredients:  dates, almonds, cocoa, honey, chocolate bits.  Throw the ingredients in the food processor, turn it on, roll them into delicious little nutrient sugar packed crunchy balls.  So good.  Dangerous.  I also ate a lot of carrots, but that's not quite the same.  

 

Breakfast - eggs and some sweet potatoes

Lunch - hot dog, carrots, salmon chowder

Dinner - spaghetti squash phad thai with turkey

 

Other goals:

Meditation - complete

Thirty minute walk in 30mph winds - gonna happen once my husband gets home.  It's an icy cold wind so I'll dress super well.

Portion control - ha!  But at least the offenders didn't include the processed foods or refined store sugars and my actual meals were/will be all appropriate.

Stretches - gonna go do right after I post this

 

Tomorrow: Valentine's Party.  I'm going to make some paleo soft pretzels in heart shape, deviled eggs and some paleo cupcakes - no more of those delicious date/cocoa/almond balls!

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I'm glad the chiro appt went well.  I hope it helps with your knee/foot issues. 

 

I'm impressed that you planned a walk in those conditions!  Did you get out?  Brrrrr!

 

I'm not making any V day treats this year.  I obviously can't handle them.  Those balls sound yummy!

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Oh dear on the balls...I think I would have eating them all too. Omnomnomnom! I'm making the chocolate chip cookies from Against All Grains tonight for our Pathfinder game and hope they are all gone by the end of the night. 

 

Getting your special light out is a good idea. We have one of those and I still have not gotten out of the box yet. Maybe once I get my desk cleaned up here I will try it out.

 

Brr on that walk...more power to you for sure!

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My mood last night and today was so much better than it has been.  I really think it's because my neck and head felt like they were sitting on me more correctly.  Things were feeling good, but a couple hours ago after leaning on my arm, things started tightening up again, but I still feel optimistic about it getting better and am now looking really looking forward to next Tuesday's appointment.

 

The Valentine's party for kids was fun and good to visit with other parents.  I made paleo soft pretzels with butter and they had a nice buttery taste which surprised me.  I also made Robb Wolf's banana bread and both got thumbs up from non-paleo eaters.  And, of course, I sampled all the other treats and found myself quadruple sampling the peanut butter reeeses thing someone made.  I've got a bit of a sugar headache I thinkg, but overall, it could have been worse.  The pounds are not dripping off me at all today, but I take some comfort in knowing that I didn't eat as much as I was back in December.

 

Tonight my husband and I are going on a date.  Sounds good, but that means getting our house into babysitting condition - the bathroom, kitchen, floors....ugh!  I also planned on showering and bathing the kids.  Hmmm.  We'll see.  I do have to make dinner for the kids as well.  AND, I need to split right when my husband gets home to fit in my 30 minute walk.  It's wicked cold and windy, but sunny and the light is nice to be outside in and I'm looking forward to that time.

 

Okay - dangit - I'd better stop this procrastinating and actually get things done.

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If we were rolling in money, I'd love to have someone come help clean.  It's amazing how much time it takes, though admittedly, it didn't take that long yesterday.  The sitter we had last night is a good one and we return to the house looking just as nice as when we left it.  She plays with the kids, cares for them and gets things picked back up which I feel is a nice sign of conscientiousness.

 

Our dinner out was nice, but not on the stomach!  We had nachos and beers similar to last week, but things did not sit the same way.  I was up in the middle of the night and then up early thinking my system felt unpleasantly full and unhappy.  It will be nice when it all clears out.  My belches are totally stinky too.  I popped some digestive enzymes and a probiotic and am drinking tea and pretty much feeling like I'm done with any Valentine meals or treats.  

 

I also ordered a big 'ol salad, but I couldn't eat it last night so I brought it home.  That counts towards my goal of keeping my portions small, but it was only by default.  I'm not gold starring it as far as my goals go, but I haven't forgotten them.

 

Walking 30 minutes, meditating, sleeping a good chunk of hours are all happening.  Portioning, healthy choices, tracking calories....not doing so hot.  Exercises for my neck and shoulders were skipped yesterday and will take some extra effort, but I'll try to follow through.

 

Food today:

Paleo pumpkin pancakes in heart shapes for breakfast

Salmon chowder for lunch?

Chicken adobo for dinner with lots of veggies

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Good babysitters are essential!  We're just at the point where we can leave the boys alone for a bit.  It's very nice to not have to find a sitter if we just want to go out to dinner.  I remember well, though, those days!  I hope you had a nice weekend.

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Well, my husband and I concluded that what we ate last Thursday night was the culprit.  We both had bad stomach issues and, if our kids, got sick, we'd have chalked it up to the stomach bug, but for now, we're chalking it up to food prep issues.  It was a very low key Valentine's Day because we were both feeling so lousy.  For dinner that night my husband had eggs and toast and I had rice and seaweed.  Those were the only things that sounded like they'd stay down and I thought it was interesting that that it what we wanted.  I went to the store and bought as clean of bread as I could and some rice and that's what we ate and it actually felt rather nice.

 

We are now back to our normal eating struggles.  I indulged in some chocolate bits yesterday (not good) and are uninspired for today's lunch and dinner, but our meals at home are still on track.  I had a community health meeting yesterday and gained three pounds from the week before.  Rolling my eyes - I know I didn't actually eat THAT many chocolate bits so I know it's general bloating and junk, but I'd have much rather seen the scale go the other direction.  It is, however, a good reminder to stay focused on getting my body to a new healthy point.

 

I did the walking last week and I did again yesterday.  I've been failing to stretch and do the shoulder blade exercises.  I almost didn't meditate for two days in a row, but luckily remembered right before dozing off so I pulled off some one minute meditations which feels a bit like cheating.

 

So....today....I'm awake and relatively decently rested and it's the start of a new week (if one starts on a Tuesday) so I'm going to try to track what I eat and put the effort into finding spots to exercise (and pay my bills which is what I am currently procrastinating on) and try to prepare some interesting meals.

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Thanks everybody.  I am feeling better and I'm feeling especially better after an hour of yoga last night.  I'm so nice and sore in random odd stretched out places.  It feels good.  Dinner last night looked like I put effort and love into it, but it really was a dud taste wise and I doused mine with Balsamic Vinegar and the kids used mustard.  The lesson learned is that I can't always just wing it in the kitchen and foods taste a lot better if I start with a recipe! :)

 

I did track my calories yesterday, though I didn't enter anything till the end of the day.  It's always a bit mind boggling how fast calories add up.  For lunch yesterday, I had a bratwurst and then, since there were more on the cutting board, I ate some more.  Same with pretty much everything that crosses my path.  I also had a hershey's kiss which immediately brought up thoughts of Easter caramel candy which I love and then I had another, but no more than that so not bad....but when I went to enter calories, I learned each one was 22 calories.  That's not a lot, nor a big deal, but it does add up.  Those 44 calories were about the same as 7 almonds, but without any of the healthy stuff.  If I'd had just a few more kisses (which would have been easy to do), I'd be exchanging those calories for a good healthy duck egg.  And so on and so on.  It's so easy to eat decently and then supplement along the way with just more of the healthy stuff or the treats, but all those calories do add up and I am keenly aware that never in the day did I actually feel hungry.

 

What I don't like is this feeling of not being able to have something.  It's like being in jail.  I'm not a fan of the calorie counting world, but I think it also can help me see my portions in better perspective.

 

I went to the chiropractor yesterday, but we didn't have as much time.  When I left, I felt like I had a headache though it never actually materialized.  Things don't feel quite as nice as they did last week in my neck and head, but the pain from before that kept me from turning my head is gone.  I'm looking forward to next week which is my final appointment and hoping things continue to improve.  He also stretched out my hip again so that my legs are the same length.  I'm sure by now they're not again, but how much does that contribute to knee and foot pain I wonder!  It's been good going and it's gotten me really thinking about trying to build up strength and being symmetrical which I feel like I do, but I don't.

 

Yesterday:

Lunch: Bratwurst, sauerkraut, carrots

Dinner: Roasted cauliflower and beets, curried sweet potatoes (gag!), and lamb steak

 

Today:

Breakfast:  Sweet potatoes and duck egg

Lunch: ???

Dinner: Red curry with cauliflower, broccolini and chicken

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What I don't like is this feeling of not being able to have something.  It's like being in jail.  I'm not a fan of the calorie counting world, but I think it also can help me see my portions in better perspective.

 

 

You are not doing a W30 anymore so there is nothing you can't have. You can have anything you want. Once you grasp onto the freedom of that statement then refocus to the should you have it question. Is it special? Is it worth it? Will it make you more healthy or less healthy? 

 

You are in control not the food! If you want to have a little chocolate everyday than maybe you should. But perhaps you should splurge on some chocolate that is worth it. Hershey's kisses are not special or worth it. Mostly just sugar. But an 80% or higher dark chocolate with some sea salt. Savor a square of that and it is worth it.

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