Christmas Parties

I just had a Christmas Dinner with the Youth Group I help out with.  We had about 16-20 hungry, screaming kids!!  What a headache!!  It’s very hard to get that many children to stay quiet.  It was very rewarding even with the yelling and screaming.  They are always so full of energy. 

Next Friday we’re having a Skating Party for all the Youth Groups(Primary, Junion, Senior Y.G).  Then I have My T.O.P.S Christmas Supper on December 16.  And I’m trying to keep weight off and lose weight!!

Christmas is a hard time to try to lose weight when there are so many parties and suppers happening around you.  I try to choose healthy alternatives at these get togethers.  I’m doing good I think.  Will find out at the T.O.P.S Meeting in a few days. 

I actually got outside for a walk for the first time in 2 weeks!!  I haven’t been able to get outside as it’s been raining!  And Tomorrow night through Sunday we have a Snow Storm coming our way.  Well, I’ll just have to do some exercises inside this weekend!!  We’ll see what happens.

Blizzard

Well!  It wasn’t raining today…it was snowing!!  So, again I didn’t get outside to walk, and I didn’t even think about popping in this Walking DVD I have!  Tomorrow I’m going to be doing the walking dvd because I really want to move more.  I feel very tired last few days because I haven’t been moving at all.

It really showed this week, I had weigh in tonight at my TOPS meeting and I lost a 1/4 pound.  Although I’m happy I lost weight, I know that I can do much better.  So this week I’m really going to make an effort into my exercising.  I have to admit that I do feel so much better when I workout.  There’s just something about the workout that gets the juices pumpin’!  I feel more alive the more I move.  Nan was right about that.  She tried to tell me that when I first came home. 

I’ve got a handle on eating the raw foods, now I need to work on exercise and also on drinking more water.  I haven’t been drinking much water in the last few days.  I’d been doing good.

I find it hard some times to keep up the momentum for my plans.  I can see that what I am doing is making a difference, but there’s still a part of me that wants to keep everything the same.  There’s a part of me that rebels against changing.  I have trouble finishing what I start, no matter how good intentioned I am about working on it whether for health or for relationships or whatever.  This time however I have support.  I have the TOPS meetings and my grandparents.  Which I didn’t have before.  Also being able to blog my thoughts and feelings helps get things off my chest and out of my head.

My Weight at TOPS tonight was 225.  I had a lot of encouragement from the chapter, they are always excited about my progress.  Since joining at the end of September, I have consistantly lost weight.  I haven’t gained any weight, or stayed the same.  I’m proud of that.  It’s definately helping me to keep pushing myself to do better.

Juicy Juices!

I’ve been having fresh juices today.  I found it really easy, and delicious.  Also very satisfying.   I’ve been having so much food lately, I felt overwhelmed with IBS.  It felt really good to just drink the juice after all the food.  I hadn’t realized before how satisfying it could be.   It gave me loads of energy and I was more alert through the day.  I needed the energy as Nan upgraded her computer to Windows 7 from Vista!  I’ve spent the evening reinstalling programs for her.  Very happy she doesn’t have Vista anymore, was a pain from the first day she got it.  So far so good with 7.  It will take some time to adjust to 7′s layout.

It’s still rainy so I haven’t been able to get outside and walk any this week.  Really hoping to get outside tomorrow!  Cabin Fever anyone!?  Well, we’ve been busy packing parcels to post.  And Tomorrow we’re going to go see A Christmas Carol!  Looking forward to that.  I love Jim Carey’s Movies!!

Oops I did it again?!

Yeah.  You’d think I’d have learned my lessons about a week or two ago…but I didn’t.  Nan decided to make some muffins.  And even though it was with Gluten free flour (which was really refined) we both still ended up getting very sick. We also had Soy Sauce on our Rice, which we think wasn’t Gluten free. We’re not sure which of the two made us miserable, just that there was Gluten in something yesterday.

We’re still sick today. Very bloated, and my weight went up a bit again, 227.   No more muffins of any kind today!  Juices sounds verry good right about now.  I really don’t want much to eat today, just so nauseated and so full.  Misery looves company!! Me and Nan are miserable together, Not that I want her to be sick mind you! But it’s nice to have someone who understands how I feel. Nan always says ‘This too shall pass!’

TOPS Meeting

Last night I just had a weigh in for the TOPS meeting as the Leader was out of town.  Kinda disappointed, but there’s always next week for a meeting.  I actually lost 4 and a half pounds for the week!  So, at TOPS my weight is now 225 and 1/4 pounds!  I’m so proud of myself for sticking with my plans.

Blogging my thoughts and my successes is also very therapeudic for me as well.  It gives me encouragement when others share their comments, and what’s helping them!  I’m so inspired by some of the other blogs I’ve seen here. It is a daily struggle, but it’s all about the choices I make.  I choose what I’m eating, and how I’m going to exercise.  By making these choices myself, I’m building my self-esteem, and realizing that my dreams are attainable. Unless I actually make these choices now, nothing will ever change.  So, if I want to be at my healthy weight, I need to change the way I eat in the now to make that happen.  The same can be said for exercise or any goal you may have.

When I was a child, I had the opportunity to learn to play the piano.  Unfortunately, I didn’t really want to do that.  But I am again in the same house as my grandmother, who is a pianist.  Now I am practicing again a little bit every day. It’s amazing how much I am retaining.

Milestone Achieved Today!

Today, I have officially lost 30 pounds since I arrived home!  What a difference 30 pounds makes!  I’m able to move around much easier than I could at 255.  I’m more active.  I’m able to go for walks, and able to walk longer than I ever could at 255.  I’m eating much healthier than I was three months ago.  Three months ago you wouldn’t see me eating a salad, or any veggies at all.  I was eating fried foods, hamburgers, a lot of sweets, drinking a lot of Diet sodas.  I’ve cut the majority of those foods out of my lifestyle.

I feel much better since cutting out all the fried foods, the sugary foods, and the caffeine.  I find my meals satisfy me much more than what I ate before.  I don’t feel so heavy after eating my meals like I used to feel.  I know when I’m full now.  I’m not overeating like I used to do when I ate pasta and breads.  I found I couldn’t get full when I ate pasta and bread.

I’m very thankful to the Lord for his guidance and support on this journey.  He provided me with loving support and encouragement from my grandparents.  And he reinforces these right ideas by what I study in his word.  Nan has been helping me to learn what I need to do to stay healthy.  I’m having a lot of fun every day, every day is a new food to try and see what we’ll do with it.  We have a bunch of squashes in the cupboard we’re going to try.  From Butternut, to buttercup, acorn to pepper, and spaghetti!

Having a lot of sensitivities to foods and also having Irritable Bowel can make eating food challenging, but I’m now keeping track of what I eat to learn what is making me sick and what is OK.  Being allergic to Gluten on top of having Irritable Bowel gets frustrating sometimes.  Because I love breads and pastas, and such.  But to eat it, makes me more sick than Irritable Bowel!  Maybe it’s that the gluten foods also tie into my flare ups with Irritable Bowel.

Thank you Lord for the support I have around me that keeps me on track with my weight loss, and also with getting healthy for life.  I pray that I may be a shining light for your love and your kindness.

Pain Free Day

I seem to be on the mend now.  The IBS flare-up I had is slowly calming as I eat better.  I know now to stay away from Pasta!!  I’m steadily going down in weight.  This morning I weighed 226!  I even got in two walks today!  Doin’ really good!  Was up at 7 am, so me and my grandparents got ready and was up the trail around 7:15 am.  This morning we actually did an hour-long walk, instead of our usual 20 minute walk first thing.  Felt very great! And with no wind on us either, worked out quite well.  The steady crunch of our feet was all you could hear!  We were even up before the Sun, it peaked over the horizon fully about half way through the walk!

I’m not really exercising anymore than walks really at the moment.  I do some stretches sometimes as well.

There are a lot of Christmas Parties coming up soon.  Especially the T.O.P.S Party!  Really looking forward to the get-together.  There are a lot of functions at the church too.  So, it’s gonna be tricky trying to lose weight and be at some of these events and still stay away from all the goodies.  I’m a chocoholic! I loove chocolate!  One of the things that I’m weak against.  I’ve done good so far(since there is none in the house to tempt me that I know of)!

I realized today that I’m very close to having 30 pounds gone!  That’s about 10 pounds a month.  Then another thought hit me:  That’s 3 10lb bags of Onions that I had on me.  And I got a lot more weight to lose yet.  I’m very thankful I have moral support from my grandparents.  They are really encouraging me to stick with it and to get moving.

A Rainy Day

There’s not much happening today.  It’s been raining and couldn’t get outside for a walk, but in the afternoon, there was a sunny break and was able to get outside for a 20 minute walk.  It really feels good to get outside.  I really enjoy walking the trail.  I saw a Hawk perch in a nearby tree as we were walking back to the Van.

We’re making Coconut Bread now.  First time making this so not sure how it’s going to taste. Took a lot of eggs, but no yeast or wheat flour, so me and nan can eat it no problem.

Well, the Coconut bread cane out very nice!  We’re thinking that it will also make a great cheesecake base!  So we’re going to try to find a recipe for a cheesecake top using coconut.

It can be challenging sometimes to be alergic to gluten like we are.  It isn’t that we don’t like the breads and things, we just can’t handle the reactions in our bodies from it.  So we have to try alternatives to bread and wheat flours(which is everything in the mainstream).

Well, we’re gonna watch something on God.TV soon so I’ll write more another day.

Wonderful Breakfast!

I just finished my breakfast, and it was so good!  Nan made Bircher’s Muesli.  Overnight,  she soaked Raisins, Rolled Oats, Sunflower seeds in separate bowls, in just enough water to cover them.  Then this morning she put rolled oats into bowls, added the raisins with water,   drained the sunflower seed and rinsed them, then put them into the bowls.  Also we sliced a banana into the bowls and added a few walnuts.  Delicious!  And very filling.

When I eat the Muesli for breakfast I find that I don’t eat the morning snack as I’m still full.

I really enjoyed walking this morning just as the sun was coming up as well!  It really seemed as though God and I were walking together.  Just being out in the fresh air really helped me wake up!

229!!

Today is a milestone!!  I’m now at 229!!  Finally broke past the 30′s!!  I am so excited and happy!! I haven’t been this low in weight in at least 5 or 6 years!! I weighed in at T.O.P.S meeting tonight at 229 3/4 lbs!  I lost 2 lbs this week!  Also very exciting!  I really enjoy the weekly TOPS meetings, very encouraging to see how the other ladies have done for the week!  Soon we’ll be having our Christmas Party!!  I’m really loving myself lately and I’m so happy all the time now!  I can’t wait to get up in the morning and see what the day brings!  I used to dread the days, not anymore though!  I’m really changing!

I tried Zucchini Spagetti today and it was raw!  Nan had a spiralizer that she had bought about 2 years ago, and hadn’t used it!  So, since we finally found some Zucchini last time we went shopping, we decided to make some spagetti with the spiralizer.  It was so fun to use and the spagetti was very delicious!  We made a very nice nut dressing:

2 tbsp each Hemp Seed and Pumpkin seed(grind in coffee grinder till fine)

1/2 cup stewed tomatoes(Original Stlye)

1/2 Lemon Juiced

1 clove garlic minced

Pinch of Sea Salt and Cayenne Pepper

Mix these ingredients together, then let it sit on the counter for a few minutes so it can come to room temp.  Place over your Spagetti and Enjoy!

Another great thing about this recipe is that there are hardly any calories!!

Raw foods really are more tasty!!  You can even make raw Chocolate!

I also had some fresh Pinapple for the first time!  Normally I get Pinapple from the cans of either sliced or crushed pinapple.  Today I actually had one that we cut up!  I found that the Pinapple was very sweet, and very delicious!