WEIGH IN 9-23-19 & Restless Leg Syndrome

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I will be honest... I didn't try very hard this week. I also learned that I am more of a stress eater than I thought I was. 

Monday went well if you count finding out my dog needs surgery... and the only vet that can do it is having the same surgery but to his arm on Tuesday! He'll be out of surgery commission until January. He can assist one of the vets, but that vet has never done the surgery before. In the mean time, HoneyB (4 year old beagle/spaniel mix) is on pain meds two times a day until we can get him into surgery. Oh... he tore the tendons in his back left knee.

Skipping ahead, I tried another vet who used to be with this clinic  but has moved almost two hours away to be closer to family. Dr. Carmen is super. But she was out of the office until Thursday. She called to let me know that A) she isn't equipped to do that particular surgery and B) she is booked two months out!

So waiting for Dr. Mike to assist Dr. Johnny it is. 

Tuesday, I had multiple financial issues... none of which were mine.... including finding out I had a non-sufficient funds on an account I've not done anything with! come to find out, the money was never transferred when I set up the account. The check order bounced! Yep.. Tuesday was one of those days that I seldom have.

Wednesday was better. I ran a few errands and tried to catch up here at home.

Friday was errand day. Trash drop off, a bit of shopping and renewing my driver's license.

While dropping off the trash I pulled a muscle under my left rib. Breathing the rest of the day was difficult. Saturday I spent a lot of time at the crafting table so I wasn't tempted to try doing stuff around the house. 

As I type this.. it's Sunday. I'm cramming to get all of my blog posts for the week written so I can clean/ decorate my house ahead of my sister and her SO coming for a 4-day play weekend. 

Okay.. Now on to today's topic.

Today is Restless Leg Syndrome Awareness Day.

I suffered with leg cramps as a child. They called them growing pains. I had an iron deficiency and I suspect that's where they originated.

Restless Leg Syndrome can also be a sign of multiple other health issues, including diabetes. See this article HERE  Other factors can be as low-key as STRESS or PREGNANCY but also more chronic as Diabetes, Parkinsons or Kidney failure. 

If you struggle with Restless Leg Syndrome, consult your doctor to find out what may be the cause. 

Long day ahead of me but I am planning to Enjoy every step of the Journey!

A Revelation!

Wow!

If I'm puzzled about something, I find the answer often comes to me like an epiphany when I first open my eyes in the morning. Today was no exception... though I really didn't need it at 6 a.m.

I've done so well with my weight-loss in the respect that even if it wasn't going down, it wasn't going up. Well... last week I gained 5 pounds! I was mortified that I'm a pound shy of where I began 3 years ago. Yikes! I kept going back over my week and couldn't imagine 3 small ice cream cones over the course of the week could do that much damage. I only had one 8 oz pepsi the whole week, though I did cave in to a taste for a piece of Chocolate cake... the first real chocolate cake I've had in over a year.

Well, those things didn't help because of all the sugar BUT that isn't where my excess sugar was coming from. But sugar IS the culprit.

I've been outlining a book in prep for a new area of discussion on one of my other blogs. I get a lot more done with my hand work when I get away from the house. So every morning I'd pack up my notebook and the book I'm reading and drove the 4 miles into the cafe for breakfast. I was keeping breakfast to a minimal.. usually a sausage/ egg/ cheese biscuit and the coffee... Multiple cups of coffee.

Okay, coffee alone isn't a bad thing but I can't drink it black. Just isn't going to happen. So 3-4 cups of coffee every morning .. and maybe again later for lunch... laden with sugar was adding up.

So for this week, I'm not leaving the house except for 1 day. And it WON'T be for breakfast/ coffee. I CAN NOT be like this the rest of my life. I REFUSE. And only I can make the CHANGES needed to fix it.

And the journey continues...

Off to a slow start

Did you get your pedometer? Did you check out the 10,000 Steps website? I hope you did both. I was so excited about getting out and walking. But as usual, when I set a course a wave will crash into my plans. The Monday after my last post we began getting rain... and rain... and more rain. It rained pretty much for seven days straight, leaving us 17" of rain. For three days we couldn't even get out our road. Needless to say, I wasn't walking anywhere.

Treadmill might have been an option. However, everything from the living room was stripped out and piled in front of the treadmill in preparation for a complete room remodel. LOL I told you it crashes!

I did walk a lot today. It was finally a beautifully sunny, dry day in the Ozarks. I have two writer friends visiting from central IL. I treated them to a surprise field trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and homestead in Mansfield MO. We walked through the gift shop, the museum and both of the houses Almonso and Laura lived in after they made the move from DeSmet S. Dakota to Mansfield MO.

After leaving there, we went in search of lunch. Not a lot of great options but we ate light in anticipation of our dinner later. Then we went back uptown to a used book store where we wondered and shopped.

Then we made the 2-hr drive back East to West Plains MO where we walked the entire Town Square going into shops that were still open (it was after 5) and just window peeking in others.

Dinner was at Kings Garden Buffet where I enjoyed Mongolian stir fry while my friends ate their fill of fresh-made Sushi. I don't care for sushi rice but doing the Mongolian stir fry was a healthy alternative to the normal buffet stuff drenched in sauces.

We then walked our dinner off in the WalMart SuperCenter while Cheri (one of my friends) shopped for the ingredients she needed for the Cuban dinner she is making for us tomorrow. I LOVE her black bean soup. YUM! And she drove down here special to make it for me. What a friend!

The only thing detrimental to my journey this weekend is the alcohol. I don't drink a bunch but I have had 1 Cowgirl Quencher each night they've been here. After they leave, I'll be lucky if I have more than one over the course of the next 3-4 months.

I guess the moral is here that everything in moderation and it's okay to treat yourself once in awhile as long as you keep that 'moderation' thing in mind.

Enjoy the Journey!

Progess and Delays

We had an AWESOME time with our granddaughter. The second day she was here, she woke with gunky eyes. The next day I had them. Her eyes cleared up and she was fine the rest of the visit. Me? Not so much. I wound up battling a head cold the remaining 2/3rds of her visit. We had a good time anyway. But I sure didn't feel up to doing anything.

So now that she's gone I feel better and am trying to play catch-up on everything. I also gained 2 pounds while she was here until I remembered that soda does NOT help the cold but only makes the sinuses worse. I've lost those 2 pounds since Tuesday. So by Monday I should be back on the downward side of things. I'm still determined for the 2 pounds a week.

I forgot to remind Bob to grease the treadmill so I'm going to focus on the garden work that needs done when weather is nice. I'm planting fruit trees (about 12), berry vines, putting in a huge herb bed and prepping the rest of the garden area for vegies. While my granddaughter was here (She's 3.5) we planted jack o lantern, tomato, green pepper, pumpkin, flower seeds in jiffy peat pots. Most everything is coming up and I need to get them transplanted into holding pots until Bob is home in 3 weeks to till the garden areas.

I also have plenty of wood to cut and haul from the timber and furniture to move around so I won't lack for exercise over the next 3 weeks.

I'm also sticking to healthy eating. I've been drinking sweet tea but I'm down to only about 1/4th the amount of sugar I used to use. And while Bob's gone I can layer in lots of vegies and salads without fixing 2 separate meals. Bob is NOT going to eat vegies though I keep telling him he needs to if he wants to lose the weight and be healthy. He just makes a mooing sound LOL

How's your journey going? Share please!

Still hangin' in

I think it's been 2 weeks since I checked in last. It's been a busy time for me. I needed to get some creative things out of the way. Next I wanted to spiffy up the house before my daughter brought her fiance home to meet us. I'll have my granddaughter for the next two weeks and I needed to get 'ahead' on some things. If you ever really do get 'ahead' LOL

Last week I dropped a pound and held steady through this past week. A full Thanksgiving dinner prepared in honor of meeting my new future son-in-law probably didn't help. I didn't over eat but there were a few carbs I don't have on a regular basis like fresh made dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls.

The house looks decent, our first meeting with Jeremy went well. He's a good fit for our daughter and he's already an awesome dad to my granddaughter and the child he and my daughter are expecting in October.

I reminded my husband today we need to regrease the treadmill belt. I've not been on it since the knee accident last July. Then I'm back on it at least 3 times this week.

In the mean time, I'm asking the Goddess for much warmer weather so I can be outside more.

Enjoy your journey!

Starting off right!

Yeah! I'm down a pound. Silly to be so excited over a pound, right? Not for me. My GOAL is one pound a week. So I'm on track with where I want to be.

I'm still having issues with the tooth but not as bad as it had been. I'm slowly being able to eat some things again that had bothered me before. I'm also trying to eat more regularly, even it it's just a serving of yogurt or cottage cheese. At least I'm feeding the metobolic furnace.

Today, once I'm caught up on the business end of things, I'm getting on the treadmill. I'm going to start out slow and let myself build up gradually. ANY amount of walking is better than no walking.

I'm also going to be searching for the Tuesday Recipe to share. I'm starting with each of my 'healthy' cookbooks and working my way through. Can't wait to see what's on the table tomorrow.

Enjoy the Journey!

More on Portion control

A few days late this week. Monday was Valentine's Day. And my ever uber-supportive husband DID NOT buy me chocolate. Bless his heart. He gave me a romantic pamper basket complete with a sleeping mask, terry cloth slippers for after my bath and a teddy bear for my bear collection. The whole week leading up to the day of Love, we'd been seeing commercials for the heart shaped box of variety chocolates. I KNEW he'd already purchased my gift so I didn't say anything about NOT wanting them. I just kept my mouth shut and hoped he'd been paying attention to me - not the commercials.

Ladies, don't hate me for what I'm about to say but he ALWAYS listens to me. He might not always REMEMBER LOL - but he listens.

Keep in mind, I'm not saying you CAN'T EVER have chocolate. Heaven for bid! Women more than men (in my opinion) REQUIRE chocolate. It truly is a food group to us. What I am saying is you can have ANYTHING YOU WANT in moderation. So unless you can stick to just 1 chocolate from that box, hand it off to that skinny little thing down the street who seems to be able to eat the whole cow without looking like one :-)

Which brings us to more on Portion Sizes. After hunting high and low for the tables I knew I had somewhere... I found one really good source - right in my 3-Hour Diet book by Jorge Cruise.

If you've not been to his website, I encourage you to do so. He really does give down-to-earth, easy-to-understand information. It's really the same thing we've been hearing from a lot of different 'meal-planning' sources over the years. He just puts it in plain English. You can find his books in most libraries.

Let's take a look at some basic measurement/ portion equivalents:

1 Cup = a baseball

1/3 Cup = 1 cupped hand (palm)

1/2 Cup cooked vegies or chopped fruit = 1 rounded handful

1 piece of fruit = a light bulb

1 tsp = water bottle cap or tip of thumb to 1st knuckle

2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter = a ping pong or golf ball

1 oz bread or grain = 1 cassette tape (remember those?)

1 medium potato = a computer mouse

The key is to learn to equate the correct portions with things you KNOW in your every day life.

If ever you are not sure about a portion size, read the label. Then measure it with a standard measuring utensil. When you've done that, study it. What does the portion size remind you of. Learn to set your own gauge for what you eat. It will be easier for you when you're away from home. Whether it be in a restaurant or at someone's backyard BBQ. Watch your portions and watch the inches slip away!

Enjoy the journey!

Monday Musings

Well... you know what they say about the best laid plans... ? Well, in my case it's true. I won't go into detail about the issue. Just suffice it to say I had about 5 days where I didn't do much walking. I spent lots of time in a chair.

So I don't want to jinx myself by saying I'm all better LOL But maybe....

Despite being able to work out, I have still been watching what I eat and the portion control. I keep thinking back to an info card I got in a Prevention Magazine mailing once. What we consider portions sizes have changed drastically over the past 30 years... and NOT for the better.

Between becoming more and more dependent on Fast Food or quick meals and thinking everything is dispensable, we have stopped focusing on healthy. It doesn't have to be a trade off. We can still eat healthy. We just need to stop thinking we need MORE.

For the next week, I'd like you to do an experiment with me. Get a small notebook, about 4x6 (the dimension of a standard photograph)

For the next 2 or 3 days I encourage you to EAT NORMALLY. Don't think about what you should be doing... just treat every meal as you have in the past. BUT as you sit down to eat, make a note of the portion size. Come on... you don't need to get out the measuring cup for this. You can HONESTLY estimate. You know the size of a tennis ball, a deck of cards, a domino, etc. Write your portion size down in relation to an item you understand.

For the remaining of the week, give yourself the same portion BUT measure it. Again, don't worry about what you think you should be eating. This exercise is all about AWARENESS. We'll worry about fixing it next week. For now, take your 'normal' portion and be honest about it's ACTUAL measurement.

Why am I asking you to do this? Because if you don't know where you are coming from, you won't appreciate the journey near as much... or truly understand the progress you'll make along the way.

Come on the journey with me...

Kelly