Tuesday, March 31, 2015

End of month report card

Okay so it's time for our report card on how our first month on our new plan has gone.


Water:

I've gotten in a gallon of water a day without fail except for the day we visited his brother because I don't drink on the road.  My bladder can't handle that and I'm weird about where I wee.  But from a girl who could barely get one water bottle down a day, three a day is some kind of miracle.

Exercise:

We've stuck with our 6 days a week unless we needed a rest day or now that I think about it we did skip the day we saw his brother.  So, wah wah.  But five days a week for sure for two of the weeks and six days the other two weeks.  Typical workout burned 450 calories.

Calories:

My average over six days was 1600.

Weight lost:

The Mr: 9 lbs
Me: 11 lbs

Yeah, ain't no arguing with that.  We'll keep on, keepin' on and hope this month keeps following suit!

How was your March goal wise?

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Monday, March 30, 2015

Damn hipsters, weigh in and Easter pickin's

Monday, you saucy wench, you arrive entirely too soon for my liking.

Weigh in went well.  I was down 1 pound and the Mr was down two.  I will take that given we had our high cal day seep into this week (Sunday) and didn't exercise that day.

I was craving a burger for most of the week and when we got to the place we decided on, the restaurant was about 75% empty.  Most of their tables are normal sized chairs but six seaters (why?) and then two seaters are those horrible bar height chairs or at the bar.  We've had no problem getting seated at the low chairs when we ask to be.  The swill sucking witch hostess refused to seat us at anything but a bar height chair because they only had six seaters in the low chairs.  Um, yes.  I know this and we've sat at them before so what is your major malfunction?  She put the menus down like 'take it or leave it.'  We left it.  I said "let's go!" and walked out.  I was pissed because I had my mouth set on that burger and splitting their fries all week.  I'm sorry, I'm not going to sit there for an hour with my chunky legs dangling into oblivion whilst they take their sweet time with our food when it was an hour before the lunch rush.  We would've been out of there by the time people with more than two in their party would've flooded in.  Damn hipsters.  You can take your stained wood, industrial pipes and shove 'em square up your...oh, did I mention it's now the week before Aunt Flo arrives so yeah, I'm a little more hostile in my retelling.  Go elsewhere if you want unicorns this week.

So we went to this froofy place we wanted to try and when we saw they had a burger on the menu, I was sold.  So I got that and the Mr got their meatloaf.  We were going to split but as soon as he tasted the meatloaf he knew I wouldn't like it.  He was right.  It was heavy on sausage and the ol' pipes get less than thrilled with ground sausage.  Sorry...I know you wanted to know that.  Hee hee.  I tasted it but wouldn't get it.  I enjoyed my burger, what I could eat of it and the fries were those gross shoestring fries with no taste so I didn't eat too many of those.  But taking our business where it was appreciated was more important.

We walked the mall and the Mr picked up a shirt at Eddie Bauer.  I made my usual pilgrimage to Sur La Table and Anthropologie.  I'm a little irritated at how clothing-centric Anthro has become.  I miss their vast array of dishes and soaps/lotions.  It's at all of them too.  Of course it doesn't make me feel much better that I can't shop there at my size but even if I could, they are so ridiculously expensive that I just can't justify anything.  $80 for a tank top?  Pssht!  I don't think so.

Then we made a Target run and decided on the way home we'd better get our Easter candy since it's next weekend.  I usually get one of those 4 packs of Cadbury eggs but their quality has gone down along with their size the past few years and I'm not feeling as loyal to them.  A shame but probably better for my waistline that I only got two.  Give me those and a few Reese eggs, and I'm good to go.  What is it about Reese in the shape of whatever holiday it is that makes you HAVE to have it.  At least we do.  Eggs, pumpkins and trees.  We're all over 'em.  The only one that hasn't hooked us are those hearts because those look like a serious ripoff for the same calories.  They had some live band in there singing and they did Blurred Lines.  As I was jamming out, they began to sing different lyrics...you guessed it, it was "Got to Give It Up."  Gee, no mystery whose side they're on in the lawsuit.  I thought it was seriously disrespectful and almost walked up to give the singer a nut shot but decided he wasn't worth the jail time.  I bet you can guess whose side of the lawsuit I was on.  Then it was back home to work on some videos.

Sunday was pretty laid back for the most part and then we did our fruit and veggie refill for the week.  Exercise was stretching because Shaun T's 25 minute cardio really threw my legs for a loop and they needed to limber up.  My hips and IT band were so tight.  Ugh.  Then we had sloppy joe (with white ground turkey breast) and a sweet potato for dinner while the wind howled.  Spring doth laugh at us.

Oh yeah and I'm going to kick someone at CBS in the gonads if they don't stop making 60 Minutes start late and screw up my recording of Madame Secretary.  DVR's can't compensate you imbecile!

Sorry...as you were.

That's about it on this end!

What did you guys get into this weekend?

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Friday, March 27, 2015

Keepin' it loose and what I'm reading this week

It's aloha Friday...no work til Monday...oh sorry, wrong site.  ;-)

It has been quite a week and I'm ready for a bit of a break.  I must say I'm very grateful for the massage techniques I picked up from the masseuse for my facial muscles because I'm trying to keep them loose.  I've been clenching constantly and I want to de-bunge mah face, yo.

But enough about my tight jaw...let's get to...



‘The Breakfast Club’ Turns 30: Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy Dish on the John Hughes Classic  (Cute interview...man I love that movie)

Fiber From Whole Grains Linked To Longer Life  (Good because I lurve me some whole grains)

Arcades in a chase to recapture gamers  (For the Mr)

Angelina Jolie Pitt: Diary of a Surgery  (Angie's op-ed...a good read)

20 Low-Carb Substitutes That Don't Suck  (Not sucking = good)

8 Slang Terms from 'The Breakfast Club,' Decoded  (It cracks me up that someone actually needed to "decode" the slang)

How to Remove Every Type of Stain, in One Simple Chart  (Handy!)

6 Things That Kill Your Organizing Game  (Oh...uh.  This is me)

How Gut Bacteria Affects Basically Every Aspect of Your Health  (Good info!)

Someone re-created the best parts of "The Matrix" and "Jurassic Park" with Lego blocks  (For the Mr)

7 Ideas for Cute Easter Cupcakes  (Can you believe it's next weekend!?)

We have nothing really planned for this weekend since we did a road trip last weekend and then next weekend is Easter so we shall wing it.  Plus it's supposed to be cold so no real desire to be out in that anymore.

What about you fine folks, whatcha gettin' into this weekend?


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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The gift of relaxation


Holy balls, are you supposed to be sore after a massage?  LOL  Actually with as knotted up as I was, she had to go deep.  (That's what he said)

I walked in to the room and she looked over my information sheet I had to fill out as a new client.  I noted that my face (sinuses and TMJ issues from clenching my jaw for over 3 months), neck and shoulders were bunged up as well as a knot in my lower back.  I pulled it two weeks ago after doing what I considered a pretty benign set of Russian twists but my back didn't agree.  She answered any questions I had and said I could pick a different CD if the one she had in wasn't what I preferred and told me to disrobe to my comfort level though she'd need access to my  back so unhook the bra if I wanted to keep it on.  She said to get under the blanket on the heated table when I was ready and left the room to wash up.  She was pretty quick and I had just gotten under when she knocked.

I told her that I was going to do it around the holidays but I got sick.  She said it's actually best not to get a massage when you're sick because it can recirculate the illness and prolong it.  So she said I did myself a favor and didn't even know it.

She started with my scalp and I'll be honest, I didn't care for that.  I think it must've been part of the face massage or something but I was glad that was over.  Then she did my face, sinuses and all of the muscles under my cheekbones into the joint where the jaw connects and moves.  She said I was super tight and I likely clench in my sleep as well as when I'm awake.  She said just being aware of it is the first step in helping to relieve constant pressure.  I don't know if I'm the only one who does that or not but I'm going to incorporate some of her techniques over the next few weeks to try to keep those muscles from being so locked down.

Then it was on to the neck.  I'm so used to the way the Mr (and most of us) massages me.  Sit or stand behind and squeeze the shoulders then the neck.  She had me lay face up and pretty much massaged completely from underneath...kneading, stretching and working over my left side which was pretty tight.  She could feel it before I even mentioned where.  She did the same on the right side.  Then she did this thing when she had me arch my back a bit and slid both hands to my lower back and ran her fingers along the side of my spine with pressure.  She called it "making me taller" and man did it feel good!  Then she got to my head and lifted it and pulled gently to complete the stretch and repeated it.

Then it was time to flip for the lower back.  As I flipped my spine did all kinds of crackety crackin'.  She got in there good and even up further and explained when I told her "there too!" that it was where the muscle attached further up.  She felt the hip muscle was pulling too and worked my left glute to release it so the lower back would eventually release.  She got the other side as well and it was more sore than I realized but not quite as bad as the left.

It was almost time to finish up and she said she wanted to get my face again since I'd been compressed laying face down.  She left so I could get dressed and she waited for me with a bottle of water to start drinking.  I gave her a tip and told her I would likely be back.

I did enjoy my experience and I would do it again.  I just wish it wasn't so pricey.  ($70 with tip)  I wish our insurance covered it like my mom's does.  She gets 12 massages per year on them so wah wahhh for me.  But I can see once or twice a year indulging in it especially with her.  She was super nice, talkative to my liking (about 25% talking and 75% silence) and I felt totally comfortable with her.

So, thanks Mr for the gift!  And no, this doesn't mean you get out of massaging my neck and shoulders unless you want to pay $150 a week.  ;-)

If you get massages, what areas are your trouble spots?

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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Racing brains and massage

I wish I had a big exciting update for today but yesterday was pretty boring.

The Mr took yesterday off because he was up most of the night with a racing mind.  I know how he felt.  It took me 90 minutes to get to sleep and then I was up every 90 minutes or so.  So irritating.  I wish we had a power down button we could push at night.  It was all stupid stuff  too that raced through both of our heads.  Grrr.  It makes for a pretty groggy morning.



Last night I watched this show I've been wanting to see called Aloha Vet.  It's about a vet on the island of Kauai.  I cringe though because I hate seeing blood and tumors and stuff like that.  So funny considering I used to sit and watch the show Operation on TLC with my Grandma as a kid.  (That's when it was The Learning Channel and actually taught you things)  Anyhoo...he seems like a good guy so if we ever make the leap over and get a dog, hopefully he's still in business!

We had BBQ salmon and brussels for dinner and did a Fitness Blender upper body workout.  Only about 30 minutes but made us sore today!

Today I am going for my first ever massage.  The Mr got me a gift certificate back around the holidays to the lady who does therapeutic massage at my chiro's office.  I am kind of nervous because I don't know the protocol.  I know people get these done all the time but when you're fat, the last thing you want to do is get nekkid in front of a stranger.

What should I expect at my massage?  Any tips?

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Monday, March 23, 2015

Bon voyage, weigh in and shaky week ahead

Where did the weekend go?

I'm ready for another one.  Anyone else?

We went to visit with the Mr's brother and his wife before they pack up their life and move away.  It was a great visit and one of those ones where you leave going "why did it take you guys leaving forever for us to get to this place?"  Sigh.  I don't really foresee us going to their neck of the woods or making a special trip there but hopefully we'll get to hang out with them like that again another time.

We made a stop at a local antique store where they enticed me with their vintage lunchboxes.




It made me want to break out my Barry Gibb lunchbox from the basement bin.

Our weigh in was good Saturday.  I was down two (just barely) and the Mr was down one.  This week will be interesting.  We flip flopped our high cal day to Sunday to be with them and we ate without planning.  It wasn't too wild but about 600 more than we have been the past two weekends and even with planning out all of my meals to be lower this week, I'm still showing 200 calories higher average and that was without our ritual Sunday cocoa we had to forego.  Grrr!

So, we'll see.  I guess we'll have to bump up the workouts a little this week to try to compensate.

Tonight is BBQ salmon and brussels.

What did you guys do this weekend?  What are your goals this week?

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Friday, March 20, 2015

Booty shake and what I'm reading this week

It's Friday all!  Let's get a booty shake for that.

I'll wait.

I've got no witty words to fill this space so let's just get to



Four Things Nobody Tells You About Successful Weight Loss  (This.  All day long)

Help! My Makeup Broke!  (Good to know one drop won't ruin good makeup)

This is What Happens When You Stop Exercising  (This does not surprise me at all)

Tesla software update makes driving out of range 'impossible'  (For the Mr)

You’re Eating Healthy, So Why Aren’t You Losing Weight?   (Good things to keep in mind)

Dark Chocolate Contains A Shocking Amount Of…  (Have my squares every night!)

DIY: Secrets of Successful Upcycling  (For those who like to make old things new)

Say Goodbye to the Internet Explorer Brand  (I know, I'm the last person on Earth that still uses it.  And no, I'm not elderly...just extremely allergic to change)

10 Beautifully Blossoming Spring Centerpieces  (So pretty!)

Can Animals Recognize Their Reflections In Mirrors?  (It sure is fun to watch them attempt to become self aware.)

Yes, Kevin Bacon Did an Ad About Eggs (and It’s Hilarious)  "Kevin Bacon doesn't like puns"

Teacher Has Best Response For Inappropriate Question  (From the Mr)

Watch Today's Kids React to the Iconic, Outdated Technology That Is the VCR   (Let me pop my Geritol)

This weekend we get to switch up our high cal day so the Mr can lunch with his brother who is leaving the state for warmer pastures.  I'll have to make some yummy stuff tomorrow in hopes I can make it feel less torturous to wait a whole day longer.

What are you fine people getting into this weekend?

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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Good eats

Howdy doody, y'all!

I had to laugh because the Mr wanted me to take pic of the salad I made him the other day when he was stuck on a conference call.




We had a chicken apple sausage left so I cut that up, put a hard boiled egg and some veggies with his poppyseed dressing.  He was a very happy boy.  :-)

I was a happy girl yesterday morning for breakfast when I got to use the leftover potatoes we had since we cut back our servings.


I made a kind of frittata with two eggs, scallions, leftover taters and a little cheese on top and my nanner.  It held me all morning and came out to 420 calories.

BOOM!

The other night we did Leslie Sansone's Firm 30 (affiliate link) and man not only were my arms and shoulders sore but my inner thighs were screaming.  So I couldn't really do the Turbo Fire I had planned so we did the 3 Mile Weight Loss Walk.  (affiliate link) That one is one of my favorites because Mary Kay's walk in the middle is a nice change of pace.  I can only hope my muscles feel a little better today or I'll have to peruse Fitness Blender and see what kind of body weight strength sessions I can find.

I'm still doing good on the water...a gallon a day.  It's a miracle!

How are you doing on your weight loss goals this week?  What can you improve?

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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

You're going to stick me how many times?

A few of you asked about how my allergy appointment went so I thought I'd show you.

If I were a good blogger, I would've brought my friggin' phone WITH me because the woman totally would've let me take pics during the test.  They had me take off my shirt and free the twins and put a paper gown on.  There were a total of 72 allergens in these hard plastic pricker thingies (technical term, of course) they stuck on and pushed into my back that didn't pierce the skin.  Then they waited 20 minutes for my allergic reactions.

There were several definitive ones like dust mites (I suspected that anyway), ragweed and a certain type of mold.  A few came back borderline and required further testing.

That meant it was time for the "intra-dermal" test.  Aka- Imma stick yer arms with needles to test your borderline reactions.  When the sweet older lady came in with her case of syringes, I almost screamed like when Freddy asked that one chick if she wanted to get high...

But I thought it unattractive for a woman my age to curl up into the fetal position, suck her thumb and cry for her mommy.  So I sucked it up and she got to stickin'


  

That would be 29 shots, mah friends.  It was done by a nurse who has probably been doing it for eons.  She was very quick but as she inserted the allergen and saline under my skin to make the pocket, I could've sworn she was twisting the needle but the Mr assured me she wasn't.  Not a pleasant feeling.  My right arm had quite a few reactions which confirmed another mite, another mold, weed mix and something else.

The next day I was very stuffy and itchy.  It wasn't something they told me I would feel but I somehow expected it.  It'll take 2-3 weeks for them to concoct my shot vial to begin my allergy shots.  I must admit I'm a little alarmed that I'll need to carry epi pens but I know it's a precaution.  So how do I look 4 days after the shots?

 

It looks like alien mosquitoes landed in a grid pattern and had a feast on my flesh.  The right arm has been the biggest itcher but not surprised since it had the most irritated reaction during the actual test.  I was hoping to be a little more healed up by now but hopefully in a week it'll look better.

I'm really hoping these help with the occasional itching, hives and stuffiness since my allergies are of common things that I can't really avoid.

Have you ever had an allergy test?  Allergy shots? 

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Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Word Barf

Top of the mornin' to the Irish party people in the house.  Enjoy your corned beef, soda bread, Guinness and the like.

I have seriously got to make some coconut oil scrub.  My hands could sand a piece of wood.

File that under things you didn't need to know.

Last night, I was lamenting over the postal service's lack of taking care of things sent through their care.  Something I sent someone arrived broken and I was ready to light a sidetable on fire because I'm levelheaded like that.

Then when you receive something like this, it sets you off as well...


Yeah, see that?  That's my brand new bottle of sunscreen.  I'm already paying double the price as the stuff with all of the supposed carcinogens and you send me a bottle that looks like it's been half used?  Not a great way to start off a potential relationship.  I know, I know...contents settle during shipment.  Insert me mooning that excuse here.

(__|__)


When I saw this was going to be our last day with relatively high temps, I told the Mr when he got home we were walking for our workout.



I needed to get out of the house.  I needed to be with my brethren...


Turkeys.

For dinner I made fish with pineapple salsa and half a sweet potato.  It was nice to be done with dinner 30 minutes before Jeopardy.  I swear we almost always end up eating between 7:30-8pm.

What's up with that!?  Oh wait, it's not complete unless I say..."oooooh, weeee!...."

What's up with that?  What's up with that?  (via)

Tell me one random thing about yesterday.

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Monday, March 16, 2015

Restocking, visiting and sucked in again

Happy Monday all!

Saturday's weigh in went well.  I lost 3 pounds and the Mr lost 2 pounds respectively.



We were very happy with that and know that we're on the right track.  My water suffered slightly over the weekend but not by much.  We did really well on our high cal day too.

It was time to pull the Christmas stuff off of the dog's graves now that the weather finally broke, so we did that and since it was close to my mom's place, we stopped by and visited for a few hours.  We left just before my aunt came so we didn't end up there all night visiting more but we'll be seeing the whole family for Easter so we didn't give her the cold shoulder.  That way they could get to their crafting and we could get to whatever we wanted to do.  I had to restock on some spices...ground ginger and berbere.  Then we made it our mission to find this park we always passed off the freeway and finally found it and walked the lake for about 20 minutes.  We'll definitely be going back and it's always nice to find a new place to stretch the legs.

Sunday we slept in and I made brunch then it was off to do our workout with a walk in the historic district.  We had to grab some fruits and veggies for the coming week at the store and a Target run.  I realized like half the stuff in our linen closet was expired so they needed to be replaced.  We had some work to get done and I'll tell ya ever since the time change, the night's seem to get sucked down pretty quick.  I'm used to it being darker sooner and my body is still set to that so when I see it's 7pm and it's light out, I feel totally off.  I know it'll only get worse as the days get longer.  Then it feels like it's sunset and then bedtime.  I think I might be the only person who likes it getting darker earlier.  (Like 6:30pm, not 5pm)

I made zucchini/whole wheat pasta for dinner and then got sucked into Beachfront Bargains or something like that.  I don't understand how that happens.  Four shows pass and boom...9pm.  I'm not interested in the Dominican Republic as a place to live yet there I am caring about what house these people pick.  *shaking head*

Now it's on to this week and hoping the downward trend continues where the weight is concerned!

What shows suck you into marathons before you know it?  What goals do you want to reach this week?

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Friday, March 13, 2015

Putting it behind me and what I'm reading this week

I am so ready for the weekend.

It's been a week full of medical crap from the CT scan results, my final visit with the chiro for my leg issue (dang that session felt good too!) and today I'm having an allergy panel done.  If nothing else, I'd like to know what I'm allergic to.  Since I can't do steroids or antihistamines due to reactions, my only option would be shots and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  But if that's what will kick this final bout of inflammation to the curb, stick me!  We also get to have a plumber come out today.  The Mr smelled gas by the hot water heater again (we already had one gas leak with that thing) so he sprayed with soap and water and found a small leak on an old joint that's about 19 years old.  So hopefully it won't be much out of pocket since it just needs tightened.

But enough about that stuff, let's get to...



10 Reasons You Can’t Lose Your Gut  (Duly noted)

6 Yoga Poses to Beat Back Pain ASAP  (I hope this can help my back pull from earlier this week!)

25 Of The Best Foods For Fiber  (Mmm, fiber)

What to Know About Milk Paint and Chalk Paint — and How to Use Them  (Love chalk paint, just wish it wasn't so expensive)

33 Low-Sugar Recipes That Are Totally Sweet!  (Yum!)

How To Make Your Own Damn Shamrock Shake With Only 7 Ingredients  (54 ingredients in the McD's version!??!  You've gotta be kidding me!)

Keeping Your Hair in Chemo  (Interesting and hope the cost can come down)

9 Most Romantic Cities In The South  (Road trip!)

The Definitive 'Back to the Future' Documentary is Coming  (For the Mr)

You're (Probably) Eating Way Too Much Sugar  (Stop sneaking it in my foods!)

The world of 'The Empire Strikes Back' is being recreated in London  (For you again Mr)

After People Tried To Body-Shame This Guy Dancing At A Concert Something Amazing Happened  (Some people suck, many people rock)

18 Women Respond To The First Mean Thing Someone Said About Their Bodies  (Pretty kick ass answers)

Robert Downey Jr. gives young fan 3D-printed Iron Man arm  (Makes me love him all the more)

Obese Dachshund Lost 44 Pounds After Giving Up Burgers And Pizza  (Looking good weenie!)

No real plans for the weekend that I know of.  I think it's supposed to be crappy but we'll find something to get into.

What about you?  What's on the to do list this weekend?

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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Mixed bag of nothin'

(via)

Howdy all!

Happy almost Friday!

Not a whole lot to report today.  Yesterday was just kind of blah all around for both of us.  It was hard to get motivated to exercise and even though we did a resistance band workout, it was only for about 25 minutes before we called it quits.  I got about 320 calories burned on it which was enough because my food intake was pretty low.  I think 1400 calories.  We had black bean and cheese quesadilla for dinner with a side of carrots.

We caught up on the DVR a bit.  We gave The Returned a go, the one on A&E with Jeremy Sisto.  We'll probably hang in a bit but it seems just like the other version, Resurrection, they don't quite know how to tackle things.  We'll see.  I don't know if our DVR has kicked Criminal Minds off the roster but we finally saw the first one in a long time last night.  I see they're writing Jennifer Love Hewitt's pregnancy into the show.  I saw we missed two nights of The Voice and I just deleted them.  I figure at that point it doesn't really matter and I don't know, without Gwen, I just don't feel like listening to Christina.  Pfft.

I told you, I don't have much for today.  It's not always whirly birds and fireworks at the homestead.

Have you given any new shows a chance?  Do you have a show that gets deleted on the regular from your DVR?

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Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Be your own advocate


You can imagine when you're in the throes of dealing with something for three months, your mind goes many places.  I'm still going through it, I'm not back to normal yet but I'm doing all I can to get there naturally.

As I went into this whole thing, surgery was never my intent.  The more research I did, the more I kept finding stories of people who had it and said it either did nothing for them, they took years to heal from a surgery docs claim takes a week to recover from or they had false hope in feeling better only to have their issues come back months to a year or so later and the surgery was a waste.  I was convinced I wanted no part in this.

A few weeks ago, I saw a friend of a friend died young.  I tried to see if there was a cause of death because when someone dies in their mid-30's there are usually a few things that come to mind.  I forgot about it and the day I was looking up information on sinus surgery, another notice popped up they were doing a memorial for the person so I looked up their obituary.  It said they passed due to complications of "empty nose syndrome."  I never heard of this and I began freaking out thinking "holy crap, is this what I have!?"  What I found was actually more horrifying.  This syndrome is completely caused by sinus surgery.  It can be caused by deviated septum surgery, reduction in turbinates and generally just doing what most consider 'routine' sinus surgery.  It can happen immediately or it can happen years after the surgery as things start to just naturally degrade.  The condition is constant dryness, pain and is debilitating and the "complication" is suicide.  This is a condition that cannot be reversed, there is no cure, no relief and the things the Mr found were God fearing people who didn't believe in suicide talking about doing it because they couldn't take it anymore.  A friend of mine confirmed this was what happened to this person.  I felt like I was meant to see that.  It was God's way of putting that info in my path so I could make an informed decision.  The Mr strongly felt that way as well.

When I got my CT scan, all I could think about is "what if there is something in there they have to remove and I have no choice?"  This is why I freaked hard over the weekend.  There was much relief in seeing perfectly healthy looking sinuses.  Then my ENT started talking about my deviated septum (SLIGHTLY mind you) and my "large turbinates" kind of leaving the door open for me to say "well what can we do to take care of those?"  I said "I've never had symptoms, I'm fine."  He brushed it off as no big deal and said I've probably had it all my life and if there's no problems then no need to bother with anything.

See, here's the thing, regardless of my feelings on the surgery, this is a new to me doctor...and I didn't like him.  Not that he wasn't nice but we both felt like "how did this guy get through med school, he's kind of a dolt."  I'm not saying that to be mean but when you're dealing with a guy who doesn't seem like the brightest crayon in the box, you don't want him doing more than a nose scope and writing a script.

The other big takeaway?  Don't blindly take meds that doctors prescribe without doing serious research on them first.  Because we've been fed by the media that things like OTC steroid nasal sprays are taken by everyone with allergies, they must be safe.  Well, when my vision started going wonky on me the last week of the spray, I looked online to see if the spray could be the culprit.  Um yeah, what I found was unsettling.  Not only did some people have serious eye issues but some lost their sense of taste and smell permanently.  Many of them went along just fine for the first month or two and then the problems started and it was too late.  I called the pharmacist as the docs office was closed, told her what issues I was having and she said I didn't have to taper and stop taking it immediately.  The actual insert in the medicine way far down tells you to consistently see your eye doctor because it can cause cataracts, glaucoma and other eye issues in perfectly healthy people.  I'm sorry but I'm not willing to risk my eyesight so that I can have perfectly open sinuses by a nose so dry it's like the desert and I can feel every breath I take in addition to the other awesome side effects.

I have a friend training to be a nurse and she told us about this documentary they had to watch last week called Escape Fire.  We haven't seen the movie but the trailer alone is terrifying when you think this is what goes on in the industry we're told to trust with our lives.  Pay particular attention to when they talk about stents and cost and how much time doctors are allowed to spend with their patients.  Something needs to be done...people need to be held accountable to change this system.  Look at other countries and we're the only ones run like this.  Yes, other countries systems have their problems but nothing like it is here.

Look, I'm not some alarmist.  I'm not saying if you've already had sinus surgery you're going to have problems in the future or that all sinus surgeries are unnecessary or all medicines are not beneficial.  I'm also not saying that everyone in the medical industry is out to make a buck or that you shouldn't turn to them in times of illness.  What I am saying is we typically do more research reading reviews when buying a new vacuum than we do before taking a medicine or considering a surgical procedure just because our doctor says it's what we need.  I've got news, the medical industry is just that...an industry.  And these poor doctors who went to school to help people are now being urged to perform unnecessary surgeries and prescribe meds to get kickbacks.  Yes, doctors typically know more than we do but sometimes I wonder.  If I'd followed Dr. Awkward's advice Monday about how to fix my dry nose, he'd have me "snort Vaseline" to keep hydrated.  Oh, you mean the petroleum based product that has been shown to cause lipoid pneumonia in rare cases?  By the way, the eye problems I was having on the nasal spray was listed as a 'rare' side effect too.  As I sit here typing this, I'm listening to a commercial where a medicine that reduces nerve pain has 23 side effects that they're required to tell you about in the ad.  I guarantee there are more in the insert of the medication.

My point in writing all of this is to bring awareness in areas I know I didn't have awareness on even two weeks ago.  Also to encourage people to not jump blindly into treatments and recommendations before doing all of your research.  Your doctor can be nice and you may even trust them but they can't read everything and can't be expected to read health forums where people report problems with the products they blindly prescribe.  In the end, the only person that has your best interest at heart is you.

Do you research before going into doctor appointments?  Do you research before taking medications or only when something feels off?

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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Finally, some answers

A happy Tuesday all!

(via)

I went in for my CT scan results yesterday.  I didn't spend the last month obsessing over the fact that maybe a cyst, tumor or cancer could be in there but once I got the scan done Friday, as they say, sh!t got real, yo.  I began freaking out, babbling a lot of 'what if's' and in general making the Mr earn his vow recital of "for worse."  Saturday, I woke up with a headache from all of the face scrunching I did the day before and I was just sad in general.  The Mr was clueless as to how to help me and honestly, I didn't know how he could have but having company was a good distraction.  Sunday we went to 8 zillion grocery stores but we had so many a-holes at each one of them, my stress was building up again, the Mr was getting grumpy (not that I blame him) and by the time we got home, I just wanted to kind of roll my head around and loosen the kink in my neck.  After our workout, I was stretching my neck and I felt a 'release' and thought I'd feel better.  Instead it just released a load of tension migraine type symptoms on me and my whole left side of my neck, head, eye and of course, sinus felt like crap.  I didn't really want to take anything if I could help it so I went to bed (the night before the CT scan results) trying to relax my shoulders and body to make it go away.  I finally couldn't take it come 4am and got some ibuprofen and it subsided an hour later but I could still feel it in the background and my left sinus felt stuffy.  When the Mr got up at 6:10am to shower, I finally felt like I was falling asleep and got in about 20 minutes before it was time for my shower.  Sigh.

The wait for the doctor to finally come in was gut churning.  I studied quite a few normal CT scan results online to know what I was looking at before he even said anything if he was going to stutter about it.  I could hear him coming down the hall and he came in along with his resident.  I have to say, my gut sank further because that resident wasn't there the day he did my nasal endoscopy, which by the way is considered "outpatient surgery" according to insurance and we got charged almost $900, it was negotiated down to $700 and we get to pay half of that.  Yay.  Anyhoo, I thought "oh great, is this the guy they bring in when they have bad news to deliver?"

The world is a wonderful place, God is good and I am one grateful lady.  Thankfully he spit it out pretty quickly that it was clear.  Other than my slightly deviated septum (which 80% of us have and don't know it), my scan looked like the picture of perfect nasal health even if it was steroid spray induced at the time.  I requested a copy of the scan and they called the imaging center and said it would be ready for me to pick up.  If they were billing my insurance for $1600 for it plus other fees, I'm getting a copy.  Plus if I end up going to an allergist if switching my detergent doesn't calm things down, then I want a copy to show the other ENT so he doesn't try to order one.

I do wish I felt physically better right afterward.  I think the lack of sleep, swelling from the tension headache and stuff just totally put my left side through it.  I took some Excedrin migraine to help kick it to the curb and took a little nap.  I think my sinuses were trying to equal out a bit after the headache finally went away by switching stuffiness from one side to the other.  We took a nice walk in the park for our workout which seemed to help for a bit and  I kept drinking my water all day to help keep my sinuses hydrated.  I prayed like crazy that yesterday's nasal fullness on that side was just due to that tension headache and not my body rebounding from not being on steroid spray any more.  This is three months I'd like to put behind me and finally be over it.

For those of you who think I should just go back on the steroid nasal spray because of the stuffiness, I will be sharing some very important things I learned over the past two weeks so that those of you suffering with nasal issues will have more information to make educated decisions where your health is concerned.  I have basically come out of this with a general mistrust of the medical field.  I know that if I just blindly followed every word the doctors told me, I would probably be in serious jeopardy or be going down a path that could even lead to the unthinkable.  My eyes have been opened even if it takes a little longer for my sinuses to heal on their own using my immune system to stay healthy, I'll gladly wait it out.

Have you ever had a CT scan?  How did you handle the wait?

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Monday, March 9, 2015

Christmas in March, nostalgia and grocery refuel

Good Monday mornin' to you lovely people!

In case you missed it, I checked in Saturday with a weigh in.  I lost five pounds (three of my antihistamine gain from last week plus two) and the Mr lost four.  We were very encouraged by this so onward.

We had company over the weekend and I feel like we did really well.  We knew we were getting a few different kinds of pizza from a place they hadn't been before so I told myself I'd have three pieces (two of the pizzas were small) and only if I wanted more would I go back for any.  I had my three pieces and even though I wanted another piece, I could tell our guests wanted more so I held out and I ended up just downing myself with water so I never got more.  I usually make a big dessert and sometimes they eat it, sometimes they pick at it, sometimes I can tell they're eating to be nice when they later mention they're trying to watch it.  So I just grabbed a half a bag of Hershey kisses I wanted to get rid of, put them in a bowl and pre-planned to have a serving (nine) and that's what I had.  I sent the rest home with them (a serving for them to split).  I think in the future I may make healthier desserts so they can see those can actually taste good.  We chilled out listening to Hawaiian music and catching up.  We exchanged Christmas gifts finally and they seemed to love theirs and we loved ours (I asked for a French manicure "marker" and clear coat to seal it in and the Mr got the new Pink Floyd album)  We watched a bunch of old school commercials on YouTube and got all nostalgic.

(via)  Anyone remember Baby Come Back?  (Not the Player song)  I can still visualize her in my baby doll crib

Yesterday was big time grocery refuel day.  We basically spent all day doing it, adding Whole Foods and another grocery store in the city to our route...and maybe an open house.  I saw this place on Realtor.com and it looked like the dream house but $50K over our budget but I still wanted to see it.  When we walked in, the realtor informed us that there were multiple offers and they'd consider them all this morning.  When I walked into the kitchen, I realized I was duped by someone who knew how to take pictures and spruced them up.  The kitchen looked like crap with cracking cabinets and crown molding, basically no storage and the spacious looking basement was the result of someone squatting low to give the illusion of tall ceilings.  It wouldn't even pass the tricep extension test!  We didn't even bother looking upstairs and left.  Good luck to the suckers who are putting in their bids.  I think they're going to regret that decision.

Last night we did an upper body/ab combo from Fitness Blender then the Mr cut all my veggies for the week and I made dinner...spicy orange BBQ pork chop and brussels.  We caught up on the DVR and laundry and are now ready to move on to another successful week!

What did you guys get into this weekend?  What one thing are you going to do this week to help reach your goals?

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Saturday, March 7, 2015

New plan: Weigh in #1

Welp, I weighed in this morning.

I lost the 3 antihistamine pounds I put on last week and 2 more to boot for a total of 5.

I will take that.

The Mr is down 4!  WOOT!

I also called the pharmacist after some scary stuff started happening with my eyes and asked if I needed to taper off the nasal steroid (basically Flonase) and she said no I could just stop using it.  I'll go into it more Monday but let's just say the stuff I was reading was terrifying.  I'm grateful it reduced the inflammation but the long term effects are nowhere near worth it.

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

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Friday, March 6, 2015

Radiation Friday and what I'm reading this week

Tis Friday again!  Man, the way the weeks fly by really scares me sometimes.

If you're reading this early, I'm probably in getting a CT scan of my sinuses right now.  Yay radiation?  So I've officially been on nasal steroids for a month.  I'm looking forward to hopefully getting off of them.  I'm tired of having a dry crusty nose and the occasional headache with them.  I think I *may* have figured out that I'm allergic to our detergent so I've got some hypoallergenic detergent and dryer sheets coming tomorrow and I'm going to re-wash everything.  I noticed the morning after I slept on freshly laundered sheets I was more stuffy (and we even have a new air purifier in the bedroom) and when I stuck on a shirt with heavy scent on it from the laundry, my skin itched.  I think I may have other allergies too but I'm starting with that one first because if I wipe my freshly washed hands on a towel, then wipe my eyes and that makes my eyes itch then that could explain a lot.  I think I had something else but as the nasal steroids made my smell and taste come back, I noticed a major flare up in allergies with itchy eyes and a bit of stuffiness.  So, that's the next thing on the list because I'm not going on antihistamines.  Those things made me balloon up immediately.  (ie- last week's 3 lb gain for NO reason)  So eyedrops and no scent detergent I could totally be down with.  Cross your fingers for me.

I'm finished with my first full week of drinking a gallon of water a day.  I've never in my life drank that much at once and definitely not with any consistency.  It hasn't taken my bladder long to get used to the new routine.  Day one I was definitely up and down a lot more but now I can go about every 90 minutes or so before the call of nature says to get off my butt and to da bathroom.  

I've never eaten so little in my life and honestly, I've felt fine.  I'd say I'm about 300 calories lower than I was before.  I'm around 1500 calories maybe slightly more if we did vigorous cardio and can have 100-200 additional calories.  I used to be 1850-1950 calories most days.  So tomorrow will be interesting.  

But enough of that, lets get to...




WTF Are Barre Workouts and Are They Actually Worth Doing?  (I can vouch yes!  Your legs feel like jello afterward and it's usually all body weight!)

Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda on life without dad, continuing his charity work  (Great interview with her.  She's so mature and has a great outlook despite her grief)

How to Talk So Your Doctor Will Listen  (That would be a first)

Missouri Woman Loses Home to a Fast-Moving Dryer Fire   (A good reminder for us all.  Grabbing the vacuum)

Forget Weight Loss: Here's Another HUGE Benefit of Working Out Regularly  (This is honestly the reason we've kept up our workouts despite no real movement on the scale)

Maroon 5 Meets 10-Year-Old With Down Syndrome  (This is so sweet)

"Ugh, I’m So Fat!" The Perfect Response Every Time You Hear This  (So true.  Some really good comebacks in here)

The Diet That’s Better For Your Heart Than Exercise  (47% reduction in heart disease?  Yes please)

The 15 Struggles Of Being A Music Fan In The ’80s  (#3.  My mom still cringes at my 5th grade pic which was my "of course Olivia Newton John's Physical do will look good on my chunky face" look)

An Amazing Thing Happened When I Surrounded Myself With Junk Food  (Gotta say, I couldn't do this and don't know I'd recommend it but interesting in theory)

I Wanted to Live in a Duran Duran Video so I Went to Sri Lanka  (Pretty cool!  But all I can ever think of when that little kid was wringing the water into Simon's mouth on the rock is "that is the moment Simon LeBon got dysentery." )

Why Can't Some People See Magic Eye Pictures?  (The Mr can...I can't.  I don't care but in the 90's I almost put him through the wall a few times when he'd drone on about how cool the dolphin or whatever he could see that I couldn't was.  $10 says he will look at that pic and tell me what I'm missing.  Well now that there's $10 on the line he won't.)

Teens Watched ’90s Music Videos For The First Time And Their Reactions Will Make You Feel Old  (Ugh, just...ugh.)

We've got friends coming over tomorrow night.  This is like the third reschedule with them and we're exchanging Christmas gifts if that tells you how long it's been.  I'm under the impression that my disease is lasting as long as it takes for us to see them so they'd better show up because their presents are the only link to when my ailment started and now.  See how logical I am?

What tomfoolery you got on your agenda this weekend?

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Thursday, March 5, 2015

The Mr's thoughts on our new plan of action



The Mrs. and I have been working out some of the details, slowly but surely, of our plan of action. It has led to some very helpful heartfelt talks, some moments of frustration and, in the end, a general sense of hope. We've still got some kinks to work out as we try things and see what works in any given week here, but I think we’re on the right track.

The biggest thing is we've finally taken a good, hard, honest look at our portion sizes. We both agree that it’s one of those things that we've kind of known in the back of our minds but either didn’t want to admit out loud or just plain didn't want to change.

I made the comment that everything that every human being knows how to do is the result of someone else’s trial and error. We all have to learn from our mistakes. I think the Mrs. and I have finally learned from this one. The fact is that when I was 455 lbs, my portions were out of control big time. I found the right amount to pretty much maintain my weight but I was never going to lose any weight that way.

Losing almost 200 lbs was the result of 2 main things. 1) Exercising consistently. 2) Cutting our portions in (more than) half. Technically there is a 3rd reason and that is 3) Cheat Meals.  I know there are some people out there who are against that but I know what worked for me and that was what kept me sane and kept me on track the rest of the week.  However, for some reason we both have been rather stubborn when it comes to admitting that our portions now, you know, the ones that have helped us achieve 200 lbs of weight loss each, are now the problem for us again.  It sure seemed like we were both doing fine during the week so maybe it was our cheat meals. We tweaked those, almost to the point where it felt like a completely soul-less diet at times. That wasn't going to work, not for us anyway. If that works for some of you out there, have fun!

Because we were eating healthy food all week and exercising daily it was not something that stood out honestly. Plus the fact that every time I would calculate the calories in and out I was already eating at least 200 cals below what the recommendations were. So what gives?

Well for a long time I’ve thought about this person I used to work with. She was my manager for about a year and she was this petite little thing. Every day she ate what looked, to me, like 3 carrots and a small, we’re talking barely a cup, of soup. I only really asked her once if she was eating that way to stay so thin or if that was just what she is used to. I figured she was just one of those naturally thin people but the truth is she was not at all. She would just eat, every day, the amount of food that she knows she needs. She is just a person in tune with her hunger.

I know and I don’t know what that is like. Does that make sense? I’ve experienced it at times. I think of it as some magical equilibrium that all of us can only hope to achieve. Well it turns out that, for the most part, I actually have achieved it. By mostly maintaining my weight for 3 years (let’s not count the vacations and the weight I’ve put on and lost from those during this time, for the sake of argument anyway) I really have figured out what my body needs to maintain its weight.

The only problem with that, for me, is that I am still obese. Do I want to maintain obesity? No. That was never my goal. Do I want to be rail thin? No! I just want to be able to do all those awesome activities like ziplining, riding roller coasters, etc.

So. What do I have to admit to myself if I really want to ever meet that goal? Well, the answer was staring me in the face all along. I need to cut down on the portions that are otherwise keeping me the same weight. Seems silly that something so simple could have held me back this long but it’s a really tough thing to accept because for years I had eaten those portions and lost weight like it was nothing. But it makes sense when I really sit and think about it. My body has gotten smaller. Heck when I was in high school and weighed 240 lbs. I maintained that weight by eating about the same amount of food that I am essentially going to be eating now. 

Bingo! That was when it really hit me that this really was staring me in the face all along.

Now that the realization of this is there, the tough part begins. Execution. Sure the plan sounds great and on paper it should work. But can I keep this up the way I did this before? Will I be hungry all the time? Miserable?

Only time is going to tell, of course. But I can tell you that this week we’ve done a very good job at tweaking the portions down to levels we can accept. There will likely be further tweaking until we find the sweet spots. The goal will be to eat enough to feel completely satiated while keeping portions to minimal levels. Right now it’s been great. My willpower is through the roof and I am extremely hopeful that this is going to be exactly the plan we needed to finally get out of this loooong plateau.

Of course I wish I could bottle that feeling of newness. It’s really easy for me to state all of this with this newfound positive attitude but the real work begins when that elated feeling goes away and the Mrs. and I have only ourselves to keep us on track.

Given our past success, however, I know we can do it. I’d still like a bottle of that motivation though!

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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Gettin' it out of neutral


When we were in Chicago and went for our final stroll around the city, we passed some designer shop with perfect clothes in the window.  It's a place that I think barely carries a size large.  I remembered passing this store the first time we went to Chicago back in 1994.  I remembered the wonder because I was a po' teenager who never in my wildest dreams thought I could ever afford something from a store like that.  Then I looked down, saw my protruding gut and thought "one day, I will wear something from this store."  I didn't necessarily have to buy it but at least go in, try something on, finally feel like I was a "normal" member of society and maybe take a pic of myself in the mirror to prove it and then put the $500 dress back on the rack.  I just knew this whole being fat thing was just a passing thing even though I'd already lost weight once and had gained it back.  We were going to get back on track, right?

*Cue me gaining 100 lbs*

*Cue me losing 85 lbs*

*Cue my gall bladder dying on me, 6 months of testing, incompetent doctors, physically unable to exercise and regaining 85 lbs*

*Cue gaining another 124 pounds on top of the original 100 lb gain*

Yeah...totally a passing thing.

Nothing like wasting most of your 20's and 30's being stuck in a body you don't recognize or want.

Then came that final stroll around Chicago, passing that store and thinking "you are literally no closer to wearing anything from that store than you were 20 years ago.  Way to go."  I almost wept in the street.  It has nothing to do with the brand.  It has nothing to do with being able to afford it, I could if I wanted it but it has everything to do with breaking that promise to my younger self because as I looked at the outfits I thought "and now you're too old to pull that off."

I'm sure I'm not but that's how it felt.

I have been 40 for six months and I'm not going to lie, it has sucked.  I've been sick for 3 of those months.  I have started speaking in old person tongues and it's seriously a matter of time before I start referring to the things as "the Facebook" and "the SnapChat."  I'm feeling way older than I should be and I feel like my weight is now the main factor in feeling that way.  I cannot squander another decade, wake up 50 years old and STILL be dealing with this crap.  We still have to create a plan that is doable for us, nothing trendy where food groups are cut out.  We're still implementing but it's very frustrating to say "I've lost 200 lbs" and have someone look like they want to say "so you're still working at it, right?"

If you'd have told me four years ago we still would be struggling to get this under control, I probably would've thought about giving up.  I'm glad I didn't and I'm glad to have basically maintained but it's not enough anymore.

So that's been my train of thought to finally get it out of neutral.  I know if there are people who have never struggled with weight loss issues that just don't have it in them to go through watching someone who has try to "just do it already", I get it.  It can be hard to empathize with a journey you've never had to take.  But for those of you willing to hang in, please know despite having already lost 200 lbs, I am still not a pro at this.  Those 200 pounds should've never been there in the first place.  Where I am...this place...this is where I spent a good part of my life and where my body likes to settle.  I'm in for a whole new fight.  I can want success but fail many times to attempt to achieve it.

I know my weight loss story has no end.  I don't get to a magic weight and then I'm "done."  I will never be done.  None of us who have struggled with our weight will ever be done because once you get there comes maintenance which I seem to have mastered but at the wrong weight.  I've got things to do and at my age, I just don't feel like I have all the time in the world to do them anymore.  I hope I don't disappoint you all too much but most of all, I hope I can finally stop disappointing myself.

What's one of your weight loss related regrets?

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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Yellow river by I P Freely and scaling back

Happy Tuesday all!

As much as I love being hydrated, holy God did I wear a hole in the carpet going to the bathroom.  Not just up and down the stairs to wee all day yesterday but I was up every hour on the hour the night before so I made it so that I got most of my water in during the day.  I wanted to keep up the three water bottles worth I started on Saturday since it helped my middle sinuses not feel like the Mohave Desert.  I had a goal of "3 by 4" or three 36-oz bottles down by 4pm and I hit it.  108 sloshy ounces by 4pm and then filled it halfway for workout time so I had that down by 7:45pm so 126 ounces of pure water for the day and some tea with dinner.  I'm surprised my teeth weren't floating.

We had a nice talk before our workout.  My front tendon is back to tingle mode after last week and I was feelin' a little womp womp.  Then we started talking about things and how he was glad I put my foot down about Sundays.  He said he didn't even realize we'd gotten a sub the previous three weekends.  When we were at the grocery store I was eyeing the Butterfinger peanut butter cups that I couldn't find the day before on high cal day.  The Mr said I could get them and we could split them.  I said no, I didn't find them on the right day so I was out of luck.  I was kind of proud of myself but I couldn't let myself down on the first day of saying I'm going to watch it on Sundays.  (Don't get me wrong, many a stint started that way...failing on day one.  This wasn't going to happen this time.)

We think it might be time to mess around with portions again.  Our portions aren't really out of whack but if you look at our dinner from last night, the potatoes are two servings from the bag.



Now I gave him more than I gave myself so I'd say maybe cut the potato serving by 1/4 to 1/3 and it'd be a serving.  While we might boo hoo a little at first, it will force us to slow down and chew our food more thoroughly to make it last longer.  This is the strategy that worked for us in the beginning and while our portions are certainly way better, we just want to see if this will work to help things along.  Like on the weekends, we were told by a nutritionist that splitting a medium pizza was perfectly fine and would fit into a high cal meal nicely.  We've gotten used to that serving and honestly, it's probably too much for where we are now.  We're going to scale back to a small (not personal sized) and see how that goes.

So it's time to tweak the portions and see where that takes us.  We're ready.

How much pure water do you get in every day?  Do you think your portion sizes are in line with your weight goals?

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Monday, March 2, 2015

Compounding the damage and shovel fight

I wish I had some big ol exciting update from the weekend but we stayed mostly house bound.

I started out the weekend with a three pound gain.  Yep.  I know it was not the way I ate or my exercise because that was spot on.  (Didn't stop me from yelling "are you &%*ing kidding me!?" when I weighed in)  My legs and fingers were totally bloated for half the week so I wasn't exactly expecting a loss but it could've been a number of things.  I'm still on the nasal steroid, week three at that point.  Now I know you say, "you can't gain weight from nasal steroids, says so in the insert."  I know.  Tell that to every diet board out there that has people screaming at each other on both sides of the coin.  Then we thought maybe my sinus problem was more allergy related so I got a generic of a popular antihistamine.  I took it for 3 days and had all kinds of weird crap going on from abdominal cramps to uh...bathroom issues.  Oh I'll just say it, diarrhea to the point of ass powder by the time I was done, okay?  Then I did a little look up to make sure antihistamines didn't cause weight gain given how totally bloated I was on all three days and of course the one I chose has the highest percentage of that happening.  But then you'll have people yelling on both sides of the coin on that one too.  I seriously paid for my snowshoeing last weekend.  I knew the whole time I was walking that my arches were just screwed.  The Mr was too.  I didn't think much of it and then we racked up all of this insane exercise that didn't seem like much at the time but when it ends with you being awakened in the middle of Sunday morning by two screaming arches contorted in pain, then you tend to think perhaps you piled it on a bit much.  Oh yeah and then I basically dehydrated myself all week by getting in 40 oz of water every day and somehow thinking that was good.  You know how muscles need water to help repair themselves and such?  Jackass.  So I'm not too worried but I was still ticked at the time.

I thought it was supposed to rain and then looked out the window Sunday morning and there was snow everywhere.  Because we're weirdos, we fought over who got to shovel for cardio.

Yes.

That is what my life has comes down to...wrestling my husband over the shovel.

I burned 450 calories in 30 minutes.  Yes please.

The most excitement I had was the breakfast I made for Sunday brunch:


I know, it looks like a buttload of food but we skipped breakfast so we could have this 600 calorie dream.  (Which if split would've been 300 cals for breakfast and 300 cals for lunch so neener neener.)  Speaking of 300 calories, that's how much I saved if I had something similar in a restaurant and lots more fat and sodium.  French toast made with Nickel's wheat 35 calorie per slice bread, dipped in egg whites sprinkled with banana slices, a serving of light syrup and two chicken apple sausages.  The Mr said it reminded him of a restaurant we ate at in Carmel.  Score!

I nipped a really bad habit we were getting into the past three weekends in the bud.  We were getting a healthy-ish lunch out like Subway or another sub place on wheat with as little as possible on it, within 50 calories of Subway.  Point is, we don't need Subway's or any other restaurants sodium laden crap.  At least with what we ate at home, I know all the ingredients that went into it and the sodium and fat are way lower.  I drank 120 ounces of water so staying at home was pretty much mandatory or I would've wee'd myself.  Well, we did go to the grocery store to refuel on fruits and veggies for the week but I was doing the urination dance by the time we got home.

Ooh, Safety Dance is on!  Gotta go!

*shakin' booty*

What did you do this weekend?

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