This is quickly becoming a weekly blog! Not on purpose, mind you, but at the moment, out of necessity. You see, I'm very busy trying to figure myself out! No, I don't have time to waste here, but still, I'm not sure I'm honing in properly on what I want. I choose to see life as simple and also choose to be happy no matter where I am or what I'm experiencing, but life experience has taught me to also make changes or else I won't be here to enjoy more of life!
At 55 years of age, over-weight and a cancer survivor, I don't think my choices about 'lifestyle' have been too smart. I WANT to change that about myself, but I'm struggling. How do I change what needs to be changed and still live my life in an enjoyable way? I built a chart in Numbers to help me start to figure it all out. Here is what the chart looks like:
Click on the chart image to make it bigger!
As you can see, I over-eat, don't exercise, drink too much caffeine and was (I'm stressing here was) shaking salt on food at the table. I've stopped the salt shaking (except on eggs and I don't eat many of these) but the rest I must change. As I look at the short list, it contains things that I must start doing, stop doing and continue doing to be successful. So, I guess I will select three things:
Start exercising - Just do it...walk in place inside the house, for Pete's sake!!
Stop over-eating - Again, just do it! This may be the hardest thing of all!!
Continue avoiding the extra salt - Water follows salt. I don't believe I 'retain' water, but every little bit will help! The less water on me, the more my heart will thank me!
Okay, so all I have to do is exercise 20 minutes every day; stop over-eating -- just STOP it and continue with my improved salt habit. That's it!!
How will I do with this? Can I be successful doing these 3, simple things? Really, a word I used above is important: Success. What does success look like? To me it looks like this:
I'm exercising, on purpose no less than 20 minutes, every day.
I'm eating real food, the kind my Great Grandmother would recognize as food, not too much, mostly plants.
Salt is an afterthought.
Weight is slowly dropping.
I feel good.
I have more stamina.
I have more energy.
I have less than 30 days until I will have passed an entire year trying to figure myself out, but I'm still here; still kicking and have every intention of doing the three numbered, simple things above and experiencing the 7 bullet points below that. Thanks for checking in on me. With every failure I get a little closer to success. I'm not afraid to fail, I'm just ready to succeed now. I hope you stop back by again soon. Until then, Godspeed, Voyagers!!
I am hopeless when it comes to shopping. Forget what you ever heard about women and shopping when you think of me. I do not fit the mold, at all. Today I had two coupons for stores in my area which are not far from each other and not in malls (I don't like malls). So, I thought, "It should be easy to find shirts or something for the family at both of these stores." Now, I did go to both stores. So, let me just say that I made it that far. The problem is I become overwhelmed in 2 seconds if I don't have my sister with me to hold my hand and calm me down. I know what I want, but do you think I can find it? Also, there are 10,000 things that shine and blink at me and oh, MG, I'm in trouble very quickly. I stuck it out for over an hour, but I ended up going home only to have someone say things like, "Why didn't you just pick something up? We can always take it back!" OMG, AGAIN!! Take it back? I hated every second of the shopping event to begin with! In the end we made a deal. I will go and purchase 'something' and if he doesn't like it, he will take it back and exchange it.
Friday has also become my 'sushi' lunch day. However, a friend from work wanted to have lunch together and she doesn't like sushi. So, we ended up at The Fire Bowl. I like that place and I had a cup of the Spicy Coconut Soup (a favorite) and a Soft Thai Summer Roll. It was really good! Lunch was under $5 and I was perfectly satisfied. Good choice! I may have to have Friday be sushi or Fire Bowl lunch day from now on! Actually, I will just take the days as they come. More fun that way!
The rest of today is just to be spent enjoying my interests, writing my grocery list and getting some rest. I can't think of anything better! Someone asked me today if I ever went out with 'friends' and I thought that was a strange question. Of course I spend time with my friends! I have lots of acquaintances, as well, but real friends are few. Some of my friends are not where I can spend lots of time with them, but I never judged the size/depth of a friendship by how much time they spend with me anyway. I know they love me for just the fact that I'm me and it's the same for me. I love them because they are GREAT! Do we really have to be in each other's pockets all the time? Can you imagine me in your pocket all the time!?! What a crazy picture that puts in your head!!!
Okay, enough of "Nancy Expounds on Friendship." I wanted to share a picture with you today that represented the day for me. I've thought and thought and this is what I came up with:
Mr. Rockwell didn't know he was depicting my day when he painted "Couple in a Rumble Seat" in 1935. The fellow doesn't look too excited, but I give him credit for sticking with the crazy lady with a smile. Stick with me here, it's likely to a bumpy ride! Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
Blog Update:
Walked on the treadmill 31 minutes to the following play list from the group Viva Brother (love these guys!)
New Year's Day
Still Here
David
High Street Low Lives
Electric Daydreams
Darling Buds of May
Fly By Nights
False Alarm (my favorite! "I'm doin' it on my own!")
Shoot Like Lightening
Time Machine
Otherside
Okay, so that's really the Viva Brother album titled, Famous First Words. I think I listened to a couple of the songs while I was warming up and cooling down, but it's a great album. Check for it on iTunes and enjoy!
What a great day! I'm happy for it to be drawing to a close soon, but it was a good day. All except for the part where a coworker who visited my office yesterday emailed late in the afternoon to say that he has Strep Throat. Oh, goody!! I sanitized everything he touched...probably too late, but there you go!
I'm working my way to the end of the week as I have a long weekend coming up. Our son starts school on Monday and I always like to be around for the first couple of days to help get him off to a good start. Also, I have my check-up with the cancer doctor to make sure I'm still free of that beast! I'll let you know how that goes a week from today on day 46.
We continue the work here to renovate Nancy. I'm feeling good and trying to find more alternatives for meals that make sense (nutritionally), are not loaded with preservatives and that I don't have to cook/prepare. So far, my options have been My Fit Foods (which, I love) and the freezer section of my grocery store. I started out saying, "No!" to he frozen food, but now I'm rethinking that. There are products that I haven't seen before now available and I don't want to overlook things that are good. I purchased one such meal that my husband ate for dinner tonight. It was from a company called Cedar Lane. He said it was delicious and tasted like something I made and froze for him; tasted like real food. One swift scan of the ingredient list confirmed for me that it was a good buy. The only things listed in the ingredients are foods. No preservatives or things that I couldn't pronounce. The calories were okay (420 for an enchilada meal), but he says the real important thing was, it was good! I looked at the cost and at $4.46, it was definitely better than My Fit Foods. So, this will now be an option. I hope my HEB carries more varieties of their food. I took a look at Cedar Lane's website and they seem to have some good options!
Today I tried to eat a few more calories. Here is what I had:
Breakfast - Special K Pepper Jack and Veggie Breakfast Sandwich w/2 thin slices of Turkey Bacon and a Banana (280 calories) Lunch - My Fit Foods Chicken Parmesan and a Banana (410 calories) (Chicken Parm was HIGH! I probably won't pick this one up again.) Dinner - My Fit Foods Fit Nugget Nation w/Laughing Cow Cheese and Pretzel Crisps (400 calories)
Total for the day - 1,090 (Ohhhhhh MG! Still low and I added two fruits, cheese and chips AND a higher calorie lunch!) At least I'm over 1,000 calories. I did okay...I guess.
My sister noticed right away that I was counting calories in my blog. I explained, very quickly, that I was just doing an experiment to see how close I was getting to 1,200 per day, by just eating what I thought were the right things. She listened (and I could hear her shaking her head) and at the end she said, "Uh, huh...Well, I'm not doing that!" I don't blame her one little bit! I don't want to do it either, but having the already portioned meals makes it so much easier to calculate! The numbers are right there in front of you. Also, have you noticed how many restaurants are putting their calories right on the menu? I noticed this at Starbucks. The drive-thru in my neighborhood now has the calorie counts for it's breakfast sandwiches right on the menu in big bold numbers. I like that!! It made it real easy for me to know I was making a good choice for me....AND I enjoyed the sandwich (350 calories) that I ordered on the day I had it. I think that was day 35. Anyway, I know there have been lots of people complaining about seeing the calorie counts, but I'm honestly happy seeing those numbers on the menu. To me, it makes sense. I know that 400 calories per meal is pretty much my limit. If I have a lower calorie breakfast I have a few more calories to work with throughout the day. When standing in front of a menu at Starbuck and there is an option for a 350 calorie hot egg sandwich or a 550 calorie cold chicken salad sandwich, what do you think I'm going to have? Now, I love a chicken salad sandwich and I might have chosen that in the past. But now? No! See, knowledge is a powerful thing!
Tonight is not exercise night, so I'm enjoying a bit of a break for my hip. Yes, it still hurts. I think it's just going to hurt for awhile. Hopping from one subject to another, as I do, I wanted to give those who care, an update on the mascara trials going on in this house. I really LOVE the Ioni Cosmetics Phatlash mascara (the red one seen below). It kept my lashes curled all day (and I have defiant lashes!) and when it goes on your lashes it's sure enough staying there! I liked to have never gotten that mascara off last night! I used two kinds of makeup removers and it barely budged! If you want REALLY waterproof mascara with a staying power beyond belief, you want Ioni Cosmetics Phatlash mascara! A REAL $2.25 bargain!
I also made a video tonight to update, again, those who care, on the final view of our son's room. Besides a few things I'd like to get done before school starts (like cleaning the wall around the light switch plate...he is a boy, after all) it is finished. Here is the video tour:
No, I didn't do a great job, but what do you expect when I have 10 seconds to shoot and edit a video. You want Nancy "DeMille" films? We'll need a bit of time for that. :) I shot this in less than 10 minutes and took about an hour to edit and upload. That's all the time I had so there you go! I hope you enjoy it.
I guess that's it for today. I'm feeling good and I hope looking good, well, as good as possible anyway. Tomorrow will be another great day...my boss will be in town! But for now, I know a light switch plate that is just begging to be cleaned! Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
Believe it or not, I finally got my company carnival day video done!! Post-production video editing is not easy folks and I'm not a machine! The day was a lot of fun, but it was also a work day for me. That means I only saw a little bit of the activity from about noon to 1pm. I work in a great place! Enjoy the fun!
Yep, I'm a pretty fantastic video producer. Okay, just let me wallow in my delusional existence for a minute...okay...I'm done. So, not the greatest video taping ever done, but I think you get the picture. I work with some fun people and most everyone had a great time. I did lots of crazy cheering for the boat racers and I must say that my favorite vessel was tug boat #1 (nicknamed: 'Tug-Boaty').
I didn't partake of the food that day (you know...I have issues) but I heard that the food was great! The whole thing was tons of fun. There were clowns, which I missed and all sorts of activities...that I missed! RATS!! I hope we have it every year, just in April or May next time! It was 107 degrees on the day they held the event last week. Crazy!!!
The days continue to tick away as I work the extra a** off of me. There are days when I start to think I'm doing pretty well, then I remember that getting comfortable is a bad thing for me. It is important that I remember how I got here and how I can never be here again. Conscious eating is the only eating I can ever do in my life going forward. Just eating whatever I want, whenever I want does NOT work out for me. I clearly do not have the metabolism nor the genetics for it and thus, I must remain thoughtful about my eating.
As it is Monday, it's time to walk on the treadmill. I've eaten my supper so food is done for the day. Today I had the following:
Breakfast - Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Delights breakfast sandwich and a banana (320 calories)
Lunch - My Fit Foods Turkey Meatloaf and a small orange (310 calories)
Supper - My Fit Foods Wes Country Dinner Med. Size (320 calories)
Total for the day - 950 calories!
After an entire life of eating WAY too much, now I have this ongoing (okay, more than twice) issue with eating too little. The funny thing is, I'm completely satisfied. Except for around 3 to 3:30pm, I was fine. I didn't have a snack handy at that time, so I just went on with my work and you know, I did just fine and the desire for a snack went away. That tells me that it wasn't real hunger I was feeling. Also, I looked at the clock just before 6pm this evening and thought, "Isn't it time for supper?" when clearly it wasn't (I'm eating supper at 7pm now). I took up a task and that got me through to the proper time for a meal. This probably sounds elementary to most people, but it's a big deal to someone like me; learning to eat when you're really hungry and to stop when you're full. I have to learn to eat normally, in order to be normal.
Like I said before, it's time to walk. I want to get that done so I can spend some time reading. So, until tomorrow when it will be another day of learning to be normal with Nancy, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
Post Walk Update: Loved the walk, as usual! I thought I'd share my walking play list (sneaky list making...tee hee!) Here you go:
Happy by Pharrell Williams (This is the best song on EARTH!)
All I Need by Natasha Bedingfield featuring Kevin Rudolf (That's why all I need is all I got!)
Love 2 C U by Goldfrapp (Electro Dance ON!)
Dramaphone by Caravan Palace (Electro Swing. These guys are HOT! I love their sound.)
Rumor Has It by Adele (She's fantastic!)
Strict Machine by Goldfrapp (Electro Dance...need I say more?)
What Is Life by George Harrison (Released in 1970 and one of my ALL TIME favorites.)
Skyfall by Adele (Bond, James Bond 007 and Adele...match made in heaven!)
That's just over 30 minutes with the transitions. I love the mix of Rock, Pop, Electro this and that and what-not. A great mix of what I call "Walk Me!" music. Update over...night, night, Sweeties!!
This can't be August! It was really nice again this morning so I wasted time enjoying breakfast and lunch outside. Mosquitos be hanged! I didn't care. Let them dine on me and I hope they choke!! I didn't even spray myself with repellent!
I spent the morning filming, editing/producing and loading a new video onto YouTube. My channel there is just under my name, Nancy Hemati. I post what I like there. I'm not driven to make only one type of video. I believe in allowing myself to be creative however the mood strikes me. Today, it was makeup. It is the first thing I did out of bed this morning, aside from washing my face and brushing my teeth. The house was quiet and I wanted to review two new mascaras that I bought on Saturday (day 36). The brand is Ioni Cosmetics and I've only started seeing them here where I live in the past few weeks. I've bought a blush (quite pigmented) and now these two mascaras. The names are Phatlash and Lashaffair. The Phatlash says that it is volumizing and waterproof and the Lashaffair says that it is lengthening and waterproof. Here is the video of my 'pilot' of these two mascaras:
(Note: Fair warning! I did not narrate this video, but instead added a peppy song. If you don't like music behind your YouTube videos, you're going hate this one!)
I wore the mascaras all day and I really liked both of them. The Phatlash did a better job of keeping my eyelashes curled, but the Lashaffair did okay. Both were better than some of the brands I've paid LOTS more for. I didn't notice any smudging on my face, but when I had to 'dab' my eyes (allergies you know) while outside, I did notice some black on the tissue. That was from the Lashaffair side. These mascaras were $2.25 each at my HEB (grocery store). I really liked making the film, but I've got to get some better lighting for the bathroom. It's terrible!
The rest of the day has been spent doing laundry and generally enjoying the day. I did not read today, but I will tonight after folding all the clean laundry and getting that put away. Eating was fine and here is how it went:
Breakfast - Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Breakfast Delights sandwich with an extra 1 oz. of light cheddar on the side (340 calories)
Lunch - My Fit Foods Blazin' Cajun Shrimp (medium size) (340 calories)
Snack - Pretzel chips and Laughing Cow cheese (170 calories)
Dinner - My Fit Foods Killuh' Chili w/1 oz. Baked Doritos (330 calories)
Total for the day - 1,180 calories! Much better!! I need to try to get close and stay close to 1,200. To make that happen the snack is critical. Also, I haven't been eating fruit, so I need to make sure I do that. I'll put some fruit in my lunch box for tomorrow!
I'm getting really excited about day 60, which is when I'll put on my black dress and my husband takes some new pictures. I haven't cheated and tried the dress on, but I really do think it's going to look okay...maybe even good! Someone has to take me out in it...that will probably be my sister, since no one around here likes taking me out. Eating out is a misery for my husband. He HATES restaurants. I'm good either way. It used to be something I looked forward to, because I didn't have to cook. Since I don't cook anymore, it isn't such a treat. I just would like for someone to want to be seen in public with me. I know he isn't ashamed of me...really...I hope not anyway. Okay, that's enough! He doesn't like going out and I do, so there! My sister will take me out!! After almost 32 years of marriage, what do I expect?
The rest of the day will be me getting the laundry finished and put away, reading and resting before the busy work week ahead. Week after next is the start of school and I have a couple of days off. That will be nice. I believe we are ready for the start of school. Let's just hope we're all ready...if you know what I mean. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
What a fantastic day it was here! A much cooler start to the day made it really nice for running around doing errands getting the final preparations done for school starting in about a week. I should have photographs of our son's finished room, closet and desk area, tomorrow. I still want to do some more painting in there, (his trim really needs painting) get some of his art and dad's art up and replace the light fixture. Those will take a little time to get done and so, more pictures in the future. But keeping busy like this is important for me. I need stuff to do to stop me from thinking about my stomach.
One of my errands today was to get all of the food for the week for me and the family. We are doing My Fit Foods, but we are also using some frozen meals and other options from the grocery store. I believe I have enough for the entire week, with few leftovers to worry about. Besides the grocery and MFF errands, I had to take care of a return/exchange at Stein Mart's, (love them) pick up some nail art decorations from Michael's and make a trip to Walmart. Okay, I don't really like Walmart much, but they just happen to have what I needed for school supplies, a rug for our son's room, underwear (oh, those are supposed to be unmentionables!) and other do-dads! It was a very busy day!
I mentioned nail art items above. You may or may not know, that I am a lover of all things nail art. When I was sick/recovering from surgery in 2011, my husband encouraged me to watch videos on YouTube as a way to occupy my long hours on my back. Up until that time, I had never watched a YouTube video in my life. I took his advice and quickly found things like nail art, makeup and fashion videos! All stuff I needed (still need) help with! When I saw the nail art, I was hooked. I consider myself creative, but without an outlet. Cooking has been my creative outlet in the past and you can see where that's gotten me! So, I decided to give nail art a try. Here are the first nails I ever did:
My nails were short and cuticles a mess, but from the moment I created these, I was hooked. Usually I do my nails on Saturday or Sunday. This week was no different, as today was Saturday and I was inspired (see inspiration video linked below) I did a manicure dedicated to the Marc Jacobs perfume, Daisy. This is one of my very favorite perfumes and I wear it frequently. Here are a couple of pictures of my recreation of Janelle's nail design:
I didn't come up with the design myself. (Wow! My hands are really showing their age!!) I subscribe to a great nail artist on YouTube named, Janelle. Her YouTube channel is "elleandish." I love her videos and recreate the nails she shows in her videos on my own nails all the time. Here is her video of the Marc Jacobs Daisy nails. I hope you enjoy it!
The main differences between her nail design and mine, besides the fact that her hands are about 30 year's younger than mine, is my nail surface area is a little smaller and her studs are smooth gold and mine are textured. Otherwise, I'm pretty close! Great design, Janelle! Thanks!!!
While out today, I discovered that my HEB is now carrying (limited selection, mind you) the Ioni makeup brand that Emily Noel (channel: emilynoel83) talks about in some of her YouTube videos. It is an inexpensive brand, but I'm seeing some good quality. I purchased a blush a few weeks ago and it's so pigmented I have to be careful when using it, lest I begin to take on that 'clown' look! Today they had some eyeshadows (I don't need ANY of that) and mascara. Now, I have a little 'thing' about mascara. First, I ADOREdinky mascaras. If I can smell one within my vicinity, I will have to have it. (We can all thank Sephora for that addiction! Bless their hearts!!) But I also like trying out new full-sized mascaras. I've tried just washing my face and putting on mascara and I instantly look better. So, the HEB had two Ioni mascaras and one of them was the last one, so you know I had to have them both. Each of them was $2.25:
Both are waterproof and both very black. I have short, sparse eyelashes, so I'm looking forward to the effects of both of these. Of course I've opened both and I'm dying to try to try them out. Sunday will be FUN makeup day around here. The boys will probably hide from me. Neither of them is wild about makeup to begin with and I think these are SCREAMING, "Do a smokey eye, do a SMOKEY eye!!" They HATE smokey eyes on me; say it's not my nature to have all that dark makeup on. I love it! It's so different and sometimes a girl just likes to be different. Anyway, I also found two types of false eyelashes in the 'demi-wispies' style that I love so much. You'd be surprised how hard these are to find. I bought two pair:
I've never had false eyelashes from either of these brands (my bathroom lighting is horrible - sorry for the glare), so one of these will be tried tomorrow, as well. I'll do pictures of whatever I come up with. You'll humor me because you want me to stay out of the refrigerator and playing with makeup does that for me! :) I can't wait to try these out!
So, for eating today here is what I had:
Breakfast - Jimmy Dean Egg Whites, Spinach and Cheese Breakfast sandwich w/a slice of ham (220 calories)
Lunch - My Fit Foods Cobb Salad (300 calories) plus about a half ounce of baked tortilla chip crumbs (60 calories)
Snack - A Grande Mocha Frappuchino Light w/an extra shot of espresso (130 calories)
Supper - My Fit Foods Almond Crusted Chicken (small) (360 calories)
Total for the day - 1,070 calories! (Oh, MG I did it again!) I under ate yet again, without EVEN trying! I'm sorry to sound so excited, but you just really don't know how fantastic this is. I mean, I know I can over eat without thinking about it, but I've NEVER been able to just eat what I wanted and it would be LESS than I was supposed to eat! The neat thing is, I've been really satisfied all day, as well. This is just so GREAT! I hope I'm getting the hang of eating the right amount.
Be sure to watch Janelle's video up above and subscribe to her on YouTube (if you're interested). Her nail designs are pretty easy to recreate and really cute! I love her work. If everybody watches her, she'll do more!! For now, it's time for me to go walk on the treadmill (I didn't walk last night, so It's make-up time). Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
In previous episodes, you'll recall I agonized over the food for this day and as it turned out, I didn't need to. It went fine. However, I'm completely bad because I didn't take any pictures of what I ate (which I promised to do...I'm sorry), so here is the list instead...and NO this was not a ploy to write a list, but I should have thought of that! ;)
Breakfast - I stopped at the nearest Starbucks and got a tea (um...my favorite) and their Bacon and Gouda Artisan Breakfast Sandwich (350 calories)
Lunch - Sushiya Hawaiian Roll (from HEB) (320 calories)
Dinner - Jimmy Dean Delights Spinach and Egg whites Sandwich with Mozzarella Cheese (and I added a slice of HEB pepper ham) (200 calories)
Snack - 1 package of pretzel chips and Laughing Cow Cheese (160 calories)
Total Calories for the day = 1,030 (that's it!) Oh, MG!! I ate out, was on the run and completely UNDER ate for the day. (Excuse me while I 'happy' dance!)
I really like the Starbucks breakfast foods. Calorie wise they are great, as long as you avoid the 500 calorie 'classic' sandwich. I like the one I had and the one with the veggies in it. Sushi is a good option at lunch and I was totally filled up with my Hawaiian Roll. My local HEB does a great job with Sushi and I think I chose well. Those little containers keep me honest and I checked the label thoroughly before choosing my option. I watch the salt and the calories. The thing that is still hard for me is how small a right portion actually looks. Will I ever get over this? Since I was out of My Fit Foods options for dinner, I had to make do and I did fine with the frozen breakfast sandwich (who says you can't have breakfast for dinner?), adding a slice of ham. It was a good day!
I'm still working on getting my son's room ready for school. Dad did all the hard work; cleaning out the closet, painting and hanging the new floating desk. The work area is all set up and now I'm just trying to get new bedding in place to make it look more like a teenager's room instead of a little boy's room. Also, I'm working to get his school supplies in place I have everything, I just need to organize it so that he can easily get to everything. Our son has a tendency to be disorganized, so I want to make this as easy for him as possible to be orderly. Since school is now virtual, I have to make sure that all systems are go with his school computer, as well. They use Adobe Connect for the classes, so I have to make sure all of that is set up. We're all very excited about this new way of doing school. I'm sure he is going to love it!
I'm still working on the carnival video. I should have it done by Sunday night. People don't realize what kind of investment an artist makes in their work. I always think of my videos as art...nonsense art sometimes, but art all the same. Thanks for your patience.
I love that I feel healthier everyday, but I sure do want this fat off me. Day 60 is coming up fast and I'm worried that my pictures won't show how much I've lost. I hope they do and regardless of what they show, I know that I'm doing my best. It will all be okay in the end.
Now it's getting to be time for a walk. I have a new knee brace that should make that a better experience for me. It just really stinks to get old. So, until day 36, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
P.S. Anyone who knows me well, knows I love nails and nail art. Here is a video to surprise and delight you. Oh, and it's Chanel, of course! Enjoy!!
Today wasn't Friday. I knew that right away when I got to the office and saw all the people dragging around with that, "It's really not Friday" look on their faces. I don't care! I love Thursday and it was a great one in my book. Someone made me laugh today; I had to give difficult feedback and the person understood and took it well; it was just a really productive and good day. I like to feel I earn my money (I don't want freebies at work) and so it always feels good to know I had the kind of day that gave value to my company. Solve problems and add value; that's what I do.
I had a mixture of My Fit Foods and frozen today. Food is a bit of a mixture at the moment. I've looked at the nutrition and there are some frozen options that I do like that fit into my plan. Being a person who avoids throwing babies out with bathwater, I hated to say completely "NO" to frozen options when some might work well for me. Having eaten my last available MFF and frozen meal option, I will have to replenish supplies tomorrow...or Saturday...maybe. You see, I'm trying to not have to stop somewhere tomorrow because I have some things I want to do tomorrow and food wasn't one of them. I have breakfast covered and I think I would like some sushi tomorrow for lunch. So, dinner is my issue. I don't know what I'm going to do about dinner, yet. I'll write about that tomorrow. So, in case you can't see the real problem here, let me identify it for you: It is Thursday night, 7:58 PM and I am totally consumed and yes, worried about food for tomorrow? There is so much wrong with this that I don't even know where to begin! This is why I don't want to go to the store or MFF more than once a week. So, the idea of using MFF and some frozen will keep me from having to do that. I will eat the MFF for the first 4-5 days after I pick it up (when it is fresh) and then do the last couple of days frozen. This will keep me to a schedule of only having to go deal with arranging for food once a week on Saturday. I'll take pictures of what I eat tomorrow to document how I make out. After all this, I better do GREAT!
I'm still working on editing the video and pictures from my company carnival yesterday. It was a truly fun day. The group of employees who put it all together did a great job. It was HOT out, so the only thing I ask is to put the carnival next year in May instead of August. That's my feedback! Otherwise, GREAT FUN! I'll get the video up as soon as possible.
Tonight I want to share a video of some lovely products that I'm currently enjoying in my own makeup bag. Have I told you how much I love Chanel?
The powder, mascara and lipstick are perfect. The only one I don't currently have is the blush. It will be making an appearance in my makeup bag soon! Chanel is the best and I deserve the best! (Lisa Eldridge is so talented, knowledgeable and beautiful. I follow her videos and blogs and they have changed my life.)
So, that's it for me today. I am going to start my 'go to bed' process and have some spa fun with my skin. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
Another great day in the neighborhood! I haven't talked about it much in this blog, but I am a cancer survivor. I am a very blessed cancer survivor. My stage 3 Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma was discovered (I had no symptoms) on my left kidney while my physician was checking up on something else. It really was a miracle. I had a complete nephrectomy in January 2011 and am doing just fine. I have the best doctors in the world who take really good care of me and family/friends who are so very supportive. One thing that has to be done regularly is a check-up, for my doctors to make sure that there is no recurrence of the cancer (this will go on for 10 years before I'm called 'cancer-free'). It seems that Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma is a nasty cancer that likes to take up residence in other parts of a body it has once inhabited. That means that I have to see my doctors regularly for them to look for this nasty beast in my lungs, kidney (it's sister is sadly gone) and liver. It started out being once every three months, but I've been promoted to once every 6 months! So, two weeks ahead of an appointment I have to visit a radiologist and a phlebotomist to have x-rays (or CT Scans or an MRI) done and blood drawn. All that to say, today was the radiology/blood day! This appointment required x-rays, so no problem there, they go quickly and are focused on my lungs. But the Phlebotomist! Oh, MY!! If they don't listen to me, we have problems. I can turn into a pin-cushion real quickly. The one today, did not listen. I would have given her an 'F' grade had she not redeemed herself in the end by saying, "I should have listened to you, the client!" Because of that, I gave her a 'C'. Lets just say I'm not an easy draw and I'll sport the bruise from the draw I asked her not to do for more than a week. And where did she finally get the blood she needed? From right where I told her she'd get it! When you know; you know.
I went into the office early today so that I could get through all the appointments this afternoon without any problem. Thanks to my boss for being so flexible with me. It helped in other ways, since traffic has been really bad lately. Going in earlier was very helpful. I considered officially changing my schedule, but honestly, as long as I get my work done and keep my boss in the know, she doesn't care what hours I do! I love that and so much more about my work.
Progress continues to be made getting ready for school and we're all very excited about 'virtual high school'. That gets underway in less than 2 weeks. So the bottom-line is that we are all doing normal things around here. I'm sure many people saw a doctor today for various reason, drove in traffic and are getting ready for school, I just choose to write about it here. It helps me...I don't know why it helps me, but it does. I love to write and it keeps me away from food and eating.
Thanks for humoring my need to share. I'll spare you a list and haven't shot any video today, so you're free to go, now. Except...until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties! ;)
Clothes are falling off me! Okay, maybe not to the floor, but I had to yank my skirt up all day. Excuse me while I dance and giggle...thanks, I needed to do that. My Fit Foods works; in so many ways, it works. As you recall, I'm using how I feel, look in the mirror and how my clothes fit to tell me how I'm doing. Today, I know I'm doing GREAT!
I've found myself doing some extra thinking about food the last few days. I'm not sure why, but I'm keeping myself busy with life and etc. to help divert my thinking. It would be nice to not have this food problem, but at least I'm so satisfied I'm not giving in to it. Also, I know I can have a cheat meal if I want it. I just don't want it. The experience of having your skirt falling down because your hips are smaller is worth not having the taste of a hamburger! Like I've said before and will say again, "Nothing tastes better than losing this weight feels."
So, I may be lying a little when I say I don't know why I've been thinking about food. I've been struggling with breakfast. I got kind of tired real quick with the MFF breakfasts. I don't like their eggs, really and also, I don't really want eggs every day. So, I've had to think a little more about breakfast and thinking about, watching, handling, or doing anything with food MAKES ME WANT TO EAT!! I know I should cut it out, but I have to solve problem, so that just means that I have to get this solved quickly so I don't have to think about it any more.
We have two weeks left until school starts. That means we're putting the finishing touches on our son's room and new workspace. It is really looking great! As soon as the new bedding comes in and the room is fully dressed I'll do a collage. He has a newly painted closet with new closet system just like his mom. After a little rest, dad will be next! I'll get this family organized and clutter free or die doing it!
It's getting late and I need to walk. Did you hear that? I NEED to walk. That's right I really do. So, see you tomorrow when another of the days will be done. Until then, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
Virtually a month has passed since I started this new journey to FINALLY be right; normal...HEALTHY! I've wasted more than half a century fiddling around with something that is really so simple, that I'm just totally ashamed. This isn't nuclear science! It's eating correctly (clearly, something I wouldn't have recognized if it had bit me on my nose) and getting proper exercise. I've been studying healthy, fit people and there are some things that are very common about these folks. So, yes I've made a list (I'm so happy!) of the top 10 things that I've noticed, so far.
Top 10 Things Fit People Have In Common
Fit people are not afraid of, nor do they dislike sweat and they do it regularly. I had to make friends with sweat. I hated it and now that I understand what it does, how it works and how GREAT I feel after sweating, I am doing it more and more regularly.
Fit people care about what they put in their mouths. Okay, maybe unfit people do too, but most of the unfit people I know (pretty much my whole family) will eat whatever as long as it was prepared properly and doesn't eat them first!
Fit people have a proper understanding of what food is and is not. I, on the other hand, had a weird relationship with food (the subject of which will be featured in a future blog. 'smile')
Fit people don't care how far away from the door they have to park their car. Yes, I was one of those people who would drive around trying to park close to the door. Why? Because I'm stupid and lazy. Was! Sorry...was stupid and lazy. I'm reformed!
Fit people play sports! I've always wanted to have a sport to play, study and talk about. Most people wouldn't know it, but I always wanted to learn to play golf. My dad taught the boys, but he wouldn't teach me. Chauvinist! My dad was that and so much more. Sorry dad, but the truth is the truth! (Don't worry! He's dead and has forgotten all about it.)
Fit people keep physically busy. I've noticed that most of the fit people around me are always doing something active. Cleaning, yard work, volunteering and etc. People like the former 'Me' spend a lot of time saying things like, "I can clean the house later...I'm just too tired!"
Fit people don't catch as many 'bug' illnesses. The fit people I know at work (yes, there are a few there) don't call out sick much. Neither did I, but I also worked when I was sick, because even though I don't call out, I catch lots of stuff! I'm hoping that will be better now.
Fit people are more favorably thought of in social settings than their unfit friends. I know this because, one, I have eyes and can see and two, because I was unfit (okay, still am but changing my ways) and can clearly see the difference between how people treat me vs. my fit friends.
Fit people have LOTS more options for fun and adorable clothing.Man! I can't WAIT to be able to wear cuter clothes!!
Fit people don't scare the neighbors when they go outside in their bikini top and shorts! It will be over 100 degrees presently, so yes, I'll be scaring the neighbors some today. 'smile'
I wrote earlier in the week (Day 27) about some of the things I want out of life. The above, I suppose, could be just more of that. I want what fit people have. This work I'm doing to renovate me is going to get me what I want. In the meantime, I need to be busy. As I've noted, fit people are busy people! So, besides doing more 'active' things like keeping my house and car cleaner, I will be writing more in the blog. I will start a bi-weekly blog posting where I'll write about the book(s) I read over the previous 2 weeks. I think I'll call the posts: Tome Time [Date]. This will help the readers know that the posting is about what I've been reading for the two weeks ahead of the date listed. I LOVE to read, but it is amazing how the unimportant, urgent (usually urgent for someone else) things of life can squeeze the things you love right out of your day! This will keep me focused and making time for reading knowing I need to write about that. There are other blog subjects that I want to start writing about and I'll be developing these ideas as I move along. I hope you'll enjoy them all! By the way, if you don't see a blog about what I've been reading in exactly two weeks from now (Sunday, August 25) please kick me in my a**! :) I've been playing with some pictures today, comparing what I looked like just 30 days ago and I'm pleased with the results so far. I won't be taking any new pictures until next month, but until then here are some pictures from long ago that show me (more fit and more fat) than I am today and provide a glimpse into what I think fit vs. fat looks like. Enjoy!
FAT
Okay, so above is me, FAT! And what did I care about? Eating mostly. Food I cooked and food I bought already made and you can see that that got me! Oh, and the MESS in the garage was there because I was "too tired" do clean it up! Shameful!!!!
FIT
And here we have my representation of fit, or at least more fit than fat. All of the 'women' in these two collages are me. In the fit representation above it was 2008 and I had worked off 107 lbs. of nasty FAT, only to allow illness and other stresses put it back on. I want to avoid this in future...been there; done that!
In the collages above there are some random pictures of food which probably makes sense to you, but there are some rooms that probably don't make sense. Well, notice that the room depicted in the 'fat' collage is a MESS and the one in the 'fit' collection is beautifully uncluttered and clean. Also, I can get my car in the garage because I had the energy to clean it out!
So, fit vs. fat. What does it mean to you? To me it is the difference between living the life of a defeated person and a person who has great experiences. I want to be the later of these two people. Please, GOD! Help me be fit!!! Until tomorrow and another beautiful day in my world, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
How long does it take UPS to deliver a box? If it is a 5' tall, 37 lb. box containing a Rubbermaid Closet Organization system, it takes FORVER! Apparently my box that was put on a delivery truck at 6:29am Tuesday morning, is lost. Amazon has kindly sent a replacement, but I had to push for it. They wanted me to wait another week to see if UPStupid finds the box. You must be joking? Find it! They don't even want to talk to me about it. I started trying to think of how in the world they could have LOST this package and I suppose there are lots of places for a breakdown, but honestly! I wonder how much merchandise is lost (read 'stollen') just through shipping? I'm terribly afraid I would choke on the number. Thankfully, this is the first time this has happened to me, but I feel sorry for Amazon.com. They are out of pocket for two systems. I hope they can get some money back from UPStupid. (If you can't tell, I don't like UPS. Please use FedEx or USPS if you ever want your package to arrive.) So, that's been my afternoon; talking to UPStupid and Amazon.com about a missing shipment. Just what I wanted to do on my afternoon off. Well, not really, but I'm all about finding the happy in everything.
For the last couple of days I've been stuck in some terrible traffic and around some pretty bad drivers. I'm probably going to change my schedule again so that I can avoid these people. I really liked the 7-4 schedule, but sometimes I find it hard to get out of the office by 4. I'll just have to do better!
As day 28 is winding down, I can say that I'm happier than ever with MFF. I do want to stress that I'm still trying to figure out the best combination of foods for different days and am doing better at figuring it out. With snacks, added fruit and the meals, I figure I'm eating between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. Some days it is actually less than 1,200 calories! Before I started this I did a little calculating and found that to be gaining weight at my then weight of 270 lbs. and at the rate I was gaining, I had to have been consuming more than 4,000 calories per day. It was easy to see that most days were more like 5,000 calories. So, when I say I can eat VOLUMES of food, please understand that I know what I'm talking about.
One of the things I'll be doing this weekend, is going through my local grocery store (HEB) and looking for all of the food that is pre-packaged in a single portions and determining if it is something I can use in future. For example, I really love salsa and chips. You can buy salsa by the jar and a bag of chips, but then we run into the Nancy problem: Portion Size. (My what big portions you have!) So, I learned that a company called Sabra produces a single serve salsa and chips with total calories of 120! If I can't get that I'm going to look for just single serve chips that are okay for me to eat and get some salsa and create my own single portion setups that I can keep in the fridge. A snack of 120 calories of chips and salsa would be real satisfying sometimes. I know there are other options out there that I've just been missing. I love the MFF, but I also want to be able to function nicely when MFF isn't available. That means I need to be a bit more savvy. So, I'll be working on that this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'll also be stocking up on MFF to cover Saturday-Tuesday!
Funny to think that we Americans have always had to be reminded to keep fit. The poster above is from WWII and even with all that was going on back then, I'm sure there were people just like me who got out of control. I really do think I have a duty to get and stay fit for my family, friends, coworkers and others around me. It's real easy to think of obesity as just MY problem, but it isn't. It affects all of the people around me. Just like their smoking, drinking and other bad behaviors affect me. Now, I'm not saying that everyone should look at this like I do, it just helps me to think of the people around me. That's just how I'm wired. Honestly though, can you guys quit smoking and drinking, please? Remember, I asked nicely!
Today is walk on the treadmill day! I have a new mild brace for my left knee (the one I shattered 15 years ago) and I'm hoping that will help reduce pain in the left leg. My left hip is not as sore today as it has been over the last week, so I don't want it to wake up and start hurting again. As I walk I'll think of all you out there working along with me to get and stay FIT! Until day 29, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
Update: Walked 31minutes and 48 seconds tonight on the treadmill! Happy, happy, happy...
We are swiftly approaching the 30 day mark. Not that it's all that important, as this will take as long as it takes, but 30 days is good. It says, "Nancy has the habit of eating with thought and exercising regularly." In the face of those facts, I don't want to screw it up!
Last weekend was a test of my ability to do the right thing, at least most of the time. I did okay. Not perfect, but okay. So, check! I can travel and not go berserk with food. What I didn't do is exercise and it was something I should have done. My sister would say that I exercised walking all over the place with her, but as we ALL know, it isn't the same. So, the days march on and I continue to work at this getting me where I should be thing.
As I'm working on this renovation of myself, I'm putting lots of thought into what I really want out of life. For so many years, I just wanted to survive. I felt like that was all I was ever going to be able to do, so I got into the habit of surviving being enough. Then I had a child and I needed to think about making sure he has everything he needs. Now, it seems that with all the work I put into 'surviving' and raising my family and preparing for everyone's future, I'm finally in a place where I can relax long enough to consider what Ireallywant out of life. So, what the heck do I really want?
Yes, you know I can't stand it and I HAVE to write a list! So, here is an initial list of what I want out of life (I probably want more than this, but I have to have some secrets, don't I?):
I Want...
...a doctor to tell me that my blood work is NORMAL. (i.e. no high bad cholesterol, no pre-diabetes, no cancer indicators, NO NOTHING!)
...to be able to walk and walk and not think I'm going to pass out!
...my normal activity and approach to food to simply be normal and right.
...to blend in with the world because I'm NORMAL. (catching a theme here?)
...the experience of going into a normal store and selecting a normal sized clothing item off the rack and trying it on and it fits perfectly.
...the experience of wearing a beautiful fancy dress and not think people are saying to themselves, "She's really too fat for that look!"
...a life of quality that allows me to get around and experience new people, places and things without worrying what people are thinking of me.
...not to be sick because I'm fat.
...the people I love (and you know who you are) to be proud to be seen with me (and you know you aren't right now).
...my body to experience less pain because I'm not forcing it to carry 130 lbs. of extra me around!
...to know what it's like not to be judged by my fat.
...to fulfill my dreams (this is an entirely separate list) and no, I'm not telling you what those are!
I guess you could call this the start of a bucket list, but not really. The bucket isn't even in my thoughts! Most of my wants are not really tangible. I can't go and buy them or make them. All I know is that I can't seem to get any of these things that I really want, until I fix this overeating, food obsessed, lazy ass of mine!! "Wow! That's kind of harsh, Nancy," I hear you saying. I call 'em as I see 'em, honey! No one else can fix this problem. I have to change. It's like telling a depressed person to, "Snap out of it!" Well, so far, I haven't been able to snap out of my issues and make the changes stick. This time, I'm doing things differently with the 'sticky' part being the prime focus. I know now that I can't solve my eating issues, while trying to prepare 3 meals a day for my family. Maybe other people can do it, but I can't. I've proved I can't and so, I am no longer a good home cook. In fact, I'm no cook at all. That avenue of pleasure has been closed off and we don't want it opened up again! Yes, cooking was a great pleasure, but not because of the act of preparing the meals! If you think that, you're wrong. NOPE! I became and held onto being a good...no, GREAT cook, because it allowed me to eat. As the cook, I had to taste everything, didn't I? Of course! Yes, I admit it. I cooked because I wanted to eat and I only wanted to eat delicious food. Oh, and yes, LOTS of it!! Oh, I'm admitting lots today! So, I don't want to cook anymore, or even handle much food. I need the food to be ready for me to eat and so, MFF is what I use and they are GREAT! I will also use frozen when I need to, but all my food needs to be prepared for me.
The exercise is coming along nicely. I actually like exercising, but just prefer to do it outside. It's just too hot to do it here at the moment. I'm also working up to being able to be outside for more than 30 minutes walking. It will all be okay with the exercise...I have confidence.
So, I've spilt my guts (isn't that a pretty picture?) and now it's time to go get myself ready for rest. I had a tough night last night with leg/foot cramps that drug me out of bed several times. I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure it will all be okay. I will sleep well tonight...please let it be so! Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
What is it with me lately that I skip a day of writing about what's going on around here! Yesterday I think it was...well...who knows what kept me occupied. Things are just always hoppin' here lately. The sad truth is that I am a hyper person who is easily distracted. So, my son, who is easily distracted, comes by his affliction honestly.
Before I get into anything else, just let me say this, My Fit Foods, just DO IT! This is the only way to eat. I LOVE IT! Food is finally what it's supposed to be. I'd write a list about what food has been to me, but I'll spare you that until later. I'm still identifying all the things I made food into besides what it is, nourishment.
I'm getting better at making the exercise regular. My goal is Monday/Wednesday/Friday 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill at 3 miles per hour. Well, goal one is that. I'm not there yet. For the moment I'm doing 20 minutes, but I'm getting there. This hip thing I'm dealing with is nasty and making me MAD, but it will be resolved. The weight is coming off! I can tell in my clothes and every day it is better.
This trip to healthy land is the last time I'm going to make the journey. That's because when I get there, I'm movin' in! In my faith we call our bodies temples. However, my temple was on the verge of being condemned! I want my temple to be a mansion!! All decorated with the healthiest skin, organs, hair, nails, teeth, joints...you name it!! My mansion/temple is going to be the envy of the other temple owners. Okay, so that's probably an exaggeration, but I have high aspirations!!
Yesterday and today were the two days back in the office after a couple of days off. You can only imagine what that was like. CRAZY!! I love taking off, but WOW the first couple of days back can be MURDER! Yet, here I am. I successfully vanquished the email, solved problems and made nice as best I could. That's what I do, solve problems and make nice.
Now, the problem is to get myself to bed. I've determined that I need 9 hours of sleep each day to feel great and so, I'm going to go get those hours! Until the next blog, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
Back to the normal routine, is how I would describe today. I awoke this morning at 6am, mainly because I had set an alarm on my cell phone to wake me up while I was away and forgot to disengage it. Oops! So, I was awake whether I wanted to be or not. The morning was mainly about watching the boys groom the yard, which they did, beautifully. I took some video of how we've updated the front seating area and added a place to eat comfortably. It is really working well. Also, I was lucky enough to capture some video of a hummingbird taking advantage of the Compact Spicy Jatropha plant (Jatropha integerrima 'Compacta') and the special feeder put up just for them. Enjoy the video!
The day is hot (at 4:48pm it is 99F degrees), but lovely on the front porch. I'm eating well and on plan with My Fit Foods in the fridge. Day 60 is when I will try on my black dress and see if I made it to my first goal point. I'm really tempted to go in and try the dress on now, but then I think it will either disappoint me or make me cocky. I'd hate to start thinking I can reach my goals in half the time because it will be sad when I don't make my benchmarks. So, I will wait for the right time, keep walking and eating as right as possible. Just remember, I'm not a machine! (That's what I tell myself when my nail art looks less than perfect!)
I sent away today for the packet of information that allows me, as a parent, to provide my child with driver training in the State of Texas. Apparently, this much harder than it used to be. My son will be 15 on his next birthday and it's time to start learning to be a safe Texas driver. Is there such a thing? Not in this town! People here drive CRAZY. Don't believe me? Hop on over to YouTube to my channel (you can search for Nancy Hemati) and watch any of my 'Commute' videos. You'll see what I mean!
It's been a lovely day off of work and now it's time to do laundry and get ready for the rest of the week. Go look for someone like My Fit Foods (myfitfoods.com) in your area. They are wonderful and have really changed my life and how I think about food. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
Apparently I cannot find time to write a blog posting when I visit my sister. Today is actually number 23 of the 365 days of this journey to better health. On Day 21 I was enjoying a day of shopping and visiting with my best girlfriend and sister, Gena. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without her. She and I are about 8 years apart, so we have had times in our lives when we weren't as close as we are today. That is as it probably is with most sisters. The whole weekend was just a big round of visiting, shopping and seeing the sights. I LOVED it, but was ready for home, too.
We used My Fit Foods while in Dallas (where my sister lives) and it was just as convenient and delicious as it is here in Austin. We also had lunch on Saturday at P.F. Chang's (I love that place) and really enjoyed the meal. I got lots of exercise walking and such and feel great! I can't wait until Gena comes to visit me next month!
I continue to have some pain in my hip. I stretch and stretch, but nothing seems to make it go away. The pain makes me walk funny and is causing my knee on that leg, ache. It is sad, but I'm quite a klutz and have been all my life. (My father always introduced me as his daughter who, "trips over puffs of smoke and blades of grass." I grew up surrounded by comedians.) Therefore, I've suffered several injuries to the leg attached to the currently achey hip. I shattered the patella on my left knee in 1990 and broke the left ankle in 2004 (actually, I broke both ankles in 2004...at the same time. Don't try this as it is really boring.) and now this hip. I'm concerned now that I may have awoken something in my hip that is not just an injury, but something else. So, yes, I'll go see a doctor about it. Regardless of what is going on, I will continue to work toward health. I'm thinking that there may be arthritis going on here. I hope not, but I'm just at a loss as to why it doesn't seem to be getting any better.
Tomorrow, day 24, I will be off work so that I can help my son get ready for school. He'll be attending a virtual high school and needs to complete an online orientation. The same for my husband. As learning coaches, we have to learn how it all works. We are very excited about the school and are looking forward to making it a GREAT experience for our son.
So, that's about it for now. Everything is going along well and I feel so much better, even with a painful hip. Thanks for checking in! I'm looking forward to tomorrow and what it will bring! Until then, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
Marvelous Monday! That is the best description of today. I was able to complete the enrollment process for our son's high school, which I've been concerned about for over a week now. All is satisfactorily completed and I'm so happy to have that off my mind.
There are a couple of changes that have been made around here recently that are having some wonderful consequences. One is that as we move along the whole family is now eating more of their meals as My Fit Food meals. The 'boys' had to be convinced that the meals would be tasty and portions would be enough. They are sufficiently convinced. I'm still eating 3 meals a day from MFF and they are up to 2 per day. The balanced nature of the meals is proving to be a lot more enticing than expected! I've done a list of why MFF makes sense, but we're also adding to the list that there are a LOT less dishes to do using MFF! I'm thrilled with the personal physical results and all the other savings that have come along with using the MFF services. I can't imagine ever being without MFF again!
The other change that is going to lead to an improved experience is the new high school my son will attend starting this school year. He will now attend an online charter school for high school. This will eliminate TONS of wasted time for him and should lead to a better learning experience. He was complaining previously that more than half of each class period is always taken up with the teacher dealing with disruptive students. Without these distractions the learning should be better and more efficient. There are other problems that this solves. No more driving to and from the school and waiting for him to go in or come out. No gas investment and no wear on the vehicle, plus the road will have one less vehicle in traffic, every day! Add on top of that the fact that there are 4,000 other students from our state attending the school, that is in effect closing down a large brick and mortar school and eliminating the costs of running that facility! We are really excited for our son and wish him the best learning experience, ever! So, lots of changes and lots of benefits, but then again, I look for the benefits.
I promised pictures of my deep red or as they were called Black Red roses and here they are:
Black Bacarra Red Roses $5.99 a dozed from my HEB!
I'm going to spend some of the time I'm saving not cooking learning how to take better pictures! I love photography, but I don't really know anything about it, so I can spend time learning now. Like most people I love many things about life. There is much beauty around me; music, books, art of all kinds, creative people, amazing people who are skilled at saving lives, they are all around me and they are all beautiful. I love life. Easy everyday, it is not, but still, I love my life and I wouldn't trade it with anyone else.
I must do a better job of sleeping tonight, so off I go. Thanks for checking in on me. Stick around for more! No telling what's next. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!
A little slice of heaven; paradise on earth. That is what this weekend has been. The weather was SO nice yesterday I was left speechless (no small feat). Today started out warmer, but the clouds are rolling in and out, so we'll see what happens. Since we have added more 'stuff' to our little outdoor slice of paradise, I've taken some more video. Here is what I have:
Sorry the video is so shaky...don't know what my problem is except I'm a terrible videographer! You get the idea anyway. I'm also slowly loosing my voice, so no cracks about sounding like an old man or a frog!
I took some still shots of the seating area and made a little collage:
Some different angles on things. That HUGE tropical in the back from the video that I didn't know the name of...I searched online and found that it is a type of banana plant. I've never seen any fruit and it started out as a house plant that someone bought for us. When it died, or seemed dead in the pot, we tossed it out there to decompose, but instead it took root and grew. Year over year, it dies back to the ground and comes back to what you see in the back of the picture in the middle of the collage (to the right, back). A beautiful plant. I love it!
I also took some video of the Purple Martin family that flies around eating mosquitos. Love them too!
Just in case you're interested, I take all my pictures with a Panasonic Lumix 8x Optical Zoom and 14 mega pixels camera. I also took the videos on this particular blog with the same camera. I have an additional video camera that I use and I'll shoot the next videos that I upload with that camera.
While at the HEB yesterday I bought myself some long stemmed roses. They had all kinds of colors for $5.99 per dozen. All of the colors were beautiful and I wish I could afford to buy them all, but narrowed it down to just one dozen of what they called 'Black Red' roses. I have taken pictures of them, but my collage app isn't working right, so I'll figure that out and put the collage in tomorrow's blog. I love roses and am not afraid to buy them for myself.
Food has been great so far (MFF today for every meal) and will for the rest of the day I'm sure. I won't call myself a 'reformed' overeater yet, but the day will come when I can. I will not do a cheat today. There were cheats earlier in the week and I'm not really interested in eating anything other than the MFF meals I have in my fridge. It is just SO nice not to have to think about food. I'll probably stop writing about food...some day...maybe.
The rest of the day is devoted to laundry and fun! Wish you where here!! Until tomorrow, happy trails, Sweeties!!
The days are clicking by! There are points in my life when I want the time to slow down and then there are moments like this. I'm doing well and I want to experience the results of my work. I want to slow down, but I want results quickly. This time around I'm working to learn to enjoy the journey and not be constantly looking ahead to my goal points. It's hard not to want to see results, but I don't want to miss the more subtle results indicators that come from cleaning up my habits.
One thing that I knew would happen and I've just been waiting for, is that clean feeling. That's the only way I know to explain it. It is a distinctive feeling I get when sugar cravings are gone and nutritionally my body is getting what it needs. The last time I lost weight it took me more than 2 weeks to feel this way, but I can honestly say that today, day 13, I feel clean. I'm not craving salt or sugar (I've been controlling salt intake over the last 13 days, as well as sugar), my portion sizes are where they should be, I'm eating a diet balanced with good carbs, protein and the right fats and best of all, I'm satisfied...truly satisfied! Maybe it's because I want my health back so much, but honestly, I have to be done with eating bad food, big portions and empty calories. At my age, this is getting harder to deal with and I have things I want to do! The fat is just in the way.
After a week of telling you about My Fit Foods (MFF) I can say that this will be how I eat for as long as MFF will let me. I don't have any desire to cook as long as I don't have to. Okay, I'll scramble myself an egg now and then, but putting meals together, no...I'm not doing it. I love my family and they know that I do. I don't have to cook big meals for them anymore for them to know I love them. In fact, it's killing the whole family, me doing that, so I HAVE to stop it right now! So, thank you, MFF! I LOVE YOU!! Go to their website and read up on them at myfitfoods.com.
This will have been a tough week for me when it's all over! As you recall, I had a business dinner earlier in the week (Tuesday) and now I have another one Friday night! When I eat out, I'll provide a photo of my plate so everyone can see what I end up eating. This should help keep me honest. I like to make sure I know I'm not fooling anyone! I hope the group of people I'm taking will not be interested in a place that serves nothing but fried food! I've pretty much felt like I could eat anywhere except a fried food place. Fried food is just bad...really bad. I'm afraid of fried food. Fried food is now my kryptonite!!
I'm off to enjoy the evening. Until tomorrow, sweet dreams, Sweeties!!
Twelve days? What?? This means I've been focused on being healthy for almost two weeks and I'm feeling great! Something else, I'm also NOT hungry. That's right! The bottomless pit of constant hunger is NOT, REALLY NOT, hungry. Way to go!! Whoop, Whoop!!!! Okay, this may not be a big deal to you, but it's HUGE for me. Ask any one; I am ALWAYS hungry. Pardon me, I WAS always hungry, but I'm not any more. And honestly, I never want to go back to being constantly consumed by food ever again.
So, today I had three MFF (My Fit Food) meals and I loved every single one of them. These were ALL 4 face meals! Here is what I had:
Lemon Turkey for Breakfast
Almond Crusted Chicken for Lunch
Blazin' Cajun Shrimp for Dinner
I added fruit to Breakfast and Lunch, ate plain non-fat greek yogurt with a small amount of frozen sliced strawberries for a snack. Really a good, portion controlled day.
Why I love My Fit Foods Today
I did not have to plan the meals I ate today.
I did not have to shop for the groceries for the meals I ate today.
I did not have to stand in the kitchen for hours to cook the meals I ate today.
I did not have to get home from work and FORCE myself to cook when I didn't want to.
I did not have to throw away food today.
I did not have to worry about cooking food that temps me to eat too much.
I did not have to LOOK at a frozen meal package! (YUCK!!)
I did not have to worry about what I was eating being the right size portion.
I did not have to worry about the food I ate being full of preservatives and additives.
I did not have to THINK about food, AT ALL, today!
Oh, happy day! I'm just so glad I have the support I need here to use MFF for as long as I want...forever would be nice. I don't know if I've lost any weight, but I sure do feel great and that is what it's all about.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and I hope you are, too! Until then, have a lovely sleep. Night, night, Sweeties!!
