Why I've Been Missing

These past few months have been pretty rough on me.  Just when I think I'm getting a handle on things like dealing with my chronic pain and healthy eating lifestyle, etc. I get slammed with a new problem.  I think my body is trying to take itself over and I have news for it... I won't take it lying down! LOL  

I  was recently diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Fibromyalgia on top of my numerous other issues.  I had no clue and kept attributing my additional aches and pains to "getting older" and my chronic back pain from the cancer just getting worse, etc.  The reality was my body was attacking itself once again.  Unfortunately the end results of this have been me gaining back 30 lbs of my lost weight, which spiraled me into a bit of a depression and angst with myself feeling like I was a big, fat loser again.  I'm not anywhere near where I had been physically and while I'm still working out in the pool it's not nearly as intense or as often.  I'm hoping to make a come back in this entire situation and start losing again.  Unfortunately I had turned to food again as a comfort and while, yes it's healthier options than ever before, my body hadn't been used to taking in extra amounts of food even if it's healthier foods. We are still going regularly though to the Y and I plan on continuing that no matter what. I'm so proud that we have now been members for over 1 year now!

On the brighter side the love of my life has now lost 81 lbs by following our healthy eating lifestyle.  He works out by enjoying some "hoops" at the YMCA and he's even joined a rec league for fun.  Every Tuesday he's enjoying a little fun and slight competition and he's just loving it.  He thanks me every day for changing his life and his views on it.  I simply comment that I nudged him into becoming more healthy for completely selfish reasons of wanting him in my life for many, many, many more years to come.  He also inspires me to go to the gym and do my pool workouts even when I'm truly not feeling like doing it and 9 times out of 10 I'm really glad I did it.  My pain levels are unreal lately and I'm dealing with that but I will overcome this barrier as I have all others.

The rest of my life seems to just be coming together as we move on.  My oldest daughter has moved 2 hours away and I miss her so much.  My twins are still here in town but we don't see each other nearly enough at all.  I miss the mom thing.  Nobody ever told me that when they fly the coop they tend to stay away much longer than you want them to. LOL  But my guy and I have found ways to keep busy and enjoying life together now and I've come to grips with the fact that life changes and this is a right of passage for my kids to have their own lives and grow up.  I'll always love them and be so proud of them and will just cherish the moments we do have together.  This year we're celebrating our Thanksgiving dinner with the kids on Saturday after Thanksgiving.  It's our way to still celebrate together, allow them to go to "boyfriends' houses and girlfriends' houses and work, etc." while still having our day together.  I'm okay with that for sure as I'd rather have them here on a different day as opposed to not seeing them.
I have also decided I'm working on a new weight loss system based on the glycemic index.  I've been cooking meals for us using the company's recipes and such and we seem to be doing well.  For me the hard part is I can't do the exercise part of the program but to be honest I can change things up enough to compensate I believe.  The program isn't yet released to the public but let me tell you when it does launch I'll definitely share the info here.  I used to use AssistU supplements (all natural) and it was also how my guy was doing so well with his losses but they are no longer in business.  It was a small company and unfortunately didn't take off in the amount of time needed to make a success.  I really miss the supplement because it truly was amazing.
So that's where I've been of late.  I apologize for kind of abandoning my readers.  I promise to start sharing my meals again and my progress because I AM going to get back to where I was and surpass that loss to get to goal.  I just really need the motivation and the hope of being in a little less pain.  I have found a supplement called Joint Health by Coral Advantage at the Dietary Foods Store here locally.  It's $37.95 for a month's supply and I have to say well worth it for the RA and Fibro symptoms thus far. 


Until next time I hope you stick to your healthy lifestyle or are inspired to begin one.  Please feel free to leave comments to get me pumped back up again... I will need it soon!

Wish me luck on my journey to trying to "eat more clean" and  healthy! 
Take care of the one body God gave you, please... before it's too late.
Inspire someone you love to do the same.
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!



Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

 Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter! His tips were very inspirational in helping me take many of his routines to the water so I have less pain while being able to move!



 

 BWJEN - Another WW Buddy and a 'bookworm' too!?



.



Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.

Celebrating Our Birthdays

This past weekend was "our" birthdays... mine July 16th & my sweetie's July 18th.  We have tended to make a long weekend out of it and this was no different. We started on Thursday and went through Monday. LOL  Okay so an EXTRA long weekend. I am so lucky. I have a wonderful "Sister In Law" - whom I just call my sister because technically my guy & I are not married nor will we ever be until we're both retired at least and because she's just like a sister.  Her son, our nephew, also celebrates his birthday around ours so she invited us up to enjoy lasagna, drinks and cheesecake which started our "celebration" on Thursday. Yes, I ate all of those things and I did not gain an ounce. As a matter of fact all weekend we partook of quite a few delightful items only in smaller portions and we hit the gym (in my case the pool as I've explained so many times before) to work out.  We loved having the extra time to do what we wanted for as long as we wanted and I literally spent HOURS in the water. For me this is like a slice of heaven on earth..... okay that and the Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake & the Cheesecake. LOL   My lesson in this paragraph:  YOU CAN EAT THINGS THAT ARE "BAD FOR YOU" BUT YOU CAN'T EAT THE ENTIRE CHEESECAKE OR THE ENTIRE DQ CAKE! PORTION CONTROL AND BURNING IT OFF WHEN YOU'RE DONE CREATES THE PERFECT COMBINATION TO KEEP FROM GAINING!!!!!  *Side note here... I would have LOVED to enjoy both the entire cheesecake and the entire DQ Cake as I am a sweets-a-holic.  Instead of waking and enjoying leftover DQ cake for breakfast, I awoke and had a good for me, organic bowl of Banilla Low Fat Yogurt with Fiber One (technically I buy Wegman's Fiber Essentials which is much cheaper) for breakfast and got my creamy, sweet flavoring.  Was it a DQ cake? Hellz no.  But was it good?  Double hellz yeah!  End result almost a week of "misbehaving" as some would see it (I don't) but doing extra hours in the water and actually I lost 0.8 lbs.   So let me recap this... I ate out almost every day of the week from Thursday THROUGH Monday.  I ate cheesecake.  I ate lasagna. I ate a steak (purchased the smallest one & cut it in half & accidentally dropped it.. oops on the floor so it was inedible) with steamed veggies (which I didn't really eat a ton of & mashed taties (which I ate all of).  I ate 2 pieces of DQ Cake (but normal sized pieces not 1/2 the cake per slice, nor did I allow myself to go back to eat more and more and more).  I also filled up on some good foods in the mornings to take me through the day so my portions would be reasonable.  I filled up on things like my organic yogurt with fiber cereal in it (did I mention that already? LOL), LaraBars = high protein and filling, took me well into late afternoon. When I was craving some sweetness I gave in to a fiber bar and not a candy bar (which I had eyed up at the checkout I might add) or once again my love and addiction - Stonyfield Banilla Yogurt with a few carob chips or a few Fiber One Caramel Delight pieces of cereal in it.

I  will confess to spending more than "normal" times both at the gym/pool - I was truly in heaven doing that because it was hot out plus I just love being in that water.  When I'm in the water I literally NEVER stop moving. I go to the deep end and if nothing else tread water for over an hour on top of whatever "exercising" I do.  I also confess, *smile included*, to spending a few more hours um... snuggling with my man & burning some calories too.  May I add that this is a WONDERFUL way to burn calories and stretch muscles... just saying. Celebrating has become more of an occasion than it ever was before for my/our birthdays yet we didn't really "buy" each other gifts or over indulge in huge cakes made for 20 people and only shared with 5 others.  We bought an ice cream cake to last the entire weekend that was made to feed 10-12 and fed 9 of us (keeping normal portion sizes).  We dined out together with friends and alone but ordered using our brains. I didn't go for the fried things and eat double portions that were brought out.  I did however indulge in some spinach artichoke dip (everyone gasp.. do you know the calories, the fat, etc. in this?!) but I didn't wipe out the entire bowl myself.  Three of us enjoyed it and had some left, of which the waitress asked if we wanted to take home and I quickly answered NO.  Any other time both myself and my sweetie would have answered YES thinking (a.) We paid for it, we're eating it all - But instead this time thinking "We paid for it and enjoyed it immensely, that was good, now we're done!" and (b.) We can eat that again later! - Instead realizing that we treated ourselves this time and that's all we needed.  Again, the lesson here is that celebration (as long as we are American or heck even 90% of the human race) revolves around food. We're not going to change that. It's expected. I'm certain if I had invited everyone over for an hour at the gym to celebrate our birthdays they would have looked at me like I was from Mars.  It's okay that we expect to celebrate with food but what we need to do is rethink how much food, how often, how big of portions and most of all what do we do to compensate for the indulgence?  In our case we truly would have fallen in the class of over-indulging a bit but then again in comparison to our old lifestyle we weren't even close to what we would have done. I would have eaten that entire 9 oz. steak! I would have eaten 2 DQ Cakes to celebrate (1 for day 1 with friends & 1 for day 2 with friends). I would have had that 2nd piece of lasagna easily, without even thinking. Instead I stepped away from the food and played with the kids and laughed. My end result was still indulging in some wonderful foods that I don't have often but love and also finding as much enjoyment in the company and the workouts (I use that word in a much different sense than others I'm sure) at the gym/pool to make up for the over indulgence.  In a nutshell..... We Have Changed Our Way Of Life!

On the "Weight Loss Front" I am at about 118 lbs lost thus far (I know I have to update my bar on top). I seem to be keeping that nasty 8 lbs that kept fluctuating back and forth off finally.  I also am reviewing a new book for an author called "Eat All Day - Drink All Day: A Never-Hungry way to get slim and stay slim" by D.G. Long.  At a glance the book has some great recipes in it and it may be just what I need to continue my thought process on my lifestyle while changing up some foods. You'll have to check out my Book Blog listed below when I'm done with it to see how it's worked for me and what I think.  I won't lie about a book, believe me. What I will do is find the positives in it as much as possible because I think anyone who takes the time to write and publish a book deserves that before they deserve to be beat down for the bad points; but I will point out what I find to be the bad points too if needed.

The love of my life is at about 48lbs off so far (since April 2011) and was amazed he lost this week. Again this is a man who went from eating healthy foods when he met me (he had no choice) but in huge quantities to eating healthy foods in proper portions AND moving again. He had gone 30 years since he'd even seen the inside of the YMCA nearby and together we've made it a regular stop at least 3-4 times a week or more.  He loves the new lifestyle, the way he feels and he glows when he tells others about how he's changed.  There's so much to be said about changing your lifestyle, not just dieting again. He decided this "long weekend" would be a real off the typical lifestyle weekend but in the end he realized how much different we think now that our typical lifestyle is so much healthier. He couldn't wait to get to that gym every day he was off. It was unreal. He's looking so good and feeling sooooo much better too. That's the most important part.  I could care less about a big belly or a big butt, etc.  What I want is the healthy aspect of it. I want to avoid diabetes, cholesterol drugs and blood pressure medications if we have the ability to do so.  I think we are finding out we definitely have the ability to do so and the byproduct of this change in lifestyle is that the weight is just coming off.  He weighs himself weekly or so. I weigh myself once a month anymore. I don't really care what the weight is, I can tell by the way I feel and my body itself.  To me it's the same if I lose 2 lbs or 12 lbs, I feel better.  Yes, it does feel good to watch my clothing change in the way it fits or go try on a size I've been in for the past 8 months or so and realize it's too big but I don't bank on the numbers. I bank on the feeling & I encourage you to do the same.

I leave you with this thought.... if you're on the line about "dieting" I say this: Don't do it!  Dieting is not a lifestyle.  Dieting is a life change that is temporary.  Instead think long and hard about your life and how you can change completely, wholly, to bring out the real you that God created.  If I can do it, you can do it.  If the love of my life can do it, you can do it.  Most of all, if you have even an ounce of love for yourself and those around you... you can do this.  Make the choice to change your lifestyle not just start "dieting" because it's really true that DIETING begins with 3 letters that just proves you are going to feel deprived "DIE" and you don't want to DIE... you want to LIVE.  Changing LIFEstyle begins with the words you want to.... LIFE.  Best of luck and please feel free to share your ideas, your recipes, your thoughts here on how you are becoming a more healthy person by changing your lifestyle.

Wish me luck on my journey to trying to "eat more clean" and  healthy! 
Take care of the one body God gave you, please... before it's too late.
Inspire someone you love to do the same.
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

 Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter! His tips were very inspirational in helping me take many of his routines to the water so I have less pain while being able to move!



 

 BWJEN - Another WW Buddy and a 'bookworm' too!?



.



Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.

Changing Lifestyle - Not Dieting

I really need to start making more time for blogging. I have so much going on in my life and so much to share but rarely take the time to do so here! I promise I'll try harder!

I  am a "grandma" as of about 5 months ago. My son & his girlfriend had a baby.  While I'm definitely not "thrilled" in many ways because of many reasons (biggest being he's 19 & not married & very unstable as a mature adult living with a very psychotic woman who has some major issues) but I must confess to being fully in love with the little guy that will eventually call me "Gramma" or whatever he ends up calling me.  First I have to share a pic or two.  Here's Ryan at 5 months (taken in July 2011) just giving that adorable smile he gives to melt your heart.  He's a sweetie for sure!

On the "Weight Loss Front" I've really been at a plateau but I must confess I lost the drive I had when I lost my first 100 lbs.  I seemed to be fanatical and while I still eat the same I'm not nearly as fanatical and dine out more often now too.  I don't care what anyone says, you CAN dine out but it tends to lead to bad choices for most of us and when done too often it just isn't a healthy lifestyle.  I have, however, been able to maintain and have small losses.  At one point I had gained about 25lbs or so back of the 100 I lost but I'm not only holding steady at the 100 lost but added on another 10 or so lost thus far.  Part of my issue is not being able to get out on my own anymore. I have no car during the week to get to the gym (I swim and "run/walk" in the pool plus do a bit of aerobics in the pool to keep my back from totally breaking/hurting) like I did when I lost the first 100 lbs and while it's an excuse because I could bus it I just don't.  BUT... I do get there as often as possible with my guy when he's off from work. Sometimes we'll hit the pool after his work but not often. He comes home exhausted from the heat and long days so that's generally limited to once a week during the work week.  But he only works 4 days a week so we generally do get there Friday, Saturday & Sunday.  When he has vacation (like the 4th of July vacation time... 11 days off) we went EVERY day with the exception of one - which was because of my MS & the fact that I literally slept 21 out of 24 hours that day.  So I'm at least getting 3 days a week workout.

The bad part is that I can't do much unless it is in the pool. For those that don't know I had cancer 6x of which the radiation & chemo has led to the deterioration of my spine & literally a crumbling spine. A neurosurgeon has said I shouldn't even be walking (who listens to doctors anyways? LOL) and that there's no way he would operate because my spine is so weak he can't assure that he'd cripple me and have my spine crumble if he were to "fix" the issues at hand from it all.  I'm in constant pain and live on morphine that controls the pain as much as possible but I have good and bad days.  Add to that the Multiple Sclerosis and you can understand why my "workouts" aren't typical and I am very limited.  I got the Dance Vibes Wii game hoping I could do that and once in a while I can but most of the time it results in me being "down" for a few days afterwards with pain so it's not worth it.  I've found the best workout for me is anything I can do on land being taken to the pool.  I jog/run in the pool, walk, do aerobics, swim & tread water for a minimum of an hour when I "workout" and it's truly been a God send as far as finding a way to do any exercise to lose weight without literally putting myself in a vegetative state from pain.  I highly suggest that anyone that suffers from joint or back pain from any reason who feels they cannot "workout" due to that pain to try working in the pool. It's also how my fiance has lost his first 45 lbs so far (since April) without having back aches & joint aches from the pressure of his weight on his body. He also plays some "fun" basketball by himself, just shooting hoops and working up a bit of sweat before showering and getting into the pool to "walk" for about 1/2 hour or so with me in the water but he doesn't have the chronic pain issues either so he can do that.  It's funny but he commented not too long ago that he never realized he could "exercise" without being forced to do things he hated to do. He's played hoops since he was a kid and loves it so I showed him that just walking around, slight jog, shooting hoops can work up a sweat when you're out of shape and haven't left the couch in 30 years and THAT is called "exercise" even if it's not a set class or on a machine.  When he realized simply moving made a difference he couldn't believe that losing weight has been so easy for him.  Of course he's changed his lifestyle in eating but not as much as he thought he'd have to.

As lot of people think that "dieting" is the way to lose weight.  It's not. Simply put "dieting" is a form of deprivation that will result in you going back to your old ways and regaining your weight PLUS more. I am proof of that because of my most recent weight issues.  I had lost 118 lbs total but had gained back about 25 of that by not really doing much exercise plus being a glutton when it came to "treats" I would allow myself. What used to be a rare indulgence was once again becoming an indulgence more and more often.  Basically I was resorting back to my "old lifestyle" and the result was a weight gain.  BUT I was also making sure that I was still buying the same foods, along with the bad for me stuff I was starting to go back to.  I continued to eat my organic yogurts and cereals, etc. along with my bad foods and I am certain that THIS was a major factor in not gaining back more of the weight.  End result, I've put myself back on the path I was on and have lost all but 8 lbs of the original weight lost (I'm at about 110 lbs total right now) and the best part is I feel like me again.  My whole reason for sharing this is that I want people to know that even if you do (and as a human you WILL) start to fall back to your old lifestyle, make sure you continue to purchase those items that you've utilized to have your weight loss from the start because losing weight is NOT a diet - it is a lifestyle change.  You have to be sure you don't resort back to your old lifestyle completely and when you find yourself falling towards that direction catch it and as long as  you've continued to eat the whole grains , the lower calorie/fat foods, the organic foods, etc. that you had success with you may have a gain by going back to those 'bad for you' foods but it won't be nearly as bad as if you were to stop buying the items you've found to be your 'good for you' foods.  In my case, in a years time I had only gained 25-28 lbs at the most and took that back off again almost as soon as I started to get back to the gym and start behaving myself.

My love of sweets and ice cream will never end so I wouldn't be realistic to think I'm going to "diet" and not eat them.  Doing so would only make me feel deprived and angry; resorting in me going back to eating like I did.  Instead I found alternative items.  I still eat ice cream but I eat Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and treats that are lower in calories and fat (yes I know this is not "clean eating" & I am not a perfect clean eater although that is something I am striving for).  I know I'm not going to NEVER eat a piece of cake or cookies so I either make my own organic, lower calorie, high fiber style of sweets (including cookies to die for) and make smaller batches so I don't over indulge.  I eat bowls of Stonyfield Organic yogurts with oats or fiber cereal instead of big bowls of full fat ice cream with all the toppings.  I try new "recipes" that I find or create myself.  When I used to not even scoff at spending $20 on a pizza with all the toppings I now gasp at that thought while not even scoffing at $4 for a container of organic Greek Yogurt that I'm going to be trying a new "frozen yogurt treat" recipe with or $8 for a container of herbs to help me stay healthy.  I spend $60 a month for a couples membership to a gym without even noticing instead of going out to dinner 5x a week spending at least that.  My point is, priorities have to change and lifestyle has to do a complete 180 to the other side.  Sometimes you're going to slide a few degrees but don't allow yourself to do a 360 all the way back to the way you were.  Let yourself enjoy that INFREQUENT indulgence of a DQ Blizzard (can ya tell what I treated myself to yesterday? LOL) or go ahead and buy a bag of skittles (just not the super sized pound bag but instead a single, small bag) to get rid of that craving.  Basically you have to be realistic about your body, your traits, your former lifestyle and your current lifestyle.

This weekend is my fiance and my birthdays.  We will be celebrating but we have made a promise that we will also be sure to hit the gym as part of our celebration.  We are buying an ice cream cake but ONE to share with many people and combining it for both our birthdays.  This gives us the indulgence one time, as opposed to two times in a matter of 3 days yet not over indulge.  OVER indulgence is what made me obese, not indulgence. In the end, we will do most of our celebrating without food but instead with activities that will burn a few calories and make our birthdays special.  In the end we are simply making it so we will enjoy more birthdays than we previously would have ever seen if we had continued our lifestyle and most of all, giving ourselves more time together.  I didn't find him until late in life so I refuse to give up years we could have together because of poor lifestyles.  Instead we plan to grow old together much longer than we would have had the chance to do with our former lifestyle and we will continue our changed lifestyle so we can hopefully spend a long, long time together enjoying life as we've now seen it can be.

I leave you with this thought.... if you're on the line about "dieting" I say this: Don't do it!  Dieting is not a lifestyle.  Dieting is a life change that is temporary.  Instead think long and hard about your life and how you can change completely, wholly, to bring out the real you that God created.  You were not born obese and you did not get there by eating one candy bar or stopping for one beer.  You will not lose weight by not eating anything you like for the next 6 weeks or even year.  You will only get healthier and in that process lose weight by changing your entire lifestyle, changing your entire way of thinking about you, your life, how you spend your money and what's "worth" the price in various ways from financially to health wise when it comes to lifestyle.  Nobody can make you change your lifestyle and you're not going to do it if  you think it's going to be miserable. YOU have to find a way to create your own lifestyle and be able to enjoy it while getting healthy.  If I can do it, you can do it.  If the love of my life can do it, you can do it.  Most of all, if you have even an ounce of love for yourself and those around you... you can do this.  Make the choice to change your lifestyle not just start "dieting" because it's really true that DIETING begins with 3 letters that just proves you are going to feel deprived "DIE" and you don't want to DIE... you want to LIVE.  Changing LIFEstyle begins with the words you want to.... LIFE.  Best of luck and please feel free to share your ideas, your recipes, your thoughts here on how you are becoming a more healthy person by changing your lifestyle.

Wish me luck on my journey to "eating clean" and  healthy! 
Take care of the one body God gave you, please... before it's too late.
Inspire someone you love to do the same.
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

 Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter! His tips were very inspirational in helping me take many of his routines to the water so I have less pain while being able to move!



 

 BWJEN - Another WW Buddy and a 'bookworm' too!?



.



Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.

Making A Difference In Someone's Life

I truly am in love with someone I would call my soul mate. We've been together a short time in comparison to our lives, going on 2 years, but we seem to be like 2 souls that were always together somehow.  We are that couple that you just want to stick that finger down your throat and go "gag" and I fully give permission to do so but the truth is, it is just for real.  We finish each others sentences, we think the same thoughts, we simply and truly complete each other.  I have no doubt in my mind that God created us to be together.

I wanted to make my first "different" blog post about us and about our life.  My life is so unlike it ever used to be.  To be honest, it was very hard to grasp at one point.  Within one year of my life I had lost my children to flying the nest and felt so worthless.  I had fallen in love beyond words with a man that I truly didn't know but knew I had to be with.  I went against everything I ever followed in my own rules and opened my heart to a man fully and brought him completely into my life.  Add to all of that the fact that I moved into his house and started living a completely, almost complete opposite lifestyle.  He was up at 4am, went to work early, worked a 10 hour day and came home for a few hours of rest and relaxation, then went to bed by 8 to 9pm.  I was used to living with 3 teenagers, constantly running them to work and wherever, stayed up until 4am and would sleep whenever I could.  I've been disabled from my cancer so work was never an issue.  I'd started to work out at one  point and loved it. I could only handle "working out" so to speak in the water where I had no pressure on my spine which has deteriorated from the cancer.  Suddenly I was thrown into this early to bed early to rise situation.  Let me tell you, this much change in under one year is not easy on a person.


This is the first I've said it out loud to anyone except my own doctor or my fiance' but I had so much change that I felt like I had lost Bev.  I was nowhere to be found.  The woman who spent days running kids around, doing online stuff while sitting in special chairs, doing what she wanted, having a house full of teens (which I always loved that I was the mom they all wanted to be with) and taking hours at the book store to just read (my favorite past-time and something I do "professionally" so to speak for writing book reviews in which I receive the book for compensation.  I went on my own time, to wherever I wanted, and I was pretty free spirited.  Suddenly I was without a car to go where I wanted, living in a home that didn't feel like mine, woke each day without the 3 people who were most important in my life and dealing with truly learning and understanding this man that I broke every one of my rules falling in love with.  I became suicidal at one point, thinking I'm worthless and simply don't exist.  It was just too much to handle.  Luckily I knew that I needed help and luckily my doctor is one who listens and works with me.  He's seen first hand how I hand life and its strains.  You don't whip cancer over and over again while raising 3 children by yourself without being strong and he knew that if I was having these thoughts, I was truly at my wits end. 

There...I said it!

I have never been one to show any weaknesses, oddly this has changed too. I have changed since meeting my love.  I have changed so very much.  But as I realized this I also realized that the man I was with I was also changing him and everything he knew about life.  Suddenly I realized that no matter how hard it got at times, we were growing and growing together. It was wonderful.  My best part is yet to come...

As I have mentioned, my beginning of taking care of myself I really delved in. I studied and I had a wonderful mentor, Yvette, who guided me in ways I've never known.  I utilized aspects of the Weight Watchers® System because it's always worked for me, but I haven't always stayed with the program.  I knew the basics behind their system were something I could rely upon but after joining and losing 0.4 lbs and being expected to get excited I knew this was never going to be the way I would do it. I had to design my own way that worked for me and, again, my mentor guided me with herbal remedies and aids.  I found people I call my Fitter Twitters who often shared recipes, gave me strength and tweeted about their successful ways.  I literally created my own world of getting healthy and in doing so the result was losing weight.


The love of my life was far from fit when we met.  I have a thing for big, burly men to begin with and while everyone loves eye candy to look at for a while, what I was looking for I found in his heart.  He accepted me being imperfect as I was (believe me I had issues.. LOL) and I did the same with him; but as we grew closer and closer I started to realize that his weight was killing him.  I never used those words because I had heard them myself.  I've had people who love me try in every way shape and form to tell me I was fat (like I had no clue) and it was going to kill me.  I knew what it was like to be badgered and I wasn't going to do that to him.  But without him truly knowing, he was already beginning to eat healthy.  He'd come over for dinner every night and love what I cooked. Even the simplest things like grilled chicken breasts with herbs on an Arnold's bun with baked Alexia Sweet Potato Fries, he'd rave about how amazing I cooked and how wonderful it was.  And the funny part was, at one point he commented "it's funny, you must be doing something good for me because I've lost weight, even eating the great dinners you make for me every night!"  He now realizes that those dinners are typical of the way I eat and he does too and they have since created a whole new man.  He changed doctors, going to my doctor and my doctor is thorough.  He's wonderful because he knows that you know you're fat. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure that out does it?  But he doesn't badger. He pokes fun of the fact that he too is round and round is a shape so he's "in shape" but he also tells you about things like "If  you just lost 10 lbs do you realize..."  and inspires you to feel like you CAN do it.  He also takes blood work for everything, including glucose levels (not just fasting levels) and when doing this gave Rich the news that he technically would be considered diabetic and his cholesterol levels were slightly off, enough he threatened medication.  Instead WE chose a path to eat healthier, much of what we were doing already only no more second helpings because he loved my cooking so much.  We also joined the local YMCA and we go at least 3, sometimes 4 and 5 times in a week.  He even looked at me at one point and said "I cannot believe you got ME to get up and do this and I LOVE it!"

So my point is this.... I didn't badger him.  I commented that I wanted to get back to "the gym" (which for me means the pool to work out) and that I was joining the Y just down the road.  I commented that he should come along and see if he didn't like it. He debated at first and my answer to that was, "Well I'm going for the open house, see what they have. You may as well tag along and if you don't want to join you don't have to.. nothing lost right?"  Later he told me that because of the way I said it to him, the fact I didn't belittle him into being a bad person for NOT wanting to go and that I truly let him make the decision was the biggest reason he joined.  He remembered going to the same Y as a kid, playing hoops and even swimming once in a while.  We joined that day and haven't regretted it since.  So if you get the chance to inspire someone to do something that will help them... do it!  Do it in a way that they realize first of all you care and second of all you are giving them the option to make the choice.  Badgering someone who's fat by literally belittling them only makes most of us angrier and go out to eat a bigger bowl of ice cream.  But sharing with us how wonderful something is in your life, slowly sharing these things with them and giving them a chance to make the choice when they are ready is truly the only way it will work.

 By the way,  his favorite "snack" to eat now is a yogurt at night.  He's munching on an apple as I type this and we just got home from the Y, spending nearly 3 hours total combining him playing some basketball, working up a sweat then joining me in the pool to walk and relax in the Roman Bath to end the day.  As we walked out, hand in hand, he looked at me and said, "You know I'm really glad we did this tonight. It was such a shitty day but this just took all the stress away.  I love that I have this with you."  And THAT my friends is the entire reason why I'm glad I made a difference in someone's life and I want you to help someone you love be inspired to take care of themselves.  It's not about the numbers.  It's not about the pounds.  It's about feeling better, about having a better life and about taking care of yourself.  The pounds, the glucose levels, the cholesterol levels... they all fall in line when  you're treating yourself right.  I promise not to be so wordy next time. I just wanted to give you a feel for the new style I'm taking on. I will share pics of food, progress, recipes, etc. but I also will be sharing many other aspects that have helped me get where I am and inspire me to keep going.

Wish me luck on my journey to "eating clean" and  healthy! 
Take care of the one body God gave you, please... before it's too late.
Inspire someone you love to do the same.
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

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NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

 Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter! His tips were very inspirational in helping me take many of his routines to the water so I have less pain while being able to move!



 

 BWJEN - Another WW Buddy and a 'bookworm' too!?



.



Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

I have an addiction to pumpkin, without a doubt.  I love pumpkin everything! So you can imagine my excitement when it dawned upon me to create a "pumpkin" version of these little babies!  I know you've seen the age old recipe with the Vanilla Wafer Type cookies on the bottom, using a cheesecake type of batter in it.  These are on the same order, but all pumpkin! Ooooh baby I am in heaven! I don't have the points® for these but I haven't been doing "point® counting" per say lately anyways. I've reached the point where I'm just paying more attention to what I'm eating and portion control.  Which leads me to the next comment.... make sure you either freeze these immediately (in the downstairs freezer, tucked in the back LOL) or have something to take them to and share because you WILL want to eat them all!

If someone does by chance figure the points® out I'll gladly post them.  I just find that I don't need the points anymore as I've always done my own version of the Weight Watchers® program and am adept enough to figure out what my limits are, etc.  If I were to guess the points®, using the fat free or reduced fat (my preference) cream cheese, I would guess 2 to 3 points® each but again, I honestly have not figured out the value!  My limit is 2 cupcakes per serving/per day MAX! Yes, it's sometimes hard to do; but knowing I'm getting more tomorrow if I want always gets me through the day!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

Makes 36 cupcakes

2 lbs. reduced fat cream cheese (can substitute fat free but it gives it a slightly different texture)

1 2/3 C. sugar

¼ C. flour

1  15oz. pumpkin pie mix (I use an organic pumpkin pie mix)*

1 Tbls. pumpkin pie spice

4 eggs

36 ginger cookies

Preheat oven to 325F

*Note: make sure you use pumpkin pie MIX, not pumpkin!

Cream together sugar & cream cheese until fluffy, scraping bowl often.  Add eggs one at a time.  When eggs are fulling incorporated, add pumpkin & pumpkin pie spice. Slowly add flour, mixing well.

Place papers in standard cupcake pan & place one cookie in the bottom of each paper.  Fill with cheesecake mixture.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until fluffy but not quite fully set.

Wish me luck on my journey to "eating clean" and  healthy! 
And please feel free to comment and share ideas for trying to live and eat "clean" and losing weight by changing to a healthy lifestyle!
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NEED TO GET FIT BUT DON'T WANT THE GYM MEMBERSHIP?

THINK ABOUT A TRAMPOLINE!

Check out The Trampolines King Website for tons of FREE information & guidance in purchasing this wonderful piece of equipment that is affordable and helps burn TONS of calories (not to mention tons 'o fun)!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out my newest Book Blog, where I give book reviews on recent books I've read. If you're a reader you'll want to check this out!

WE CAN DO THIS, TOGETHER
ONE DAY AT A TIME!

Like this article? Twit it to your followers!



Who Else Helps me get healthy?
These are just a few of the people online that inspire me....

 Joe Gigantino - Fitness Trainer
This is the guy that really set me on the path to physical fitness - Sign up for his FREE newsletter!



 

 BWJEN - Another WW Buddy & A 'bookworm' too!?



.



Sean Anderson the formerly 500lb man!
Diary of A Winning Loser - Sean is an inspiration to anyone trying to get healthy!


*Note I am not affiliated nor endorsed by Weight Watchers® at all, in any way. I highly recommend their program and cannot say enough GOOD about it, but I also have decided that they were my "stepping stone" to making a change in my lifestyle. Any mention of Weight Watchers®, their program or their term of "points®" does not mean they have approved, seen, or endorsed anything on my blogs.

Also, if at any time Points® are mentioned it is always with the assumption that you will analyze the recipes, foods, ingredients and figure the points out specifically for your consumption of any product, as ingredients may vary by brand, size, etc. and Points® is a registered trademark of the Weight Watchers® company.