by Tish MacWebber | May 11, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 12
Sometimes I am scared to eat. I know; a morbidly obese person is not expected to write those words. I am so overweight that it could kill me, and I certainly didn’t end up weighing this much by not eating, that is for sure. But there is this thing I have called type 2 diabetes.
Let’s get it straight. I am a person that has type 2 diabetes. The same way I am a person that has thyroid disease. The same way I am morbidly obese. The same way I have allergies. All of these descriptive phrases contribute to different parts of me, but they do not define me. I think that it is the time that we all take a look at that and really think about it. Because saying that someone is a diabetic is almost the same as saying they are not a person, because of how you say it. I am a person that has diabetes. I am a woman that has blue eyes. The colour of my eyes does not define me, but it is a part of many things that contribute to me, the person as a whole. In a world where people are way too quick to label people and judge them, I think it is time to stop doing this. The world is changing all the time, and people are trying to be more politically correct. If we all think of each other as people that have many adjectives to describe them, it is a good place to start. We all have our good qualities and we all have our issues. Mine are not the same as yours, but we all have issues and good qualities. That is the common ground we all have together.
Back to being scared to eat. I am learning how to treat blood sugar lows. I have learned to drink a juice box, and have a sucker or a candy, and wait. I then check my sugars again. If they are responding to the treatment, I stop panicking and move on with my day. If they don’t, I may go overboard and eat too much candy to get my sugars up, and then I have to figure out what to do to bring them down again. If I overreact and they are high, it means I am not panicking about them being too low anymore, but that means they are too high. This is one scenario similar to what I am writing about, except there is another time when I am really scared to eat. When my blood sugars are high, and I don’t know why.
I am starting to learn what I should eat to bring my blood sugars down. It is not an easy thing to figure out. I take insulin, and if you take too much, it is possible to die from an overdose. I am very scared that this could happen to me. So I am careful if I have to take more insulin than a regular dose when my sugars are higher than normal. But how much is too much? Some days I don’t even know how much I should take. On those days I either play it safe by not taking too much which is usually not enough, or I check my sugars every couple of hours to make sure I am not dropping if I take that larger than normal dose.
If my sugars are high and I am not able to get them to a normal level with insulin, that is uncharted territory. I am fighting with them a lot this week. I am worried that there is a reason behind them being so high, and for why it seems so hard to get them back under control. It can be a sign that something else is going on in my body like it is fighting an infection. I will be honest here, I have never seen them as high as they were this past Sunday night. I took insulin. Got up the next morning, and they were down, but still high. I took 2 doses of insulin that were quite high when I added them together, because of how close the doses were taken. Only after the second dose did I see a change, and it wasn’t drastic, and I didn’t crash with a blood sugar low. I went to Zumba Monday night, and they were almost within normal range. I have not had a spike in high blood sugar like that today, but I am STILL fighting to get them under control and keep them within normal range. (I am writing this on Tuesday evening).
When this is happening, I am scared to eat. I am scared that anything I put into my mouth will cause my sugars to go even higher. It is not a weight thing. I am worried that my blood sugars will just keep climbing and I won’t be able to get them back under control. I know I need to eat. I know that if I make healthy choices, things will have to change, it is just a matter of time. But delaying that meal can be detrimental to what could happen.
Let’s say I just don’t eat. My sugars might spike as my body tries to keep sugar in my bloodstream without the addition of food. Eventually, the sugars will drop. I then become a little desperate, hangry, and indecisive. That combination will eventually lead to my blood sugars dropping. This is not productive and does lead to a panic when I realize that my sugars are starting to drop. It is at that time that I reach for an easy meal or snack that may not be the healthiest thing for me to eat, and the roller coaster has fuel to continue.
What I have learned is that if I wake up with a pattern of high blood sugars, I do need to increase my long-acting insulin dose. A little at a time, until I have normal fasting blood sugars in the morning. Then I can ease it off. Protein is supposed to help with this also, and I am trying to find a bedtime snack that does more good than harm. Throughout the day I have to test frequently, to help sort out what is causing the blood sugars to be high and not normal. This may cause me to skip a snack because of the level I see when I test. It also may cause me to delay eating because I am scared that it is only going to make things worse.
And then it happens. The insulin starts working again, and I am not having blood sugar highs anymore because I am now fighting blood sugar lows. This is a byproduct of getting them back under control. When my body decides to accept the insulin, it does it suddenly, and I am scrambling again to get my sugars within normal levels. If I am not monitoring them constantly during this time, I risk them staying too high if I am not taking enough insulin, or having to lower my doses because my body is responding and I am taking too much insulin. It is difficult at times to try and outsmart this diabetes that I have, and that is why I am scared to eat sometimes.
by Tish MacWebber | May 9, 2017 | Road Trips
At the end of April, we went on a road trip. We crossed the border from New Brunswick into Nova Scotia. The plan was to visit with family. When we finally had the car packed, and hit the road, I decided to take some pics along the way, and write a story about our trip. We hadn’t gone on a road trip in a little more than 2 years, and I had gone long past the get out of the city stage. I managed very well in those 2 years, but I enjoy travelling to see friends and family, whenever I can.
We stopped for gas just outside of Fredericton, where we live. Snacks are necessary for road trips, as well as beverages. A pit stop is also necessary before any road trip. While there, I took a pic of the giant sized road sign of a familiar sight in the area.
Moose Warning Sign. A full grown moose can total a car. It is best to avoid them if seen on the road. The trick is to see them before they cause an accident. Hence the signs.
This gave me an idea. I would take pictures in the car as we travelled. It is a harder thing to do than you think it is. I was a passenger, but our trip was filled with highway driving, and a lot of missed opportunities were not able to be captured by my camera as we drove along.
I decided that I would focus on the different signs along the road, to document where we were going, and provide pics for the story. We didn’t slow down for this. Except for the last pic, which was a near miss itself.
We stopped in Moncton. I wanted a coffee. We got one here.
We then drove until we crossed the border. The first part of our trip was to make it to Nova Scotia.
Welcome to Nova Scotia, photobombed by me!
Before the NS border, there is an unusual warning sign.
Honeybee Warning Sign. I wonder if they can check all the flybys?
Can you imagine bees flying to an office to check and see if they have the proper documentation to enter Nova Scotia? They would need Bee-cases!
We were going to Truro, first. It is between 3 and 4 hours to drive from Fredericton to Truro. We had dinner with family and friends, and we all went back to swim in the hotel pool. The pool was COLD. The Hot Tub was WARM. It tired us all out.
We spent the next morning with our friends. We then saw our family again and spent the afternoon playing Munchkin the Board Game. We played twice, and I had so much fun, I forgot to take any pictures of the game. We had a potluck supper, I had made a Greek Pasta Salad with Chicken before we left Friday, and had it on ice or in fridges the whole time. Everybody liked it, and we had some before on the road trip…with my cup of coffee in Moncton, actually, and had some left over that we took with us. We hit the road again after supper.
Then we were off to Dartmouth Crossing, an hour past Truro. We checked into our second hotel room that weekend. I was too tired to go swimming again, so we watched TV and went to sleep. The next morning we had to get ready for a busy day. We were going to see my husband’s Grandmother who is 108 years old! She will be 109 in July. She still lives in her own apartment, in the same building as Roy’s father. We were all going to get together for lunch.
There are 2 signs here. The restaurant where we ate lunch at is to the far left of that building in the background, so the sign for it is here, and also a road sign near the place where Nanny Webber and her son, Roy’s father, Roland live. His friend Gloria lives there too, and she also joined us for lunch.
We met at Nanny Webber’s apartment, had a chat, and picked a place for lunch. We moved the party. We had lunch. Two comical things I noticed. Roy and Nanny Webber both ordered cheeseburger platters. She didn’t eat all of her fries, as she told me sometimes she fills up too much on potatoes. But she saw the lemon meringue pie, and wanted a piece, but not a full slice. I told her Roy could eat the other half. So they shared a slice of lemon meringue pie. Another funny observation I made, neither one of them ate the meringue!
We then went back to the apartment, where I took this pic of the 3 Webbers together.
Roland, Florence, and Roy Webber, l-r
We then said our goodbyes, after promising to try to get back for her birthday in July. We will try.
One last stop before we headed home was at a fish store. Roy is setting up a new fish tank, a 75 gallon. He has been working on making decorations, and there is a theme. There will be a blog about that when he is finished. He wanted to get some live plants. It is a freshwater aquarium. We got a few fish too. All the plants and fish survived the five-hour drive to get home. They are all thriving in their new home with us.
Neat little aquarium themed fish store
We drove home after we finished up our purchases at this store. It was a straightforward drive, with a few snack stops. One last sign I want to share with you if you are ever travelling in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. There are lots of signs like the moose sign I posted above. The other kind warns of places where deer like to cross the road.
Deer Crossing Sign
Before I finish, I talked about the giggles we had on this trip. I missed so many good pics because the camera was off or it was too slow to focus. We had a wonderful trip and looking back, I wouldn’t change much about the visits we had. I also snapped this last photo out of the back window of the moving car. It is of an Inukshuk, an Inuit symbol for others to know that they had been at that place. So someone had been there before, and now you know that we were there too.
The Inukshuk pic, taken through the back window of our moving car.
I said it before in another post, but it is relevant to this post also. Hindsight is 20/20, eh?
by Tish MacWebber | May 7, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Yesterday was busier than I had planned it to be. Also, I was still fighting an almost week long migraine and was still not feeling so good yesterday. So I took a nap in the middle of that busy day, and it ran longer than I had planned. When you fall back to sleep on a Saturday after you woke up and turned off the alarm, obviously the nap was a necessary thing.
In the morning, I attended the #BUTTBLITZ2017. You can read all about it here: Butt Picking in the Rain It was my third year volunteering at this event, and I stayed dry by working at the event table and running the numbers.
Insert lunch and a nap here.
Then I woke up to the phone ringing. I had an invitation to join some friends to play Cards Against Humanity. They have mixed in 4 booster decks and a Kinderperfect deck. Hilarity, Margarita Moments, and the consumption of adult beverages were just what I needed to kick the migraine out of my head. I am glad I decided to join in for a night of fun!
Today, I must scramble to resume the kitchen to its shape of last weekend. When the dishwasher is running, I will also be prep cooking. That is probably going to fill up my Sunday. I need to be ready for the upcoming week, and today is when I have the time, and more importantly, I feel like doing it. Soon after I publish this story, I will be making something to eat and heading into my kitchen. Coffee will be consumed with the meal.
I think it stopped raining! That sentence has an exclamation point because there is a flood watch here this weekend. It happens every year, and they were not expecting it to be too bad this year. It is bad for some areas, there have been evacuations and roads are blocked also. I am staying home today, and my house and street are still OK. If I get a chance, I may go take some pictures of the flooded areas, but that will be another day and another story.
What are you up to this weekend?
by Tish MacWebber | May 7, 2017 | Events
#ButtBlitz2017
This Saturday was my 3rd Annual Butt Blitz Event that I volunteered at. Some friends of mine have Boston Terriers, and they are rescue dogs. I have joined them as a volunteer at Boston Terrier Rescue Canada (BTRC) to help with fundraising for the group. This group has no building as an official shelter. They run their non-profit organization completely from the generosity of their members, from donations, and from fundraising events like this one.
A Greener Future sponsors this event and others like it. BTRC enters this and other contests to raise money for the rescue, but also to help the environment. It’s a win-win for everyone.
The Butt Blitz 2017 page has pics from past events (I forgot that I was in a pic there from last year!) Last year it was a sunny, beautiful day. This year, it was raining; so not as many people dropped in for the event this year.
TerraCycle works with A Greener Future to encourage people to recycle various products and clean up the planet. If you want to know what happens to the cigarette butts after we send them to Terra Cycle, check out this link: Cigarette Waste Recycling Program
Some people take the time to count the butts they put in their used containers or sandwich bags. This is fantastic! What about the other bags, the ones without the number of butts written on the bag for us to add up? Well, we have a formula for that!
How we calculate the number of Butts from the weight of the bags
We weigh the bags and convert the weight to ounces. 1lb=16oz. so for example, 1lb, 4.2oz is 16+4.2 = 20.2 ounces. I then needed to calculate the reference weight for 1 cigarette butt. I weighed 6 bags of butts. 3 pairs of the same butt count on them. I then averaged out the results, and the result was that one butt weighs approximately: 0.01095 oz. From that number, I was able to plug in the weights of the bags and come up with a grand total of 45,530 butts sent off to be recycled yesterday. That’s a lot of butt picking and collecting.
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Volunteers from BTRC
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Donation Drop Off Thank you!
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Butt Picking in the Rain
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Sorting Butts
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Taking a break at the Event Table
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Sorting various items for recycling
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Calculating the grand total of butts
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Ready for shipping to TerraCycle
Thanks to UNB Fredericton for hosting the event again this year! The Student Union Building was our base of operations for the event, and I was happy to have a dry location away from all that rain to run the numbers and calculate the grand total number of butts we sent off to be recycled.
by Tish MacWebber | May 4, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 11
I bought my first tankini. I went to one store and tried on the one piece swimsuits. I was disappointed. So I had to go outside of my comfort zone. The people working there were helpful. They told me that the best thing about a 2 piece was that if you had to go to the bathroom, it was a lot easier. I thought about that and decided to try on a tankini.
The style I chose has a tank top and shorts. Everything is still covered. Just like a normal bathing suit. The shorts are comfortable. The top was a challenge. I need support, but didn’t find the right kind in the first few tops I tried on. Support in a swimsuit = constrictive. It felt too tight. So I kept trying on different tops until I found one that fit right in that area.
Then it was the wrong style. Of course. So the search continued. I settled on a striped one that looks just like a tank top. Then I went swimming. The top floats! I didn’t want one that did that, and I was assured that they don’t do that now. That was my main reason for wanting a one piece. I was a little paranoid at first. There is a built-in bikini support in the top. So I just fussed with it a lot but had a good time swimming. It will be OK for Aquacise, I think. It will take some getting used to but I think it will work better than my old swimsuits. It actually fits and was a size smaller than the other ones I tried. Yay me!
While travelling this past weekend, I let the plan slide a little. I didn’t overeat. I ate healthy choices when I could. I ate, and I didn’t worry too much about it. Sometimes life takes priority. You do what you can, and let it slide a little. Then you have to get back on track. For me, prep cooking helps me to stay on track. I have to do the work so that when I want to take the easy way out, the easy way IS to stay on plan. I have learned this while on THM, and I am the only person that can make those choices for me, so ultimately, it is up to me.
A friend introduced me to spaghetti squash. I was reluctant to try it. I do like squash as a side dish, but I had never tried spaghetti squash before.
It sat in my kitchen for a week before I bit the bullet and tried it.
I was pleasantly surprised! I now eat spaghetti squash a couple of times a month. It is good with spaghetti sauce. It is good in spaghetti pie. It is good in casseroles. The verdict is that I like it.
When we have spaghetti, I have spaghetti squash instead of the pasta. I load the sauce on it, and the parmesan cheese and eat until I am full. Without the tired feeling that I get when I eat pasta. I call it SPAGHETTI SALAD! What a wonderful gift my friend gave me when she told me to take that spaghetti squash home to try it. If you haven’t tried spaghetti squash, try it with an open mind. It really is worth it for me, and if you like it, you can thank me for the tip after you try it.
If you don’t know how to cook it, I didn’t either. Here is a link for cooking it in the microwave or the oven:
How to cook a spaghetti squash in the microwave or the oven
I found this link and the one below in my own internet searches, all credit goes to the authors of the instructional pages. The other method I can recommend is the slow cooker. You can find the instructions for that here:
How to cook spaghetti squash in a slow cooker aka crock pot.
So my tip for you this week is to try spaghetti squash if you have never tried it before. If you already love it, maybe try it in a new recipe, or try another healthy recipe that you have been hesitant to cook for whatever reason. Just go for it! And comment below if you did. Let me know how it turns out!
Do you have a favourite way to cook spaghetti squash or a favourite recipe for making spaghetti squash?
by Tish MacWebber | Apr 29, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
First thing is first. I have washed all of the dishes. ALL OF THEM! With that being said, I am breathing a sigh of relief! Now I can plan the deep clean of my kitchen with the basics being done. I am far from finished in there, but I am back at 0 instead of starting from -1000.
I have been working on the kitchen in spurts. I do have pictures. It is NOT 100% clean and tidy, but the basic surface cleaning is ready for the deeper clean.
The Kitchen Table is ready for meals.
I cleared off the kitchen table. The plastic cover still needs to be cut, but I have it on the table to protect the tablecloth. I have taken the leaf out, and I will be putting it back in to cut the cover to the right size. I am really liking the turquoise or aqua colour that is popular right now. The the new placemats are pretty, and they match the tablecloth.
The pantry still needs work
I have yet to go through the pantry. It is closer to being something I can do, with the progress I have made.
Canned goods are now under the Island
The second part of the Pantry is under the Island. This was a part of my kitchen shuffle I did a while back.
Pots and Pans
The pots and pans are now under the cook top stove. I really like the pot cover organizer we bought at Bed Bath & Beyond. It is a great space saver& organization tool.
Stove top cleared off.
It needs to be cleaned properly now that it is cleared off. It won’t take too long, I bought a cleaner and some sponges to clean it with.
Counter beside the cook top stove, over the dishwasher is cleared off
The toaster was in front of the breadbox. The electric stand mixer was where the toaster is now. It is better this way.
The Coffee Station is still tidy
I finished the dishes shortly after I stopped to take the pictures.
My Kitchen Window over the sink
I am so happy I saw what my friend does with her scrub brush. She keeps it in a vase. Mine fit nicely in these vases, and they were in the windowsill before I put things in them.
The view of the table from behind the Island.
It still needs work, but it has come a LONG way!
A place to store recipes ad extra K-cups, and G2 for Zumba days
This was another change we made recently.
My 2 new signs I bought to hang when I finish the kitchen.
I can’t wait to hang them up! I will hang them when I am done the deep clean in the kitchen.
Finally some pics of progress to share. I have been working hard at my kitchen, and it will only improve with every hour spent in there. How is your Spring Cleaning progressing?
by Tish MacWebber | Apr 27, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 10
Today is the day I have picked to start shopping for a new bathing suit. Wish me luck! I need it in terms of my requirements, but I am also looking for a sale and not hours of searching!
The good news this week is that I am hovering within two pounds of that twoville goal, still. The bad news is that I have not crushed that goal yet.
Which means that this is a perfect week to write about another THM concept. I really like this one. It is called NSV. That translates into a Non Scale Victory. So what is an NSV? It is anything you can celebrate OTHER than the successes you fight to see on the scale. The weight on the scale is a number, and it can be depressing if you obsess about it especially if it is not moving in the right direction or moving at the speed you want it to change at.
I wrote about twoville, and it is looming on my horizon again. It is a Scale Victory when you have a happy dance on the floor after you weigh yourself and see a good number. Don’t think too hard about that. Yes, that would be me, first thing in the morning, after a trip to the washroom, in my birthday suit, having a happy dance. Not the thing you want to focus on here.
The NSV is something that doesn’t relate to the scale, directly. I have set my first official NSV as a small one. The blog will help, for sure with this. I want to be able to comfortably wear both my wedding band and engagement ring together on my finger. I have the engagement ring on a lovely gold chain, that I wear from time to time, but it belongs on my ring finger. I have fluid built up in my fingers, and you may think this is funny, but when I had a cashier job in the past, I noticed that my fingers were less puffy when I had that job. I was using my hands a lot when I was a cashier, and it helped my fingers to lose weight. Not that there is a lot of extra weight in my fingers, but it was a really good experience to look at slimmer hands and fingers. As I blog, I am exercising my fingers. It might not seem like a big thing to other people, but it matters to me.
When there is fluid built up in my fingers, wearing my ring causes an indentation. I have short fingers, and the fluid doesn’t stop me from wearing the rings together, but it is painful to wear them both at the same time. I can get them both on, but it does block circulation in the finger, and it is painful to take it back off, because of this. So I am working on my health, and trying the rings on together from time to time.
It doesn’t have to be about the number on the scale only. It can be about fitting back into an old pair of jeans, having to buy new clothes because the ones you have don’t fit, changing the size of clothing you wear, or measuring your inches and seeing that the shape of you…r body (Shout out to Ed Sheeran, love that song!) is changing when the numbers on the scale are not.
As we all struggle with weight together, whatever our issues are, we all have them. It is good to set reasonable goals to go along with making changes to live a healthier lifestyle. I know it helps me to check in from time to time with a measuring tape and my rings. It can even be as simple as the clothing you wear fitting better, or that you can climb that annoying flight of stairs without needing to take a break, or losing your breath.
Pedometers are wonderful because they can help you increase your daily step count by challenging yourself. I will write a Zumba post about this soon, we are talking about steps at Zumba class since I am sharing my steps after each class. I am also involved with a group 100 Coffees, and they are challenging members to start healthier habits. Drinking water is necessary for life. In this group, one of the admins is asking us about how much water we drink each day, as a way to hold those who choose to do this accountable for drinking enough water every day. It is great to have a support system for healthier lifestyles, and encouragement is a wonderful thing. 100 Coffees is a group of women entrepreneurs, so if you fit that description, go check it out!
I am looking forward to the day that I can wear both of my rings comfortably at the same time as my first official NSV. What is your NSV? Any comments might help you figure out what small goal you need to work on, give you a place for your own accountability, or help someone else find a reasonable NSV to start working on. I look forward to seeing what other people are setting as their own goals.
by Tish MacWebber | Apr 24, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Well, the Weekend won this round. I must confess that waking up to a snow covered car and lawn in April is not the most energy inspiring sight to see. This weekend I had the Blahs. There is no other way to say it. I made progress in the early part of the week and let things slide this weekend.
The good news is that I have another three day work week ahead of me, and will be very busy next weekend. I will be writing the next Weekend Warrior in draft mode all week in order to have it be published bright and early next Saturday morning.
I am promising you now that there will be pictures next weekend. I am promising myself, also. Because the bottom line is, I need to set goals and achieve them in order to move forward in this battle. I know that, and you know that if you are reading.
This past week I cleared the table and lost it again. I moved around the items from their old storage places to try and configure a more organized storage solution for my kitchen items. I discovered that the plastic tablecloth protector I purchased was way too big, but decided that I will cut it to fit the table with and also without the leaf in it so that I can cover the table and protect the tablecloth fully, either way. I absolutely did make progress, and it is progress that I can be happy with.
I also wrote a new piece of fiction on my medium page. I wrote about a fictional conversation that I would like to have with Mother Nature about the lingering effects of winter. If you would like to read it, you can follow this link:
Fictional Conversations: Tea Time With Mother Nature
So although I didn’t quite make the amount of progress in the kitchen I wanted to this past weekend, I was busy with other projects, and sometimes that is what you have to do. I hope you had a productive weekend, and most of all, I hope it was fun!
by Tish MacWebber | Apr 20, 2017 | Trust Your Gut
The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name. If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story. The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors. I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.
This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.
Here is Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 9
Timing is very important. When I started the THM plan, I was shocked at how often they eat meals and snacks. I had heard before that you should eat 4-6 smaller meals a day, instead of 3 large meals. It is incredibly important to make sure that you never get hangry. Yes, I spelled that correctly; it is when you are so hungry that you start to get angry. Just like on the Snickers commercials. Not that they are the healthiest choice, but in a pinch, they can help you to combat low blood sugar and hangry feelings. They are not on plan, though.
So how does this adapt in the real world? I do get breaks at work, and they are not quite at the 3-hour mark, but I make do. I have fruit and protein for my snacks. It is really easy to eat an unsweetened applesauce and some laughing cow cheese. I have also been known to snack on turkey pepperoni sticks. The kind I like is not too spicy. I have a low tolerance for spicy foods and am very sensitive to spices.
Meals vary for my lunches and suppers. I enjoy grabbing a banana on the way out the door, again not on plan, but that is my quick dairy free and iron free start to my day. The thyroid pill requires water and an empty stomach for it to work properly, to avoid these foods for two hours after taking it, so I don’t have side effects. I have tried other things, but the food I can eat in the car when my husband is driving me to work is what I choose. I also have black coffee when I get to work.
When I prep cook, it is the best way for me to stay on plan. I have tried a lot of THM recipes, and I really like them. I have been slacking in the prep cooking department. I have things I can make, but I am not feeling like cooking. Part of that is the effort, part of it is the storage situation, and the other part is that my husband is not on the plan with me. Sometimes that requires making two meals, or different side dishes. Again, more time, energy, and effort. Not to mention that I don’t jump up to do the dishes every day like I should. I know that is a different story, but it all ties in together with a big pretty bow.
If I make my lunch, there is a good chance I will be on plan. When I don’t, I can stay on plan, but it is more difficult to buy lunch and stay on plan. I am getting better at it, but the budget dictates that I need to start prep cooking again.
There are also meals when my husband and I don’t eat the same thing at all. If I am eating on plan, he may have something that he likes instead of joining me. That used to bother me. Now I try and think that if he isn’t having the same thing as me, then there is more for me to eat and stay on track longer with. So it is all about perspective. And timing.
When the time is right for you, the choices will be easier because you are ready. It took me most of my life to feel like I was ready to tackle this plan and become healthier. When I found it, the timing was ripe for me to make a change and try something new. I didn’t know then that it was going to be the answer for me, and that all I have to do is get serious about staying on the plan. It is time to get serious. Are you with me?
by Tish MacWebber | Apr 17, 2017 | Weekend Warrior
Take your chance and try something new!
I have been reflecting today as I am now actively involved in a fourth new group I found on facebook. There are a lot of possible outcomes when one surfs the internet. One click can lead down a dark narrow path to things you never imagined, not even in your worst nightmares. Evil does lurk in the world, and I am certain that there is a way to twist any online search into something most people would never look for.
I have been expanding my horizons and plans for the future. I am careful when I am online, but I choose ads on facebook if they REALLY speak to me. That is how I found the A Bowl Full Of Lemons facebook group. I was looking for guidance and inspiration in my household cleaning struggles. I know how to clean, I just don’t like doing it! So I clicked on the link, joined the group, and worked on one project.
Pantry Shelf Project
Since then, it has been fairly organized, and I had some help to reinforce the shelves (Thanks, Dad!). It needs some TLC this year, but I am still proud of completing this project. The facebook group has SO many good organization ideas, before and after pics, and some amazing decorating ideas. It is something I have worked towards this year, and so far I have been able to share my Coffee Station Complete! project. There will be more pics coming soon from my kitchen, I promise!
I have yet to make it through the whole house with the challenge. I am confident that this will be the year. I shared a picture when I bought a new shelving unit for my Master Bedroom, as I am moving my craft studio out of the Guest Room and relocating it in the larger Master Bedroom.
Craft Studio Relocation Project
The area is still “under construction”. That means I am still in the planning stages of how to reorganize my craft supplies in this room. I have taken step two today, and purchased a second cube bookcase, with 6 squares, not 9. I had already bought the matching plastic bins for it while they were on sale, but again, I felt I was being held back from completing this project because I didn’t have all of the pieces for it ready to go. I still have to assemble the shelf, (and move a dresser to that side of the room to put the new shelf on top of) but I can work on that as soon as I finish my kitchen. I have no regrets about joining this facebook group, at all.
I also found the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) Plan in the same way. THM is a lifestyle change in how you eat food. It is wonderful, they have more than one facebook group, actually, and I am a member of several different THM facebook groups. I have implemented many of their guidelines into my life, and when I am on plan, I feel great! I need to focus on staying on plan more than being off plan because I KNOW IT WORKS WHEN YOU WORK IT. I have seen it for myself. So I start every day trying to stay on plan. Some days I succeed. Others I don’t. One of the best things about the plan is that you work it into your own life, and if you go off plan, well you just pull up your socks and get back on plan. No worries. I realized, when I was looking at this ad two years ago, that what I was doing was not working, so I was ready to try something different. I am still not 100% on plan, but I am more convinced than ever that I can do it because I am. This is another group that came along when I needed it, and I have no regrets about joining this group, either.
The third group I joined in 2016. I was thinking about how to get my lyrics out to the world. I had watched a motivational video, I have written about this before, and I decided it was time. About the same time I started looking into this, I decided that I was also done waiting to write books, and I wanted to make the dream of becoming an author a reality. While this was all being processed in my mind, another facebook group, the Ninja Writers showed up in my ads. Well, this group has been a game changer for me. The Ninja Writers Facebook Page has been an incredible resource. I had no idea how to brand myself as an author, how or why to start a Blog, or what I had to do to make this all effective towards my goal of becoming an author. I even designed my own tartan and logo for it! I have made friends that have really helped me with this blog, and spark a passion in me that I didn’t even know I had the potential for. And if you are reading this, you know that I am blogging frequently, to develop my writing habit and expand my creative horizons. There are no regrets for me in terms of joining this group. Only positive strides towards making a dream into a reality.
The fourth group is a new addition. One of my fellow Ninja Writers shared a new group page on her wall, encouraging people to check it out. I became curious, and trusted my fellow Ninja Writer friend, and joined the group. It is called 100 Coffees. They have a facebook group, 100 Coffees Facebook Group and through that group, you can join their website. It is for women entrepreneurs, and they are based on networking through the group, to meet members through coffee meetings. This has an immense potential for people like me, trying to find their way in this online business world. Membership is free, and eventually, there will be other options for paid subscribers, but I am in the group and hoping to make new friends, get and give support to and from members, and to learn as much as I can from my peers. This is a great concept, and I am glad to be involved with it already.
One thing that is very important to keep in mind when you join a new group online, is to find out the rules. The people that create these groups have their reasons, and sticking to their rules will mean you get to remain in the group, and get all the benefits of belonging. If you choose to just join a bunch of groups to do your own thing, disregarding the rules, expect your time in that group to be limited. The rules keep the group working together towards a common goal, and going your own way will likely result in you getting the boot.
So there you have it. The internet is not just being used for evil. When you are surfing, and something keeps showing up in your feed, and it is a group or a theme that resonates with you, check it out! You might find something wonderful! If you don’t, leave the group and find another one that works for you and helps you in your life. If any of the above groups peak your interest, check them out! I am glad I did, and maybe you will be too!
