Weekend Warrior #20

Weekend Warrior #20

by | Jul 11, 2017 | Weekend Warrior

Yes, I know it is Monday.  But when your vacation ends on a Monday, the weekend ends on Monday too.  What a week I have had!

I will be writing about that in a guest post as soon as I can.  I am waiting for pictures from family members to put into that post, and what I write will be determined by the pics they send.

I can tell you that I went home.  I went swimming and spent a fair bit of time between visiting with my family and one of my best friends.  It was a full week.

I was supposed to be writing at this time.  I have not yet started my book.  I was very busy on my vacation while being able to relax and have fun at the same time.

This weekend was also busy.  I was on the road for most of Sunday, after staying Saturday night at my friend’s house.  We stayed there most of the week.  It was nice to spend time with her at her home.

Today was a day to make phone calls, and get my driver’s license renewed.  Then the first step back into my routine, back to Zumba class.  I go back to work tomorrow.  So this is the end of my vacation right now.

I did have a hard time in Zumba.  It has been a while since I have gone to class.  I am not looking forward to going back to work, and back to normal tomorrow.  So I was in my head in class.  I broke free for a few minutes, but it was with a heavy heart that I worked out in class today.  I have a hard time saying goodbye, and there were more than a few this weekend.  It was good to see the people I was able to see and hard to come home.

I was ready, though.  It was time to come home and feel like I was home again.  I love my friends and family, but being home is also a feeling that is good.  Another weekend has ended.  Back to life in the real world tomorrow.

 

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

by | Jul 6, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

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 20

Vacation.  It is that time of year when people are travelling and going to celebrations with friends and family.  Vacation time can be a tricky thing on days when you aren’t in control of the food and drink that you may consume.  This can pose a difficult problem if you are committed to your plan and goals.

You want to be invited to all of the events.  You want to participate in the fun.  For me, the fun includes eating and drinking the same things as everyone else.  So it is a tricky tightrope to walk on when you are trying to fit in, even though it may not be the best way for you to stay the course.

I have to constantly check my blood sugars.  That is helpful.   I can adjust the insulin I have to take to adapt to what I am eating.  But as I have written before, sometimes that dosage is a guessing game, at best.

I experienced a low last week.  It was a bad one.  Maybe more because it caught me by surprise, and also because of how long it has been since the last time I had a low.  It isn’t a simple fix, it takes time for my body to recover from a blood sugar low.  This time it took me two and a half hours to feel normal again.

Highs are no better.  I feel really tired, to the extreme of me not being able to physically stay awake.  There are times that I am literally fighting with myself to stay awake.  It is not because I am needing sleep, this too is a side effect of the high sugars, and it is a little hard to explain.  The closest I can come is that it is not something that you can control, only fight it.  I am usually aware of what is happening at the time it is happening to try and recover.  But it is not an easy thing to do.

When you have to think about the effects of everything that you eat and drink, it makes it hard to fit in at gatherings.  A lot of them have sweets and cake and even alcoholic beverages are a source of empty calories.  So what is a person to do when faced with all of these temptations?

Think about the occasion.  What would be acceptable to participate in?  What choices can you make?  Skip the cake or the ice cream?  Or eat salads earlier in the day so you can indulge a little at the celebration?

After all, only you control what you eat or drink.  It is up to you. It doesn’t matter to anyone else whether or not you eat that cake or not.  It really only matters to you.  When you are planning a vacation, keep in mind that sometimes you will have complete control over what you eat and drink, and sometimes you will have to go with the flow.  The trick is proper planning and to not go overboard when you do participate in celebrations.  Remember to drink your water too, it can help speed up the recovery time of eating or drinking off plan.  Really, it is all about balance, both on and off the scale.

#TrustYourGut

Weekend Warrior #20

Weekend Warrior #19 The Late Edition

by | Jul 4, 2017 | Weekend Warrior

Hello to you all, and thank you for your patience.  I am a little off schedule this week, because as I expected, life got in the way of the weekend.  Not to fear, I will be back on schedule for the upcoming week, and plan to post my next Trust Your Gut on time and on schedule.

I am going to keep this short as it is now Tuesday.  Canada Day was Saturday, and there were festivities all over the country.  There were public events, and house parties from one end of the country to the other.  I wore my red summer top and Nova Scotia Hoodie with the Cape Breton patch I sewed onto it myself.

Sunday was my birthday.  I turned 43, and it had a few little surprises.  I was with my family, and that in itself was really special.  There are 5 of us, my parents, and my two sisters and myself.  My sisters have their families with them.  We live in different parts of Canada, and we have not all been together in the same place at the same time in 4 years.  I am getting ready for another family gathering tonight, and I had some help today making deviled eggs and big mac salad for the evening.

Pete Luckett’s Phone Book White and the bottle of Bodacious Smooth White wines were lovely at the gatherings we have been to so far.

I will say that this past weekend was another win for me, and I am still working on winning the whole week long!  I am taking the time I have this week to be thankful for my family and friends, and enjoying the memories I am making.  What did you do this past weekend?

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 19

by | Jun 30, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

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 19

I got on the scale this morning.  The number wasn’t as bad as I was worried it would be, but it is still not in twoville.  I knew I would not see good news, but as I expected, there were no surprises there.  I know by how I feel what is happening, without getting on the scale every day.  It had been a while, and I needed a reference.

I am having trouble in my kitchen this week.  There has been an invasion of ants.  I have declared war, and I think we are winning.  It is a slow progress kind of war, and it has distracted me from my personal tasks and goals.

I have not had an ant free day in my kitchen all week.  I am seeing less and less ants, and the ones I saw today seemed to be slower than those in the last few days, so I am tentatively hopeful that this means the war is almost over.  I have not wanted to make anything to eat in my kitchen all week, as a result of this.

My healthy lifestyle has become a casualty of war.  It could have gone in two different directions.  One being I stopped eating anything because I am so grossed out about the ants being in my kitchen.  This is not realistic.  I have to eat.  So I did it again.  I ate take out all week.  Let me tell you, I am not thrilled about this, but I felt like it was the only way I could eat because of the ants.

Is it a legitimate thing to do?  Yes.  Is it an excuse to eat out and go the easy route for the week? Yes.  Is it productive and conducive towards my personal goals for living a healthier lifestyle? No.  Is it a budget friendly option? No.  Is it a logical solution? Maybe.  I write that because when I haven’t been cooking, I have been hunting and cleaning up the countertop that the ants are crawling on.  That means all the hard work I did cleaning the whole winter, my coffee station, and the countertops all have to be emptied and wiped clean AGAIN.  For the millionth time this week.  Ugh.

I have made progress in other areas of my life in the last month.  I have been cleaning and purging stuff.  I have been writing about that in my Weekend Warrior Category.  I am preparing to write books, and have been practising on my blog, getting into the habit of writing.  I have done well with both of these projects, and I can let myself be proud of the progress I am making in those areas.  So why is it OK for me to let myself down in the most important part of my life, my health and well being?  It’s not.

I had a genuine blood sugar low today at work.  My sugars were at 3.9 when I tested, and I was in full panic mode when I did.  I can feel it happening in my body.  I start feeling a wave of uneasiness, and I start to panic.  When it is an actual blood sugar low, I get weak and shaky.  My head and scalp perspire profusely.  I mean buckets.  I get a little confused and have a really hard time focusing. I was in a meeting when I started to feel it happen, and I rushed out asap and tested while chewing up suckers and drinking a juice box.  I got some extra candy from some colleagues, and I overcompensated because I was panicked.  It took me about two to two and a half hours to recover from that episode.  I am much better this evening.

I know why it happened.  I went to Zumba last night, and it had been a few weeks since the last class.  I started to get my regular exercise routine back.  I took my normal amount of insulin this morning.  But my body was doing that thing it does when I am trying to watch what I am doing, and it became sensitive to the insulin again.  It is great that it works better sometimes, but it is not so great when I happen to have that in between adjustment period that causes me to have lows and have to lower my doses of insulin.  Which is also good, because it means that I am achieving better control over my blood sugars.  But what a roller coaster ride that can be!

It is hard to adjust to everything all at once.  I am a fighter, and I am still able to do what needs to be done.  Sometimes I need to remind myself that it is not OK to put my own health and wellness on the bottom of my list.  Because it needs to be as important as everything else I invest my time in.  I tell people all the time that I am tougher than I look.  I believe it.  But I also know that I am a human being and that I am not supposed to be perfect.  All I can do is get up every morning and do the best I can in all aspects of my life.  It is a work in progress, and progress is progress, so I will take it and run with it.  Until I can’t catch my breath.  And then I will keep moving in the right direction.  One step at a time.

#TrustYourGut

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 20

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 18

by | Jun 22, 2017 | Trust Your Gut

 

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Home page for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

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 18

Tomorrow.  Monday. The first day of the month.  We have all been there, and we have all promised ourselves that we will do better, but not now.  It is hard when you are addicted to food and addicted to sugar.  It is impossibly hard when you are too lazy to find the way to a healthier lifestyle.  I have written it before, and I will likely write these words again, it is easy to be lazy.

I am told quite frequently that I am too hard on myself.  I have come to accept that quality as something I am.  The truth is, I don’t know how to be any other way.  In my dabblings along the curvy path I am walking beside, around and sometimes hanging upside down from a tree on,  sometimes I cut myself way too much slack.  There is no middle ground when it comes to me and some things.  Some things being food.

I am finding it really hard to stick to staying on plan.  I know, it works.  I know I feel better when I do follow the plan.  I know it is the best thing for me to do.  Yet here I am again, thinking that tomorrow is a new day, for a fresh start.

What is a person supposed to do when this happens?  It is like I am on the side of a mountain in the middle of a mudslide, and in MY world, it is hailing Swedish berries, and all the mud is chocolate mixed with hot fudge, of course.  It is a struggle for most people to eat healthy most of the time.  I find if I give myself a little slack, I tend to give a little more, and a little more, until there is no more slack left, and I am way off track and possibly lost.

I am watching my body change, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worst.  I keep a close eye on my gut, and it does fluctuate, frequently.  I have also noticed that when I do put in the effort to work on me, I am starting to see the shape of the oblique muscles cause dents in my stomach.  I see them, so they are in there, somewhere.  Underneath the curves and fluff.

My chin causes me great concern.  I know what makes it look like that, and I know what fixes it.  You might think that is a little weird or eccentric, but it is true.  If I make GGMS, it gets smaller.  If I hit up chocolate a lot, it collects in my chin.  I kid you not.  I am wearing the chocolates I bought last Christmas in there right now.  I am positive that is what did it.

I did some sweeping and mopping this past week. We were expecting company.  I had a tight, sore back for two days after that.  I didn’t like it, but I didn’t pull anything, and I was able to do most things without any change.  Bending over was horrendous.  The good news is that I feel better now.  The bad news is that I am not convinced that cleaning my floors is good for my health.  They don’t clean themselves, though.

I need to work more at being on plan.  I know this.  It is hard to convince the monster that it doesn’t belong here anymore.  It wants me to dive into the mudslide of chocolate and never come up for air.  Or find a really big straw.

I just spent 2 hours taking the meat from the chicken I cooked.  It was a really big chicken.  I will be making that chicken chili tomorrow.  Or tonight, if I find a second wind.  Either way, the prep work is done, now I just assemble in the pot, and cook it.  That is the thing, though.  It is easy to say I am going to do something, but the prep time is never less than 10 minutes for me.  So that is why I go the easy way sometimes.  Because I take the time to do everything right, and sometimes it takes too long in real life to do what I want to do.  This is another trap down a slippery slope of marshmallow strawberries.  Can you tell I am having a hard time with sugar cravings this week?  I have my favourites, and sometimes I have to give in a little before it becomes a big mistake.

Goals for the upcoming week?  Find out if Ginger Juice by The Ginger People is available locally, or if I have to order it online.  I am using frozen ginger cubes in my GGMS now, but I would like to add the juice if I can find it.  I am wondering if I will like it better than the frozen cubes.  I found the powder too gritty, and want to make the GGMS the best I can.  I already know I LOVE it with Black Cherry Berry Tea by Celestial Seasonings.  So good!  I make the basic recipe and add the tea bags to steep, and drink over ice.  Not early in the day, I would run all day long.  I also need to make the Shrinker.  Another tea drink, made with oolong tea.  The recipes can be found here and I have tried most of the recipes on this page.  Good Girl Moonshine and The Shrinker are the two I am referring to in this story.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I am going to make healthy food to eat.  One day at a time.  Listen to the voice of your inner beauty, and let it help you shine!

#TrustYourGut