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 Homepage 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 42
I got creative in the kitchen, yesterday. It has been a while. I made brown rice and added fresh mushrooms, green onion, and leftover roast beef in it. I used hoisin sauce. It was in the cupboard, so I used it. It made supper for 2 last night, and my lunch today. I have a little roast beef and green onion left for my roast beef special sandwich for lunch tomorrow. I really love roast beef, green onion, tomato, mayo and A1 sauce done up like a roast beef salad sandwich. My mom named it The Roast Beef Special, and I make it every time I cook a roast beef in the oven.
It has been a busy year for me. I have been working hard on the book, the website, the organizing, the blog, and building my business from the ground up. I have spent hours working on all of these things, but I think I forgot something along the way. Me. My health. I got lazy.
It is so much easier to be lazy and not do the work needed to live a healthier lifestyle. I have lost and gained. I am again scared to weigh myself. I am just not wanting to know the bad news. I am getting back into the practice of making better choices. I have to. My health depends on it.
I have had to work on the insulin levels again. That means I am doing better, when I start having lows it means I am needing to lower the dose. That means my body is responding to the things that I am doing right.
We are on the edge of a food-centered holiday. I am not sure how well I will do. On one hand, I can make treats and try to stick to the THM plan. It is a good way to try to plan ahead. There will be times, though when I will not be in control of the meal, and I will have to make the best choices that I can at the time. Other times I will make things that I know will be good choices to have to eat when I can. So I do have a plan. Sort of.
I also need to start making the moonshine again. Yes, you read that right. THM has a recipe for Good Girl Moonshine. GGMS as it is called, has water, apple cider vinegar, and ginger with a sweetener in it. I add Black Cherry Berry Celestial Seasonings tea to mine. I really enjoy drinking it, and it makes you run to release it if you catch my drift. I have learned that I should not drink it during the day while I am at work. I can have it after work and on the weekends, though. I bought a mason jar with a spout just for the GGMS. I think it is time for a test run. I need to start making little changes now so that I will be on track for 2018.
Have you started thinking about New Year’sResolutions yet? I have, and I will get them organized and plan things out better this year. I did a lot in 2017. What do I want to accomplish in 2018? More. I want to take everything I have done in 2017 and do it better in 2018. It is a place to start, and to build on. That is something I can do, start with little things, and push my limits and go for everything. One thing at a time, then another, and another. I have to start somewhere, and I am not going to wait. The only one that loses out if I keep putting things off is me. And the only thing I want to lose is weight. The time is now.
#TrustYourGut
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