Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 26

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 26

by | Aug 18, 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 26

Struggling with a weight issue is hard.  It is hard to stay motivated all of the time.  It is hard to commit to making the changes needed to see results.  The results don’t happen overnight, and there is no quick and easy fix.

Words matter.  Whether they are good to hear and provide encouragement or not, a person that is struggling with weight issues has deep rooted insecurities that can make a little comment pack a punch that hurts so bad that you want to give up.

I am writing this week to tell you to keep going.  I am writing to tell myself the same thing.  Sometimes the little monster inside is making the biggest racket and causing you to doubt yourself.  Other times the damage is done from someone that you would least expect it from, and when you are blindsided by hurtful words, it can cause a setback in your progress.

It is easier to give up.  It is easy to blame someone else.  Neither option is the right one, though.  I am working on choosing my battles carefully right now.  There will always be petty, jealous, mean people out there.  I need to choose to be the bigger person.  Yeah, I just wrote that, but it is how I am supposed to say it.  I don’t mean physically, of course.  If it was that easy, I would just eat so much that I would sit on the people that hurt me.  Oh, that would be nasty.  Fun to think about, but not very realistic.

I guess I could rephrase that into being the more mature person.  Fat or old. I don’t think there is a real winner here.

Being practical about what I choose to believe is something I am working on.  I am an emotional, hormonal, creative, over the top, learning to believe in my own skills woman.  That is a lot to deal with, and it can all happen in five minutes or less. If my hair is frazzled, it is expressing what is going on inside.  If I am quiet, I may be mulling something over in my mind, or too angry to speak without a filter.  That brain to mouth filter gets a little less effective as I am getting older.  Sometimes it is a good thing. Other times it is not.

As a creative person, I embrace my emotions.  ALL OF THEM. Which means that sometimes when someone is mean, I OVERREACT.  I over think, over analyze, and get overly upset.  If it is something that is mean, I may focus on it for a really long time.  This is not healthy and it is not helpful.

There will always be people who think they know more than I do and think that they are experts because of their own education, opinion, or life experiences.  I am confident that I am unique and a one of a kind.  If I am not an expert on me in my own life, well there is just no way that I can accept someone else’s opinion about what I am doing to better myself.  I am living my life, not just existing in it.  I am making changes, and not just letting things happen.  I am not perfect so I will make mistakes along the way.  But they are mine to make, and I am going to own them.  All I can do is admit when I am wrong, and learn from the mistakes.  That is all anyone can really do about it.

Tackle something with me this week.  Let the inner glow out of the cage.  Shine as bright as you can from the outside in. Believe in yourself, and prove to yourself that you are worth it because you can take one thing that is hindering you and just let it go.  Release it.

I once did a group relaxation exercise in university.  We were to go to our happy place inside our mind. Check. Then we were to imagine taking all of the negative and stress causing issues we have and put them inside something so we could leave them locked up and not worry about them anymore.  I am sure it was supposed to be an imaginary box or trunk or something that we could close, lock, and throw away the key for.

I shoved it all in a blender and turned it on.  Man, that felt good.  It made me giggle, and that was the point. To make it all go away.

Find your blender, and pulverize the negativity out of your life.  Theoretically, of course. Then dump it out and clean it so it is ready for your next concoction.  If it is nasty enough, flush that negative smoothie down the imaginary toilet.

It works for me.  How do you make the things that are weighing you down leave your mind to be clear?

Trust Your Gut.  It knows you want to shine.  Have a bright and glowing week!

#TrustYourGut

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 26

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 25

by | Aug 11, 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 25

I had a rough week last week.  It was one of those “hard on my head” kind of weeks.  I am struggling to dig out from under the stuff that was dragging me down.  It is hard to focus on living a healthier lifestyle when the world is crashing all around you, and pulling the rug out from under your feet.  This week was not much better, but I am turning things around.  I have made some decisions.

Sometimes there are too many things to deal with and I get overwhelmed. Or frustrated. Or angry.  I did some thinking this week,  and I made some decisions.  My anger may have got the best of me in the last two weeks, and I am still finding ways to deal with it.  Eating is not one of them.  I have struggled to make healthier choices when it comes to food.  I went to Zumba.  In Zumba, I realized my abs were not going to be happy with me the next day.  I decided that was OK, because I am really not too pleased with my abs, either.

Instead of spiralling out of control, I spent some time dealing with my feelings.  They are not all resolved, but I decided that I was not able to control some things.  I also realized that there are some things that I can control.  I did some cooking.  Tonight I made Bangin Ranch Drums.  THM is a source of healthy recipes and food.  I have been making some of the recipes over and over, and I need to get back to it.

Tonight was a good start.  A week from tonight, I will meet my new doctor.  I finally made an appointment.  It will be good to get it over, and I am hoping that it will be a good experience.  If not, I will ask for a different doctor in the clinic I go to.  I am really hoping that it works out.

I do not have a lot of information or inspiration this week.  So I will just encourage anyone that is reading this to keep going.  Keep fighting for yourself.  Keep working to let your inner beauty shine so bright that the monster doesn’t stand a chance.  Because it is a never ending struggle, and no matter what your issues are, we can only tackle the ones we have a chance at winning.  That doesn’t mean that you should throw in the towel and give up.  What it does mean, is that sometimes you have to choose your battles.  This week I took my time about it, but in the end, I picked me.  And that is the best choice I can make.

#TrustYourGut

Weekend Warrior #24

Weekend Warrior #24

by | Aug 6, 2017 | Weekend Warrior

If you have ever wondered why I picked the “Angry Tomato” pic for this series, there are a few reasons.  One is that it made me laugh, out loud.  I reacted to it, so I decided it would work.  Another is because I am fighting my way to living a healthier lifestyle, and I wanted a kitchen themed picture for this series.  I try to do the cooking and cleaning on the weekends, I find it had to work at during the work week.  I have had some success this year in my spring cleaning challenge, but as of yet, I have not finished.  I choose not to dwell on what I have not done and try to move forward because of what I have done.

I am planning my day out, dreading the return to work tomorrow.  I am a firm believer that there should be less week and more weekend.  I do not have the power or the budget to sustain a lifestyle that does not include a day job, so the reality is, I have to keep the day job, even if I would rather devote all of my time to being creative and writing.

Which brings me to my books.  I have started them, yes.  I have had an idea (finally) this morning about where to continue as I plan to write some more today.  I don’t know if I will succeed in writing enough to complete the weekend challenge I joined, but I am going to see what I could do.  That is how I entered.  This doesn’t count, as it is not progressing on my book.  I will add it to the word count as a side project, because it is writing, nonetheless. I do have deadlines with my blog, too, though and I have to do my best to keep up with it here for myself, and for my followers.  Thank you to those who are taking the time to read my Blog, and welcome to any people who are new here.  I write at least twice a week, and this is one of my regular categories. Me vs the weekend. 🙂

Yesterday I got up early, bought and delivered a birthday present to a friend.  Her birthday had been the day before, and I wanted to make sure I got to see her.  We had a good talk, but as she was working it wasn’t the same as a real visit.  I am going to try and pop over again today, as I think it would be nice.

I then tackled some indoor gardening projects.  I have read online that spiders and other bugs do not like mint plants.  A few weeks ago, I had bought six different mint plants, and my husband replanted them into new pots for me.  I have noticed that they were drying up.  I am still trying to figure out a watering schedule for them.  I watered them from the top yesterday when I was finished, and just before I started writing I watered them from the bottom.  I will have to do some online research.  While I was working yesterday I found a green “leaf eater” bug, which my husband buried in the dirt saying that it is a leaf eater, that should be the end of it.  I have my doubts.  I also found an inchworm in another one, and that was successfully relocated outside on a leaf from that plant.  Late last night I got him to move a ladybug back outside for me.  The ants and spiders are not found as frequently inside, so that is a bonus.  I am hoping it works and more bugs stay outside.

Something else was a little confusing.  There is a spearmint plant amongst the varieties I bought, and around the base of the pot on the shelf that I have it on are a lot of hard, black dots.  It is either droppings from a critter or the plant went to seed because it was so dry.  I am not sure, the black bits are no bigger than granulated sugar pieces.  They may indeed be little seeds.  I may gather them up and plant them, to see what comes up!

My husband worked a few extra hours yesterday.  He has been doing that on one of his days off to help with our budget.  I am not going to write about my work here, at least not this week, I had a frustrating week.  I am going to leave it at that, and it is also the reason I did not do any over time at my work this week.  Sometimes I do.  This week it just wasn’t going to happen.

After he was done, we picked up a few groceries.  He made us subs for lunch and he barbequed some wieners for supper.  We then headed out to spend time with some friends.  He had a guys gaming night, and I watched a movie with another friend and called it a ladies night.  Sometimes it is important to plan activities apart.  Other times, like today, we will spend more time together.  It is OK to not spend every single minute with your significant other when you have free time.  It is healthy to have different friends, hobbies and activities.  There is still a common ground for the things you enjoy doing together, but a little break here and there is something we all need.

For prep cooking today I am making Bangin’ Ranch Drums.  It is a Trim Healthy Mama recipe.  I love it, and my husband is OK with it in the rotation, but like with all of the THM recipes, he doesn’t want it all the time.  We also got buns for barbequed cheeseburgers and sloppy joes.  I have some THM sloppy joe mix already made in my freezer.  He likes Manwich.  On this, I am OK with him making his own supper.  If I am to be on plan when I eat it, I will have it with salad, not on a bun.  I may make some green bean fries this week too, as I do enjoy them as a side with the chicken.  I am still working on everything all at once but trying to be realistic at the same time.

Today I will be continuing the cat sitting job.  I also did some plant care there yesterday, they have one houseplant and it needed TLC.  I don’t know about the plant boxes on the deck, though.  They look like they have had a rough summer, and I am not sure if they can be rescued.  I may try, just to surprise my friends when they come home.  I will see how the day goes.  It is very dry, there is a no fire ban here province wide. If I do work on the outdoor plants, I will have to remember to water them.  If they don’t read this, it will be a nice surprise.  If they do, I make no promises.  It may be beyond saving.

I am a member of the Fredericton Science Fiction Society.  The FSFS gets together a little less frequently than it used to, but today we are going to meet up at a local ice cream shop.  My husband is a member too, and the group usually has potluck events year round.  With a ban on fires, we decided it would be better to go have ice cream instead of an outdoor BBQ at a local park today.  Air conditioning may or may not have been a deciding factor in this plan.

We have to do some cleaning.  While I was working on my indoor gardening yesterday, my husband was trimming the lawn.  He didn’t mow it yet.  It is still very dry so there may not be a rush for that.  He is amused that I think we should water it with the garden hose.  It is turning brown.  I just want it to be healthy, and not be so dry it is at risk for burning.  There was a thunderstorm last night, but we need more rain to remove the risk of fires, sooner rather than later.

All in all a busy weekend, but thankfully, it has been going at a slower pace this week.  It is a holiday tomorrow, and I look forward to the holiday pay that I *may have* already spent yesterday.  It is OK. I will forfeit it to the budget since I went ahead and bought some extras.  It’s all about compromise and doing what you can to make life enjoyable with what you have to work with.  Weekends are supposed to be fun and relaxing.  I think I snuck a little of each in this weekend, so it is a win for me!  What did you do this weekend?

 

 

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 26

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 24

by | Aug 4, 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 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 24

Life is funny.  Today when I got up I expected good news here on my blog, as I had published an introduction and my second guest blog post on another blogger’s site.  I was not wrong.  The day turned dark on me this afternoon, and I came home and posted on social media that I was having a hard time.  Friends asked if they could help.  One person sent a friend request.  That person I had never chatted with before helped me turn my night around.  I am not saying that I am not still having the feelings I had earlier, but just having a cry wasn’t enough, either.  I had to do something different.

I have been using this blog to help myself and to try to help others.  Whether it is to share a laugh, or tips, or explore my inner thoughts and demons, I have a purpose here.  It has grown since its beginnings under a different name until I was challenged to rethink things and make it better.  I like to write, that is obvious, and I have rediscovered my passion for writing since I started this adventure last November.  I am working hard at it, to set and keep deadlines, and practice my writing skills.  I am proud of what I have done so far.

I am working on myself too.  On a day like today, there were too many emotions to keep under the cork.  The cork popped, and my tears flowed.  I was sitting here unashamedly crying my beautiful blue eyes out, trying to understand why I wasn’t good enough for something else I wanted to do.  I am working on a lot of me and there is a lot of me to work on.  I am trying to find my gumption every day, not every other week.  I am trying to maintain the cleaning I have done thus far in my home, and improve on it.  I am doing well with the Blog writing, but not so well in the book writing.  I am busy socially, both online and in real life.  I am going to Zumba when I can.  I do some prep cooking, but admittedly not enough.  As I am often told, sometimes I am too hard on myself.  The truth is, and I think I have shared this before, I don’t know how to be any other way.

I have issues with self-esteem.  I often feel like I am good, but not good enough.  This is part of what happened to me today.  When I am rejected, it is like I am taking a kick in the teeth.  I try not to let things show all the time, but there are days like today that I am frustrated, and my only way to get it out is through my tears.  I try really hard to not speak out impulsively in anger. I lost that one today, on both fronts.  I really feel like I am being treated unfairly, with a few different things that are happening in my life.  All of these things added up, and in time, they have to be let out.  Some people yell.  Some people become quiet.  Some people hide.  People like me, well we cry and eat.  Trying to fill the hole caused by whatever triggered the feelings.  I am trying to change that.

The new friend I made today said to write a gratitude list.  Write down five things that I have gratitude about in my life.  In a private message, she also invited me to write down 3 things that are causing me to have my issues I posted about.  I did.  I shared what was going on with a few close friends.  My new friend agreed with me that I had a reason to be upset.  I didn’t need the validation, but there it was.  Without telling this person everything that was setting me off today, they still saw that there is a lot going on for one person to deal with.  Keeping those three things inside was a part of what made it so hard for me to cope today.

I need to make some changes.  I can’t fix every problem that I am facing right now, but I am trying to work on the ones I can.  Tomorrow is a new day.  I will try to face it with my best foot forward, but right now, I am feeling a little nervous about that.  People that know me know that I am not good at hiding how I feel.  It’s going to be a bad day tomorrow because what happened today was bad news for me, and it will be good news for some other people tomorrow.  That is going to be hard to swallow.  Considering I would rather avoid it all and just make poor choices for what to eat and drink avoid real life tomorrow.  I am going to end with my gratitude list.  It didn’t fix my problems, but at least it got me thinking about something else.  For a little while.

1. Discovering my passion for writing and realizing it is what I am meant to do.
2.My husband is my rock and my hero.
3. The joy I get from working on my blog and watching it grow.
4.My stubbornness.
5. Friends and family.
6. My blue eyes.
7. My sense of humour.

After I calmed down a bit, my final entry to the list for the day was:

8.  I still have my teeth. Nobody actually managed to kick any out yet.

My new friend was right. It’s all about perspective.

#TrustYourGut.

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 26

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 23

by | Jul 27, 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 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 23

I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to write this on time this week.  I am fighting another migraine.  It started yesterday and hung on for the day today.  I am really hoping I can shake it off before the weekend. ( I love that song!) The last time I had a migraine the diagnosis was a sinus infection.  I am really hoping that it is not the same this time because I just want to feel healthy and well, not to have to take more antibiotics.

As I write I have done what I can and have taken what I can take. I will be taking another migraine pill before bed, which will likely be shortly after I publish this story tonight.

I left work a little early, which I signed up to do since I am not feeling so good.  I try to work my regular shifts and even do a little overtime when it is offered, so if I am looking to leave early, it is usually because I don’t feel well or there is something going on that I need to leave early for.  If I have company, for example.  That happened a few times this month.  I think today was the 5th time of the year that I left early.  Some people sign the paper to go home every day.  I can’t afford to go home early all of the time, but if it is necessary, then I make a decision to do it.

I have tried to stay on plan for the early part of the week, but when I am not feeling good, the lazy way wins.  I did not eat well for some of the meals I had this week.  Today was one of those days that I went off plan for supper.

If you haven’t heard of the phenomenon that is called “Chase The Ace” then you are missing out on something fun.  It is a lottery, so if you don’t gamble, it is not for you.  It does usually get run by a charity though, so if you wanted to donate the winnings back to the charity, that would be an option that you could still play if you don’t accept the prize for yourself.

There are a few of these events going on in the city, and all over the Maritimes.  You purchase tickets, and there is a growing jackpot.  There is a weekly prize amount, based on the number of tickets sold.  A certain percentage goes to the charity, and a certain amount is the jackpot.  The weekly prize is what you win if you don’t pick the Ace of Spades out of the remaining cards in the deck every week.

So if your ticket is drawn, you get to pick a card from the table.  If you pick the Ace of Spades, you win the jackpot. If you pick any other card, you win the weekly prize.  This week someone else picked another card, so next week we get to try again to “Chase the Ace.” The charity that is running the event that I go to is three local SPCA shelters and another animal rescue.  I am a person who loves animals, so I like going when I get the chance.

I took my migraine medicine and had a nap when I got home today.  I woke up in time to go to the Chase The Ace at Houlie’s Hometown Pub.  The food there is excellent.  I wasn’t feeling great, but I said to my husband, “Even zombies have to eat, ” and we decided to go.  He only has every third Thursday off, and we have gone a few other times.

I REALLY enjoy the Mozza sticks there.  In fact, I don’t even want to share them, they are that good.  I have had the nachos and a pulled pork wrap with sweet potato fries there before.  I have heard that the seafood chowder is amazing, and I wanted to try it tonight, but I will have to wait for another time, as it was sold out.  I opted to try the fish and chips and had sweet potato fries instead of traditional fries.  Sweet potato fries are on plan, so I sort of did OK. (I tried. I don’t feel good.  Eating with a migraine is a gamble in itself).

I have been watching MasterChef again.  I tapped the batter with my fork, and it sounded like it did when Gordon Ramsay did it on TV.  I cut into the first piece of fish, and just like on MasterChef, the fish was flaky and glistening.  It was really tasty, too.  I was eating my supper, and a thought occurred to me.  Pepere, my grandfather on my mother’s side, always said something when we were having a meal with fish.  He would always say, “Fish for brains!”  My hope is that the fish will help my brains feel better and lose the migraine.  It also can be loosely thought to reflect the zombie comment I had earlier said about going out for supper.

We didn’t have a jackpot winner this week so the chasing will continue at least for one more week.  The jackpot was around $4,800.00 tonight and will be higher next week.  I did get to see some friends and support a charity tonight.  I also had a delicious meal, and now I have a full belly to fuel me to start feeling better and work harder tomorrow.  Something was telling me to eat fish at supper tonight.  So even if it was off plan, it was a choice I made and I think it was the right one.

#TrustYourGut.