Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 46

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 46

by | Jan 14, 2018 | Trust Your Gut

This week in Trust Your Gut, I am going to talk about weighing in. I got on the scale this morning. I worked harder on the meal planning last week and even started drinking The Shrinker once a day. That is oolong tea, with cinnamon and cayenne, that is supposed to help kick up your metabolism. It is a THM recipe. There is more in it, and the basic recipe can be found here. I think the original recipe is for a larger batch. I have been using 4 oolong tea bags. Then I do my thing, as the recipe in the link says, I own it. I add chocolate chai tea, a teeny tiny bit of cayenne. Spicy things do not agree with me. I add extra cinnamon. Unsweetened cashew milk with vanilla. I brew the oolong in a teapot, I have a tea container that I can put loose tea leaves in, and I am putting the chocolate chai in there. I am almost out, so I am going to try and stretch it until payday. Lastly, I sweeten with Swerve. It is the sweetener that I have chosen to use.

I am drinking coffee too, 2 K-cups in my new NaNoWriMo stainless Steel Mug. It is too tall to put under my Keurig, so I have to brew the coffee in a regular mug. I have gotten myself into the habit of drinking my coffee black. I have learned to enjoy it that way. It is better for me without sugar.

So when I combine this with eating healthier, I expect to see results. I climbed on the scale yesterday. I was 0.1 lb heavier than the last time. Granted I have not been able to go to Zumba twice a week, and the new schedule is causing a shift in my sleeping pattern.

Am I going to let it win? No. A scale is just a tool, not an enemy. It needs to be used properly, and I am trying to do that. It is so easy to jump on it every morning to see what happened. I cannot do that to myself. So once every week or two, I am going to weigh myself, and see where things sit. I am glad that there wasn’t a huge weight gain, 0.1 lb is not anything to sweat over. Unless you are working out, then by all means, sweating it out is the way to go.

I am still adjusting to my new routine. I think I am doing great! I am trying harder, paying more attention, and not derailing as often as I had been. I am also done eating that tub of chocolate ice cream. I finished it tonight. With creme de menthe on it. It is just like chocolate mint candy that way. It was my Christmas treat this year. Now it is gone, and it is time to move on.

That is where things are at this week. What are you succeeding at in your journey to becoming a healthier version of yourself? Share your wins and your losses below. 😉 In this case, losses are a good thing!

#TrustYourGut

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 46

Trust Your Gut, Tish’s Story; Part 45

by | Jan 5, 2018 | Trust Your Gut

This week in Trust Your Gut, I am not sure what to write about. I have done better with food choices. In fact, I tried something new. I bought Green Giant riced cauliflower and sweet potato in the frozen vegetable section of the grocery store, a while back. I am not afraid to try new things, but I will admit that it sat in the freezer for longer than had I intended it to. I had some THM Crispy Lickin’ Chicken Thighs in the oven, so I decided to make this new thing my side dish.

I cooked it in the bag in the microwave. There are stove top directions, but I wasn’t ready to try frying it just yet. I cooked it, and added butter to it and mixed it in. I really liked it. I was full with the chicken and the sweet potato cauliflower rice. I have split it into 2 meals, and have my own healthy “TV dinner” packed in the fridge, ready to heat and eat.

I also finished up the loaded spaghetti squash casserole that I made last week. I had it for lunch at work the last two days. I am not sure if I am going to take the chicken meal for lunch tomorrow, or if it might be a sandwich day. Sometimes I take eggs and scramble them for lunch with cheese. Whatever I bring, I am trying to have healthier choices again.

I have not had Zumba classes this week, but I expect to have some shoveling to do for activity tomorrow. It is called a weather bomb cyclone, and there was a large snowfall warning overnight. It is freezing rain out there now, so I am not sure if there will be any snow to shovel tomorrow or not. I will see in the morning. We have a late start time, and work was closed early today, which is very unusual, that does not happen very often. Neither does a bomb cyclone. It is the first time I have heard of a winter storm with that name.

I am also trying to get more sleep in. It has been a busy December with building the website in all of my free time. Now that it is here, although not finished, it is not the cause of stress to meet the launch deadline. I know that 6 hours of sleep is technically enough to squeak by on, it is not ideal. I am trying to get in more sleep when I can. I don’t want to get sick, and I know I will have a better chance at being healthier if I make sleep more important in my goals for a healthier lifestyle. I have been pushing my limits. I know I need to slow down. Just a little.

The website is launched. The Holidays are over. Now is the time to continue to work on living a healthier lifestyle.   I keep working towards my goals. When I start seeing results, it will be just the incentive I need to keep going. My defining word for 2018 is SUCCESS. I plan to make it happen.

#TrustYourGut

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 46

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 28

by | Sep 1, 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 28

Somebody asked me a question the day that made me stop and think.  The question was, “Where do you get your energy?”  My quick response was, “Coffee and kickass multivitamins.”  But I thought about it some more and felt that the person that asked me the question deserved a better answer.  I met up with him a few minutes later, and I explained that it is from following my passion.  When I am being creative, it makes me push my limits and myself.  I am inspired all the time, even in my sleep.  If I let myself go when it comes to being creative, whether or not it is writing, there are no boundaries.  I can be struck by an idea for the blog by having a conversation with my husband or a friend.  It can even happen when I am working.  I can wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, and when that happens, I make myself go write it down.

I wish I could harness this energy, and direct some of it towards my metabolic rate.  The feelings of utter joy I have when I am making progress on one of my projects is unmatched anywhere else in my life.  It is all me, from my very core, and it radiates out.  It is contagious.  It is visible.  People can see the change in me when I am working on something that makes my heart sing!

Note: I realized after this was published, that I forgot a very important part of my answer to this question.  YOU!  Every time someone reads, likes, shares or comments on this blog, it adds fuel to my train of momentum.  So thank you, each and every one of you for taking the time out of your busy lives to include reading my words.  It means more than I can write here, in just one paragraph, and even if there was a longer place for this note, I don’t know if words can describe the feelings I have inside about every bit of growth it has from your continued support.  You all amaze me.

I am starting to prepare for my challenge. It starts tomorrow.  I have a long weekend.  With the work I have done in the last month with the other challenges, I want to keep the momentum going.  I am going to focus on making healthier choices.  I am going to use the same fire and determination in my journey to be a healthier version of myself.  Tonight, I am getting it out of my system.  This weekend, I am going to be setting up my new routine.  I will need to get organized and to do that I will need a plan.  That means food, specifically meals, and snacks, drinks, testing my sugars frequently, recording all of this and how much insulin I am taking.  If I am serious about this, I know I will see results.  I wrote in my challenges about why I want to be an entrepreneur.  Part of the answer was because I want to lead by example.  I am working hard on my dreams, and one of them is becoming a healthier version of myself.  I am going to start with planning the next week while I start this weekend.

I will be researching new recipes in my Trim Healthy Mama book.  There are other recipes online, and there are my favourites I can mix into the meal plan.  I have not made a lot of desserts because I was not certain of the sweetener ratio.  I am using swerve in the powdered and granular form.  THM uses their own sweeteners, and there are conversions for their blends of sweeteners.  I have the chart on the inside of a cabinet door in the kitchen.  I have most of the ingredients I need for making THM recipes, so I am going to expand my horizons with testing some new recipes and adding the ones I like to my rotation.  I think that might be why I have not been as inspired to stay on plan.  I know I need to do this.

#TrustYourGut

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 46

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 27

by | Aug 24, 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 27

Summer is slowly sneaking past us, and soon it will be fall.  I have seen other people do challenges, and I have a few things I need to get back on track with.  One of them is my zig-zagging on the path less travelled to living a healthier lifestyle.  I don’t have kids, and I am not going back to school.  But September can be a new start for this and other areas of my life that are lacking commitment right now.

In THM, there are many different groups to belong to.  You can join based on food types, health issues, location, budget friendly, beginner, very fluffy, the main THM group and allergy issue groups.  There is even one for people that Blog about THM. I am involved in several and have not been contributing much lately.  I can share my Blog stories on their pages, but not if that is the only thing I am contributing.  I think that is fair.

I do write this to keep myself accountable, and also to help other people.  If you don’t have the same issues I have with being morbidly obese, then reading this Blog might help you learn how to be a better friend to someone like me.  It may even help you figure out what you can do to help them.

Let’s go with a big one. Do not be the food police.  Every person that is capable of feeding themselves is also capable of deciding what to eat, what not to eat, and how much of that they are going to eat.  If I am having a piece of cake at a social gathering, and someone makes me feel bad about it, I am going to eat two or three times the amount of cake I allowed for with my meal plan and insulin doses.  Saying nothing and judging by silence or a look is no better.  I eat the guilt instead of feeling it.  That is a dangerous option for me.  I am trying so hard to make better choices, but a simple thing like me having chocolate to get through a rough work day can compound to a box of chocolates at home later on.  Yes, a box, not one or two pieces.  If I bring them home, I want to gobble them up so they aren’t there to tempt me anymore.  When I think about that, it is really messed up.  But it is how I think.

I hid being a type 2 diabetic for a long time.  Now that I am open about it, I feel like people are always watching what I eat, and judging me.  If I was realistic, I would think that I am not so important in other people’s lives that they spend time critically thinking about what I am eating.  I have answered a lot of questions regarding what I am eating for lunch at work, and when it is a healthy recipe, I am proud to share.  Even if the cauliflower that I had to heat up is stinky, or someone is grossed out by the way I am assembling my cheeseburger pie.  If it tastes good, fills me, and doesn’t make me feel bad after eating it, then I am happy to share about what I am eating, and even share the recipes I love if people want to try them.

Back to September coming up.  I am going to focus more on me, and the THM plan.  What do I mean?  It is going to be hard.  I am going to have a 30 day no cheat challenge.  Eek!  I have commitment issues when it comes to being 100% on plan, but it is about time that I really put an effort into it.  At the same time, I am going to post in the groups more in September, so that I can share the blog posts that relate to THM in the groups more.  Finally, to get myself on track and stay there, I will have to prep cook.  That also needs time and energy.  If it is focused, it does not have to take a lot of either, because I am prep cooking for me, and sometimes for my husband, not an army.  Leftovers are handy for lunches, as long as I have the means of storing them properly.

One thing that concerns me is maintaining a solid balance of my blood sugars.  I am worried about lows and treating them while staying on plan.  That is a tricky path in the brambles and may require bending of the rules a bit.  If I have to pick a quick source of the wrong kind of sugar to avoid a hospital or death, I am going to have to be OK with that.  Before I start, though, I am going to hang out in the THM Diabetes group and ask some questions to make me feel better about how to treat the lows.  I am giving myself time to do this, before the official start.  I will need to start recording my blood sugars, insulin doses and keep a food diary to make this work because if I don’t know what the patterns are, it is hard to manage the blood sugar highs and lows properly.  This sounds like work to me, but if you do something consistently for 30 days it becomes a habit, and I am trying to develop better habits for a healthier lifestyle.  I wrote it here, so now I have to follow through.

Accountability.  It is time to take things seriously again.  Writing it all down every day will help me track patterns and find out how different foods affect my sugars.  I know I am not going to be 100% on plan, being me, but if I can give it my best attempt, I will have something I can be proud of working on.  So I am going to make a real effort in September. I need to refocus on a few things, and this is one of them.  Time to start planning.  Anybody else getting ready to start fresh in September?  I will cheer you on as I share my progress every week, here.  It’s time to refocus.

#TrustYourGut

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 46

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 22

by | Jul 20, 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 22

Well, folks, it has been a fantastic day!  I didn’t start off too well, I started the day with a sugar low.  I didn’t let that stop me, not for too long. I ate my banana in the car and had a juice box when I got to work.  My sugars, of course, went up from there.  As usual, I chased the banana with a black coffee.  That’s how my days start.  I don’t usually have the juice box, and I don’t usually have the low at that time of day.  So what is going on?

I have worked hard this week to find my way back to working on me.  I have had to make some decisions and some changes.  I have started cooking meals that are on plan this week, and I am letting myself enjoy what I make.  That is how Trim Healthy Mama is supposed to work.  I’m not an expert, and I stray a little here and there, but I am getting my groove back, and the scale is responding the right way.

I am also happy to say that I am sitting here melting in my living room.  It is said to be the warmest day of the week, and it is more than warm.  I am not just warm because of the temperature in here, but also because I have made it to Zumba twice this week.  So when I write that I am melting, it is literal.  I worked out in this heat, hydrated, and now I am relaxing in my little almost sauna.  It sounds better than it is, but I am not here to complain.

I am here to try and help people.  I have been lacking in that department, lately, because I was not trying very hard myself.  I have had enough of that noise!  I am back and working hard to make more progress than before!  I am seeing it, and when I see it, I know it is real.  I am cooking.  I am planning.  I am working with recipes that I really love because that is what keeps me going back to this plan.

My sugars are coming back around.  That is one of the most important things I can do for my health, is to monitor my sugars, and eat so that they stabilize.  I am working on that, and THM is the way for me to do that.  When I add in exercise, it is a remarkable difference in how I feel, and how I attack every day.  Planning is so important for me when it comes to food.  I have worked hard this week to make food that is on plan so I can start winning this thing called life we all play at here.

I am breaking away from the bad habits again.  Only I can do that, I have to believe that I am worth the effort.  Now that I am back in my routine, and back from vacation, it was time to start working on things that help me feel better, and live life better.

After my on plan supper, I was wanting a little something extra.  I tried the new Good Thins Beet crackers.  They are OK, but I saw the ingredients and decided to not eat too many.  I was debating making an on plan shake or smoothie when my husband showed up.  He had picked up his own supper, and cinnamon rolls.  But the best thing he brought home was a bag full of fresh cherries.  I indulged in a bowl full of cherries.  Because let’s face it, life really is based a lot on your perspective, and in what you make of it.  I am making the most of things tonight, and having the bowl of cherries, because who wants to choke on the pits?  Not me.  I’m back, and I am feeling great!

#TrustYourGut