2012 Spring Cleaning

It is that time of year...SPRING CLEANING!

I'm not a big clean top to bottom every spring kind of gal. I use to clean like that at least once a month then life got in the way. Now I have no time for that. I can keep things tidy and clean but just don't open the drawers or closets. I just have too much stuff. I have been purging here and there but I still do not have a place for everything and everything does not have a place. It will happen.

Anyway, back to spring cleaning. My goal is to deep clean each room over the next four weeks. I will not be doing this to the bedrooms though. I am just not up for that. I will shampoo the carpets but that is about as far as it is going to go, I think.

I am starting in the living room and dining room. They go hand and hand because they are really the same room. I used to not like this, and I do dream of a large dining room one day, but I have grown to like it. It
keeps everyone together. It is nice. Anyway, I will start tomorrow and plan to finish over the course of a week. We will see.

Missy

Week 6 - Lost 0 lbs - 18 lbs Total

Ugh... I ate horrible. I had lost two more pounds but gained them back this week. I can not have bad food in the house at this point which is fine by my family. DJ had lost 15 lbs with our new way of eating but he gained 5 back already. He declared last night "No more. Mom, we are not eating bad anymore. We all feel horrible after we eat." Wow, coming from a teenager that is pretty smart. I'm glad he is aware how food makes him feel and what it does to him.

I am glad I didn't gain weight but I am disapointed in myself. I am not going to give up though. I can't. I can't keep going the road I am. My days drag when I eat bad and my fibro flares at the slightest sliver of junk food. It is absolutely torture on my body and brain.

I have a ton of fruit and veggies in the fridge that I fear will go bad because it has been sitting in there for a while. You know, because I ate the junk food instead. As not to waste it, I think I will juice a couple meals over the next couple days to get rid of it. I will let you know how that goes.

I'm off.

Missy

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

A couple years ago my mom gave me a smoothie machine for Christmas. It is actually a blender with a fancy name but we won't tell her that. Anyway, I have never had luck with making smoothies. They just never tasted right to me.

When I began my weigh loss journey I decided to give it another try. I just happened to have milk because my niece had stayed the weekend and she drinks smoothies for breakfast so I figured I would go with that instead of the yogurt that the recipes call for that I have used in the past. Way better. Granted I have only tried one flavored smoothie but it is working for me.

I have been making a banana and strawberry smoothie a couple times a week.

It makes about two cups. I usually drink one cup in the morning and the second in the afternoon.

I am not an expert but I have learned a little about banana and strawberry smoothies.
1. Frozen strawberries make it thick. Like so thick I threw it out because I couldn't drink it.
2. It taste better with fresh strawberries.
3. It is not real cold when finished. Maybe because the banana isn't cold? I enjoy my afternoon glass better because it is cold. I have read that I should put a couple ice cubes in it but I just haven't tried it.
4. If you use small strawberries the banana flavor really comes out.

Anyway, that is all I have to say. I just thought I would tell you about my new found love for my blender smoothie machine.
Banana and Strawberry Smoothie Recipe
1 Medium Banana - 105 calories (count taken from The Calorie King book)
6 Large Strawberries - 40 calories (count taken from The Calorie King book)
1 Cup of Skim Milk - 80 calories (count taken from milk carton)
Put in blender and blend well. Pour in glass and drink.
Total Calories - 225
Do you have a great smoothie recipe?

Missy

Week 5 - Lost 3 lbs - 18 lbs Total

I am glad I lost 3 lbs but it should be more. I have a cold right now so I am not up to blogging today but I will explain later. I will have to say good old fruit, veggies, and exercise is working for me. It really doesn't take a scientist to figure this out.

I'm off to nurse my sick head.

Missy

Week 4 - Lost 8 lbs. - 15 lbs. Total

Eight pounds gone! Yes! That is more than a pound a day! Michael says he can see the weight loss. My face does look a little thinner and my stomach doesn't look swollen. I think others should be able to notice too because I feel smaller but when I look in the mirror fully clothed I know you can't see a difference. It will come.

I know that I am going to do this. There is no doubt in my mind. No giving up for this girl!

Have a great day and please pray for me as I continue this journey.

Missy

I think I am becoming a green junkie

A couple years ago I started incorporating more fruits and veggies into my everyday diet. As this was a good thing I didn't stop eating chips, chocolate, and hamburgers. I really didn't think about how much I was eating the junk because I almost always cooked healthy. Fried foods maybe 3-4 times a year, hardly any red meat, and rarely gravies. It was what I wasn't cooking that hurt me.

My plan was to go to the doctor for my yearly workup in March so I could lose more weight and maybe my numbers would be decent. I could feel my body was not right and I was always feeling bad. It was easy to blame a lot of it on fibro but I knew in my heart that was not all of it. Well, my plan was derailed because I got an UTI. I tried natural remedies to cure it to no avail.

Well, my blood pressure was high and I had gained ten pounds. No surprise. Also, my gallbladder is swollen and probably full of stones so it may have to come out. I have been having pains for a while. She decided that I wasn't going to do anything about my weight and wanted to put me on blood pressure meds and then told me that next would be diabetes, heart attack, and then I will die prematurely. I think she was tired of telling me to lose weight and was not going to hold back this time.

Exactly what I needed. I have watched people die a slow death due to poor nutrition and exercise and it wasn't pretty. I do not want to be one of them. I told her give me 2 months and if I didn't lower my blood pressure I would start the meds. I went home and cried because I do not want to take meds and I do not want my gallbladder taken out. I researched both and decided I had a shot of reversing this.

I changed my diet the next day. For six days now I have only eaten fruits, veggies, and a once a day a handful of meat. I have also made two smoothies using strawberries, a banana, and a cup of milk.

I had major withdrawals the first three days. Headaches, nausea, diarrhea and fever. I was miserable but after three days I felt great. I do not crave junk. I would like to eat chips because I like them but I haven't had the urge to eat from the bag on the counter. I would like to eat a fajita taco at my nieces party this weekend but I have already purposed it in my heart that I am not going to do it. I just can't. I have to get this weight off or feel miserable for the rest of my life. And actually, I have really enjoyed the way I am eating.

So I guess my point is I am on my way to being a green junkie!

0-10...I really don't have time for this.

Zero time to be on the computer.
One sick kid.
Two birthday presents to buy.
Three school subjects to grade.
Four loads of laundry to do.
Five rooms to clean by myself because of sick kid.
Six seed packets to plant.
Seven days of menu planning to do.
Eight phone calls to make.
Nine seconds to realize I don't have nine of one thing to do.
Ten hours to realize I won't get it all done.

Have a blessed day!

Missy