To make lasting changes, it's important to make small, attainable goals and CRUSH them!!! I stepped on the scale this morning and watched in horror at the number. Trust me I know I shouldn't worry about the number and all that, and that I've been through a lot trying to figure out what's wrong with me...but blah blah, blahgitty blah. Being easy on myself is what's caused me to put on nearly 15 pounds. INEXCUSABLE!!!!!! It's bad enough that all of my cardio endurance I worked so hard for is GONE, but now none of my flipping flinging clothes fit. Here are my first 2 goals I've set for myself:
1. Finish my 48oz water bottle; twice. I have a horrible habit of only drinking water when I'm working out and then either don't drink anything the rest of the day or I'll go grab a giant diet coke from somewhere. I know it's bad, it's a bad habit I'm working on.
2. Wear my fit bit zip every day and hit my goals for it with steps and mileage.
My first born is about to celebrate a pretty big milestone. In just a few weeks he is leaving elementary school behind and on to the big, bad, nasty world of middle school. I hated my middle school years, and I'm really hoping he enjoys his! For the big 5th grade send off, I need to send in 3 pictures; newborn, kindergarten and a current picture. These had me tearing up a bit, so I figured I would share them tonight.
Hard to believe he was ever this small, but this was sweet baby Tyler 10.5 years ago when he was just a couple of weeks old.
5 years later, the weekend before Kindergarten began.
This was on his 10th birthday this past September. It's insane how fast time flies!!!
My Dr. just called and my results are in:
Negative for Celiac, based on my symptoms, my official diagnosis is non-celiac gluten allergy. I need to be 100% gluten free for the next month, if this brings relief to my current symptoms, then I'll continue to be gluten free. If after 1 month, I still am not experiencing relief, we'll have to do further testing.
It is what it is. I have had a feeling that gluten was a culprit for awhile, but have been putting off finding out because I'm a big baby. It's really not as hard as I thought it was going to be, I had my first big "test" yesterday at my mom's for the mother's day dinner. We were having hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob and some delicious cookies for dessert. I had to say no to the hamburger bun and the cookies, but it was great leaving the table and being able to sit and hang out with my family not in stomach pain and feeling like I was going to die. Progress is small, but it's progress! I had a couple "episodes" over the weekend, even though I didn't eat anything I shouldn't have, I just kept reminding myself that the doctor said it could be two-four weeks before I felt "normal" again.
Enough about my insides, let's talk about the weekend instead :)
My husband and kids were so proud of themselves, my boys picked out the flowers themselves and the purse is something I've had my eye on, but didn't want to spend the money on myself.
I mentioned that yesterday we spent the day with my mom and brother's and families, and on Saturday night we were with my husband's family. After dinner, my two sister in laws and daughter decided to try some acro tricks they saw online, once we got Karlie on the top, we had about a 10 second window to snap a picture.
Love it.
The little one and I are going to spend some time outside today planting a few plants and cleaning up the planters that are already overgrown with weeds. Spring is here :) Have a great day and please feel free to share any g-free recipes or links that you have!
If you remember, I posted this picture last week after a week of over-indulging in some pizza and other foods.
But, this keeps happening. For the past month or so, I noticed that things just weren't right. I have been fighting this stomach pain and thought maybe I was just over eating, but over the past week I noted that the bathroom visits were becoming more frequent and painful and it didn't matter how much or how little I ate, it still happened. Enough was enough and I scheduled a dr appointment for yesterday. I don't want to get into too many specifics, because if you are having issues, it's always best to speak with a dr, but I knew something was wrong.
After listing my symptoms and in near tears because of the pain I was in, my Dr. put her hand on my shoulder and said, "you are a walking, talking fact sheet for a gluten allergy." The celiac tests aren't back yet, and probably wont' be until Monday, but she advised I start on a gluten free diet immediately, and also warned me to be patient, as it could take up to two weeks before I could feel relief. That's when I broke down and started crying. Two weeks?! Are you kidding me? I went home and had a pity party for 1 for awhile and then got totally overwhelmed on everything online. My neighbor brought over 4 books for me last night and reading the first chapter of one of them had me nodding my head saying YES, oh my gosh, that's exactly how it feels!!!
So, the plan is this: wait for the test results, if it comes back positive, I'll be having an endoscopy and biopsy to check for damage that has been done. If it comes back negative, all signs are pointing to a gluten sensitivity issue, so I need to stay on a total gluten free diet for 4-6 weeks, if I'm not feeling any relief, further testing will be done. If the total gluten free diet brings relief, then that's what I'll stay on.
I'm feeling better about things today, trying to focus on foods I CAN eat instead of foods that I CAN'T. I just want some relief to this near constant stomach pain and if that means no gluten, than that's what I'll do.
I have the amazing opportunity to be a Diet to Go Ambassador for the next 6 months. As part of this partnership, I received foods from the Traditional Plan to eat and review for the blog.
I wasn't really sure what to expect, but when the package arrived, I couldn't believe how much food there was! Each meal was prepackaged telling me exactly what was in it, how long to cook each meal and the ingredients. The other package that came had small cans of V8 and Cranberry juice, apples, oranges and snack packages. Everything was labeled so I knew exactly what went with what. They were also really easy to stack and didn't take up too much room in our freezer, which was a huge plus.
One of my absolute favorite meals was the breakfast I had on the first day.
This was a french toast bake that was topped with a slice of ham and swiss cheese and then had this totally delicious raspberry sauce that took the whole sweet/savory combo to a new level! It's a good thing it was portion controlled, because I would have had double that amount if possible!!! Other breakfast choices included muffins, yogurt and a power bar.
One of my favorite lunches was this Chicken Waldorf salad on a whole wheat bun.
It came with this zesty snack mix that had chickpea crispy noodles, corn nuts and seeds, I loved it and so much better than a bag of chips. In addition, a small can of V8 went along with that meal as well. Other lunch choices included black bean soup with a pretzel and string cheese, a chicken sub sandwich that was quite amazing as well.
Out of every dinner meal I had the chance to try, one of them was a clear winner. I savored each and every delicious bite. I couldn't believe how much was packed into this little burrito, chicken, peppers, onions and the flavor was perfection. It tasted like a burrito from a restaurant instead of one that was frozen earlier that day.
I also LOVED those refried beans, holy incredible!!!
What I loved about all of the Diet to Go meals that I was able to try was that I never felt deprived. I never felt like the portions were too small, in fact there were a few meals that I couldn't finish everything that was included in the meal.
I tried the Traditional plan, but there are two other plans available as well; Low Carb and Vegetarian. So there really is something for everyone.
Each plan rotates on a 5 week plan, so you are always getting something different. You can also make substitutions for foods you dislike or allergies.
Want to learn more? Check out the Diet to Go Facebook page or follow Diet to Go on Twitter.
Have you ever tried Diet to Go meals?
It's been awhile since I've linked up with the ever fabulous Katie for MIMM, it's high time I start joining in the fun again!
Marvelous is...
Getting back to the gym! After a week of not doing anything, I did 2 miles on the treadmill and a chest/tris workout that has my arms aching tonight. Love when the soreness sneaks up on me :)
Marvelous is...
A clean and stocked fridge. Before going to Sam's Club and Meijer this morning, I emptied out the entire fridge, scrubbed it down and now it's full of awesome goodies for the rest of the week.
Marvelous is...
If you haven't tried these yet...go get yourself a box. You're welcome in advance.
Marvelous is...
Going to the park after school. I think it's safe to say that Spring has arrived in Michigan!
We stayed at the school playground for about an hour after school today and it was perfect.
Share something marvelous from your weekend :)
Last week was a tough week and I'm so glad it's over. This is going to be a whole lot of TMI...this is your warning.
Since I started losing weight, my periods have gotten progressively better and not as heavy and painful as they were a couple of years ago, but this past week was a flashback for sure. There were a few days it took everything out of me just to do the simplest of tasks, and going to the gym was only a dream. It's not an excuse, but I also let my eating habits fall to the wayside as well. On Friday night when I was finally on the upswing, I walked by the bathroom mirror and was seriously appalled. After only a week of feeding my body garbage, it was rebelling...big time. I had to take a picture so I can remember how quickly this can happen.
I'm not pregnant, obviously, but I look like I'm about to deliver a small child.
I can't wait to get to the gym tomorrow! I have my workouts planned for the week, my meal plan (which includes TONS of vegetables!!) is ready and it's time to get this body moving again.
Have a great rest of the day!
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