I grew up being forced to eat my veggies. I just didn't like them, in fact most made me gag. I don't even know why. I guess because they were "good for me" made them unappealing. This very bad behavior carried into adulthood- which we all know is not good for our waists or our weight. As I gained more weight than I should've in college and had more problems internally, I refused to change my ways. Instead, I would take diet pills until I starved myself and threw up stomach acid/bile.
After losing our first pregnancy, I got even more out of hand, especially since Paul worked late the majority of the week. I ate out and more fast food than a grown person ever should. When I got pregnant with Rylee I weighed more than I ever had. Due to my morning sickness with that pregnancy, after I had Rylee I went 14 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight within 2 weeks of having her, which was still more than I should weight but better than what I was.
Unfortunately this didn't last.
When Rylee was 18 months old, I weighed my heaviest. At this point I started working out 5 or 6 days a week and eating vegetarian. The thing is I still wasn't a vegetable eater (ironic?!) and survived on fruit, yogurt, and meat replacers (Chik patties, anyone?). I didn't mind this course, and the food wasn't horrible. I lost 12 pounds and could tell that my body was changing. The thing is I was often hungry and snacking a lot, but the weight was still coming off so I paid no attention to it.
When I found out I was pregnant with Preston, the vegetarian went out the window because I was craving chicken to the extreme! Probably because I wasn't eating what I needed to to get the protein I needed. I ate better than I did with Rylee's pregnancy- though I drank more caffeine- and even though I wasn't as sick and I was eating more often I was losing weight. After losing Preston, I weighed what I did after having Rylee. My goal was to not let it go this time. Unfortunately the mental, physical, and mostly emotional exhaustion caught up with me. Not to mention the weeks I spent on bed rest didn't help my physical aspect.
I started working out late January, but my knee prevented me from doing the exercises properly and I often cut my work out short because of the pain. Eventually, I just stopped... bad decision I know.
That bring us to now. My weight got back up there. I knew there was something I needed to do about it, and the major problem has always gone back to my eating habits. I have been researching the paleo lifestyle for awhile now. I was nervous to do it because it involves little fruit and a lot of veggies. Being I've never been a fan I put it off until this past Sunday.
eMeals.com had a coupon code for 20% off and they had a Paleo meal plan, I felt like it was kind of meant to be at that point. So I signed up. We went shopping after church on Sunday (after binging on pizza and wings on Saturday.. oops lol) and brought home a lot of fresh veggies and meat. We started it that night. I have tried every single thing I've made- including the veggies- and for the most part it's all been good, even delicious! I'm making more satisfying breakfasts, so much so I don't need lunch some days, and dinner gets me to breakfast the next morning. I've restarted the Couch-2-5K program that I do on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday- no other working out at this point. I want to take it slow to prevent my knee from getting angry.
If you don't know what Paleo is let me break it down:
No Grains
No Legumes (with the exception of green beans, sugar snap peas, and snow peas)
No Dairy (with the exception of clarified butter or ghee, which has milk solids removed)
No Refined Sugar
No Alcohol
It's basically whole foods, and whole foods only.
For the most part, I've found it to be not too bad, though last night got the best of me (I ate a small bowl of cereal- ugh grains and dairy!). But one small cheat will not set me back. With the encouragement of my mom, I weighed myself this morning (I planned on waiting at least 2 weeks) and I've lost 6lbs and a total of 5" from my waist, hips, and bust! If that isn't encouragement I don't know what is! I haven't starved, I haven't really snacked, all I've done is eat real, unprocessed food. Oh and I've only worked out twice, so it's safe to say this is mostly coming from my change in the way I eat.
I'm so excited to change my lifestyle and the fact that I'm enjoying it makes it all the better. Paul is getting great dinners every night so he's in full support. And now Rylee sees more than just 1 parent eating their veggies, she sees 2!
EDIT:
The above regulations are for the Whole30 30 day "reset" diet. It uses the Paleo premise and takes it up a notch. I'm doing my best to follow it, but this morning I had a cup of coffee with a little (for me) sugar and some raw milk. I read on Mark's Daily Apple (website of author of Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson) that a little bit of sugar in coffee won't completely ruin this lifestyle for you. For this, I'm thrilled. I don't plan on having coffee daily like I used to, but on days like today after a rough night it's much appreciated!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Commitments
Today I am grateful for the fact that Rylee and I have basically no commitments except to each other during the day. We don't have anywhere we HAVE to be. We don't have anything we HAVE to do. We only have to spend time with each other. And on this rainy day, we are having a wonderful comfy cozy snuggle fest on the couch :) She's reading or watching a movie and I'm here blogging and reading up on some stuff. We are spending time together and being lazy.
We go to story time at the library during the week, but it's a free thing so it's not like I feel guilty if we miss it. I want to get her involved in some more things- that will cost money and then we will have commitments- but right now, I'm enjoying what little time I have left with it just being us before all the extracurriculars start.
We are planning on homeschooling- not something I've talked about with a lot of people other than family- at least for the first few years (really we're going to take it year by year and if it ever seems like it isn't working for us, we'll look at our options) but I plan on getting involved with a co-op for socialization and a lot businesses in the area do homeschool classes. Even then, we'll have commitments to those.
So for now, I plan on soaking in these days of no commitments and in the future, when I make a post about a crazy schedule with practices and events I can look back and remember there were days when we were able to just snuggle and enjoy each others company :)
Now back to my lazy day with my beautiful daughter.
We go to story time at the library during the week, but it's a free thing so it's not like I feel guilty if we miss it. I want to get her involved in some more things- that will cost money and then we will have commitments- but right now, I'm enjoying what little time I have left with it just being us before all the extracurriculars start.
We are planning on homeschooling- not something I've talked about with a lot of people other than family- at least for the first few years (really we're going to take it year by year and if it ever seems like it isn't working for us, we'll look at our options) but I plan on getting involved with a co-op for socialization and a lot businesses in the area do homeschool classes. Even then, we'll have commitments to those.
So for now, I plan on soaking in these days of no commitments and in the future, when I make a post about a crazy schedule with practices and events I can look back and remember there were days when we were able to just snuggle and enjoy each others company :)
Now back to my lazy day with my beautiful daughter.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Realization...
Today has been about realizations for me.
I realized that I need to put my diaper bag away. I don't need it for Rylee now that she's potty trained and obviously won't be packing it for use soon.
I realized I avoid our 3rd bedroom like the plague. If I have to go in there for anything, I'm in and out as fast as possible. My heart rate goes up significantly anytime I have to go in there. It has become our catch all room, rather than a nursery.
Finally, I realized it's been about 6 weeks since I've been to see Preston. I've been in the area twice and haven't driven the extra 3 or so miles to see him. Both times I've been in the area the weather has been nice. So really there's no real excuse. I honestly don't know why I haven't gone. Going to see your baby in a cemetery is something indescribable, something I don't wish on a single soul in this world, but I hate that I haven't gone to visit him in so long.
My realizations for the day have been painful ones, but ones I needed to have. Things are about to get really hard in the next 6 weeks or so, and it's best I get these "little" realizations out of the way before the big ones try to knock me down. I plan on standing as strong as possible, but I know breakdowns are to be expected. I'm very blessed to have great friends and wonderful family around to hold me, and to know that Preston will always be in their hearts too.
I realized that I need to put my diaper bag away. I don't need it for Rylee now that she's potty trained and obviously won't be packing it for use soon.
I realized I avoid our 3rd bedroom like the plague. If I have to go in there for anything, I'm in and out as fast as possible. My heart rate goes up significantly anytime I have to go in there. It has become our catch all room, rather than a nursery.
Finally, I realized it's been about 6 weeks since I've been to see Preston. I've been in the area twice and haven't driven the extra 3 or so miles to see him. Both times I've been in the area the weather has been nice. So really there's no real excuse. I honestly don't know why I haven't gone. Going to see your baby in a cemetery is something indescribable, something I don't wish on a single soul in this world, but I hate that I haven't gone to visit him in so long.
My realizations for the day have been painful ones, but ones I needed to have. Things are about to get really hard in the next 6 weeks or so, and it's best I get these "little" realizations out of the way before the big ones try to knock me down. I plan on standing as strong as possible, but I know breakdowns are to be expected. I'm very blessed to have great friends and wonderful family around to hold me, and to know that Preston will always be in their hearts too.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Switching Things Up
So my last post was so very bad, and didn't express things the way I wanted but hopefully I can sit down and type everything out the way I want soon... but until then...
Since Rylee was born, and soon after Paul finding out he had a carcinoma, we have worked hard- but slowly- into switching the way we do things at home. Firstly, we cloth diapered Rylee for the most part. We no longer use fabric softener or dryer sheets. I make my own detergent even. We stick with organic, more natural whole foods whenever possible- we aren't consistently good with this one. We don't use any cleaning chemicals- everything is homemade. And recently we use essential oils for healing ailments- just in the past day we've used lavender oil on burns and headaches. Now for my latest change...
No 'Poo!
Sound crazy?! It just might be! Rylee and I are going to a no shampoo/conditioner regimen, and so far I'm loving it. Shampoo and conditioner is not only expensive, it has a lot of yucky chemicals in it that have been known to cancer! If I can avoid it, I'm going to. So we're going to give it a try. We only wash Rylee's hair about once a week as is, so this isn't going to be a big adjustment for her, but for me there will definitely be a transition period even though I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week.
Basically, I mixed 1 tbsp of baking soda in 1 cup of water to wash our hair and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water to condition it. The first time I did this I used too much ACV and my hair was very oily looking after it dried, but the second time came out pretty perfect. I love how soft my hair felt when I rinsed my hair and can't wait to get through the transition period and see how my hair turns out!
I hope to make many more changes in the products we use around our house in the future!
Since Rylee was born, and soon after Paul finding out he had a carcinoma, we have worked hard- but slowly- into switching the way we do things at home. Firstly, we cloth diapered Rylee for the most part. We no longer use fabric softener or dryer sheets. I make my own detergent even. We stick with organic, more natural whole foods whenever possible- we aren't consistently good with this one. We don't use any cleaning chemicals- everything is homemade. And recently we use essential oils for healing ailments- just in the past day we've used lavender oil on burns and headaches. Now for my latest change...
No 'Poo!
Sound crazy?! It just might be! Rylee and I are going to a no shampoo/conditioner regimen, and so far I'm loving it. Shampoo and conditioner is not only expensive, it has a lot of yucky chemicals in it that have been known to cancer! If I can avoid it, I'm going to. So we're going to give it a try. We only wash Rylee's hair about once a week as is, so this isn't going to be a big adjustment for her, but for me there will definitely be a transition period even though I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week.
Basically, I mixed 1 tbsp of baking soda in 1 cup of water to wash our hair and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water to condition it. The first time I did this I used too much ACV and my hair was very oily looking after it dried, but the second time came out pretty perfect. I love how soft my hair felt when I rinsed my hair and can't wait to get through the transition period and see how my hair turns out!
I hope to make many more changes in the products we use around our house in the future!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Mish Mash
So I've been meaning to post for awhile, but I just haven't done it... No excuses really.. I have a lot of stuff I think I need to sit down and type that all out, but I never do it. Not sure what's holding me back, but here I am now...
Rylee is doing great. We are basically over the hitting stage- for the most part, she did start doing it again the other morning when she was really tired- for now. Her conversations are becoming clearer by the day, soon there won't be any babble at all. She's loving pointing at letters she sees when we're out and about and she gets so excited! She wants to count EVERYTHING- though she usually adds an extra every time. It's very cute. She's still getting up at night, and has started her day at 5:30am a few too many- let's face it, one time is too many- times this week.
It seems to be getting warmer and we are spending more time outside, to the relief of us all! We're definitely an outdoor family, even if it's just hanging out in the backyard. We plan on doing some hiking this year though! And I'm pretty excited about it.
We're still going to church, and loving it. Rylee asks to see the "kids" every day and she says her prayers every night now. Paul told me the other day since starting to go to church he feels better about himself and he feels more complete, and what a great way to explain how we are all feeling. I love the description of feeling more complete. Last Sunday I chose to commit my life to Christ and have had a sense of euphoria ever since. I know I'm choosing the more "difficult" path in life, but oh what I will get as a reward will make it so worth it.
All I can do is thank my sweet little baby boy for opening my eyes. I truly believe his purpose was to bring our family to God. I have never in my life felt closer to God or stronger in my faith. I was prepared to be a very angry person when there was a chance of me losing Preston- I told Paul about the pain I just knew I would feel and the depression that would result. But when I knew Preston was no longer living, I turned to God for peace and strength and it was given to me. I was briefly angry with doctors, but I can honestly say I don't think full blown anger was ever felt and expressed by me- especially not towards God. From the moment I held Preston's body in my arms, I knew Jesus was holding him in heaven at the same time. How lucky am I to know that my baby is in such a wonderful place? Am I jealous? Of course, but one day I know that will be me too.
Rylee is doing great. We are basically over the hitting stage- for the most part, she did start doing it again the other morning when she was really tired- for now. Her conversations are becoming clearer by the day, soon there won't be any babble at all. She's loving pointing at letters she sees when we're out and about and she gets so excited! She wants to count EVERYTHING- though she usually adds an extra every time. It's very cute. She's still getting up at night, and has started her day at 5:30am a few too many- let's face it, one time is too many- times this week.
It seems to be getting warmer and we are spending more time outside, to the relief of us all! We're definitely an outdoor family, even if it's just hanging out in the backyard. We plan on doing some hiking this year though! And I'm pretty excited about it.
We're still going to church, and loving it. Rylee asks to see the "kids" every day and she says her prayers every night now. Paul told me the other day since starting to go to church he feels better about himself and he feels more complete, and what a great way to explain how we are all feeling. I love the description of feeling more complete. Last Sunday I chose to commit my life to Christ and have had a sense of euphoria ever since. I know I'm choosing the more "difficult" path in life, but oh what I will get as a reward will make it so worth it.
All I can do is thank my sweet little baby boy for opening my eyes. I truly believe his purpose was to bring our family to God. I have never in my life felt closer to God or stronger in my faith. I was prepared to be a very angry person when there was a chance of me losing Preston- I told Paul about the pain I just knew I would feel and the depression that would result. But when I knew Preston was no longer living, I turned to God for peace and strength and it was given to me. I was briefly angry with doctors, but I can honestly say I don't think full blown anger was ever felt and expressed by me- especially not towards God. From the moment I held Preston's body in my arms, I knew Jesus was holding him in heaven at the same time. How lucky am I to know that my baby is in such a wonderful place? Am I jealous? Of course, but one day I know that will be me too.
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