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Showing posts from December, 2022

Don’t Put Toothpaste in Your Eye

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What an eventful morning. I overslept today, which is rare. Of all the excuses I could use to skip working out, oversleeping is rarely ever one of them. I slept so well after my treat meal that I genuinely was still a log this morning even after waking up (NSV pic in comments of my first sleep score over 80 ever!). I didn’t want to get up and go, but I made myself do it anyway after toying with the idea of using my late wake up as my reason to not go to the gym. But I don’t like making excuses anymore. I didn’t lay out pants last night so I grabbed a pair from the suitcase I still haven’t unpacked (I think because it makes my return to reality too final) and straight out the door.  I have changed up my normal pool routine to hopefully help increase muscle gains while also decreasing the strain on my carpal tunnel from using the traditional weights. It burns my biceps and shoulders but I can still feel my hands after so I’ll take that as a sign it’s working. After 90 minutes, I hopp...

Results

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So tired today. I’ll welcome all the NGs later!  No news at the doc today. CT chest scan tomorrow to hopefully get some answers!  Best moment of the day was hubby finally agreeing to go 100% in with me this next round. Having him on the same food and exercise routine as me will really help me stay even more focused. I’m excited for him to have even better results this round too!  Now, back to resting my sore body. I’ll talk to you all soon!

Downsizing

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We are currently in the process of completely rearranging our house (mostly due to the amount of gifts my daughter got for Christmas and completing the home gym), so I think I forgot to post yesterday.  I’m not feeling well, again. Another fever today for no reason, irritated stomach and the cough just will not go away. I went to the gym and did the damn thing plus some anyway. I usually stay 90 minutes but I decided to stay an extra 30 to do part of the water aerobics class with Amanda. I came home and dealt with an unreasonably high heart rate for a couple of hours. It’s still elevated but tolerable now. I see the doctor again in the morning to try to figure out a medication that will help me with my heart rate without tanking my blood pressure. The current one clearly didn’t work. 🥲 I had a great success today. Many of you know, when I first started E2M, I had to take “showers” sitting on my toilet. After the first 20lbs of weight loss, I finally was confident enough to take sh...

Is An Hour of Taste Better than 23 of Living?

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I’m trying to write this message through a ton of brain fog after a night of not only nightmares, but multiple night terrors. Stress manifestations. I hope the message flows anyway.  I didn’t do so well resisting temptation this weekend. I made “better bad” choices, but y’all know how I feel about that. I was frustrated with myself, more so just confused really. Why did I want those things? It probably mostly came down to just being around the foods I avoid usually, but the mental connect of celebration and food is still stronger than I thought. Thanks, Roman Empire.  Anyway, I had one of my “ah-ha” moments and my perspective on meals has changed forever.  How long does it take you to eat your food? Most of us probably finish the food in 15-20 minutes. Even if we sit at the table and fellowship for longer, that’s likely about how long we spend with food in our mouths, so about thirty minutes to an hour a day of eating. We spend 6-8 hours sleeping. We spend up to 17 hours ...

End of Another Round

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I was going to save my end-of-round post for tomorrow but I decided I want to be as present as possible with my family this Christmas since it’s the first one in about 5 years that I have felt well and able to really participate and enjoy the holidays.  This was my third round, and it was my best one so far. The things I came to learn and grasp about myself, life, food and community were invaluable. I know myself and my body better now than I ever have. I can feel when my body needs something, I can know exactly what to give it, and I am blessed for that.  Physical achievements were monumental this round. So much muscle gained and 20lbs down. My body changed and rearranged. I am strong and mostly able bodied. Before this round, I was taking 16 pills a day (which included several vitamins for deficiencies) and two types of insulin. In this round, I came off all but 4 meds (and 3 of those I take at half the dosage I was on before) and reversed my type 2 diabetes. I went to Disne...

New Hoodie!

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I have never been more proud of myself for going to the gym than I was this morning. I woke up after only a few hours of sleep and I just did not want to do it. Not for any of the many excuses I could have used but that deep-seated feeling that almost makes you wonder if something bad will happen if you don’t listen. But I went anyway. I even almost turned around several times. This is why I put my swimsuit on at home instead of at the gym though, so I can keep saying “you’re already in your suit, may as well go.”  I still don’t know why I felt that way. Only bad thing that happened was my headache coming back. I didn’t even have to use the inhaler today. So yay for my gut being wrong, haha. Maybe as my belly shrinks, its “brain” is getting smaller too.  Christmas ornament crafting with my little girl today, but otherwise staying home on a dreary day and preparing for the cold front coming in tonight. I may not be able to get to the gym tomorrow, just depends on whether I can ...

Homework Assignment!

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I have never been more proud of myself for going to the gym than I was this morning. I woke up after only a few hours of sleep and I just did not want to do it. Not for any of the many excuses I could have used but that deep-seated feeling that almost makes you wonder if something bad will happen if you don’t listen. But I went anyway. I even almost turned around several times. This is why I put my swimsuit on at home instead of at the gym though, so I can keep saying “you’re already in your suit, may as well go.”  I still don’t know why I felt that way. Only bad thing that happened was my headache coming back. I didn’t even have to use the inhaler today. So yay for my gut being wrong, haha. Maybe as my belly shrinks, its “brain” is getting smaller too.  Christmas ornament crafting with my little girl today, but otherwise staying home on a dreary day and preparing for the cold front coming in tonight. I may not be able to get to the gym tomorrow, just depends on whether I can ...

Fighting a Dumb Gut

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I have never been more proud of myself for going to the gym than I was this morning. I woke up after only a few hours of sleep and I just did not want to do it. Not for any of the many excuses I could have used but that deep-seated feeling that almost makes you wonder if something bad will happen if you don’t listen. But I went anyway. I even almost turned around several times. This is why I put my swimsuit on at home instead of at the gym though, so I can keep saying “you’re already in your suit, may as well go.”  I still don’t know why I felt that way. Only bad thing that happened was my headache coming back. I didn’t even have to use the inhaler today. So yay for my gut being wrong, haha. Maybe as my belly shrinks, its “brain” is getting smaller too.  Christmas ornament crafting with my little girl today, but otherwise staying home on a dreary day and preparing for the cold front coming in tonight. I may not be able to get to the gym tomorrow, just depends on whether I can ...

What Food Means

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I had some private family issues the last few days, which is why I disappeared. I was pretty much down for the count with pneumonia anyway so it wouldn’t have been much to talk about. This morning, I finally felt capable, physically and emotionally, to get back to my routine.  Let me tell you about my treat meal yesterday first. My taste went bye bye again on Saturday so when I got a hint of it yesterday, I went ahead and had my treat meal. I had a giant burrito with all the toppings, rice, beans and half a bag of snowball M&Ms. I’m still not used to not being a diabetic. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, but I sat there waiting for the glucose spike that would put me in bed or rushing for my insulin (I can’t get myself to throw it away). It never happened. So an hour and a half after my meal, I checked my blood sugar, and it was 130. WHAT. My body is finally capable of doing the thing on its own. It feels amazing to be able to say that.  That experience echoes what I was talk...

A Whole List of NSVs

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Some days, you just have to pull your unwashed hair back into your daughter’s LED Minnie bow and put on a smile. Thankfully, I have since managed to feel well enough to take a shower.  I almost had a pity party today. 5th sickness in 8 weeks. Come on, man. But instead, I decided to dwell on the positives. These illnesses are because I started living again. Leaving the house, going to the gym, GOING TO DISNEY, all these amazing things I can now do that I couldn’t before. I should have made a full list, but I’m going to share some of the NSVs from these last two weeks.  -being able to clean and vacuum my car myself -up to 6 hours of driving without my back giving out -carrying groceries in -picking my daughter up and carrying her some -walking on sand -taking the stairs -conquering my social anxiety -wearing a bra every day, comfortably -getting into my new shirts I bought for Disney -7 days in Disney parks -activity goals met every day -having to move the car seat forward -bein...

Kiss My Grits, Virus!

This whooooooole cold/flu season can kiss my grits.  Stop trying to defeat me! I’m already fighting for my life. The devil don’t need your help, but I’ll fight you too! 😡  …from the comfort of my couch, snuggled in my blankie, and popping mucinex.  Just. Keep. Trying. 😮‍💨

Meeting Wanda!

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My 5th unique sickness in 8 weeks. Whatever Bryn has (not Covid, strep or flu, thankfully) took up residence in my head yesterday. I felt ok when we went to the beach but then I started getting very fatigued. By noon, I was dragging and felt feverish. Laid down at 2, woke up at 3:30 with my neck swollen from lymph nodes and a 100.5 fever. I cancelled all the meetups and decided to head home. Wanda Laduzinski decided it was worth the risk to her so we met up in a parking lot to talk a but before I headed home. I didn’t want to share the picture because of how swollen I look but I’m proud to have met this lady and that’s worth showing off!  I’ve been mostly asleep or zoned out since getting back. I’m beyond frustrated with these back to back sicknesses, but I’m also counting my blessings that we were able to get through our Disney days before it set in. Our trip was blessed, in that way and in 10 days without rain in Florida. I also didn’t gain any weight while there so that’s even m...

Sullivan’s Island

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Hanging out at Sullivan’s Island this morning. Kiddo is sick but she still wanted to go to the beach. Last time I was at a beach, I barely made it 50’ before my back gave out. I never even made it to the water. But today, I walked on the beach, collected seashells, and enjoyed my family. ♥️

A Year of Faces

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About to leave Orlando. I’m so sad!! 😭 But it has been an absolutely magical trip. I do wish we had been able to do everything, considering we were here for 10 days, but between E2M pee breaks and working around a too short, cranky or passed out toddler, we still missed out on quite a lot. I really hope we get to come back soon.  I stayed on plan pretty well the first several days, but then the “I may never get to try this again” set it and I ate lots of things. I stayed away from alcohol and straight up sweets except for Karamel Küche and my first Dole Whip. And even if I indulged, I never overate and was 1000x better than I would have been prior to E2M, and I’m right back to plan today. This trip was the opportunity of a lifetime and I was only able to go, to enjoy and to crush it because of E2M. Such a blessing.  I’m headed to Charleston. For those of you I’ll be meeting up with there, I can’t wait to see you! I also can’t wait to get back into my exercise routine Saturday...

E2M in the Wild(er)

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Another E2M in the wild(er) at Animal Kingdom! It was so great to meet you Christine Eggleston! I hope your toe is better today! Y’all keep me in your thoughts. My joints are oooover this, especially my wrists and back. Today is our last park day, sadly. Then tomorrow will be the start of the long drive home and my back is not ready. My wrists aren’t ready either but at least I can splint those. Going to have to schedule my epidural and carpal tunnel surgery consult as soon as I get home.  Staying on plan wasn’t too hard the first few days, but the past few days, I have blown it. Epcot is so hard to resist all the international offerings. I won’t have any trouble getting back on plan at home, though!  Also, if anyone has a Loungefly bag related to Mickey, Minnie or one of the princesses that they are looking to sell, hit me up. I’ve fallen in love with them, but not their price!

Minnie Kisses

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Thank you to this program and community for this new life. Here I am getting ALLLLL the kisses from Minnie after she saw my “I’m celebrating 75lbs lost” button.

E2M in the Wild

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Yeah! I got to meet my first fellow E2Mer yesterday! Thanks for meeting up with me, Jessica Cate Keller!

75lbs Lost

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 Just me celebrating 75lbs lost. 

Rest Day

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I’m sorry I haven’t been updating much. I’m so busy, and what free time I’ve had has been dedicated to trying to rest/recover from the heat and being more active than I have in probably a decade. So many beautiful and precious memories have been made and I am eager to share them all when I have the time and energy to do so!  I’ve been mostly on plan while here and low-carb for all but a caramel square, half a rice krispie and a half sushi roll. Not bad when I’m surrounded by all the temptations in the world down here. 😅 I’m dealing with some swelling and pain today, maybe from the heat or maybe from not getting enough water yesterday. We went non-stop from 7am to 8pm and I let it get away from me. Doing better today though. Time to head out to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party! ♥️

Mic Drop

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Just going to leave this here. 

Magic Kingdom Day 1

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Oh man. I haven’t had time to read, write or make a video since we got here. Vacationing with a 3 year old isn’t a vacation, it’s just like relocating for a new job. 😂 We spent the day at Magic Kingdom and by 3, we were all exhausted. Our trip back to the resort for a nap ended up being the end of our day because we all slept the rest of it away. I’m not sweating it though, whatever pace we have to take to keep our energy and spirits up is just fine with me, and also the reason I planned extra days into the trip. I woke up in the middle of the night so I thought I’d get a post in before I take a shower and go back to sleep. I should have time to do a post or video tomorrow!  Treat meal at Skipper Canteen today. Best food I’ve had in aaaages. So happy my taste buds are getting back to normal. Their falafel and hummus was AMAZING. I’ve done pretty well with food, mostly salads and fruit while I’ve been here. I did have a small treat yesterday, but only ate half. It’s such a strange ...

Hollywood Studios

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New me. Doing family things. Having fun. What an amazing day. I did pretty good on food, not perfect but good! Lots of exercise, lots of sweat and lots of precious memories. Bryn got very tired around 6 so we headed home and she fell asleep in the car. Hubby and I aren’t far behind. See y’all tomorrow!

Orlando!

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Finally made it to Orlando after 4 stops to pee in 5 hours. I drank my entire gallon of water on the drive from Savannah to Orlando. Step goal already hit for the day, and activity goal for the week completed early!  I’m so tired. I wanted to write a post tonight but I just cannot. I wanted to go swim but my legs cannot. So I’m going to take a cold bath (because it’s freaking hot here) and then go to sleeeep.

Short Accountability Post

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Please forgive me but I am exhausted and still busy getting ready to leave tomorrow, so short accountability post for this evening.  Two hours of sleep last night, nerves and that nagging feeling I was forgetting something kept me awake. So I packed, unpacked and repacked, then checked everything 4 times until 2am when I finally passed out. Woke up at 4 to do the thing anyway. Gym for an hour and a half before spending the entire day, literally, cleaning the truck we are taking, getting the car seat installed, doing returns, picking up little things we need, and resisting the temptation to stop for a venti mocha. I have yet more things to do and trying to stay awake until at least 7 so I don’t wake up too early and can get a workout in before we leave.  Love you all! And see some of you really soon! Oh! I promised to take a picture of the swim skirt when I wore it again so here I am on my tippy toes to try to get in the mirror. Let this serve as proof I don’t retake or skim my...