Saturday, June 30, 2012

Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

Tonight I cooked a brand new recipe.  It's always a thrill (for me at least) to try out new food.  To imagine what the tastes and textures will be...the new smells filling the kitchen.  Mmmm...

Well, tonight's meal did not disappoint.


Southwestern Stuffed Peppers (serves 6 hearty portions)

357 calories per serving

2 c. brown rice (cooked)
1 lb. ground turkey (cooked)
3 green peppers (cut in half, take out seeds)
1 heaping tbsp of taco seasoning
1 tbsp minced onion
16 oz. of your favorite salsa
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 c. frozen corn
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Boil prepped peppers for 5 min.  Prep a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Place peppers open side up in pan.  Combine cooked turkey, cooked rice, taco seasoning, salsa, minced onion, black beans, frozen corn and salsa together in pan.  (Hint: save a pan and just use the one you boiled the peppers in.)  Once thoroughly combined, spoon stuffing into peppers.  Fill the rest of the 9x13 with the rest of the stuffing. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the top and bake an additional 5 minutes.

I served mine with an ear of sweet corn.  You can never have too much sweet corn in the summer, right?  For those of you, who like me have a wonderful lower retainer, I have this nifty little gadget that takes the kernels off the cob.  It's a beautiful thing.  No strings or kernels to pick out of your retainer.  YES!

Enjoy your weekend and STAY COOL!!! 

Friday, June 29, 2012

My haul

As you all know, I LOVE Aldi.  Once again, it was a successful trip to the grocery store.  How many of you can say you are smiling when you go grocery shopping? Yeah that's what I thought. 

Here's my haul from my stop at Aldi today...
5 containers of blueberries, 4 ears of corn, 1 gallon of milk, 1 celery bunch, 6 kiwi, 30 freezer bags, 8 apples, 2 lbs strawberries, 2 lbs tilapia fillets, 1 dozen eggs, 4 cups mozzarella cheese, 10 oz cheddar cheese, 2 cans mushrooms. 

How much was my bill?  Come on, just guess...



$50?? Not even close.



$45??  Try again.



$40??  Nope.



$35?? Getting close!



Okay I'll just tell you...


The grand total was:
$34.99!  BAM!


I really get so excited about this type of thing if you couldn't tell.  Seriously, this is an amazing store.  Oh and I almost forgot to show you the gorgeous roses I got there earlier this week for....

drumroll please...

$3.99!!  How awesome is that?? 


Are you convinced yet?  Don't worry, I'll keep at it. ;)

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Do I even want to eat sugar again?

"Can I eat sugar yet?"  That was the pressing question that kept flying through my mind a few weeks ago.  But now I am rethinking the wording of that question.  I'm not sure if I want to eat sugar even if I could eat it without getting a migraine.  Studies after studies are coming out with negatives about sugar.  The studies show that sugar can cause depression, memory loss, aging, immune system disorders, high blood pressure not to mention weight issues or diabetes.  I don't know how valid all of these studies are, but I am living proof that cutting out sugar/high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has a positive impact on health.  I have kept my portions the same, but only cut out sugar/HFCS/sweeteners and have lost 25 pounds over the past 6 months.  I've just started to get a consistant exercise routine down in the last six weeks and am able to add exercise into the equation now.  I am overwhelmed at the difference cutting out sugar has made on my body.  I don't think everyone needs to cut it out completely, but keeping it at a minimum could definitely make a positive impact on health. 

Now that I am feeling healthier, I want to keep it up.  As you know, I am part of the "lose a marathon" challenge created by my fellow Sole Sister, Jess.  Losing 26 more pounds would put me at an ideal and healthy weight.  So I have been stepping up my healthy eating by trying to make my meals 50% fruits and veggies, 25% protein and 25% carbs.  It's a good start :) I am also trying to be more consistant with my exercise.  I don't see the scale moving very quickly, but it didn't come on quickly either. 

I am petrified of getting diabetes and heart disease from being overweight.  I am still getting the weight off from when I broke my foot 3 years ago.  I was teaching from a wheelchair and gained almost 40 pounds.  I got 15 of it off before my wedding and then gained 5 back.  Since January I have lost 25, so I am 5 pounds away from where I was 3 years ago.  It's been a long journey, but I am going to get there.  I want to be healthy and be healthy for my future children.

Don't get me wrong, it is HARD to cut out sugar. SO HARD!  But I'm doing it with the hope of it diminishing my migraines.  So when I am aching to eat ice cream I think about the debilitating pain of migraines.  Also, my grandma says that eating sugar is just 30 seconds of pleasure and it's over.  She's right.  I am constantly asked the question, "How do you do it?  How have you been able to go without sugar for so long?"  I never know how to answer this, because I was completely addicted to eating sweets.  I never ever dreamed that I would be able to go without sugar for so long.  It has definitely been a result of divine intervention.  Lots of prayer and faith that God is in control.  Also, God has blessed me with an amazing support system.  Between Tom, my mom and the rest of my family and friends, I have been able to pass up cake, cookies, Blizzards...I am going to stop typing all these goodies cause it's making me crave them.  But anyway, when I tell Tom I want Dairy Queen soooo bad he says "Well, are you sure?"  Then I say, no I'm not sure and then I eventually convince myself that I don't need it.

Realistically, I'm sure I will eat sugar here and there in the future, but with the knowledge and experience I have with cutting it out I will definitely be VERY selective in how much and what kinds of sugar I will be eating.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Healthy Energy Bites

Yesterday's post was lacking a picture of these little morsels of goodness! 
I made them this afternoon and they were super easy and delicious. 
Oh and I figured up the calorie count. 
They are 110 calories each.



Healthy Energy Bites:
1 cup oatmeal (quick oats)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flax-seed
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix everything together in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated. I had to use a little extra honey to make it stick together. Let chill in the refrigerator for a half hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

::Spice it up with new workouts and new recipes::

The other day I stumbled across an AWESOME website with hundreds of links to YouTube workout videos.  There's everything from Insanity to pilates to runner's stretches on it. 

Here's the link...


My goal is to try out a different one each week.

As for food, I am keeping up with 1/2 my plate being veggies at meal times.  Still trying to find some new recipes because I keep fixing the same ones over and over.  I did find a great recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup and another for Energy Bites.  I haven't tried the soup yet, but the energy bites are DELICIOUS and super easy to make!  They have PB in them, but I seemed to do fine eating them.  Maybe I'm allergic to certain types of nuts like pistashios or walnuts, but not peanuts.  I don't know but I do know that the Energy Bites are difficult to pass up ;)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 rotisserie chicken (any grocery store will do)
1 carton chicken broth (watch for sodium and added preservatives)
2 jalepenos (chopped)
1 can fire roasted stewed tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 fresh tub salsa
1 tbsp chili powder (or more if you like it hot!)
2 flour tortillas (cut into strips and warm in oven for 5-10 min( depending on how crispy you like them)
Throw all ingredients into stock pot.  Bring to boil and simmer for 20 min.  Top with baked tortillas and enjoy!


Energy Bites (No-bake!)

1 c. oatmeal
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 c. coconut flakes
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. ground flaxseed (this is supposed to be REALLY good for you...if you can't find ground flaxseed, use a Magic Bullet to grind it up)

Combine all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours.  When they are chilled, roll into 18-20 balls. Store in fridge.  YUM!


Here's some Dr. Seuss motivation to leave you with...

I'm off for a jog!

Monday, June 25, 2012

My Journey

This has been a great week with lots going on.  We had Relay for Life this weekend, which is always a wonderful time of reflection for me.  It reminds me of all the blessings I have in my life and how blessed I am to have an amazing and strong family and support system.  Thinking about all of my blessings made me think about my own journey over the past 6 months and how far I've come. 

I haven't done it on my own and couldn't possibly have been successful on my own.  God has been holding me and guiding me as well as Tom, my mom and the rest of my family and friends.  Praise God for an amazing support system. 

Here's an update on my migraine and weight loss journey over the past 6 months...

The Great Migraine Battle
Jan. 4
Feb. 4
Mar. 12
Apr. 5
May 11
June 8 (to date)

I've been doing more research on trigger foods for migraines...they are primarily bananas, preservatives, nuts, chocolate, citrus fruits, lunch meats and sausage (among other meats containing nitrates and nitrites). Since I'm already avoiding preservatives, nitrates, nitrites, nuts and chocolate, all I have left are citrus fruits and bananas.   We just ran out of bananas so I just won't buy anymore for a while.  I'm going to eliminate them for the next month because there seems to be an overwhelming number of people who's trigger is bananas. 

There's a book I've been wanting to read...Heal Your Headache: the 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Headaches.  The author is a doctor at Johns Hopkins.  It sounds really interesting and helpful so I'll have to check it out.

As for my weight loss journey, I am part of the Marathon Weight Loss Challenge.  This was the first week of it and I lost 0.2 pounds so only 26 more to go!  It's slow going, but slow and steady wins the race!

Total pounds lost: 25

Inches lost:
Hips: 5
Belly Button: 9.5
Waist: 5
Bust: 7.5
Total inches lost: 27!!
Pant size: 12!!!!  Just bought some new shorts and capris and they actually fit!!  So excited :) :)

 
My clothes are fitting better and I feel a lot more toned since I started running.  I'm feeling healthier and overall better in my own skin.  I got my hair cut and highlighted today, which is a sure way to put me in a good mood :) 

New highlights and a trim!  YAY!

I'm planning to treat myself with a massage too and just relax this week.  I have a stack of books to read and am looking forward to being stress-free.


I also got some brand new running shoes and went for my first run in them this morning.  Love them! 

Life is good.

I hope you are having a great week and enjoy the beautiful sunshine :)



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Lose it!

Happy 1st day of SUMMER!!!
 I got up at 8 and went for a 2 mile jog to beat the heat.

Maybe tonight Tom and I can go for a walk to enjoy the longest day of the year :)


How did you celebrate today? 

For the "lose a marathon" challenge, Jess requested that we submit healthy, tried and true recipes each week.  I chose to submit my chili mac recipe.  Yum yum!  If you haven't tried it yet, you can find the recipe here: One Skillet Chili Mac

It's cooking up a storm right now in my kitchen...mmm pasta!

So anyway, Jess wanted the calorie count for the meal so I looked up all the ingredients and busted out Tom's old Texas Instruments Scientific Calculator from high school.  The grand total was 456 calories per serving.  Not bad for a hearty comfort food.  Out of curiousity, I looked up the calorie count for Steak n' Shake's Chili Mac Supreme (my absolute favorite!!) and my jaw dropped...1,008 CALORIES!  No way.  Well, I definitely feel better about my homemade chili mac now.

So I got to thinking...I wonder how many calories I'm actually eating in a day??  So I signed up at http://www.loseit.com/ to start tracking.  I just started using it and I really like its user friendliness.  I can enter in my food, my goals, exercise, etc.  Just enter in the amount you would like to lose, your age, height and weight and it will tell you how many calories you need to lose that weight or how many calories you need to maintain that weight.  Pretty cool. 

I've been trying to "Pinterest" healthy dinner recipes and tend to find the same things over and over again. 
Anyone have a go-to no sugar recipe to share?

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Food Challenge

As you know, I've challenged myself to eat more veggies!!!  I am beginning to see my food not just as enjoyment, but as fuel.  So here's what I've been eating lately...

Triscuits, pepperjack, strawberries, blueberries, celery, carrots, and roasted red pepper hummus.
This was my lunch on our anniversary since I knew I'd be having a big dinner at Joe's Crab Shack to celebrate :)


Dinner the other night...parmesan crusted tilapia, egg noodles, carrots, spinach salad with cheese, tomatoes, and "Goddess Dressing".  Trying to keep my veggies 50% of my plate.



Lots of kiwi spinach salads!


Tom's famous weekly Sunday night homemade pizza...his half has the onions, green peppers, sausage and pepperoni.  Mine has cheese and sometimes mushrooms or pineapple.  SO YUMMY! 
Jiffy Brand Pizza Crust is the way to go...no sugar!


This week is going to be tough eating well because it's Relay for Life week, which is awesome but may be difficult in the no sugar aspect.

I've been sugar free for almost half a year though so I'm ready for the challenge!

As for exercise, Sunday I jogged 3 miles.  Monday was rest day.  Today I was all ready to get on the eliptical, but then the migraine that I had been feeling coming on for two days finally hit...hard.  Yes, another migraine.  That makes seven for the month.  So no exercise for me today, unless you count walking around the zoo for a couple hours in the morning.  Tomorrow is Sole Sisters night!  I'm pumped to jog with my sole sisters!!!  I will probably jog another 2-3 miles there and do some stretching with the resistance band afterwards. 

Chili mac is on the menu for dinner tomorrow :)  Love that stuff!  Only 5 WW points a serving too!  YESSSSS ;)

**1 year**

It's been 1 year since I got to pledge my love and devotion to my awesome hubby, Tom.  What a great year it's been!  So many people ask us, "So how's married life?" We say, "It's really great!"  Their response is, "No really...you can tell us the truth.  How's married life REALLY??"  And we still say, "Really, it's great!!"  It's odd how many times we have had this conversation in the past year.  I can still honestly say that it's been an awesome year.  Yes, of course we've had our differences, but I really can't recall ever having serious issues. 


All smiles on our 1st anniversary :)

Trying to keep God at the center of our marriage has made a huge difference.  Prayer changes things.  Every night before we go to sleep we take turns praying aloud.  I can't be upset at a man who is sincerely praying to God for us and our marriage can I??  No, because it just melts my heart.  Also, I'm a sinner who also married a sinner.  We all screw up and we could all use a little more grace.  When people ask how we made it through our first year without yelling or screaming or going a little crazy I say, putting God in the center is what made our first year great.  I've heard it described as a triangle with God at the top and the husband and wife at the bottom two points.  The closer we get to God, the closer we are to eachother.  It really doesn't get better than that <3

We are spending our week off together "stay-cationing" at home and at the local attractions.  Hiking, movies, the zoo, state parks, biking, working on landscaping, doing improvements around the house, and most of all, enjoying eachother's company.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Goals

All year I've been talking to my students about the importance of goal setting in all aspects of life.  It's time for me to go from talking the talk to walking the walk.  My fellow sole sister, Jess has come up with a great weight loss challenge:

**Just to clarify, this is not to train for a marathon or run a marathon.  It's just to lose the amount of weight of a marathon.
Don't worry I'm still a slow jogger and 3 miles is still a stretch for me ;)

If I "lose a marathon" I will have lost just over 50 pounds!  Whoa. 
Crazy to think about. 
But that will put me right at my goal weight. 
This is just the thing to get me right where I need to be so I can be healthy.

So here's the plan...

Here are my exercise goals for the summer:

Eat to live, not live to eat.
Eat for my body, not for my heart or my head.
Exercise for my health, not to look good in a swimsuit.

This is how I plan to reach my goals with exercise:

I want to pick one of these activities five days a week.

jogging
walking
yoga
biking
resistance band/stretching
hiking

Since getting healthy is 30% exercise and 70% food I am making food goals a priority as well.  I already eat pretty well with eliminating sugars and preservatives.  I also eat a TON of fruit.  But I am still eating really big portions of my main course and not enough veggies.

This is how I plan to reach my goals with food:

50% of my meal/plate will be veggies or fruit.
25% of my meal will be starch.
25% of my meal will be protein.

I'm already part way there.  I just need to substitute some starches for veggies during meals and snacks and I will be good to go. :)

Snacks I have on hand:
triscuits
hummus
edamame
celery
carrots
cheese
hard boiled eggs
homemade popcorn
bananas
berries
apples
smoothies
grapes

Anything I am missing from this list that are great no sugar/high energy snacks??  I know almonds and peanut butter are great for you too, but I think I may be nut intolerant so I'm steering clear of those foods right now.


What are your goals?

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Wake Up Call

The other night my mom and I went to a lecture on bio-identical hormones.  I was really interested in learning about them because I'm taking testosterone and progesterone, which are both bio-identical.  The lecture lasted 150 minutes, but it didn't seem that long because it was so interesting.  It was quite the wake up call for me.  I have lost 24.5 pounds since January and I am soooo glad that I have especially after attending this lecture.  The speaker was the pharmacist who did my hormone saliva test consult.  He began with the state of affairs of our country, which was frightening.

This is what I learned:

**This is what I learned from a lecture, and I tried to take the best notes possible.  I do not take credit for any of the research or the validity of this info.  However, I do trust the source.

In our current trend, 30% of 13 year olds today will be diabetic by age 30.  Whoa. 
If your blood sugar is 92 or higher, organ damage has already begun eventhough the "normal" range is below 120.  Scary. 
For every 15 lbs. of extra fat, your heart has to pump through an extra 300 MILES of capilaries. My heart has an extra 600 miles.  Gross.

The "hard" fat on the mid-section is called viseral fat, which is very difficult to get rid of and is an indicator that the fat is within the organs making it that much harder for them to work.  Ugh.

When women get a hysterectomy the testosterone and progesterone hormone producing organs are removed, but doctors tend to give their patients extra estrogen instead of testosterone or progesterone to replace what the body can't make anymore.  Does this make sense??

The hormone estrogen tells the body to grow, grow, grow, hold onto water and hold onto fat.  So when why are we pumping our animals with estrogen and then eating the estrogen laden meat??  I'm no vegetarian, but it really makes me think.

The more fat you have, the more estrogen, estrogen tells your body to grow, grow, grow, hold onto water and hold onto fat so your body keeps water and fat while burning off muscle and organs. The less muscle you have, the harder it is to burn fat.  VICIOUS CYCLE.

Now this next one was hard for me...there is the same amount of sugar contained in 1 wedge of watermelon as 1 glazed donut.  Now I understand that it's different types of sugar and there's fat in donuts and not in watermelon.  But still, that's a lot of sugar.  It gave me a wake up call that I really need to incorporate more veggies into my diet instead of snacking on fruit all day.  Fruit is GREAT, but it definitely does not replace veggies.

This is just a drop in the bucket of what I learned.  I will write more later when I have more time to look over my notes. 

The Great Migraine Battle Continues...

Jan. 4
Feb. 4
Mar. 12
Apr. 5
May 10
June 5 (to date)

What am I doing now??
No cane sugar,
no Stevia,
no Aspertame,
no sweeteners of any kind except that which is found in fruits and honey,
no high fructose corn syrup,
no evaporated or dehydrated cane juice,
no MSG,
nothing ending in -ose except lactose (milk)
limited preservatives,
no alcohol

I am currently running/jogging 3x a week for exercise.

Meds:
progesterone
testosterone
calcium/vitamin D
prenatal vitamin

I'm definitely feeling more energy especially in the afternoon and evenings.  Mornings are still hard...feeling really sluggish as always.

That's the deal. 

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Can I have sugar yet?

It's been 162 days without (knowingly) consuming sugar.  I say knowingly because I'm sure somewhere amidst all of the food I have eaten at weddings, restaurants and other people's homes there has been a gram or two of sugar.  But I have done my absolute best to look at every can, package, box and menu item to ensure my body is not taking in sugar.  It has been rediculously hard.  Sometimes I catch myself feeling really sorry for myself.  This is definitely a "first world problem".  Seriously, there are millions if not billions of people starving to death every day.  I have all the fruit, veggies, proteins, spices and pastas I could possibly need.  God has so incredibly blessed my life.  Why am I feeling sorry for myself?  Well because I forget my blessings and focus on watching everyone around me eat what I cannot.  I get tripped up thinking, honestly, is it working?  I have had 38 migraines in the past 162 days.  Each day I am more and more convinced that my trigger is not specifically sugar, because clearly if that was my only trigger, then I would have had 0 migraines instead of 38.  I don't want to reintroduce sugar and go back to my old way of life, eating crap.  Yes, it's harsh, but much of the food I was eating before was crap...full of preservatives, brimming with sugar, and soaking in high fructose corn syrup.  I definitely don't want to go back to that.  I know my body is performing at a healthier weight now because of my lifestyle change and it is functioning higher as well. 

My hopes of the testosterone diminishing my headaches are still in limbo.  Since beginning on the cream I have had 7 migraines.  I get to start on the progesterone on Wednesday so maybe with both of the hormone therapies working together, it will begin to make a difference.  I am frustrated, but haven't given up hope.  I just want something to work and to work consistantly. 

At this point I'm going to keep sugars of all forms (except those naturally found in fruits and honey) out of my diet as well as preservatives.  I think I'm having a difficult time right now because I'm a facilitator for a teaching conference next week and each day they will be providing lunch for us, which I'm sure contains some sort of sugar so I am bringing my lunch every day next week because I just don't know what is in food if I don't make it and it's not worth a migraine.  Also, I desperately want ice cream right now.  Maybe an oreo or a brownie too.  But, as my grandma says, "It's only 30 seconds of pleasure and then it's done."  She's right.  I can do this.  I've done it for 162 days and I can keep doing it.  Waiting to see what the hormones can do will be worth the wait.  Hey, maybe the hormones will clear up the migraines and I will be able to keep my sugar free lifestyle and only have a treat on special occasions.  I can still keep my body healthy, but will be able to enjoy a dessert every once in a while knowing it won't give me a migraine.  That is my hope.  But in the meantime I will keep on keeping on and try not to throw pity parties for myself, at least maybe space them out a little.  ;)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Official Sole Sister!!!

What is a "Sole Sister" you ask??  They are an amazing group of women who get together every Wednesday night to walk, jog or run together at a local trail.  They not only workout together, but they support, encourage and lift one another up.  As of last night I signed up to and I am now an offical Sole Sister!  I'm so excited!  They do local runs and are part of Peoria Area Track and Field Club, which is great because they get the benefits of that organization as well. 

One of the wonderful things about this group is that they never let anyone run/walk/jog alone.  I was still recovering from my cold this past weekend so I was part of the walk/jog group.  My friend went with me and even though she is on a way different level...(she just finished her 3rd Triathalon...wow she is one amazing woman!) she jogged when I jogged and walked when I walked at the pace that I needed.  At first it was tough because I didn't want to hold her back, but I knew she was supporting me and not wanting to push me farther than I could go so I accepted it and so enjoyed my time with her!

                                               
   Here we are posing before our run last night!

Can you find me?? I'm towards the middle in the back wearing the blinding white tank top.

      Check out the website at http://www.peoriasolesisters.com/

              Happy walking, jogging or running!


Monday, June 4, 2012

Race me?

Run a 5K.  That's the goal.  Now the question is...which race to run???

I am overwhelmed at the number of 5K races there are just in our area. 

I know I want to run the whole thing...no walking.  The longest I've run so far is 30 minutes and the longest I've run without stopping is 24 minutes.  My pace is between 12-13 min/mile.  Clearly, I still need to do more training so I can run the entire race.  I am kind of hard on myself because I think I should be faster, but then I need to remember that I've only been running for a month and according to my "Couch to 5K" plan I am just starting on week six, which is walk 5/ run 11/ walk 5 min.

Also, should I wait to sign up for the races until the last minute because we are trying to get pregnant?  I don't want to do anything unwise.  Of the research I've done, the studies seem to be inconclusive.  Many studies say that if you are already running then there's no problem, but just don't over do it.  Some studies suggest not running at all while pregnant, but just sticking with the eliptical, light yoga or walking.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

DIY Racerback Tank $0!

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle...I feel like that was banged into my head my entire childhood and now into adulthood.  I'm good at the recyle part.  We have a recylcing bin that even the tiniest scrap of paper gets tossed into in my classroom and I have stopped using plastic water bottles...now I have a sweet blue reusable bottle that is pretty much with me at ALL times.  Other than the water bottle, the reusable part has been tricky for me. 

However, today I was "Pinteresting" in between laying on the couch blowing my nose and coughing I found a great idea for a DIY racerback workout tank.  Now I've been scouring the Sunday newspaper ads and found exercise tanks to be priced at more than I want to pay, even on sale.  So I can't tell you how excited I was to find a DIY workout tank for $0.  Yes that's ZERO dollars.  How??  Well, you scrounge around in your dresser to find an oldie but a goodie t-shirt.  I chose one of the 8 free Relay for Life t-shirts I have collected over the years.  Then all you need is a pair of scissors and a pencil.  I'm thinking, "YES!  I have both of those items!!!"  But wait, it gets better!  I don't even have to sew!  Now that's the best part really.  I would LOVE to learn how to sew, but I'm not quite ready to take on that challenge yet.  Anyway, you just cut a little here and a little there are BAM!  You are done! 

Here's the awesome tutorial from a different Laura at http://trashplanet.blogspot.com/2011/04/make-it-tutorial-gathered-racerback.html

How I started...



How it turned out...



Racerback #1



Racerback #2



The back...



Ta da!

The tutorial has you sew the fastener part on the back, but I just tied it in a really secure double knot. 
I think it worked out pretty well.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

The results are in...

Well, remember when I took my hormome saliva test in April??  Well I got the results a couple of weeks ago.  It turns out that all of my hormones are terribly low.  For example, my progesterone is a 5, but should be around 230.  Yeah.  That means I can't get pregnant without hormone therapy.  Sometimes I feel sorry for myself about this, but then other times I am extremely thankful because we found out early on instead of trying for a year and dealing with all of the frustration, stress and anxiety of wanting a baby and nothing happening.   I've been putting off writing about this, but I'm not sure why.  I guess I was kind of in denial for a while.  But now we can be proactive! 

Also, the hormone levels very well could be the reason I get so many migraines.  YAY!  This could be the answer.  So to try to balance everything out, my doctor put me on testosterone cream.  Apparently, low levels of testosterone can create extreme fatigue and migraines, which is totally me!!!  Also, I've never been able to beat my mom or anyone for that matter in arm wrestling so this could explain all of those embarrassing arm wrestling matches!!  I've also been put on progesterone, but have to wait to start on that for a couple of weeks. 

So overall, this could be a total game changer.  It's crazy to wrap my mind around that my all my issues could stem back to hormones.  I've always felt there was a reason why I have migraines and maybe this is why God gave me migraines...so I would be lead to take this hormone test and figure out the issues so I can be awake, aware, be migraine free, and most importantly have a baby!  I wish I could say my migraines have decreased since taking the testosterone, but I definitely have more energy.  I think my body is trying to adjust to the new hormones so I'm really hoping things will get balanced out soon.

Also, I have been running, well jogging actually and really upping my workouts because exercise has been shown to decrease migraines.  Lower body mass is also supposed to help with migraines.  We will see!

So here it is...

The Great Migraine Update

Jan. 4
Feb. 4
Mar. 12
Apr. 5
May 10
Jun. 1 (to date)

Weight lost: 23 ( I haven't lost any weight since I started running, but I have lost 4.5 inches so I'm getting some muscles!  YAY for muscles!!! GO testosterone GO!)

Inches lost: 25.5

We will see what God has in store for me in June! 

Oh by the way, June is National Migraine Awareness Month!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Couch to 5K Progress


 
This is my inspiration. :)
I want to start each day with this mindset.  Purpose is everything.  My purpose is to glorify God and I screw that up so much, but thankfully I have HIS grace to cover all my slip ups, mistakes, and rebellion.

Overall, I need to be more disciplined spiritually and physically.  Running helps me focus and clear my head so I can get rid of all my anxiety and worries and turn them over to God.

I started the Couch to 5K program 4 weeks ago.  I'm supposed to be walking 5/jogging 9/walking 5, but usually I feel like I can keep going so I do.  I figure there's no point in stopping if I am feeling fine and can go farther.  As of yesterday I walked 3 min and then jogged 21 min.  That's the longest I have jogged without a break :)  Plus, it was my personal best pacing at 12.39 mph.  Whew it feels so good! 

Once again, I cannot believe that I went from barely making it 30 seconds at the beginning of May to running 21 minutes at a time within one month!!!  Amazing how God made our bodies to run and exercise!  There are so many reasons why I am loving running...it gives me quiet time to think, pray, enjoy nature and it helps me de-stress while improving my health!

It's also really encouraging because many of my friends and colleagues are getting inspired to start a 5K program because if I can do it, anyone can!