Day 8: Exercising Is Not Fun Yet

Part of my quest to get healthy involves exercising regularly.  
I know that if I want to reach my goals this is key.  
But Oh MY God I am not at the point that exercising is giving me more energy throughout the day and most days I have to struggle to get through a workout both mentally and physically.  And by working out I don't mean any crazy cardio Insanity workouts.  I have been mainly doing low impact cardio like walking, Power Yoga & PIYO which is a combination of Pilates and Yoga.  When walking is kicking your a** you know your out of shape!
Carrying an extra 100 pounds with me everywhere is exhausting! And it makes it extremely difficult to work out and breath.  And this is what I have been focusing on to push myself through, the knowledge deep down that this will only get better if  continue to consistently do it.  
I know that this is just a temporary state.  I feel my body changing daily.  Already my shirts are fitting better. And anyway I only have 2 choices ... Give up and start making excuses not to exercise (trust me I have some great ones)  OR Mentally push through and make it a daily priority.
So for now I am taking it one day at a time, making a note when I am able to do just a tiny bit more than yesterday and wearing my aching muscles proudly as a sign that my body is changing even if it is not as fast as I would like!

Day 7: What Exactly Is My Plan ?

I was talking about this blog with my mother yesterday after she read a few posts an she asked me "Is it working? What exactly is it you are doing?"
And I thought if it's unclear to her maybe I should explain what I am doing in a little more detail.

Yes, I do want to lose weight and look better but my main goal is to change my habits to form a healthy lifestyle.
My past experience is that dieting is a short term solution that can do more harm than good.  So I am focusing mainly on:

1)   Exercising Regularly

2)   Being honest about my current behaviors that are hurting my           health with a bit of humility, vulnerability and humor.

3)  Committing to post daily blogs for one year about my progress 
      in changing my health  behaviors, whether anyone reads them 
      or not. 

4)   Not buying any new weight loss or exercise programs in that     
      year because I feel that the marketing of these programs is a 
      distraction that makes me feel like I've accomplished my goals 
      just by buying their products.  I would like to take this year to 
      focus only on doing the work needed to accomplish my goals.

5)   Keep regular tabs on my progress by weighing myself every 
      15 days and taking my blood sugar daily.

Tangible Goals I will judge my progress by:

• Lowering my blood sugar 
• Having a higher energy level 
• Weight loss

How can you help?  Please leave encouraging comments or free ideas, tips and recipes in the comments!

Day 6: Scared Straight By Father Joe Carroll

Growing up in San Diego in the 80's I was lucky enough to witness Father Joe Carol begin and grow the movement to help provide services to the homeless in San Diego that culminated in in St. Vincent de Paul's Village and Father Joe's Villages.  Growing up in the Catholic Community at UCSD I remember the sense of community that Father Joe inspired as people from all over San Diego joined him in his mission. It was truly an unprecedented movement.
My memories of Father Joe was that of a strong, happy man who was saving the homeless like a superhero.  
Last week I was listening to my local NPR station on the way to drop off the twins at school and they were running a story about the rise in San Diego amputees due to complications from diabetes.  "Great!" I thought just want I want to hear when I haven't taken my own blood sugar in months. I mean really ... trying to avoid thinking about long term consequences here. 
I actually was contemplating changing the channel when I heard a clip from Father Joe detailing what he has gone through because he did not take his diabetes seriously when he was younger. And that stopped me cold.  I have heard before that Father Joe had diabetes but for whatever reason it did not register with me that he had lost limbs and eyes because of his diabetes.
My first thought was, I've been neglecting my diabetes care for a while and I definitely want to keep all of my body parts, I need to make some real changes. 
So, while it may sound cony listening to Father Joe last week birthed the inspiration to make real changes in my life to get healthy and not be a burden to my children later in life because of years of not taking care of myself.
Thank you Father Joe for scaring me straight!

Click Here to Listen to Father Joe Talk How Neglecting his Diabetes Has Affected Him

Day 5: True Confessions

Ok, so full disclosure time ... yesterday and today I began my day by dropping off the twins at school and getting 2 of the Carl's Jr. Sausage Egg and Cheese Biscuits for $2.50...  really good value you have to admit!
But wait! I made it carb free by giving the biscuits to my dog.  I'm not even going to try and justify it.  It was just delicious.
But of course one bad choice leads to another and I am not ending my day feeling as full of energy as I should 🙈🙈🙈
In order to start tomorrow off on a better foot I went to the store and bought all of the ingredients to make Marlene Koch's Southwest Black Bean and Corn Salad and I actually just finished making it.
This is literally one of the best tasting and easiest dishes I have ever made but I gotta tell you I really had to push myself to make it...
With all of the beans in it it keeps you full throughout the day.  And the amazing dressing complements all the other ingredients so well it goes super fast.  I usually make a double batch so that it lasts longer than one day and there's enough for the kids to have some as well.
I have the following tips while making this salad

1. Let the cans drain completely before you dump them into the salad that way the ingredients absorb the yummy dressing.  You can just sit them upside down in a bowl (after opening them almost all of the way) while you chop the fresh ingredients.
2. If you blend the dressing in a blender or food processor the ingredients will emulsify and bring a whole new dimension to the dressing. 

Click here to view the recipe for this salad and while you are at it check out the entire website.  Marlene Koch is a registered dietitian nutritionist who has transformed favorite recipes to remove much of the sugar, fat, and calories.

Day 4: Dotti's Weight Loss Zone

From 2003 - 2004 I actually lost over 100 pounds with a combination of diet and exercise.  I credit much of my success at that time to the tools and resources  found on Dotti's Weight Loss Zone.  This website is maintained by Dotti & her husband Al and it shares, for FREE, Dotti's own journey to lose weight plus so much more.   There are so many great tools including recipes, Message Boards for support, and lots of supplemental information and advice from Dotti, her husband and her followers.             But for me, the biggest gold mine in that site has been the translations of nutritional information about food into Weight Watcher's Points which for me are easier to track than regular nutritional information.  And while yes,  I am sure that the Weight Watchers website might be a bit more comprehensive,  Dotti & Al have taken the time to break down this information both by food lists and by restaurant, which for me was a life saver.   And beyond that ... Dotti's Weight Loss Zone is completely free to all!

I Downloaded  this
thermometer from DWLZ
and hung it in my
 bathroom for motivation

The food lists and restaurant info pages have comprehensive information which can be a little too much to look at all at once so one thing that helped me was that I would copy and paste the food lists into a Word document, adjust the layout of the list so it was easier for me to read and then print it out and put it in a binder to reference.                                                                                                                                           I realize that there are higher tech ways to track what you eat but this site worked for me because:                                                                     1) It has all of the information you need to follow the Weight Watchers point system for FREE.                                            
2) Reviewing and printing out the food lists allowed me to mentally prepare for making informed, healthy eating choices.                                                  
Click here to visit Dotti's Weight Loss Zone

Day 3: My Mental Health

Since I have been exercising regularly I have had spurts of energy in the morning.

The Upside: I am getting to many of the household and work projects I have been neglecting because I've been too tired.

The Downside:  I am so far away from "getting caught up on everything" that it would take the light from "getting caught up on everything" 1 million years to reach the earth.

Luckily, the endorphins from exercising are helping me keep it positive and not sweep the giant pile of mail and flyers off my dining table or curl up in a fetal position in the clean laundry mountain that has been growing in my living room so long that it is now covered in pet hair and the outer layer needs to be rewashed.🙀

I was able to sort the giveaway clothes and actually found a few things my daughter was going to give away that I could fit within this next year.  Free and cute motivation clothes ... I'll put that in the win column.

Day 2: A New Discovery ... Not All It's Cracked Up to Be

As part of my getting healthy and lowering my blood sugar I plan on cutting out most processed food and carbs. So when I saw the commercial for the new Taco Bell Fried Egg Taco I naturally thought I had discovered the world's most perfect food.
I teach Sunday School to 2 year olds and figured that these newly discovered treats would make a perfect reward for leaving the house early on a Sunday morning.
First, I will say that these tacos are delicious and I enjoyed them thoroughly. However, when I finally read the nutritional content I felt betrayed.  These fried egg tacos are the nutritional equivalent of a Sausage Flatbread Quesadilla which is made with a flour tortilla.
To be completely fair Taco Bell does not claim that their Fried Egg Taco is anything more than an amazing "food experience" ... which it was.  At no point do they claim that it is low carb or even healthy.  So apparently, I bamboozled myself!
But in all seriousness, I allowed myself to watch a commercial and make the leap in my mind to healthy because I saw a fried egg instead of a taco shell. When, had I read the nutritional info page I would have seen that while the Fried Egg Taco Shell is not that bad (it is actually made of eggs and a few other ingredients), the filling of the taco contains flour, starch and other things that aren't great for my diabetes.
While there are worse things I could have eaten, I definitely would not have eaten that second taco had I known this morning what I know now 😝


Link to Nutritional Facts for Fried Egg Taco

Lesson for today:
1) Before eating a new treat it's probably a good idea read the nutritional facts.
2) Food is NOT a reward.

Both of which I already knew but apparently I need to relearn that lesson. 😜

Taco Bell Sausage Flatbread  Quesadilla

Day 1: Why am I Doing This?

I am a single mother of 5 children with 3 still at home and I have reached the point that my health issues (mainly my weight) are having a noticeable effect on my mood, energy level, and overall productivity.  
Yes, I want to be able to see my feet, feel proud when I look in the mirror, feel cute in clothes, and not cringe internally when I see a recent picture of myself.
But I am calling this Blog "My Journey to Get Healthy" because I know that the weight is just a symptom.  I know that in order to achieve long term success and stay alive and be in my kids life as long as possible I need to change my lifestyle.
I do not expect this to happen overnight and I know from past experience it wont be easy so I am committing myself to 1 year of focusing on changing my habits.
And to keep myself honest I am committing to writing about my experience for the next 365 days whether anyone reads this or not.
As an added spin I am going to refrain from buying even 1 weight loss product in the next year.
I have plenty already and I want to keep the focus on personal growth not the hopes of a fad plan.

My specific goals are:
1) To get my diabetes under control.
2) To lose at least 50 pounds.

My starting point is:
Blood Sugar:  Not sure ... I need to find my Blood Monitor Machine... (I know!)
Weight:  229.5 pounds   ... My highest point was 246 so I'm moving in the right direction
Ok enough sharing for today 😅... Can't believe I am posting this.

At my daughter's graduation in June.  I haven't posted pictures of myself in years!