New Goals for 2014

Super busy end to this year. Thought we were going to have to move and got packed up before a surprise vacation to Hawaii last month. Got a new tattoo. Got to see one of my nephews after a 6 month absence. Grandma moved into an assisted living home. Robert and I have been being tested up the wazoo for fertility and now Christmas is just around the corner, whew.

Hawaii was amazing! Such a beautiful place to visit. I had made an appointment, before I was told of the trip, for a new tattoo, the day before we flew out. Needless to say I couldn't fully enjoy the sporting opportunities they had there but we had a nice time none the less. Got to see nearly the whole island of Kona. While we were there we found out we didn't have to move after all. Nice. We still haven't completely unpacked this time in case a pending move springs up.

The long awaited visit from my nephew couldn't have come at a better time. We have been struggling to get pregnant and being tested for everything is taxing. It helped to renew my spirit and to push on with whatever they need to test next. We so want to have children and my clock is ticking loud and clear. When we returned from Hawaii I had planned to be in a place to continue my toning efforts with the Insanity program. Since the move didn't happen, I have rethought my goals for 2014. I have decided to cut back on my efforts to 30-45 min exercise sessions instead of an 75-90 min sessions. I can effectively tone with weights, cardio and yoga without pushing myself so hard. No need for a washboard stomach when I want to fill it up with babies.

So while 2014 will still be filled with a healthy diet and exercise, I'm hoping it will be filled with a healthy pregnancy as well. Do what's right for you when setting your goals for the upcoming year. A little restructuring never hurt. What would you like more than anything next year? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all that read this blog. May peace and happiness be yours!

Supplements and Vitamins

In a much earlier post I touched on the topic of supplements and vitamins and that all are not created equal. We have learned through research that most contain an ingredient that in high quantities (taking several different ones a day) can be harmful. The ingredients is called Magnesium Stearate, I'm even skeptical when it comes to vegetable based forms. It is used in mass production to lube the machine so it can produce high quantities of pills. Doesn't sound healthy to digest this chemical to me. If you look hard enough you will find brands that don't contain this ingredients. Like with food, you should look on the ingredients list to find the best one you can for yourself, otherwise what is the point? I recently had a lot of blood work done for a annual physical and have found that my mineral intake is optimal. With plenty of healthy food and a few key supplements I'm doing pretty good these days. I forgot to note that I usually don't follow the supplements recommended dose. I only take one a day of each one I take. Being as my numbers were good, I guess my diet is so that I don't require a lot of extra supplements. A few of the brands that we like are pictured above.

Before and After

This is my before and after that I have posted on my Facebook page Size 18 to 8. I don't have a whole lot of pictures from when I was my heaviest. Like most over weight people I was behind the camera or hiding from who was taking pictures. I have yet to hit my goal of toning and losing the left over flab but for now this is me from size 18 to 8. Looking forward to posting a new before and after, maybe for the New Year. Good luck on your journey! Whether it be losing 10 or 100 lbs or maybe like me you lost the weight awhile ago and now are working on toning what's left. My hats off to you because I know the hard work and dedication it takes to get there.

New Muscles, Bring Em On

It's been a few weeks since my completion of the P90X program and I'm still feeling great. I had wanted to start on a new program called Insanity upon my return from vacation. Well technical difficulties have kept me from that goal, however I am not letting up. I've decided to start the P90X program over in doubles mode until I can start Insanity. I have gained all kinds of new muscles and am motivated to continue my journey. I actually enjoy looking in the mirror from time to time for the first time in many years. Even the parts of my body that are yet where I want them to be. It feels nice for a change.
I've come a long way from the overweight, out of shape person I was in the beginning of my journey. Back then I had to work up to just 30 minutes on the treadmill and just 5 minutes on the elliptical machine would leave me red faced and out of breath. Slowly the weight came off and there was less jiggle when exercising. I worked up from 3 days a week to 5. Then slowly from 30 minutes 5 times a week to 45-60 5 times a week. The muscles that were being formed under my fat were finally peaking out. Then the P90X program upped me to the next level with an average of an hour ten minutes 6 days a week with an hour of stretching on day 7. My body is on it's way to a youthful tone. I'm not giving up and ready to bring it to the next level

Doctor or Drug Dealer?

For the last 5 years living a healthy lifestyle I begin to wonder why doctor's don't ask, "How is your diet? Do you drink enough water everyday? How much sugar/caffeine do you consume each day?" Some really basic questions that would prove to be very helpful in determining what health the person is in, don't you think? I'm not a doctor, or licensed health practitioner and yet when someone comes to me with health concerns or issues, those are the questions I ask.

In the movie Food Matters, I believe, there are 4 statements that hold a lot of truth. They are; you are what you eat. food can change your mood. you are everything you have ever done to your self. and the choices you make directly affect the outcome of your life. Very powerful information that should be taught in schools. I remember having health education in school at a young age, too young in fact, it should be taught closer to graduation when it is more likely you will be feeding yourself at that point. However some adjustments need to be made to their basic information. Like the food triangle for example, it's backwards. We should be eating mainly fruits and vegetables. I wish I knew then what I know now. More importantly, I wish my parents knew then what I know now. We are setting ourselves up for failure out there people.

Even if the doctors did ask those questions, would the society as a whole listen to them tell us to change our diets instead of giving us the easy way out with a pill? I say easy lightly, because usually the one pill leads to another, which leads to another. Adding more fat onto our bodies and in turn causing even more problems. Ugh. It is so frustrating. I wonder how many would go the healthy route and stop saying yes to easy, over processed junk food? Not many I'm afraid. The power of suggestion is far too great. Just felt the need to get this out there and maybe start people wondering for themselves what has happened to make us the most unhealthy and fat country on the planet.

Blood Type Diet

About a couple of months ago now we started following the Eat 4 Your Blood Type Diet by Dr. D'Adamo. To sum up, there is a list of food that is beneficial, neutral and to avoid given for each specific blood type. It makes it real easy to know what to eat and what you shouldn't to maintain a healthy weight. So far it seems to be spot on. I have noticed less gas, bloating and discomfort. My fiancee and I eat the same meals each day and it was a little difficult since we are different blood types. But with a few adjustments we are managing just fine. For my type I'm supposed to follow a near vegetarian diet. Who would have guessed? I definitely wasn't raised on one. Over the last 5 years though I have been working toward that anyways, so good for me. I just received word the other day that they now have cookbooks made up for each blood type, might have to check them out. Here's to your health!

Had to add this lesson to this post as well as it pertains to BTD. We recently went on a trip to Cabo to have a memorial for my Grandpa. Needless to say that meant going off our BTD. Not completely but enough. After a couple of days of eating some "no no" foods I began to have tummy troubles. It lasted the rest of the trip. Although we were eating fairly healthy foods, just taking in the ones that I had stopped eating, like (tomatoes, peppers, pork) my stomach started to rebel. It continued for a couple of days after our return to our normal diet. All is back to normal now and I have to say I am convinced that this will be a lifestyle change for our future. My body is much happier staying away from foods that cause me intestinal trouble. Lesson learned.

Being a Highly Sensitive Person

This may or may not pertain to a healthy lifestyle for some. However for me it helps put all the pieces in place from where I was to where I am now. I found myself looking for anything to help numb myself. My need for perfection drove me to become a workaholic. All of which led to my chemical imbalance. For most of my life I have known that I was really sensitive. Sensitive to light, sound, fragrance, chemicals, emotions, pain, digestion, etc. The list goes on and on. Until recently, however, I had no idea that HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) is actually an inherent characteristic trait and about 20% of the population have it. Wow. Had no idea. I have now bought a copy of the book the Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron. So far it's like reading a book written about me. Quite enlightening!

I have also recently joined a couple of groups on Facebook and Google+ just for people like me. For once I don't feel so different. What a wonderful feeling. There are some books out there that have been recommended that I really need to get my hands on as well. I feel it will help me to continue on my current path. Since finding this community I have also determined that some of my other family members more than likely have this trait as well. What a blessing it would be to help them with my research as well. I wonder how many people out there that struggle with their weight, fight addiction problems and personality problems are HSP's? They may not even know that is what they are dealing with. Hmmmm. Makes sense.