One of the things I haven’t always been great about is taking care of my body. As a kid and teenager I was so active it never occurred to me to watch what I ate- I stayed skinny and healthy as far as any of my physical test results were concerned. Well, as happens to so many of us, age changes things. I gained more than 30 pounds from age 19 to age 25. Seriously. When we left Vegas we decided to leave our unhealthy lifestyle behind as well. That was in 2008. Change was hard for us but now, a little more than 7 years later both myself and my spousal unit feel the best we have in our adult lives. We eat about 95% organic foods, small portions, lots of veggies and fruit, and drink tons of water (I’m doing better than the spouse in that department, but I’m working on him). It helps that Kev is an amazing cook.
Tilapia, salsa, and low fat potato salad. And this was one of my fattier meals lately.
Despite this, my stomach started giving me trouble almost a year ago. Long story short, I have gallstones. Though for various reasons I’m not convinced they are the sole cause of my tummy troubles. My diet for the last 2 weeks has consisted of fruit, vegetables, rice, coffee, coconut almond horchata, kashi grape nuts, and these puffed rice snack rolls. And while it really hasn’t helped the pain, it has helped with my weight loss and healthy body goals.
A while ago one of my besties suggested we try this weight loss challenge. Normally, I don’t get into these but this one was so simple and totally doable-basically, drink water, exercise, eat fruit and veggies every day. You get points for doing these things. The first eight weeks I lost 9 pounds. And totally got in the habit of going on a walk or jog every morning with the dog-good for us both!
We decided to do it again after the first 8 week session ended and roped in some other friends for more fun. At my last weigh in (almost a week ago) I was at my lowest weight in a long time. The last time I weighed this little I was 21. And more importantly, I FEEL good. I’m more comfortable all the time and have a lot more energy during the day. Anyone interested in jumping on this bandwagon should check it out but know that we made some modifications to the rules. You should get points for every day you exercise and go without sweets. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be rewarded for exercising 7 days a week. The point is getting into a healthy lifestyle habit.
However, since a diet change hasn’t done anything for my stomach pain I’m force to acknowledge that my mental health could be playing a part. The past year has been one of the busiest of my life as I struggle to balance my desires professionally with what I can physically accomplish being just one person. Plus, starting a new job with my “down with status quo!” personality equals lots of stress!
So, self care Sunday today was to take a brisk walk with the dog, chat with my besties, and then de-stress on the couch with my feet up, good music playing, catching up on a bunch of professional things. Kev is upstairs gaming with friends and it is quite lovely to be working downstairs knowing he is just a flight of stairs away in case I need a kiss. 😀
Happy Sunday to you all!
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