Weight Loss Journey: The Test Results Are In

I saw the Nutritionist last week and I did not get the results I had hoped for.  She said my logs looked good, I was doing everything right, and I just needed to work harder.  Lower my calories and burn more at the gym.  Let me tell you, I was really mad when I left.  I was depressed and pissed off.  I went to Taco Bell to drown my sorrows in Cheesy Frito Burritos.  After talking to my Mom and my husband, I calmed a bit but decided to make that day a cheat day and had pizza (Chicken and Spinach) for dinner.

I spent Friday thinking about what I needed to do.  I got a call from my doctor and she wanted me to come in to have some blood work done to check my vitamin levels.  I decided I was going to follow the nutritionist's advice for 4 weeks.  I would cut my calories to 2000 a day and change up my work outs to see what the results would be.  This requires planning and strategy.  I spent Friday evening writing up options for meals and making a shopping list.

Since Easter was Sunday, we did our weekly shopping on Saturday morning.  Do you have Cash & Carry where you are?  If so, check them out.  I find their produce selection to be top notch.  I can get my salad mix for $6 and it will last 2 weeks.  I also get mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, broccoli slaw, grape tomatoes, potatoes, diced ham and feta cheese.  It saves me money and helps with meal prep.  I spent a few hours Sunday night cutting veggies and weighing everything out.

Planning gives me the chance to try out a few new recipes too.  This week I made Zoodles with Shrimp and One Pot Chili Pasta (see recipes below).  I have to thank my husband for being so patient and open minded on weeks like this.  Let's just say I have been a little crazy about this and analyzing things even more than usual.  He was not a huge fan of the Pasta Chili.  He hates tomatoes, but he ate it anyway.  He did like the Zoodles and Shrimp.  I was surprised how much like pasta it actually felt.

I try to eat 4 times a day.  Breakfast, Pre-Workout Snack, Lunch Post-Workout and Dinner.  This week I have added in a few more supplements.  A ProBiotic, a calcium chew, a milder iron supplement, a chewy daily vitamin and a pre-workout energy mix.  This is in addition to my B12, D3 and Alpha Lipoic Acid.  They are working because some of my blood work has come back and my Vitamin D Levels went from 15 to 38 (normal is 20-80) and my B12 levels went from 230 to 588 (normal 200-914).  My Ferritin levels, which measure your bodies ability to hold onto iron, have went from 22 to 32 in a year.  Normal range for that is 11-307.  

Along with those good results have come some questionable ones.  My TSH or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone came back at 3.24 which is right in the middle of the 0.34 to 5.60 range.  However, my T3 which is part of the thyroid system came back at 82 which is lower than the 87-178 range.  Also my urine test showed more protein that normal.  My number was 147 and the range should be less than 29.  This is the test that worries me.  It shows kidney damage and possible kidney disease.

As of right now, I feel like I am fighting with my body.  According to the doctors and all my research, I am doing everything right.  I am eating very healthy, keeping active, keeping low carb, getting plenty of water and taking all my vitamins.  This week I have been keeping under 2000 calories a day and working out.  On Monday morning I was 397.6 but Friday morning I was 399.6.  Can you see why I am super frustrated?  I have been working hard, cutting and I gained weight.  Needless to say, I am waiting to hear from my doctor to see what to do.  I was in tears all Friday morning.  My Mom finally calmed me down and told me I should stop dieting for a week because me being so stressed and upset just isn't worth it.  I am so happy with my progress and how I feel but I am also so depressed.  

If you have made it this far down the blog, THANK YOU!  I sometimes just need to get this shit written out so I can process it.  I will keep you all updated on my progress and what is in store for my health.

DIY Bleach Shirts

We are back folks!  I know I have sort of hijacked the blog.  It has been all weight loss and diabetes information for six months or so.  It has consumed my life too but now I am back into crafting, sewing and cooking.  As always, the blog will reflect what is going on our lives.

Kari and I made plans to meet up and get a few projects banged out in one day.  We had a very productive Saturday, even with her 3 boys there.  I honestly don't know how she does it.  They wear me out.  Her boys are almost 5, almost 2 and 1 month old.  Our first project is the one I am going to share today.

Isn't our model just so precious?!?

These DIY Bleach shirts were inspired by this pin.  The supplies are simple.

Bleach

Spray Bottle

T-Shirt (darker colors work better)

Cardboard

Stencil

 Start by placing the cardboard inside your shirt and make sure it is flat.  You can iron if you want but, umm, no.

Next, you want to lay out your stencil or design.  

We used vinyl cut on a Silhouette machine.

You just want to make sure it is straight and positioned where you want it.

Just spray a fine mist of the bleach from the squirt bottle.  We did 3 or 4 squirts and you can see it starts to change quickly.  Dab any pooling bleach with a paper towel

In just 2 or 3 minutes, you can remove the stencil and see the results.

After you remove the stencil, rinse the shirt thoroughly in cold water.

Hang the shirts to air dry.

After they dry for a bit, run the shirts through the washer and dryer on a normal cycle, just the shirts.

And Tah-Dah, there you have a simple, quick DIY shirt made from things you have in your house already.

Weight Loss Journey: Six Months In

Here I am.  June 10th, 2015.  Exactly 6 months since that first phone call about my Diabetes diagnosis.  I can't begin to tell you how much I have changed in these 26 weeks.  Besides the 71 lbs that are gone, I have gained so much.  I have gained a renewed confidence in myself.  I am much happier.  I met a woman for the first time this week and she commented on how vibrant and full of life I seemed to be.  She said I had a glow about me.  She's right!

If you've been following my blog at all, you know I have been working pretty hard and it hasn't been easy.  But in reality, it's all a mental game.  I am constantly having conversations with myself about exercise, food and what to spend my time on.  It's about making smart choices.
"Oh, I haven't made it to the grocery store so let's just order pizza."
"No, we have plenty of food in the freezer, you can just cook something."
"But I have been really good and worked out extra hard today, Pizza won't hurt."
"It won't hurt, but it won't help either.  Just cook dinner."
Then I go cook dinner because arguing with myself is silly.  It's a battle within myself.  Luckily, my husband understands it and is patient with me.

I have been going to the gym now for 9 weeks and I figure I must be doing something right since they know my name.  I have my workouts down to a routine and now it's time to start keeping better track.  I am taking a small notebook with me to write down what machines I use, the reps I do and the weight I am doing them at.  I have also been trying to incorporate a few short walks a week into my routine.  I got my FitBit Charge HR today from Amazon.  I am so excited to integrate it into my activities.  It will take some getting used to as I have never worn a watch or bracelets.  So far I love it.  It's Purple!!!

Weight Loss Journey: Eating Out, Failure and a Progress Photo

My updates will be every two weeks, unless something super duper awesome happens.  I have got this down to a set routine now so not much changes.  I do meal prep on Sundays and take meat out of the freezer for the week.  I wanted to show you all this progress photo.  I was hanging out with a friend I hadn't seen in a while and he pointed out that he could really tell my progress from my face. I see myself every day so I didn't see it until I put these two photos side by side.   The first one is from about a year ago and the other is from a few weeks ago.

We have made a few extra trips north in the past two weeks so some of our meals have been eaten out.  I have talked about this before but you just have to be smart and not afraid to ask for what you want.  Below is an example meal from Wendy's.  It rings in at 415 calories.  It's an Asiago Ranch Chicken club with no bun and no sauce with a small chili.  Wendy's chicken is by far the best fast food chicken around.  It is an actual chicken breast, not a patty of ground up chicken with extra crap.

Last week, my weigh in was a tad disappointing.  Not sure what I did wrong but I was up 3 pounds.  And of course, I got a little depressed because I have been working really hard.  So Friday, I bumped my food intake down and my workout up.  Saturday's weigh in had me down 2 lbs but still more than last week.  We went to the Packwood Flea Market with my sister and her family on Saturday.  We had McDonald's on the way up, Mexican for a late Lunch.  Then we just snacked after we got home.  We did walk a total of 2.84 miles according to the fitness tracker on my husband's phone.

I've discovered that at my gym, in the locker room, when I take off my shirt to change, it signals the older women to start a conversation with me.  I've heard stories about diabetes, cheating husbands, the woes of retirement and weight loss.  I don't know why but my husband and I collect weird.  We must look approachable.  I was really proud of myself this week.  When I was doing the 30 minutes express last week, I actually used the steps.  My knees were really sore but I did it.  That was a huge achievement for me.  The photo below shows what the 30 Minute Express room looks like.  Another achievement was that I lost 16 lbs this month.  I am down a total of 69 lbs.  I had challenged myself to lose 15 lbs this month.  I think that is why I got so depressed last week when I was up.

I wanted to share a recipe that I tried this week.  It was my friend Jamie's birthday and she is allergic to gluten, soy and dairy.  Needless to say, a traditional cake was something she couldn't have.  I searched high and low for a good recipe for her.  I found this Lemon Drizzle Chickpea Cake.  The only cages I made were that I made a glaze of lemon juice and powdered sugar instead of the honey and I put raspberries on top.  The texture will not be for everyone but my husband and I both really liked it.  The lemon flavor is really pronounced.  Let me know if you give it a try.

A Week Of New Recipes

It's always a struggle to figure out what to make for dinner and what to buy at the grocery store.  If I go to the store without a list, I just feel lost and to make a list without knowing what I am going to be cooking just seems reckless to me.  Those are the days you end up with cookies, chips and a random tub of guacamole when you don't even like guacamole.

In order to keep our grocery budget in check, I usually sit down every Saturday or Sunday and make a list of dinner for the week.  My list consists of five to nine different recipes that are either new or old standbys.  Then I take those recipes and write down everything in them that I don't already have in my cupboards.  This also helps me know when my staples are running low.  After I write own the needed ingredients, I will go through the sales ad for my grocery store.  For me, I only shop at Safeway, I have my favorite checker and I really like their new Just For U program which I can put coupons directly onto my club card.  After I check the ad, I assign the recipes each a day of the week, trying to alternate proteins and ease of preparation dependent upon what we have going on that day.

Last week, I had a pretty free schedule so I decided to make five new recipes, enjoy!

Monday:  Cheesy Chicken Casserole

We really liked this recipe.  I used rotisserie chicken leftovers and left out the peas.  My picky eater of a husband even liked this and said next time the peas would actually be ok.  This will probably be on our menu about once a month.  It was so simple.

Tuesday:  Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

This was pretty good.  We left out the onion.  I have adored Golden Mushroom soup since I discovered it about a year ago.  It is my favorite condensed soup to use.  I prefer my regular old Beef Stroganoff to this but I would make it again.

Wednesday:  Skinny Coconut Shrimp

I had a horrible day this day so I think my bad attitude tainted the recipe.  I bought the wrong shrimp, I waited too long to make it and we didn't eat until almost 8, which is really late for us.  I should have taken more time with this recipe and I think it would have been delicious.  I got irritated with breading each shrimp.  As it was we both liked it and I will make it again.

Thursday:  Swedish Meatballs

This recipe was a jumping off point for me, I kinda went out on my own.  I left out the allspice, celery and onion in the meatballs.  I did follow the meatball cooking instructions though and I thought it gave them a really great texture and flavor.  I enjoyed this recipe and was a little peeved we only had enough leftovers for one of us to take for lunch the next day, so next time I will make a slightly larger batch.

Friday:  Wing It!
We had some cat issues this week and we had to go to the vet on Friday.  We were supposed to try a baked Sweet and Sour Chicken but didn't have time for it so we picked up KFC.  That's what I love about having a plan, it can always change and its no big deal.  That recipe is now on for next week.

I am off to make my menu and see what I can make before payday/grocery day.  Have a great week and thanks for reading.

Quiet Book

For my nephew's 2nd Birthday, I made him a quiet book.  Basically it is a fabric activity book for kids.  My Grandma Palmer made one for me when I was a kid and I really wanted to try my hand at it.  I have just started sewing so this project was a lot of trial and error.  It was also took a lot of time.

Here is the cover.  I made 4 different covers before I just settled for this one.  It just was not working how I had envisioned it.  It's made of felt and fabric paint.

This is the first page.  An apple tree.  The background is fabric with the tree, basket and apples being felt.  I sewed the tree onto the fabric and then hand-sewed the apples, using cotton balls as stuffing.  I attached Velcro to the apples and the tree.

Page 2 is my favorite.  The barn!  The barn is made of felt with bias tape as the white part.  The animals are also made of felt.

Page 3 is the color page.  The balloons are made of felt and I hand-stitched the lettering.

Page 4 is to show him how to tie a shoe.  The shoe is made of felt, with grommets put in and a regular shoelace.

Page 5 I just drew numbers and then stitched on the number of buttons per number.  I did this on a road trip!

The last page is a road page made of felt.  There is a garage where 2 cars fit and a large stop sign.

Crafting Projects

Right now I am working on a secret project for my nephew's 2nd Birthday at the end of September.  Most of my Crafting time is being spent on it but I don't wanna spoil the surprise so until I give it to him, this blog will mostly be recipes I am trying.  I also have some family coming in from Iowa so I may include some of our activities with them on here.  Until next time...