Saturday, my little girl was drinking water when she choked. Like really, really choked. She must have swallowed most of the mouth full of water down the wrong side! As I tried to help her I was flashed back to several yrs ago when this happened to me almost every day! The look of panic in her eyes, her inability to cry, the out pouring of water as she coughed; it was all so familiar! I found my self reflecting on the change between now and then and thanking God I more longer have that problem. Shiny was OK but had a rattling cough for a while after. Wow, it was scary!!!
I remember thinking when I choked so often, that there surely was a reason this was happening to me. So we started searching for answers and discovered that at least one of the reasons was High Fructose Corn Syrup found in most sodas, juices, and sweets; including Oreo cookies. :( HFCS became my biggest enemy! I just quit using it. Period. But then something else happened! I began feeling that I was being punished for being sick. It caused a lot of emotional issues which would cause me to binge on... homemade chocolate cake, for instance.
Since, tho I have learned quite a lot. I figured out if I have an Oreo Cookie or two (never more) along with protein (like jerky,which I also love) and a lot of water, it doesn't affect me. Portion packs work great for me too! And I no longer feel like I can't have it!
That goes for donuts, and a lot of other yummy stuff. SMALL amounts of soda, and sweet tea are also doable for me. And I no longer feel as if I don't have a choice. Which, suddenly, makes the right choice a lot easier to make and I don't feel deprived. :p
In thinking back, I believe the main part in this whole lose weight and regain my health thing, was the mental change. If done in baby steps it is easy and much quicker then one thinks! :) After my mind got on board a lot of things are falling into place.
I like setting teeny tiny goals (instead of huge, long distant goals) and then rewarding myself for those. (Not with food!!! More on rewarding later.) I only weigh myself once in a blue moon; never, ever every day. As soon as I weigh myself every day I get stressed out and lose my focus. I am not doing this lifestyle change just to lose weight but to regain my health. A healthy body that is eating the right foods in the right amounts and exercising daily will not be overweight. (I don't know if there are exceptions to the rule or not) As I go along I will be adding more and more healthy choices. This will help the weight loss. But I have to be on board or I won't do it. So, for me, slowly and consistently is the key.
I have been asked how much I have lost. 40 lbs. I've got about 40 lbs to go, yet! :) Only halfway...
As I have said, easy is what works for me... So on Monday I precook most of our breakfast and lunch meats...
Sausage links about to go in the oven. I love this method because I can put it in the oven and do something else for 30 minutes. Then get it out and bingo!! Cooked links!
I put these in an old
Folgers Coffee container and put them in the freezer.
I pile the bacon in little patties so they can be handled quickly and easily without breaking. Fast, fast!! :)
After they are baked 30 minutes they are ready to drain and freeze right along with the sausage.
Sausage patties. Since these are all I did, I cooked them via stove top.
I flash freeze my smoothie bananas before putting them into a bag. That way they don't stick together. When I am ready for them I get them out, let them rest a little and then peel and use like normal. The flesh stays nice and white but the skin turns black!! I found a new smoothie recipe via a friend of mine that I will be sharing soon.
It is so cold here right now! Crazy Missouri weather. So I am all bundled up for my walk!! This coat was a gift from my mother in law. When she gave it to me I could not zip it up. It's zipped now and I even got some 'wiggle' in there! :)
Blessings!
Link up here! :)
