Confessing My Sins... - Day 14

Two weeks in and my journey with food has been good maybe 75% of the time. I have had several slip ups and ate quite a few sweet treats...the damage is listed by episode: 1/2 of an almond croissant, 1 almond croissant, 1 banana nut muffin, 1 piece of pound cake, and 1 banana nut muffin. Here's the crazy part, I didn't buy any of them! They were treats that my mother got from a friend who works in a bakery. I should also mention that my mother gets them on a weekly basis. In a previous post, I mentioned that sugar was my biggest nemesis and my mother knows this, but she doesn't seem to care that I struggle with it every single day, but yet reminds me frequently that I'm fat.

I have asked her to not accept so many treats and bread from her friend, but my mom's sweet tooth is as big as mine. I tell her it's not healthy for either of us, but she just shrugs her shoulders and dismisses my remarks. I know that ultimately it's not her fault that I gave into temptation, I mean really I should just be able to look at a counter full of sweets and on a weekly basis say, "No, I will not partake in a sweet treat!" I will get there!

It's not fair that I try to blame my mom, it was solely my decision to break down and eat sugar crack! I just wish that she would be a little more supportive, but I guess she's been here with me before and doesn't know how serious this journey will be for me. Well, I could tell her that I'm blogging about it, telling the world how much I weigh and what I'm feeling, but she has no idea what a blog is or how exposed I've made myself.

I know I'm not going to have this magical journey down a road filled with only joy and happiness and no bumps in the road. It's a journey I've started many times and ended way too soon. I'm going to make this journey interesting by blogging about it every day until I reach my goal. I forsee some really short entries, but it's something I know I need to experience and explore; I can't fully explain why I'm blogging about my obesity, but I know the deeper reasons will surface and I'll be able to battle my fat for the very last time.

I saw this beautiful painting called, "Fall Road" done by my friend Paul King III on his Facebook page and just knew it had to be part of my journey. He has a lot of great paintings, but this one spoke to me. Maybe this is my magical path to finding my healthier version of myself, I suppose not. It's a good reminder, though, that my journey is never ending and that like the leaves that fall and come back anew in the spring, so too will I.

All Work and No Health Kind of Day, Sitting on My Balance Ball ALL Day! - Day 13

Work deadlines took over much of my movement for the day and since I haven't slain the procrastinator dragon yet, I was sitting on my balance ball, music turned up, cranking away at AutoCAD for the better part of the day. For over 5 weeks, I had a terrible cough and allergies. I was feeling better a few days ago and the brain fog came back today, maybe a result of the crazy stress I place on myself. I made some green juice hoping it would help with the brain fog. It didn't, but I needed the nutrients. This post is for Tuesday 10.20.15, day 13 of my healthy journey.

green juice - swiss chard, spinach, jicama, Asian pear, coconut water

Lunch was leftovers from my Bad Boy Buddha Bowl and some baked chicken

Dinner was a new recipe for me, so glad I tried it, so delicious!

gluten-free pasta, butternut squash, green beans, lacinato kale, garlic, onions, goat cheese

I stayed up really late again, so I ended up eating an avocado mixed with almond milk. Please share your comments, or any tips/tricks that have helped you on your journey. May you have a healthy day!

The Numbers are IN! The Dreaded Weigh-In - Day 12

So far in my journey to a healthier ME, I haven't discussed exactly what it is that I want to achieve, it's a lot and ever changing. The obvious, I want to weigh less, 113.8 lbs less to be exact. My weight on day 1 of my journey was 263.8 pounds......my goal weight is 150 lbs. I started off this year 01.01.15 at 255 lbs. and sometime in June or July I blew up to 271 lbs. my highest weight ever!

I cried a lot that day and a few days after. I lost a few pounds right away because the thought of 271 lbs. really freaked me out! Well, this post is for Monday 10.19.15, day 12 of my journey and this morning I stepped on the scale and now I weigh 259 lbs.

This is the part that I get so mad at myself for ALL the time! I started off the year at 255 gained 16 pounds, lost 12 pounds. Had I just stayed at 255 lbs. and lost 12 pounds I'd be 243 lbs....ARGH! If I add up all the weight I've lost over the past twenty years I'd probably weigh 150 lbs.


More goals to come, in the next few posts. My breakfast today was at #NextDoorCafe, it was the Logan Square smoothie with avocado and an almond latte.

Lunch was...

baked chicken, zucchini, swiss chard, tomatoes, onions and garlic

wheatgrass shot from #cityharvestcafe

Dinner was a trip to #CrispChicago I ordered the Original Bad Boy Buddha, so delicious!

Hope today was a good day for you, food wise I think I did well. Be happy and healthy!

I'm Still Not Drinking Enough Water on a Daily Basis, Especially When Taking Pics at Open House Chicago - Day 11

Well good morning or late night, your choice. ;-) So I talked a little about water intake yesterday and how it's difficult for me to drink a lot of water when I drink other beverages like coffee, tea, protein shakes, etc. Also having to use public restrooms is a logistics nightmare. I work from home now 100% or a cafe, but if I'm out and about drinking all this water, I find it hard to find acceptable facilities where I don't have to purchase something to use the restroom. I'm doing all this complaining and then I read more about what water does for our bodies. I found two articles that basically shut down all my excuses! drinking more water, myths about water

Cloud Gate AKA "The Bean" in Chicago's Millenium Park

King Arthur's Court in the Hotel Intercontinental 

So this is the post for Sunday 10.18.15 day 11 of my journey. I went all over downtown Chicago visiting really awesome architecture for Open House Chicago #OHC2015 and took some amazing photos (well as amazing as my little point and shoot will let me).

One of my favorite buildings 35 E Wacker Drive

Graffiti art stairway at Tokyo Freehand Hotel

Top of the Wrigley Building

The Aqua Building

We (my friend Tanya and I) had a few healthy options for lunch; Protein Bar won our money. This is the Baja Chicken Salad, I thought about not getting the blue corn chips, but I was really hungry. We ate late around 2:30.

Breakfast was gluten-free cereal from Trader Joe's and almond milk. I'm pretty sure I have to give up this cereal, it's high in sugar.

Dinner was leftover gluten-free pasta with ground turkey.

This was a fun filled day, I really love taking pics, especially of architecture and flowers. I almost made my step goal (12K) I got over 10K steps on my Fitbit. Well,  I am out for the count. Have a great morning and healthy day!

What's All this Water Doing to Me? - Day 10

I've noticed some changes in my body these past few days. I know it's just a reaction to eating cleaner foods and drinking more water (health-benefits-water), but the downside for me is the acne breakouts (detox-breakouts-symptoms). I'm also taking more trips to the bathroom and not just to pee! I'm glad that I'm becoming more regular, but it's sometimes an inconvenience when I'm not at home.

There are days when I struggle to drink enough water like when I'm adding things like coffee, protein shakes, tea, and green juice to my daily beverage tally. Today, which is technically not today, but Saturday 10.17.15 day 10 of my journey, I had tea made with lemongrass water. I boiled a handful of lemongrass leaves and added this tea... I love Numi teas! My breakfast was also yummy.

gluten-free pita, scrambled eggs, spinach, garlic, tomatoes, and a small amount of Bianco Sardo cheese

 Dinner was basically a repeat of last night's meal...still good and healthy, though.

baked chicken in olive oil, fresh lemongrass, cilantro, asparagus, tomatoes, garlic, and onions 

I'm a night owl by nature, but I have to start going to bed sooner than when most people wake up! I get inspired to write or research late at night. If only that inspiration hit me 4-6 hours earlier, how great would that be? Well, I'm off to sleep, I hope you have seen some positive changes in your journey. Please feel free to share, I'd love to hear how getting healthy is affecting you.

Clutter in My Life is Cluttering My Brain! - Day 9

Clutter, mess, disorganization, do these words describe any or all parts of your life? For years, I've been trying to reorganize my space. I first started by buying bookshelves, my budget was small, so yes, I went with Ikea; they're great for what you pay. Well then I had to start sorting and figuring out what to put on those shelves...quite an arduous task, even to this day I haven't got it quite figured out (7-8years later). I also had an excessive amount of fabric, stone, metal, and glass samples, way too many for someone living in a small one-bedroom apartment. I eventually narrowed my samples down to fit in one of these rolling storage carts. It's a surprisingly freeing feeling purging unnecessary items.

Every now and then I get spring cleaning fever and run a few bags of clothes, accessories, and knick-knacks to the resale shop in my neighborhood. I'd say over the past five years I've donated over 40 bags of "STUFF." Sounds like a lot, right? It is, but I keep adding to the mess by buying more "stuff." George Carlin has a great skit about "stuff," click for Carlin video if you don't know who he is, you're missing out on a lot of laughing. I've learned to buy only the things I truly love (about 80% of the time) and will use. 

So how is this clutter affecting me? It's a huge distraction! Let's take my desk for example...

My messy desk!

I clear off my desk and days later it looks like this. I also have a huge pile of papers to sort to the left of my desk, by huge I mean at least two feet tall. I've got CD's, notebooks, boxes, glass jars, paper storage sorter, pen/pencil holder, piggy bank (you can see the top of Winnie the Pooh's ears behind my laptop), water bottles, camera, lamp, statue, large monitor, and piles of paper. That's a lot of crap on a small surface and I find myself sorting through it or rather shuffling it around to make room to work. Even now, as I'm typing this blog post I want to sort through some of the papers and get more elbow room. I found this blog that talks more about clutter and how it can affect you. how clutter affects your brain

I think clearing the clutter will help me in my journey for better health. I also read a great book by Marie Kondo called the life-changing magic of tidying up. Next step is to follow a lot of her advice. I bought the Kindle version, trying to avoid adding to the clutter.

So today is day 9 of my journey and by today I mean Friday 10.16.15. I did well this day.

green juice - swiss chard, kiwi, jicama, celery, lemon, and coconut water

Lunch was a salad, but soon after I was hungry so I added a protein shake.

salad - kale, swiss chard (blanched), jicama, bib lettuce, and tomatoes

Deliciousness!

Dinner was simple...just chicken breast, zucchini, swiss chard, mushrooms, onions, garlic, tomatoes

Well I hope you get inspired to take a look around your space and clear any clutter that may be holding you back from accomplishing your goals. Have a wonderful and healthy day!

So Much Prep Time in Eating Healthy! - Day 8

I'm struggling with all the time I'm spending prepping my meals. I know I need to start planning my meals for the week; I'm sure that'll help reduce my chopping time with the veggies. Well, the food for Thursday, 10.15.15 - day 8 of my journey, was not a good example of what I'm stressing over, but most days I'm washing my cutting board 2 or 3 times a day. For breakfast, I had an almond milk latte and a fig butter, mozzarella, and turkey crepe from Next Door Cafe. Forgot to take a pic of the crepe, but here's the yummy coffee.

Lunch was also on the run at one of my favorite places, Nando's Peri-Peri in Lakeview. The Butternut Squash Salad is the best salad period!

On my way home from lunch, I stopped at my favorite juice bar, City Harvest Cafe. I got my wheatgrass shot and the best tasting, fresh coconut water.

 Dinner was sort of a repeat, I had leftover salad, as you can see their portions are generous. I would not normally eat leftover salad, but it tastes so good, I don't mind that it's wilted. I paired it with a piece of salmon.

Although I ate well today, I was still hungry, so I made a lite snack of an avocado, 1/2 c. almond milk, and 1tsp. of agave. If you want to avoid sugar, you can substitute a little bit of banana. So first, mash up the avocado, I used a fork, but a potato masher would work too. Slowly add the almond milk, or whatever milk you prefer, and blend well before adding more milk. This can also be done in a blender and if you freeze the avocado mix, it'll taste just like ice cream! :-)

I'm almost caught up on my blogs, this is already quite the journey. Hope you'll continue to follow along or if you're a new follower, welcome! Have a healthy day!