We watched a few documentaries in the past couple of weeks. Hungry for Change, Vegucated and Food Matters are documentaries about food; how it's made, how it gets from the farm to our table, the chemicals that are added and why and what those chemicals do to our bodies. Vegucated had me in tears, and is the reason behind deciding to cut our meat intake, and to be aware of where our meat and animal products come from.
I definitely have a food addiction. I have no "off switch", once I start eating, I have quite a lot of difficulty stopping and these documentaries gave me some ideas as to why that may be. Luckily, I have a husband who agrees with my must-get-healthy initiative, and a child who is too young to complain, so we're trying to eat "cleaner". We've cut out 99% of our red meat intake, and we're cutting out chicken as well. I've stopped eating any "white" or "bleached" pastas or breads. I've stopped adding sugar and salt to anything (except my one morning coffee that I take sugar in... that is going to be the hardest habit to break!).
I still have not added any exercise to my plan, and have lost another 4 lbs in the past two weeks. I'm right on track.
I started changing my life on June 11/2013, I was 282 lbs and a size 20 or XXL, I was exhausted, and my entire body ached.
My goal: 135 lbs by January 2015.
So far, I've lost 20 lbs, and I'm feeling incredible :)
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
I'm fat.
I've always been fat. It's part of who I am. Last year, I decided.. as a side note, that I wished I looked better, so I wanted to lose some weight. I didn't really pay too much attention though. Sure, I walked around the neighbourhood and I wrote down what I was eating but I was eating enough for three people, and I didn't bother to change that! I lost about five pounds, and then my son got sick and I did. not. care. about. me. Every bit of energy went into him, every ounce of organization went into him, and I ate the easiest, quickest thing that I could; paying absolutely zero attention to what I was putting into my body.
two weeks ago, I decided that I am finally feeling in control of my son's diabetes. We have a solid routine, and his sugars are stable. We're in a good groove. Then I looked in the mirror.
I realized that I have really stopped caring about me. My skin is horrible, my body is sagging, I've got a sty in one eye, and the other just hurts for some reason. My joints ache. I burst into tears multiple times a day. I have an almost constant headache. I'm constantly thirsty. my nails and hair are brittle. To sum it all up, I feel unhealthy. Also, I weighed in at 282 lbs... I'm only 5'5". I am morbidly obese.
I have given myself 18 months to lose 150 lbs. and get healthy. I will not "diet". I am changing my entire lifestyle, and getting myself and my family healthy. I have been researching what our bodies *need* to function, and be healthy.. and am implementing ideas one at a time so that they really stick. So far, I've cut my food intake in half, and have replaced my breads and pastas with whole wheat versions. So far, I have lost 16 lbs.
This week, I have introduced raw veggies.. and can feel a difference in my energy level already.
two weeks ago, I decided that I am finally feeling in control of my son's diabetes. We have a solid routine, and his sugars are stable. We're in a good groove. Then I looked in the mirror.
I realized that I have really stopped caring about me. My skin is horrible, my body is sagging, I've got a sty in one eye, and the other just hurts for some reason. My joints ache. I burst into tears multiple times a day. I have an almost constant headache. I'm constantly thirsty. my nails and hair are brittle. To sum it all up, I feel unhealthy. Also, I weighed in at 282 lbs... I'm only 5'5". I am morbidly obese.
I have given myself 18 months to lose 150 lbs. and get healthy. I will not "diet". I am changing my entire lifestyle, and getting myself and my family healthy. I have been researching what our bodies *need* to function, and be healthy.. and am implementing ideas one at a time so that they really stick. So far, I've cut my food intake in half, and have replaced my breads and pastas with whole wheat versions. So far, I have lost 16 lbs.
This week, I have introduced raw veggies.. and can feel a difference in my energy level already.
Friday, April 5, 2013
two months later
It's been almost exactly two months since Des' diagnosis with T1D and we've learned a hell of a lot. We just got his first A1C results, and we are exactly where we should be. There were congratulations all around.
I started to feel overwhelmed from the very beginning, but then things were added to my plate without any discussion about whether or not I could even handle it. I couldn't. at the end of the month, I will be working only part time, and giving myself two days a week where I can really focus on my family. I spend too much time worrying about clients, and not enough time making sure that I am doing what is best for my life.
getting this diagnosis was difficult, but the realization that this was fated, just like everything else in my life, has helped me to accept it. I have always enjoyed taking care of people. I wanted to be a dentist, doctor, or veterinarian... but instead, I ended up working from home and taking care of my son every day.. where only I would notice the very subtle indications that something wasn't right.
I know in my heart that if he was off at daycare, or if I had decided not to start my own business to be with him all day.. that he wouldn't still be here. If I believed in one, I would thank god.. but I don't. I have faith in something though, the earth, nature, energy.. and everything worked together to ensure that I got my baby help when he needed it most.
We were/are very lucky, and I will not be taking our lives for granted any more. each day is a gift that I am so thankful for.
I started to feel overwhelmed from the very beginning, but then things were added to my plate without any discussion about whether or not I could even handle it. I couldn't. at the end of the month, I will be working only part time, and giving myself two days a week where I can really focus on my family. I spend too much time worrying about clients, and not enough time making sure that I am doing what is best for my life.
getting this diagnosis was difficult, but the realization that this was fated, just like everything else in my life, has helped me to accept it. I have always enjoyed taking care of people. I wanted to be a dentist, doctor, or veterinarian... but instead, I ended up working from home and taking care of my son every day.. where only I would notice the very subtle indications that something wasn't right.
I know in my heart that if he was off at daycare, or if I had decided not to start my own business to be with him all day.. that he wouldn't still be here. If I believed in one, I would thank god.. but I don't. I have faith in something though, the earth, nature, energy.. and everything worked together to ensure that I got my baby help when he needed it most.
We were/are very lucky, and I will not be taking our lives for granted any more. each day is a gift that I am so thankful for.
Friday, February 15, 2013
My son has type 1 diabetes.
wow. that was an easy announcement. I expected it to be more difficult.. but there it is. My son has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
On the evening of friday february 8th, 2013 my son threw up his dinner for the third night in a row. Something.. I still don't know quite what.. didn't feel right. I *knew* it was the flu.. but I also *knew* that my gut was in knots and I had no clue why. He didn't seem particularly dehydrated, and he had seemed well all day, but as soon as he vomited I panicked. I screamed to my husband that we needed to go to the emergency room. now.
Explaining to the triage nurse why were there was almost humiliating.. I just kept repeating "something is off, something just isn't right".. and I felt like a complete idiot. After triage, we sat and waited to be seen by a sweet young doctor, who agreed that it was probably the flu. they tried to give him an oral medication to stop him from vomiting anything more but he immediately threw that up so they stuck him on an IV for fluids, and I asked him to please check his blood sugar, and oxygen levels.. just to put my mind at ease, and he said he would. They took a vial of blood, and then we waited some more.
My husband went to move the car as we were about to run out of the three hour free parking, so I sat there alone.. and just then the doctor came back to discuss my son's condition. He took me into a curtained off area and sat me down, and started explaining something about acidic blood, and glucose levels, and breaking down muscles.. and I didn't understand a word of it. I was terrified, because just by the look on his face.. it was not good, and not an easy fix. That's when he said that all of these were markers of type 1 diabetes.
We were admitted to hospital, and my son got hooked up to all sorts of things.. he was on fluids to rehydrate him, and an insulin drip.. we stayed in hospital for three more days.. learning about what type 1 diabetes actually is, and how our lives will change.
For days, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut, and I couldn't catch my breath, and every time I started to be able to think straight, I suddenly had to stab my baby and make him scream.. and then my mind would cloud over again.
My son is one of the happiest babies I have ever met. He smiles, constantly. He laughs a deep belly laugh, that you can't help but laugh along with. He enjoys stacking anything on top of anything, and he loves to hide everything. He loves to cuddle, and gives the best squeeziest hugs in the world.. but while we were in the hospital, he did none of these things. My son who started smiling at 4 weeks old and never stopped, didn't smile for four days and I was terrified that I would never get my baby back.
He is back to his old self, and we are coping.. but i am by no means okay with this. I have not accepted it and am having difficulty even being optimistic about it.
My son was only 14 months old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
On the evening of friday february 8th, 2013 my son threw up his dinner for the third night in a row. Something.. I still don't know quite what.. didn't feel right. I *knew* it was the flu.. but I also *knew* that my gut was in knots and I had no clue why. He didn't seem particularly dehydrated, and he had seemed well all day, but as soon as he vomited I panicked. I screamed to my husband that we needed to go to the emergency room. now.
Explaining to the triage nurse why were there was almost humiliating.. I just kept repeating "something is off, something just isn't right".. and I felt like a complete idiot. After triage, we sat and waited to be seen by a sweet young doctor, who agreed that it was probably the flu. they tried to give him an oral medication to stop him from vomiting anything more but he immediately threw that up so they stuck him on an IV for fluids, and I asked him to please check his blood sugar, and oxygen levels.. just to put my mind at ease, and he said he would. They took a vial of blood, and then we waited some more.
My husband went to move the car as we were about to run out of the three hour free parking, so I sat there alone.. and just then the doctor came back to discuss my son's condition. He took me into a curtained off area and sat me down, and started explaining something about acidic blood, and glucose levels, and breaking down muscles.. and I didn't understand a word of it. I was terrified, because just by the look on his face.. it was not good, and not an easy fix. That's when he said that all of these were markers of type 1 diabetes.
We were admitted to hospital, and my son got hooked up to all sorts of things.. he was on fluids to rehydrate him, and an insulin drip.. we stayed in hospital for three more days.. learning about what type 1 diabetes actually is, and how our lives will change.
For days, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like someone had punched me in the gut, and I couldn't catch my breath, and every time I started to be able to think straight, I suddenly had to stab my baby and make him scream.. and then my mind would cloud over again.
My son is one of the happiest babies I have ever met. He smiles, constantly. He laughs a deep belly laugh, that you can't help but laugh along with. He enjoys stacking anything on top of anything, and he loves to hide everything. He loves to cuddle, and gives the best squeeziest hugs in the world.. but while we were in the hospital, he did none of these things. My son who started smiling at 4 weeks old and never stopped, didn't smile for four days and I was terrified that I would never get my baby back.
He is back to his old self, and we are coping.. but i am by no means okay with this. I have not accepted it and am having difficulty even being optimistic about it.
My son was only 14 months old when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
starting a business
I've always wanted to run my own child care. I prefer home care settings over daycare centres but I like some aspects of centres, so I want to run my own home care with those aspects from centres thrown into the mix.
It seems that other people like this idea as well!
I put an ad online for my home child care, and not even 24 hours later, I already have someone showing interest! so excited!
It seems that other people like this idea as well!
I put an ad online for my home child care, and not even 24 hours later, I already have someone showing interest! so excited!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
a game of tag
I've been tagged! (although in all honesty, since no one reads my blog.. I'm not sure why :P)
1. Name a book that somehow changed you. How?
Firestarter - Stephen King. It was the first book that I remember being really interested in and not wanting to put down. It led to me reading everything Stephen King has ever written and solidified my love of reading.
2. If someone were to cook you the perfect meal, what would it be?
Lasagna, garlic bread and a caesar salad. The problem with this, is that *my* lasagna and garlic bread are my favourite foods.. and I fear that I would just take over if someone were to try to cook them for me. oh, and for it to be perfect, it would have to have no calories.
3. Who do you want to be when you grow up?
I think I'm actually there :) I always wanted to be a mum, and I always wanted to work with children. Now that I do both, I feel pretty fulfilled and very lucky.
4. You find a wallet containing $20,000 on the ground, containing no identification. What do you do?
search for any bit of paper with anything written on it, receipts.. anything that could lead me to the person who lost it. if I couldn't find anything, I would drop it off at a police station with exactly where it was found.
I found a wallet once, with no ID and 1500 dollars in cash.. I found a receipt and had the store it was from find out from the transaction number that a credit card was used. With that information (luckily, I was working at the store at the time) I had the credit card company contact the owner of the card. When she came to pick it up, she was all puffy from crying.. that 1500 dollars was two months rent.
5. Name one completely irrational fear that you've got.
just one? hrm.
I suppose I'd have to say spiders. They terrify me. Tiny little jumping spiders have been known to have me shrieking and running away. I have a spider catcher thingy that makes it so you can be two feet away and still catch a spider to get rid of it.. and my husband has to use it. Once, I called him while he was at work to tell him I was trapped in the bathroom. I had gone into the bathroom, and as I went to walk out again, noticed a *HUGE* spider just above the door. I then waited in there for three and a half hours until he got home to deal with it.
6. Give me three songs that you're embarrassed to admit you like.
tik tok - Kesha. I hate everything about her, but I find this song incredibly catchy.
I think that's about it though. I listen to just about everything, and am not embarrassed to admit to any of it... except Kesha..
7. What is one thing you absolutely love about yourself?
That I'm determined. When I want something, I work very hard to get it.. and I don't let obstacles deter me.
8. If you could be doing ANYTHING right now, what would it be?
Eat an entire cheesecake.. that has no calories.
9. What's the best thing that happened to you this week?
I lost 9 pounds! :D (see why I want things to have no calories?!)
10. If you could perfect one skill overnight, what would it be?
sewing. I'd love to be able to sew.. but there just seems to be so much to learn that I don't even start.
11. Tea or coffee?
It really depends. I love coffee, but when I'm not feeling all that great, I prefer tea.
11 random facts about me:
1.When I was young, I climbed trees.. all the time. I used to hang out in a tree in the front yard of a house on my street and pretend that people walking by below didn't know I was there.
2.I want to have a lovely garden, but am so afraid of spiders that I can't *tend* to a garden very well.
3. I'm very neurotic. I like things to be done a certain way and when something messes up my routine, I tend to get more upset than seems reasonable. This is a trait I hope my son doesn't learn from me.
4. I wish I was half as creative as my sister. She pulls ideas out of her head, and makes them happen.. I've always wanted to be able to draw/paint/sculpt/create like she can.
5. for our first anniversary, my husband bought me a label maker. It was the most thoughtful gift I've ever received. Staples is my idea of a good date.
6. I love cats. like.. a lot.
7. my mother used to pay my sister to clean my room
8. coming up with 11 random facts about myself, is far harder than I thought it would be.
9. Dishonesty makes me very angry. the worst thing someone can do to me is lie about something that matters.
10. every friend I've ever had, has stabbed me in the back. I have a very hard time trusting people as a result.
11. I often forget how lucky I am, and that everything I've had to go through, has shaped me and my life into what it is today.
annnnd, since no one reads my blog, I'm not gonna tag anyone else. :P
1. Name a book that somehow changed you. How?
Firestarter - Stephen King. It was the first book that I remember being really interested in and not wanting to put down. It led to me reading everything Stephen King has ever written and solidified my love of reading.
2. If someone were to cook you the perfect meal, what would it be?
Lasagna, garlic bread and a caesar salad. The problem with this, is that *my* lasagna and garlic bread are my favourite foods.. and I fear that I would just take over if someone were to try to cook them for me. oh, and for it to be perfect, it would have to have no calories.
3. Who do you want to be when you grow up?
I think I'm actually there :) I always wanted to be a mum, and I always wanted to work with children. Now that I do both, I feel pretty fulfilled and very lucky.
4. You find a wallet containing $20,000 on the ground, containing no identification. What do you do?
search for any bit of paper with anything written on it, receipts.. anything that could lead me to the person who lost it. if I couldn't find anything, I would drop it off at a police station with exactly where it was found.
I found a wallet once, with no ID and 1500 dollars in cash.. I found a receipt and had the store it was from find out from the transaction number that a credit card was used. With that information (luckily, I was working at the store at the time) I had the credit card company contact the owner of the card. When she came to pick it up, she was all puffy from crying.. that 1500 dollars was two months rent.
5. Name one completely irrational fear that you've got.
just one? hrm.
I suppose I'd have to say spiders. They terrify me. Tiny little jumping spiders have been known to have me shrieking and running away. I have a spider catcher thingy that makes it so you can be two feet away and still catch a spider to get rid of it.. and my husband has to use it. Once, I called him while he was at work to tell him I was trapped in the bathroom. I had gone into the bathroom, and as I went to walk out again, noticed a *HUGE* spider just above the door. I then waited in there for three and a half hours until he got home to deal with it.
6. Give me three songs that you're embarrassed to admit you like.
tik tok - Kesha. I hate everything about her, but I find this song incredibly catchy.
I think that's about it though. I listen to just about everything, and am not embarrassed to admit to any of it... except Kesha..
7. What is one thing you absolutely love about yourself?
That I'm determined. When I want something, I work very hard to get it.. and I don't let obstacles deter me.
8. If you could be doing ANYTHING right now, what would it be?
Eat an entire cheesecake.. that has no calories.
9. What's the best thing that happened to you this week?
I lost 9 pounds! :D (see why I want things to have no calories?!)
10. If you could perfect one skill overnight, what would it be?
sewing. I'd love to be able to sew.. but there just seems to be so much to learn that I don't even start.
11. Tea or coffee?
It really depends. I love coffee, but when I'm not feeling all that great, I prefer tea.
11 random facts about me:
1.When I was young, I climbed trees.. all the time. I used to hang out in a tree in the front yard of a house on my street and pretend that people walking by below didn't know I was there.
2.I want to have a lovely garden, but am so afraid of spiders that I can't *tend* to a garden very well.
3. I'm very neurotic. I like things to be done a certain way and when something messes up my routine, I tend to get more upset than seems reasonable. This is a trait I hope my son doesn't learn from me.
4. I wish I was half as creative as my sister. She pulls ideas out of her head, and makes them happen.. I've always wanted to be able to draw/paint/sculpt/create like she can.
5. for our first anniversary, my husband bought me a label maker. It was the most thoughtful gift I've ever received. Staples is my idea of a good date.
6. I love cats. like.. a lot.
7. my mother used to pay my sister to clean my room
8. coming up with 11 random facts about myself, is far harder than I thought it would be.
9. Dishonesty makes me very angry. the worst thing someone can do to me is lie about something that matters.
10. every friend I've ever had, has stabbed me in the back. I have a very hard time trusting people as a result.
11. I often forget how lucky I am, and that everything I've had to go through, has shaped me and my life into what it is today.
annnnd, since no one reads my blog, I'm not gonna tag anyone else. :P
Friday, May 25, 2012
wait.. you mean he's gonna.. do .. stuff?
so I had gotten pretty used to propping des up on the couch while I went to make myself breakfast.. or leaving him laying on my bed so I could have a shower.. it was working, there was peace in my house.
about two weeks ago, I left him in the middle of my bed the way I had a million times before, and I went to have a shower. There I was.. getting all covered in suds and shaving my legs for the first time in four months or so.. and I had *no* idea the horrors that were occurring just one room away.
I got out of the shower and leisurely dried off.. no rush here!
I walked into the bedroom.. and there was my baby *THIS* close to the edge of the bed. IMMINENT DOOOOOOOM!!! He was actually laying about his body width to the right of where I left him, now on his tummy.. head raised and smiling at me, but yeah.. dooooooom.
my world.. will never be the same.
about two weeks ago, I left him in the middle of my bed the way I had a million times before, and I went to have a shower. There I was.. getting all covered in suds and shaving my legs for the first time in four months or so.. and I had *no* idea the horrors that were occurring just one room away.
I got out of the shower and leisurely dried off.. no rush here!
I walked into the bedroom.. and there was my baby *THIS* close to the edge of the bed. IMMINENT DOOOOOOOM!!! He was actually laying about his body width to the right of where I left him, now on his tummy.. head raised and smiling at me, but yeah.. dooooooom.
my world.. will never be the same.
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