I've done some waffling, but, even during the waffling, I've been doing research, praying, thinking, and, I do believe I am now ready to be serious, both in changing my life and in writing a book about same.
Mind you, as my progress notes (blog posts) can attest to, during the waffling, I have changed my life, some. I weighed, I believe, 303. something or other lbs, when I started this blog. Now, I weigh 257.something or other lbs, and, I am taller by over an inch. That's without being serious, with having set backs that lasted months.
I am working up a more cohesive theme and dialogue for the book, and, working out the actual steps I will take.
Today, I have started the first step, which is a healthy, spicy morning tea made with turmeric and ginger (1 tsp. of each). There are many reasons why this is the best possible step for me to take, first.
Some of those reasons are technical and may have already been covered in earlier blog posts Not sure. Stuff to do with why turmeric and ginger are good for you. I will reiterate those reasons (or iterate, I guess, if I haven't done so, here, already) in the actual book.
The other reasons, the personal ones, I will share here.
Currently, I am living in a home with my youngest son, who has many problems including Asperger's and a hoarder mentality; two ex-neighbors, one of whom has recently been the victim of a hit and run; the ex-neighbors two cats and one dog. The place is a mess, there is mold growing in the bathroom (which I am allergic to, to a great degree) and the things that were supposed to be fixed by the male ex-neighbor have not been - first, because, he kept being gone, and, now, because, he has a shattered collarbone and a terribly wounded leg.
This is all a great drain on me, financially, emotionally, mentally and physically. I do not have the resources to suddenly divest myself of every "bad" food and bring in only the "good". I do not have the stamina to immediately eschew fried food or sugar toast, when I am too tired to cook and this is what someone else proffers. Not now, I do not.
The tea can be made with ingredients I already have. It is made quickly, can be enjoyed at leisure, is palatable to me without sugar or sweetener (though, I am thinking about adding a little lemon, maybe even apple cider vinegar and stevia, after a while). It does not hurt my joints. It is, therefore, something that does not cause more stress in my life to do, and, it may remove a great deal of stress, due to having the benefits that it does. So, I begin here.
I have to begin somewhere, and, now; because, as my other posts can also attest to, I have started to move back up on the weight scale. I don't want to do that. So, that ends, here.
I have asked my parents to take photos of me, again, when they come into town; which will probably be next week. I will, for the purposes of getting serious, consider those my starting photos. Am I excited? Yes, I am. Even though I have been doing things, off and on, up to now, I can't say I have really been actively doing anything. I mean, all it has been is trying - experimenting, considering - but, not really making a commitment to anything.
I am very bad at commitment. Once, I was not, and, I got married. After the over a quarter of century of pure torture that has brought into my life, I find I have been put right off commitment. Now, that torture is, for the most part, at an end - all except for mild worry over my eldest son's visits, because he is learning disabled and has a case manager that can still be influenced by others; and, of course, the PTSD. I am free, in much the same way as an ex-con, that never committed the crime, is free. Still labeled, still have trouble finding work as a result of the incarceration and other peoples prejudices, but, I can walk outside and enjoy a nice, long walk without too many worries that someone will shoot me for it. That's free enough! So, now that I have settled in to that feeling, gotten a bit used to the idea that things are, in fact, better than they were, I think I am ready to try committing to things and people (ie: Jesus and Jehovah), and, see how that goes.
To give a better idea of what I'm doing (and, up against) I shall tell you what I ate in the last several days, including today. Keep in mind, I am not advocating these food choices (most of them) and they are not the choices I would be making if I was not ill, if I had control over all purchases, etc. The main reason I am showing this to you is so that if there is a weight loss or other good benefit from the turmeric/ginger tea, you will know that it was from the tea, and, not because of also eating nothing but salad, or fasting, or anything else sneaky.
Two days ago, I had a Snickers for breakfast, along with most of a 2-litre 7 up. I believe I also had a very mayonnaisy tuna sandwich. Later that evening, I had a value menu bacon cheeseburger, a value menu fried chicken sandwich, and two french fries with the rest of the 2-litre. Then, later than that, I had most of a grapefruit and some water with lemon juice and apple cider vinegar in it. Followed by about 1/2 a chicken, a slice of bread, and a fairly large serving of coleslaw. Well, it wasn't really half a chicken, because, I tore some off of the 1/2 and gave the rest to my sister. It was more than 1/4, though, I'm pretty sure. I am not sure I had the tuna sandwich that day, by the way. Still, quite a bit of food,, very little of it vegetation, and, what was vegetation was mostly stuff that is not good for people with thyroid troubles.
The next day, yesterday, I had two honey buns, at different points in the day.There was also a cup of noodle and two sandwiches made with white bread, mayonnaise, spiced up hamburger and egg. Part of a 2-litre diet soda, spiked with lemon and lime juice was also involved. Oh, and, I had a honey crisp apple, that my sister gave me.
Man! It's hard to realize how far one has fallen, until the typing begins!
Today, I have a honey bun, but, I have not eaten it, yet. I had my tea, some water, some of the same 2-litre soda and part of a different one (that someone drank a good whack of) . I have eaten two tuna sandwiches (4 slices white bread, mayonnaise, chopped white onion, 1 can of tuna). For dinner, I was given two barbecued pork bun sandwiches (highly sweet/salty microwaved premade pork dish, ladled onto two white buns).
Pretty bad, huh? Later, if I get hungry, I will make a point of eating a grapefruit, as I have plenty of those, thanks to the lady I study the Bible with.
Now, most days are not quite as bad as the days I just described. I often make spaghetti with things like eggplant, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms, green onions, white onions, bell peppers (take those all as "and/or", because, there's no specific recipe); but, there is still way too much meat, lately. Sometimes I have been eating tomato and sauteed green onion sandwiches; but, there has still been too much bread and mayonnaise. I have only eaten salad twice, this entire month, so far.
So, there's my icky little confession. Now, you know what I am up against, what the turmeric and ginger have to overcome, and, we'll see what transpires.
I can't weigh today, and, probably, will not be able to weigh next week, either. I would like to keep track of things, though, because, if the thermogenic tea is doing it's job, there should be a noticeable improvement within a week - at least a small one. Yet, as much as I would like to keep track, I get exhausted taking measurements and trying to remember them, or, having to re-read them, to type them up here. Yes! That's how tired I am.
So, today, I took my measurements, in a different way, directly after taking a shower. That eliminates changes that are really all about wearing different clothes, and, the style of measuring takes out a lot of the trouble. The style being that, instead of measuring each section of leg, I simply measured around both legs at once.
Here are my measurements for today, Friday March 21, 2014:
Neck - 16"
Upper chest - 44-1/2"
Underbust - 46-1/2"
Waistline - 46"
Hips/lower abdomen - 52"
Thighs -44"
Knees - 29-1/2"
Calves - 30"
Didn't bother measuring my actual bust, as I don't care to lose any of it, so, finding out it is smaller is no cause for celebration. Did measure my left calf and it was 18-1/2", which is, if I remember correctly, the same as it was last time I measured it, several months ago.
So, happy week to you! Hopefully, I'll have good news for you, next Friday.
PS: On a side note, the other day when I weighed, I measured my lower abdomen and waistline. My waistline was 46-1/2" and my lower abdomen was 54". That was a very short time ago. Now, it could be that I managed to lose enough fat to be 2" smaller on my abdomen, in that amount of time, but, I doubt it. I think I was just that swollen up on the day I weighed.
That's one of the most frustrating parts of this whole process. I could lose 5 lbs. in a month and it could just mean I am dehydrated or less bloated than the month before. I know I lost some actual fat, especially if the GNC machine is to be believed, because, the print out says so, and,because, I am consistently staying smaller than I had been before.
Update:
I have decided to have another glass of tea- and, I have been putting the spices in a big glass of tea, by the way. I guess, I should have mentioned it. This time, I put a scant tsp. of turmeric, a tsp. of ginger and a tsp. of cinnamon. It tastes much better this way, and, cinnamon has good properties, too.
I don't know that I could do this, every day, even with just the one glass, though. Spices do get pretty expensive, when used in this sort of quantity. For now, I can, though, and, so, I will. I've spent money on worse things, when I've had even less to spare. So ...
Also, I have been boughten a Baby Ruth. I have not eaten it, yet, but, I probably will.
Yep! Last night (for today is a new day) I had not only the Baby Ruth, but, 3 slices of pepperoni pizza and one slice of bacon and pineapple pizza.
The end.
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