Tag Archives: Sugar-free

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Shining Light into the Darkness

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Day 191 in my seeking to be a healthier me when I meet Mickey (7 months and 28 days to go)

As an obese overeater, I have learned some very self-destructive behaviors.  I learned early on to isolate myself, so that I could hide my poor eating habits.  Alone, I could binge on my sugary treats to my heart’s content.  Only my heart was never content, and I was always filled with self-loathing after I binged.

Now looking back I can see how strange that must sound.  When your drug of choice is food (sugar and salty carbs in particular), it should be pretty obvious that you are going to gain weight and people who see you will pretty much be aware of your drug of choice.  But at the time I felt I had to hide my poor eating habits from the public at large.  (Excuse the pun.)

So part of my strategy, to break out of old patterns, is to become more sociable, to bring what I have hidden in darkness, out into the light.  It’s a terrifying process, but it is a healthy process.

So today I got up and went to church.  I worshipped the God that loves me and sees the beauty in me that I cannot truly yet see myself, and I visited with some other church family members.  It was wonderful to share and to listen to these dear ladies share with me.  There was First Communion today, and 12 fourth and fifth graders took their First Communion with their families.  Beautiful!  They used chalices that they had painted themselves and shared their cup with their family.  (My favorite chalice was the one with the Cubs symbol on one side and a cross on the other side. LOL)  BTW: I passed up the amazing looking cake that was there to celebrate with the kids today.  Victory!

Then rather than going home and holing up for the rest of the day, I went and visited with my dear sister-friend, Joan.  She is a bit homebound because of health issues and winter-itis.  I had a wonderful, long visit Jo.  We chatted about everything.  She is my barefoot friend.  The kind of friend that you can share anything with.  Nothing is off limits.  We’ve been through Curves together.  We’ve been to Overeaters Anonymous together.  We have seen so much together.  She has seen me at my best and at my worst, and she loves me just the same.  She is a living, breathing example of the love of God in my life.  I came home feeling very blessed.

That’s it for today, dear readers.  I pray that all is well with you and yours, and that you are able to spend time with the living God who loves you today.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Happy VD!

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Day 189 in my journey to meet Mickey

Today is all about VD.

What?  I only mean Valentine’s Day.  My Valentine has been conscripted to spend tomorrow night and Sunday night housesitting. So tonight I made him the meal that helped him to fall in love with me.  Meatloaf, baked potato, and lots of fresh veggies with his favorite, Ranch dip.  Seriously, he LOVES my meatloaf.  🙂

I have adapted my recipe as follows: I now use 90% lean ground beef, onion, garlic, reduced-sugar catsup, yellow mustard, one egg, salt, pepper and moistened whole grain bread.  It is such a satisfying meal on a cold winter’s night.

Tonight is all about pampering my main squeeze.  (I made sure to run out and pick up a card for him for tomorrow morning.)  He still makes my heart pitty-patter.  He is the love of my life, second only to Jesus.  🙂

I am wishing you love for this holiday.  And if you don’t have a Valentine this year, then treat yourself special.  After all if we are supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, then we’d better learn to love ourselves, right?  Happy VD!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Investigating Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet

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Day 185 in my researching my way to a healthier me for meeting Mickey in the Magic Kingdom (8 months and 4 days to go!)

My plan for today was to start reading Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet.  (OK, nobody panic.  I am not diabetic; however, I am pre-diabetic, so the time for action is NOW.)  The book was delivered to my work place yesterday.  I began reading it as I ate my lunch.  I made it through two chapters while I ate.  In my Day 182 blog, I listed the 5 habits this diet wants you to add:

  1. Eat a healthy breakfast.
  2. Eat vegetables and fruits.
  3. Eat whole grains.
  4. Eat healthy fats.
  5. Move!  30 minutes or more every day.

It sounds so sensible.  And what I like about it, so far, is that it doesn’t claim to be a quick fix.  It promises to be a lifestyle change, a way to live the rest of your life in a healthier manner.

I dig it because I want to be well on my way to a healthier me when I shake Mickey’s hand at the Magic Kingdom in October.  Maybe he’ll even give me a hug!  Gosh, I LOVE Walt Disney World!

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I do not have unrealistic expectations.  I just want to be moving in a direction that I can be happy about when I get to Florida.  Then after the trip, I’ll pick another goal and continue this journey.  AND more about this diet to come.  🙂

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Making a Menu of Meals

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Day 184 in my planning for my meeting with Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October (8 months and 5 days to go!)

Today my plan is to write out my menu for the week and prepare my shopping list.  I’m going to do it a little differently this time.  In order to add more steps into my daily routine, I am going to organize my list by days and stop off every day after work to pick up the ingredients for that evening’s meal.

I found a cookbook on my shelf with quick and easy meals for diabetics.  I am pre-diabetic, but I am trying to avoid full blown diabetes so I will pick some recipes from this cookbook this week.

That’s the plan, man.  Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Accepting the Challenges

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Day 183 in my challenges as I try to change before meeting Mickey in October (8 months and 6 days to go)

I have made a habit out of hiding behind my weight.  I would participate in some activities; however, I would, in general, try to avoid leadership positions.  But I am taking a huge first step to turn that around.  I have volunteered to lead our Women’s Retreat at church in April.  I have two distinct feelings about this.  (1) I am excited at the thought of experiencing this retreat with our ladies.  It’s called Cafe Chocolat.  It will be a study on the extravagant grace of God.  AND (2) I am absolutely terrified at the prospect of “the buck stopping here.”  I am asking women to pay $35 for fellowship, worship, Bible study and lunch.  This will inevitable drive me to my knees in prayer.  “Help, me, Jesus!

My plan for today was to get a complete overview of the retreat by re-reading all the materials.  And then to start formulating plans to implement the retreat.  So I did.  It took me approximately four hours to get through it all.  I came away (1) excited and (2) overwhelmed.  but mostly excited.  This will be a wonderful retreat if the women will embrace it, AND we get chocolate.  Just a little, but enough to feel a bit pampered.  (And I hope to find good sugar-free chocolate for those of us who are avoiding the white stuff.)

So here’s to the new me: the person who welcomes the challenges that God sends my way and even thanks Him for those challenges.  🙂

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Blew It!

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Yesterday was day 181 and I am losing my mind on my way to meet Mickey

I completely forgot to post yesterday.  And BTW I did not have a great day.  I have had a tendency in the past to comfort myself with food when I’m feeling sorry for myself.  And that is exactly what I did yesterday.  I stopped at Walgreen’s after work to pick up some gauze pads and paper tape (I’m allergic to latex/tape on my skin) for my bloody, throbbing  toe.  I also picked up some Skinny Pop.  It’s really great popcorn with no additives, and a low calorie count.  Jake (my son) wrote an article for Forest and Bluff Magazine.  The man who came up with Skinny Pop did so because his own child has allergies and also cannot eat gluten, so he wanted to create snacks that his child could eat with no negative consequences.  Quite brilliant, really.

Anyway, on my way back to the checkout counter I walked through the Valentine’s Day goodies aisle, and there they were…Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Hearts.  My palms got sweaty, and all I could think about was my next fix.  I succumbed.  Four hearts later I was on a sugar high.  The first in a long time.  I hate that I love it so much  🙂

So there you have it: confessions of a full blown sugar addict.  Fear not, for I am back on the wagon and ready to leave sugar behind once again.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

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Eating for My Health

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Day 180 in eating my way to a healthier me to meet Mickey at Walt Disney World in October (8 months and 9 days to go)

My plan for today is to eat healthy meals.  I had a healthy breakfast and a very healthy lunch.  I am staying sugar-free and watching my portions and my salt intake.  Tonight I have a Damascus Road (the contemporary band at my church) rehearsal; then Mike and I will dine out on the way home.  Salad is on my agenda for dinner, preferably with some grilled chicken on it.

I feel so much better when I eat this way.  If I have an occasional treat, I really notice the difference.  I don’t feel well after I ingest sugar now.  I think my body has had it with foods that offer no nutritional value.  I ate that way for too many years, I guess.  Enough is enough.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: My little foot-doc appointment yesterday turned into a “procedure” whereby the side of my nail was removed and treated so it will not grow back.  So now I have a bloody toe that hurts like crazy.  Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better, and to quote one of my favorite movies, Tootsie, “I just have to feel this way I until I don’t feel this way anymore.”  🙂

 

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Back to the Doc

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Day 179 in my limping toward seeing Mickey at the Magic Kingdom in October

Today’s plan is is to see my podiatrist.  I have a very sore toe.  I think it may be an ingrown nail, but I am not a doctor, so in I go.  It’s the sort of thing that’s been bothering me for a few weeks and then by the time I was able to get an appointment, another week had gone by.  I’m sure I will leave the doctor’s office with an even more sore toe, but then hopefully it will finally start to heal.  This toe has made walking very uncomfortable for awhile now.  I want to get this taken care of so I can up my walking game.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: My cell phone died today.  If you need to call me, please use my work or home phone number.  I’ll answer; I promise. 🙂

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Be Still

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Day 174 in my healthier lifestyle as I wend my way toward meeting up with Mickey  (8 months and 14 days to go!)

Today’s plan was to take the Mayo Clinic Health Assessment online.  Done!  It’s part of my health insurance plan.  Each year I can earn $150 in Wellness Dollars by taking the assessment.  The money is loaded onto a dedicated credit card and can be used to pay for any medical expenses.  Mike is also on my plan so he can do the same.  That’s $300 in out of pocket health costs paid just by taking the Mayo Clinic Health Assessment.

Once I have completed the assessment, I can begin to qualify for another $350 (and so can Mike) by doing some activities and recording the results online.  This is what put me on the sugar-free road last year.  And it actually got Mike to eat a healthy breakfast for six weeks in a row.  So all totaled we can earn $1000 toward those out of pocket health costs.  We’d be crazy to NOT do this, right?

It’s a bit tougher this year.  Our choices are:

  1. Be Still: Tend to my emotional well-being through daily prayer practice for 6+ weeks
  2. Keep a Fitness Journal: Tend to my physical well-being by tracking physical activity for 10+ weeks
  3. Keep a Food Journal: Tend to my physical well-being by tracking all food and drinks for 10+ weeks.

The Fitness Journal seems like a no-brainer, since I am already trying to increase my activity level, but honestly, I think I need the Be Still path.  I believe that my emotional well-being had a lot to do with the weight I’ve put on in my life.  I think some more concentrated God-time can only benefit me.  So that’s the plan.

Meet you at the Kingdom!

BTW: I think Mike will choose the Fitness Journal, since he’s swimming four to five mornings a week.  🙂

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Pease Porridge Hot

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Day 171 in my eating my way to a healthier me for meeting Mickey at Walt Disney World (8 months and 17 days to go!)

Holy wah!  Can you believe it?  I’ve been on this journey for 171 days.  I know it’s been over 5 months, but 171 days.  Who’d a thunk it?  🙂

Today’s plan is to travel home after work on this gray, snowy, January Monday and make a delicious pot of pea soup for dinner.  We’ll have it with plenty of fresh veggies, and some crusty bread.

I remember when my mom would make a big pot of pea soup, and just about every time I’d say. “Eeeww, pea soup?  Can’t we have something good instead?”  Then I would sit down to a first and second helping.  🙂  What’s not to like?  Peas, carrots, onions, a bit of ham and seasoning.  Sounds pretty darn good to me today, I’ll tell you what.

Bring it on.  And Mom, thanks for the recipe.  (Miss you.)

Meet you at the Kingdom!