The Boring Brown Bag

Thanks for all of the suggestions yesterday about what on earth to do with the "thrones". Irv and I are looking at all of the suggestions and I'll let you know what we decide.

When I worked at my last job, we had an hour for lunch. Most of the time I would head for a restaurant and have something to eat. During the summer I would bring my lunch and go park by the lake and eat.

With this job, I only get a half hour for lunch...that means there is no time to go sit at a restaurant to eat. I bring my lunch every day. When the weather is nice, I drive over to the pond in the neighborhood across from the office to eat. In the winter, I sit in the lunchroom.

Bringing a lunch every single day creates a bit of a challenge.....like what the heck do you bring to eat day after day after day?

I bring soup, leftovers and almond butter and jelly sandwiches......and I am getting sooooo tired of it. I am not very creative when it comes to meals and that includes lunch. I eat a lot of salads, but I save those for dinner.

So, my friends....whether you work at home or out of the home....what do eat for lunch every day?

Osteo Update Time

For those of you that are new to my blog....I was diagnose with osteoporosis (sort of) in January. You can read about my experience here and here.

Just a little update on how things are going. When the new Holistic MD told me what he wanted me to eat and not eat, I was more than a little concerned. My diet was not nearly as bad as a lot of people, but not nearly as good as it should have been. He was asking a LOT for me to eat mostly whole foods as in fruits and vegetables, no wheat and no dairy. I need my Starbucks Chai Latte and pizza!

Then I needed to start walking 30 minutes a day. I was already walking a bit, but NOT 30 minutes every single day of the week! I don't have time for that.

Next I started seeing a Physical Therapist one day a week. She wanted me to do about 20-30 minutes of Pilates for osteoporosis at least 5 days a week. Where was that time going to come from?

Needless to say, it was a bit overwhelming. HOWEVER.....those of you that know me, know that I never say never. I dug in and guess what....the diet isn't really a big deal, the walking has become pretty enjoyable and the exercise is challenging and I love a challenge!!

I guess what I am trying to say is that things are going really, really well. I have no idea what it's all doing for my bone health, but I would think they would be staying the same or getting stronger rather than weaker and that is the goal.

The way I managed to sort it all out and not freak out was to look at it in smaller parts rather than as the big whole major life change that it was. It took me a while to figure out the diet and then to adjust to it.

I do my PT in the morning because that way it's done and there are no excuses when I get home from work. The walking....I am wearing a pedometer every minute of every day for a program we are doing at work. I have to walk 7000 steps every day. Most people walk about 3500 during the course of an average day and guess what......a 30 minute walk equals almost exactly 3500 steps! I get my 7000 easily every day. Some days I have 8000 and I've even hit 9000 a couple of times!

I was never trying to lose weight, but I have. My pants are all getting baggy and people are commenting on how skinny I am. I don't really want to be skinny...it's better for people with bone loss to have some meat and muscle on their bones.....but I will say that I feel awesome!

So, my words of wisdom....if someone like me can have words of wisdom is this....when you have to make a major lifestyle change....break it down into small sections and do it in baby steps. Success can be yours!

Physical Therapy

I had my first visit with my new Physical Therapist today. She was awesome! How lucky can I be? We sat and talked and went over my health history. We talked about osteoporosis and about exercise.

Then I learned a number of very simple exercises that will eventually be part of an exercise "routine" of sorts. The exercises take moves from Pilates and breathing from yoga to create a workout that is safe and affective for someone with osteoporosis or osteopenia. The routine will loosen areas where my muscles are tight, and tighten areas that are not.....all in an effort to get all of my muscles working equally no matter what I am doing. I will be seeing her once a week for now so she can watch my progress and add new exercises each week. She might even put me on some of the pilates equipment at some point. That would be cool.

It was a wonderful visit with lots of education. The PT is about my age and she has osteopenia. This is a physical fitness expert....and she has bone loss. It just goes to show you that it can happen to anyone. It isn't a problem for only tall, thin women, or older women, or people that don't get enough calcium, or people that don't exercise.....it happens to men and women, people that are young and people that are older, people that take calcium and those that don't, active people and couch potatoes....it doesn't matter....anyone can suffer bone loss. It has more to do with how your body is functioning and how it is or isn't absorbing calcium.

So now I have all of the parts of my program and I am on my way. I will be eating the right foods, taking the supplements my body needs and exercising safely and in a way that will help my bones. I will also be going for a bone density test on Monday. That way I will know what my scores are right now as I start my bone building program.

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful and supportive comments. I'll let you know my test results when I get them....but that's it for the osteo talk for a while. Make it a great day and do something really, really nice for yourself today!

Beating Osteoporosis.....Day 1

Today is the first day of my new diet and supplement plan. I am so ready. I spent so much time this weekend figuring out things I can eat and what supplements I take when and when I want to drink this shake thing and so on and so on....

I spent a lot of time in the Osteoporosis forums chatting with people that have been doing this for years. I have learned a lot. One of the things I've learned is that just like with every other "hot" topic......you will get lots of different advice from people with lots of differing opinions.

I read many times....no yoga forward bends and no yoga twisting. Then my new doctor said....it's fine. Then some very knowledgeable people in the forums said....don't do it. Then someone else in the forums said.....I've been doing them for nine years. What it boils down to is that I have to do what is right for me. That yoga DVD has made me stronger, more flexible and improved my posture. I think I will keep doing it. The moves in yoga are slow and thought out. I don't think about it when I bend over to pick up something off the floor or twist to back my car out of the drive way. If my back is going to fracture....it's going to fracture.

I am going to see if I can make an appointment with a Physical Therapist that is trained in osteoporosis. I would like some professional help with my exercise program. I really need someone to tell me exactly what I should be doing each day. If I'm going to spend 30-60 minutes every day working out, I want to be sure that what I am doing is going to help. I'm not qualified to do that.

The hardest part of the new diet is the no sugar, no dairy and no gluten. That's a whole lot of no-no's. The no sugar means no Starbucks Chai Lattes. The no dairy means no pizza. The no gluten means no bread. I've done this before, I can do it again.

I just have to think about how awesome I am going to feel when I am not putting things into my body that it doesn't need or want....and when I am putting good things into my body that are going to help it function the way it should. It's all a matter of mind over matter and a good positive attitude.

Make it a great day and be sure to do something really nice for yourself today!

Update.....

Soooooo, are all of you getting up off your butts and doing a little walking every day? Are you eating healthier? Are you taking care of yourself the way you know you should be? I know you are probably tired of me harping at you all of the time, but it is so much better to prevent a problem than to treat a problem. Right? Right!

Since getting my treadmill, I have not missed a day of walking. Without it, I would have missed many days due to the weather here, and just being too tired when I get home. Poor excuse, but I'm being honest. With the treadmill, I am in the basement every single day walking at least 30 minutes. During the week, I'm down there at 5:30 a.m. I would like to increase that as time goes on, but for now it's 30 minutes. I am holding little 1.5 pound dumbbells for part of the walk to do something good for my arms and shoulders too.

My diet is coming along nicely. I'm learning to stay away from animal proteins, including dairy and to get my protein from plants and other sources. That way the pH in my blood stays more balanced and it won't steal calcium from my bones to correct any imbalance. It's really been easier than I thought it would be.

I have found that I can eat a lot of the foods that I enjoy that might throw that balance off by also eating fruits and vegetables with them to keep everything the way it should be.

I bought a powdered calcium with magnesium that is suppose to be better absorbed and I'll start that today. There was another supplement that a co-worker said her mom has been using, but I can't find it in any of our stores so I might have to order it online if I decide to try it. I'm still researching it. Do any of you take OsteoValin? That's what it's called. It's basically strontium.

I have eliminated most of the salty snacks I was eating on a daily basis...and I do miss them. I had some crackers over the weekend and they tasted just grand! It's okay to do that occasionally, just not on a daily basis.

I am losing weight, even though that was not my intention. I don't own a scale, but my clothing is telling me that I am.

Besides all of those nice things that I am doing for myself each and everyday, I'm also trying to do something I really enjoy every day. I'm just taking a little time for me...to watch some of the Olympics, to read a bit, to plan, to dream......

What nice things are you doing for yourself?

The Breakup

A tear was hanging there in the corner of my eye and then slowly it tricked down my right cheek. I looked longingly at the building as I drove by on my way to work yesterday. I even thought I smelled a familiar aroma....but alas....I didn't. It was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

As I walked in to the office, I clutched the small Starbucks Chai Latte in my hand. I put down my tote bags and started to remove my food for the day....Total cereal, blueberries, strawberries, soy milk, leftover quinoa pasta with zucchini and spinach pasta sauce, raisins, celery and peanut butter. I placed the cold things in the fridge, left the rest in the bag and sat down at my desk. As I took a sip of my chai latte.....I smiled.

YOU DID IT KATHY!!! YOU REALLY DID IT!!!! It's Friday and you did NOT stop at Dunkin' Donuts, and you are NOT eating a fattening, salty, cholesterol filled egg and cheese croissant that is going to turn the pH of your blood upside down and make your body steal calcium from your precious little bones!!! Chee Hoo!!!!

Friends even though I feel like I broke up with the love of my life...if I can say NO to that egg and cheese croissant, I can say NO to most anything...and today that included cookies, candy and cake that filled our lunch table. I didn't have a single bite.

On the serious side...this change in diet is not easy. I feel hungry a lot. Before if I was hungry, I knew that I could reach in my tote bag for some chips or crackers. They would fill me up. They would make me happy.

Now when I am hungry and I reach in my bag, I find things like dried apricots. If I go to the fridge, I find things like carrots. Those things do NOT fill me up, nor do they make me happy.

After eating like I did my entire life, I think it just becomes a habit. I think you learn to love the taste of certain foods as well as that feeling of being just perfectly full. It has to be an emotional thing.

Now I am in the process of "unlearning" those habits and creating new ones. I have discovered that I can live without the sweets except for my chai and that's okay for now. What I am really missing are the salty, filling snacks. I love things like cheese, crackers, pita chips and corn chips. It's funny because I don't like my food salty. I even buy salt free soup and put in a little dash of my own salt....but salty snacks were my "thing".

Salt is bad, bad, bad for our bones, so I am trying to avoid it. That isn't to say I will never have another salty snack, because I will...just not every day like I was.

I really did an awesome job this week, but it was tough. So much thought has to go into what I'm buying and eating right now that I find it more like work. I am keeping up with my pilates and my yoga and my new treadmill is a dream come true. I am on that thing for 30 minutes every morning before work and I actually like it! I find it challenging and I love a challenge.

I hope that all of you are getting up and doing some walking or some kind of exercise. Making some small changes now might keep you from having to make major changes later.....besides your bones will love you for it!

Make it an awesome day for yourself!

A Million Thanks

I want to thank each and every one of you for all of the kind words and the encouragement this past week. I feel so lucky to have all of you as my friends. You are the best.

This was a huge week for me. With the Osteoporosis diagnosis, finding out it's Osteopenia, thinking I was going to have to take drugs I didn't want to take, having a wonderful book recommended to me by a super blog friend, learning about my disease, learning about treatment options, having a mini meltdown and getting started on some major lifestyle changes...it was one heck of a week! Whew!

Today I filled my fridge with all kinds of good things to eat. I went to the store with a list and knew what I was going to buy.

I will be making things like vegetable soup, fruit smoothies, ratatouille, roasted vegetables with tofu and salads.

I will be walking on my brand new treadmill too! Michael came over to help Irv get the treadmill downstairs. Those things are HUGE and there was no room for it upstairs in my tiny house. Maggie helped them as much as she could and before you know it....it was all together! Thanks Irv and Michael!

We don't have an awesome finished basement, so Irv said he is going to go downstairs tomorrow and fix up a nice spot for me to do my "walking". How sweet is that? He's already looking in the catalogs for seeds to see what other kinds of great veggies he can grow for me this summer!

The more I think about this whole week...the more I realize how very lucky I am to have found out about my bone loss now when I can still possibly make the changes I need to in order to live a long healthy life....with nice strong bones.

Thanks again everyone. You truly are amazing!

Building Bone 101

I promised you some information from the book I'm reading so I will start today. I definitely can't fit it all in one post, but this will be a start.

The book I'm reading, Building Bone Vitality, states that, "Bone contains three calcium compounds: calcium carbonate, phosphate, and hydroxide. When the blood's pH falls below normal, the body must restore it as quickly as possible. It does this by pulling calcium compounds into the blood to neutralize excess acids. The body obtains these acid-neutralizing calcium compounds from the reservoir that contains 99 percent of the body's calcium store....bone."

That paragraph is basically what the entire book is about. It tells you ways to keep that "robbing of the bone" from happening. pH stands for "potential of hydrogen". Basically it means how acid or alkaline the blood is. Our bodies are pretty picky and when something isn't quite right, our bodies will try to find a way to repair it....at all cost.

We all know that fruits and vegetables should comprise a large part of our daily diet, but do they? I don't know about your house, but they don't in my house. I was also under the assumption that protein is the key to good health. Most people get their protein from meat. I happen to be a vegetarian so I turned to dairy. I thought I was doing great things for my bones. I wasn't.

I am not a very science minded person, but I do understand this. Most foods contain protein and protein introduces amino acids into the bloodstream, which in turn increases it's acidity and in turn the acidity of urine. My body will do what it needs to do to balance my blood...and in order to do that, it will pull calcium out of my bone.

Thinking I was helping my bones, I kept upping the amount of calcium I was consuming by way of food and supplements. I was consuming as much dairy as I could because I thought I needed that protein. For the past seven years I have eaten 10 hard boiled egg whites per week, about 2-3 egg yolks plus whole eggs on Friday and more if we made them for breakfast on the weekends. What I wasn't doing was upping my consumption of fruits and vegetables to provide the alkaline to keep things in balance.

The book suggests lots of fruits and vegetables, some nuts and legumes, modest amounts of bread, pasta and cereal and not much if any meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs. I can do that....I might not love it....but I can do it.

I already figured out that a Starbucks Chai with soy milk would be okay and that instead of an egg and cheese croissant, I can get the egg and cheese on a wheat bagel and have it with some fruit!

Did you know that Vitamin D increases the body's ability to absorb calcium. I didn't. Guess who was Vitamin D deficient? Yep. Me. I had Melanoma in 1998 and for many years didn't allow the sun to come anywhere near me. We need sun. We need 15-20 minutes on our upper bodies each and every day! I got none for years. I started on Vitamin D supplements and it is finally back to normal.

What about exercise? Well, everything I have looked at says 30-60 minutes of walking per day....every day. That is crucial. I will be getting a treadmill today.

The book did say that the Osteoporosis drugs do work reasonably well, but they are not a cure. The drug companies always exaggerate the effectiveness of their products and the advertising makes them all seem so wonderful. I'm just not ready to go that route yet. I may have to some day....but not today.

I will continue to read and learn about my disease and treatment options. I will share anything I find that sounds worthwhile.

I am headed to the grocery store right now. You will find me in the produce aisle! Make it an awesome day today and hey....do something nice for yourself today. I plan to!

The Meltdown

I had a mini meltdown Wednesday evening. Yep, I did. I admit it. Irv asked me if I was doing okay with all of this Osteoporosis stuff and that was all it took. The tears had been lying in wait for a while, and just the attempt to say, "Yep, I'm good," turned on the faucet. It actually felt good. I had to quickly turn the faucet off because Tresa called, and by the time I was done talking to her..."it" had passed.

(Photo by Miriam Pike)

I don't need sympathy....it isn't necessary, but I am always open to information or suggestions of any kind. The meltdown was two days ago and I am long past it. In fact, I feel really good. I know that I can do this my way and if for some reason my way doesn't work....there is always the alternative....medication. Not my first choice, but it's there if I choose to take it.

I remember when I was diagnosed with Melanoma in 1998. I was terrified. I didn't even want to do my homework on the subject because I didn't want to know. What I did know was that my days of enjoying the sun were gone and that I would live forever with this uneasy feeling. I was wrong. It did take years until I was comfortable stepping out of the house and allowing the sun to shine on my skin, but I have learned to live with it and it no longer affects me or my life negatively. I use my sunscreen and cover up if I'm going to be out for a long time. I love the feel of the sun on my skin and I see my dermatologist regularly. Yes, my life changed drastically that day, but I now look at that day as my life saver. It was my little warning sign to pay attention to what I was doing.

When I was told I had osteoporosis/osteopenia last Saturday, I already knew what it was but I didn't know a lot about it. I started reading and reading and reading. I talked to people about it. I asked about the meds and diet and exercise and everything else I needed to know. I crammed so much into my head in a few short days that I thought it would explode! I wasn't working on anything for my etsy shop, FourDogDay. I wasn't working on anything for the upcoming show. I wasn't keeping up with all of my favorite blogs. I just didn't feel like "me". I think Wednesday night I just became overwhelmed with all of the data and all of the change in my normal routine. I wasn't exactly sure how to sort it all out, get back on track and turn it all into my new way of life.

I laid in bed that night and made two columns on a sheet of paper....one said GOOD and one said BAD. I started writing down every food I read about. When I was done, I looked at the columns and realized I COULD do this. It wasn't that I could no longer have an egg, but I had to eat it with fruit or a vegetable. I could have cottage cheese...as long as I had some fruit with it. It's all a matter of balancing the acidic with the alkaline and I can do that. I'm not quite ready to explain the whole thing to you yet, but I promise I will as soon as I know I am giving you the right information and I'm not quite there yet.

I know how very, very, very lucky I am. There are so many worse things, but in all honesty....I'm lazy when it comes to my diet and exercise....and this is all about diet and exercise! I am a vegetarian that doesn't eat enough vegetables and almost no fruit. I live on rice and beans and pasta and cheese and eggs....at least I did. I start eating healthy and then I stop. I exercise and then I don't feel like doing it any more. I'm just not good with this stuff and now I feel backed into a corner because now I don't have a choice. I take that back....we always have a choice, but if I don't want my bones to crumble down the road....I only have one choice.

It's another warning. That's how I am looking at this. I have been given a chance to do it right...and I will. It just takes me a little bit to gather my thoughts and figure things out and then I'm ready to go. Irv e-mailed me at work the day after the mini meltdown to see if I was okay. I told him that I had my little boo hoo and I was raring to get going.

How are you when you are confronted with a total lifestyle change....when it's no longer if you want to do it, but it's that you have to. Does it take you a while to digest it all or are you able to dig right in?

Count 'em Up Kathy

As I packed up my bag yesterday morning with my lunch and snacks , I started to wonder how many calories I was loading into that bag for the day. I really already knew the answer and it was TOO MUCH!

Even though I tend to eat fairly healthy, I also tend to eat way too much. Add that to the fact that yesterday was the first day in ages that I walked the dog, and add to that the fact that I am stopping at Starbucks every day again.....it's no wonder that the pants I put on that morning were a bit on the t-i-g-h-t side.

There is such a simple solution to this issue, I don't know why I don't do it. On Sundays I use to pack up daily snacks in the proper serving size for the week. That way when I packed up my lunch I could just grab what I need. I would make a couple of small salads and put them in containers ready to grab.

Another easy thing to do is when I put leftovers away that I know will end up being a lunch for me during the week, I really should divide them and put them in a couple of small containers instead of one big container. Like yesterday, the one container held WAY MORE than one serving of pasta and low fat Alfredo...making it an unhealthy, fattening lunch.

I also like Greek yogurt for a snack....that would be an awesome snack, but I also like to add some fruit and granola to it making it not so low cal. I am thinking about making that my breakfast a couple of days a week instead of a snack.

I wouldn't even mind the Starbucks every day if I could get the rest of my eating under control. Even healthy low calorie snacks becomes unhealthy when you eat more than the proper serving size or when you consume 3-4 snacks a day rather than two.

So, today I will do better. I packed my lunch and snacks last night, and paid close attention to the serving size. I am only taking two snacks with me...one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I will walk the dog when I get home from work before I even turn on the computer, because once I turn that computer on....neither the dog nor myself will get the exercise we both so desperately need.

I am going to try to get up when the alarm goes off and get back to my yoga and pilates in the morning. I can't believe how limber I feel when I am doing those things regularly. I stand straighter and just walk taller. It's pretty awesome and I need it.

Truly, no matter how many times you have tried to exercise and eat healthy and fallen off the wagon....it's okay. When you can, just get back on and try again. Even eating healthy for a while now and then is better than never eating healthy at all. Same goes for working out and walking.

Well, now that I have myself so totally psyched....I think I will go grab a snack...all that talk about food has made me hungry! Just kidding!

Busy, Busy , Busy

I am in the process of filling MyOtherShop with cool stuff, I'm revamping FourDogDay, my daughter's wedding is in a little over two months, the shower is in 2 weeks, I need something to wear to two showers, the girl party and the rehearsal dinner and haven't bought a thing yet, my new diet is awful, I still need to get my dress altered and we are going to get 8 inches of snow tomorrow which means it will take me forever to get home. Am I stressed? Of course not! What's the point? It won't get anything done any faster and it isn't going to stop the snow.

The biggest thing for me right now outside of etsy is the shower. We want it to be really nice for Tresa, so my daughter-in-law, Bernadette and I are hard at work. Today we decided on the menu and the wines, figured out the place cards, and Saturday we are going to shop for the paper for the menus, the ribbon for the favor boxes, and the things we need for the centerpieces. I wish I could show you stuff and tell you what we are doing, but Tresa reads my blog and we aren't sharing any of the shower details with her. I'll take lots of pictures though and post them after the shower.

Once the shower is done, the next thing in line is finding clothes for the other events, shoes for the wedding and getting my dress altered. The dress is royal blue and I want silver shoes. I kind of like these, but I'm thinking I might want a higher heal....although I am not a high heel person and I will probably break my neck in them!

Well, I have turnips in the oven (Ugh) and squash in the steamer (Yuk). I might have a veggie burger with it (Boring). This diet is the pits...but tomorrow I am treating myself to an egg and cheese croissant from Dunkin' Donuts and my chai latte from Starbucks. I've done really good this week and I deserve a reward! Yum! Can't wait!

My Sure Cure For A Nasty Headache

Before I fell asleep last night I got a nasty headache. Not only that, my upper back was hurting really bad. I lay there trying to get comfortable, and started thinking about what I might have done for the back ache. Then I remembered that I did some arm exercises earlier in the evening. The headache could have been from my first day doing pilates again. I felt better knowing why I was hurting, but it didn't make sleep any easier.

I woke up a couple of times during the night with my head still hurting, and woke up at 4:30 a.m. with the headache still there. Hmmmmmm....hate starting out the day like that, but I got myself ready and headed to work.

About an hour after I got to work, I headed to the kitchen to warm up my tea that had already gotten cold. When I walked in I smelled this wonderful smell.....mint. Man did it smell good. I looked at the table and there they were...a plate of assorted Girl Scout cookies that someone had put out. I immediately spotted the little gems that were giving off the lovely aroma....thin mints! I could eat a whole box of those little guys in one sitting.

Unfortunately for me, I am on a special food sensitivity diet and flour and sugar are a no-no. I have not been perfect on the diet, I am still drinking my Starbucks chai lattes a couple of days a week, but to eat a thin mint would be a sin.

Then I remembered something from my 5 years of working in the natural health office....mint is great for head aches. My boss use to have a little roll on bottle of peppermint oil, and when she had a headache, she would rub it on her temples and her headache would go away. She swore by it.

With my head still pounding, I picked up one of the precious little chocolate gems....NO I did NOT rub the thin mint on my temples!!! I grabbed a napkin and held the little thin mint in it and then I breathed in the yummy scent. Over and over. I walked back to my office, napkin wrapped cookie in hand, sat at my desk and sniffed some more.

I left the little cookie sitting on the napkin next to me on my desk and started to work. Every once in a while I would pick the little guy up and take a whiff.

Well, about 20 minutes later, I suddenly realized that my headache was GONE! I mean it, it really was.

So, was it the magical little thin mint, or had my headache just run it's course? We may never know, but when the Girl Scouts come around next year selling cookies you can be sure I will be buying a few boxes of the thin mints.....for medicinal purposes only of course!

(And no, I never ate the cookie. It is wrapped up in the napkin, still sitting on my desk...just in case I have a headache tomorrow!)

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful....

but that could mean a day off of work! I really don't think it is going to be that bad, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. I could really use an extra day off right now! They are predicting rain...which it is doing right now, then temps dropping to the 20s and then ice and a few inches of snow tomorrow. I just hope we don't all get to work and then get stuck there!

I had such a great day today. We went and did our grocery shopping first thing this morning. I spent some time last night working on my shopping list, leaving off things from my "avoid" list and adding things that I can eat. Even though I am not making the big switch until after Christmas, I've decided to start eliminating things from my diet that are easy to eliminate. I can give up the potato chips, and potatoes, some of the vegetables and things like that.

For example, my son was here for dinner tonight and normally I would have loved the baked potato with asparagus, carrots and onion baked on top of it......but instead, I had a salad with romaine, red, green and orange peppers, kidney beans, egg, ground flax, chopped pecans, sunflower seeds and carrots with a little fat free Italian dressing. Potato and asparagus are on the "avoid" list....along with a million other things.

I made sure I bought a lot of different vegetables and fruits today since those will be the largest part of my diet. I intend to finish up things I still have some of like my oat cereal and my loaf of bread, but then I will be done with those for a while. I'm not as freaked out as I was the other day....just a little sad to say good bye to some of my good friends...like sugar and croissants, but I can do this!

After the store we headed out to a different mall since we bombed yesterday and only ended up with two gifts. Within 20 minutes of walking in the first store I had gifts for my son and soon to be son-in-law and my daughter. It was great! Everything was on sale, plus I had an all-day 20% off coupon that was good on many of the things. I can't tell you the great stuff I got because my family tends to read my blog fairly regularly and I don't want to spoil the surprise. After that mall, I had to go back to a different mall where I had bought something yesterday that I wasn't thrilled with, but bought out of desperation. Then I found something else for my soon to be son-in-law and headed home. It was a very good shopping day for sure.

I came home and made 3 new funky plates for my etsy shop, but I can't show those to you either, because the glue is still drying. They are so cute, I can't wait to get them listed this week. One is full size and 2 are soap dish size that I made with the little dishes from the resale shop yesterday.

I think I will pack up my lunch tonight since I will have to leave really early for work tomorrow if we do get the ice and snow they are predicting. So, we will keep this short and sweet today. Off to make my lunch!

Looking For The Quick Fix

Seven years ago I started working at a natural health office. Even though I didn't care for the ethics of the people I worked for, I did learn a lot about taking care of myself in a more natural way. I believe there is a time and a place for prescription drugs, but I also feel we are an "over drugged" society. Part of that can be blamed on the doctors, but most of it can be blamed on ourselves. We are a "quick fix" society. We can't even tolerate a runny nose anymore. We run to the pharmacy or to the doctor to make that runny nose go away. We seem to do that for every little ache or pain we have. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of very sick people that need medication to survive. Thank goodness we can help them.

What many people don't realize though is that symptoms are our body's way of telling us that something is wrong. Suppressing those symptoms with drugs may not always be the best thing to do. Besides all drugs have side affects.

When I worked at the natural health office, people would come in with shopping bags filled with medications they were taking....lists the length of their arm. It was awful. These weren't people with serious illnesses. These were people that went to see the doctor for common every day ailments like stomach pain and got a pill. That pill gave them a headache, so they got a pill for that. That pill gave them ringing in their ears, so that got a pill for that....and before they knew it, they had a shopping bag full and now they really were sick. Most people's systems can't handle that many drugs. It was so sad. The thing is, they would take all of the pills, feel sicker than they did in the first place and still not know why they had stomach pain!

I use to run to the doctor for everything. Now I don't. I have learned to understand my body and symptoms. Sure, it is tempting to reach for the medicine bottle when my head hurts, but now I prefer to figure out why my head hurts and just deal with it. It hurts for a reason and I prefer to know why.

Many of us have awful diets, including me at times. We eat fast foods, processed foods and foods covered with insecticides and pesticides. It's easy to see why we often don't feel well. I go through phases of healthy eating, but always seem to fall back into the "whatever is easiest" rut. I find myself eating a handful of chips, or stopping for chai lattes almost everyday, or ordering desserts when we eat out. I never give a second thought to what that is doing to my body, until I feel awful with no energy or have a headache everyday or my nose is so stuffed up I can't breathe. That is what eating poorly does to me. I know that, because I know what it's like to eat healthy and feel fantastic.

About 4 years ago I was tested for food sensitivities. Those are a bit different than food allergies. With allergies you usually get symptoms immediately. With food sensitivities, the symptom can take hours or even days to appear. Everyone probably has sensitivities to something in their diet or their environment. My problem back then was wheat and chocolate. The way to correct the problem is to avoid eating those foods for about 6 months, which I did. I had never felt so good in my entire adult life.

Then as time went on, I slowly added the wheat back into my diet and felt fine. I tried adding the chocolate back in, but kept getting headaches, so I try to still avoid the chocolate. Over time though, my diet has really become inconsistent. I eat good, I eat bad, I eat bad, I eat bad, and then I might eat good for a while.

Lately I just haven't felt the way I know I should. I've been getting headaches, my nose is stuffy all the time and I'm tired during the day. I know why...so, I decided to get tested again. I had regular blood work done and I also got tested for Vitamin B and Vitamin D. I haven't eaten meat in over three years, so I was curious about my B and I had melanoma 10 years ago so I get very little, if any sun...so I wanted to see where my D was at. The test I had for the food sensitivities was called the ALCAT TEST. I got my results last night. Let's just say that I am a little frustrated right now and have some major decisions to make about my health.

Tomorrow I will talk about the test results with you. Let's suffice it to say that I am desparately looking for that "quick fix" pill right now!