Whole30: day 2

Day 2 was good for me, not as good for Randall.

We both did well on our food intake, but Randall was very fatigued, had a headache, and even got cold.      

We figured it was because of the sugar withdrawal. He's missing coffee too much. So, I gave him an out. I told him to go ahead and have his coffee with cream and sugar in the morning. 

He works so hard during the day then I know he'll burn that little bit off in no time. He seemed to be in a much better mood this morning after the return of his beloved Java.

I took my blood sugar again.

As I'm sure you remember, Monday it was 157. Tuesday, it was 131. Amazing. 

Now, time for food!

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with salsa and chopped up avocado.

 

Lunch,: leftover chili.

 

Dinner: salmon loaf with sweet peppers, olives, onion powder, parsley, and egg, and broccoli on the side. 

 

Snacks: some Applegate Farms uncured salami , and then some pickled okra.

Looking forward to more progress!!!

Whole30: day one

Day 1 is in the books!

It started out fine, and stay that way all day. I felt like I was eating constantly, which was a little unnerving. Here goes a list of what I had:

Breakfast: two eggs scrambled with fresh onion, sweet peppers, and mushrooms. I had a side of baby heirloom tomatoes cut into wedges.

 

Lunch: I had egg salad made from 2 hard boiled eggs, some canola oil Mayo, Dijon mustard, and kalamata olives on a bed of red curly lettuce.

 

Dinner: chili that I made in the slow cooker. It had ground beef, two cans of diced tomatoes, & 1 can of tomato sauce,  along with onions, green chilies, sweet peppers, celery Plus spices chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and salt.

 

Snacks: had five strawberries, one banana, and about a half a cup of cashews spread out throughout the day.

Here We Go!

Yes, Its Monday morning... So we know what that means!

I decided that Mondays will be my status updates. One of the rules of the whole30 is to not wait until the end of the 30 days. I however, will have to break that rule because of the swelling issues. I have to weigh every few days to make sure I'm not rapidly gaining weight due to excess fluid buildup. Other than that, I plan to run this game like it's supposed to be ran.

So without further adieu, I bring you are weigh ins...

Randall weighed 283
I weighed in at 358 .8
My fasting blood sugar was 157.
My overall feeling right now is some slight nausea, definite gas, and joint pain especially my knees. I look forward to seeing all of these things change this month.

I will be taking snapshots of all our dinners and posting them the following day. Today I sent in Randall's lunch some tuna salad made with a boiled egg, tuna, diced celery, and some diced tomato on a bed of shredded lettuce. For his snacks he has some strawberries, and an apple with some almond butter. I'm not sure what my lunch will be yet, but I'm about to get my breakfast. I'm pretty excited about all of this and only hope it meets my expectations.

Looking forward to sharing this experience with all of you! Here we go!

Whole 30 : A New Beginning and Menu Plan

I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Join the Whole 30 revolution. Monday's the day. Randall and my best friend Tammy have vowed to take the plunge with me, which thrills me and makes me all that more excited to start.

We'll be taking measurements and weighing at the start so we can see our progress.

We went grocery shopping yesterday, and finished up at Aldi today - our first trip ever to it but it will not be our last! Its new to our area and I had no idea it was so cheap!

 

I got our dinner menu for the week done and it includes....

Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemons, with a side of steamed Kale
Pizza Frittata
Salmon Loaf with mixed veggies
Grilled chicken with faux potato salad
Chili
Cobb Salad
And
Tomatillo chicken with tossed salad

Lunches will be a variety of salads and hopefully some chicken veggie soup one day. Eggs for most breakfasts, with a variety of different sauteed veggies to mix it up a bit.

Looking forward to reporting our progress!

By the way, if you want to learn more about the Whole 30 program, click here.

RECIPE: Turkey Reuben Meatballs {Lower Fat, Gluten Free}

If you like Reuben Sandwiches but are gluten free now, or maybe just trying to not consume so much fatty meat, have I got a treat for you!

By swapping out the rye breadcrumbs in the original meatball recipe for some gluten free oats and caraway seeds and you get all of the flavor with none of the gluten.

Plus, using lean ground turkey cuts back on the fat for a lovely healthy party food or weekend finger food. 

I used deli corned beef that wasn't super fatty, so if you're looking for lower fat, don't be afraid to splurge a little. I promise they are worth it!

 

Turkey Reuben Meatballs

Ingredients

• 16 oz lean ground turkey
• 12 oz corned beef
• 1/2 c uncooked gluten-free oats
• 2 tbsp caraway seeds
• 1 (16 oz) jar sauerkraut
• 4 oz shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. mix all ingredients together thoroughly and roll into 1-2 inch balls and place into a cookie sheet
2. bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, until browned 
3. Serve alone or with Russian dressing for dipping

My Testimony

We are focusing on evangelism at our church this season, and a week or so ago, we talked about sharing our testimonies with those who are not believers. I was asked my our Sunday School leaders to share mine with the class.

The response was so amazing that I decided I'd share it on here. Only God know who this will reach, and if it helps even one person in their walk, then it was worth putting it out here for the world to see.

My Evolution and Birth as a Christian

Like many people my age, I was raised in a loving home with parents who taught me to be kind and respectful and taught me right from wrong. We went to church on Sundays and were good people during the week. I always thought that was enough.

I lived at home until my late twenties. When I moved out, I got lonely and made new friends, but I always felt like something was missing. I knew that most of the friends I made did not share my values on life, but I told myself that as long as I stayed good, it didn’t matter. Over time, I felt a bigger and bigger hole in my heart and I desperately tried to fill it, hanging out with my new friends more, trying to fit in more by being more and more like them. Instead of making things better, they just got worse. Eventually, I hit an all time low - I lost my job and several friends in the process. I struggled so much, I felt so lost.

I well remember the day I fell to my knees in my bedroom and cried out to God, telling Him how very sorry that I had turned my back on Him, that even though I believed, I never truly accepted. I was ready. I asked Jesus to cleanse me from all that I had ever done that was not pleasing to Him, and thanked Him for this miraculous gift that I knew I didn’t deserve. I sobbed for nearly an hour, just pouring out my heart to Him. When I said amen, He dried my tears.

I felt as if the world had been lifted from my shoulders instantly. Even facing the issues I had before me, I had a peace in my heart I had not known. I knew no matter what would happen, God would bring me through it.

2015 was one of the hardest years I have ever had. We lost about half of our monthly household income in March due to a layoff. I’ve never let our financial status worry me, as I truly believe that God will always provide, even when it seems impossible. That’s faith in my heart.

My father died in May, after declining health. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don't miss him, yet, I know I will see him again one day. That’s peace in my heart.

My beloved little shih-tzu that I have had for 16 years died in June. I miss him so much, and shed many tears over him, but I know God didn’t let him suffer for a long time. That is gratitude in my heart.

In September, I was admitted to the hospital with multiple infections, reduced kidney function, abnormal heart function and blood clots in both lungs. I couldn’t be weaned off of a ventilator and had to have a tracheotomy. At one point, I had 9 IV bags flowing various antibiotics and other medicines into my veins. My Mom, who just lost my Dad 4 months earlier, told me she had already started planning my funeral. I had so many people praying for me in churches all over the country, it just humbles me beyond belief. I know in my heart that God heard those prayers. It took 10 weeks, but I left the hospital 100 pounds lighter with a few scars to remember my ordeal with, and every day, I get a little stronger. That, my friend, is Jesus in my heart. He’s waiting to live in yours, too.

A Hairy Situation

I experienced another unwelcome side effect while I was sick. The first sign was when one of the nurses who took a liking to me offered to wash my hair for me. She started getting fistfuls of hair off of my head. I was a little alarmed, but she was scrubbing my head so hard I thought maybe it was my imagination, and I thought maybe since it was wet and sudsy, it just looked like fistfuls.

It wasn't until I got home and started brushing my hair daily that I saw it for myself. Every time I would brush my hair, I had to clean out the brush, which was full of my hair, reminiscent of what it looked like after brushing my hair for weeks and needed to clean it out. I'd run my fingers through my hair and have to many strands in my hand when I'd put my hand down that I wanted to cry.

I looked up the top causes of hair loss in women and my heart sunk.

A trigger event. Many people experience a general thinning of hair several months after a physical or emotional shock.

Examples of trigger events include sudden or excessive weight loss: check
surgery: check
or a death in the family: check


Medications. Hair loss can be caused by drugs used for  heart problems, high blood pressure: check 
 
Hormonal changes. This could be due to onset of menopause: check

 Hormone levels are also affected by the thyroid gland, so thyroid problems may cause hair loss: check.

I am the poster child of hair loss! I honestly figured I'd end up being bald. I stopped going out of the house without a scarf or hat on my head, but even those made me so self conscious.

In just the last few weeks, I noticed less and less coming out. I began to realize that it was due to it pretty much all coming out, and it was growing back. I also realized much to my horror what it looked like....

Short in the back with intermittent strings of long straggly pieces. I finally bit the bullet and went to the salon....

I felt like a new person! My self\confidence came back and I felt somewhat attractive for the first time in forever. It felt so good to go out without my head covered - I felt so normal.

I am so grateful to God that the loss stopped. If you ever experience a similar situation, have a little faith that its not not forever.  Now, I'm looking forward to letting it grow again!

Every day in some small way, it's getting better. God is good!