I Am More Than Just a Number!

Dear 178,

I would sure appreciate it if you said “goodbye” now!  I’ve been stuck with you glaring back at me for over a month now on my scale.  You have scoffed at my improved eating habits.  You have turned your nose to my morning walks on weekdays. You have tried to convince me that all my hard work is in vain.

Well, 178, I have a couple things to tell you before we part company.  (1) You are just a number, pal.  You are a poor excuse for measuring my progress towards a new, healthier me.  The inches that are melting away from me don’t lie.  The increased room in my clothing doesn’t lie.  And my newfound confidence and eagerness don’t lie either.  But you do, and I’m through putting so much importance on you!

(2) You are destined to disappear...it’s just a matter of time.  Poor 178, you don’t realize how soon you are going to become just a memory.  You can’t stick around forever, not with my determination to bring back the body, which I loved and which was so full of energy and health.  You fate is sealed.  Before long, I’ll be shedding you for a leaner, meaner number, and I’ll never once look back.

But don’t take it too personally.  Even the new numbers aren’t going to mean much to me.  My health, my happiness, my existence--they all could never be summed up with a number on a scale.  No matter how big or small that number may be, it will NEVER be me.  And that realization has set me free from your vile control.

I am now free to enjoy life, no matter my weight.  I am free to love myself, regardless of my size.  I am free to embrace being me with gusto.  I am free to throw out the dreaded bathroom scale--and I am seriously considering it this VERY second.

Goodbye, 178.  I won’t miss you...EVER!  You may cling on for dear life a little while longer, but I joined a weight loss challenge this week.  And do you realize what that means?  Yes, I now have even more motivation to leave you in my dust.  So long, 178, and don’t ever bother trying to come back to visit.  You’ll never be able to reach me where I’m going!

Forever NOT Yours,

Amanda

Woohoo, I Lost 2 Pounds This Week!

It appears my hard work and dedication is paying off.  I haven't been perfectly consistent with the recording part, but I certainly have been doing a fine job measuring my food.  Portion control is an important part of weight loss, so I am happy to see I am getting into the habit of measuring out my food.

It is amazing how much food we are actually consuming when we assume it is simply a single serving.  Even my idea of a cup of milk or juice has been way off.  Each time I poured myself a bowl of cereal or a glass of juice, I was actually getting about 1 1/2 servings.  Those extra servings meant extra calories.  And boy, those extra calories can really sneak up on you!

For whatever reasons (i.e., age, fibro, giving birth to two children), my metabolism has drastically changed.  Gone are the days when I could freely eat whatever and how ever much I wanted without gaining an ounce.  I must be more diligent and mindful of every little piece of food or every sip of drink that I consume each day.  Calories go down a lot easier than they ever come back off, so unless I want to continue gaining more weight as I grow older, I must continue to take full responsibility.

Yes, this is a big change for me.  Sometimes, I am uncertain about what would be a healthier food choice.  Right now, I'm hungry most of the day since I've been overeating for so long.  Actually evaluating, measuring, and recording my meals takes up precious time.  However, my life and health are even more precious.  I am worth all this hassle and discomfort.  In time, it will get easier as all of this becomes habit.  And I know as I see more and more weight melt away, it will encourage me to fight even harder for my old body.  Yes, I CAN do this!

J...Juicing Disaster

A friend of mine, who also has fibromyalgia, mentioned to me last year about the benefits of incorporating more raw fruits and veggies into your diet. She said that she had seen some wonderful results with juicing and wanted to get back to consuming fresh juices and green smoothies on a regular basis. She hoped that she could once again reduce her fatigue with this simple dietary change and thought that it would be a great idea for me to give it a try. She explained that although all fruits and veggies are great, the dark green veggies are the most important. I downloaded a juicing/green smoothie recipe eBook, broke out my Ninja, and gathered up some fresh veggies and fruit for the next morning.

For my green veggie, I picked spinach. I love baby spinach in my salad, so I reasoned that it would be easier to start with green vegetables that I was more familiar with. I followed the directions in the eBook and whipped up a beautiful and healthy green smoothie to have with my breakfast. As soon as I opened the lid, though, I started wondering if I could drink the strong-smelling concoction.

Determined to make it work, though, I strained the juice.  Then, I poured a little in a glass and took a sip. Immediately, I spit the awful stuff in the sink. I couldn’t stand the taste, but I didn’t want to waste all the ingredients. I had run out of fruit, though, since I made a double batch. So, I started rummaging through my cupboards trying to find something that could possibly mask some of the potent taste.

I don’t know if it was a case of fibro fog or because I’m not much of a morning person, but I found my chocolate breakfast shake mix and thought that chocolate fixes everything. I scooped a bunch into the Ninja, added some milk and ice, and then blended away again. The color turned an awful greenish-brown, but I wasn’t deterred. I opened up the lid, poured a nice tall glass, and took a deep gulp. And I about died! My makeshift green smoothie was the most putrid thing I have ever tasted in my entire life. It really smelled like something crawled up into my glass, died, and then started rotting. The stench was so strong that my kids came downstairs for breakfast choking and gagging!

In the end, I decided to flush the entire pitcher of smoothie down the kitchen sink, and it stunk up my kitchen for days afterwards. I learned firsthand that juicing and smoothie making is certainly an art form and a science. There is a lot of trial and error involved. But the most important thing I learned is spinach and chocolate do NOT belong anywhere near each other!

Fibromyalgia Survival Tools: Slow Cookers

Slow Cooker Cuban Flank Steak

My life has changed since I discovered the ease and the versatility of slow cookers. I absolutely love my slow cooker and seriously don’t know how I lived without it before! My dad actually introduced me to cooking with crock pots about 10 years ago. He made some rockin’ crock pot meatloaf and spaghetti. And his slow cooker chili was out of this world!

However, it was not until after my life-shattering fibro flare about 4 years ago that I came to appreciate how helpful and amazing slow cookers truly can be. As part of my fibro treatment, my doctor recommended that I try to eliminate as much processed foods as possible. They contain so many additives and preservatives that may irritate some fibro sufferers’ symptoms.

Of course, I wanted to try to follow my doctor’s every suggestion, but I feared that this would be difficult to accomplish. I was a single mother with 2 young children with a fibro flare so bad I was stuck in bed at times. I had family to help out during the worst of days, but what about the rest of the time? I hardly had the energy to do the most basic of tasks. How was I going to add meals from scratch to my daily list?

Determined to make this work, I turned to my dad’s delicious slow cooker recipes. Of course, I couldn’t live off of spaghetti, meatloaf, and chili for the rest of my days. But as I incorporated these crock pot meals into my family’s monthly dinner menu, I began to realize the benefits of regularly using a slow cooker:

Slow cookers utilize morning energy. People with fibro tend to have more energy in the morning and continue to lose that energy throughout the day. By dinner time, there often isn’t much energy left to spare for a home-cooked meal. However, with a crock pot, meals can be put together in the morning and cook on low often for as long as 8-12 hours. This leaves little to no additional cooking or preparation later in the day.

Slow cookers are perfect for freezing leftovers. Also larger crock pots are perfect for making extra portions, which can easily be saved and frozen. During a harder fibro day, these frozen leftovers can be thawed and reheated without much trouble for a quick but healthy meal for the whole family. Plus, they are ideal for the most difficult of fibro days when a spouse or friend is offering to help out around the house.

Slow cookers are simple to clean. One of my favorite benefits of slow cookers, though, is the easy cleanup. Hand and back pain/discomfort can make scrubbing dishes extra challenging. Sensitive, dry skin and fibro rash can complicate matters even further. Crock pots, on the other hand, are specifically designed to help limit burning and sticking. A run through the dishwasher usually cleans my slow cooker inserts to a shine. Sometimes, a few stuck spots remain, but it takes only a couple minutes and minimal elbow grease to clean that right up. Additionally, a lot of stores now carry crock pot liners—durable, heat-resistant, disposable bags that fit right into slow cookers—which reduce cleanup even more.

Now that I’ve grown to be more of a slow cooker pro, I use it nearly every day. I’ve made dishes from soups and chili to whole chickens and roasts to even deserts and applesauce. And I plan to continue to expand my crock pot cooking experience.  There are so many enticing and fun recipes to try.

Are you also in love with your slow cooker? Or is there another kitchen gadget that you couldn’t live without?