Spring Fever!

It was a beautiful day here today, a bit windy, but I will take windy any day over the cold. The sun was out, the birds were singing, and the thermometer FINALLY went past the 80 degree mark! Hallelujah!! I am really getting an itch to plant a garden. I know I am a little late in the game, but with good reason. As much as I would like to grow things, my thumb is pretty much anything but green. However, I am trying to get better. I want to go out to my backyard (which is very small, by the way) and pick my lunch. That would be so cool!

I have been researching how to build a raised bed so that I can utilize the space we have. The Whole Foods down the street from our house has a homemade raised bed on display. I might just try it this weekend. We will see. They also have gallon vegetables that have already been started so I wouldn't be too far behind. The spring weather is giving me spring fever.

Goodbye Body Fat!

We measured body fat today at boot camp. It is my fourth week and I have lost 4.5% body fat! I am so excited! I did not really expect it to be that much. My trainer told me not to expect such a significant drop every time (we measure every 4 weeks), but I am quite happy with the results so far. One thing that is slightly difficult is that I have actually gained several pounds. I do not want to get hung up on the scale, though. My trainer reminded me that I am gaining lean muscle and bone density (very important for someone with calcium issues). I know he is right, and honestly, the weight isn't as important as feeling healthy and fit. I really do feel as though I have much more energy throughout the entire day. Wayne says he can tell a big difference.

My trainer also said he is not used to seeing someone drop so much body fat in such a short time. I think that has a lot to do with my diet. I am eating mostly raw protein from plant sources (Pea Protein, Hemp Protein, and Source of Life Raw Protein, and raw seeds/nuts) and occasional fish. That being said, the majority of my diet is still raw fruits and vegetables -- probably 80%. I am starting to feel like the outside is beginning to reflect the strong woman that I am on the inside. It feels good!

Paying off

I am not one to wish away my life, but boy am I ready for some warmer temperatures. Texas has been cold this year! I can't wait until we hit 80 degrees. I know that before long it will be 100 and we will be wishing for cooler weather, but right now, at this very moment, I say bring it on! I am tired of donning sweaters and jackets! Shorts, tank tops, and flip flops are calling my name, after all it is SPRING!

Wayne noticed how firm my abs are getting today. He poked me in the stomach and said, "Wow! Your stomach feels a lot different than it did a few weeks ago." I just laughed. He said, "No really, I can tell a big difference." That made me feel really good! I still have a long way to go to firm up this flab, but progress is being made. It is always nice when someone else notices. My glut soreness is finally starting to fade a little, too. I walked up the stairs today with only a wince -- it is the small victories that mean so much!

I went to Whole Foods today and they had LOTS of young coconuts. I was so excited! The last few times I have been they have been completely out -- I ask every time, and even get them to check in the back. Today they had two whole bins filled with them, so I must not have been the only one asking. If you have never tried the water and meat of a young coconut in your green smoothie, then you are really missing out! One of my favorites -- 3-4 large leaves of kale, water and meat of a young coconut, an orange, and a banana, and ice and blend away. YUMMY! i can't wait to have one tomorrow.

Raw food diet and Exercise

Every morning before we begin our workouts at boot camp we go around and say what we ate the day before. Needless to say I am eating MUCH differently than everyone else. I have noticed that they all eat lots of processed foods such as protein shakes and bars. My list is much more food, all natural, unprocessed foods, mostly raw, and I am still eating way less calories. One of the hardest parts of this has been hitting my calorie minimum. I am eating so much food! We go around and they get to me and I am listing things like 2.5 cups of kale, 2.5 cups of spinach, 3 oranges, 2 bananas, 2 apples, almonds, cashews, raw protein, green smoothie, etc. Needless to say almost everyone is curious to know why my diet is so different.

The workouts are very hard. My gluts are so sore -- still! Every day I just get up and do it again telling myself, "Tiny hiney, tiny hiney," the whole time. It is getting a little easier, though. I am starting to feel like a can tell a difference in my strength and endurance, and I feel energized throughout the day. That part is really fun!

Awesome Check-up

Today I went to the endocrinologist and had an excellent appointment. I can't help but think that a year ago every time I went to the doctor it seemed I was getting more bad news about my health. And it was almost 3 years ago that I was really struggling to make it through the day. Now it is all good news and that feels great! In fact, my doctor said he wished more of his patients were like me because I was doing absolutely everything in my power to have a good outcome from an unfortunate condition.

My labs were great! No kidney issues at all! He even asked me if I ate lots of fruits and vegetables based on my lab values alone. He also thought it was really good that I have been doing boot camp because it showed him that I am really feeling healthy and confident in my body again. When I got sick, it was very hard because I felt like my body had betrayed me -- no matter what I wanted it to do it was doing the opposite and I had no control over it. My endocrinologist reminded me that I can never have total control over my body and it may always throw me for a loop every now and then because I do have hypoparathyroidism. But we also talked about how being proactive about my health and condition have given me a great deal of power back in my life.

I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if I had not found a high raw lifestyle, there is no way I would be where I am today. I thank God that I was in the right place at the right time and that I was receptive to trying something totally new. I got my green on and boy has it paid off!

The tweenager curse

Today was Jake's actual birthday and he woke up early this morning throwing up. He continued throwing up until about noon. He was pitiful! Welcome to being a teenager. I felt so sorry for him. He seems to be feeling much better this evening but he has eaten only a banana and a dozen Saltines today.

I have been threatening to put a curse on Emma all day, the "I-hope-you-have-one-just-like-you-when-you-grow-up" curse. Yesterday she "cleaned" her room for several hours. This morning I went up to her room and it was a disaster area! I looked under her bed and stuff was just crammed under there. I thought I was going to lose it for a moment. Then I remembered the curse. It worked for my mom, and I know what that means. It means that Emma's room might finally be clean when she grows up and has a family of her own and then she will be hounding her own daughter to clean her room.

On a totally separate note, my trainer thinks I eat the strangest things! He is like, "What the heck is a green smoothie? or a raw spirulina bar?" But, it is paying off! I have lost a little over 5% body fat since I started my early morning boot camp. He was quite impressed. Heck, I was quite impressed! It feels good to be getting some tone and definition again. I enjoy working out every morning because it is the one thing I do every day that is just for me. One more added benefit -- I am sleeping like a baby and have more energy throughout the day. Yes, some days it is hard to rollout of bed at 4:45, but I just think of the payoff and I am able to do it.

The Birthday List

We woke up to this first full day of spring to find 4 inches of snow in our yard. Seriously! I could not believe it. Friday it was 74 degrees here and we spent almost the entire day outside. Saturday it was still quite warm but raining and then the cold front moved in for what was hopefully, one last hurrah. When I went to bed last night the weather men were forecasting less than one inch of snow, so it was surprising to find so much snow this morning.

Jake is turning 13 tomorrow, but Wayne took off of work on Friday and we did 13 of Jake's favorite things:

1. Have a smoothie for breakfast

2. Go hiking at a local park on the dirt trails

3. Went to play miniature golf

4. Got a haircut (not necessarily a favorite, but much needed)

5. Ate at Campisi's for lunch

6. Visit the S.P.C.A.

7. Play Wii together

8. Fly kites

9. Take the dogs to the dog park

10. Eat at Rock Fish Grill (Jake loves throwing peanut shells on the floor)

11. Go swimming at the community center

12. Have bubble shakes at Fat Straws

13. Make our own tie-dyed t-shirts

It was such a fun day! We all enjoyed ourselves. Jake is such a cool kid. As you can tell, he loves to be outside and with nature. It was a long day, but everyone had such a good time. I will post more pics soon.

I enjoyed my day "off" of boot camp today, but am looking forward to returning tomorrow. My bottom has not quite recovered from the strenuous week one and two, but hopefully it will not be as sore this week. My poor gluts!

I also go to the endocrinologist this week for a check up. I am interested to see how my labs will be and to ask him a couple of questions about working out, maintaining a good calcium level, and protein in my diet. Other things on my list this week are finishing an excellent book written by a dear friend of mine (who I will hopefully get to visit with, if even for a few moments) and finishing a class I have been teaching at church on the liturgy and history of Lent. Wayne's mom is also moving back to Alabama this week and that will be difficult for everyone.

I am hoping for a significant warm up over the next couple of days, and looking forward to seeing what else this week will bring.

Jake is turning 13!

Today was an absolutely beautiful day! We enjoyed it immensely because we knew it would not last; we have a chance of snow for this weekend, in fact. So today we studied outside and then we played at the park. It was so nice to be out and in the sunshine! Tomorrow will be warm as well -- a bit windy, but warm, so we will enjoy the outdoors again. We are planning on breaking out the kites.

Jake's birthday is Monday and we will be celebrating this weekend. I cannot believe that my oldest baby is going to be a teenager. How did he get to be 13 already? He is already taller and bigger than I am. He was born on a night when the comet was circling the sky -- Wayne, my parents and I watched that comet circle so many times as we walked the block trying to get Jake jump started for his journey out of the womb. It worked.

We will be doing all of Jake's favorite things this weekend. He wants to go hiking, kite flying, visit the animal shelter, and play mini golf. It should be a lot of fun! Sometimes when I look at him, he just completely amazes me. (Of course, there are other times when I look at him and want to bit his head off, too -- he is going on 13 after all). Seriously though, there are moments when I step back and observe his polite behavior or marvel at his ability to figure out a difficult algebra problem and I think, "Wow, this is my son! How did he get so smart, so handsome, so well-mannered?" I thank God every day for allowing me the privilege of being Jake's mom.

Journey to a healthy lifestyle

As you know I have been trying to add a little more lean protein back into my diet since I stated a pretty grueling workout routine. I have tried some raw protein powder that tastes pretty good and I have had some fish. It will be interesting to see if this works for me or not. There are a couple of things I have noticed right off the bat: 1.) my face has broken out and 2.) sorry for being so blunt, but I am constipated. So far, I am not liking the protein thing --- for me.

I am going to stick with it for at least a couple of days and see if my system kinda levels out, but my body is going to have to do better than this or it is not worth it. One thing that I have learned over the last 3 years since my health troubles began is to listen to my body. There are experts on everything and people line up to tell me what I should and should not eat, from my doctors to my trainer, to nutritionists. Sometimes they do give conflicting information and that is when I have to rely on myself and everything that I have learned, and the way that I feel. So when I say I am not sure about this protein thing, don't forget that I also say "for me." I am no expert on diet and nutrition either. I am excited about some of the things that have helped me on my personal journey towards a healthy lifestyle, and I want to share the things I have found that work for me. Green smoothies and a high raw diet have literally changed my life -- given it back to me, in fact. I hope that you try them and they change your life, too. As for me, I am taking new steps on my journey (largely because my previous raw diet has helped me get to the point where I can) and we will see where this path leads. I am excited about the future, whatever it may bring.

Great Green Smoothie Day!

I have had a great green smoothie day! They really make me feel so good! For breakfast I had a mango, banana, spinach smoothie -- just add ice and a little water and blend in the VitaMix. Then for lunch I had a Thai green soup from Victoria Boutenko's book Green Smoothie Revolution. Both were very yummy. I am hoping all those live greens will help me work out some of this muscle soreness. My poor quads and hamstrings are aching from boot camp.

I also found a really good website today for those of you who are trying to keep track of your calories. It is www.caloriecount.about.com -- I really like it because it also gives you an analysis of carbs, protein, and fats as well as the nutrients you have consumed over the day. That is really important for me because of my calcium issues, and this way I can see exactly how much dietary calcium I am getting. Check it out.

On a totally separate note, I have to get on my soap box for a moment. I have been reading about the Texas Board of Education's decision to change our history textbooks in order to rescue their language from liberal academia. How RIDICULOUS! This is the 2010 version of burning the books we don't want our teens to read. I never knew it was such a shame to be educated about capitalism, imperialism, and the consequences of how we have chosen to live. How will we ever learn from the past if we can't own up to the present?

I'm Back

I have not abandoned my blog. I did take an unanticipated 2 week hiatus from it. The first week everyone in my household had strep throat and things were just crazy. I simply could not find time to get online -- any time I found was spent sleeping. The second week was recovery from the first, that and the fact that I started boot camp again. 4:45 rolls around awfully early, and it has just taken me a little time to adjust.

Life is going well. Even though boot camp is early, I really do enjoy going. I am going 6 days a week and every time I finish a class I feel very tired and very invigorated at the same time. I have such a sense of accomplishment! It also makes me feel like I a truly doing something for myself.

The danger with home schooling my children is that it can become very lonely at times. There are days when the only human contact I have is with an eleven year old, a thirteen year old, and a five year old. I do not have to take any children with me to boot camp -- they are simply not allowed. It also gives me a community of adults to interact with every day which is important for my sanity.

I have been trying to add in a little bit of raw vegan protein to my diet. I am starting with just one serving a day to see how my body handles that. I have also decided to go with my doctor's recommendation an have some occasional fish. It was a little strange the first time I ate it -- it really has been a long time, but it went okay. I am still faithful to my delicious green smoothies and they are definitely the high light of my diet.

Anyway, I am back and looking forward to sharing my continued journey to health with you.