Whole 30, Take 4

A friend of mine decided in December to do a Whole 30 starting Jan 1. We were headed to Disney on vacation (whooo hooo!), so when I decided to join her, I knew I'd have to start a bit after her. Today was that day. I bought the Whole 30 "Day by Day" book to try to help myself along as well.

I've been having craptastic reactions to foods that I don't normally have reactions to, so I'm really hoping to pin point exactly which foods are becoming issues for me. I've been having some major allergy issues since we moved as well, so hopefully cutting some of these foods out will help with that too.

I'm also hoping to heal my gut (again). It'd be awesome if there was a side benefit of some weight loss, but I know not to count on it.

Foods I think I'm reacting to:
Sour Cream
Cheese
Rice (especially when combined with the two above)

Day 1 went ok. Day 1 isn't usually the problem day though, so that's par for the course. Here's to day 2!

PS: I do plan to keep working out during this W30. I've been really loving the Peloton app - especially now that we've added the Kieser m3i spin bike & Sole F80 treadmill to our gym!

Finally Getting Motivation

Motivation has been lacking. Excuses have been ever present.

I'm FINALLY to a point where I'm tired of making excuses and am ready to get back to myself. I MISS my old self.

I signed on to do the Fellow Flowers Holiday Challenge again this year - 30 minutes of intentional movement from Thanksgiving to New Years.

A couple of weeks ago, I set up my bike on the trainer and figured out the whole connection of my "dumb" trainer to Zwift. I really like Zwift, but it really seems geared towards serious cyclists.

Today, I did my first ride with the Peloton app. I did a 20 minute ride & cried mid-ride. It felt SO GOOD to be "in" spin class.

Not Much Going On

Wow, it's been forever since I last updated this thing! I'm still bullet journaling and loving it. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way to have a planner & a list of lists all in one place.

I plan to start working out again soon. I'm working on a plan on how to get myself moving again. I'm really looking forward to it! My thyroid's been really acting up lately, so it'll be good to get the stress levels down a bit and be working out again.

Bullet Journaling

This year, I've been using the Passion Planner. I liked it well enough. But, something was just off about it for me. I LOVE the idea of the Passion Planner - enough to order the smaller version for next year before I decided to ditch it - it just wasn't quite right for me. I road mapped my goals, did my monthly reviews, and all sorts of other things, but I found it just wasn't making me get "there". 

I started looking for another planner/organizer. Something that would fit what I needed. Except I had no idea what I really needed. I posted on Facebook asking friends/family which planners they'd recommend and did some research on my own as well. Several people suggested the Erin Condren planner, Happy Planner, Plum Planner, and Slice Planner. 

I came across the Bullet Journal (bujo) and was incredibly intrigued. It could be anything I wanted it to be. It could be as simple or elaborate as I want. Pinterest is full of ideas. 

I've been using the bujo for about a month now, and I'm really enjoying it! I'm somewhere between simple & elaborate with my spreads. It's been amazing how much more productive I've been since starting the bujo. 

With the Passion Planner, the entire day was planned out in 30 min increments. With the bujo, it's whatever I want. In my spread, I put the top 3 things I want to accomplish each day. It allows me to not feel boxed in by time, but still get things done. 

I started a second bullet journal, specifically for names of recipes from cookbooks. I may use it for meal planning as well, we'll see. My goal for this one is just to make meal planning and healthy eating easier. 

Heading into December, I'm going to re-evaluate my spreads & figure out what works best and go from there. 

How to Live a Good Life

The Fellow Flowers Crew has a book club. I try to join them when I can because the books are generally ones I feel like will help me grow. We've read Brene Brown's "Rising Strong" and Shonda Rhimes' "The Year of Yes" in the past. Now, we're reading "How to Live a Good Life" by Jonathan Fields.

I'm so excited to read this book. The idea of three "buckets" where life fits in makes sense to me. And that one is usually draining at a higher rate than the other two. As I struggle to "get back into it", this may just be the push I need.

I'll definitely come back with more thoughts on all of it as I proceed through the book.

Blah blah blah

No excuses - once again, we went off the wagon & in a righteous way. Needless to say, we didn't complete the September Whole 30. I did buy the book Food Freedom Forever, so maybe reading that will get me motivated to get back on a track.

I've also started listening to the Naturally Nourished podcast. I really like that Ali does episodes on certain diseases or issues. I'm planning on taking notes as I listen to it. It's just that informative. Looking forward to learning more from the podcast.

I have set a weight goal for next year. It's 100% attainable - if I get on it! Now, to set a plan in place and DO IT!

Day 2 of Whole 30-ish

We decided to start on September 6, because well, Labor Day was crazy.

This week, for us, is mostly about eating in & using up a few things that aren't compliant. Meals will be mostly compliant, but until the end of this week, not 100%.

Tonight's dinner was pretty tasty! The only non-compliant part of it was that we used taco shells instead of lettuce "shells".

Grilled Steak Lettuce Tacos
Mexican Cauliflower "Rice"

The Mexican Cauliflower "Rice" tasted so much like the boxed Spanish Rice, without the added stuff.

Skinnytaste recipes never disappoint!

#SeptemberWhole30

We're going to give Whole 30 a try - One. More. Time. This time, I'm doing it along with the W30 community for some internet support. J has agreed to give it a go with me this time as well. I'm going to take the time to do the W30 worksheets, meal plan, and generally get on with it all!

My goals are:

1) To get my eating back under control
2) Fit back into my smaller sized clothes
3) Get my workout mojo back
4) To feel confident again
5) To feel more comfortable in my own skin

I'm trying very hard not to write "lose weight". I NEED to do that, but I need to set other goals - and ones with feeling.

I'm reading a book right (This Year I Will...) now that talks about setting goals with feeling attached to appeal to your emotional side of making habits. We'll see what happens!

A month later

Somehow, it's been a month since I posted. I haven't been doing my runs. No beating around the bush about it.

On our trip to Alaska, I did the 5.5 mile hike on the trip & a snorkel excursion for about an hour of water time. The hike was a bit rough on my body & I was exhausted when we got back. The surgeon said I may get more easily fatigued for a while, so I was kind of expecting it.

At lunch. I'd eat here every day if I could.

The leaves were HUGE!

Tongass National Forest hiking!

I'm beyond glad that we canceled our 2nd hiking excursion in Juneau (the day after the one in Skagway). I don't know that I would've been up to it.

The snorkeling in Ketchikan, I'd do it again in a heart beat. It was so good to put on a wetsuit and be in the open water again. I had a bit of my "normal" panic set in about being in the open water to swim, but once I calmed down, it was all good.

Next up is to figure out a realistic workout plan since I've obviously been not doing the run workouts as I scheduled. Especially with the heat in the mid-atlantic right now!

Continuing On

I've got 2 more yoga classes to do from the 28 day beginner's yoga class. I've been really enjoying it. I need to decide what I'm going to do for yoga after this class.

I started a 20 week half marathon training plan today. I did 2.5 miles in 40 minutes, which is crazy slow, but it's all good. Today's workout was:

5 minute warm-up
10x (1 minute run, 2 minute walk)
5 minute cool-down

It's been probably since December since I last run. It's been crazy long. Oh and throw a "little" surgery in there. Thankfully I have until Thanksgiving to get up to the half marathon!

Getting back in the saddle

I just completed day 9 of my DoYouYoga online class. I have to say, I'm impressed with myself for making it this far! Usually, by day 5 or so, I start to get bored/lose interest and stop doing online classes. The whole no real accountability thing. I have a friend who has been checking in on me, so that helps.

Yesterday, I added walking (beyond walking the dog... I'm making myself use the treadmill for this walking - for now) to the workout schedule. Just 30 minutes a day at first. It's amazing how much fitness I really have lost. My walk yesterday was an 18 minute mile. Yikes! But, I hadn't really been working out a lot before the surgery & then had surgery, so it is what it is - and it'll improve!

I've got a meal plan for this week & need to stick to it. Jon decided to go out last night - but we're cooking the rest of the week. This week's PlateJoy recipes were gold, so we're looking forward to them.

Do You Yoga?

I was cleared last Monday to get back to doing *almost* anything I wanted to do. I decided to give my body another week, because well, I felt like I needed it.

Last night, I started poking around on doyouyoga, to see what beginner level workout plans they have. I decided the 28 day beginner plan would be a good one to ease back into working out. Most of the workouts are under 25 minutes (only 3 are longer), so I figured that'd be good. I did the first workout today (5 minutes of very easy practice) & I'll be interested to see how I feel tomorrow!

In addition, I recently picked up the Skinnytaste Meal Planner to go along with our renewed dedication to losing weight. I'm going to start using it this week to keep track of meals.

Meals so far this week - Need to finish it

Post Surgery Check Up

Yesterday, I went to my post-op check up with my surgeon. Here are the basics:

1) Adenomyosis was confirmed by the pathology report.
2) Endometriosis was also found at the bottom of my uterus.
3) They found 2 polyps in my uterus.

Overall, I'm healing well & just have to wait a total of 8 weeks to have sex again. Also, I need to have yearly ultrasounds of my ovaries done to make sure nothing's going on with them. I have dissolvable stitches, so no going back to have them taken out (YAY!).

I'm definitely feeling better and moving around more. I'm not quite doing everything I was, but getting closer ever day. I went back to work yesterday. Here's to hoping that the rest of recovery goes well!

Post Surgery and Moving Forward

One week ago, I had my hysterectomy. It went well and endometriosis was also found. I was able to keep both ovaries, which is great. I'll know more after my 2 week post op follow-up.

I'm not sure why more doctors don't do the DualPort procedure. When I woke up, they asked me about pain & really I just felt pressure. No real pain. Overall, my recovery has been pretty easy. I had an uncomfortable reaction to one of the antibiotics - mostly a bad taste in my mouth and nausea. I've been doing everything I was told to do on my discharge paperwork, so that's been helpful. I didn't really have any gas pains from the surgery, which was great.

I haven't had too much brain fog recently, which is nice. Apparently almost every single one of the symptoms of hypothyroid that I was having is also a symptom of adenomyosis. It will be interesting to see how things play out in the next few months.

The day before my surgery, my husband decided he wanted to do Weight Watchers again. I offered to do it with him (knowing I'd be spending the first bit recovering). We needed something to get us started on losing weight. I've lost 5 lbs this week, but a lot of that is from recovery. We'll see how that goes moving forward.

The Verdict

And the verdict is:

Adenomyosis.

The only known treatment:

Hysterectomy. 

The most asked question by loved ones and friends:

How are you doing with this?

The answer for now:

Ok. I've had a week to process that it was a possibility and I had my ugly and angry cry. I suspect I will again.

The follow-up that no one should ever say to me again:

It's a good thing you all didn't want to have kids; it makes it easier.

No. No, it does not. It's a loss of choice. It's final. It's decided for me. You don't get to say that to me when you still have your choice.

Surgery is scheduled for May 19. Until then, I'm working on eating right, getting those workouts for the daily challenge in, and just focusing on my overall health. Do what I can, because I get to.