BHBC - Why Women Need Fat

When I first opened Why Women Need Fat, I sighed a little inside.  I see these type of books, and they intrigue me, but then I start reading and after struggling through a chapter or two, I lose interest.  I might pick it up here and there trying to get through it, but it's slow progress.  And the first chapter or two, I felt that slight intrigue, but was still worried.  Not to mention, another diet book...really?

But once I got started, I actually wanted to read this book.

The authors believe that we need to go back to a diet similar to that of our ancestors...hunters and gatherers.  The explosion of Vegetable fats in our food has created a surplus of Omega 6 in our bodies and an extreme deficit of Omega 3, which ultimately causes our body to crave more fat.

As I read the various points they make, I found myself nodding my head in agreement.  My husband and I have been working towards eating a more natural diet for the last several years, striving hard for moderation.  A peak inside our cabinets will show that we have a ways to go, but slowly we are making a dent.  We've discussed how different girls bodies are than when we were their age, including the large number of teen girls with belly rolls.

I do wish that the authors would have at least acknowledged that it wasn't just the diets of our ancestors, but the activity levels as well that helped them to be thinner.  I also would have liked to seen moderation discussed a little more...butter is fine, but we shouldn't eat sticks of it every day.

I'm not sure that reading this book will create a radical change in my diet or thinking, but I do believe that it will help me be even more informed when reading food labels, and allow me to make better choices for my family.

Disclosure Statement: This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own 

Sick

I owe you week one's uploads, but I'm sick and trying to finish a book for a book review.  I'll be in later this week with week ones.  That's the nice thing about creating my own challenge, I can be flexible.

Happy New Year!

I don't really like the idea of resolutions. They never last. But I do plan to continue a few trends this year.

First, I am more committed to my weight loss journey than I was before. I have a taste of the person I used to be, and I plan to find her, then re-mold her into something even better. I have plans to shake up my work out routine, and I'm seriously considering a couch to 5K in a few months. I will eat healthy and I will feel better.

I am also committing to becoming a better photographer. I have a very nice camera and I need to use it more often. And when I don't have it, I will use my iPhone and that will be okay. I've been thinking about doing the 365 project but shuddered at some of the guidelines. Taking the pictures isn't the issue so much as uploading them is. So I'm creating my own 366 project (it is leap year). I'm going to do a 366/52.2 project. I will take some sort of picture every day. I will commit to uploading and posting about it once a week. I have created a group in Flickr here and will be posting the pics there and here. I may post them there more often than once a week, but I will post them here every Monday. Join me if you like!

Today we cleaned the house of all it's Christmas decorations.  And the shed and garage and back porch.  And got the laundry done.  I'm tired.

Labels

Labels. We all wear them. Some we've had all of our lives while others come and go. Daughter. Mother. Son. Father. Those are the easy labels.

Failure, unworthy, unlovable. Those come too easy as well. It's easy to look at small things in our lives and make them bigger than they really are. We think that because we didn't get that job or that person didn't fall in love with us we are any or all of those labels. Sometimes those labels stick with us through our whole lives, coloring our perceptions every day.

But each of us has the potential to wear better labels. Loving, kind, friend, lover. Those are all easy to wear as well. My goal moving forward is to wear those positive labels more than I wear the negative.

Santa, is that you?

The Monster will be 9 this Friday.  I really can't believe that.  It seems like just the other day he was my little toddler monster.

Santa called to speak to him this evening.  He spent about 2 minutes discussing his wish list and whether he should be on the naughty or nice list.  It made my heart so happy to listen to him.

Finding me.

I was feeling like this every day for a while.  And while I chuckled while I read that, it wasn't really funny.

But you know what?  I've snapped out of it.  I sat myself down and told her to grow the heck up.  It was time to put up or shut up.  And any of those other cliche's you can think of.

This process actually started a year or so ago.  I started realizing that I wasn't really happy.  I was snappy, and grumpy, and fat, and feeling like a slug all the time.  I had a procedure last year that helped with my endo, and I was starting to feel better.  But I was still cranky, lazy, and fat.

At the end of July, I started Weight Watchers at work.  After a few weeks, I realized that I needed to get moving in order to maximize my weight loss and feel better.  I started going to Zumba at least twice a week.  I started attending a weekly strength and toning class at work during one lunch hour.

Since July 26th, I have lost 35 pounds.  I can't even begin to tell you how much better I feel every day.  I have more energy, feel better, sleep better, and feel more like me every day.  I like putting on clothes, and am working on trying to allow myself to be in more pictures.

But I also realized that I needed to get healthier in every aspect, not just with my weight.  So I've been working on my outlook and feelings.  And I'm becoming more like me...the me of years ago.

But the journey is far from over.  I have at least 40 more pounds to lose...possibly even more.  I have found my voice again.  I want to talk.  The little things aren't as likely to send me into the spiral anymore. I've found my strength.

Chatty?

I've been feeling chatty lately.  Facebook friends are probably ready to kill me.  I realized today that I need to start blogging these thoughts.  Maybe I found my voice again?  They're gonna be rough, but I'm gonna try to put them out there.

Today was a day of cooking...I made italian wedding soup for lunch and steak, scalloped potatoes and roasted broccoli and cauliflower for dinner.  I also made Kale Chips for the first time...oh my, those are delicious!  I also roasted chestnuts in the oven for the first time.  I don't really like them, but I'm glad I tried them.

I also managed to get several Christmas projects knocked out.  I have a lot more to go, but it felt good to have something done.

And I managed to get all of the family to put their clothes away.  It's a Christmas miracle.

What to talk about this month.

Today's post isn't going to be too exciting, but here it goes.

I am going to make a list of some of the things I want to blog about.  Maybe if I put it out there for public consumption, I'll start working on it.

Weight loss and healthy eating
Parenting a college student who still lives at home
The visit to the fall fest
holiday traditions
my craft space
marriage
my thoughts on the recent protests


There are more...I know there are.  But it's a start.

November? Already?

I'm full of cliche's today.  I can't believe it's November.  It seems like it was just the first day of school, and the first marking period is already over.  We are as busy as ever with the kids and their activities, and I went and signed up to do a craft show.  Silly me.

In other news, here they are in all of their Halloween glory.

Bug as a witch to hand out candy.

PB...I'm not sure what she was?  It started out wanting a mask,
 then saw the wins and tutu, then the pantyhose.  She's cute though.

The super stealthy ninja boy known as Monster.
 Yes, we had him wear his martial arts uniform.  I'm cheap, okay?

And off on another tangent, I signed up for NaBloPoMo...let's see how long I last.

31 days; day 4 - Family dinners

Tuesday night has been martial arts night for a long time (although that is about to change...more on that later.) This means that I leave work, pick the Monster up, drive to martial arts, then finally get home around 6:15.  Someone else is responsible for dinner, so that it's on the table when we get home.

When we came home last night, Monster asked if he could change the station, and Bug snapped at him.  She was finishing up dinner, and I could tell that she was frustrated about something.  I was giving her some space to work on a better mood, and trying not to get snappy with her.

We sat down to eat, and she had burned the side dish, so what was supposed to be white was more beige.  There was some conversation about the brown flecks, and she was moping a little.  Her father told her it was fine, she just infused the flavor of camping over a wood fire.

I bought the Monster a Would You Rather book at the book fair yesterday.  He started talking about them with us at the table.

By the end of dinner, we were all laughing and joking, and grumpiness was banished.

I love our family dinners.  They are the one thing that I strive to have almost every night.  Sometimes we may not all be sitting there, but those that are home are expected to join us.  Sometimes they end up in grumpiness still, but the majority of the time, they end up in laughter and family togetherness.

31 days; day 3 Blessings - time with my honey

My honey and I got to spend the day together today, and a nap was included on the schedule.  Today was a great day!

31 days, day 2 - The house is still standing

My husband was away with cub scouts this weekend, working on his Woodbadge training.  The dog has been having stomach issues for the last few nights, which means much cleaning of feces.  Tonight, the Monster stopped up the toilet, and decided to flush it twice to try and make it unstop.  Needless to say, water and feces went everywhere.  Bug and I are sick of cleaning up poop.

But I cleaned it up, the dog is on a strict water only diet until tomorrow to try and clean out his system, and the house is still standing.  My husband came home and we had a yummy dinner with much laughing and chatting.  All in all, not a bad day.

31 days; Day 1

Today was a good day.  PB had her 13th birthday party last night/today, and that generates my blessing today.

I am blessed to have a daughter, but I'm even more blessed to have a daughter that I love dearly, and love to spend time with.  She is a sweet girl, and the circle of friends she has developed is strong.  Watching her open the gifts they gave, you could tell these girls knew her.  The amount of giggling and laughing that went on in this house in the approximately 17 hours they were here was amazing, and the feeling that they aren't uncomfortable if an adult is nearby is sweet.  After they left, we created fabric backings for two of her shelves.  We worked together comfortably with some giggling, and her bookshelves look great now.

I never want to take this girl for granted.  She can drive me crazy, but overall, she is a sweet, smart and caring girl.

31 days

I've joined the 31 days challenge.  Every day for the month of October, I will be posting about Blessings.  I know I live a blessed life, and I want to make sure that I'm looking for them every day.  Join me?  I even made myself a little button...see it over there?  I'm learning new things every day :)

updating

I'm trying to get back into the mood to make my blog pretty.  I'm not sure about this background...I think it's too busy.  I need to sit down and work on a header, but I just haven't had the time.  I am behind in a ton of areas, and I don't see it getting better.

Fall weather is on its way, and I am so ready.

I've been doing Weight Watchers for 10 weeks, and I've lost 20 lbs.  That's a little more than 2 lbs a week (week one doesn't count) so I'm excited.  I've been going to Zumba at least a couple of times a week as well, and I'm enjoying the extra energy I've acquired.  I have a long way to go.  I've been hesitant to blog about my weight loss journey, but I think I will begin.

I also want to make some blog buttons. I'm loving Pinterest and want lots of people to follow me!

Phoning it in

I'm trying out some apps in hopes I'll blog more if I can post from my phone.

7 days is coming!

I'm posting to help me remember that 7 days starts on Saturday.  I will participate this time, I will participate this time...you get the idea.

Book Review time

Psst...guess what? 

I had the chance to join the BlogHer Book Club.  

My review of the book "A Good Hard Look" is up over here!

Update on the Craziness

We discovered Saturday that the car didn't just break on it's own...it broke when it collided with the driver's side rear tire on our jeep.  Since it's been over a week, they won't do an accident report, only an incident report.  Our only recourse, except our own insurance, is to find out who owned the car and sue them.  Yay.  The police officer did tow the car, so at least it's no longer causing problems getting in and out of our driveway.

The Heroin House drama continues.  The renters are from another country, and at least one is being deported.  We lock our house and cars and set our alarm now and try not to stare when we go out front.  They've recently moved some furniture out of the house.  I hope they are truly moving, and not just moving product!

Military needs

Earlier this week, the husband had to go to Walter Reed for a medical appointment and I decided to ride along.  This isn't the first time we've had to go there, but this time was a bit more bittersweet than the last.  As we were winding our way through the crazy corridors trying to locate the correct office, all around were people packing up offices, searching for boxes, talking about moving schedules.  The next time we have to go for a special medical appointment, we'll be heading to Bethesda instead.  It's amazing to think about the legacy of that building, and of the history that has been contained within it's walls.

The military medical system is a difficult system to use.  The logistics of doctors, nurses, and technicians relocating every few years guarantees that your care will be routinely handled by a different person, and sometimes it affects the consistency of care you receive.  In recent years, the military health system has come under greater scrutiny, and Walter Reed was at the center of that scrutiny. Changes were made, and are still being made.  I'm hopeful that these changes bring about a greater level of care for our wounded soldiers. I appreciate the many people who work within this system daily, trying to provide the needed services for those who have sacrificed for their fellow man.

Sometimes it's hard to see what the members of America's military do to protect us here at home.  We hear about them fighting the war overseas and we hear people's opinion on those wars. We hear about the casualties and the bad things that happen.  And occasionally we hear about the good things they are doing over there. And then those men and women come home, hopefully safely, and try to live their everyday lives.  Many of those serving overseas are members of the Guard or Reserves.  The military is not their normal life, and no matter how they serve, normal life has continued while they were away.  They have to learn to live a life that has changed.  They may not bear physical wounds, but anyone that has deployed to a war zone will tell you that they have a new reality when they return home.  Some of them bear scars that no one will ever see.

Our country struggles to handle these wounded veterans.  The system wants to point fingers and cover up blame.  Our elected officials worry more about the next election than the do the quality of life for our military members and their families.  Sure, it's nice to attend Easter egg hunts and ballgames and concerts.  And those events make great photo ops.  But what our service members need is care.  They need to know that they will receive their pay on time.  They need to know that they will receive the best medical treatments available, both for them and their families.  They need to know that the equipment and buildings they use are built to the highest standard, not the lowest.  They need to know that the retirement benefits they've been counting on will be there when they retire.