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MMMMM PIE!

I made a delicious pie this week that I would qualify as healthy. Some friends of ours gave us no less than about 15 pears. What do you do with 15 pears? BAKE!

I peeled six pears and chopped them up, mixed them with raisins and chopped almonds, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg. Mix thoroughly, fill pie pan, and bake for about 30 minutes at 425 degrees.

DELICIOUS. And full of healthy things!

Update on my heart!

I got the results back from the echocardiogram and the doctor says my heart is perfectly healthy, aside from that minor defect. The defect hasn’t caused any damage whatsoever. Thank goodness!

12 weeks results

The twelve weeks are over, and I can’t believe how beneficial this program has been to me. I wish all that craziness hadn’t happened towards the end of it, because that derailed me a bit (which I think is understandable, given the circumstances).

Here’s the kicker though — I had my annual physical last week, and I told my doctor about the program. She gave me an EKG for the first time in my life so I could get some additional data for this program. It turns out that I’ve made it through 26 years of life without anyone noticing that I have a minor congenital heart defect! And if it hadn’t been for the BetterU program, I may not have found out for awhile since many doctors don’t consider an EKG a standard part of a physical for people as young as me.

I have an appointment with a cardiologist next week to have an echocardiogram, just to make sure the rest of my heart is healthy. I’m sure it is; the chances of this being an indication of anything bigger are next to nothing because of my age and health habits (not a smoker or drinker, etc.). Nonetheless, I’m glad I found out about it. Thanks, BetterU!

By the way, my bloodwork was so fabulous that my doctor wrote notes next to my cholesterol numbers saying things such as “excellent!” and “this is great!” with big smiley faces. This is the first time I’ve seen this doctor, and I’m happy to say I have FINALLY found a doctor in Cleveland that I like!

Now how about we hear about the results?

Conclusions from the end of the 12 weeks:
1. I did a really good job updating every week until life went haywire for awhile there.
2. Despite this, I kept up my goals as best as I could and did a pretty good job at it, even when on the road, travelling, and in the midst of chaos.
3. I still drink too much diet coke, but much less than I did before the 12 weeks (oh Diet Coke, why must you be so addictive??)

Results from the end of the 12 weeks:
1. I lost between 8 and 10 pounds depending on which scale you go by (I have a feeling 8 is more like it, but I’ll take 10. Why not?)
2. I lost TWO INCHES of my waist at last count. I can’t find my measuring tape at the moment, so my last measurement was about two weeks ago now. Since there is no reason for my waist to have grown, it could even be a little bit more by now. I think that is super impressive!

I think I’m going to keep this blog and update it with my continuing efforts to live a healthier lifestyle. It has been a fun journey, far more beneficial than I expected, and I’m not ready to let it end.

How do the rest of you feel about the program?

Quick note of hope

I was worried that I’d lost all the progress I’d made in my crazy two weeks in Miami, where I was running around, eating badly (or not at all) and generally feeling like Atlas with the world on my shoulders (but in my case it was a giant ball of stress).

But it is not so! I measured my waist for the first time since the halfway point of this adventure, and I’ve lost another inch. I’m down from 33 inches to 31.5 inches. That is AWESOME! And while not as awesome, my BMI is down from 29.1 to 28.3.

I won’t argue with results like that in the best of times, let alone now where I took a 2 or 3 week hiatus from the project. It feels so good to be getting back into my old routines. My body missed good food!

Week: I’ve Lost Count

Everything is still extremely chaotic due to my mother-in-law’s passing. I’m back up in Cleveland for a week and Dan is down in Miami. I’m up to my eyeballs in backlogged work and he’s still cleaning out his mother’s house, filing paperwork with lawyers, and more.

My goals until this is all behind us:
1. Eat as little fast food as possible. I know not eating any at all is not possible, but I want to try and keep it to a minimum.
2. Get to the gym whenever I can.
3. Get more sleep than I’ve been getting.

I know these are pretty basic goals, but I’ve got a lot on my plate, metaphorically speaking.

On the ‘bright’ side, I got a pretty serious case of heat stroke when I was in Miami and spent three days vomiting. Lost seven pounds. Wheeee!

I clearly need more sleep. Sorry everyone!

12 weeks on hiatus

Hello everyone,

My mother-in-law passed away and I’ve been in South Florida arranging everything with my husband. I’m not sure when I will be back, but I’ll let you know. All two of my readers. Geez, this blog will be dead in a week, won’t it?

Sigh.

What a week. There are just no words. I feel physically ill to my stomach.

Week 6: Second verse, same as the first

I’ve decided that because week 5 was an absolute failure, I’m not going to be hard on myself and I’m going to give myself a second chance to get week 5 right. So I’m going to carry over the goals and get it right this time. To recap:

Week 5 6 goals:
1. Add crunches/push-ups to my home fitness routine. I will do these twice a week instead of whenever I happen to remember, which is probably every 17-35 days. Harrumph, I say.
2. I WILL NOT LOSE MOTIVATION. If needed, I will seek motivation anywhere I can find if I feel my resolve weakening.
3. I will find and try out two new heart-healthy recipes this week.

I tested a new recipe tonight and it was a GIANT success! I’ll share for those who are interested:

Ingredients:
-spinach
-cherry tomatoes
-grape tomatoes
-garlic
-green onions
-campanelle pasta
-feta cheese
-hot Italian sausage

Steps:
1. Brown sausage in olive oil
2. Sauté garlic/green onions on high for about a minute. Add in all tomatoes and sauté until the tomatoes begin to wilt
3. Boil campanelle pasta. Dump out excess water when pasta is al dente
4. Mix sausage and garlic/green onions/tomatoes into the pasta
5. Dump in a whole lot of spinach and mix until the spinach is lightly wilted
6. Sprinkle feta cheese to taste

This recipe is DELICIOUS. Dan couldn’t get enough of it. He passed up on key lime pie shipped up from Key West to eat more pasta. There is no greater praise, people.

And finally, an old magnet of Dan’s that I found buried in the junk on our fridge:

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Emerson

So here is to the new week! It will definitely be more successful than last.

Week 5 Results: A bad, bad week

Week 5 was a total wash. Circumstances conspired to make this week incredibly awful, full of rushed, unhealthy meals, lack of sleep, zero trips to the gym (yikes!), and yuckiness.

I’ll have week 6 goals up later today (this also marks the first time I didn’t have my goals ready on Monday morning!), but first I have to get over my severe disappointment in myself.

Week 5: Mid-week update

I’ve had a bit of a set back this week — my car unexpectedly had to get some work done, so I’ve been unable to get to the gym. I wanted to go for jogs/walks outside but it has been raining all week. Zero for two! I’ve been doing lighter workouts at home of crunches and push-ups, but it is definitely not the same.

We’re heading to Pittsburgh to visit some friends, which will come with its own challenges. We tend to be pretty active when we visit these friends, but we also tend to eat out quite a bit with them, or not have control over what we eat at their house. We’ll see how this goes!

Happy Independence Day to everyone! I hope everyone has a safe, fun-filled holiday.