Bucket List

Did you ever make a "bucket list"?

I don't think I have ever actually made a bucket list, but I have definitely dreamt of things I want to do in my life. Where I want to go. What I want to experience. Like many, I want to travel more. I feel fortunate that I have traveled as much as I have, but here I am about to turn 43 and I realize I haven't traveled to nearly as many places in the world as I had expected to by this time of my life. Some people spend their entire lives working hard, saving and planning their dream trips. They retire and finally they have the time to go on those fabulous trips, but they spent so long working hard and neglecting their health that all the sudden they have these huge obstacles like diabetes, or stroke or heart attack, broken hip, arthritis, chronic pain, or any number of comorbidities that interfere with traveling the world. As a medical professional I see it all the time. I have worked with the young and the old in hospitals, nursing homes and home health. Everyone has at least one dreamy bucket list vacation they want to take. But reality sinks in, and the obstacles get bigger and bigger. Over the years I have had many hopes, fears, dreams and wishes. They have changed and morphed as my life has not taken the direct path that I imagined it would when I was a young girl. So what now? How do you work and take care of your responsibilities, plan for the future and also check off those bucket list items before its too late? 

Things I want to do before I kick the bucket...

• Have a baby or adopt a child ... maybe
• Lots of hiking. I want to hike in as many National Parks as I can. I have this little passport book for the National Parks. I want to get a stamp for all the National Parks in the US in my little passport book!
• While we are checking out the National Parks, lets hit as many State parks as we can too! I would like to make it my goal to check into at least 90% of the State parks in Texas and as many State parks in every state that I visit from now on. 
• Build a tiny house (or container home or a small cabin) and/or a Schoolie with my husband. 
• Find and purchase that perfect piece of land, in the mountains or the desert. Maybe on the Pacific coast or along the banks of a river or stream. Build our dream house on a foundation and park our schoolie in the back, sit on the porch and enjoy the peace and quiet of our little piece of heaven. 
• Visit the Holy Land. I would truly like to visit the holy land and walk the same places that Jesus walked. 
• Travel to Australia and visit my friend G and maybe catch up with a few other old classmates who have somehow found their way to living in Australia. 
• If your going to go all the way to Australia, you may as well stop over in New Zealand, too. 
• Go on an African Safari. 
• Volunteer in a mission trip anywhere in the world where I am called to. 
• Ski down a black slope at least once without getting injured, so that I can officially say that I have mastered skiing.
• Go fly fishing in the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana where my parents took us when we were kids. 
• I want to own and run a little boutique shop somewhere in a little tourist town. Sell yarn or crafts and goods from local artists. Maybe a shop that sells sustainable soaps, essential oils, body care. I don't really care what I sell. I just want to have a little shop in a cute little town like Manatou Springs, or Terlingua, or Forks. Someplace off the beaten path, but a place that is so majestic and peaceful it attracts visitors from all over the world to relax and enjoy the beauty of that little treasure of a town. 
• Walk to the top of Pike's Peak
• Invest in real estate (gotta have something to support me in my old age)
• Float in the Dead Sea 
• I would love to spend a week in Tibet, meditating with the Tibetan Monks in the mountains. 
• I would love to ride a horse across Mongolia, just like The Horse Boy!
• Take photography classes, especially old fashioned black and white film photography. 
• I would like to take a graphic design class as well, so I can design my own labels, clothing, projects, designs to incorporate with my crochet and sewing. 
• Learn to weave, just like my mom. She has tried to get me interested in weaving since I was a child. I never had the patience or attention span for it. But now that I am older and I have become more interested in my crocheting and sewing, I have realized I am a textile artist. So I am ready now. 
• Travel the US in the Schoolie that my hubby and I hope to build someday. Hopefully that Schoolie will help us check off many of my bucket list items. 
• I want to visit every hot spring I can find in every state and every country I visit!
• Collect textiles like handwoven blankets or crocheted items from every country I visit.
• I would like to hunt for moose or caribou in Alaska
• Catch a king salmon while fly fishing
• Someday, WHEN I Win a huge lottery jackpot, so that I can build a low income senior apartment (with assisted living and skilled nursing as well), with low income college student housing that allows seniors and college students to be room mates. College students get a break on cost of living by committing to spend time with their senior room mates and volunteering with other activities in the community. Other features will be a comprehensive early childhood program in the community where children can attend preschool and seniors can volunteer in the classes. With an animal rescue group/shelter/adoption center that also allows seniors to help care for puppies and kittens and other animals needing a little TLC before being adopted. My guess, is this would require at least 10-50 acres of land, and around 15-25 million to make it happen. A large jackpot could make it happen!

That is all I can think of for now. Maybe I will add to this list as I dream a little more. 

Long time, lots going on

So since we last chatted in June. We have a lot to catch up on...

I started in with the Keto hormone changes that you hear so much about, which resulted in horrible headaches that start with my period and then progress quickly into a migraine and then every afternoon is a 8/10 on the pain scale and last for up to 2 weeks. Have you ever had a Hormone driven migraine? HOLY COW! THEY ARE DIFFERENT! This includes waking up with a 5/10 headache and as the day progresses getting worse, more burning, throbbing and pain, sensitivity to light, sound, and lots of nausea. I have worked with 2 doctors now both have suggested estrogen gel as soon as the headache starts before my period, along with migraine medicine like Maxalt. The problem is, that this only works some of the time and not all of the time. So Since June, I had an episode of a 2 week long headache/migraine that was followed by a nasty infection probably upper respiratory infection which lasted another 2 weeks. So the start of my vacation was just peachy being sick for a month. I powered through all that on my own mostly. Fast forward to now, and I had another 2 week long headache/migraine at Christmas. The estrogen gel did not do anything to stop it or even slow it down. Maxalt and the other medication I was prescribed don't even touch these headaches, so by now I have a new primary care physician who is wonderful, but even she says this is as far as she can go to treat my headaches. I needed to see a neurologist. So I thankfully have a wonderful neuro doc in Houston that I have not seen in may years. I was able to get an appointment with him in late January. Sad to say that as we went through the usual questions about my headaches, I realized that I have actually been suffering from some level of headaches for years and almost daily. The good news is, he prescribed several new medications for me. One of them a monthly shot called Emgality. I was able to take 2 shots in the office and immediately by the end of the day was feeling some relief. WOW. Now I am in a fight with insurance to approve the medication for me. Insurance says they require documentation for "pre-approval" so I have been reaching out to the doctors office to make sure they submit that information.

So the unfortunate side effect of these headaches has been that I gave up doing keto months ago hoping that would help get the headaches under control quickly, but that did not work... so I am now just scared to death that getting back on keto will make them even worse then they already are currently. Have you ever had a 2 week long migraine? Do you have any idea what that is like? When nothing works? You cant Asprin, Alieve, Excedrin or any other NSAIDS, and the prescription migraine medicine doesn't even knock it back by 2%. In the end it takes about 3 days worth of anti-anxiety medication + Benadryl + Maxalt + sleep + water + magnesium + omega supplements to finally get some relief. Accupuncture and/or chiropractic treatments help a lot too. In my case at Christmas I was able to go see one of my fav old chiropractors who was so nice to open up his clinic on a Sunday for me. He worked on me for over an hour and a half! It was not cheap, but at that point was worth every penny to get some relief and to be able to try to enjoy the holiday with my family.

So this is where I am currently at:
Weight: 260
Keto Status: off the wagon
Plans: to get these headaches under control, then get back on keto

That is all I have for right now. I have so much more to talk about. I feel so guilty for not keeping up with keto, for not trying harder. But the fear of the headaches has been so great and no one, I mean NO ONE who does keto has any idea what this has been like for me. My headache history started long before keto, and for many years it was under control. It was never driven by my hormones before, but now they are and that makes it so much worse and so the fear of the headaches has taken a huge toll on me and I dont know how to get past this brick wall.

Please send me any positive vibes and prayers... mostly for the strength and motivation to get back on track. My mood these past few months has been terrible for a lot of reasons, this is one of the big ones. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support.

CC

It's been a while...

Howdy Ya'll!

I know its been a while since I have written a blog post. I have been super busy lately, and of course still tired. And then its the end of the school year, so lots of stress and business at work, too.  I have lots of appointments and updates to report on today. When we last left off, I was working hard to learn this new way of eating. I have had some successes and some failures. The biggest thing my husband and I were struggling with is Keto Flu. Headaches, muscle cramps, stomach cramps. Ugh, it was awful. We already take magnesium supplements daily. We drink Smart Water or put pinch of sea salt. But despite all our efforts, we were still struggling. The cramps in my legs and muscle spasms were awful. I finally realized I needed potassium! Magnesium is great, but if your not getting enough potassium, then the muscle cramps and headaches are horrible. So I finally got a potassium supplement and started taking 1 per day as the bottle suggested. A few days later I saw this meme and then checked the bottle, only to realize I was not getting nearly enough potassium to get myself balanced back out again. So I increased the dosage, not too much, but just enough to help get my levels back up. After about a week, I was able to back off the potassium and I am now holding my own without the supplement. Whew! Nothing worse then having a headache and not being able to take anything for it, because I am allergic to NSAIDS.

Trying not to eat my emotions

WARNING: Trigger post.
This post contains some information about a rather traumatic experience. Some of the details my be hard for some to read.

It's Friday the 13th. You would think that today is the creepy day, the day for all bad things to happen. But I think yesterday was the bad day for me. Yesterday morning started like any other. I got up and made my morning protein shake. I high tailed it out the door because as usual, I am running late and super tired and just want to crawl back into bed. I drove to one of my schools to clock in for the day. I got back in the car and doubled back a little to get to the nearest safe gas station. I pumped some gas and got some coffee. This put me exiting the station going a slightly different direction then I usually drive, but no big deal. I start driving the back streets to downtown towards my office. I got within a few blocks down the street of my destination and out of the corner of my eye I see a poof of smoke and notice a red car has crashed into a pole about 1/4 mile ahead of me. As I approach, I instinctively pull over safely and call 911. I watch as I am waiting for the operator to take my call and see the driver door fly open and a thin woman falls out of the drivers door onto the sidewalk and starts screaming in pain. Then I see the passenger side window goes down and another woman falls out of the passenger window onto the street. She also starts screaming and trying to crawl away from the car. I finish my call to 911 and immediately rushed over to where the passenger is now on the same side of the road as I am with several bystanders. I summed her up quickly, no obvious signs of blood gushing, no obvious broken bones. I asked if there was anyone else in the car and she says "yes" but cant answer any of my other questions. As I walked over to the car, I noticed the front seat is pushed all the way forward and it appears the passenger who got out of the car came from the back seat, not the front seat. Now I think there may be someone in the front seat. To my horror, there is! There was no more then about 6-10" of space between the dash board and the back of the headrest. All I could see was the back of this woman's head. The airbag was covering her face. I could see her head moving and was afraid she was trying to move intentionally. So I immediately called 911 back and told them there was a trapped passenger. Then I focused on this woman. I put my hand on her head and reassured her that I was there. I patted her shoulder gently and told her not to move. I told her I have help on the way. The horn of the car was blaring and nothing anyone could to to shut it off. It was loud and nerve wracking. I was trying hard to keep my cool and asses what I could do to help this woman. I pushed the airbag out of the way and that allowed her to breathe a little better. I realized after a few minutes, she was not consciously trying to move, but her head was moving when she breathes. I continued to talk to her and comfort her just in case she can hear me. Just in case she is scared. Just in case she can feel something anything. But I hope and pray that she can't feel a thing. You see in all those long minutes, I noticed a few things. I can see this woman's head and partial face. I can see her right arm and appears she may have a broken finger on her right hand. Its what else I can see that is so disturbing and heart wrenching. I can see her feet, or a foot, but I think its both of them. They are up by her face. Yes, I see her head and feet all squished up against the dash and airbag. So I know that this woman is folded in half. I know that even though there is no blood, this woman is critically and probably fatally injured. And I pray that she cant feel a thing. You see, I am a medical professional. I understand body mechanics, physiology and anatomy. I know that the position this woman is in, it would be near impossible to survive the impact that she has clearly suffered. Someone behind me has said, lets get this woman out, lets get this door open. But I shouted back, NO.

We are leaving her right where she is. I know that anything we try to do, may make it worse. No one else needs to see a dying woman like this. So I continued to block other peoples view of the front seat as I was bent over the woman. I continued to talk to her and stroke her head and shoulder just in case she can hear me. I did this until the paramedics arrived in the first ambulance. As soon as the first paramedic gets out of his rig, I tell him that the woman has just stopped breathing. I told him she was breathing until just this moment when they arrived. She just stopped, just now. And I got out of the way so they could do their work. I directed the two people behind me to move away and let them work, there was nothing more I could do for her. [That is me in the long blue sweater bent over at passenger door]
I turned my attention to the driver who is still screaming and trying to get up. She clearly has an open fracture on her right ankle with tibia and fibula protruding. She wasn't making much sense. She could tell me her name, Pauline, but not much else. She couldn't tell me her friends name. She didn't know the back seat passenger either. She was just giving her a ride. By now there was only one ambulance and one fire truck and they were focused on trapped passenger because she was critical. I was surprised that they managed to get her out with out having to cut the car as initially thought, and immediately on the gurney they were performing full CPR and compressions as they wheeled her into the ambulance and drove away quickly. The driver was distraught as anyone would be in that situation. She was trying to crawl away and did not want to go to the hospital. It was quite chaotic trying to keep her calm so paramedics could now focus on getting her leg wrapped up and splinted and on a backboard. She became combative a little. Paramedics were quick and gentle with her. They got her onto backboard at which time I stepped away and now turned my attention to the other passenger who was across the street. She said her name was Porsche. She didn't know these ladies very well. She was asleep in the back seat and they were just giving her a ride. She was just trying to get home. Porsche had a significant gash on her right lower leg with bone exposed. She wasn't gushing blood and it was not clear if any bones were broken, but paramedics were able to finally attend to her and get her leg wrapped up. She also tried to become combative and wanted to leave as soon as her leg was bandaged. Paramedics persisted and she was put onto a backboard with head and neck stabilized and also loaded up into an ambulance. 
Once all 3 victims were loaded up, I could breathe again. There is nothing more I can do here. I didn't really see the accident. So I cant really give a statement other then to tell officers the condition of the woman in the front seat. The scene was finally beginning to clear. The first witness to the accident and I chatted briefly and exchanged stressed but compassionate looks as not many others can understand in that moment. I felt like I needed to do more, but there were police and firefighters and ambulances all around, so nothing more for me to do but leave. When I go to the office, one of my coworkers had driven by the scene and seen me there. She was so worried and had already alerted my supervisor where I was. They were worried for me and we talked about what happened in the work room. My co-workers are all health professionals like me. We are OT's and PT's so we have seen some pretty scary stuff in our careers. No one was grossed out, all were shocked and concerned for my well being. I tried to concentrate at work, but that wasn't happening so at lunch time, I left to get something to eat and didn't come back to work. I took the afternoon off for my own mental health. As I was driving away from the office, I passed the scene of the accident again and flagged down an officer who was there investigating. He could not give me an update on the trapped woman. I still don't know her name. He just said that there was an investigation now and that other investigators would be by to take pictures and interview witnesses. I got back in my car in front of the bank and a woman came out and spoke to me. She recognized me from earlier that morning at the accident scene. She and all her co-workers actually witnessed the accident from inside the bank. She informed me that another investigator had already been by the bank to interview witnesses and review any video the bank surveillance cameras might have caught of the accident. The investigator confirmed that the trapped front seat passenger had passed away. The driver was going to be charged for her death. I can't say that I was surprised. Based on what I witnessed and my experience, I knew there was little chance that this woman would survive. Still, it was even more gut wrenching. So I continued on to look for somewhere to get some lunch. I was getting hungry. I had exerted so much energy already this morning. I was headed toward my neighborhood but could not think of a good place for a keto compliant lunch. Where do I go? All I want right now is a piece of chocolate cake. Maybe I should turn around and head to the gluten free bakery. But that is too much sugar. I don't want to kick myself out of ketosis right now. Is this what emotional eating is like? Is this what people feel when they "eat their feelings"? OMGosh! Am I an emotional eater? Wow, the hungrier I get, the more I am craving chocolate and sugar. WOW. What is the quickest, easiest place I can order a keto compliant meal. Chipotle is safe. Lets go there. Its not close by, but I gotta do what I gotta do. So I head off to get some lunch. I asked for a bowl to go, no rice, fajita veggie, chicken with extra chicken and salsa and guacamole. "Do you want chips and a drink with that, ma'am?" the guy says. YES! OMG chips sound amazing! I really want chips! "No, thank you." I answered. I payed for my meal and exited as fast as I could. I know if I stay and eat here, that I will cave and get the chips. They smell so good. I got in my car and parked in a quiet spot in front of  DSW Shoe Warehouse. I ate my lunch in quiet. I am still craving sugar, but its a little better now that I have eaten something. I am looking at the shoe store and I think to myself I really need some new shoes and I have that birthday coupon. May as well. So I entered the store and about an hour later, exited with 2 new pairs of shoes. Well, at this point I have already texted my supervisor to let her know I wont be back to work today. I am taking the rest of the day off. So since I am never in this shopping complex, I decide to take advantage. I head on over to Hobby Lobby and wonder the isles looking at yarn... my other obsession. I could spend hours here, and I did. I spent the next 2 hours wondering up and down, touching and looking at yarn. I picked out a few things including a few bows for a friends baby girl. I would have liked to buy more, but really I already have all the yarn I need at home for my current projects and much much more. I did eat a bite of dark chocolate that was in the pantry. The small piece of chocolate bar when broken down by macros was still within my daily limit for carbs, fats and proteins. So while it has sugar, it was not enough to make a huge impact on my overall daily intake. I still wish it was a cupcake. But between the chocolate and the shake, I am holding my own and fighting the urges to cheat today. Besides, this weekend is my birthday. Remember my previous post. Birthdays are for celebrating and enjoying. So I am going to get my favorite gluten free pancakes at this little cafe up north of here for my birthday splurge. I am pretty sure that this pancake platter will totally kick me out of ketosis. So I am thinking about how to handle that. I may have to buckle down next week and keep more strictly to my calories and macros. I see a lot of protein shakes in my future. 
So I headed home to let the dogs out and prep dinner for the hubby since it is his late night and I had an appointment later. I enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet at home. I still craved chocolate, so I finally made a Primal Kitchen Chocolate Collagen shake to take the edge off. I prepped the steak and broccolini for dinner. I covered them and left it on the counter. I am determined to stick to the diet. As much as I want a cupcake right now, I am not going to give in to temptation. I cant help but let my mind wonder to all the foods that sound so good right now. Is this what it is like for food addicts? Am I a food addict? I don't understand this. It was a stressful day. But I got through it. I did a good deed, I am fine emotionally. Just a little stressed. Why do I keep thinking about food? Why cant I just bury myself in my crochet project until its time to leave for my appointment? 
 I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I just know that I am going to do my best to just chill out and relax. I feel like if I give in for this, then where does it stop? If I say its ok to cheat today, then what about tomorrow when I have a bad day at work and some parent or teacher yells at me for something I have no control over? What about when that guy in the loud car is racing down the street, almost hits me and then honks at me as though its my fault? There is always that guy! Always a crazy driver on the streets in my neighborhood. They get my blood boiling daily. What if there was a death in the family? What if? What if...??? There will always be something that stresses us out. We have become a very reactionary culture. Something bad happens, we eat. Something good happens, we eat. Holidays, we eat. We are not the only culture to eat for every occasion. Lots of other cultures do the same. So what is the difference? Why are Asian cultures typically healthier then Americans? Because they eat healthier foods. So what does this mean for me today. It means I have to work that much harder under stress to break this habit of turning to unhealthy foods when stress happens. I feel like I succeeded today. At least mostly.

SoI knew I needed to process this incident in a healthy way. I have been trying to get motivated to work on the meditation exercises that my nutritionist has been recommending. So by happy coincidence I had already scheduled a Reiki and meditation session with a friend in the neighborhood for yesterday evening. It was a wonderful productive session. I will have to share that experience in a new blog post. 

If you are still reading this, then I want to say thank you. I know this was a difficult post to read. It was even harder for me to write. So thank you. Thank you for your support on this journey. 

I would like to send a special Thank you to my dear friend, Wes Texas who wrote a blog about this incident and a similar experience that he and his lovely bride went through. Thank you Wes! Love you like a brother from another mother! If you would like to read his blog you can find it here at  Desert Hot Air.


God bless you all and keep you safe.
Cece

To the woman who passed away in this vehicle on 4/12/2018 around 9:15 am. May God heal your wounds, wipe your tears and welcome you through the glorious gates of Heaven. May God show mercy, grace and forgiveness for the driver of this vehicle, Pauline who was intoxicated. I pray that Pauline will know God's grace and feel his love and forgiveness so that she can forgive herself for this terrible tragedy. Sending love and light to all 3 women, their families and the first responders and good Samaritans who were all involved in this scene today.

Tuesday is for follow ups

Follow up with Katy the Nutritionist.

I really don't feel like writing tonight. I don't know why, but driving 30 miles to and from my appointment, only to get home and realize that due to a series of events that interfered with our weekend routine we don't have all the ingredients for dinner. So then the debate... run to the store in what is now horrible traffic, go out to eat, scrounge for something else, improvise with other ingredients. Ugh, I just didn't have it in me to think about any of the above. But of course, thanks to hubby for keeping us accountable. He needed to mow the grass before it rained again this week turning our back yard into an urban jungle that our dogs would promptly get lost in. So he nudged and I went to our not so usual store that is closer to the house to see if I could finish off our grocery list this week. Back home in no time and immediately started to work on prepping dinner. Tonight: Lemon Artichoke Chicken from the Practical Paleo Cookbook. Of course we like to add zucchini to this recipe to add some more vegetable content. I usually slice up 2 zucchini and add a few to the pan with the chicken then toss the rest in the smaller cast iron with butter or ghee (even though I am allergic to dairy, I seem to be able to consume small amounts of butter and ghee gives me no trouble at all) and salt and throw them both in the oven. Its a very tart dish, so if you want to tone it down you can always serve with fresh avocado or salad or other veggies to cut the tart from the capers, lemon and artichokes. Me, I am a sensory seeking eater so strong sour or tart tastes I enjoy.

So for my checkup today with Katie (functional medicine nutritionist), I learned a lot again. First thing out of my mouth was "I really gotta pee!" and when I promptly returned from the restroom I got up on that scary scale to see what the results were of the last 2.5 weeks starting Keto. I told Katie it was darn near impossible to consume a gallon of water a day, to which she responds who on earth told me to do that? I responded that she was the one who told me in the first appointment she wanted me drinking a gallon of water a day and I immediately thought that was impossible, but by golly, I have been desperately trying! We both had a good chuckle, as she insisted she didn't remember telling me to drink a gallon of water. Whew! Now that that is settled I can focus on the rest of the important stuff. 

The scary scale reports that I am down 5# since my last visit with Katie 2.5 weeks ago and my BMI is down a point, too! This means that I lost all fat! Woohoo. Apparently my body likes keto!

Next, I learned a little more about ketones and measuring them. I use Perfect Keto test strips. While most people focus on the numbers and what that means, I tend to do better just focusing on the picture. So on the side of the bottle there are 5 levels of ketosis colors ranging from light pink to dark purple. The last two dark purple colored dots are considered large ketones, the first three light and dark pink dots are considered small to moderate ketones. 
What I need to know is what color my test strip should be? I have had a few that are almost dark purple and a few that are lighter pink, but so far ever time I have peed on the tiny little test strip they have changed some color, which means I am in ketosis and that is a good thing. So for me, it is recommended that I stay in the first three pink colors or the light to moderate range of ketones. The dark purple colors indicates large ketones and high levels of ketones in the urine. This means that your essentially creating an acidic environment in your body. So without getting into too much mumbo jumbo about acidic versus basic ph levels, the important thing to note is that the body is much happier when the body is more balanced and not acidic. Acidic ph encourages inflammation and with inflammation comes pain, and poor health. Lastly, when should I measure my ketones? Morning, afternoon, evening, once a day or multiple times? The answer was for me to measure only in the morning. So that was my take away from the ketones discussion. Here are some links for more information on measuring and interpreting ketones, but I highly recommend you consult your medical professional or nutritionist who is experienced with guiding people through keto diet so that you can achieve your goals.

https://ketosummit.com/optimal-ketone-levels-for-ketogenic-diet

https://www.perfectketo.com/a-guide-to-testing-ketone-levels/
 
So I was asked to keep a food diary, which as discussed in my previous blog post, I am terrible about keeping a journal or diary about anything! BUT, today I was prepared. I have been using the My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone to track my daily foods. I would say its about 80% accurate for my actual food intake. 20% error rate is due to app limitations and some user error as well. Otherwise, I love this app. Its been super easy to use. I could do without the main page that has articles and blog posts. I really only use the food diary and the progress tab to log my weight. According to Katie, I really only need to log my weight weekly. The last week I have been measuring and logging daily just to see what my weight was doing over the course of the week. But I totally understand. Day to day your weight can fluctuate anywhere from 1# to 3#. If your a woman, your cycle can throw that off even more. So I will try to be good from now on and pick a day to log my weight and stick to it. 

As Katie went through my meals for last 2 weeks she noted that I have been consuming a lot of pork. Of course! Bacon is my favorite! It appeals to my sensory seeking nature! Its salty, and crunchy and chewy! It's super yummy! Well, for me and for now Katie has recommended no pork. OMG! What the heck will I do now for a quick protein snack!? Why no pork? Well again, this meal plan and diet is what Katy has prescribed to me. What you do for you, may be different. So for me, because of the thyroid issues, the PCOS and I a not even sure what all else, my body still has a lot of inflammation. In my mind I am like, Holy Cow! I am gluten free, and dairy free and 80% sugar free for over last 5-10 years! So why the heck am I still struggling with inflammation? Well I don't have all the answers, and Katy tries to explain a lot and my learning disabled brain tries to absorb as much as I can to better understand. What I took away from the conversation is that pork, for many reasons is one of the top 8 most inflammatory foods, I think. It is also a common food allergen. You might think that is strange. How can you be allergic to pork? Have you ever heard of anyone having an anaphylactic reaction to pork? Well, I get it. I don't have anaphylactic reactions to milk or gluten. I totally understand the allergic reactions to some foods can be way more subtle then that. So per Katie's advice, I will phase out the pork for now. But not before I eat that 2# of freshly cooked bacon in the fridge this week! Next week we will phase out the bacon! Its only for 60 days. 60 days of no bacon, no sausage, no pork chops. Eeek! 60 days can be a long time. My favorite pig rancher Hartvickson Family Ranch will be sad, but I know Meghan will understand. I will still go see them at the Dallas Farmers Market when we go to buy our beef, lamb and eggs from JuHa Ranch and Bois d' Arc Meat Co. Its just 60 days. I can do this... just 60 days. 

Last take away from today's appointment: Mindful Breathing.
Katy: So how did you do with the Mindful Breathing Exercises?
Me: (dumb look on my face) Uhhhhhh, I was supposed to be doing what?
Katy: Why does everyone always forget the Mindful Breathing from the first session? 
Me: uhhhh, I'm not sure, but it was a lot of information to take in that first visit. 

So Katy recommends Mindful breathing exercises. Not the first time I have done things like this. But its definitely not easy for me. My idea of meditation and quiet time is sitting on the couch zoning out to old episodes of Call the Midwife or maybe Orange is the New Black on Netflix, or crocheting. Better yet, crochet and Netflix binge! 

But again, I am going to try. I need to ease into this. I am not sure that I can make this happen daily, but I will try. In a perfect world, I would be able to wake up at 5 am, quietly escape to a perfect little meditation room and do my stretching and breathing exercises in peace and quiet before my husband and dogs wake up. But lets be honest, I am lucky if I roll out of bed before 7am. Most days I am flying out the door at 7:55 and driving to the closest location I can to clock in for work. I don't even care that much that I am late all the time. I just don't have enough energy to care.  have just enough energy to get up, make a smoothie, gather up my purse, bag, keys, lunch and stumble out the door to my car. Oh wait, I forgot something inside. I always forget something. My coffee mug aka "sippy cup" as my hubby calls it, scarf, sweater, today it was a utensil for my lunch. Do you think mindful breathing will help my with my energy level? Could it help me sleep better? I think I sleep ok, but then I wake up and feel like I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open until about 10 am, so maybe I am not sleeping well. I dont really know. At this point, between the thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies, PCOS and hormone issues and Candida issues, I have no clue what symptoms are caused by what? If I knew, I probably would not have let myself get to this point of feeling like a slug again. So back on the meditation thing. I need to start doing deep breathing daily and or meditation exercises. I feel like when I try to do this myself, I am too easily distracted, so I feel better with guided meditation videos or recordings. I had a really great one, but it was sadly lost in my vehicle when it was wrecked a year ago. So maybe I will reorder that CD or maybe I can find it on iTunes. Katy provided me some handouts with suggestions. I will have to read though those and see if I can find a quiet space in my junk room to sit and practice. I guess this is more motivation for my hubby to finish the attic insulation and get our upstairs room reconstructed so we have somewhere to stretch and meditate. In the mean time, I found this hilarious meditation on Facebook the other day...

Maybe I will start with this one... 

http://mysticalraven.com/inspirational/1652/the-hilarious-guided-meditation-for-realists-that-actually-works

Last thing: apparently, I need assistance with relaxing. He he he, no secret there. So Katy also recommended this Relax supplement that helps with balancing hormones for PCOS and also helps with relaxing. I mixed that up with a little water this evening and it was not too bad. Cherry flavored. I am not sure how relaxed I felt afterwards, but we will keep it up daily in the evenings and see how it goes.


That is about it for this update. It was still a lot of information to take in, but not nearly as bad as last time. I only got scolded for eating too much pork, processed meats and not consuming enough carbs during the day. I know, I am supposed to be eating berries and dark leafy green veggies. But its so confusing with all the Keto information out there on the web. There is a ton of conflicting information. So all I can say, is I will try to do better and follow Katie's instructions for me. If your doing Keto too, I hope you find a great nutritionist who can help guide you based on your body and needs. Its not easy to find people like Katy who are really good at nutrition from a more functional medicine approach. I feel so lucky to have found her. I don't know if I would be as successful on my own. So God Bless Katie and all the angels that put her into my life.

If your still reading, thanks for following me on this journey.
Take care,
Cece

P.S. If you want to follow Katie, she has started a blog too. She also has an Instagram page and Facebook. You can find links here on her blog...
http://katiegarrott.com/why-we-need-functional-medicine/

  

Anniversaries are for celebrating.

Happy April Fools Day, y'all! And Happy Easter for those who celebrate it!
Today is also my wedding anniversary. What a wonderful journey this has been. 1,460 days married. All totaled, 5 years together. As we were getting closer to the weekend and talking about what we wanted to do to celebrate we decided to go out to dinner at a nice restaurant. Some place new. I started wondering what the menu would be like and if there would be dishes that were keto friendly. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't want to be that person who has to modify everything on the menu to accommodate our meal plan. I don't want to get upset or angry or sad that I can't enjoy a special event with friends and family, just because we are following the keto plan. I have a lot of weight to loose. It could take a year or more to get to where I need to be for my health. How many birthdays, holidays and anniversaries will I have to miss out on, or sit through in misery. So I made a decision. I am not going to miss out. I mean really, how often do we go out with friends to celebrate a birthday or holiday? Its not that often. And there are weeks, even months in between where we can keep up with meal plans and shopping. So we went out to dinner last night, and we didn't stress about what we would or could eat. We just enjoyed the experience of a new restaurant, and celebrating each other and our journey. We were pleasantly surprised that the menu had several items that were very Keto friendly, so by happy coincidence our meal was pretty compliant in that respect. We had muscles cooked with bacon and butter and other yumminess.

http://feedcompanyeatery.com/

Then there was the 1/2 rack of ribs. They had a lot of pepper, very smokey flavor but were pretty good.

And then there was the pork chop with Brussels sprouts, carrots, arugula and a drizzle of some sort of raspberry glaze.

 

http://www.hgsplyco.com/

It was a lovely dinner. We shared a few whiskey drinks as well, since that was the restaurants specialty. It was a perfect spring evening, dining on the patio. Later we walked across the street to another restaurant for desert. One of the only places in town to find a gluten free and dairy free desert! I had been craving this for a while, and since it was a special occasion we decided to indulge. Chocolate chip banana bread with almond milk ice cream and caramelized bananas. Again, we sat on the patio, people watched and chatted. It was an awesome dinner and desert and I don't regret one single carbohydrate!

So that is our anniversary adventure for this year. Next year is 5 years, who knows what we will do then. But I can assure you whatever it is, we will enjoy it even if we are still following keto! I know this may not work for some, but it has worked for us this weekend. I am back on track this morning with my protein smoothie. I even measured my ketones last night, this morning and this afternoon and while they dipped a little low, they are back up this afternoon. So I am confident that I didn't loose any progress with this one meal. Tonight is dinner at friends. Thankfully, they have been doing keto and gluten free, so we know we will be able to enjoy dinner with no issues there.

So here is my weekly recap

Weigh in: 265.8 lbs
Clothing: jeans are a little looser today
Other changes: I have had a rash from Candida overgrowth that has been angry and irritated. Under my arm pits and in other cracks and creases. I have noticed this week, the rashes are settling down and not so raw and red and itchy. The other thing I noticed is that I was able to wear my wedding rings today for the first time in almost a year, maybe longer. That was a pretty sweet treat for me!

Weekend Recap:

So this week went pretty well. We meal planned last Sunday and shopped for our weekly meals. I has planned for making more snacks for this week and we kinda failed on that note, but somehow both of us managed fine this week. My nutritionist wants me drinking 2 cups of green tea per day. I will admit, I have not been doing that much. It seems as the weather gets warmer, I am not that interested in drinking hot tea. I will keep trying. Maybe I can find a good green tea ice tea recipe to keep in the fridge for hot days. Water intake probably needs to increase as well, although I will say most days I am getting in more then 8 glasses of water a day. Nutritionist says 16 glasses aka 1 gallon of water per day. I thought that was pretty crazy at first, then I start learning about Keto flu and watched my hubby get hit hard with a migraine and realized that this was Keto flu related to lack of electrolytes and lack of adequate water intake. So important to note, water intake and electrolytes are crucial when eating Keto. 

Hope you all had a very blessed holiday weekend, no matter what holiday you celebrated. 

Eat well, sleep well.

Cece

Sunday is for meal planning and grocery shopping

OK, Its 10:30 a.m. and I am starving because I slept in, and haven't eaten breakfast yet. We are sitting here meal planning and getting shopping list together. I guess this is one of those days we will be fasting for breakfast and then eating brunch??? According to keto guidelines you should fast intermittently, so I guess this morning is our fasting time. So for those of you who don't know me well, meal planning for the week is nothing new for my lovely bearded hubby and I. We have been doing this since we started Paleo over 4 years ago. I found this great meal plan/shopping list at Target once and so that is what we used to decide on meals for the week and then make a grocery list for the week. It is super handy. Now days its easy to find printable versions of this notepad on some Paleo websites. I think Nom Nom Paleo has one. You can find lots of meal planning printable here and here.

In the beginning of our Paleo journey we were on a strict budget, so we purchased 2 good Paleo cookbooks and would search the Google for more ideas. Then on Friday or Saturday we would go out to eat and would bring our books and notes with us and sit and look up recipes and decide which ones to try and then we would make our shopping list so we were ready to go on Sunday for shopping. People looked at us so strange when we pulled out cookbooks at the table in a restaurant. But I think they were pleasantly surprised when they realized what we were doing with those books and notepad. It also helps a lot that my husband is completely on board with eating Paleo and now eating Keto. I don't have to explain to him my issues with gluten causing joint pains and stomach issues. I don't have to try to explain to him that milk products of any kind give me migraines, and then sinus infections and horrible heart burn. He believes me. He gets it and he doesn't question it. It is also nice that he shares in my successes and failures.
Like this morning, brunch/lunch was a total failure! We decided to go to this taco place that has great tacos and see if we could create a keto meal here. FAIL! ha ha ha! We ordered the Migas Royale Plate. Then the poor guy behind the counter had to completely modify my plate. First, no tortillas, then there were 3 kinds of cheese we had to eliminate on the plate, then potatoes gotta go too. Then added some bacon for extra protein and fat. When our plates came out, the eggs had tortilla strips cooked into them. Duh... Migas! Oh well. We did the best we could to pick the tortillas out of the migas. At least we tried. Guess we should strike this place off the list for places we can eat Keto for now.
Eating out is so difficult sometimes. We have had to sacrifice so much when it comes to eating out and enjoying our time doing things outside the house. I am tired of being "that person" at restaurants who has to pick apart the menu to find foods I can eat. But it is our life and we are getting better. I have to say, living where we live we have a lot of great options and its nice that the Paleo craze is really starting to influence the types of new restaurants opening up in big cities. I have to say the hardest thing about living gluten free and dairy free is when we travel on road trips. But we are learning more and more each time we travel. Going home to see family we know that my Mom will have a pantry full of GF pancake mix for breakfast and maybe some GF cookie mix and GF cornbread mix. She doesn't understand all the Paleo stuff, but at least she understands the gluten free issues and how important that is for us. There is a new Whole Foods and Trader Joes just on the edge of her neighborhood, so I can easily run to the store to grab DF milk or other items we might need while we are there. Bonus, my Mom is an excellent cook and a healthy cook, so there are always lots of options for us to eat without feeling left out at any meal in her home.
When we went to Colorado for a road trip a year and a half ago, we planned ahead. We took a huge cooler packed with DF milk, GF cereal for breakfasts, GF bread and about 6 large Gourmaleo Paleo pre-made meals, fruit, snacks and a bunch of other stuff I cant remember. We were going to be getting up early and spending entire days at The Tiny House Jamboree with friends, so even though we didn't keep to a strict Paleo diet the entire time we were on vacation, we were fine with eating a little of the rails. It was also very budget friendly for us to bring more then half of our meals with us. We always get back on track when we get home from any trip.

So anyways, we have our shopping done for today. And we have taken our walk before cooking dinner. 1.15 miles this evening around the hood. Dinner was a pretty good success, and the awesome bearded hubby is now washing dishes while I finish up this blog early so I can get to bed on time tonight. Although, it really doesn't matter much if I go to bed now or in 3 hours, because inevitably I will still hit the snooze button 10 times and roll out of bet about 5 minutes before I should leave for work. Maybe I should go ahead and take my shower tonight, so that's one less thing to think about in the morning...

OK, before I go I will share with you our Dinner menu for the week.
Sunday - Skillet Chicken Sausage and Vegetables
Monday - Cobb Salad
Tuesday - Garlic Shrimp and Zoodles
Wednesday - Sheet Pan Pork Chops
Thursday - Burger Bowls
Friday - Chicken Enchilada Bowl (same as last week, yummy!)
Saturday - Date Night for our Anniversary at Feed Company

Good night y'all. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your support. God bless you all.
Cece

This was meal prep for tonights dinner. I am still learning how to add photos. So hopefully I will be able to add some more in my next blog posts.