Working To Embrace The "New" Me

When I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia this past Fall, I was at first so thankful to finally have a diagnosis, but also scared for what the future held.

I was started on Lyrica, which is the only medicine approved for FM that I am able to take (due to reactions with the others). I was desperate for pain relief and prayed this would would work for me. Due to concerns about reactions, I was started slowly, with just 1 pill a day.

As time passed and intense pain remained constant, the amount of pills I took daily increase...2...3...4...5...6. Six is the maximum number allowed.

I have been on 6 pills a day now for a little over a week. One of my concerns (other than reactions) was weight gain. I've read that many people gain significant amounts of weight when taking Lyrica. So far that hasn't been a problem - Praise God!

While it's still too early to tell how effective the 6 pills daily will be (it can take up to a month to know that for sure), I have noticed my pain level does seem to have decreased some.

The pain I've had in my feet for over a year is almost completely gone. I notice the pain seems more "trunk" generalized and not spread to my limbs (although I have had temporary flares to one spot or another - for example, yesterday it felt as though my left thumb was broken. Today, it's fine.).

I still have the "hot poker" stabs of pain, but those are in the 2 spots where my pain began almost a year ago. I don't know if I ever completely expect those to go away, but they do seem to be decreasing in how often I get them, and how long they last.

So, while I feel there have been positives, I still have some concerns, such as if I am already at the maximum amount of medication allowed, and I am only 46....what happens when I'm 56, 66, 76, and God willing...beyond that.

I spent a lot of my "down" time doing research on the internet. I have read over different exercise options that will work, and different food options, as well as supplements. What I have decided to act upon is what I feel is right for me, I'm not suggesting this would be right for anyone else.

I found overwhelming evidence that gluten and sugar are two main things that those with any type of chronic pain should eliminate. Studies have shown that many people have dramatically improved their quality of life, and decreased their amount of pain by doing this.

So, I decided to embark on a gluten-free, sugar-free lifestyle. I had originally decided this a month or so ago, but it is pretty restrictive and I didn't wholeheartedly embrace it. But as the number of Lyricas I was taking increased, I just felt more and more drawn to it.

I'm learning that going GF is not as easy as substituting let's say rice flour for whole wheat. You have to adjust and/or add other things with the flour to get the consistency right, or something. That's going to involve more research than I am prepared for at the moment, so I again got on the internet and found GF/SF cookbooks and ordered 3 of them.

It's only been a week - and one of the WORST weeks I could have decided to embark on this journey. AF was here. Uh, hello....bad timing there girlie! Well, it has taught me that if I can survive that week, then I can definitely commit to this 100%. It has also taught me that I am so grateful for sugar-free chocolates that saw me through those darkest hours. LOL

I'm having to cook now way more than I ever figured I would do, or even care to. But, when you have pain as your motivation, it seems easier to get started.

I have to admit that I have been very pleasantly surprised so far. The recipes have been great! I made a lasagna last night and both Jay and Austin took just a small amount, and both went back for more.

I also found a pre-made pizza crust that I love, love, love! I can honestly say that I will never miss eating a crappy frozen diet pizza again, or any other store bought frozen pizza. I don't believe I'll even miss ordered pizza. It was that good!

There are other lifestyle changes that I'll write about later. I'm sure your butts are already numb from reading this long (sorry for the rambling, but I guess you're used to that from me by now...ha!).

Have an awesome day! It's a blizzard outside, so I'm going to go make up some recipes to freeze. :)

Holiday Eating Tips

10 Holiday Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat step #3.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello!

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table--like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa--position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over. But hurry--January is just around the corner!

My Most Recent Appointment

I had another appointment with the holistic Nurse Practitioner regarding all my thyroid and hormonal "issues" yesterday and if you'd like, you can read about what I found out here, on my other blog: Climbing A Mountain

Veggie Tales...Well, And Fruit

For Easter last Sunday I had mentioned I was going to "bedazzle" some veggies and fruits to take to a family gathering at the home of Jay's Aunt & Uncle.

I tried, I really did. But what do you bedazzle some celery with? How do you make Kiwi sparkle? And how do you get it to stay? And not be poisonous? These are the things you really need to think through before you open your trap and declare "It's On".

During the sunrise Easter service, I started thinking about all that I had to do in a fairly short amount of time to get the centerpieces done and right there in the balcony I started to freak out. I leaned over to Chelsea and whispered "I just want to say thank you very much." She smiled and said "Your welcome. (pause) For what?" I said "For the help you're going to give me when we get home."

See how nicely I slid that in without her barely even noticing? Novice moms take note. THATs how you get kids to help. To heck with the whole "please" and "giving of yourself" stuff. You have to be sneaky!

Once home, we all changed and I started pulling out all the veggies and fruits I had prepped the day before, including the one I had cut in to flowers using cookie-cutters (cute, right?). It also included the mushrooms I had dyed like Easter eggs (there's something you don't see every day).

Austin informed me the fridge reminded him of one of those clown cars....I just kept pulling more and more and more out of it in a seemingly never-ending line of food.

I had printed pictures off the internet of edible centerpieces and we decided which one we were going to attempt. "Attempt" is the key word here. It didn't take long and we decided an original idea is always better than a copycat, which actually meant ours was looking nothing like the pictures.

Then, as happens quite frequently in our house, the giggles started in. We laughed and laughed and the harder we worked, the sillier we got, and the more we laughed.

With the fruit, we decided the thrill was starting to dwindle rapidly, so we made a bunch of fruit kabobs and arranged those. It still turned out looking ok and cute (in my opinion).

To finish things off, we scooped out the innerds of a couple of different bell peppers and put 2 kinds of veggie dip in them. Simple, but cute.

When all was said and done, Ashley declared herself the "Most Tiredest Of Them All" and took a quick nap with Tucker before we had to leave.

So here they are....our fruit and veggie Easter baskets. Except for the baskets and a couple of flower & egg adornments, everything is edible.

Bread Pudding

I included a picture of some bread pudding I made in my project 365 photos and I had people comment and email that they'd like the recipe, since I made it a healthier version, so here ya go:

Ingredients:

6 slices of day old bread (I used Sara Lee's 100% multi-grain bread)
2 tbsp I Can't Believe It's Not Butter ~ squeeze

1 c. Egg beaters

2 c. Skim milk

3/4 c. Splenda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla

Can add 1/2 c raisins (but I left these out)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

Tear bread into pieces into an 8" square baking pan. Drizzle the ICBINB over the berad and sprinkle with raisins if used.

In a medium mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, splenda, cinnamon & vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 min, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

NOTES:

Now, in the picture I posted (which is also here to the left), you can see that I obviously did not use wheat or multi-grain bread. That's because I was out when I made that particular recipe, but the next time I made it I did use the multi-grain (45 cals per slice) bread, but forgot to take a picture of it...which explains the white bread picture.

This is the easiest recipe ever, which you know has to be true, because I didn't screw it up...and that's rare! If you're in the mood for some comfort food, try this recipeIt's really good! I promise, you won't regret it!

Nutritional Info:

If you figure in 6 total servings (which are good size servings and that's exactly the size you want when having something this yummy), here's the stats per serving:

Calories: 110

Total Fat: 2.3

Sat Fat: 0.6
Cholesterol 2.0
Sodium 262.5
Total Carbohydrate 16.8
Dietary Fiber 2.5
Sugars 1.3
Protein 9.8

And if you are following Weight Watchers, it figures out to only 2 points per serving. How awesome is that???

Vision Board

Way back when I first started on the road to getting healthy (2005) I joined an online forum that I am actually a co-host of today. It's a great place for women only and we offer each other support, comfort, ideas and the occasional booty kick when necessary.

One of the best ideas I found on there was called the Vision Board. You take pictures or words from the internet or magazines or wherever you can find them and glue them to a board. The board can be whatever size you want, but it must contain pictures/words that motivate you and encourage you to reach your goals.

Here's my vision board that I made. It sits in my office where I can see it every day.



On my board I have many different things as you can see. I have motivational quotes such as "Nothing is impossible" and "Keep Your Eye On The Prize". I have uplifting quotes such as "Triumph is just umph added to Try" and "Your Worth It". And I have pictures of somethings I work towards such as hubby and I want to back to the Bahamas again someday so I have pictures of white sandy beaches, and I also think it would be fun to take a trip to Vegas to renew our vows, so I have a picture of a Vegas sign.

It doesn't matter what you put on your board. Everyones is different. The most important part is that you put it where you see it every . single . day.

This works not only for weight loss, but just living a healthier lifestyle, business goals, and any goals you have in mind. Children can even make them. It's a great visual for those who are even too young to read. I've also heard of Sunday School and Bible School classes using them.

If you made a vision board, what would you put on it?