weight loss wisdom.....sort of

 Okay so here it is.  A mommy blogging about weight loss.  The picture on the left was taken mid October of 2011.  The picture on the right was taken end of December 2011, 30 pounds lighter.

I feel like one of those women that says, "I lost 30 pounds in two in a half months"  but I did!!!!  I didn't join a diet program.  I didn't even go on a "diet".  Here is the big kicker,  I haven't really started exercising yet. I never started this journey to lose weight, it was just an added benefit that came along with it.   So....how did it happen????    Well have you ever heard the saying, "you are what you eat" ?       I'm guessing that you know which picture is me posing as a number two value meal from McDonald's......

So here is my big secret......        I'm allergic to eggs, wheat, and dairy.....after I took wheat out of my diet (eggs and dairy were already out  )  I lost 11 lbs of fluid  in a week.  The pounds came off from there.   I now sleep through the night and no longer have pain or stiffness in any of my joints.   There is more to it than that though.  It all makes sense in my mind but I am trying to figure out how to tell you without you thinking that I have gone totally nuts!!!

A long lost friend introduced me to a web site that saved  my life!!  Literally!!  It was shortly after my ambulance ride to the hospital when I contacted her and she threw this website at me as a , "well maybe this might help" kind of thing.    It is all about eating right according to your blood type. 

For years I have tried to lose weight.  I hurt all of the time.  I stayed at the chiropractor, up until he told me that there really wasn't anything more they could do to help me.  I would literally walk out of the door and fall out of adjustment. I was in and out of depression. I never slept through the night without waking up with pain. My back hurt, my neck hurt, my wrists hurt my hips were killing me, most of the time.   My knees,.......... well don't get me started on my knees.  I was in so much pain that it hurt if you even touched me.  I had so much inflammation in my joints that I was in constant pain.  I would fight through the pain and exercise anyway.  On average I was loosing around 5 pounds a month or less. 

I started reading the information on this web site.  Then everything started to make sense.  No I wasn't eating alot of fat, but I wasn't eating the things that were boosting my metabolism either. 

So let me just start now with different view on this.  Whether you believe in God or not, you have to at least agree with me that we are all very different human beings.  We are made different, we have different features and personalities.  We also have different metabolisms.  Some people can eat brownies all day long and never gain an ounce.  While other people like me (with a slower metabolism) can dream about brownies and then have to go put on their "fat pants" .

Well the man on this website is suggesting that the quickness or slowness of our metabolism is based on our blood type.  Which is why one plan may work for someone else but not so much for you.  He also suggest that your personalty also differs with your blood type.  You simply find your blood type and read about the many foods that agree with your metabolism.  There are also suggested vitamins to take and or buy.  I didn't buy any vitamins as I felt that I was taking all that I need already.

So here is my one thought......  If God didn't put it in the Garden of Eden......then He probably didn't mean for me to eat it.    I am sorry to tell you...........McDonald's,  Sonic, Krispy Kreme and not even KFC was in the Garden of Eden....I checked..... :) 

It was easy for me to say goodbye to all of these fast food restaurants because of my allergies.  I just simply cannot have anything they offer on the menu.  If it has flour, eggs, or dairy in them.....I cannot eat it. 

My diet consits of Chicken (only breasts, baked very plain no oils),  Fish (baked with a little olive oil to keep it from sticking, salt and pepper, and dill to taste) all the FRESH fruits and veggies I can eat, baked potatoes with salt and pepper only, brown rice, one glass of green tea with honey to sweeten, and as a special treat I will eat sunflower seeds or almonds.  Because of my egg allergy I drink one dairy free, egg free, wheat free, protein drink a day. I don't eat anything processed and only eat single ingredient foods....I know it sounds pretty dull right.  Well as dull as it sounds, with everything I had to take out of my diet I had to change my mindset.  I can no longer eat for fun.  I must eat for fuel.  ( I know this is getting long but stay with me I am coming to a close)  Which is why I don't consider this being a "diet"  it's a new life style.

Sure I was depressed and I cried over the fact that I will never have another birthday cake again, and to enjoy a meal with a bunch of friends is pretty much something that just won't happen.  That in itself was very sad for me.   I also knew that I had three babies who needed their mommy, and not only needed her there, but needed her to be an example.

The first two weeks of this new life style was horrible!!!!  My head was pounding, I was nauseated, I was very HUNGRY!!!  Knowing this was the only way that I was going to feel better I kept it up.   By week three it got easier and by week four....I couldn't believe how good I felt.  I eat all day long but only eat the things that are going to fuel my body.  This being said, my one suggestion is to know your food.  Know what is in it. Look at it and say, "how is this going to help my body function?  What is this going to do for me"  If you cannot answer that question....look it up.    My husband rolls his eyes at me every morning because I say, "pears are essential in a woman's diet, so I must eat one"  :)  I know that turnips have folic acid in them which helps cells replicate normaly and also helps to make SAMe which affects, and may even improve, your mood.  Folic acid is also found in wheat, and red meats which I cannot eat so it is essential that I get it somewhere else.  Cauliflower is good for fighting and reducing the risk of cancer, as are many other fruits and veggies.  Grapes, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, pomogranete and so many more, all are full of antioxidints.  Which to a germ-a-phobic like myself, is something that I won't pass up.  All you ladies struggling with PMS.....try adding shimp to your diet, helps with irritabily mood swings and water retention.  I could go on all day, it is something that I have developed a passion for.   However, knowing that this all may bore you, I will stop and let you do your own research. :)  One last thing on this subject though, wheat is very important in your diet.  I cannot tolorate it, but if you can I am in no way implying that you need to take it out of your diet.  Eat lots of it, it is good for you!!

I am in no way suggesting that if you do this then you will live forever and never get sick and look like barbie for the rest of your life, but I know how I felt three months ago and I know  how I feel now and I hope and pray that I never go back to my old ways of eating.

I leave you with one little note.  I Corinthians 3:16,17 says, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred and you are that temple"  We are put here for a purpose, how can we do that purpose if we are feeding ourselves with the wrong fuel. Fuel that is going to harm us, not help us.  Fuel that will make us sick not better.  Think of it this way.  If diesel was cheaper than gas you wouldn't put it in your car instead .  You wouldn't get very far before your engine decided not to work.  If that is all you ever put in your car then you car wouldn't last too long at all.  Same with our food choice.  Just because it is faster and cheaper doesn't mean that it is the best thing for you, and it's only just a matter of time before your "engine" quits working properly.  God put good nutirtious food here for us to eat.  It is all we need.  Your mind is telling you different,   but I promise you, it's all you need. 

Oh yea :)) Here is the website......   http://www.dadamo.com/

Happy New Year..........

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  Well not just yet, but almost.  As a mother of three I am constantly failing in every aspect of my life.  I am failing as a mother, as a wife, as a follower of God.  I set these standards for myself that are not reachable, and when I fail to achieve them....then I consider myself a "failure". 

Every year we all sit down to make those "New Years Resolutions"  I have made and broken so many.  One year I was "not going to lose my temper "  Then on new years day as everyone just sat around and watched me clean up the mess that was made from the night before......well you can just imagine how long that one lasted.    Another year I was "going to lose 50+ lbs"  then half way through that year we discovered baby number three was on the way and I ended up gaining 50 lbs instead.  Another year I was "going to be the noble woman" Yea right!!  I mean really, have you read about this woman in Proverbs 31???      "She gets up while it is still dark,...."  that characteristic alone would have to take a miracle for me !!! Another year I was "going to be the perfect mom"  I mean really???  Is there such a thing???  All of these resolutions are not reachable!!   I ended up wasting the whole year focusing on the impossible that I didn't see all of the blessings in front of me. Worrying about all of the things that  I needed to change, that I made no progress at all.

I have written a song about this.  It's about how we pray to God to change all of the little things in our life so that we could be "happy" ........... "God if you would just make my children more grateful then I wouldn't lose my temper as much"  "Dear God, if you would just give us a bigger house then i could have my own space and I could spend more time seeking You in peace"  "Dear God don't even get me started on that husband of mine!!! You and me both know that he is the problem not me!!"  "Dear God I am telling you what is making me so miserable!!!  Now I need You to fix it so that I can be happy!!" 

Here is what God said....."I gave you a roof over your head with running water, I gave you three beautiful children.  I gave you a hard working husband so that you could stay home with these children and fulfill your purpose as a mother.  If all of My "BLESSINGS"  are making you miserable then I guess you will have to keep walking around that same mountain until you see your "burdens" as "blessings"  because I am not going to change a thing that I gave you.  The mistake is not with Me, it is with your perspective.   Your children are not grateful because they are watching how ungrateful you are"

God is not going to change your mountain......He is using your mountain to change you.....maybe like me, the one thing that you need to change about yourself this year is your perspective...

Happy New Year to all,...... and my new years resolution is.......to keep on walking until I get there. Without complaining, without question and always finding and enjoying the blessings along the way.......:)

My little song bird.......or not...........

Well folks there she is.  That is my Anna.  All dressed up and doing her thing for the Christmas program at our church.  Anna had a small speaking part and she was to sing with the rest of the kiddos in the choir.

I am a music person.  I sing (A Lot) I play the piano, mostly by ear.  I love to harmonize and teach harmony and this year God has called me to do something new.  I have been writing my own music to sing for the church.  (I may or may not share that with you later)    My job for the kids Christmas program is to teach the kids the music.  Now to do this I must lay all of my "perfection" aside and just have fun.  Kids are cute and Christmas programs are to be cute right?

When I married my husband and heard his version of several songs I knew there was going to be a 50:50 chance that our kids could sing.  Anna has the musical heart of her mother and the voice of her daddy. 

So picture this.  Small  church, filled up with grandparents all ready to see their grandkids shine.  This is their moment.  Their time to shine.  The music starts.  My hands come up to bring them in right where they are suppose to sing and then out of the far left corner is one child singing very loudly, and by very loudly I mean this is the only child you can hear and it is more like shouting. So loudly that some of the older kids quit singing and started to chuckle.  I don't think this child hit one note right. Who is this child and why is he/she screaming???!!!  This is not how we rehearsed this!!  I turn away from my focus of the music for one split second so that I could see who in the world was making all of that NOISE!!!  Imagine the look on my face when I realized that this child singing with every ounce of heart she had, not hitting one right note or even coming close to it. Missing all of the cues, and at some parts of the song she was the only one singing, was none other than my own little Anna.  After a while her little face was turning red because she was singing so hard.

I have to admit I ,at that moment, wanted to put my finger to my lips to tell her to quiet down.  I, at that moment, wanted to stop the music and tell her to just stand there and look pretty.  I know I know what an awful mom I am!!!  "Just leave her alone", you say, "just let her sing".  "bless her little heart"   But I am the musical person.  My kids are supposed to be musical too.  We are suppose to be just like the "Osmond's" or the "Partridge Family" . We were suppose to all sing in perfect harmony while Daddy ran the sound.  At that moment I felt like she was Mumble, the penguin on "happy feet" who (by judging the talent of his parents) was destined to be a great singer. Only, when he tried to find his song, a horrible noise came out instead and shocked everyone. 

As I was trying to block all of this out of my mind and focus on the task at hand, God reminded me of something.  Psalms 100:1  "Make a joyful NOISE unto the Lord...."   Well a noise was exactly what she was making, but then I realized something.  Anna doesn't know that she can't sing.  Anna doesn't know that singing isn't her gift.  Anna does know however, that she loves God and she taught us all a lesson that night.  She was singing with a joyful heart.  She got on stage and sang all the wrong notes with every ounce of heart God gave her, which is what we are suppose to do.............and the whole time.....God heard it in perfect harmony............
                                                                               

Carnitine What????

I would like to introduce you to Anna.  Anna is my first born and the one that put me to the test as a mother.    I am a soft spoken person who lets people walk all over me.  This is a poor quality to have as a mother, and God knew that this  was the one thing that needed to change in me when He gave me Anna.

I am writing this blog because you may be going through the same thing and maybe just maybe this can encourage you or you can encourage me.

When Anna was born she was very healthy.  Her doctor appointments for the first year went great.  I would leave the doctor thinking, "I soooo have this mom thing figured out!!"  When Anna turned a year old she would wake up vomiting.  She would do this for about an hour and then just lay around for another hour.  Then she would get up and play as if nothing was wrong.  This happened on an average of once a month.  I started to get concerned when I noticed this was not something that was going away so I made a doctor appointment.  I was very quickly blown off as a "first time inexperienced mom" and was told that she probably had a virus and to just keep her fluids up. 

I soon began to notice that she couldn't hold any kind of sugar drinks in her system for a long time.  One glass of juice meant one exploded diaper.  As these "episodes" went on and on we continued to waste more time with doctors who said it was a virus and to increase her liquids. We very soon moved on to another doctor who would listen to us.  She was just what we needed to get our answer. She saw Anna once during these episodes and sent her straight to the specialists.

The older she got the worse the "episodes" were.  I remember a time when she vomited 10 times in one hour and after calling her doctor several times we were advised to take her to the E.R. Anna was 3 years old at the time.  Of course by the time that the doctors saw us in the E.R. her "episode" was over and we were quickly sent home.  By this time we had already been seen by an endocrinologist who had cleared her of diabetes, but by testing her for diabetes we noticed that her sugar levels during these episodes were at the lowest 59 and highest 64.  For anyone who doesn't know, your fasting sugar should be around 90 to 100.  So then we were sent to a Metabolic Specialist.  The only one left in the state.  He had is own doctor bag and refused to use any of the tools on the wall.  You know the ones that they use to look into your throat and your ears.  Well when he pulled a huge flash light out of his bag and told Anna to say "ahhhh"  I knew we were in the wrong place!!! 

I put all of her symptoms together and made the choice that she needed to be with a gastrointerologist.   When we came to that appointment I felt a peace.  I knew we were where needed to be.  I explained the symptoms and she wasted no time eliminating things.  Anna was scheduled for a biopsy of her esophagus, stomach, and intestine.  Results came back normal.  Anna then went through what seemed like an endless amount of blood work all results came back normal.  She then went in for a lower G.I.........normal

During this time it was like I could feel everyone saying behind my back "see I told you nothing was wrong with her daughter.  she is just over exaggerating all of this"  I had so many doctors shove me out of the office I was getting discouraged!!  You don't want anything to be wrong with your kids but when you know something is wrong....well you kind of hope something comes back "not normal" so that you have your answer.

The last thing that the doctor suggested is that we wait for an "episode" and rush her to the nearest hospital and get blood work during that episode.

Finally that day came.  She woke up, sugar in the low 60's, then starts to vomit.  We loaded up in the car and headed to the hospital.  This is where God showed me just how a momma bear can fight.  We only had a limited amount of time to get these test. If you remember these tests had to be taking during an "episode" which usually lasted two hours.  So I was not about to wait an hour or more to see someone.  We blow into the E.R and I said, "I need to get labs done on her, and I need to get them done now!!"  Admissions did their best to get us through but our trouble was with the lab tech.  She, of course, was with someone, and I guess that they only have one person in that hospital that can draw blood.  I knocked on the door and she came out and said , "you will have to wait"  Looking back I don't know where this came from other than God, because normally I would have said, "okay we will be right over here" but instead I said "NO!  You are going to listen to me, we have 4 years worth of research invested in this child and a limited amount of time for you to get these test run before we come to the point where we have wasted our time!!!"  She slammed that door in my face and just lucky enough for us some well dressed man came down the hall (I am guessing he was the big dawg of the hospital) and I guess that I had made such a scene , he asked was everything okay.  Before I knew it there were three women ready to take her blood.  She had seven tubes of blood drawn that day.  I remained strong throughout all of this, but at that point I broke down.  I had never cried in front of her but that day I did.  She was so dehydrated they couldn't find a vein and when they finally found one she had cried so much she had nothing left in her to fight with.  She just layed there an looked at the ceiling.  I guess the worse part of all of it is when her doctor asked her at the next appointment if she remembered being sick and going to the hospital she said "No"    I guess it is good that she has no recollection of all of that, but at the same time it was alittle scary for me.

So a month later the phone call came. The call that we had been fighting for now for four years.  A blood test came back abnormal.  Anna had a Primary Carnitine Deficiency (PCD)  With one phone call Anna became 1 in 40,000, and the other two (one being unborn)  were sucked into it as well when we were told it was genetic.  Turns out the mother and father have to have one specific gene each in order to pass this on.

So what exactly is a PCD well,  Her doctor really couldn't tell me.  See she is a Gastro doctor and the doctor we needed was a Metabolic Specialist.  But she explained it as Anna's body breaks down fat but it isn't turned to energy and is isn't taken out of her body as it has to be attached to carnitine (which the normal body makes on it's own) in order to leave her body.  So her fat is burned and then the "ashes", if you will, sit there and become toxic causing her body to go through a metabolic shock.  Her sugar drops she starts to vomit and do anything and everything to get rid of it.

When reading about this we found out that PCD is also mistaken for SIDS.  That the dangers of this is that the sugar can get so low and the right amount of glucose isn't made to bring it back up on it's own and without hospital treatment could be fatal.  We also read that a stomach flu or any illness that causes her not to eat for a long period of time can be fatal.  Without carnitine major organs start to shut down as the fat that isn't carried out of the body starts to attach itself to the heart, kidneys, pancreas.... the list goes on and on.  Not something you want to meditate on but it was what made up our mind that homeschooling was more than likely the best choice for us.

Anna is on a carnitine medicine right now and we have noticed a huge difference in her.  Her energy level was the biggest adjustment that we have had to make.  From the time she is awake to the time she goes down she is nonstop!!  She use to keep dark circles under her eyes that are gone now too.    We have just completed her first full year on her meds and she has had a total of two episodes this year.  Her doctor is very pleased with the way her body has accepted her medicine.  Her dad and I are very grateful to God for the push that we needed, daily to get her to that answer.

It amazes me how great God is.  Imagine being the parent of a child who has something that only 1 in 40,000 people have and in order for her to have it you and your husband have to have one specific gene.  She is a very special child as are all of our children.  I look back on all of the times when I had no clue or thought to even check her sugar.  She was so small.  I cringe at the number of times her sugar may have dropped during the night and I didn't know.  She could have been taken away from us at any given time because of our unknown to even keep an eye on her sugar levels........ but she wasn't........ Someone else was watching her sugar and glucose for me.  That same Person kept pushing me to get that answer, that we needed, to help her.  When others told me nothing was wrong, this Person reminded me of all of the things that were not right.  I am forever grateful to God for Anna.   God chose us..........

                                                                              

Christmas

How true is this cartoon???  We are a "one income" family here.  It was a choice that we felt that was best for us.  It makes it hard.  We give up a lot of things in order for this to work.  This time of year can get really hard.  On top of all of the Christmas needs this year we got slammed with all of the bills from my recent run in with the local moron medical team who sent me home as fast as I came in without any diagnosis or test run but I'm guessing, based on the price they charged me for a 30 min stay in that bed, that Queen Elizabeth and the Pope once slept in it too.  Anyway I am getting off track here!!  Let me focus back into this blog.........

On top of only having one income we have made the choice to homeschool which is also very costly in itself.  All of the material we gather along the way, the teaching materials and the workbooks and the learning tools.  It all adds up and most of the time takes our family vacation away from us.  I'm not sure if we will ever "catch up."  Every time there is a light at the end of the tunnel we seem to hit a road block and have to go another way to find that light again.

With all of the choices we have made Christmas can be pretty stressful so we go a different route with our kids.  I never ask them what they want for Christmas.  I pick out something I think that they would like and it usually isn't the "it toy" of the year. As you can imagine with the rest of our expenses the "it toy" usually isn't in our budget.  This year we (I use the term "we" very loosely here.  We all know that the men in our lives wake up Christmas morning and just watch it happen)  tried something new and catalog ordered everything.  Nothing came from a big name store, and most of their toys they can play with and it also provides learning as well.    By doing this we stay in our budget and also I have seen that the kids have grown grateful for what they have and what they receive. I know what your thinking.  I am the "boring mom"  who buys her kids "boring toys"  but  our days around here are focused on learning and making learning fun.  That is their life style and so when we get a new "learning toy" around here it is exciting for them.

 My oldest this year is very excited about "giving"  She as been working since October making special gifts here and there for the special people in her life.  She has thought long and hard on what to get her brother and sister and daddy for Christmas.  I am so proud of this "want" in her to give to others.  It is something that we will work even harder to establish in the other two children as well.  I would love to one year just give up our Christmas (toys and all) and volunteer at a homeless shelter.  I would love to  give up our Christmas money to a family less fortunate than us and make sure they get a Christmas.  I am like every other mom though.  I love to see my children smile on Christmas, and sometimes as I look at those less fortunate than me it makes me feel selfish. 

We also keep the tradition of baking  my Grandmas Christmas cookie recipe's and giving them out.  She was a very giving woman.  Her door was always open to all and she always had cookies to hand out.  She was called home a few years back.  I miss her so much but I know that I will see her again, and we were left with such a  great gift from her.  Not a gift that we can touch but a gift of memory and example. She was an example to everyone she came in contact with.

So this year let's not forget the reason that we celebrate Christmas.  The Greatest gift was given to us over 2000 years ago.  A gift that I received and you can too.  A gift that guarantees to me that I don't have to say "goodbye" to my grandma or anyone that I have lost in my life....but I just have to say "see you later,"    It's not about the "it gift. It's not about how many gifts. It's not about going into debt to make everyone happy.  This year don't focus on worldly things but focus on your eternity.....your "forever"   Reach out to someone and make a difference, show your children what it means to give, show your kids how good they have it..............Merry Christmas everyone........