Posted in Healthy Living
if you evaluate your diet at MyPyramid.gov. I have had to do that for my nutrition class. Here is what I have found.
I am doing great with...
* Fiber intake is awesome! I should NEVER have colon issues if I keep this up.
* My protein is right on the money. I am eating just the right amount every day for the most part even with my mostly vegetarian tendencies. I eat protein with every meal and snack. I eat lots of beans, nuts and seeds and whole grains and they are fabulous for you.
* Most days my calories are right on the money, too. There are usually the Sunday splurges like yesterday with apple pie but I am staying on task the rest of the week.
* My vitamin and mineral intake is pretty good - above most average American diets anyway and that is good.
* My fat intake is AWESOME!!! ....very low most days
* My cholesterol intake is quite low, too, and I eat the right amounts of good fats and hardly any bad fats.
* Right on the money salt wise...
The bad...
* I do not get enough dairy. I cannot drink milk because it makes my stomach do somersaults - lactose intolerance. I can, however eat most cheeses and yogurt so I need to up those as well as adding some cottage cheese from time to time.
* I am usually one shy of my 5 a day on fruits and veggies so I need to throw in an extra serving or more a day to make it happen. This is not a problem since I love veggies and fruits but it is when we are on such a tight budget. Fruits and veggies are often quite expensive fresh in our area unless they are in season and so I need to just suck it up and make the effort to have them on hand all the time.
* My exercise needs to be more frequent and regular
* My water intake is hit or miss. About four days a week I do great and the other three I am thirsty all day. That needs to be much more consistent.
I am going to make the changes necessary and then see how I do. My weight has been the same for a very long time so I know I am not eating too much. I need to up the exercise and strength training in all my spare time... LOL and see what happens there, too.
I have my first test and assignment due on Wednesday. We have a big research project and I am doing it with a culinary friend in class. We evaluated her diet on Saturday when I went over for a study session and she only had 500 calories on Friday!!! YIKES!!!!! She is going to try and eat more this week... Our research project is going to be nutrition and type 2 Diabetes. This is going to be good! I am hoping to learn a great deal since this topic is such a mystery to me and my mom has it. It will be good to learn these things for many reasons.
Posted in Healthy Living
Every now and then a website will stand out as something of great value. Over the years I have found a few of these great sites. I thought I would share them with you...
The World's Healthiest Foods - this site is LOADED with helpful recipes and videos that teach. If you are looking for great food that is healthy and beneficial to you this is the place to go.
Looking for healthy snacks for the kids that you can put together quickly. You might be interested in
ChexMix.com. There are tons of mixes to suit any tastes. We use this site for snacks for the kiddos ALL THE TIME!!!
Better Homes and Gardens has a TON of helpful information, garden planning, health and diet as well as free weight loss planning and recipes. My favorite thing of their's is the WALLPAPER downloads. I have them all on my computer and alternate them often. If you are into food and flowers then I think you will find something you like here. There is something for every season and every holiday, too.
In recent years I have also become a bread baker and have found uses for many grains in our diet. We eat a variety of things such as wheat, millet, quinoa, oat groats, barley, kamut, etc... Here is a site that I have found quite informative for learning about the benefits of grains in the diet. The Wheat Foods Council provides a blog, encouragement and information for moms, kids stuff, recipes and articles, a newsletter, monthly contest and more
One more food site... I LOVE PASTA.ORG. We are eating whole grain pastas in our house now, too. Pasta is really good for you. The low carb lie of pasta and bread being bad for you boils my blood. You can go here to this site and read about how great this food is for you. We eat pasta most days in our home and we are LOSING WEIGHT. Dan and I have lost a total of 38 pounds since June of last year and we eat pasta, grains and 100% whole wheat bread EVERY SINGLE DAY. I have even started making my own from time to time. This is a fun site and full of info and recipes for you to enjoy.
Ok, here is one that is NOT food... LOL Crosswalk.com is a great place to read about faith, raising kids, music news, tools for Bible study and much more. It has recently been updated and is better than ever. Two other favorites of mine in this realm are Lifeway.com and ChristianityToday.com
Love Dr. Sears... great parenting advice and helps. I have been reading his stuff for over 13 years.
One more cool site... www.familydoctor.org. This is the newest one I have found. There are other great medical and holistic sites out there but this is the most recent one I have found for good information.
I wanted to add a HUGE thank you to all of you who are praying for Dan and our family. He goes Monday for his renal testing and then we will have more answers. In the meantime, the doctor has approved a DASH diet plan and we will be strict on it over the next few months. We are all doing this with him. We are dieting, we are exercising, we are cutting salt and fat and sugar, we are taking time to destress. There is nothing worse than being alone in something like this so we are doing the team effort and we will all be better for it.
(((((((GINORMOUSHUGS)))))) for each one of you precious ladies!!!!!!
Posted in Healthy Living
We have all been sick with some kind of head cold for the past few days. Don't you hate the feeling of a summer cold. You don't really want to snuggle under covers because it is too hot and your head is already swimming with allergies from grass and other blooming things. By this time of the day I just want to sit in my chair and nap. So that is what I will probably do when I am finished here.
In other news...Dan has been good about taking meds and vitamin supplements. He is staying on his diet very well, too. When asked if he wanted ice cream after lunch today he asked for one small scoop. I had to ask so that he would not feel slighted. The worst thing about changing your eating is feeling slighted when everyone around you is having something really yummy and you cannot. We are just taking things in moderation. That insures we don't feel like going on a binge. He has also been swimming every day. I am so blessed to have a man who LIKES exercise and food that is good for you. He has NEVER been a picky eater and I am so delighted about that.
I am starting to get some cookbooks in the mail this week that I ordered last week on cooking with low or no salt. Thank you guys for the recommendations you made. I was able to find everything and pay a low price for used at Amazon.com. I am going to be revamping my menu planning using lots of new recipes very soon. I never pass up the opportunity to buy new cookbooks either. LOL Most of you know I collect them. I read cookbooks like most people read fiction. I LOVE COOKBOOKS!!!
I also got up this morning with new resolve - except for not being able to exercise because my sinus cavities are about to explode. (YUCK!) I got out the big calendar and planned out my exercise and food stuff for the next 8 weeks. I am going to do small planning and then work a new plan or extended plan every two months or so. I also added reading and sewing into the mix so I can get all of these books and projects finished. I am taking each week between now and the time we finish our summer break to clean one room at a time. We have to be organized by the time I start school in the fall. So much has to start now so that everyone is organized and on a good routine by the time we get there. We will be taking some vacation time, too, to go and see my folks and then take our annual flyfishing trip. You did know I flyfish right??? ;) Have been for 17 years... more on that later...
I finally got back on track with the LBY Week 9 this morning, too. Wouldn't you know the first day was on submitting to God? I struggle so much with submitting to God. Submitting to Dan is easy because he does not ask me to step out of my comfort zone nearly as much as God does. LOL I will post on this week's study by the end of the week and do all five days at once. Our oldest is really in a rebel against authority mode lately. I know he is trying to find his way in life but we keep telling him that if he doesn't learn to submit to his parents authority how does he ever expect to submit to God. God will ask so much more of him. The preteen and teen years are so hard, aren't they? I struggled with those same feelings but I, now, have a greater understanding of how my parents felt. You just learn to appreciate your own parents more when you have your own children. Submission is never easy but it is very necessary if we ever want what is best for us in this life. God is great about knowing what is best isn't He? Come on, say yes, you know it is true... LOL
And... now for some goals...This week:* Walk every day (after cold subsides)* Do some strength exercises daily - I have a plan written out to keep me accountable* Eat less salt and sugar with Dan
* Take daily vitamins and supplements
* Get to bed earlier so I can be up earlier
* Read Bible every day* LBY daily lesson and two videos this week* Menu planning with salt free recipes* Read on review books (pages per day plan is in effect to stay on track)* This week I am cleaning the front porch and entryway (extensive plan written out already)* Drink 80 ounces water each day.That will get me started on the right foot.
Posted in Healthy Living
Ladies, I am at a point in my life that change must occur or I won't have my husband for much longer. He is sick, VERY SICK, with his blood pressure and it is not getting better. We had to report the office staff for neglecting the emergency status of my husband's condition. His blood pressure medication ran out FOUR WEEKS AGO and the earliest they could "see" him was today. The office manager was FURIOUS, to say the least. She called me and had me run down the account and gave me instructions to prevent this from EVER happening again. The doctor was pretty hot about it as was the nurse. My husband could have had a stroke and the office staff could not "fit him in" for FOUR WEEKS??? Thank GOD for watching over us the past few weeks!!!!!
That all being said, his blood pressure was 190/130 this morning. They took it three times to make sure it was actually that high over the hour he was there. It never went down. He had a migraine this morning before he went which was a huge red flag for us. I cannot help but feel that I am responsible for getting him to watch his diet better. He has not been as cautious with salt as he should but neither have I. I have not made it a priority lately to make our diet what he needs. That is changing IMMEDIATELY. I am going to have to ignore the grumbling and complaining that will ensue. I want my husband to be here with us for a very long time and the one that cooks the meals is the one that holds the cards in this case. Please pray for us.
The coming weeks are not going to be easy but they are going to be CRUCIAL to the welfare and benefit of our whole family. I seriously need some prayer in planning the meals and making sure everything is followed. I do believe that he finally sees the seriousness of taking his meds now. He asked me to get him a weekly pill sleeve so that he can more easily remember to take them. I am getting me one, too, for all my vitamins so that we can do this remembering thing together. We are also going to be keeping each other accountable for exercise and down time. We both need these changes and I want to support him and all of this wholeheartedly.
Pastors tend to be in a very high stress environment and our church would be causing a great deal of stress at this point in our lives. His teaching job and being home with us cannot be easy either. Not that being home with family is bad but it is not his usual routine and he often flounders to find a schedule every summer that works for him and for us while he is home so much. I just want to find more time for us to be a fund family. I want him to be able to relax with us and watch a movie or play with us so that he can have that down time he needs. I am also sending him out each day to go and study at the church or somewhere where he can just do that for himself. He is letting me take classes and the least I can do is encourage his time of study. He enjoys that so much. He LOVES being a student!!! So... life in our home is changing... for the better and non of it will be possible without God's leading and guidance. Pray that we are open and trusting and just plain willing to be obedient no matter what the culinary and physical cost. Thanks!!!
Posted in Healthy Living
Many of you know that I have been struggling with some stomach issues over the last two months or so. I think I have some answers. I have been keeping a food diary and cutting out lots of different foods. I have been symptom free for a little over two weeks and then WHAMMO - I put something in yesterday that triggered a VERY BAD NIGHT again last night. Upon further investigation and consideration of things I ate on the days that I have had the reactions I find that it is POSSIBLE that I have a food intolerance to Sodium Nitrate/Nitrite. Here are the symptoms for a typical food intolerance...
What Are the Symptoms of Food Intolerance?
Symptoms of food intolerance include:
- Nausea
- Stomach pain
- Gas, cramps or bloating
- Vomiting
- Heartburn
- Diarrhea
- Headaches
- Irritability or nervousness
I have 7 out of 8 symptoms EVERY TIME I have had a reaction. The symptoms seem to get worse and appear sooner each time after eating the suspected food. The common link in the foods is the nitrate/nitrite additive. I am now in the process of getting back on my feet after last night and starting over on the elimination process to purge all "possible culprits" from the house.
Thanks so much for your prayers in this process... I will be posting my LBY later tonight or tomorrow but for now I am trying to catch up on fluids and get some rest. :)
