Well my friends I’m not doing so hot with the whole “blog once a week thang,” dang it. I’m trying….but the days just keep getting away from me!!!
Well, I had a birthday last week! It was a very fun day. <3
Ya know, for some reason this year I kept forgetting that my birthday was coming up! Super weird. I usually really look forward to birthdays! It’s not like I was dreading it or anything, I just wasn’t really thinking about it! I’m wondering if subconsciously I was thinking, “Holy crap I’m getting old, so let’s just not think about that!” Ha ha.
I really love birthdays guys! It’s like your own personal holiday where you can just check out of life and do whatever you want for the day! It’s blissful. I also love that on my birthday I get to spend time with my very favorite people and I love that all of my other favorite people out in the world reach out to me via text, phone calls and social media. It just makes for a wonderful day! <3
Kev took the day off, which was nice. We went to see The Greatest Showman for the FOURTH time! Ha ha!
I am still not sick of that show! In fact, I think each time I see it, I love it even more! I’ve never felt that way about any movie.
I don’t particularly love the storyline, per se, but the music, messages, dancing, actors and choreography are ahhhhhhmazing! It really is just so fun to watch and is such a “feel good” show. I think that’s why I just don’t get sick of it.
Oh, and it’s so cute because my three year old loves it too! He asks me to play the music all the time and he sings several of the songs around the house, particularly Never Enough and This is the Greatest Show. 🙂 While we were watching the movie on my birthday, he had to go to the bathroom. So, as I took him out he said, “Hurry, this is a good part!” “I don’t want to miss it!” It was right before the song, This is Me.
Too cute.
Well, later that night, Kev and I took some of the kiddos out to The Old Spaghetti Factory.
It was so good! I ordered my usual, spaghetti topped with marinara and mizithra cheese. Love! <3 I also got some grilled chicken on the side that I put on top of my spaghetti to up the protein!
After we got home, Kev and I went to ANOTHER movie! Ha ha! We went to see The Post.
It was good, interesting, informative and I loved all the actors, but it was a little slow moving and booooorrrrring! They did a great job with it though, I just think the subject matter required it to be a little slow.
Ya know, back in the day Kev and I used to go to movies almost every weekend! Now, we hardly ever go. It was nice to go to TWO in one day! 🙂
Well that about sums up the birthday!
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Well, I want to talk for a sec about my current “diet” and mindset. I’ve been telling you guys a lot lately about how frustrated I’ve been because I gained about 10-ish pounds over the holidays and my body has felt out of whack and hasn’t wanted to let go of any of those pounds!
Side note: That is NOT like my body at all! Over the years I seem to gain and lose 5-ish pounds all the time, but NEVER TEN (unless I’m pregnant!) AND, whenever I do gain a little weight, I can usually get it to come off fairly easily.
Well this weight has not wanted to budge and my body has just felt a little “off.” I’ve felt a little bloated and like my body is carrying weight around my middle. That’s also been super weird because I never gain weight around my middle. My stomach is usually always flat and if I gain weight, it just gets wider, not poofier.
Well, my stomach’s been feeling and looking poofier! I’ve also felt a little bit more tired and run down as well. I can just tell my body hasn’t been functioning optimally.
Sooooo, after doing some research and deep thinking, I’ve decided that my body might be inflamed. These two articles in particular spoke to me;
6 Signs Your Body is Inflamed (and what to do about it!)
11 Food Rules for the Ultimate Anti-Inflammatory Diet
A lot of factors contribute to inflammation namely stress, sleep deprivation, illness and sugar, refined carb and processed food intake.
After looking at those factors, I realized I’d certainly been living a life that would be prone to inflammation! In December, I was sick, ate a crappy diet, ate too much sugar, didn’t get quality sleep and was living an extra hectic busy schedule! I’m thinking it just got my body out of whack and that’s why I gained weight and that’s also why it’s been so hard for me to lose much of it!
Soooo, last week I decided I needed to cut sugar out of my diet. I also decided that I need to make some permanent healthy living changes in my life!
Ya know, I’ve cut sugar out of my diet many times and for months at a time. I always learn so much and am so glad I do it! It always makes me feel better, strengthens my willpower and self discipline and just teaches me that I can live without it for a while!
BUT, in the past, after my “no sugar challenges” are over, I always bring sugar BACK IN my diet in moderation. I’ve been A-OK with that because I’m trying to find that balance in my life…..eat well, but enjoy some of my favorite treats on occasion as well.
I usually do okay with the whole “in moderation” part for a few weeks or a month or so and then it seems like sugar creeps in my diet and my life more and more! I start to crave it all the time and find myself mindlessly consuming it here and there.
Then a whole downward spiral begins….cravings increase, appetite increases, I eat more sugar and just more crappy food in general, my body becomes run down and tired, so I eat even more crap, my hormones get all messed up, I start to gain weight and feel like crap.
It’s not fun.
Soooooo, this time I’ve decided that I need to change how I do things!
Side note: So many people out there want to and try to lose weight. They eat well, exercise more and eventually lose weight! THEN, over the weeks, months and years, they slowly go back to their old ways and gain all the weight that they had lost.
I’m sure all of you out there have seen this scenario play out many, many times in the lives of people you know or even in your own lives.
Well, I realized that that is EXACTLY what has been happening to me with my sugar consumption. Same exact thing. I cut my sugar intake for a while, see and feel great results, but then I eventually go back to my old habits and a whole slew of crappy symptoms and issues come roaring back!
I essentially never change.
I’m grateful my body has been so psycho lately because it’s made me realize that I need to permanently change the way I do things ’round here! So, for now I’m just cutting all the crappy sugar out of my diet; donuts, cookies, candy, chocolate, soda, etc. I don’t have an end date in mind. I’m just cutting it out. I’m still having fruit, FYI.
I’m not even sure when I want to bring sugar back into my life, but when I do eventually have it again one day, I plan to have an entirely different relationship with sugar.
I could go on and on and on about how addictive sugar is. I think you guys all probably already know that. But I’m serious when I say I believe it is just as addictive as any drug out there. It really is. I know SO MANY people who are terribly addicted to it and can’t imagine ever cutting it out of their lives.
I know that I am an addict. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? 😉
I’ve known that for years and have tried many times to get a grip on that addiction.
Sometimes I do okay with it and sometimes I just don’t.
So, with all that being said, I’ve decided that sugar is just not going to be a huge part of my life anymore. It makes me a little sad, but mostly it makes me feel liberated to say that! It’s had such a hold on me pretty much my entire life and I think as I’ve become older, I’ve been able to see and feel the negative results of sugar consumption on my body and overall health even more.
It kind of ticks me off how much damage it does to my body and mind! Soooo, for now I’m just not having it. I’m going to keep it out of my life 100% until I feel like my body has calmed down and is functioning well again.
Then after my body starts to feel more normal, I’m STILL going to keep it out of my life because I want my body to stay normal! However, I might reintroduce some of my healthy treats and see how my body responds to that. We’ll see. I’m thinking that long-term I just don’t want to have any of the traditional sugary stuff in my life! I know that sounds crazy, but I really think I need to do it.
I value an energetic, healthy, vibrant, happy, fully functioning body more than cookies! I’m also hoping that if I have some of my healthy treats on occasion that my body will handle it well and it won’t make me start craving ALL THE SUGAR again!
Bottom line is that I know I can’t just keep doing what I’ve always been doing. I need to make some real changes and I really feel like this is what I should do.
Yes, it kind of sucks, but I mostly think it’s a really, really good thing!
Soooooo, I started last Monday and I feel pretty good! My cravings have gone down quite a bit. In fact, I really haven’t craved sugar too much because it just kind of ticks me off how much it messes with me! I really have just not even wanted it.
I’m happy to say that I can feel small positive changes happening in my body. I’ve lost a few pounds and I don’t feel quite as bloated. It’s just subtle, but I’m happy to be on the right track. I’m prepared to stick with it for the long haul and just be patient.
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Well, I think I’ll be quiet about that now! I’ll share with you guys some of the healthy meals I’ve been enjoying lately.
I’ve still been loving my green smoothies most days!
I also usually have some sort of egg creation most days. This has been my favorite as of late…
It’s usually 150-190 grams of scrambled egg whites mixed with sauteed onions and peppers and topped with a little guacamole, lite sour cream and pico. Sometimes I add a little cheese, salsa or ketchup.
I just have to say that the guac and sour cream make the eggs so good! I was starting to get sick of eggs, but now that I’ve been adding the other stuff with it, I love them again! <3
I made this for dinner the other night and it was so good!
It’s my Cheesy Vegetable Soup recipe and I love it! All my kids love it too, even my picky eaters! I served it with bread for my kids and I pulled out a couple of small turkey burgers out of my freezer for me! It was perfect.
I made this for dinner the other night and it was awesome!
I made Sweet and Sour Meatballs from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and they turned out so yummy! I used lean ground turkey and they were so quick and easy to make! I loved that they didn’t have as much sugar as other meatball recipes. A quick tip: I used a small cookie scoop to form the meatballs and put them on the pan. It made the whole process so slick!
I made some brown rice and veggies on the side. I really loved this meal and will DEFINITELY make it again! All of my kids loved it too! YAY!
I also made another one of our favorite recipes last week, Burrito Bowls!
I really love this recipe! I just made some pulled pork in the Crock Pot and my kids had pulled pork sandwiches. Kev and I made ours into burrito bowls by mixing the pork with Cilantro Lime Brown Rice, black beans, lettuce, sour cream, guac and pico. SO DANG GOOD!
I also made this a couple of nights ago and I’ve loved having it in my fridge….
It’s just homemade guacamole and sweet potato chips! I love this combo! I used to make this ALL THE TIME when I did Whole 30. Both the guac and the chip recipes are fairly quick and easy to make and it’s just so nice to have an easy, healthy and tasty snack available in the fridge when a need a little somethin’ somethin’.
Well that’s about it! Since I’m cutting the sugar, I’m trying to focus on good, clean, YUMMY non sugary foods! It’s been great. I’ve been eating very well, but I’ve still had a few indulgences here and there (i.e. my birthday spaghetti dinner.) It’s been perfect though because I’m thinking “long-term lifestyle thang.”
I hope you all have a wonderful night and a great Valentine’s Day tomorrow! <3 <3 <3
Dear Melanie,
I love,love,love your blog!! I read your blog almost every week and it always puts me in a good mood.
The recipes,the places you go,the pics you put up are gorgeous! !
Regarding the sugar addiction,you can try the hypnosis videos available on youtube. They are really helpful and totally helped with my chocolate addictions.
The following info is for you or anyone else who seem to be doing everything right but isn’t losing weight:
you can get yourself checked for excess Estrogen also known as Estrogen Dominance. It can make you poofy.
Another reason is Insulin resistance wherein the insulin keeps accumulating and gives you a poofy look. So good luck with everything.
You truly are an inspiration.Looking after the kids and cooking and exercising. Looking forward to more of your lovely blog posts!! 🙂
Oh, thank you so much for your sweet comment Pooja! It really means so much to me. <3 I also really appreciate your amazing tips and advice. I want to look into those hypnosis videos on YouTube. They sound intriguing! Thank you again so much for reading my blog and for your support. 🙂
Great way to listen to your body and what is helping you and harming you. I think if more people did this we could avoid a lot of ailments. The anti-inflammatory diet is a great start! My sister in law dropped 20 pounds by cutting out sugar and other toxins, as well as regulating her cycle.
Thanks Charlotte! I’m always so amazed how much better I feel when I cut sugar. So sad, but true! That’s amazing about your SIL!