are YOU reading my blog? ;)

HEY!



well, i just have to ask...if you ARE reading my blog, what do you think? i have had a LOT more hits to my site in the last several months. maybe peeps are just passing thru...but if you're reading this, then i would love to hear from ya! i mean, isnt it the dream of all bloggers to have readers comment on their posts? HEHE!



no, im not begging for one-night-blog-comment-stands. LOL! (did that make sense? HEHE) i mean, if you're a regular reader you MUST be interested in my thoughts. maybe its cause you think im a freak or so messed up that its cheap entertainment ;) orrrr maybe the things im interested in are intriguing to you as well. WELL...no matter what the reason, get over your shyness and drop me a note. i need more reasons to write!



and--if you're someone i know in person, that is even more reason for you to make yourself known! ya know, i started this blog as just a way to get down my personal feelings once i embarked on my weight-loss journey. then after a while, i decided to make it available for the public to read, so that maybe others with the same struggles and thoughts could be inspired or even let me know what they are dealing with! that's mostly what its about, especially now that i have other health issues i am working thru as well.


but i'm willing to talk about most anything, and if my readers are curious as to what i think about certain topics then i wanna know :) and i suppose its just because i am trying to venture out AWAY from being obsessed with food, health, weigh-ins, etc...altho dont worry (or maybe do worry? LOL), those things will always be a part of my blog. i just think it would be fun to chat about other things sometimes--and well, sometimes i am just stuck on what i should write about! i need some innnsspirrration!



okay well anyhoo, that's it for today. *lol* its just been driving me crazy cause other than one of my good friends, i havent had any comments since i started writing and i get dozens of hits a week. which okay, i know isnt hardly as much as many sites, and that part i really dont care about--i just wanna know who is stalking me every week and what they think, too! LOL!!!



im doing a superfun computer reinstall today--oh yay. :| so, hopefully i'll be back tomorrow morning to inform you of my monday weigh-in!



thanks for stopping in and i'll talk to ya'll soon!!!



~jos~ <--- enjoying some reallllly superyummy organic french roast decaf. YUM!!

life's good :)

heyyyyy :D



i know i know, its been a few weeks. honestly, ive thought of blogging tons of times, but what i thought of to say was just so repetitive. redundant. the same ole. hehe. i have finally (mostly) gotten out of my stressful-thinking-about-what-if-about-my-health rut. obviously i am still doing some reading and working on tweaking my diet, but i am busier, and it helps! hubby and i started going to a SNAP Fitness nearby and it feels awesome to do some weight training!! i despise cardio machines, but i force myself to walk on the treadmill at least while usually watching some goofy HGTV show or game show that gets my mind off how much i hate cardio machines. LOL! i have also been doing yoga at home (cant afford to do classes and SNAP both!) and it feels good to be sticking with that again.



what really helped me get out of my rut was going to see my naturopath a few weeks ago for a 6ish month checkup! as soon as she saw me come thru the door she said, "JOSEY! oh my gosh! you look so wonderful!" i guess i just thought i had a bit of a tan, and that's it. LOL. but the last time she saw me was a month after my laparoscopy, and i was pretty beaten down. she commented that my skin, eyes and even hair looked "vibrant and healthy." sounds cheesey, but i REALLY needed that!!



i mean, we look at ourselves every day in the mirror and dont say things like that to ourselves. heck, i would guess most of us dont make it a point to notice if we DO look better. i suppose i have lost another 10lb or so since seeing her last.



she spent 2.5 hours with me chatting about the changes i've made and finding about how im feeling now. right away during the exam she mentioned me having digestive issues, and i was so glad she figured that out. its basically caused from all the years of eating crap--mainly FAST FOOD --and has just built up inside me and is causing lots of ickies. so, for the next month i am focusing in on that cause having those problems is no fun!!!



in fact...im seriously thinking about just ditching fast food forever. ohhhh the pain of thinking of no more big mac special sauce or oreo sundaes from BK!! :'(



but here's the thing--in the last month, every single time i eat out (usually fast food), just a few hours later i go on this funky sneezing fest! then for the next 2-3 days i am miserable--sneezing, stuffed, chapped nose, headache, etc... i told my naturopath about it and she said as time passes and we rid our bodies of built-up toxins (or even sometimes if we are just wayyyy too overloaded with them), we become more sensitive to when we consume them (or even use them on our bodies). i believe it!!



so, this is a VERY good deterrent for me to NOT eat fast food. in fact, i was telling my hubby just last nite that im almost to the point of not feeling as if it is a "treat" anymore. it just makes me miserable after snarfing it! in many ways i am thankful for this because my battle with fast food has snowballed into a lot of stress for me lately. not only do i not want to participate in the sneeze-fest, but it is more apparent to me that what is in that "food" is not being accepted by my body. its trying to tell me something!!



so let's see. what else is goin on here...? *thinks*



well, one thing that has really helped me this last week especially, is a good old buddy of mine whom i've gotten back in touch with this summer. she moved away my senior year of high school and we've not seen each other since (15 years if you MUST know. )!



i am actually going to visit her at the end of october and am SO EXCITED! how she has helped me is to completely re-inspire me to be enthusiastic about eating healthily and just getting healthy in general. despite her own limitations because of weight, health issues, and habits, in the last few weeks she has gone from eating fast food 2 or more times a day and not being able to handle walking around the grocery store to shopping once a week for almost all her meals, COOKING, and going on walks or 15 minute dance sessions around the house!!



...and her mood has drastically improved, and she doesnt feel as winded walking up stairs...and she is totally stoked about eating home-cooked food! ISNT THAT AWESOME??



and here i am, miss "i know all about nutrition and exercise," whining that i cant have fast food, making excuses to skip exercising, and crying about poor-me-why-is-life-so-unfair!!!



i have absosmurfly NO REASON to be like that!



kelly has helped me reassess my thinking and realize how fortunate i am to have the knowledge i do. what a waste for me to not follow thru. i am so thrilled to be here for her and help her along her journey, but she has no clue how much she is inspiring me as well. she has many more limitations than me, but she is doing it anyway! we'll both have bumps in the road, but i couldnt be happier to be able to share struggles AND successes with her in this area of life!! it is making a difference in her happiness already!!



welp alrighty, i should head outta here. gonna skip on over to the gym soon! have an AWESOME week!!!!



~jos~

too much thinking

hey all =D



well i certainly hope i'm not the only one in the world who just thinks too much! since i posted my last blog, something kinda mack-trucked me *lol* i mean, i've already discussed with you folks how i know i am a chronic over-analyzer ;P but i never took it seriously that it could be detrimental to my health!



i'll just cut to the point--i think too much about my health, especially the "what ifs." it stresses me out! and stress is bad for your health! (duh.)



i mean, yes, i know i have a disease (endometriosis), but its not fatal. just because i have it doesnt mean i will get some sort of female cancer or other superserious disease despite what my over-paranoid mind thinks. and im not laid up in bed in excruciating pain half the month like many women who have it. im very fortunate.



my mom said to me on the phone yesterday that i take better care of myself than anyone she knows. i was surprised to hear that! i am always comparing myself to the people who have wills of steel, who can reach their goals in record time, and exude the air of perfect mental, physical and spiritual health. of course, they arent perfect--and most of them have more than likely been down the road i am traveling right now!



i need to be happy in the here and now. i need to STOP WORRYING because i am missing out on enjoying the blessings i have in my life!!



my hubby rocks, my pets make me laugh, i have great family and relationships, i dont work outside the home and i have plenty of free time. i AM healthy. i love where i live.



so WHY AM I STRESSED OUT? there's absolutely no reason to be. am i just so bored that its the only thing i can find to do?? LOL!



okay im starting to ramble. *teehee* i may not have typed much (um okay, much for ME. LOL) but i have a gazillion thoughts running thru my over-analyzing little mind! what i'm getting to is that even tho i have this thirst for more and more knowledge on nutrition, health, healing, and weight loss, i honestly believe i need to slack off a LOT on that and just LIVE.



enjoy life and find some purpose instead of focusing on ME ME ME.



what's the point of having good health if all i do is sit around worrying if my good health isnt as good as i think it is? ROTFL!



my hubby told me the other day i have all the knowledge i need to be free of my endo symptoms, lose weight, and be healthier. i know he's right. i need to put my plan of action in play and be as consistent as i can, and NOT OVER-ANALYZE it and change it everytime i read something new!



i need to fill my time with some creative, artistic hobbies, being more active or even more volunteering. i realize now that i sit around reading too much, filling my mind with doubt that im not doing something right and then, once again, i am stress and anxiety-filled. it does bad things to me! (racing heart, upset stomach, fatigue, fitful sleep, weird pains!) and it UNdoes all the good things i AM doing! :\



whew, okay! enough lecturing myself!! LOL ;) hopefully this realization im having can be applied to something in your life as well. dont miss out on the wonderful, unique things in your life today...a loving spouse, cute kids, funny pets, sunshine on your shoulders, a thoughtful friend, or heck, just having so much more than we really need!!



(yes, i usually have to end my blog with a relatively cheesey, albeit sincere, thought! hahah!!! )



enjoy your weekend, and dont think too much!!!



~josey~

new month, new goals!

hey!! =D



no, that isnt scrambled eggs...its BUTTER! real, freshly made from unpasteurized milk, from an old-fashioned jersey cow that feeds on nothing but nutrient-dense green pastures and has never been injected with hormones or antibiotics.



did you know this butter is RICH in antioxidants--vitamins A & E, selenium & cholesterol! YEP, surprise. cholesterol IS good for us! it gobbles up those free radicals just like your green tea or vitamin C. this butter also contains lecithin, which helps the body use the cholesterol to keep us healthy.



in addition, the fat supplies our bodies with a means to utilize all the fat-soluble vitamins and provides nourishment for our endocrine system. that's to name just a few good things about this traditional, healthy food!



so pitch your margarine laden with rancid, chemically process oils, void of healthy nutrients and pick up some real, old-fashioned butter. its pretty hard to find the raw milk butter, but even organic cultured butter is good for you :) (it's what i use!) (and no, im not a dairy farmer, nor am i being paid by one to post my opinion about butter! LOL)



okay okay, so enough of the cheesey commercials. hehe!! but i wanted to throw that in there, cause eating butter is just one of the ways i am changing my diet this fall. more on that below!



FIRST...some big news for me! my weigh-in this morning was 201.6!! :D:D YAYYYY!! so i lost 2.2lb last week--and it was even my birthday week! GO ME =) *lol* i think the secret to my success last week was NO FAST FOOD. i even worked in going out to lunch once, out to breakfast once, and having dessert out once (all at nice restaurants, no fast food)! i tried really hard to practice moderation and it paid off. WOOT.



soooo in light of my FINALLY approaching "one"derland *hehe* i have set some specific goals for september. the one i want to discuss is my weight loss goal--i want to finally reach that original 10% loss, which will put me at 195. im positive i can do it! to do this, i have a few objectives:

• MOVE at least 15 minutes EVERY day, doing anything i want! (gardening, yoga, walking, video, biking, etc...)

• do my Zone exercises (from the Paul Chek book "How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy!") every day to reduce stress and build strength
  

• stay away from fast food as much as possible, and when not possible, make the healthiest choice available

• focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods at home including lots of good fats, veggies, fruit and lacto-fermented foods

• take whole food supplements daily (desiccated liver, nutritional yeast, amla, dolomite)

• 
  drink bone broth or homemade kombucha each day before/during meals to aid digestion

• track food on FitDay for the first week of the month

so whew! sounds like a lot of things to keep in mind, but i have really already been doing it, just not so consistently except for the past few weeks. which has obviously reaped benefits! so you're probably wondering what the butter dealeo is, and probably what in the heck my supplements are, and lacto-fermented stuff is and what is this bone broth and kombucha?? well...read on to find out!



a few blog posts ago i talked about coconut oil. the book i read was by Sally Fallon, who is the founder of the the Weston A. Price Foundation. this website is packed full of interesting, intriguing, and ah-ha! bits of information that have really got me thinking!



basically, this foundation and its idea of how we should be eating is based on traditional ways of preparing and preserving foods, in addition to consuming traditional foods (raised organically and pasture fed) like organ meats and fat, eggs, butter, lard, etc... of course in our lifetime, most of these ideas have been shot down by organizations claiming this traditional way of eating is bad for our hearts and causes cancer.



but what they purposely fail to mention are the studies done by Dr. Price, in addition to tons of other studies they've "hidden" from the public eye, that prove those diseases have only progressed since we have become industrialized, and eat "industrialized" foods...this should make it clear to us that those "industrialized organizations" are only out to get our money! (that's the quick way of saying it. LOL) i dont want to go on and on here, so if you're interested, you really need to check out the Weston Price website yourself.



i will admit, had i not been at this point in my life where i am educating myself on how my body works and how i can heal myself from endometriosis and other ailments, im sure i would be quite skeptical about this traditional view. however, their school of thought has fulfilled that need of mine to get back to a simpler way of living which includes knowing exactly what i eat and where it comes from--and that it is REAL food.



i realize not everyone feels this way, as we want to trust the big health organizations, our doctors, and maybe even what our parents know and how they raised us.



but we also want convenience, and many dont realize it but even our taste buds are "brainwashed" hehe...all the artificial sweeteners, preservatives and flavor enhancers have dulled our ability to appreciate real food as we were meant to consume it. it has taken me nearly 5 years to enjoy eating things like peppers, tomatoes, onions, spinach, and TONS of other COMMON produce, and i still have a long way to go to totally embrace this traditional way of eating (organ meats? EWW! LOL).



soooo anyhoo, moving on...i still trust and respect my naturopath's advice when she advised me of nutrients in which i am deficient. but instead of taking the synthetic forms of vitamins as supplements, i have now switched over to the following whole food supplements!

• calcium/magnesium: dolomite powder (i add it to my coconut milk smoothies at breakfast)

• B vitamins: nutritional yeast (NOT the same as brewers or baking yeast! so far, i add it to my smoothies as well or dissolve in a small glass of water)

• B12: desiccated liver

• vitamin C: amla berry

• omega fats, vitamins D & A: cod liver oil (i take it straight right before a meal)

• thyroid function support: tincture of dulse, bladderwrack, wild lettuce and irish moss

• endometriosis scar tissue "clean up": tincture of greasewood, red clover and bucho

in addition, i have began making bone broth (aka chicken stock!) to drink with meals and my hubby and i also make kombucha at home. (i guess kombucha is the latest craze at health food stores--dont buy it! LOL! its expensive, plus usually pasteurized which kills all the beneficial bacteria. we can make a gallon of it at home for about $1!!!) both of these drinks are very beneficial for digestion and also help our bodies better utilize all the nutrients we consume, in addition to providing nutrients themselves!



i have also started cooking with butter and ohhhh man do things taste good *lol* i really dont cook with olive oil to fry anymore, and instead i use coconut oil because it is more stable at high temps. i use olive oil "raw" in salads or to marinate veggies or meats. dont forget, i lost over 2lb last week eating this way!! so to me, even just that says quite a lot :D



but even better, i feel fuller faster and for longer, so im not feeling like i need to snack all day long. woohoo!



WHEW okay! i have blabbed on long enuff ;) of course you know me, i have gobs more i could say *hehe*



so there ya have it, my new, revised BETTER plan for reaching my health goals and living a happier, higher quality life!! i think finding what is right for each of us takes time, educating ourselves on what works and what doesnt, and knowing and listening to our bodies and our gut instincts.



dont fall for every quick-fix pill, fruit juice, special diet and fad out there! there are ways to slowly change our habits to form a way of life--something we can do long-term and continually reap the benefits :):)



be well and have a safe labor day!



~josey~