Life moves so fast. It’s like once you start to get a handle on the new normal, life throws you a curve ball (or like, 17), and you’re just trying to figure out which direction is up. Um. I could really use a compass. Needless to say, I will be taking a break from this space until March 1, trying to find balance within chaos, and carving out time for a little rest and relaxation whenever humanly possible.
Until then!
Since early July I have been participating in an online Biggest Loser-esque competition that my mom’s friend puts on several times per year. Well…I won. First place. A cash prize. Me. I am the biggest loser.
I don’t remember my winning weight, but the number below reflects my last weigh-in.
And while I gave you an unannounced sneak peek earlier this week, here’s a few full body shots.
I have so many new thoughts about my weight-loss and instead of diving into a 1,000 word monologue, yet again I’ll try to make my random thoughts appear more organized.
It’s time to get real again. Time to turn over a new leaf and re-motivate. Time to focus on healing my gut and not my pant size. I acknowledge that adhering to my own damn “secrets,” will help everything else fall into place. I’ll want to feel healthy, want to allow myself adequate rest and want to *gasp* exercise. But how does one re-motivate once they’ve spiraled? When one goes on a bit of a bender, it can seem so difficult to get back on track. Especially a recovering food-aholic, and especially one with food intolerances. My solution is to focus on hitting my goals at least 60% of the time. Because before long I’ll start to feel better and that 70, 80, 90, 99% will become easier to achieve. And when I’m hitting my mark, I feel on top of the world. Weight-loss is a journey. What I’ve learned thus far is that:
Here’s the part where I commit to honoring my body by staying away from my food intolerances, eating healthy, getting to bed early and starting an exercise regime. Here’s the part where I build up a bunch of positivity and perhaps, motivate someone else to make a change. But I’m just not quite there yet. I’d be a big phony if I attempted to craft some epic monologue like that. Honestly guys, I need a bit more time to detox from sugar and lack of sleep before I’m capable of that right now. But I’m slowly heading in the right direction. The key is to continue with that momentum, no matter how small. Follow that kernel of desire to change. Refuse to spiral. So now that you’re all semi-pumped up from this post, I’ll leave you with these parting photos.
I might not be this yet, but over the past five months, I’ve come a long way.
Right now I really need to reflect on that, relish in my progress, celebrate it, like truly celebrate, in order to continue making positive steps towards change. I deserve to focus on how far I’ve come, and not how far I have yet to go. Bambino steps.
How are you doing in your quest for health?
I am a total wimp. Approximately 2.5 seconds after KCWC was over (um, your comments were amazing, thank you), I came down with a cold. I am still fighting it and am trying so hard to honor my body right now, slow down and give it the rest that it needs. Easier said than done. Over the past year or so I’ve been photographing our natural cold remedies, and it feels relevant to share a few with you now. Rather than bombard you with all our remedies at once, today I will focus on teas, salves and syrups. These are all so simple and satisfying to make, inexpensive, completely natural and best of all, gentle. Make them ahead of time and save your hide when illness strikes.
The last time we were at the coast, my son developed an extremely high fever. Being away from home, and quite ill, is always a bit scary. Without my books at hand, I turned to the Internet and found this recipe for fever-reducing tea, originally from Mothering. I quickly drove to the nearest herb shop* and gathered the supplies, minus boneset flowers and leaves, which they were out of. But within minutes of administering the tea, his fever started to drop, I kid you not.
Fever-Reducing Tea
2 tsp. dried peppermint leaves
2 tsp. dried yarrow
2 tsp. dried elderflowers
In a small bowl, gently mix the herbs. Measure out 1-2 teaspoons of the mixture and pack into a mesh tea ball. Boil a kettle of water. In a mug, pour boiling water over the herbs, place a saucer over the mug and allow to steep for five minutes before sipping. If your child will not take the tea, try adding a bit of honey, or allow it to cool, pour into popsicle molds and freeze. Add remaining tea to a bath. Store excess loose tea in a glass jar with a screw-top lid, in a cool dark place.
The elderberry is a powerhouse, used to support the immune system, treat colds and flus, and contains loads of antioxidants. I have made this elderberry cough syrup countless times over the past year or so and it has become a family favorite.
I do not just use it for colds with coughs, but whenever a cold strikes and intermittently throughout the heavy cold season due to its immune-boosting effects. My husband and I take 2 tsp. off the spoon every few hours; my son receives 1 tsp. We also like this added to bubbly water. I use the simple recipe found in Amy’s emailorder #11; there is similar recipe found in my favorite herbal recipes
One of the simplest and fastest ways to heal from a cold is to keep your feet covered at all times. Rubbing a simple, healing mixture onto your achy feet adds another layer of cold-fighting to the mix. This economical and easy recipe can be whipped up in less than a minute and is seriously soothing.
Healing Coconut Foot Oil
Gently mix the coconut oil and essential oils in a tin or small glass jar. To use, rub a small amount of oil onto the sickie’s feet and cover with warm socks. Repeat often. I make a fresh batch each time illness strikes and have also used olive oil, tripling the amount, and keeping in a small squeeze bottle. It is also excellent to apply all over the body after a hot bath.
I adore the vapor rub recipe featured in Amy’s emailorder #11, and it is a favorite for rubbing onto backs and chests if there is any congestion present. So soothing, pleasant smelling but not too strong, and best of all, healing. Just like the healing coconut foot oil, my son takes great pleasure in smearing a bit on his chest, under his nose, and then repeating on me.
Be well!
What are your favorite natural remedies for healing and soothing illness?
* Locally I purchase herbs from The Herb Shoppe, New Seasons and this bizarre little shop inside an Old Victorian house on Hawthorne Street just west of The Herb Shoppe. While at the coast in the Lincoln City/Gleneden area, I purchase herbs at the The Herb Store and Trillium Natural Foods. I have also purchased herbs online via Mountain Rose Herbs, which just so happens to be an Oregon-based company as well. There are a lot of hippies in these parts.
** It is important to note that these concoctions work well for me and my family. If you are sensitive to any of these herbs, please do not use. When I prepare natural medicines for my son, I often halve the amount of herbs and oils, or dilute. Tea tree and lavender should never be used on baby boys as it is a hormone disruptor. Sage and clove should not be used while pregnant.
First off, feet are weird. Secondly, I am now in the 160’s. Granted if I had like a sip of water I’d push back into the 170’s but hush now, I AM IN THE 160’s! For those keeping tabs on my journey, that means that I have lost over 40 pounds, the majority of that occurring within the past three months. This also means that I am at the half-way point of my weight loss goal. In all honesty I hesitate even posting that I have a goal at all, because I truly just want to feel healthy and be active. So if I end up being smaller or larger than this, that suits me fine. So what does 169.8 look like?
K. I realize I have yet to show you a full body shot. Later. I promise. And PS I don’t think I’m cool. Taking photos of yourself is seriously awkward.
I will share my three key secrets to weight loss later in this post, but first I want to reflect on what my mind has been going through, a roller coaster to say the least. Weight loss is not just about the shrinking number on the scale; with each pound shed, the emotions that caused me to gain that pound in the first place seem to wash over me. It takes true courage to allow all of the emotions surrounded with weight loss to surface, deal with them head on, and then release. But that’s how one heals from the inside out. I still have a long way to go, both physically and mentally. Here’s a little recap of this little loop-de-loop of self discovery:
We are all ruled, to a certain degree, by our internal dialogue. Half the battle is becoming aware of the negative self talk and squelching its nonsense whenever possible. The other half is to remind yourself of this: I am strong. I am beautiful. I am worthy. And in my case: I am woman, hear me roar.
Three Secrets to Weight Loss
If you’ve made it this far, I think it only fair to share my three secrets to weight loss. Which really are not secrets at all, but plain old common sense. The days when I feel most alive, energetic and the scale complies, are the days when these three things have aligned:
That’s the magic combo. Throw some good company and a moment to myself in there and I’m spazzing out hardcore. A natural high. There is no secret elixir for optimal health out there people. It’s just good plain self care. I don’t claim to be perfect at hitting these three points on a daily basis, in fact I regularly fail at #1, but making sure to add these into my life more than what I was doing before, has helped me drop those 40 pounds. No one is perfect, and no one expects you to be perfect, except for yourself. The key for me is to forgive myself when I make a mistake, and then carry on.
What is your magic combo? Or which of the three “secrets” would you like to improve upon?
I’m sitting here, with tears streaming down my face, happy tears, joyful tears, in utter amazement at all of the incredibly kind, powerful and positive comments that I received on my last post. Reading each and every one (uhh…many times) has caused my heart to swell, and I swear I’m actually beaming. Seriously. I had a post planned for today, a recipe actually, but like, how can one just continue posting about regular stuff when I just received such an outpouring of love? It was felt. Deeply.
For those of you who are new to this blog, or even to those who aren’t, I need to warn you: I’m not a niche blog. I’m simply much too spastic to post about one topic. So, if you’re coming here to check out my latest sewing project, please forgive if I post endless recipes. And if you’re coming here for a weight-loss/exercise update, or delicious grain/gluten/dairy/soy/sugar-free recipes, I apologize for frivolous posts about my new favorite fabric. I promise I’ll get back to your subject of choice soon.
Lastly, I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: I have learned so freaking much from you guys (or really I should say girls), about your passions, skills and experiences, including those who do not have blogs, and I know this is going to sound insanely cheesy, but it has made me a better person. I’m not so afraid to try new things, throw caution to the wind, and make mistakes. I get energy from you! I am so honored every time I receive a comment, so excited that someone wants to share with me. I’m a dorky, giggly mess. I truly do want to create community in this space. I want to continue learning from you, and I hope I can bring something new to you as well. I cannot express my gratitude enough. So I’ll stop here. You are the best.
PS – I had not lost any weight in 7 days, but the morning after I hit publish, my scale showed 175.8, a 2.6 pound loss. It’s gotta be from your positive energy.
PPS – For a couple weeks now I’ve been tweeting like mad. I try to tweet a photo of every meal, so this is a great way to see what a Paleo diet looks like. And if I skip a meal, it’s because I’m in public or because I’m being glutinous and eating like 17 slices of salami which I did yesterday. Sigh. No one wants to see a photo of that.
PPPS (I promise this is the last one) – I created a new category to record this journey towards health, it’s called Thrive, and located just below the banner. I know, could I get any more ambiguous?
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