Getting on track (again)

So sorry for the delay in my personal wellness update! I had a double birthday BBQ for my husband and son. Then my husband was told he was losing his job in 3 months and then he got another one and we went on vacation... Phew! But we are back and I am attempting to get on track again.

Ever have that one goal that no matter how many times you start it you just seem to fall off it just as quickly? My diet is that goal currently. I know it's important for both my general health and to reach my other fitness goals, yet I seem to have no will power to keep myself disciplined (I used to, though I don't know what happened).

So while on vacation I was texting my sister and told her that I was designing a bunch of different workouts that are easy enough to do anywhere and she said she was interested in trying them out. After all I am a certified personal trainer and have had success with clients who totally changed their diets as well as with those who only partly changed. I should know what I'm doing right?

That's part of what's so frustrating. It's knowing what to do but not knowing how to stick with it. I think I've figured it out though. My friend hired a trainer and only sees her once and only does the workout once or twice during the week. I think she does some running too, and she's getting results where she wasn't before. 

I think it is the conditioning workouts and having that person there to push you every week and make you accountable. No one wants to waste money and knowing you're seeing that person every week makes you want to impress them or at least earn their approval. I used to be that person, and now I need that person. 

My new game plan is to check in with my sister. I told her to keep a meal journal and I am keeping one too. So far it's only causing me to pause before I give in to my wants, but the pause is significantly long whereas before it was just an acknowledgment that I'm breaking the rules as I was breaking them. 

I am also planning to return to personal training and am trying out my programs. This way I don't have to worry about making it to a class and I can expand my repertoire. It was working before I went on vacation and made it to the gym today too so I know I'm building my gym routine again. Hopefully I will be successful for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

So much for the diet

So I have all but fallen off my diet... I'm eating bacon, drinking beer, having cookies... The only difference now is that I am very much aware of what I'm eating and am closer to regaining control of it again. 

The only thing I am responsible for is buying cookies and ice cream, everything else someone else has brought in. I need to figure out snacks that are good for me that I actually like to replace the snacks that are bad but I love. That's tough because I like cookies, and apples don't exactly replace them. I want the replacement to taste as good as my cookies and that's a tall order. 

So far kind of good

This week I tried the Almond Milk (silk brand if you're interested) and I like it as a beverage except in coffee. So far I've only tried the original flavour and since I like it I'm afraid the flavoured stuff might taste too sweet. It's just as well I guess as I'm trying to cut sugar out if my diet anyway. 

As for cutting the sugar out I am finding it difficult. I can't eat much since I don't buy a lot of the sweets anymore but I'm still snacking on whatever is still left in the house. For those who are wondering that has left me with Nutella, chocolate chip granola bars and pop. I can stay away from pop easily enough but the other two keep popping into my day as snacks. Grrrr!

I am also noticing how tough it is for me to think of fruit and vegetables as snacks.   I've been eating my red and yellow pepper slices with hummus very faithfully but it definitely isn't the same as having that cookie or ice cream. I know as long as I don't buy it I'll have to make the mental switch but it's also getting tough to say no st the grocery store. 

As for my knee it still cracks but it didn't hurt to walk on it. It still hurts to flex the muscles but I noticed that the stairs no longer bother it. I will be seeing a specialist for it anyway because I told the doctor I want the pain gone and the next course of action is a cortisol injection but maybe the diet is starting to take effect too. (I wonder if the injection will hurt?). My biggest concern with my knee is if it might be infected so I definitely want to see the specialist to rule that out. 

Diet for inflammation

So I officially started my new diet in the hopes of reducing the inflammation in my knee. I still have yogurt and coffee and granola bars in the fridge and cupboards so I haven't totally cut everything out, but a lot if it has been reduced. 

The first thing I noticed is that my weight has come down a couple of pounds. That's great. The second thing I noticed is that I'm eating more granola bars than I thought I would. They only have chocolate chips in them, but they were not suppose to be my go-to snack. I'm obviously still craving sugar and carbs. 

The third thing I noticed is that I am more conscious of at least trying to stay good. I have cheated already by going to the theatre and having pop and going out to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday and having a beer. So I think it will take longer to notice knee pain changes but I'm hopeful I can keep this up without making myself miserable. The doctor said only to cut back- not cut out. 

I had almond milk for the first time today and I think it is something I may switch to permanently so that's some real progress at least :).

New diet

So.... I allowed myself a weekend of going nuts and indulged in everything I'm not going to be allowed to eat for the next month. I have to say that my knee is now in pain but I'm not experiencing a lot of cravings yet. Of course I did have several chocolate chip granola bars, cream cheese on my bagel, and a chocolate milk. I was craving the milk but everything else was either to get rid of it in my house or eating out of boredom.

Hopefully once the rest of the stuff on the no-no list is gone I will be able to power through any cravings may have. So far the only stuff left is coffee (not a big deal to stay away from), cream cheese, and granola bars. The granola bars aren't my favourite so I don't think I'll be eating too many of those and there is less than half a container of cream cheese left so that shouldn't be too bad either. My hubby is all for this as I think he hopes it will go a long way to helping me lose the stubborn baby weight. I'm also going to try to pick a half hour of cardio most days as well. 

It's funny that I feel more will power to resist the bad food now that a doctor has told me it could be causing me problems with my knee, but my own weight loss desire wasn't enough. Hopefully this new mindset will power me through and stick in the long term. Especially if it does make my knee better. 

Acupuncture

So I had my very first acupuncture treatment last Wednesday. I have to say that my knee wasn't hurting after the treatment. Too bad I have to put a halt on anymore until next year. The two more scheduled sessions might have done the trick. Maybe I'll just buy a weight and roll it under my feet like I was doing in the fall. That also seemed to work. 

Diet Overhaul

So.... I went to the Naturopath for my second (and last) appointment (at least until I either put money aside or my benefits get closer to resetting). I asked to focus the session on my diet and to try the acupuncture for my knee. 

The Acupuncture was interesting. It's supposed to get rid of any blockages I have and reduce inflammation. I have to say that my knee was alright going up and down the stairs yesterday. I would probably benefit more by having all the sessions (3 in total) so I may have to do it again later this year. 

In terms of diet she basically wants me to reduce all the foods I tend to crave (i.e. sugar, alcohol, and caffein). I don't think she wants me to eliminate dairy entirely. She said she hesitates in suggesting that because I think dairy isn't all bad, just causes inflammation. 

This is going to be tough. Increasing fruit, veggies, whole grains, brown rice, and lean meats will be pretty easy. Taking out almost all the other stuff will be tricky. Goodbye ice cream!  She recommended a 3 week trial and see how I feel. 

Holistic Health

So I had an appointment with a naturopathic doctor today and I have to say I'm feeling very optimistic about taking control of my health. It was a long appointment but she gave me insight into my joint pains and I'm going to venture out into the world of alternative medicine.

My biggest joint problem is my knee which I thought suffered from PFS (patella femoral syndrome) but was told recently that I have bursitis. Now I find out bursitis doesn't normally last this long (9 years) and so it may be PFS and bursitis? I was also told that PFS was normally a juvenile problem but she suffered from it as well as an adult. I have instructions to go to a chiropractor and tell him where all of my joint pains are and may need 3 months worth of adjustments.

During my next appointment I will have my very first experience with acupuncture. This will supposedly take care of the pain so I'm looking forward to that. Good thing I don't have an aversion to needles!

Lastly we talked about my fatigue and past struggles with anxiety. For fatigue I'm going to get a physical and bloodworm done to check hormones vitamin levels. Hopefully we'll find out if I have any deficiencies and that there will be a simple solution. 

Phew! What a long intake process! I was more tired after talking about being tired than I was when we started. My son was tired too and while he got his nap I skipped and now don't have time for one myself. Hopefully I will sleep well tonight.

Beginning.... Again

I've tried blogging before. I believe I have a total of 6 posts on my blog in WordPress. Since WordPress isn't a place I normally go to, and Gmail is, this might be a better place to re-start - and there's my baby waking early from his nap!

So he went back to sleep but as soon as I put him in his crib he woke up again so now we're going to have short playtime in the crib. He's playing peek-a-boo with me, so cute.

Anyway, my purpose in trying to blog again is to find my inner peace and learn to live in the moment. I have found recently that I am having trouble truly connecting with the here and now as I seem to be constantly thinking about what needs to be done and feeling a little disorganized in daily life. I want to be that mom whose children really enjoy being with and I want to really enjoy the people in my life more fully. My baby son only knows moment-to-moment and I envy him that way of being.

That being said I will be treating this place as an online diary of sorts. I used to keep a diary and found that it really helped me deal with fears and frustrations and put them out of my mind before going to bed and I hope to regain that habit now.