Striving for Health & Simplicity

The start of our liturgical season Lent is tomorrow. Often times I give up the usual chocolate, extra cup of tea, etc but this year I wanted to do something different. I challenged myself to come up with sacrifices/add ons that were going to draw me closer to the people I love & God, and help others. Over the course of the next forty days I will be deleting my facebook/messanger app off my phone and only checking my account from my computer on the weekends, each day I will find one item in my home to donate to charity, and I will spend more time reading scripture each evening. Giving up Facebook: Limiting the amount of time spent browsing Facebook will give me the opportunity to not only spend more time with those I love but also give me the opportunity to find more creative outlets, especially in the evenings. An item a Day: As I prepare to be married this coming June I'm working on packing up my current apartment to move into our house, and I have a lot of stuff! I hope...

The last seven years have been spent running a marathon, figuratively not literally of course! Seven years ago is when my life changed forever, it's when I was given answers as to why I was gaining weight at a rapid pace but couldn't lose it, why there was facial hair appearing in odd spots, and most importantly why my body just wasn't acting normal. I feel like since that day I've tried many different coping methods some better then others, yet none seemed to provide the results I was looking for. After a summer filled with hospital visits for iron infusions, unsuccessful doctors appointments trying to figure out why I was loosing iron so fast, and my family doctor mentioning my weight multiple times it was time for a change. I began my journey of Eat to Live on September 6, 2016 with the intention of loosing thirty pounds. Reaching that goal would bring me to my lowest weight yet, and with it hopefully health benefits. These five and a half months have seen many p...

Have you ever gotten frustrated when you feel like you aren't moving anywhere? The last few weeks have been that way for me in regards to weight loss. Before getting into the struggles I'm facing with my weight loss, let's do a little recap! It's been a crazy couple of weeks with many changes. Shortly after Christmas I made the difficult decision to begin searching for a position outside of the company I was working for. It was not an easy decision, but it turned out to be a good one. I've been in a new role with a new company for two weeks, and things have been going extremely well! After three months of feeling like I was struggling to keep my head above the water I finally feel as though I am above water. I have been frustrated over the last few weeks with the plateau I've hit in loosing weight. Instead of seeing a consistent decline in weight I've started to see small decreases one week, and then gains the following week. For the most part I have sta...

Have you ever stood on the scale but the number hasn't moved? Yet you feel like something changed that week. The year 2017 has started off with a bang! I can't believe we're already half way through January. I don't always want to be sharing the scale victories because I believe a weight loss or life style change journey has many different parts. My journey to a healthier life was brought on due to medical reasons, so the one goal I had was to get to the weight recommended, I didn't think about all the additional bonuses that would come along with that. Presenting you with my top five non-scale victories! 1) Awareness- As mentioned above my journey to a healthier lifestyle was brought on due to medical reasons. I did not realize when I started that I would have such success in creating a new lifestyle. It's a lifestyle I want others to know about, especially those with PCOS. Often my response to being asked why I'm doing this is just for health reasons...

It's hard to believe that the year 2016 is officially over and we are into the year 2017! 2016 was filled with job changes, home buying, family members passing away, and engagement. At the beginning of 2016 I did not imagine that any of those events would happen, but it goes to show you that sometimes our plans are not always the plans we are meant to follow. 2017 will bring with it many more adventures and I can't wait! Many individuals have chosen words to carry them through the year 2017. Individual words for the year are a fantastic way to stay motivated! I've chosen the words health and gratitude to carry through this year. I want to create a culture of health and gratitude in my life and my home. The word health for me means that I will make choices in my everyday life that bring the best quality of life to my body whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. The word gratitude for me is a way to remember to be thankful for the everyday occurrences, no matt...

As the Christmas season approaches I began getting even more nervous about what Tuesday mornings would bring as Tuesdays are my weight and measurement day. I have a timeline with specific goals that I would like met within a certain period of time. I was really nervous to be on this journey as the Christmas season approached, but I vowed to give it my all and go from there.  My healthier lifestyle journey began on September 6th. It's been fourteen weeks since I made the decision to change my lifestyle. After following Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live diet strictly for six weeks I moved onto the life plan. The life plan gives me the opportunity to continue eating much healthier while having slight variations for special occasions. The biggest thing I've stuck to is allowing myself to have very limited amounts of refined and added sugars. I haven't had a glass of pop since September 5th! That's huge for someone who could easily drink four litres a weekend. I have succ...

Friends, have you ever been in a social situation where you're constantly offered food and saying no feels awkward? I think we all have! Especially when celebrations are taking place. The Christmas season is quickly approaching with many parties, and social gatherings. Not to mention a lot of food! This time can be extremely difficult for those who are on a restricted diet or trying to keep up with eating a healthier diet. The Eat to Live lifestyle isn't one that many people know about so it can be incredibly difficult to follow the eating style at social events. After completing the six week strict diet you move into the lifestyle plan. The lifestyle is very similar to the stricter diet but with some more flexibility. I tried to treat the lifestyle plan like the stricter diet but allowed there to be some flexibility on the weekends, this was working fine until recently. As the Christmas season started to approach we began to get very busy, and I started getting lazy with m...