Time for a Change

I know I haven't posted for a while so here is what changed since then:

The deck we were building for my mom is finished! So glad to say that it passed inspection and is no longer our responsibility!

Tim and I adopted a dog (Ralphie). He is now 6 months old and losing his puppy hair! A happy addition to our family.

We had a successful Halloween Party as always. We dressed up as the Pink Nightmare and the Leg Lamp from "A Christmas Story".

I officially changed my diet. I have started the Whole30 program.

I have not had the courage or energy to begin such a journey until now. I realize that I need to change my habits in order to change my outcome. I have had some questions as to why I am doing this and its hard to explain in a few short sentences but I will give it a shot.

The majority of this post and following posts will be discussing my progress on the Whole30 program. As you may recall from previous posts I have PCOS which can increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and a host of many other diseases. PCOS symptoms can be eased or even eliminated by a change in diet. Basically I am doing this for better health and a better chance at getting pregnant. I am trying to change the things that I have control over: my diet, stress, sleep, exercise, even my attitude. All of these together can help me be the best possible version of myself.

In the month of November I am challenging myself to a complete 30 days of no alcohol, no sugar, no grains, no legumes, no processed foods, no dairy and no white potatoes. It will be difficult because I have cravings for many of the items that I have removed from my diet. I am hoping that the cravings will ease the farther I get into the program.

I started on November 1st so I am only 5 days into the program. I can't say I feel any different yet after all my body has many years of bad eating habits to break and lots of repairing to do. I try to keep my meals simple. A good portion of meat, lots of veggies, some good fat and the occasional piece of fruit. It hasn't been hard as much as a hassle especially with regards to eating out. We have to have much more fresh food in the house as well as a variety of meats so I don't get bored with the same meals.

In addition to the Whole30 program I am going to continue my exercise routine. I purchased Kettlebells for Busy Moms a few months ago and really enjoy the workouts. I know I am not a mom but Holly is a woman and she created these workouts for women! (The last time I checked I am a woman too. So these fit perfectly into my life.) I have been neglecting my workouts more and more so I am also going to set a goal for exercising 3 times per week in November using this kettlebell series as my base.

For now, I am excited to start this journey. I hope it takes me to my optimal health!

29 Years

Yesterday I celebrated my 29th birthday!  Sometimes I can't believe I am almost 30 years old. Sometimes I wish I wasn't this old. There are certain goals I thought I would obtain by the time I reached that milestone but only one really bothers me.
 

I always thought that I would be finished having kids by the time I was 30. Yet here I am at 29 with zero kids and nothing to show for it but a broken heart. I struggle with infertility on a regular basis. I try not to bother tell people about this particular aspect of my life because it is very personal. In some aspects it makes me feel inferior. I know in my heart there is some reason I have not been blessed with a child, but it does not lessen the pain.

We have been trying to get pregnant for about two and a half years. Some of that time has been spent trying to getting a diagnosis (PCOS), and then another diagnosis (high cholesterol). We started with a natural approach before we knew there was a problem and then progressed to a medical approach. The medical approach did not start out kind to me. The side effects of the first drug, clomid, were enough to scare me off for a while so we tried the natural approach again aided by acupuncture. We have been on a break for the last three months because of the high cholesterol which could be from the PCOS. I don't know what caused what or how to fix it. We are where we are for some specific reason.  It doesn't matter that everything to this point has been unsuccessful. We followed our path. We followed our hearts.

 

Although our journey has been rough I would not change our path no matter the outcome.