I Love Food! I Hate Exercising!

Sorry folks, this one is going to be a long one.

I love food!

This is kind of a recent realization to me.  It never occurred to me until now that this was the case.  In the last few years, I’ve become somewhat of a foodie, and I eat out way too much.  I consider this the result of living a more prosperous lifestyle than I have in the past.  We’re not well-off.  We’re only maybe lower middle class.  But I’m eating much better than I did years ago.

Four and a half years ago, I left my home state of Connecticut to live in more inexpensive pastures.  While I was living in Connecticut, I had no car, so I walked or bussed everywhere I needed to go.  Our budget was extremely tight.  Early on, it was a “ramen three times a day” budget.  Later on, we could afford better than ramen, but not much.  Many days I only ate one meal a day.  I weighed in at about 165lbs on my 5’7″ frame – about twenty pounds higher than my pre-pregnancy weight, which to me, wasn’t bad at all.  I wasn’t terribly unhappy with my weight at the time.  I know it wasn’t the healthiest of situations, but it was what it was.

Fast forward to four and a half years ago.  I moved and ended up in a better financial situation.  Three meals a day!  Wow!  A year later I moved again, and in with Baron, a self-professed butter addict.  There were three meals a day, junk food and dinners out.  My weight shot up from 165 to 205 in just over the first year.  I was floored.

Now I’m trying to make dietary changes, and having such a hard time with it.  Last night I had two and a half bowls of pasta slathered in ricotta cheese.  TWO AND A HALF BOWLS!  It tasted so good I couldn’t stop.  I gave myself a tummyache.  Sadface.  I know I want to eat better, and eat less, I just can’t get myself away from stuff that tastes just so damned good!  I don’t know if this means I have food addiction, or some kind of eating problem or what.

I’m not sure where to go next.  I really need some control in what I eat, and to get over my lack of willpower.  How do I reign in my out of control appetite?

I hate exercising!

I really, REALLY do.  Like I said before, back when I lived in Connecticut, I walked everywhere, and while I had difficulty sometimes (my fibromyalgia sometimes made walking difficult, I’d use a cane when things got too painful), it still got me where I needed to go.  Now, here in Florida, the city I live in is too spacious, and nothing I need is really within walking distance.  I have a car, and the convenience I think has adversely affected my activity level.  I know it has.

I would love to get more exercise into my routine, but I’ve had the damnedest time trying to find something that doesn’t bore me within a week’s time.  I can’t afford a gym membership, I don’t own a bike, and home exercise machines are out of my budget.  I tried doing some at home exercising – like yoga and pilates videos – but again, I got bored.  I was trying to walk every other day – two miles or more – but alas, bored again.

Why can’t I find the right exercise for me?  Is there such a thing?  Am I supposed to just push through it and do it anyways, no matter how bored or unenjoyable it is?  I’m jealous of all the blogs and posts I read about people thrilled about how many miles they’ve done on the treadmill or how many hills they’ve done on the exercise bike.  I want to feel that kind of pride in my accomplishments, too.

I guess that’s where I’m stuck at the moment.  Too much of one thing (food) and not enough of the other (exercise).  I need to figure out how to turn myself around and overcome these obstacles.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  Do any of you out there run into the same problems I do?  Please share!

Pilates Video!

So I’m still trying to do the Yoga Challenge from Yoga Journal, though I’m not doing it every day because it’s making me stiff and painful.  Every other day or so.  Someone recommended to me to mix things up a bit, and throw some Pilates into the mix.  I came across a beginner mat workout – only about eight minutes long – and I’m going to give it a shot today after I do the yoga routine.  I think I’ll be surfing YouTube for more beginner workouts, just to keep things lively.  I’ve already made a playlist for them, and I’ll probably post more about that once I have more workout videos on it.

Here’s the beginner mat workout by Erin Huggins:

Pizza Surprise!

The other day I wasn’t feeling so great and my back was hurting from the yoga I’ve been attempting with limited success.  I decided to lie down for a nap with my kitty cats.  Baron got home, came in and said “I’ve got a surprise for dinner, keep sleeping, I’ll let you know when to get up.”  Uh.  Ok.  *starts to worry*

I was really surprised when he woke me up and greeted me with this:

Yummy Vegetarian Pizza!

Mr. Omnivore himself made me a yummy vegetarian pizza!  Instead of tomato sauce, it had a tasty pesto base, with chopped tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, onion, orange peppers and mozzarella cheese.  The crust was packaged and the pesto was from a mix, but I didn’t care.  Damn, was it tasty!

Would you like a slice? Yes, please!

I was already starving, so funny if I nearly ate the whole pie!  He was surprised at it’s deliciousness as well, and even had a piece or two for himself!  I still have a couple leftover slices in the fridge to heat up for a quick snack.  I’d call this little experiment of his a resounding success, and I hope I get surprises like this more often!

Thyroid Follow-up and Yoga Challenge Update!

Today was my follow-up appointment with the Clinic regarding my hypothyroidism and my thyroid hormone levels.  I went and got my bloodwork drawn last week and the results were excellent today.  They went from an 8 to a 1.2, which the doctor said was well within normal range.  I’ve got another follow-up in four weeks to make sure the levels aren’t fluctuating (which she says can happen sometimes).  Crossing my fingers that it’s not an issue.

She asked if I was feeling any better, and I commented that no, I felt the same, and was still having problems with constant headaches and fatigue.  She suggested I go on a multivitamin specifically with B12.  Since I had to go to Walgreen’s to get my prescription filled anyways, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and get a multivitamin as well.  Do you know how hard it was to find one that had B12 in it, so I wouldn’t have to buy a separate pill??  I ended up having to buy the generic Centrum Silver, which is typically for people over age 50.  I already have a Calcium supplement here at home, so I can add that to the mix.  I wanted to get a Fish Oil supplement for my Omega-3 and Omega-6 needs, but alas they were far too pricey.  Perhaps next payday?

Update on the Yoga Challenge!  I kind of failed a bit on this one.  Day one and two went by fine.  I was a bit shaky and unbalanced, which I attribute to being a complete and utter noob at yoga, but hey, at least I’m trying, right?  My cat, Gaz, seemed to think that me rolling around on the floor meant it was playtime, so she didn’t help matters any.  By day three, I woke up with stiffness and spasms in my back and shoulders.  I assumed this was because my body was adjusting to all the movement.  On day four, I had to work all day, and didn’t have time to exercise.  Shame on me.  Today is day five of the challenge, and I’m determined to get back on the ball.

I asked around a bit on Fitocracy if this kind of pain is normal and should I push through it, and was given the consensus that it’s to be expected, and I should just work through this transitional period, maybe adjusting my schedule to every other day instead of every day.  I might do that, I’m not sure yet.  I’d like to keep going with the yoga though.  I really like it.  Unfortunately, there’s nowhere in my area that I can find that’s affordable with my budget, especially that I can get to by bus.  There’s a YMCA up the street about twenty minutes from me, but the bus doesn’t go that way.  Sigh.

That’s it for the updates for now.  I’m still mulling over that post about sugar, and I have another post that might be up later today about a cookery surprise that Baron made for me the other day.  Toodle-oo!

Quick Blog: New Beginnings

It’s Monday, and if I’m going to try something new, I try to do it on Mondays.  I don’t know, maybe somewhere in the back of my brain, it’s the first day of… something… so that’s where beginnings should be.

Last night Baron and I did some late evening grocery shopping to try and get some eats to hold us over til we could do more concrete grocery shopping on this upcoming Saturday.  We got a few things that are good for you, a few things that are maybe not so good, and did a ton of label reading.  We’ve been trying to keep an eye on things like fat content, calories, sodium and high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners.  We’re not always successful, but at least we’re making the attempt.

My first step to Monday wellness was getting up at a reasonable hour, about 8am.  As someone who regularly sleeps until noon or beyond, it’s a bit jarring.  I waited my half an hour after taking my thyroid medication, and had a nice breakfast that consisted of peach yogurt, a banana, 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds and a glass of orange juice.  I even measured out the single serving size of sunflower seeds – go me!  The breakfast seemed healthy-ish, though sugar-heavy-ish.

The other thing I’m trying (after I get my living room cleaned up) is Yoga Journal’s 21-Day Yoga Challenge.  It started today, and (obviously) runs 21 days, with a new video each day.  They also have recommendations for eating at least one vegetarian meal a day, and an audio meditatinon as well.  I’ve needed to get back on the exercise bandwagon for a while now, so I figured this would be a good start.  Hopefully I’ll keep up with it. *crosses fingers*

Just a short blog post this time.  Hopefully I’ll keep up with these “resolutions” this time.  Wish me luck!

Recipe: Easy Garlic Miso Noodles!

Hello All!  This week I’ve been sorely shy on vegetables, and still won’t be able to do any grocery shopping until tomorrow.  This makes me terribly sadface, because I’m dying for some spinach!  Because of that, I kind of had to finagle a lunch this week using what I had on hand.  After searching Food Pair looking for a recipe that involves two ingredients I did have in my kitchen – miso and udon noodles – I finally came up with a recipe that was somewhat of a success.  I’d like to share it with you!

Garlic Miso Noodles

Serving size: 1

2 oz. udon noodles or spaghetti if you don’t have udon. (the udon comes in individual bundles, each a serving size, and each is 2 oz. in size)

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

Approximately 1/8 cup sesame oil (my measurement wasn’t exact on this, so it might be a little less)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon miso (careful with this, miso is potent stuff, and very salty)

Cook udon in boiling water according to directions, which in my case was 3 minutes.  Drain.

Heat the sesame oil and garlic in a small skillet until the garlic is starting to brown a bit.  Add the soy sauce VERY CAREFULLY – it might spatter a bit.  Then add the miso and stir until all the lumps are out.  Add to the noodles.  Voila!  Done!

Really not a difficult lunch, and it leaves itself open to the possibility of adding plenty of vegetables later on, just increase the amount of sauce a bit to coat the vegetables too.  I’m dying to try this with some spinach and mushrooms (my two favourite veggies!).  I hope you like this quick little recipe.  I know it’s not all fancy shmancy, but I’m still a beginner cook, and I was quite pleased with myself that it didn’t completely suck.

I’ve got plans in mind for my next post – this one will be about sugar and our dependence on it – hopefully that’ll come out in the next day or two.  Until then, break out the noodles.  It’s noshing time!

Apathy Strikes Back!

My mental health condition hasn’t been good as of late.  I cry all the time, my mood is very depressed and I can’t seem to get anything done.  My psychiatrist has decided to add Lamictal – a bipolar antidepressant – to my medication regimen.  I’ve been on the starter dose for a week now, and I’ve found that while my mood is still depressed, I’ve been struck with an overwhelming sense of apathy.  I honestly don’t care about anything right now.  This includes not caring about being at my computer, playing my new video game, watching tv shows with Baron, or pretty much anything else.  Also, I’m not eating.  I’ve been going the whole day without eating until maybe 1am, and even then I’m still not hungry.

My psychiatrist is concerned that I might have to go inpatient, as she’s not sure if she can manage my symptoms on an outpatient basis.  I thankfully talked her out of it.

I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the new medication or not.  I’ve also found that I’m getting kind of sick of all the medication I have to take.  I’m really hating it.  I know I can’t just stop taking it, and I know how bad a shape I’ll be in if I stop taking everything (seriously, it’ll be a royal mess), but I really don’t want to take everything anymore.  At this point, I’m on 5 medications: 3 for mental health issues, 1 for my fibromyalgia and muscle spasms, and 1 for my hypothyroidism.  That’s a lot.  I’m just sick of it.

Friday I go in to get bloodwork done to check my thyroid hormone levels, and I go back to the doctor to get that checked on the 13th.  So far, I don’t really feel any kind of change from the thyroid meds, so we’ll see if that medication needs to be adjusted or not.  I go back to my psychiatrist in six weeks, and hopefully it’ll be better news.  My new medication gets it’s dosage doubled tomorrow, and I’m worried the apathy will get worse.  Guess we’ll see.  Wish me luck!