This entire year has just seemed to be such a mixed bag of ups and downs, trials and blessings. I cannot believe we are in October already and truly wonder where the year has gone. However, it's been such a crazy chaotic year, that I'm really looking forward to the chill of Autumn, relaxing by the fire, watching movies and stitching away, while sipping my beloved Sweet and Spicy tea. Needless to say, my weight and health journey has been on a standstill from all my attention being diverted to taking care of others and their needs.
So, where is that leaving me on this journey at this particular moment? Frankly, I'm just not all that worried about it. Yes, I still have lots of weight I want/need to lose, but after the year we've had, I'm not going to fuss over it as we head into the upcoming holiday season. I want to spend the last three months of this year doing something that I just have not been able to do the first 9 months of the year.... focus on my relationship with God, digging into The Word, focus on my home and making a respite for my family, and focus on enjoying my family. I would like to try to start getting back into healthy habits like dusting off my treadmill and getting back into using it daily, and cooking meals for my family daily rather than eating out all the time. I want to enjoy all that the holiday season offers and savor every bit of it with my family.
January will be here soon enough and I can begin to focus on losing weight once again. By then I hope to be back into the swing of other healthy habits I'm beginning to instill now. Sometimes, it's just best all the way around to step back, take a breath, and relax a bit. That would be my plan at this moment.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Trying....
Still stuck. Those words have been rolling off my lips for a year. I'm at a loss but am headed to Mayo Clinic next month to see if there is a medical reason I am not losing weight no matter what I do. For the time being I'm focusing on drinking lots of water, making better choices when it comes to what I eat, watching my sugar/carb intake, and getting my home in order. A constant chaotic environment works against me in every area, so I'm scaling down, cleaning out, brightening up, and hoping to enjoy our home again very soon.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Enjoying Home..... or at least trying to
It's been a rough spring around here for our family. Lots of unexpected things happened that caused us to really need to roll with the punches, day by day. This included me needing to move in with my mom for nearly six weeks as she endured two back surgeries and needed round the clock care. What does all this have to do with my Joy Filled Journey? Everything, actually.
First of all, it's these very types of things that create our unique journeys. Life is full of bumps, detours, and messes, right along with all the joy filled moments, blessings, and surprises. This all means that I've been at a stand still with my health and weight goals. Well, I'm home now and it's time to step up to the plate and get a handle on things. While my attention was diverted to caring for my mom and still attending as best I could to my families needs and homeschooling the girls, our home seemed to have exploded. I cannot even begin to try to get back to my health and weight goals until I get a handle on this house. My office along with with all the laundry should be caught up, cleaned up, and a pleasant place to work and spend time once again by the end of this weekend. It's a giant step. At least it's one space that I will be able to escape to collect my thoughts, spend time in The Word, and gather my thoughts and heart around the steps I need to start taking again on my journey.
It's my goal to have our home cleaned out and up completely, along with turning the playroom into a Maker's Space for our family to create, rehab, and reinvent all the projects floating around in our heads, by the end of May. This is a huge undertaking as our family has transitioned from young children with LOTS of toys to our youngest making the turn into "tweens" and cleaning out most of the toys around this house (dollhouses excluded:). However, having my office sanctuary back will allow me to not put off my health journey any longer.
One HUGE goal is to get back to eating at home again, something that has totally fallen aside during these crazy weeks recently. I've decided that something that will help me accomplish this goal is to get the kitchen more organized so that it's easy to find things and pleasant to work in again. To accomplish this goal, I've decided to start selling Tupperware again. The products are AWESOME! So pretty with all the bright colors, and everything having just the right place to go. I'm really excited to get the freezer stocked with the Freezer Mates line. Having meals made ahead of time and in the freezer will make a gigantic difference in our eating habits. No more "I don't know what to make tonight, so let's just hit McDonalds". No More Excuses! If you'd also like to get a bit more organized in your kitchen, check out my Tupperware website at dawnrschroeder.my.tupperware.com
Lots of fun new products, sales, and inspiration. If you'd like to book your own online party or fundraiser, let me know. It's a great way to earn exclusive products, along with discounted and FREE shopping sprees as well.
First of all, it's these very types of things that create our unique journeys. Life is full of bumps, detours, and messes, right along with all the joy filled moments, blessings, and surprises. This all means that I've been at a stand still with my health and weight goals. Well, I'm home now and it's time to step up to the plate and get a handle on things. While my attention was diverted to caring for my mom and still attending as best I could to my families needs and homeschooling the girls, our home seemed to have exploded. I cannot even begin to try to get back to my health and weight goals until I get a handle on this house. My office along with with all the laundry should be caught up, cleaned up, and a pleasant place to work and spend time once again by the end of this weekend. It's a giant step. At least it's one space that I will be able to escape to collect my thoughts, spend time in The Word, and gather my thoughts and heart around the steps I need to start taking again on my journey.
It's my goal to have our home cleaned out and up completely, along with turning the playroom into a Maker's Space for our family to create, rehab, and reinvent all the projects floating around in our heads, by the end of May. This is a huge undertaking as our family has transitioned from young children with LOTS of toys to our youngest making the turn into "tweens" and cleaning out most of the toys around this house (dollhouses excluded:). However, having my office sanctuary back will allow me to not put off my health journey any longer.
One HUGE goal is to get back to eating at home again, something that has totally fallen aside during these crazy weeks recently. I've decided that something that will help me accomplish this goal is to get the kitchen more organized so that it's easy to find things and pleasant to work in again. To accomplish this goal, I've decided to start selling Tupperware again. The products are AWESOME! So pretty with all the bright colors, and everything having just the right place to go. I'm really excited to get the freezer stocked with the Freezer Mates line. Having meals made ahead of time and in the freezer will make a gigantic difference in our eating habits. No more "I don't know what to make tonight, so let's just hit McDonalds". No More Excuses! If you'd also like to get a bit more organized in your kitchen, check out my Tupperware website at dawnrschroeder.my.tupperware.com
Lots of fun new products, sales, and inspiration. If you'd like to book your own online party or fundraiser, let me know. It's a great way to earn exclusive products, along with discounted and FREE shopping sprees as well.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Bumps Along The Way.....
Life is a journey... that's not news. Journeys are full of adventures, ups, downs, and bumps along the way. The last couple of months have been full of life's bumps. My mom had 2 back surgeries within 4 weeks and that required me to move in with her to care for her round the clock for nearly 6 weeks. During that time I just didn't have the energy, desire, or focus to stick to my health goals. No, I didn't just go off the deep end, but I also allowed too much sugar back into my daily diet along with soda and starch.
Mom is recovering well now and I'm finally back home. I'm trying to get back onto plan while at the same time accomplish my "clean sweep" goals for our home. Today I did fudge and had an apple fritter for breakfast, however for lunch it was cottage cheese with chia seeds sprinkled in, a banana, and Ningxia Red.
Back to work.........
Mom is recovering well now and I'm finally back home. I'm trying to get back onto plan while at the same time accomplish my "clean sweep" goals for our home. Today I did fudge and had an apple fritter for breakfast, however for lunch it was cottage cheese with chia seeds sprinkled in, a banana, and Ningxia Red.
Back to work.........
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Frustration
I woke up this morning so frustrated, I was on the verge of tears. Doctors...... I'm so tired of feeling like they do nothing but blow me off. I'm tired of them only treating symptoms but never getting to the core problem. Consequently, I'm stuck taking a cocktail of pills twice a day that treats a variety of symptoms but doesn't do anything to help me.
For many years now, I've had increased symptoms of thyroid problems, coupled with my strong family history of thyroid disease (my mom, her sister, my grandmother, her sister, numerous aunts and cousins in generations past), yet doctors continue to treat every single symptom but refuse to attempt to treat my thyroid. Yes, the lab work for thyroid comes in "normal", however it's the low end of normal and continues to drop significantly with each test. I've done a ton of research to know that this is quite normal in people with thyroid issues.... their lab work doesn't show the entire picture. I've also had nodules begin to show up on my thyroid as seen in ultrasounds; they aren't large but each time they look, another one shows up and the existing ones grow. I continue to gain weight even though I'm actively trying to lose weight. My skin is dry, especially my feet. My hair is shedding more and more. I suffer chronic fatigue, that is debilitating and physically painful. The extra weight causes more problems with my asthma as it stresses my lung function, and it causes problems with my lower back and knees that at times makes me nearly immobile. This all affects not only my quality of life, but my family as well. Yet, what do the doctors do? Toss more pills my way to treat the new or changing symptoms and tell me to come back in 3 months. This cycle has been going on for YEARS.
My GP finally admitted that there is an issue with my thyroid and sent me to an endocrinologist. What does she do? Run some labs and schedule me to come back in 3 months. But wait, one of the tests came back in the "grey" area, indicating adrenal failure/insufficiency. Makes complete sense, considering I've lived my life on prednisone because of my severe asthma. Apparently, my adrenal glands may have given up producing cortisol. So, they call me in for a more in-depth test (I should hear the results today or tomorrow). As I'm doing the test, I ask the nurse about it and ask "If I fail this test, what is the treatment?" Her answer.... steroids daily for the rest of my life. Really? So I ask how steroids are going to help beyond replacing the cortisol in my system. Are the steroids going to help my chronic fatigue, my weight gain, my migraines, my vertigo.....?" I already know the answer but ask anyway. The answer is NO. It might help a bit with my fatigue, but won't help with any of the other issues and may even make some of them worse. Alrighty then.... so, why on earth would I find this answer and treatment acceptable? I don't, plain and simple. I know the effects of long term steroid use. I know the effects of all the medicines I take. My goal isn't to just take pills to cover up symptoms; my goal is to find and treat the core problem and get off as many of these meds I possibly can, and feel better so that I can enjoy life and my family again.
So it's come down to this..... Either my doctors work with me and stop only treating my symptoms individually, or I take things into my own hands. I've researched enough to know that the risks of life long, daily steroids are greater than the risk of me trying thyroid medicine. I know that if my thyroid is addressed and regulated, many of my issues/symptoms will go away and I can go off of all the excess of pills I take for them. I know that I don't need a prescription to get thyroid meds and I can take control of this myself IF MY DOCTORS CONTINUE TO BLOW ME OFF. I also know that there are natural ways to help balance my thyroid, but I need the meds to help as well. I want to work with my doctors, but when they are working against me, I will no longer accept it.
When the endo office calls with the results from yesterday's test, my question will be "Will you try putting me on a low dose of thyroid medicine for one month to see how I do before putting me on life-long, daily steroids that will eat away at my organs?" If the answer is no, then I will be done with the medical community regarding all this, order my own meds, and treat myself. Doctors get upset when they feel their patients are self-diagnosing and self-perscribing, which is understandable. But patients like myself, who've suffered for years, decades even, get frustrated when they feel they are not listened to, are blown off, and even harmed by their doctors insistence on only treating symptoms and not attempting to get at the core problem. The risk to me taking a thyroid pill once a day is by far less than the risk of all the combined pills they have me taking now, each day.
Am I angry and frustrated today? ABSOLUTELY! When there is an answer available but your doctors refuse to even consider it, and you're the one living daily with the physical cost of their ineptitude, it's maddening. Today, I'm taking back my life. The Great Physician, my Heavenly Father, will heal me if He so chooses. But He's given me a brain and great intuition, it's past time I put those gifts to use and stop relying on doctors who are not proactive and choose to "wait and see" when it's the quality of my life and my family that are at risk.
For many years now, I've had increased symptoms of thyroid problems, coupled with my strong family history of thyroid disease (my mom, her sister, my grandmother, her sister, numerous aunts and cousins in generations past), yet doctors continue to treat every single symptom but refuse to attempt to treat my thyroid. Yes, the lab work for thyroid comes in "normal", however it's the low end of normal and continues to drop significantly with each test. I've done a ton of research to know that this is quite normal in people with thyroid issues.... their lab work doesn't show the entire picture. I've also had nodules begin to show up on my thyroid as seen in ultrasounds; they aren't large but each time they look, another one shows up and the existing ones grow. I continue to gain weight even though I'm actively trying to lose weight. My skin is dry, especially my feet. My hair is shedding more and more. I suffer chronic fatigue, that is debilitating and physically painful. The extra weight causes more problems with my asthma as it stresses my lung function, and it causes problems with my lower back and knees that at times makes me nearly immobile. This all affects not only my quality of life, but my family as well. Yet, what do the doctors do? Toss more pills my way to treat the new or changing symptoms and tell me to come back in 3 months. This cycle has been going on for YEARS.
My GP finally admitted that there is an issue with my thyroid and sent me to an endocrinologist. What does she do? Run some labs and schedule me to come back in 3 months. But wait, one of the tests came back in the "grey" area, indicating adrenal failure/insufficiency. Makes complete sense, considering I've lived my life on prednisone because of my severe asthma. Apparently, my adrenal glands may have given up producing cortisol. So, they call me in for a more in-depth test (I should hear the results today or tomorrow). As I'm doing the test, I ask the nurse about it and ask "If I fail this test, what is the treatment?" Her answer.... steroids daily for the rest of my life. Really? So I ask how steroids are going to help beyond replacing the cortisol in my system. Are the steroids going to help my chronic fatigue, my weight gain, my migraines, my vertigo.....?" I already know the answer but ask anyway. The answer is NO. It might help a bit with my fatigue, but won't help with any of the other issues and may even make some of them worse. Alrighty then.... so, why on earth would I find this answer and treatment acceptable? I don't, plain and simple. I know the effects of long term steroid use. I know the effects of all the medicines I take. My goal isn't to just take pills to cover up symptoms; my goal is to find and treat the core problem and get off as many of these meds I possibly can, and feel better so that I can enjoy life and my family again.
So it's come down to this..... Either my doctors work with me and stop only treating my symptoms individually, or I take things into my own hands. I've researched enough to know that the risks of life long, daily steroids are greater than the risk of me trying thyroid medicine. I know that if my thyroid is addressed and regulated, many of my issues/symptoms will go away and I can go off of all the excess of pills I take for them. I know that I don't need a prescription to get thyroid meds and I can take control of this myself IF MY DOCTORS CONTINUE TO BLOW ME OFF. I also know that there are natural ways to help balance my thyroid, but I need the meds to help as well. I want to work with my doctors, but when they are working against me, I will no longer accept it.
When the endo office calls with the results from yesterday's test, my question will be "Will you try putting me on a low dose of thyroid medicine for one month to see how I do before putting me on life-long, daily steroids that will eat away at my organs?" If the answer is no, then I will be done with the medical community regarding all this, order my own meds, and treat myself. Doctors get upset when they feel their patients are self-diagnosing and self-perscribing, which is understandable. But patients like myself, who've suffered for years, decades even, get frustrated when they feel they are not listened to, are blown off, and even harmed by their doctors insistence on only treating symptoms and not attempting to get at the core problem. The risk to me taking a thyroid pill once a day is by far less than the risk of all the combined pills they have me taking now, each day.
Am I angry and frustrated today? ABSOLUTELY! When there is an answer available but your doctors refuse to even consider it, and you're the one living daily with the physical cost of their ineptitude, it's maddening. Today, I'm taking back my life. The Great Physician, my Heavenly Father, will heal me if He so chooses. But He's given me a brain and great intuition, it's past time I put those gifts to use and stop relying on doctors who are not proactive and choose to "wait and see" when it's the quality of my life and my family that are at risk.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Owning Up......
I've gotten off to a horrible start. Between things being crazy busy, traveling to Florida and Minnesota this month, and in general falling off the path.... I've not only not lost weight, I've gained 2 lbs (actually 3 lbs, but I've lost one that I'd gained). So, where does that leave me? Picking myself up by my bootstraps yet again, and starting fresh.
My adrenal test came back showing some potential issues, so I go in on Monday for a more in-depth test. Hoping to get my adrenal and/or thyroid issues figured out soon, which would lead to an easier time losing weight (I think, anyway). This weekend is all about getting settled back in here at home and getting back on track in all aspects of life (laundry, dishes, cleaning the house in general, etc.). I also want to eat out of the fridge and freezer this weekend, so that I can meal plan and grocery shop "on plan" to get back on track. I need to charge my ActiveLink and start wearing it again. On the upside, the days we spent at Disney World were spent WALKING.... according to the information on my phone, we walked over 10 1/2 miles each day and I met over 200% of my ActiveLink goal each day. So, how exactly did I still gain 3 pounds??? Oh well, that answer will remain elusive, so it's best to just move on and start fresh.
I haven't met a single goal I'd set for myself this year and now is the time to start making changes. We are past the holidays, past my birthday, past our family vacation..... past excuses;) Starting over, AGAIN
My adrenal test came back showing some potential issues, so I go in on Monday for a more in-depth test. Hoping to get my adrenal and/or thyroid issues figured out soon, which would lead to an easier time losing weight (I think, anyway). This weekend is all about getting settled back in here at home and getting back on track in all aspects of life (laundry, dishes, cleaning the house in general, etc.). I also want to eat out of the fridge and freezer this weekend, so that I can meal plan and grocery shop "on plan" to get back on track. I need to charge my ActiveLink and start wearing it again. On the upside, the days we spent at Disney World were spent WALKING.... according to the information on my phone, we walked over 10 1/2 miles each day and I met over 200% of my ActiveLink goal each day. So, how exactly did I still gain 3 pounds??? Oh well, that answer will remain elusive, so it's best to just move on and start fresh.
I haven't met a single goal I'd set for myself this year and now is the time to start making changes. We are past the holidays, past my birthday, past our family vacation..... past excuses;) Starting over, AGAIN
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Let The Game Begin....
Well, sure enough, weight watchers ran their promotion like I'd hoped they would, so I signed back up today. I'll start counting points tomorrow morning. Went to the grocery store today to pick up a few favorite stand-bys....whipped peanut butter, yogurt, meat and cheese, bagel thins, pretzels, fruit, etc. Now, I'm watching several ActiveLink 2.0 on eBay. I hope to get a good deal on one in the next day or two.
As for my giving up soda...I've been a disaster. I have had one soda each of the past three days. That said, it's been one each day and today it was a medium diet cherry coke from Sonic. Did you catch that! Medium not large or route 44. I'm going to count this as half a victory since my portion size and consumption has gone down to about 1/4 of what it was. It's something I'll continue to work on giving up, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it either.
Alrighty, tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start, and I'm just a tiny bit excited about counting points once again.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
UGH!
I caved today.... I'm enjoying a Dr Pepper. Only 1 and I've been sipping on it for nearly 5 hours. Not to excuse it, but it's been a really stressful day and it was the one thing that calmed my nerves and kept a migraine at bay. Alrighty, tomorrow is a new day.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Just A Little Discouraged
To be honest, I'm a tiny bit discouraged. I've diligently given up soda since the first and am only down (maybe) a pound. Hoping to see a better result come Thursday in weigh-in day. Yes, there are a ton of good reasons to support making this decision, and losing weight is only one, but it would be nice to see an immediate benefit to my sacrifice. Yes, I'm whining ;)
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Still chugging along
Day three of no soda. Ate at home as well, except I did bring home pizza for dinner. Seemed like a good pizza night. Normally we eat out on Sunday's and I'd allow myself a Dr Pepper, but tomorrow is too cold to leave the house so maybe the streak will continue.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Day Two...
I've made it thru a second day without soda and our second day eating totally at home. I'm not focusing so much on changing my "diet" right now, rather, I'm focusing on making some habit changes. Right now, I'm working on kicking my soda and drive thru habit. One step at a time.....
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Getting Started
Happy New Year! It's been a quiet day around our home. After a lifetime of celebrating my Mamo's birthday every New Year's Day, it's difficult to know what to do with this day now that she's in Heaven. A quiet day, however, doesn't mean a bad day.... It's been a good start (ahem...restart) to my journey. I started my day with plexus and enjoyed the energy it's given me. I also love that I'm just not all that hungry when I'm diligent with my plexus routine. As for my goal to give up soda....one day, soda free is under my belt :) I enjoyed a garden salad for lunch and a ham and turkey sandwich and baked beans for an early dinner. All in all I have to say, it's been a pretty good day and a good start on my journey to better health.
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