Confessions of a Sugarholic

Good job, Matilda. Well done. Happy Monday everyone. I know it's been a few weeks, but I figured I'd fill you all in after Thanksgiving. I was also struggling with a health issue prior to my vacation, and I'm happy to report I got that addressed prior to leaving. So, let's start there. I reported before that my doctor is working on adjusting my blood pressure medication. I was on too much medication and was experiencing dizziness so he told me to stop taking one of them. Well, the pill I stopped taking also had a diuretic in it. After the first week off the pill, my body started to retain water in large amounts. My ankles swelled and I wasn't urinating no matter how much water I drank. I ended up almost gaining 10 pounds. I spoke with my doctor, and he told me to discontinue the one bp med, and switch to my other med with the diuretic. He mentioned we may need to play with these meds until my bp stabilizes, and we find what...

"Girl! Do yo thang! I gotchu!" -Matilda Hello again! Matilda sends her regards. She's going quite well five weeks out. Time is certainly flying by, and it's also time to advance my diet to stage 3 - Soft foods, and it's just like it's described. Foods soft in texture. Avoid fruits and vegetables with skin along with raw vegetables.  Today I'm planning on having some salmon and broccoli. Wow, sounds exciting right? Well, I'm totally pumped because I haven't had anything but liquids and pureed foods for about 6 weeks so we are definitely ready. Matilda and I certainly has quite an eventful week. We went to a Bruno Mars concert - which I was a bit nervous about. We also went out to dinner with family and did a 3K walk. So, lets debrief. I've been waiting for this concert since January when I got the tickets. I went with my hubby and my parents - my mom is a quite a fan as well. I was a bit apprehensive because the last time I was enjoying ...

Hey everyone.  Week one of the Whole30 Program is done, and I'm still alive.  I didn't die by eliminating added sugars, alcohol, grains, beans and whatnot from my diet.  But I will tell you one thing, this week was not easy.  Let me elaborate.The creators of the Whole9 state on their website that, "Whole9’s original program designed to change your life in 30 days. Think of it as a short-term nutritional reset, designed to help you restore a healthy metabolism, heal your digestive tract, calm systemic inflammation and put an end to unhealthy cravings, habits, and relationships with food."  In reading their book, I realized that I wasn't making the best choices for optimal mental and physical performance so I decided to give it a try.  I'm going to give you an idea of how my week went - feel free to skip through the days if you aren't interested. Sunday... I started.  It was fun playing in the kitchen and making some new dishes that were very health...

Hey bloggers!  Another week has come and gone.  It seems that time is just flying by.   I can't believe that it's almost been a year since I started my new life.  I've had some hiccups - ups and downs.  I'm just happy that I made the conscious decision to stick with this and not deviate.  It used to be easy to give up and say, "I don't want to do this anymore."  But, I'm not that person anymore.  I don't want to be obese and unhealthy.  I'm living a full, active life, accomplishing goals, and doing things I though I never could, and I'm much happier for it. This week was...interesting to say the least.  I decided to do something this week that I haven't done in a very long time.  I didn't know what would happen, but what the hell, right?  You only live once.  So, what did I do?  I CHEATED . Cheated?  What do you mean you cheated?  Well, I don't really like the word "cheat."  Cheating signifies ...

Happy Fall Everyone!  I have to admit I'm supercharged this morning, and there are several reasons why.  First, we are entering my favorite season of the year. I love Fall.  I love the colors.  My favorite holidays are in fall (Halloween and Thanksgiving).  I love the cool temperatures and the clothes.  I love all the fun activities.  Fall is just a time for getting comfy.  To celebrate fall, I've decided to have a spot of tea while writing the blog.  I'm all in the spirit today.  Got London on the mind hence the tea.  It's not Earl Grey or Twinnings, but it'll do. As for the other reason... I've hit a rather important milestone today.  It's been on my heals teasing me for well over a month, and we've been dancing around each other like we're partners in the Tango.  Well, I finally tackled it this week, and believe me, it was a pain-infested, brutal, no-holds bared battle to the finish, and I won!  That's right....

Hi Readers!  Did you miss me?  It's nice to be back home and sleeping in my own bed.  I tell you...although my accommodations in Charleston, SC, were absolutely amazing, there is nothing like returning to your own bed for a restful night of sleep. I had a good vacation.  I did some shopping...actually, I did a a lot of shopping.  I did some eating... AND...I walked.  A LOT!  If you ever get a chance to go to Charleston, I highly recommend it.  It's the perfect city to see on foot.  I went to college there so I'm very familiar with the city.  It was great to be back.  Charleston was very good to me when I was in college.  I love that city! I was really excited to get on the road and arrive at Wild Dunes .  We stayed in a private residence condo.  It was lovely and spacious.  Just a hop from the beach.  I'm not a beach person so I really only went out there once to take a few photos.  I was ...

I hate having a case of the Mondays....that lasts  all week! Hey Blog Readers!  I'm sending a special shout out to all of my international readers.  They are actually some people reading from Malaysia and Russia!  How awesome!  So, feel free to add comments.  I'd love to hear from you - actually...I'd love to hear from all of my readers.  Knowing that you are out there rooting for me (I hope you are) makes me feel fantastic.  And considering how this week went, any bit of good news and encouragement is welcome. I'm not a complainer.  I never have been.  If there is something I don't like about myself or a situation I'm in, I try my best to change it.  I don't really like burdening people with my problems.  But every now and then something happens and I have to let my frustrations out.  So, I appreciate those who lent their ears to me this week.  Thank you so much for listening me to this week, and letting me ...

Good day Blog Readers!  Sorry for the delay in posting.  My weekend was crazy busy and productive as well.  I had my bestie's baby shower on Sunday (**waves to bestie**), and I spent Saturday with friends.  We went to see the Hunger Games, and we had lunch at Chipotle.   If you are one of the poor souls who doesn't know what Chipotle  (the restaurant...not the pepper) is, you are missing quite the treat especially if you enjoy Mexican food.  I even made sure to split my burrito bowl into two servings so I had leftovers for dinner.  I wasn't able to do that before.  I love Chipotle so much that I would eat the entire burrito bowl and a side of chips in one sitting - which would pretty much make me queasy.  I'm just happy that I'm able to have these types of meals and include them in my lifestyle.  All in all, my week was all over the place, and it was my fault.  I did something that I told myself I wouldn't do...

Week #4 has come and gone.  One month into my quest for better health and a better quality of life, and I already feel different.  I definitely have more energy.  I have a pep in my step - where before I used to dread leaving my desk to go to the bathroom or even warm up my lunch.  Let me tell you I used to find reasons not to move before.  It's amazing what a little exercise will do your body mentally and physically. Week #4 also find me down two more pounds for a total weight loss of 13 LBS. IN FOUR WEEKS!   That's pretty awesome, so right now I'm mentally patting myself on my back.  I feel quite good about what I've been able to do so far.  I've been able to go out to eat and make some good choices, and some not so good choices.  For example, I ate at Red Robin twice in a weeks period.  That's not the best decision I ever made, but I made sure that if I ate a cheeseburger and steak fries, I was going to earn them.  An...