three things i'm trying to quit...

      we all have things we struggle with, things we need to give up. i have more than these three things, for sure. these are just the ones that i know are most important for me to quit right now. 

i don't really put that many packets in my cup.

      1.  fake sugars. we’ve all heard the rumors that “they” tell about fake sugars: what it’s doing to your brain, how awful it is for you in the long run, etc. well living w/ diabetes can lead to using fake sugars instead of real sugar.

the one place i tend to use fake sugar a lot, or at all, is in my coffee.  even though i only drink decaf, I still drink a lot of coffee five days of the week.  at the end of each day i may have consumed between 10 to 15 packets of fake sugar. ridiculous. i know. this has been going on for about a year now, maybe longer.

so this week i decided to start backing off of them and now i’m down to 6-9 a day. of course, the end goal of this is to not use them anymore. my goal for next week is 4-6. slowly but surely :)

what is sleep?

2. staying up late. i can’t remember a time when i didn’t enjoy staying up late. i always feel like I need to be the last one asleep in the house. i’d like to blame this on (but cannot) years of slumber parties where the first girl who fell asleep always had the misfortune of ending up w/ whip cream in her face, or some other absurd prank young girls like to play on one another. i never wanted to be that girl. and I never was :)

fast forward some years and here i am. always hopeful of going to sleep before the 12 o’clock hour, and pretty much failing to meet that curfew every night. i get this second wind and then it’s all over. and of course i play on my phone for a good 30 minutes each night once i get in bed. dropping it on my face at least once during that time.

i am usually running off of six to six and a half hours each night, excluding friday nights if i am fortunate enough to sleep in the next day. and just like fake sugars, not getting enough sleep is so bad for your health, in so many way and on so  many levels.

if i do happen to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, i feel so good and so happy about it and think “i should do this every night!” i’m just not consistent in this area of my life. and I NEED to be, as it leads to my third thing that i need to quit…

this is my actual alarm :)

3. showing up late to places. including, but certainly not limited to: work, dinner, coffee dates or working out w/ a friend. i know that it is so selfish and disrespectful. i am fortunate to be surrounded by super loving and gracious friends, family, bosses and coworkers.

from time to time, people get upset w/ me about said tardiness. some people even pick on me about it. i can say that i try my best to get places on time, but if i was really trying my best then this wouldn’t be on the list, now would it?

oddly enough, when i do show up somewhere early I feel so awkard, like “what do i do w/ this time?” it’s as if i have no idea where to stand or sit or what to do w/ myself. weird you say? yes, I agree :) however, if it is a serious situation, such as being in a wedding, i will not be late. that would be the worst offense.

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friends, hold me accountable, please. ask me how i’m doing with these three things when you see me or talk to me. i hope to tell you by the end of this summer that i have conquered all three :)

wishing you all a safe memorial day weekend!

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a confession and a challenge.

i'm about to be really honest w/ you and put myself in a vulnerable position. i'm doing it b/c i think it's important, i want people to be more aware of their health, and i want to encourage someone else.

on july 26, 2013 i was diagnosed w/ type 2 diabetes.

(i went to my doctor the day before b/c i had been having some weird heart palpitations for the last several days and wanted to get them checked out. i had also been extremely tired recently and very thirsty, which i would later be reminded are symptoms of diabetes.)

my doctor's office called me and told me the news while i was at work. it came as a complete shock to me. (both of my parents have diabetes so i knew i had a chance of getting it, but i thought my chances were slim b/c i do not have a big sweet tooth, very rarely drink sugary drinks, etc.)

i immediately broke down in tears and left work early. i called my mom and texted a few close friends who i knew would pray for me. it's one of those things where i felt embarrassed and just knew that people could look at me and tell that something was different. i realize now how dramatic that sounds, but that is honestly the way i felt. i also knew i just needed to get through that day and i would be able to see more clearly.

i went back in to the doctor the next week to talk about medicine and what i needed to change in order to get my blood sugar down to the number range it should be in. one of my greatest fears in life is being dependent on medicine and i knew i wanted to do everything in my power to change what needed to be changed.

i started checking my blood sugar twice a day and taking a pill every morning. losing weight was next on my list. for two and a half years prior working out was more of a dream than an option, due to back issues that i have. i had recently gotten clearance from my chiropractor to exercise again. i was really excited and scared at the same time.

i joined a gym again, for the first time in four years, and began working out three to five times a week. i watched my sugar intake, which was making sure i didn't eat any sweets (unless sugar free - aka that fake sugar), yogurt and watching the sugars i ate in salad dressings, and other sauces, which if you know me then you know i love a sauce :) and i also limited my carb intake.

my blood sugar got down to the range it needed to be in (and has consistently stayed there) and the weight really seemed to just begin falling off. i've never known what that felt like. i lost 26 pounds in three months! when i went back to check in w/ my doctor about my progress she told me that i was a poster child for what people should do when they find out they have diabetes. i was so encouraged!

a fire had been lit under me. God used the horrible news of diabetes to kick start a healthier lifestyle for me. i had already stopped eating fast food five months prior and knew that God had put that change in to effect to make this one even easier now. i could see clearly. i could see the bigger picture.

my end goal is definitely to come off of the medicine and, God willing, erase the diabetes completely. it won't be easy and i'm not even sure it's entirely possible to wipe it out completely, but i want to do everything i can to try and make that happen.

healthy lunch option for me: lettuce & hummus "sandwich" w/ grapes :)

here's the latest: after losing that 26 pounds in the first three months i gained back 7 of it at the beginning of november, lost 5 of it again after a week of not eating any processed foods, but eventually gained that back. i have kept off the other 19, even through the holidays! unfortunately i have not lost any weight since then. and that is discouraging.

and here comes the challenge: juicing. i love to juice and have used it as a meal replacement several times before. one of my friends decided to juice this week for 5 days. and i thought it would be a great time to do it myself. but i will be doing a full week, 7 days. and i began today! i'm doing it in order to reset/cleanse my system and jump start my weight loss. (among other reasons.)

i'm sure this sounds absolutely crazy to some of you, and that's ok. if you would like to better understand why i'm doing what i'm doing and what juicing can do for your body, PLEASE go watch the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. it's on Netflix and it's so good. you can also read more about it and the guy behind the documentary at www.fatsickandnearlydead.com

a previous juice spill :)

i will be blogging each day of my juicing cleanse to share how i'm feeling, what i'm drinking and answer any questions that y'all may have for me. thank you for taking the time to listen to me and i encourage you all to listen to your bodies when things don't seem quite right.


please click these links for even more information on juicing:
Joe Cross's 3-Day Weekend Juice Cleanse
How To Do A Juice CLeanse

150.

it has been 150 days since i last ate fast food.

you may be wondering what i mean by fast food.

to me that consists of certain restaurants that may or may not have golden arches, crowns, stars, cows or  a little red headed girl w/ braids in her hair in their logo.

i just felt gross from eating so much of it over the 3 months prior to stopping.

it was a decision that needed to be made and i love a good challenge :)

it's a new discipline.

the first week was so tough, but i really have not craved it since.

keeping it real though, i miss french fries the most.

what have you given up to create a healthier lifestyle for yourself?