Superfood Kiwi!

Kiwi

Kiwi fruit is loaded with vitamin C, folate, Vitamin E, potassium, fiber. They only have 93 calories for two kiwi fruits. They are an antioxidant all star. They have more of the equivalent amount of vitamin C than an orange does.
They promote heart health by lowering triglyceride levels and reduce platele and hyperactivity. It also the limits of blood to form clots. You can eat the whole kiwi as long as you rub the fuzz off of the skin! They are great to toss into salads, fruit salads and smoothies.

Portion Control

Portion Control is a huge issue for a lot of us. There are lots of ways to watch what you eat and the size of what you eat. Instead of limiting what you eat, focus on making superfoods the largest part of your daily food intake. Instead of limiting food types, limit portion sizes, it's the non diet that last a life time. Often people ask me what diet I'm on. I'm not on any diet, I just watch my portions and caloric intake. Diet's don't work. Watching what you put into your mouth does. At lot of us don't make the connection between the amount of food we consume and weight gain. A lot of us think that it's better to cut fat then eat a reduce amount of foods with fat. An example of portion distortion is this- you may eat a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, that's 700 calories, for that amount you could eat 3 medium bananas(280 calories), 2 slights of light bread(80 calories), 1 cup of oatmeal(100 calories), 1 cup of cheerios(100 calories), 1 English muffin(140 calories), all of that equals 700 calories. The bagel is equal to 3 and half breakfasts. So how do you get portion control to work for you:

1. Practice measuring your food before plating it.
2. Eat with eyes as well as fork, use smaller plates/cups and bowls.
3. Adjust balance of food on your plate, more green, less starch, less meat.
4. Don't serve meals family style, plate them before hitting the table.
5. Store leftover in separate containers and not all leftovers in one.
   
6. Don't eat out of a bag or carton.
7. When you go out to eat, share plate, or box half of meal up before you eat.
8. Consider ordering a children's meal if allowed.
9. Don't eat the crackers!!
10. Consider replacing food into servings sizes at home, meaning you get a bag of something, separate it into portion sizes as labeled on package.
    
11. Fat free and sugar free foods still have calories, sometimes as many as their regular versions.

*All information has been adapted from SuperFoods HealthStyle By Dr. Steven Pratt.*

Week 7 20/20 Plan

I'm going to try running again next week, I wasn't able to this week yet.

Friday-Out to Dinner
Saturday-Stuffed Chicken Breast
Sunday-Leftover Spaghetti Pie
Monday-Cajun Kielbasa and Rice
Tuesday-Pork Goulash
Wednesday-Smothered Chicken
Thursday-Ginger Tilapia

A Few More Superfoods

Oranges:


Oranges are great for you because they have vitamin C, folate, limonene, pectin, fiber, potassium, and polyphenols. You should eat 1 serving daily of oranges. The vitamin C in them helps fight away current and future health problems you may have, prevents cancers, common colds, cardio/stroke problems. Our bodies are unable to produce vitamin C on their own so you need to replace the vitamin C from dietary sources. Your daily intake should be 350 mg. Did you know that the concentration of vitamin C in orange pulp is double that found in the peel and 10 times of that found in juice without pulp, so buy the juice with the pulp!

Beans:
Beans are great because they are low in fat, have a lot of protein, fiber, vitamin B, iron, folate, potassium, magnesium, phytonutrients. There are so many different types of beans that you have such a vast choice. You should have about 4 1/2 cups a week of beans. They help to lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar and reduce obesity. Beans are great hot or cold. They are very inexpensive and loaded with fiber. They provide you with fulfillment with minimal calories. They also prevent gall bladder surgery.

Cinnamon:


Cinnamon has an effect on blood glucose levels, triglycerides and cholesterol. Cinnamon is still being researched as to why it's a superfood, but scientist can say that it is a superfood.


Oats:

Oats are loaded with fiber, beat glucen, they are low calorie, full of proteins, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, selenium and thiamin. You should have 10 grams of whole grains a day. Oats help to reduce cholesterol, diabetes, cancers, stokes and obesity. Oats have two super side kicks. One is flax seeds, flax seeds are the best plant source of omega 3 fatty acids. Flax seeds are great to sprinkle on oatmeal, yogurt, pancakes, and muffins. You should only consume 1 to 2 tablespoons of flax seeds a day. The second super side kick is wheat germ, the same things you can put flax seeds on are also great to put wheat germ on. You should consume no more then 2 tablespoons of wheat germ a day. Other sources of oats are quinoa, millet and buckwheat. I've been cooking with all of these instead of pasta lately because of the benefits.

Tomatoes:

Tomatoes main ingredient is lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant. They are very low in calories, full of vitamin C and lots of alpha/beta carotene. You should have 1 serving processed daily. Tomatoes reduce cancers, coronary artery disease and sun related skin damages.

*All information has been adapted from SuperFoods HealthStyle By Dr. Steven Pratt.*

Time To Look At 1001 List

Re-Visiting 101 Things

It's time to revisit my 101 things in 1001 days! Remember items with strike through are completed!

1. Have 15 date nights with hubby(5/15).
2. Play guitar hero/rock band to find out why everyone is addicted to it.
3. Splurge on dinner at Capital Grille and a movie.
4. Have 4 girls’ night outs.(1/4)
5. Call my friends at least every two weeks for 4 months.
6. Have friends over for a cocktail party.
7. Visit my grandmother at least 2 times a month for 6 months.
8. Create & send out birthday cards every month (0/12)
9. Go through old toys/dolls and donate unwanted ones to Children’s hospital or other charity.
10. Visit an animal shelter and help out .
11. Visit CHOP and read to children that are there.
12. Volunteer - anywhere.
13. Donate to a food shelter once a month for 6 months.
14. Collect items throughout year for Toys for Tots.
15. Complete a 5k .
16. Complete a 10k.
17. Forgive someone.
18. Write a letter to a loved one at least once a month for six months.
19. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
20. Give someone a sincere compliment at least once a week for a month..
21. Bake something for a bake good sale at least four times.
22. Complete the Ben Franklin Bridge Run.
23. No sweets for two weeks.
24. Make sure all products in shower are organic/natural.
25. Try a yoga/Pilate's class.
26. Go vegan for a week.
27. Take the pug for long walks over a mile at least twice a week for a month.(8/10)
28. Switch to all-natural cleaning products.
29. Splurge on 6 hour day at a spa.
30. Splurge on a 6 hour day at the spa with the hubby.
31. Have healthy children.
32. Take my pre-natal vitamins everyday for one month.
33. Make at least 4 unity candles/memorial candles a month for 4 months
34. Try 3 new recipes for 3 months.
35. Plant an herb garden.
36. Take a Wilton's Cake Class.
37. Take Pug to the dog park at least once a month for 6 months.(3/6)
38. Buy a house with the hubby.
39. Put 10 bucks away every two weeks for 6 months.
40. Close all credit cards.
41. Clean out our closet and get rid of things we no longer need or want.
42. Keep the refrigerator and spice cabinet stocked with staple food/seasonings
43. Cook a meal with all complete organic items.
44. Clean and organize the garage.
45. Stain back deck.
46. .Plant new flowerbeds in backyard.
47. Complete spring clean the house from head to toe.
48. Only eat out once a month for six months.
49. Update my passport.
50. Travel to another country.
51. Visit Chicago.
52 Go back to Boston.
53. Visit the Napa Valley.
54. Take a weekend trip on the motorcycle with Chris.
55. Go on a day trip to somewhere we've never been.
56. Visit the Philly Art Museum with hubby.
57. Go to at least 3 Philadelphia Sport Team Games(1/3).
58. Visit the Baltimore Aquarium.
59. Go see a show on Broadway.
60. Go on a weekend trip to NYC.
61. Eat at the Rainbow Room.
62. Read at least one of the books from the Twilight Series
63. Finish "The Other Boleyn Girl"
64. Watch at least 25 movies in 8 months.(8/25)
65. Try 10 new restaurants(5/10).
66. See at least 5 shows at the Walnut Street Theatre
67. Have friends over at least once a month for six months(2/6).
68. Read, What to Expect When your Expecting, by the time kiddies are ready.
69. Read at least two books from Oprah's Book Club.
70. Be a guest on The View/Rachel Ray/Conan.
71. Go to a pumpkin patch/hayride/scary thing.
72. Re-learn Spanish.
73. Attend an event the hubby really wants to go to.
74. Attend a dance show.
75. Send a letter to hubby at his work.
76. Write a letter for no reason to 3 friends.
77. Start a mini-cookbook.
78. Give blood.
79. Right thank you cards for all things people do for us.
80. Participate in Big Sister club.
81. Take more photographs.
82. Bake a batch of cookies for a shelter for Christmas.
83. Complete this list.
84. Get up early to watch the sun rise over the lake at the cottage.
85. Catch a fish at the cottage this year while fishing!
86. Get a new cell phone that I really love and not just like.
87. Have three totally different hairstyle's.(1/3)
88. Get married.
89. Go to Peddler's Village with the girls.
90. Make Chris breakfast in bed at least once a month for 3 months.
91. Try to eat at least 4 hot wings.(1/4)
92. Donate books I have read to schools/charities.
93. Go camping.
94. Write a poem.
95. Stay in touch with my knot girls and see them at least once every 6 months.(2/6)
96. See all of the Best Picture nominees for the 2008 Oscars.
97. Complete the 100 push up challenge.
98. Run at least 3 times a week for 3 months.(3/44)
99. Donate 5 bucks to any charity for any incomplete items after 1001 days.
100. Go horseback riding.
101. Cook a 5 course meal for friends/family.

Week 5 Results

-1 pound this week! I'm sure it be a bit more if Easter candy didn't take over on Monday. That's great news to me, since I only started working out very lightly on Tuesday. I also started using weights and when I use weights I typically gain some weight at first but I stayed light(ten pounds) and didn't gain any weight!

This weeks calorie count:
Friday-1145
Saturday-1580
Sunday-1253
Monday-1735-Easter Candy got the best of me today
Tuesday-1236
Wednesday-1596
Thursday-1212

Super Foods

What are superfoods? A superfood is a food with high phytonutrient content that comes with health benefits. Ashlee over at Ash Is Fit has dedicated the month of April to superfoods and has been listing superfoods all month. The book I am currently reading also list super foods and I wanted to share them with you. If you are avid reader of Ashlee's blog some of these probably will be repetitive to you. I'm simply posting these foods for a reminder for me when I am done the book and it is returned to the library and also for my readers who may not read Ash's blog.

The first superfood the book introduces is dark chocolate:



Dark chocolate has polyphenols. This doesn't mean eat all the dark chocolate you want by any means. Try to stick to eating about 100 calories per day of dark chocolate and eat only dark chocolate. Eating a huge amount of dark chocolate will result in a weight gain. Dark chocolate should be saved as a small treat. Dark chocolate helps in lowering blood pressure, increases blood flow and a healthy heart. It takes about four hundred cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate. Chocolate has 510 milligrams of flavonol. The polyphenols in dark chocolate act to calm the smooth muscles of blood vessels. When you buy dark chocolate look for one with a high level of cocoa solids. The higher amount of cocoa solids the higher amount of polyphenols. Look for dark chocolate that has about 70 percent of cocoa solids. So just a square or two daily of dark chocolate to enjoy this superfood!

*All information has been adapted from SuperFoods HealthStyle By Dr. Steven Pratt.*

2 Week After Surgery

Today is two weeks after surgery and for the most part I'm starting to feel almost normal again. I have some minor pain discomfort from the two main incisions but other than that, I'm able to work out moderately. The best thing that happened this week is that I can SNEEZE without feeling as though I'm going to bust all my incisions open. I'm still unable to wear anything but comfy pants, meaning jeans are a no go, I haven't tried since Monday, so I'm hoping by this weekend I can.

The surgery it's self wasn't terrible. I went in around 7 am and we were home by about 2 pm and that was after stopping at drug store to get my pain medication, saltines and some mira lax. Of course I was asleep soon after I was in the operating room. While they were wheeling me into the room, the one nurse asked if I was feeling a little loopy and I said "oh yeah, big time" and she goes "your a cheap date!", that's all I remember till I woke up to the recovery nurse saying my name over and over again to wake me up. When I woke up I was very out of it, as you are from the anesthesia and I had major pain on my right side, but was so out of it the first time the nurse asked me I said I was fine, they were about to send me back to the room, and then she came back and I told her I had pain and she gave me some meds through the IV.

After I was back in the room of course I had to eat the ginger ale and crackers. I actually was told not to drink as much the first day because of all the IV fluids that were inserted into me and all the gas. Remember me saying that they insert you with a gas so you look 15 months pregnant.

Chris did a great job taking care of me! Thursday night he slept on the floor for part of the night because I was on the couch. That didn't last long though because I couldn't lay down because of the pain in my stomach and the pain in your shoulder. The pain you get from the gas goes right to your shoulder and it hurts bad. I was in tears and when I say tears, I mean hysterically crying. Chris was laughing at me, because he's never seen me cry that bad, which was pretty mean, at least I thought, but his reasoning was that he was trying to make me laugh. I ended up sleeping on the love seat cause I could sit up a bit. Pug was a good doggie and slept with Chris on the big couch.

Friday, the in-laws, sister in law and her boyfriend came down for Easter weekend. I did manage to venture to the grocery store with Chris on Friday, it was hard. But the best remedy to get rid of the gas is to walk it off. Friday night I slept again on the couch. Saturday was a bit better, mostly just laying around on the couch.

Sunday I finally managed to get my hair washed. We went to Easter dinner at my parents house. That car ride wasn't fun and I'm glad we didn't decide to drive 8 hours to Buffalo, because the hour half to Boyertown was long enough. I wasn't allowed to shower till Monday, so I was getting sponge baths. By Sunday night I was sleeping in the bed with pillows all around me. Another annoying thing was, I didn't sleep through the night in almost two weeks till Monday of this week. I was up about every 2 hours before. I went to Dr. Heller, the surgeon last Thursday to get everything removed and he said it all looked great. He told me that I need to take it easy for about 2 more weeks, but if I'm feeling good enough to do something, do it, and just do what I can do.

The worst part of the surgery is the shoulder pain really. Yes, the other incision hurt, but I can deal with that. The other part is the pain medications they prescribe block your system up and therefore mira lax becomes your best friend. The other part is introducing foods back into your system. It's like a game, either you win or your lose. If something is ok, your good. But if not, without getting into gross things, your in the bathroom right away is all I'll say. I haven't had much trouble with foods. The one thing I can't eat is yogurt. I get very sick when I've tried it, twice now. Fatty foods of course aren't my friend either.

Like I said I'm finally able to sneeze this week, it just sort of happened on Tuesday. I've started exercising moderately again. I'm getting there! I still have very minor pains and discomfort, but I have to remember that I had an organ part moved and other organs moved around and everything is settling back into place.

Week 6 20/20 Plan

This week I'll be getting back into running, hopefully. I think my body is ready.

Here is my flood plan:
Friday- Chris has a golf tournament, so I'm on my own, I think I'll be making Edamame Risotto.
Saturday-We have a family event to attend, so I'll have to be careful.
Sunday-Beer Braised Pot Roast
Monday-Ginger Tilapia with kale
Tuesday-Maple Glazed Chicken and Quinoa
Wednesday-Honey Mustard Salmon
Thursday-Penne with turkey sausage

Benefits of Exercise

I'm currently reading Superfoods Health Style by Steven G. Pratt, M.D. I just got it today so I'm not that far into, but so far it's a good read. He list many reason that exercise is beneficial to your health and I thought I'd share them with you:

• Exercise can make your heart stronger.
• Exercise burns calories and helps you maintain a healthy weight.
• Exercise is essential for keeping off lost weight.
• Exercise decreases inflammatory markers.
• Exercise helps to control your blood sugar and thus helps to manage or prevent diabetes.
  
• Exercise can improve circulation, which has myriad beneficial health effects.
• Exercise can decrease blood pressure.
  
• Exercise increases your cognitive ability, including your ability to concentrate and remain alert.
• Exercise before and after a meal diminishes the postprandial rise in potentially harmful triglycerides(a type of fat).
• Exercise can decrease your risk for metabolic syndrome.
• Exercise can decrease the levels of bad low density lipoprotein(LDL cholesterol) and increase the levels of good quality high density(HDL) cholesterol.
• Exercise can boost the immune system.
• Exercise can reduce back pain.
• Exercise lowers your risk for upper respiratory infections.
• Exercise helps relieve arthritis.
• Exercise lowers your overall risk of dying prematurely.
• Exercise can make you stronger and more flexible.
• Exercise, particularly weight bearing exercise can make you stronger.
• Exercise increases your levels of endorphins which are brain chemicals that increase your sense of well being. Thus exercise can improve mood and fight depression.
• Exercise reduces the frailty of old age.
• Exercise is an essential activity to prevent cataracts and age related macular degeneration.

With all these benefits exercise offers, get out and do something!!

Weekend Project!

I'm SO excited to share this with everyone. We love to plant our own garden but for some reason every year not everything turns out well. Our first year living together we planted a garden in our backyard and I told Chris not to spray this feed and weed on it, because my mom had used it in the past and it killed her plants. Well he didn't listen and we lost everything. Then we moved into a townhouse and there isn't much room for a garden there, so we had two tomato plants in pots on our deck, which was fine we got some tomatoes from it. Then we moved again into another townhouse and last summer our deck was covered it pots and window boxes with veggies. Some of them made it, but for the most part they got to big for the containers they were in. So this year we said we weren't gonna bother with it. But then I was on the Pioneer Woman's garden blog and saw this easy, what looked easy raised garden box to build. Chris said there was no way I'd be able to do it and if I did he'd me amazed. Well guess what my friends....he is!


Yesterday, Chris went golfing, so I decided to make a list of what I needed and take it to Lowes. I went into the indoor lumber yard totally clueless and tried to find what I needed my self, but no luck. So I went up to the nice little old man and said "Hi, I have this list and I have no clue what to get, so can you help me?" And he did, he even put it in my car for me! Now the fun part, I didn't realize how heavy these pieces of wood were, but I was bound and determined to get this garden bed made before Chris came home. So I carried the wood to the back of the house, yes, I know I shouldn't of done it, because I'm paying for it today. It still hurts a lot(my incision from moving/being active a lot, especially bending). Anyways, I got the drill out and other tools I need and I started making my marks to drill holes, etc. Well I had to cut an 8 foot board in half because I needed two 4 foot boards so I got out the ciruclar saw. Well, big fail there. That thing is WAY to powerful for me, so I had to wait for Chris to get home. I actually texted him and told him I had it out, and his reply was "STOP, NO WAY, PUT IT BACK"

So he got home and helped me cut the wood and I finished. So here you go my project, yes, me, built this from 6 pieces of wood and 6 wood steaks, I'm SO proud of my self. I'm the least bit construction savvy.

So today we went and got our veggies and planted!

Oh yeah, don't mind the Pug posing in the one picture. Don't mind our grass either, our homeowners association takes horrible care of seeding in the spring. That area of our yard is the worst, hence why we put the box where it is!

Week 5 Plan 20/20

I'm not sure what my exercise will be this week, I'm still on the mend! But I'm going to try to start getting back into a routine.

Dinner Plan:

Friday-King Crab Legs/Filet Mignon
Saturday-?
Sunday-Pork Chops
Monday-Chicken Hash
Tuesday-Teriyaki Flounder and Soba Noodles
Wednesday-French Onion Pork Chop Skillet
Thursday-Mexican lasagna

Week 4 20/20

The past week has been a bit crazy, so for the past two weeks I haven't posted my food/calorie intake or exercise. Thia past week it was impossible really because I wasn't eating much and I really wasn't feeling well enough to spend my time tracking all of that. I am going to get back on it with week 5! Because of my surgery I have to basically re introduce every food back into my body, so it's been a trying week. I'm still learning what I can eat and what I can't and it will be like that for a while.

But...in other news last week when I weighed my self, on Friday(the day after my surgery, I had gained all but one pound back) I wasn't too worried about it because it mostly came from the gas they inserted me and all the IV fluids).

I was only concerned that I wouldn't lose much more because of not being able to work out because of the surgery. I was also a bit worried because of Easter and all the yummy foods. But I was careful with what I ate and I ended up losing 6 pounds this week for a total weight loss of 7 pounds so far in 4 weeks!

So I'm VERY ecstatic to display this:

Amazing Jump Rope!

Check out this video:

Susan Boyle

If you haven't heard of her yet or listened to her yet, you must be under a rock, this woman is amazing! CBS did a great interview with her this morning. Check it out:

Watch CBS Videos Online

Tax Day Freebies

It’s a national tradition for companies to offer tax day deals. This year, a variety of chain restaurants are discounting and even giving away free food. We’ve included a comprehensive list below. (Note: Some offers are regional. Call or visit the store nearest you to see what’s on offer.)

McDonald’s: Offers vary by region. Some locations are offering free coffee; others are offering a buy one-get the second for a penny deal for Big Macs and Quarter Pounders.

Cinnabon: Free bite-size cinnamon rolls between 5pm-8pm.

P.F. Changs: 15% discount on meals today.

T.G.I. Friday’s: If you spend more than $15 on food and drinks, you get a $5 gift card. If you spend more than $25, they give you $10.

Chick-fil-A: Some locations are allowing customers to buy a meal today, save the receipt, and receive the same meal–free–sometime within the next 30 days when you show your receipt. Others are offering free desert.

Papa John’s: Order a large, three-topping cheese pizza online for $10.40.

Donatos Pizza: Some stores will be offering pizzas for $4.15 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Maggie Moo’s: One free scoop of ice cream.

Walgreen’s: 15% off online orders with the coupon code TAXED.

McCormick & Schmick: Offering $10.40 dinner gift coupons for taxpayers.

Dunkin Donuts: One free doughnut when you buy a cup of coffee.

Panera: Free coffee tomorrow, April 16 only.

Zazzle.com: 10.4% off clothing orders with TAXDAYZAZZLE code.

Taco Del Mar: One free taco after you print out a coupon from their website.

Outta Here!

If you are from the Philadelphia area, I'm sure you've heard the news by now. But earlier this week on Monday, we lost one of the greatest voices the Delaware county has. Harry Kalas passed away in the broadcasting booth before the start of the Phillie's game against the Washington Nationals. He died of cardiovascular diesease. The Phils went on to win the game, but we lost a legend in broadcasting. Harry had a voice that was known without seeing a face. He was with the Phillies for 38 years, so for me I've never heard another voice with the Phils. It was so weird listening to the game on Monday and I'm sure it's going to take a long time to get used to it. In 2002, Harry was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A great tribute video by Comcast:


The Phillies are holding a special memorial service for HK, Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, starting at 8 am, and at 1 pm there will be an on field tribute for Harry. The Phils are also adding HK to their uniforms for the rest of the season.

If you remember when I posted awhile back when the Phillies won the world series, I leave you with that final memory we have of Harry. At least he got to call a World Series.

Chris's Gym

So the week before my surgery Chris had mentioned that he wanted to buy his own "home" gym, so that we could both stop paying ridiculous amounts for a gym membership. When he showed me online he didn't show me the sizes, probably because of how big it is! I told him he was only allowed to get it, if it fit downstairs in our family room where we have space, it's where we hang out the most but it's a big family room. He said of course it will and so we ordered it. He wanted to put it in our family room upstairs because there is nothing in that room really besides a rocking chair and love seat. Our living room upstairs has the other TV and couches. So fast forward to the day it was shipped it weighs about 800 pounds and came in this HUGE box. Once it was out of the box and pieces were laying around we came to the conclusion that it was way too big to add to our family room, so Chris won and it's now upstairs in our family room. I'm in the process of finding one of those privacy screens to cover it up a bit. But here is Chris's finally working out with it last night:
*Don't mind Puggie's babies in the picture, she has them everywhere all over the house*

6 months!!

Can you believe Chris and I have been married for 6 months already!! Today is 6 months for us!

Week 4 Plan 20/20

I'm not sure how exercise will span out this week since I'm recovering from surgery but here is our food plan:

Friday-Turkey Burgers
Saturday-Easter Dinner # 1
Sunday-Easter Dinner # 2
Monday-Chicken Hash
Tuesday-Beef Cubes with Sauce
Wednesday-Maple Mustard Salmon
Thursday=Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Puggie Says...

Gall bladder is coming out!

On Thursday I have surgery to get my gall bladder out. I'm actually pretty excited for this believe it or not. I'm a bit nervous, as anyone would be before getting surgery. But the amount of pain I've experienced with this silly organ, I'm glad it's coming out. I haven't said anything on my blog about this but most of my friends and family are aware of the situation.



I've been getting this awful, what felt like gas pains in my upper right abdominal area. The only thing that would seem to help the pain was to sit in a fetal position and rock back and forth. After about a month or dealing with it, I finally went to the doctor. I got an ultrasound. In the ultrasound there was a gall stone that was too big to pass on it's on. That equals surgery.

The gall bladder actually isn't needed by your body, evolution just hasn't caught up to that yet. Basically all this pear shaped organ does it store bile that squirt out when you eat a fatty food. Without the gall bladder your liver produces the bile that is needed for a healthy-diet.

Gall bladder removal surgery is actually one of the most common surgeries preformed in the US.

Week 3 Work-Out/Dinner Plans

Week 3

This week will be cut short one day for me because of getting surgery. Thankfully though it's the last day of the week. I'm going to be ambitious now and say I'll do a DVD before I go to the hospital in the morning.

Friday-Dinner Out/ Run 5 and 1's, 5 times, dog walk

Saturday-Beef Tenderloin, veggies, quinoa Alfredo, Run 5 and 1's, 5 times

Sunday-Turkey Stromboli, Rest Day

Monday-Chicken and Spaghetti Squash, Run 5 and 1's, 5 times, dog walk

Tuesday-Chris really wants some steak, so I'll get out a half portion of filet Mignon for me, Jillian DVD, 30 min dog walk

Wednesday-Beef Skewers and couscous, Run 5 and 1's 5 times, dog walk

Thursday-Pork Fried Rice(going to make it earlier in the week), This is surgery day, so I'm going to *try* to do a Jillian DVD before going to surgery

Moving

THIS WAS AN APRIL FOOL'S DAY JOKE!! IT IS NOT TRUE!!! WE AREN'T MOVING!!!!!!!!

Well, we haven't told anyone yet, but Chris's company notified him a week ago that there was a job opportunity in Belize, South America. We thought about this long and hard and we've decided that we are going to go, it's only for four years.

You can read an article here about what he will be doing:

Belize will improve Solid Waste Management with IDB Support

Program will build new waste disposal facilities in the country’s Western Corridor.

Belize will receive a US$11,150,000 loan from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) to improve solid waste management practices, reduce environmental pollution and enhance the image of Belize in the eco-tourism market through better management of its municipal dump sites.

The program will focus on the solid waste management needs of the Western Corridor (Belize City, San Ignacio and Santa Elena), and the islands of Ambergris and Caye Caulker, and will also strengthen the overall capacity of the central government to improve solid waste management. The total population served along the Western Corridor is 119,000 people, which accounts for 40% of the total population of Belize.

The infrastructure investments of the program include the closure of the open dump site in Mile 3 and the construction of a main waste transfer facility to help waste separation and recycling, the construction of a new regional waste disposal facility at Mile 24 and the long haul of wastes volumes for final disposal at the new site. Open dumpsites in San Pedro, Caye Caulker and San Ignacio will be close down and transfer facilities in those sites or in alternative sites will be built.

The institutional strengthening component will assure that capacity within Belize’s Solid Waste Management Agency (SWMA) is in place to execute the project and carry out its mandate.

“Improved solid waste management is very important to Belize, providing a much needed service to the population and protecting the environment, a critical resource for sustainable economic growth,” said IDB Representative in Belize Caroline Clarke.

The IDB loan, to be disbursed in a 4-year period, has a 25-year term with a 4-year grace period at a variable interest rate. Local counterpart funds will total US$3,639,000, which includes financing from OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).


So while this is going to be different lifestyle for us and a whole new start, it should be fun, we are both excited! We were joking that the Pug will have to get all her fur shaved off because she will be too hot with it all!

H20

Water is SUPER important in your diet. We been told for a while 8 glasses a day is the amount you should drink, but in reality research has shown that there is no set amount for everyone to drink. It depends on your weight, your activity and a few other factors. Water is your body's principal chemical component, making up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues.

I've been trying to get 32 ounces of water in a day. I've been carrying around my Nalgene water bottle. I eventually want to get to drinking 64 ounces of water a day. But if you ever started drinking more water then usual, you know what happens, you can't stop going to the bathroom, so I'm starting out slow and getting adjusted to it!


So get your water!