Day 12

Breakfast
Eggbeaters
Bacon ( Nitrate free)
mango
Banana


Lunch
Grilled Chicken
Avocado
Tomato
Almonds

Dinner
54th st grill for my nephews B-day
Steak
Steamed vegetables
Salad
Cucumber
Carrots
tomato
Balsamic dressing

Day 11

Praciticed stairs today

Breakfast
Turkey
Banana
Canteloupe
Almonds


Lunch
Lean Beef
tomato sauce
olive oil
onion
garlic
Spaghetti squash



Snack
Canteloupe
Olives
Quaker snacks

Dinner
BBq Chicken
Green Beans
Salad
Carrots
Galeos ceasar dressing

What a great Gift

For my birthday a year ago my friend gave me a book she had read. She knew I had been through a lot while dealing with infertility. She was quietly dealing with it too. I on the other hand don't deal with anything quietly. LOL:) I am a group type person if you can;t tell by my setting up this blog. So anyway- she had given this book to me at a time when I was really having a hard time dealing with the emtions of infertility. I fell in love with this book and I wanted to share it with you. I highly reccomend this book whether you are dealing with this or not. It is written well and just delightful. Watching this woman talk about how crazy a woman can get when going through this journey is just so comical. You know how many if I don't laugh I would cry moments you have while going through this craziness. It helps to know you aren't the only person who feels this way. The book is called Waiting for Daisy by Peggy Orentstein. I am not getting paid for this endorsement. I just want to share something that helped me when I was feeling pretty down. I hope you enjoy it. If you read it please let me know what you thought of it

MUST HAVE WATER!

I just found out that during the " Master the Met " I am not allowed to bring my own water. They will only have 3 water stations for a 42 story building!!! Yes if you did the math you just realized that is only 1 water station every 14 stories!!! I am not happy about this since I am a water hound. When I work out I constantly drink water if I don't I get sick. When I called today to see if they were just talking about plastic throw away bottles not the metal reusable one I have and planned to use. The lady was very rude and her exact words were " We can't make an exception just for you" That response was uncalled for. I was asking a simple question. In a very polite manner. I just can't beleive that they are ruling out all water bottles. I understande the plastic throw away ones because there are lazy people who just throw them down and don't even consider the fact that someone could fall on them. But I am having a hard time understanding not allow any water bottles when there are that few water stations. I am now officailly FREAKING OUT!!! I am really really worried I won't get through this.

Day 10

Busy Busy day running around did the best I could but I didn't eat enough. I was starving at dinner time

Breakfast
Banana
Banana Bread
Turkey

Lunch
Ln Ground Beef w/ sauce
Pear
Almonds


Dinner
Homemade Chicken Soup
Chicken ( Boiled off the meat left on a baked whole chicken we had earlier in the week)
Carrots
Onion
Celery
Thyme
Parsley

Steppin and Gasping

On March 6th I will be doing "Master The Met" where I will be climbing the stairs of a 42 story building. Today I went and met 2 of my friend at her office building to practice. The building is 9 stories high so we climbed it 5 times. Whoo was I out of breath. I was breathing so hard I couldn't hear what she was saying to me- LOL. But I feel really good that I did it on my first try. We will meet again this Saturday and Sunday since the race is only a week away.

Day 9

feeling pretty good about this Paleo diet. I am getting used to it. And I really like the weightloss


Breakfast
Banana Bread
Mango
Banana


Lunch
Leftovers from dinner
Lean Beef w/ sauce
Banana

Snack
Mango
Turkey
Almonds



Dinner
Shrimp Stir Fry
Shrimp
Sesame oil
Broccolli
Carrots
Onion
Tamari Soy Sauce

Chocolate Mousse

Review: I like it. I prefer milk chocolate stuff but this is pretty good- can't even tell it has avocados


I will be trying this and reporting back

1 avocado
2 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons honey or Agave

Peel and smash the avocado with a fork. Make sure the avocado is really well smashed. Add the cocoa, mix well. Add the honey, mix well.

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
- 3 bell peppers
- 1/3 lb ground beef
- 1 onion
- 2 very ripe tomatoes
- garlic to taste
- 1 small can of tomato juice

First clean out the peppers,remove the seeds. Then half them and put them in an oven dish. For the stuffing you simply cut up the onion, garlic and the 2 tomatoes. Then mix it well with the minced meat. Nicely top off the peppers, then take your can of tomato juice and pour it around and over the peppers. Bake @ 350 degrees

Zuchinni and Beef

Ingredients;
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 2 zucchini
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- dried oregano

Toss onion and garlic in a frying pan. Add the meat give it a little bit of time to sear. Next up are the tomatoes (cut small). Then chop your zucchini into little blocks and toss them in. Add a lot of oregano, leave for 2 or 3 minutes, and you're done!

Goulash

Review: Yum pretty good. DH thought it was just ok. I thought it was pretty good.


Ingredients(for two);
- 1 lb lean stew meat
- 2 slices bacon
- 2 handfulls of mushrooms
- 2 red peppers
- 3 onions
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 small can thick tomato juice
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 cups beef broth
- red pepper flakes
- 5 cloves
- bay leaves


Before you start, cut everything up. Leave the fat on the meat, that adds some nice flavours. Make generous bite sized chunks.
Put coconut oil in a large pan, and fry your onions and garlic for a minute or two.
Add all your meat, plus the pepper flakes. Make sure it all sears properly.
Add the mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, and tomato juice. Stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
Then pour in your broth and arrange the cloves and bay leaf evenly among your food. Put the lid on, and leave it for 2 hours.
Remember to remove the cloves and laurel leaves before you serve! For family members or friends this goes very well with rice.

Day 8

Breakfast
grabbed something quick

Orange
Almonds


Lunch
Out to eat with Mom and SIL

Italian Salad
Romaine
Tomato
Roasted red Pepper
Artichoke
Italian Dressing
Grilled Chicken

Snack
Banana
Banana Bread( 1 slice)
Choc Carmel Egg

Dinner
96% ln ground beef
Tomato Sauce
Olive Oil
Splash red wine
Onion
garlic
Splash Agave

Salad
carrots
italian dressing

Day 7

Breakfast
Grabbed something fast before step class

Turkey( nitrate free)
Almonds
Pear

Lunch
Baked Chicken
Pear
Spinach
Balsamic
bacon

Dinner
Almond encrusted chicken
Spinach
Bacon
Balsamic
Bacon wrapped dates


Exercise: Step Class

Banana Nut Bread (Paleo Style)

MY REVIEW
YUM very moist and really tasty. I think it turned out pretty good. I give this a thumbs up.


I am running to pick up the eggs and almond flour so I can make this. I will return with my review of it.

Ingredients:
3 eggs, separate
4 tbsp honey or agave
4 tbsp olive oil
2 small bananas or 1 large banana, smashed
1 tsp vanilla
130g almond flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200C/350F.
Cream the egg yolks and honey in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add the oil, vanilla essence, mashed banana and almond flour and combine well.
In a separate bowl, beat the eg whites until stiff peaks form.
Using a clean metal spoon, fold a spoonful of the egg whites into the banana mixture to pull it away from the sides before gradually folding the rest of the egg whites into the mixture. Be careful not to knock all the air out of the egg whites.
Line a loaf tin with baking paper and pour the banana mixture into this.
Place in the oven for 40-45 mins (Note: not the 20-25 mins stated on the Live Primal website) or until cooked. Cake is cooked when a cake skewer comes out clean, though in the case of this cake I could actually see uncooked cake mix jst below the surface despite the skewer coming out reasonably cleanly

Recipe found on Live primal

COMING SOON

Before Photos!! YIKES!!

Day 6

Breakfast
Eggbeaters cooked w/ coconut oil(CO)
Avocado
Tomato
Pear


Lunch
Pear
Almonds

Dinner
Baked Chicken
Salad
Carrots
Tomato
Italian dressing

Day 5

Breakfast
Eggbeaters w/ CO
Ham
Tomato
Avocado
Pear
Naked Juice

Lunch
Chicken
Pear

Snack
Mistake!! I bought these and ate them all the whole dozen- red light food
Choc covered marshmallow eggs

Dinner
Flank Steak
Onion
Balsamic


Spinach
Bacon
Balsamic
Olive Oil

My Workout Goal

Workout Plan:
Monday:
9:45 Warm up
10-10:20 Weight training
10:30-11:30 Step Aerobics

4pm Step

Tuesday:
9-10 Step
10-10:30 Weight training

4pm Butts and Guts Class

Wednesday:
7-8pm Dynamics weight class
4pm Step Class

Thursday:
9-10 Cardio and Muscle Class
10-10:30 Weight training

Friday:
9:30-10:30 Zumba
10:30-11 weight training

Our Fertility Journey

A friend of mine had told me to take my temperature and chart it every morning because when she had started trying to have kids she wasn't able to get pregnant right away so she went to her doctor and the doctor wanted her to take her temp for 6 months and chart it before they did anything else. That was hard for her because 6 months feels like forever when you are trying to conceive. SHe had reccomended I just go ahead and chart. We went on our trip to Italy where we had planned on starting to try and conceive. We did not understand the small window of time. We had the timing WAY OFF for the first few months.
After trying for 6 months I went to my gynocologist. She did an internal ultra sound and blood test and found nothing out of the ordinary. I have never had any issues with my cycle or period. So I was in shock when month after month I was not getting pregnant. My doctor put me on Clomid. And still no luck.
A friend of mine reccomeneded I got to the Endocrinologist who had helped her get pregnant after she had 3 IUI's. We went through all of the wonderful test and then tried 3 IUI's w/ clomid. He had said our next step would be injectibles with the IUI. Unfortunately I had become an emotional wreck and decided I needed a break and needed to lose weight.
Unfortunately our health insurance changed before I could return. We had been very lucky to have great coverage and now it was gone- I was beyond devistated because we don't make a lot of money and we would not be able to afford this w/out insurance.
March of 2007 I decided I wanted to lose weight. I also decided to try accupuncture. I managed to lose 40lb and felt really great. I only had 25 more lbs and I would be at my goal. Without warning my gym closed and work became increasingly stressful, my mother became ill and I allowed life to derail me. I have now regained all of that weight. In January I became unemployed and decided that I would use this opportunity while looking for a job to get myself back in shape. I have no excuses anymore.
I have wondered if I am afraid of what will happen if my weight is no longer and obstical for my fertility. What if it isn't the problem? Well I will never know if I don't try. At the very least I will feel better.

Day 3

Feruary 18, 2010

Busy day running around - meeting mother, couponing, grocery shopping, clean house, laundry, and on and on



Breakfast
Eggbeaters
tomato
Avocado
Lean Ham ( nitrate free)
Naked Juice Mango mania YUM!!!!
Banana

Lunch
Small piece Flank Steak
Balsamic onions

Zuchinni
Squach
Onion
cooked in coconut oil

1/2 c whole grain angel hair
1/4 c sauce I had for dinner

Snack
Banana
Olives
Hard boiled egg
Cat cookies( got me again)
Naked juice Mango

Dinner
Pork tenderloin

Bacon ( nitrate free)
Spinach
Balsamic
Olive Oil



Darn cat cookies got me again but I had only 2 small handfulls.

Challenging Myself

About a month ago a friend of mine sent me an email asking if I would be interested in joining her in the challenge of Mastering the Met. It is a fundraiser set up by the American Lung Association. We have to climb all of the steps in St Louis Metropolitian building which is 42 stories tall. We just signed up at the beginning of February and we will do it on March 6, 2010. I am not in very good shape and I am thinking I might be in way over my head but what the heck I will just do my best. If you are interested in donating or just want to see what I am talking about here is the link to my pledge page.

https://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/part.jsp?id=2821&acct=9001336369&rid=1113727&part=fund

Day 4

Breakfast
Hardboiled Egg
Banana
Olives
Naked Juice

Snack

Day 2

Woke up with a splitting Sinus Headache- must find motivation to get moving

In each meal I am trying to get in lean protein, No dairy, good fats, fruits or veggies, No sugar, low to no carbs especially after 5pm, - Not going to be super easy but I am trying this for a bit to see how my body reacts to it.

Breakfast
Eggbeaters cooked w/ coconut oil
Tomato
Avocado
Lean ham (Nitrate Free)
Naked Juice Strawberry Banana

Snack
TJ Cat Cookies OOPS
Banana

Lunch
2-Hardboiled Egg
Avocado
Tomato

Snack
Green Monster shake:
Spinach
Almond Butter
Banana
Strawberries
Almond Milk
Hemp Protein

Dinner
Grilled Shrimp
Tomato sauce
garlic
onion
olive oil

Yellow squash
Zuchinni
Red Onion
Coconut Oil



I feel pretty good about my food today. Could have been better without the cat cookies- but I could have done worse.

Note to self: No green Monsters before step class- felt like it might come back up during class- OOPS


Exercise
Step Class
__________________

DAY 1

YIKES I stepped on the scale 193.5!!

Breakfast
Eggwhite omlet cooked w/ coconut oil
Apple

-Went to gym for Step Class

Lunch
Salad
Carrots
Tomato
Red Onion
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Hardboiled Egg White


Snack
Naked Red Juice

- I have cut out Carbs and I feel horrible so I will just have to gradually do this. So I will eat healthy carbs during the day but none after 5pm.

Snack
Here is where I hit the wall. I was exhausted and my body felt heavy. I needed some carbs!
Trader Joes Cat Cookies
Crunchers


Dinner
Grilled flank Steak
Balsamic Onions
Green Beans


Overall I did OK- I just coulnd't take feeling so crappy so I caved- I could have picked healthier options. I will plan better tomorrow.

My weight journey

I married my loving husband 4 days after the 9/11 attacks. We were married on September 15, 2001. We went on a wonderful week long honeymoon to Kauai. Soon after arriving back home I developed an allergic rash across my face. At first my doctor thought it was just a simple rash. He gave me a cream which made the rash grow like wildfire. Before I knew it was covering my eyelids and almost my entire face. I was put on prednisone z-pac. After a week the rash cleared up but my tongue started to swell. My doctor once again put me on prednisone z-pac. I gained 30lbs in just 3 weeks!! Yes that is a whopping 10 lbs per week! I was devastated. And we still don't know why I had those allergic reactions. The prednisone made me feel exhausted and depressed. And the weight didn't help.I had never had any problems with my weight until this point in my life. I believe this was the beginning of my issues with keeping weight off.

By 2003 I ended up at 174lbs and decided to join Weight Watchers. I lost 50lbs by Sept 2003. I felt great. In 2004 we decided to head to Italy and start trying to have a baby. Unfortunately we didn't have the timing right. After several months of trying we were getting discouraged and my mother became very ill. I was so stressed out I gained back all of my weight and then some. My weight has been like a yo-yo ever since then. I am now at an all time high of 188lbs. I truly believe in my heart that my weight is holding me back from life and becoming a mother.

Oh the things people say

I am sure those of you who have dealt with infertility understand how hurtful words can be. Most people are well intentioned when they offer words of advice but many times they just don't realize how hurtful their word are. How many times can someone tell you to relax?? Really how in the world can someone expect you to relax when you are dealing with the horrible roller coaster ride that is infertility. Stop thinking about it and you will get pregnant. Wow if it was that easy infertility wouldn't be a multi-million dollar business. I have a wonderful friend who says ADOPT and you will get pregnant Yes because that should be the reason you adopt - so you get pregnant.


Then there are those who are intentionally trying to be evil. I was told by a rude and cold woman the other day that she felt infertility was God's way of telling you that you aren't meant to be a parent! It took everything in me not to lay her out. I am not a violent person but boy was she asking for it. I mean who the hell does she think she is saying something like that. I have dedicated my whole life to caring for children and this obnoxious lady is telling me that I am not meant to be a parent?? Instead of hitting her I simply looked at her and said " Apparently you were lucky enough to have never had to deal with the pain of infertility. It was a matter of luck not a matter of you being a more fit person to be a parent. Next time you might want to choose you words a little more carefully!" And walked away because she was not worth another second of my time.

No matter what people say I have to keep in perspective that this is not my fault nor is it in my control. I have to take care of the things that are in my control and that is taking better care of myself in every way. Please share your stories of things that people have said and how you have dealt with them.