New Diet Changes

I mentioned in my last blog post that I am seeing a new doctor, that is quite knowledgeable in the MTHFR mutation. She has me tracking what foods I eat and how much in a food diary app. She suggested to me Myfitnesspal, so I downloaded it and found it a bit confusing. I then asked my Facebook buddies what they used and recommended and looked into those. I came across My Diet Coach- Weight loss which is a free app. available for androids and apple. It looked a bit more fun and motivating than the other apps, so I downloaded it and started using. When you complete tasks and challenges, you earn points and different clothing items to dress your avatar...corny I know, but I like it. I also like the way it looks, the colors they use and the graphics. The free version does not allow you to input your meals and any exercise you may have done. So I purchased the Pro version ($4), which is perfect. If you are interested, you can check it out here.

So, I have been tracking my food for a week now, it has been pretty eye opening to say the least. I cannot believe how much I have been over eating! My doctor told me it will help keep me accountable and she is right, I am finding it very helpful. A hassle, yes, but still helpful :)

I was also told I need to eat a half a plate of veggies at every meal or a smoothie (blended whole fruits) is ok too, although probably best for only one of the meals. Leafy greens must be present on my plate or in my smoothie at least once a day, every day. This is a big change from what I normally do, which no doubt is what has gotten me sick in the first place. Well, I am happy to say, I have been following her guidelines and am already noticing some benefits even though it has only been a week. My face is clearer and my hair is softer! I have not weighed myself yet, but I think I may have lost a little weight as well, my clothes are a bit looser!

I should mention how thankful I am that my husband is so supportive of the new changes to our dinner time meals, I think he realizes he needs to eat better too. I will leave you with a picture of this mouthwatering beef stew he made for our dinner in the crockpot. Recipe can be found here. He wanted me to let you know he omitted the peas and flour and added chopped celery and arrowroot in place of flour.

Add caption

 Extremely blessed and spoiled...that's me!

Steph

It's good to be back!

Hello faithful readers and friends, I am back! So much has happened since I took a break from blogging that I cannot possibly recount it all for you, but I look forward to sharing my new and current adventures.

Here is an updated picture of me and the kids (my husband is just not the selfie kind of guy). This was taken at Christmas time in 2015.

The kids are getting big! Kade my oldest is now 16...wow, nope it still hasn't sunk in yet! Aiden is now 13 and Eilan is 9, soon to be 10.

Remember when they used to look like this...

Yep, I know!

Truth be told, I am enjoying this stage of life with my kids, we are having fun together in ways we never have before. My relationship with my daughter is a bit extra special, I am now friend/mom instead of just mom and I love it!

We have a new cat, his name is Blizzard since we got him at Christmas in 2014 (literally the day after Christmas). Eric and the kids chose the name Blizzard, I confess I did not care for it, but it grew on me. We don't know much about his life before he came to our home (his forever home) other than he was found with an abscess on his side, the shelter performed surgery on him and placed him up for adoption when he recovered enough. When we got him, his fur coloring was a light grey with some black markings. After about 6 months of living with us, his fur changed to a much darker more beautiful color. I like to think the high quality kitty food and our love made him the happy, healthy boy he is today :) Pumpkin is doing great, he loves his fur brother and they have fun playing together.

Blizzard the day we brought him home.

Blizzard as he is now. Don't you love those blue eyes!

Pumpkin in all his sweet cuteness.

"Move me just a little closer, I can almost taste it"

A little update on my health. I recently found out I am homozygous for the C677T mutation in the MTHFR gene. I believe it is an important piece to my health puzzle. I found a Doctor nearby that is very knowledgeable about this mutation and am very hopeful that she will be able to help me. I will blog more on this later.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Steph