Caring Foodie: Monthly Milestones {9}

NOTICE

At the time of publication, all recipes were free of the allergens listed as being free of in the title (i.e. soy-free, milk-free, etc.), and all other information shared was accurate to the best of my knowledge.
Though I strive to update outdated information quickly and work diligently to make sure you have the most accurate information possible at all times, it is your duty to double check labels EVERY TIME to ensure that the ingredients you use are SAFE FOR YOU. DO NOT RELY SOLELY ON THIS INFORMATION AS INGREDIENTS AND INFORMATION DO CHANGE. Your doctor or allergist should also be your first go-to for information on how to handle your medical needs. That being said, if you DO notice an error, please send me an email letting me know (tell me what page or recipe the error is on, what the error is, etc.), and I will correct the error ASAP. Thank you so much!
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Saturday, September 6, 2014

Monthly Milestones {9}

Today is my ninth time running my monthly feature where I will be giving you updates on how I am doing physically, mentally, etc. and in which you can link up a post about some form of progress you are making, if you wish (see details below). I am enjoying this, and being publicly accountable (as hard as it is) will and is helping me out tremendously. I hope you enjoy this link-up as well, will link up something inspiring and share it with others so that we can meet our goals together! :)

Here is how I am doing as of today:

Me as of today, September 6, 2014, at 230 lbs.

My weight has been all over the map this month, ending in a 1 lb. weight gain. So, my weight has been up and down like a roller coaster (literally) this month. At one point, I was up around 236 lbs. Yah, not my finest hour... This last week, though, my weight has been steadily dropping, so that is a plus! I have found that I MUST eat as little processed food as possible, mostly proteins and non-grains and very little refined sugar in order to lose weight. It is a struggle because I love me some pretzels, but I can't have them very often or in large amounts if I want my weight to go down. It is what it is. I will keep plugging away, and hopefully next month I will have a weight loss to report! :D
Hubby and I are still walking almost daily! We normally walk for at least 15 minutes, closer to an hour if we can manage, sometimes even longer. We walk whenever we can. The only time we don't is when it is raining too hard to do so. I'm not sure what we'll do when it starts snowing, but I plan on walking as long as the windchill is in a safe range and it isn't blizzarding outside. I truly feel awful when I can't walk, so I know that will help motivate me to keep it up even when it is cold outside.
I'm still working on what I can and can't eat. The only thing new I've cemented for sure is that grains in more than one or 2 servings (and generally it is more than 1) a day for me = weight gain. I have also found I have to avoid corn most of the time. I can enjoy carbs, but I have to be VERY selective about which ones. I can eat fruit and honey more often than say limited ingredient chips, pretzels, pasta or bread and cane sugar, too. I try to keep myself focused on protein and veggies, though. Also, processed/pre-made/fast foods are pretty much a no-go unless I'm very picky about brands, amounts, etc. It's not easy for me to follow all of these "rules", but if I stray too much from them, I have stomach issues, headaches, weight gain, etc. so hopefully that will motivate me enough to stay away. Overall, I'm figuring out what works for me and what doesn't.
I am still working on those exciting plans for my blogs! As you have probably noticed, I've been very busy and have not been able to post or make any more changes here or on Natural and Free. I still have other plans in the works, but I have no idea when I will be able to implement them. Thanks for your patience! :)
School is back in full swing and going quite well! Our first week of homeschool via online school is done, and went very well! My Sean got 100% on his first spelling test, which is completely awesome, and doing well overall, and Stephen is doing amazingly with his coursework, too. I'm so proud of them! Elaina is due to start preschool in a few weeks, and is beyond excited! She won't be having the teacher we expected (which totally bums me out), but we have every hope that she will have an amazing teacher. :) We shall see! Oh, and I've even got to Admin some groups for my boys' school on Facebook, so that's been exciting! It's a way for me to help other Learning Coaches (LCs) and students when it comes to schooling stuff, and that's right up my alley. :) All in all, I'd say back-to-school is off to a chaotic, but good start!

My crazy kiddos on the boys' first day of school. Don't they all look ready for learnin'?!?! :D

That's all for now, I suppose. How are you doing? Are you reaching your goals? Have you tried something new? Come up with a new recipe? I hope all is going well with you, and I hope you will link-up a post telling me all about it or even leave a comment sharing your thoughts. As always, I wish you the best of luck in all you do, and hope you will return soon! :)