chicken = natural

 


Okay. Just got our family pictures back from July. And it's kind of depressing. Not gonna lie. Now I don't think I look great by any means on the left, but I can see the difference.

I have lost 25 lbs. since then. I don't know how or when I ever gained that weight, but whoa!

It's crazy how different I feel. I remember feeling so overwhelmed at how much weight I had to lose. I thought I would never ever ever get there. But then I remember thinking, okay Molly, take one day at a time. Start today.

So I did. I work out 1.5-2 hours a day. Although it takes time, it is not a leisure activity, you have to make it a priority. I also have focused on eating natural foods. Meats included, because no one can make a chicken. That's my definition of natural. I do sometimes eat unnatural foods on the weekends, but overall I eat a lot healthier. I feel like I am feeding my body what Heavenly Father wants it to have. What it was intended to have. I am not only happier, but I feel like I have control. I think it makes me feel like I can be a better friend, wife, daughter, because I have the mental/physical energy to do so.

This is somewhat embarrassing to write about, but I can't take back the times when I have been uncomfortable in my skin, I just have to embrace them and learn how I want to treat my body. I used to want to work out to get 'skinnier' but now I have the desire to be 'healthier' and in doing so, will most likely be smaller. Gosh bodies are so.so. incredible. I best be taking care of it because I only get one!

Not the actual Present.

One of the things I love most about yoga is how it remind me to be in the present.

I try and think about this phrase not only at yoga but throughout my day.

Half of my life I spend sitting wherever I am thinking about what needs to be done.

I tell you what. Its Draining with a capital D. 

Since I've practiced doing this, I feel like I have been able to embrace the present.

I (you) live in such a fast pace world. 

Always worried about where we are and where we need to go and how fast that transaction can happen.

But it is so worth it to really try and be in the present.

Yoga is rad. You should try it.

Also. You should try to 'be in the present'. I am. 

-----------------------------------

When I get to a computer. If I have time. These are the (almost) daily sites I visit. 

Its sort of a routine. Probably time-wasting but I've got it down to an art.

My most favorite internet sites:

The Sartorialist

Toast

BlueLily

Pinterest

Zara

Kinfolk

Rockstar Diaries

Just be splendid

Besotted

PW

Henrik Kreilisheim

Apartment Therapy: Home Tours

Architectural Digest

There you have it. 

Making things happen.

Once there was a girl. 

And she tried for the past couple of months to eat and drink all things natural.

Natural meaning foods that are natural. 

Stuff only God can make.

For example:

Vegetables from a garden. Or store.

Chicken

Apples from an apple tree.

Water. Goodness she loves water.

 Sometimes a diet coke (not natural), but naturally good.

And other such things.

She did not always do this perfectly. But she was close.

On the weekends she gave herself a little break. 

But that was a-okay.

And she lived healthily ever after.

Well she felt a lot healthier anyways.

The man upstairs really does make the best food. And the most incredible part is.

Most of it was free thanks to the rain, seed, and soil. 

She once heard a phrase. 

"Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels"

She believed it.

making things happen.

blue is my favorite color.

Last weekend I wore blue in honor of colon cancer awareness month and some friends.
Two of my dear friends have lost a parent to this cancer.

It is real.
Colon Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths.
It is the most common internal cancer.

I also attended a colon cancer conference last week where I met with a gastroenterologist.
The G.I. Dr. provided the attendees with great information regarding prevention and awareness.

Here are a list of prevention strategies he shared:

High fiber diet
Adequate folate intake and Vitamin D
High calcium diet: 400-800 mg/day
No more than 2 servings of red meat a week
Maintain your ideal body weight
No tobacco
At age 40, taking a baby Aspirin a day can help decrease your risk. (Cancer is an inflammatory process, Aspirin aids in inflammation).
Starting at age 50, you should get a colonoscopy every 5 years.
If a close family member was diagnosed with colon cancer, you should get a colonoscopy ten years before the age they were diagnosed. For example, if they were diagnosed at age 37, you should get a colonoscopy at age 27. Make sense?
Physical activity at least 4x a week.
Some Dr.'s swear that Flintstone vitamins are the best :) Really he said that.

Hopefully this helps someone!

I am grateful for what I have learned in nursing school.
Am learning.
And will continue to learn.
I feel like I have learned some very valuable lessons.

The most valuable lesson being..

Be grateful for good health. 
Don't take it for granted.

Because you never know. You really don't.
This week I worked with some very ill patients.
No one ever expects or plans on getting sick in their life.
Most people think, It won't happen to me.



My experiences this week helped me put things into a little better perspective.