Milepost 3 on the Road to Wellness

In August, September, and October I continued with using more turkey and limiting red meat to two or three dishes a month. Ground beef has been replaced with ground turkey. I made pizza with turkey pepperoni and skim milk mozzarella. Ground turkey has been used in dirty rice, chili con carne, and taco meat. I have used turkey bratwursts, turkey Polska kielbasas, and turkey ham as well as the turkey pepperoni.

I continued with increasing vegetarian dishes, which included spanakopita and a vegetarian lasagna, mushroom instead of meat and zucchini instead of pasta. Speaking of the vegetarian lasagna, I made a mistake and used pre-made canned/jarred marinara. I learned later that it had too much sodium and corn syrup/sugar. When I made the pizza, I made my own homemade marinara for the first time. Instead of pita bread for hummus and tzatziki, I started using raw cauliflower, carrots, and celery.

On September 18, 2015, I had another muscle pull this time the abdominal muscle. This was after I helped the landscaper pull out a 6 by 20 foot hedge. Since then I have upped my dietary amount of potassium. My new blood pressure medication can lead to low potassium. I am increasing my banana and yogurt consumption since both are high in potassium. The muscle pulls could be cramps or strains. Then I caught a cold, so the walking regimen has been suffered as a result.

In October I decided to make more seafood choices, I went out and had squid and shrimp. I made pasta with tonatto sauce (tuna, anchovies, capers, olive oil, and lemon juice). This plus my monthly sushi will help increase my seafood intake. However I dropped the amount of my monthly sushi to save money. Instead of three items, I lowered it to two. At the end of July, my doctor recommended more seafood. I am working to find inexpensive ways to do that. Frozen and canned options seem to be the cheapest at this point.

In early October I weighed myself at 357 lbs. My mother bought a new scale for both of us. I was seven pounds from my goal weight. Since I have had a cold and my activity went down, that has caused some weight gain. I gained back 6 lbs, but I lost 3 lbs a few days later. I am currently as of October 14^th at 360 lbs. Now, I am 10 lbs short of my goal.  I will work to get back into losing again.

I am still being very strict about my portion control, except when I was sick. This is the second illness road bump.  I cannot get discouraged by this.  I also had some family functions that were less than optimal, but I avoided sweets both times. During the illness when I had a sore throat I ate some ice cream and canned soups.  Those did not help. I still consumed less than before the beginning of this in late March of 2015.

Before the muscle pull and the cold, I had increased my walks to two days of walks and one day off, then repeat.  Now, I have raised the frequency to three days of walks and one day off, then repeat. Family functions and health has impacted that plan. I am back on the walking regimen with a new route that crosses a hill like feature twice.

This is an ongoing journey. I will have highs and lows. As long as my good choices outnumber the bad or slip ups, I will be fine. I have discovered I need both physical activity and better eating habits. Relying more on homemade products versus pre-made store bought items has proven to be a good way of doing things. Store bought may be more convenient and accessible, but in the long wrong they are a bad idea.