Dr. Oz's anti-cancer shopping list

I tape (is it still called taping since I use the dvr?) Dr. Oz every day. And if you know me, you know that I'm a bit of a hypocondriac. Anyway, the other day Dr. Oz talked about food that can help prevent cancer, which is one of my biggest fears. You can find the shopping list here. I'm really going to make it a point to eat more of these foods. Will you join me?

Good Week

At my Weight Watchers meeting on Wednesday, I had lost 2 pounds. Which brings my total to 11.2 pounds in 7 weeks. And that means that I lost 5%. Yippee!!! I am proud of myself, although I know that I have a long way to go. My new goal is to get under 200, which I should be able to do in the next week or so.

I've been going to a Zumba class for a few weeks and am really liking it. We have a fitness center in our community and they offer a Zumba class on Thursday nights. A few of my friends go and according to the teacher, we burn 400-500 calories with each workout. Last night, I also did a yoga class. That stuff is hard! But it felt good - really stretched out my back and my hips.

Carnie Wilson

About a week or so ago, I was watching the Dr. Oz show and Carnie Wilson was on. She's heavy again and trying to lose weight - this time with the help of Dr. Oz and his people. I'm thinking to myself that yes, she does look heavy. She steps into the "truth tube" and it says she weighs 218 pounds. So, basically, she's my size. Yikes. That's about what I look like. Double yikes. That should give me the push I need!

I'm doing well with Weight Watchers. I'm down 9.2 pounds as of last Wednesday's weigh-in. Hopefully, I'll be down 10 pounds, which is also my 5%, at tomorrow's weigh in. I think I've done well this week. I've gone to the gym a couple of times and will work out tomorrow (LAST CHANCE WORKOUT!).

I went to Bunco last night at like most Bunco's with the group I'm in, the food was never ending. I did make some smart choices, but also some so-so ones. Although I did not go all out like I would have a couple of months ago. She did serve a delicious cake for dessert and I did have a piece of that. But I am paying for it today. My tummy is killing me! Not sure it was worth it...

I'm back... and getting back on the wagon

It's me again! Where have I been for the past few months, you might wonder. I've been around. Doing things that were not making me a better person, a healthier person. But I'm sick and tired of living that life and am ready to live a better, healthier life.

They started a WW meeting right here in my neighborhood. No excuse not to participate. The meetings are Wednesday evenings. My husband is home for the kids. No excuses! I even have a few friends that have joined with me, so I have a support system. There is also a gym right here in my neighborhood. One that my way-to-high HOA monthly dues pay for. No excuses not to go.

The first meeting was Wednesday, January 6th. I stepped on the scale... 213 pounds. Yikes. That puts me up 24 pounds from my low back in March. On the bright side, though, it puts me down 9 pounds from my high back in August 2008. So I'm looking on the bright side. And I lost 5.2 pounds my first week, so I'm down to 207.8. Not bad for my first week.

One of my 2010 goals (not resolutions - I'm called them goals that I hope to be able to complete by 12/31/10) is to save money when it comes to food. We go out to eat WAY too much. Usually because I don't have food in the kitchen that is easy to make. No more. I'm shopping the ads and using coupons. A few of my new favorite sites are www.southernsavers.com and www.hotcouponworld.com. I've also found there are tons of coupons you can print off the internet... who knew? So far this week, I've spent about $110 on groceries, but saved $120. My goal is to save more than I spend. I'm lucky that I have 8 or so different grocery stores within about 10 miles. Makes it very easy to comparison shop. And as I stockpile my kitchen more, I will spend way less every week. It would be nice not to spend more than $150 on food every month.

Gall Bladder

I'm going to meet with a surgeon today to talk about potentially taking my gall bladder out. The pain is fairly constant - not really painful at all times, but nagging. The pessimist in me wonders if it's something else and not my gall bladder. The optimist thinks I should get it out and go about my life. We shall see.

I am a nutjob

My doctor, thank goodness, did not tell me that. She agreed that my side is a little swollen. She believes that the pain may be caused by some gall bladder issues that I have been experiencing. Luckily, I have a hepatobiliary scan tomorrow. Basically, they put some radioactive stuff in you through an IV and take images of your gall bladder and liver to see how it goes through them. Or something like that. It sounds a little uncomfortable - I have to lay still for quite a while. But hopefully I'll have some answers soon.

Anxiety

I've been feeling a lot of anxiety lately. Mostly because I have decided that there's no doubt I'm a hypochondriac. It's definitely not something I'm proud of. I've been typing in symptoms I've been experiencing into google. Definitely not something I'd recommend. Because each thing that comes up is worse than the last. And most of the results point to cancer. CANCER. Now I've convinced myself that I have it. Even if there is only one of my symptoms that match, I know I have it.

I'm headed to the doctor later because I've had this pain in my side for a while and now it seems to be swollen. Cancer? Ugh!

I wish I could afford a full body scan - just to put my mind at ease. I'm sure it's not something that my insurance would pay for, but I wish it would.

This is no way to live. I cannot keep thinking that I may be dying. Please... someone talk me down!!!

New Approach

I've decided to take a new approach with my journey. That approach is to concentrate on one good new habit at a time. My first good habit was to not bring soda into the house. If any of you have a horrible diet coke habit, as I do, you know how hard it is.

It's torture to walk past the display at the grocery store... the one that tells you that you can have three 12-packs of delicious diet coke for the bargain price of $10. But that's what I've done for the past 18 days. I've done this before with much success, but fell off the wagon this summer and started bringing soda back in the house. I decided that once we got back from vacation, I would end my soda addiction once again. So far, so good. I do allow myself soda when I am out. But seeing that we are trying not to spend money as much any more, we haven't been going out to eat quite as much as we have in the past. So my soda consumption is way down.

The next healthy habit that I am focusing on is water consumption. While not drinking soda, my water drinking has much improved. And that is what I'm trying to do now.

I have not been very good at exercising lately. My preschooler has finally started school again, so I will be doing something active during preschool today. I have not decided if I'm going to go to the gym or take a long walk outside. I'm leaning towards the outside walk - who knows how much more beautiful weather we will have.

Five Pounds

That's about how much I gained on vacation... five pounds. It's no wonder - I did not think twice before putting things in my mouth and had quite a bit of alcohol to drink. It was to be expected.

So, officially, I'm down 18 pounds from where I was about a year ago. which is 13 pounds up from my lowest in March. Not the best situation, but certainly not the worst.

We took lots of photos on our trip. I was in many of them. You know how you have a picture in your head of what you look like? Well, it turns out the picture I have in my head of what I think I look like and what I actually look like in pictures is not the same thing. 200 pounds is not little, no matter what I've been telling myself. I have a long way to go.

Bad Blogger

I've been having many thoughts about my journey down the weight loss trail and I'm just about ready to rededicate myself. We're headed out tomorrow for vacation and when I return, I will check back in.