ch..ch..ch..ch..changes!

I have had LOTS of changes in my life in the last 2-3 years. In a nutshell, I found my DREAM job. Something I always wanted to do. It was also a job from *ell.. if you get my drift. It made my life wonderful and miserable. I was NOT a happy person and I had to quit. I lost many friends during that time and some I was ok with loosing. NOT to be mean but we are all better people NOT being friends.

We have also as a family made some changes in our relationships with each other but more importantly with God. It has been a difficult few years. But I have seen God at work. I have felt His love and His guidance. That gives me PEACE. Something that ONLY God can give.

In the last 8 months I have dealt with illness. That has taken a toll on my and my family. It has also continued to cause me to loose more friends. Some of those it has REALLY hurt to loose. But, there are a few who have stood by me and my family EVEN when they were hurt, unintentionally and when I was not able to be a friend to them. I am SO thankful for these people in my life.

This diet has been one of the changes I have had to make to improve my health. I feel the improvements little by little. But, there are changes there too! I also have things that are very constant... my family, my faith in God and my desire to eat what I shouldn't. The last one is NOT a good thing... but God is helping me deal with it.

On Friday we took a trip to trade in our old minivan for a New/Used minivan. It was a LONG day but an ok one. I ate well ALL day until the last of the trip home and hubby wanted to stop at Dunkin Donuts for a treat. NOW, I should have just let them get one but I had to dive in too. :( I ate a LOVELY cinnamon muffin and drank a Vanilla Chai. WOW, I paid for it today... LOTS of pain in my underarm (that is where I tend to have issues with skin, where my body drains the YUCK). I also was SO tired and achy today. It was like I had been hit by a truck. :( I paid for those few moments of YUMMY food.

Today was a trip to a friend's house for a birthday party. They had hamburgers so I ate my meat and veggies and was satisfied... no pressure and very yummy. They had cookies for dessert but I made it without one. WHAT an accomplishment.. only to have ice cream when I got home... but, I did overcome an obstacle. I am seeing that in an environment of safety is when I do my best. I also am realizing that this is going to be a life long process. So I have to learn to control myself but also allow an occasional check to be sure all is ok.

I know that GOD is in control and HE will carry me through all the yuck. He will carry you too! He carries our burdens, helps us through our weakest moments. He is amazing....

Thanks to all of you who are part of my family or my friends. I have been truly blessed.

LaRessie

BUSY, interesting week!

This has been a VERY busy and interesting week. My sister was diagnosed late last week with Leukemia. So we had already been planning for my mom to go to our other sister's in TX to stay for a while. This was now a necessity. So, on Tuesday my sister was admitted to the hospital to begin LOTS of tests and her chemo treatments. My other sister flew in from TX and had a WHIRLWIND of a trip. My mom went downhill quite a bit health wise. She is worrying about my sister's diagnosis etc. Add on top of that we had to find a car for my 17 year old daughter to drive so my husband can have his car back to drive to work. All of this was in addition to schooling, and normal daily life things... And you have my week.

Well, I do know that I eat when I am HAPPY, SAD and all in between. But I DO crave sugars and junk when I am in a stressful situation. I guess stress is NOT good for you! :) Yes, as a RN I do know that stress can kill you. But, I also know that God is in control and HE is how we get through the stressful situations. If I can only remember that and turn to HIM and not sugar!

It is VERY frustrating to me to feel like I am Always failing on this VERY restrictive diet. But, only ONCE, have I just Ate what I wanted and continued and DID not care. It is NOT a good thing by the way. I do know that the diet works. It is making me feel more healthy and I am able to function MUCH better than I have in months. But, I also feel VERY deprived at times. I have to remember that JESUS sacrificed HIS life for me and you. We are sinners and He gave it all up for US! So I certainly can give up a chocolate oatmeal no bake cookie. I NEED to for my health.

I have had a few VERY good days this week but mostly it has been BAD days. I wish I had started this blog when I VERY first was starting on this diet.. because I did wonderful. But after a month I am about ready to quit. I really am seeing health benefits so that is what keeps me on the diet. But I do know I have to be strict or else I am just wasting my time.

God knows what is best for me. I pray that I will SEE Him more and more at work in my life. I also pray that I can lean on HIM for my supply of "sweetness". HE will be SO much better than sugar. :) I have seen HIM at work this week with, us finding a car we could TRULY afford and not just getting TOTAL JUNK! Also, he is showing us that there may some changes ahead in our future. JUST TOTALLY relying on HIM! I LOVE how God works.

I hope to have MUCH better posts soon.

What about a GOOD treat! Hot cocoa

I have been trying very hard to stay on track today. And for the most part I did REALLY good. We did have our usual supper out at our FAVORITE Mexican restaurant. And I had a few corn tortilla chips and some salsa and cheese dip. But NOT too many. Other than that I did good.

I did have a craving for something sweet. So I made my good treat... hot cocoa. My Nurse Practitioner had told me a nice little recipe for this treat. It is YUMMY!

Yummy Hot Cocoa!

1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)

2 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)

5-6 drops of stevia or 1 teaspoon Agave nectar

Heat your milk and then stir in the cocoa and sweetener of your choice. It is a GREAT little treat and very much OK on my ACD. :) ENJOY!

I am CONSTANTLY looking for sweets. I LOVE sweets and this ACD is NOT friendly to sweets :) But, I am learning that I don't have to have them all the time and I must enjoy a little here and there. I have made almond milk ice cream and it is REALLY good too. I did end up using Evaporated Cane Juice because I was leary of what it would taste like with a different sweetener. But I am going to keep working on the recipe and then I will share. Have a BLESSED week!

LaRessie

Pre Thanksgiving meal with extended family

Well I have had my first Thanksgiving meal of the season and I didn't fare well. :( I did REALLY well all day, sticking to the plan. But, when I saw the dressing and sweet potato casserole, I caved. I did only get VERY small portions but I still caved. Then the desserts AAAACKKK!!! I had hoped I could do it and not eat too far off my diet. BUT, there was NOT much there to eat that wasn't OFF the diet. Anyway, I survived and came home and cheated MORE. It seems like when I have some sugar I want MORE! SO, now it is back to the basics. I need to keep myself focused. This will have to be somewhat of the way I eat for the rest of my life. There are SO many things I don't miss. But sometimes it is just hard to not want the "bad" stuff. I hope to be able to share POSITIVE notes soon! But, for now... it is what it is!

Welcome!!

This is my new venture. I have tried blogging many times and I seem to fail. But a month and a half ago I started on an anticandida diet and since then I have felt like I need to blog and share about my life and how I am doing on this diet. I keep putting it off. Not sure why but this week has been one of the hardest for me and so hopefully blogging about it will help me stay on track.

I hope that you will enjoy my info here and let me know if I can be of any help for you. I will be glad to pray for you and I ask that you pray for me. Please feel free to send a link to this blog to anyone you think will benefit from it.

THANKS so much.. and be on the lookout for more info!

God bless

LaRessie