Eating In

Fortunately, the Cinch products, I am so fond of, are both gluten-free & soy based.  Breakfast & meal replacements can remain the same.  WooHoo !!

I always use an additional Cinch shake when I am on the run.  It is great to replace either lunch or dinner as a healthy alternative to having to find a meal when I am between appointments.

Dinner has been easier with the summer months.  Grilled chicken, fresh tomato salsa, broccoli & rice is one of my favorite dinners.  I have tried some gluten free pastas – and honestly they are not bad.  I cook two versions if I make a pasta dish.  

My very favorite pasta replacement ……..

Spaghetti Squash !

This shouldn’t be too bad…..

Except……

I wonder how long we can avoid pizza night….hmmm

I Am Worth This Work,

Lisa

Gluten What?

Gluten (from Latin gluten "glue") is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related species, including barley and rye. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture.

In English – No bread, pasta, crackers, cereal, pizza, as we know it.

 



Sounds like a “death” of good food sentence.  

And a real conundrum for this family – with a pasta loving daughter and a husband who’d just as soon have pizza several nights a week if he could & me to cook for them.

I see some changes coming & not just for me.

I Am Worth This Work!

Lisa

No Cheese

No Cheese   L

What?

No Dairy – No Milk – No Problem

No Dairy – No Cheese – Oh No !

No cheeseburger!  No mozzerella!  

No ricotta!        No cream cheese!  

No Homemade Mac ‘n Cheese!

No grilled cheese! 

No baked ziti!  No lasagna!  

This is going to be difficult.  Now that I can’t have it – I really crave it. 

That gooey, stringy, cheesy, comforting, yummy cheese.

It’s a couple weeks – I can do it.  I’m strong.

I Am Worth This Work!

Lisa

Making Changes

First up add some nutrients to support my liver through this detoxifying time.  Shaklee’s Liver DTX – a proprietary blend with Milk Thistle was just the right thing. 

Then I was advised to eliminate some things on a temporary basis. 

Dairy & Gluten !

Although my after school job in high school was milking a herd of 130 dairy cows, I really have kept milk out of my family’s diet.  I have been concerned about the chemicals & hormones that are now prevalent in the standard milk source.  I noticed early on that milk caused congestion in my children – so we just didn’t use it.  That shouldn’t be difficult for me to eliminate.  I stopped drinking coffee a couple years ago, because I really just wanted the cream.  I drink my tea black.  This should be a piece of cake.

Gluten.  

How was I going to eliminate gluten while cooking for a pasta & pizza loving family? 

Making Changes – some are easier than others.

I Am Worth This Work,

Lisa

Itchy & Scratchy

Have you ever had an itch so bad you could scratch til you bled?  This is that itch. 

Not all over – on the back of one leg and on my back.  Really itchy. 

Now, I’m an avid Shaklee user.  I tried everything.  Alfalfa to give that natural antihistamine effect from the inside.  Herbal Blend Multi-Purpose Cream, ( old timers will know it as the Green Cream) which is one of my favorite go-to products.  Even Enfuselle CalmingComplex.  They all offered only temporary relief.

Unfortunately, this was not a temporary problem.

This was not a simple skin irritation.  Something was going on.

After seeking professional attention from my Chiropractor/ Kinesiologist, it was determined that my liver was detoxifying (well that makes sense with the changes I’ve made over the past several months) and it was presenting in this “itch your skin raw” rash.

Now, what to do.

I Am Worth This Work,

Lisa

Is it Stress?

The scale.  The tape measure.  The clothing size. 

They just didn’t seem to be moving.

I am still doing my Cinch Plan.  I am committed to yoga 2-3 times a week.  

Why am I now at a stand still?

Could it be stress?  

I certainly have my share – but I’ve had all the same stressors since I began this journey.  Actually – even eliminated one – with the end to my husbands unemployment.  Yet no progress in the numbers.

Feeling very discouraged and knowing I need to seek some answers.  I am starting to think about some of the other things in my diet.

But first – I have a problem to take care of.

I Am Worth This Work,

Lisa

I'm Back

Wondering where I’ve been?

 I’ve learned – correction – I am learning that I need to take some things off my plate – so to speak.  I am definitely a work in progress.

What’s important?  What are must dos?  

What can I let slide?  What do I choose to let go?

Questions I continue to ask myself every day. 

Obviously, I did let blogging slide.  It’s ok.  Blogging wasn’t a “must do”.  I feel like it is time to venture back.

Allow me to fill you in on the past months.

I’m Back

I Am Worth This Work!

Lisa