Saddest Words: Would’ve. Could’ve. Should’ve.

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I’m not big on memes, but dang it, this one clicked (see image below)! Just before shuffling off this mortal coil I don’t want anything on my bucket list (which I’m still adding too!) left undone. I didn’t stop  working the 17 hour days for ‘The Man’ just to not live the life I want because I was too afraid, hesitant or doubtful.

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The words ‘would’ve,’ could’ve,’ and ‘should’ve‘ just mean ‘DIDN’T!‘ Screw that! You want true happiness, then banish those 3 words from your lexicon.

It’s time to stop planning and start living.

Time To See An Endocrinologist

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bloodtest

Making an appointment with the needle! Actually an endocrinologist to find out which hormones are going wacky since my surgery. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net and watiporn.

I’m waving the white flag. I keep reading so many conflicting things about my metabolism, weight gain/loss, and my menopause symptoms that it’s time to call in the big guns.

About 3 months ago my radiation oncologist suggested I meet with an endocrinologist to help with my raging hormones. Well I’m taking this advice to heart as I’ve come to the conclusion that most LCHF/Keto research is pretty much skimpy when it comes to menopausal women.   We’re just not as sexy as athletes.

Anyway, an endocrinologist focuses on hormone health and can recommend natural remedies – dietary, exercise, supplements, and acupuncture – to rebalance your hormone levels.

Whack-A-Mole Symptoms
I make one change to my diet to end the hot flashes, only to have insomnia rear it’s ugly head. Adjust for insomnia, here come the night sweats. It just goes on.

I’m trying to tackle this without knowing what it is I need to tackle. Do I have a thyroid problem? I’ve gained weight since surgery so are my fat cells producing too much of the bad estrogen? Is my cortisol level too high or too low? What about progesterone or testosterone? My resistance to insulin must be even more weakened now, right?

I just don’t know. It’s time to find out.

 

My 30-Day Keto Challenge

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keto cookbook

An amazing keto cookbook that I’m relying on as I start my 30-Day Keto Challenge, eating up to 80% healthy fats a day.

For the last week I’ve played with my diet to see what works in minimizing my menopause symptoms and it’s looking like a strict ketogenic diet is the way to go. When I say strict, I’m talking about reducing both my carbs and protein intake while increasing healthy dietary fat.

However, there are a few other changes I’m making to my diet and lifestyle that will go into my March 30-Day Keto Challenge. I’ve been easing into those changes in February so it isn’t such a shock to my system, but they are significant.

Dot’s New Macros*
As for calculating my macronutrients, there are a lot of good ketogenic macro calculators online (here and here). I’m a fan of nutritionist Maria Emmerich and after listing to a podcast of her answer questions about keto and menopause I decided to go with her calculator.

  • Daily Calories – 1706 kcal
  • Daily Macros (calories/grams/ounces)
    • Fat – 80% (1346.4 kcal/151.6g)
    • Protein – 17% (290 kcal/72.5g/10 ounces)
    • Carbohydrates – 3% (51.2 kcal/12.8g)

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Celebrate Valentine’s Day With Some Mudlove!

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I just got a little note in my inbox about a Valentine’s Day special on the CW tonight about one of my obsessions  (it’s at the top of my bucket list!!!) — The Tough Mudder. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than curled up on the couch with my husband learning about the folks doing the world’s ultimate muddy obstacle race.

Mudlove is in the air tonight!

Wanna Lose Weight? Break Your ‘Groundhog Day’ Loop

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You want to lose weight? Then stop your own Groundhog Day loop!

My favorite film? Hands down Groundhog Day. It’s the closest thing to a perfect movie. What’s not to love? Bill Murray plays pompous TV weatherman Phil Connors sent to Pennsylvania to cover Punxsutawney Phil’s forecast, but gets caught up in an endless time loop living Groundhog Day over and over again. It’s anyone’s guess how many times he lived that day repeatedly (I say decades!), but after indulging in further destructive behavior, he final starts to re-examine his life and figure out what’s really important.

Besides being an awesomely funny movie, it hits home with me because I saw a little of myself in Phil Connors’ situation.

I was caught in my own seemingly endless Groundhog Day loop: Read More

Proof Eating Out Isn’t Great For Your Waistline

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jan-22-weightAs expected I gained weight back after my 7-day fast. However, I think I could have minimized the weight gain if I didn’t miserably fail at my other monthly challenge – giving up alcohol for 30 days. I broke my fast with a birthday dinner and that included wine. OK, not a biggie. I made it to my birthday. So why not celebrate, right?

Well, it didn’t stop with the birthday. The next day we met up with friends we haven’t seen in ages. And the wine flowed.

The next day I didn’t have time to go grocery shopping so we went out for dinner…and I ordered a glass of wine. Soon we’re going out to dinner nearly every night for the last two weeks, which means a glass or two with dinner. Ugh!
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My Fasting Challenge: Days 4-7

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no-food-or-wine

During days 4-7 of my 7-Day Fasting Challenge I experience some subtle changes in my mental and menopausal symptoms. Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhoto.net, KENO64 and Simon Howden.

Sorry for the delay in posting on the final days of my 7-Day Fasting Challenge, but I had a sick doggie and husband that needed some attention. Plus while going through the last 4 days of my fast, I thought they were uneventful. The intense hunger I felt on Day 3 was gone. Once in a great while my stomach might grumble a bit, but a sip of water took care of it (Day 3 I was obsessed with food thoughts).

I even stopped opening up the fridge.

But my little notes to myself indicate there was a lot more going on than I realized at the time. Physically, my menopause symptoms were gone. I could easily get 8 hours of sleep each night. The hot flashes and chills disappeared. My anxiety dropped through the floor. Mentally I was crisp.

Worrying that my fast would cause more stress on my body (thus raising cortisol levels and stress me out further) was unfounded. Yes, I lost weight not eating for 7 days, but that really was side benefit.

Below is the highlights of days 4-7 of my fast. Read More

2017 Health, Fitness & Weight Loss Goals

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jan-7-weight

My 7-Day Fast to make sure my cancer is gone for good is over. I’m down 12 pounds. Now it’s time to set my health, fitness, weight loss and fun goals for the year.

My 7-Day Fasting Challenge is over and I feel great. I broke fast last night during my belated birthday dinner. Chilean Seabass and fresh greens never tasted so good. During dinner I started noodling about setting some goals for the year.

And I have many for the year. I think that’s because half of 2016 was consumed with my cancer diagnosis.  But now I’m cancer free and my focus is on reducing my risk for other diseases and building strength. Weight loss, as usual is the great side benefit.

Dot’s 2017 Health Goals Read More

My Fasting Challenge: Day 3

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teas

My Christmas present of assorted, yummy teas helped drive down my hunger on Day 3 of my fast.

Day 3 didn’t start with a bang. Where I was loaded with energy morning, noon and night on Day 2, my third day of fasting transformed me into low energy mouse. Low energy mouse is much different from my lazy mouse days. When I’m a lazy mouse, I have the energy. I just don’t want to use it.

On Day 3 I had absolutely no energy for a little more than half the day. I also had a slight headache and a whole lot of hunger pangs going on. Read More

My Fasting Challenge: Day 2

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home-gym-set-up

After cleaning my basement I started setting up our little workout area. It’s not much, but I’ve got plans!

Yesterday I felt a surge of energy coursing through me. I’ve read that you feel more energetic during a fast. I have to say this is the first time it’s happened to me. Hoping to go for a walk, I was thwarted by the rainy weather. So I turned my attention to my house. Mounds of laundry, dirty floors, clutter and dust – none of it stood a chance against me.

Energy Level Goes To 11
I spent a chunk of the day cleaning the basement, where the husband and I are setting up a very small home gym. We’re not buying machines. We’re using resistance bands with the possibility of buying dumbbells and kettle bells. I planned to do some work with the bands yesterday, but it turns out I got a different type of workout. Read More