Dietitian - Recap

So... I asked my dreaded question. The dietitian looked at me like I was silly! LOL... Yeah I know it was a silly question and I totally deserved it!

Anyway my appointment went like this...

It was basically a "Get to Know You" appointment. We didn't go into great detail about anything besides my current eating habits which aren't as bad as they could be. Kate, the dietitian, asked me a ton of questions like what I expect to get out of the visit, how active am I, what are my long term goals.  You see... I don't so much care about being skinny!  I would like to be healthy.  I don't want diabeties & I am certainly ready to get rid of IR.  When I told Kate that I stopped taking my medicine she fussed. Well... really she didn't just fuss... she kept going on and on and on about how important it is for me to take my meds. OK!!! I get it!!! I am going to start taking the meds. (I started back last night) Next we went over a meal plan. She cut my calorie intake to 1500 calories a day.  Which is going to be a walk in the park.  The only thing is that I have been focusing on carb control this whole time. (She knows I am IR) When I mentioned the low carbs she wasn't so concerned about it.  She was more concerned about me getting back on my meds, and in some type of routine as far as my meals go.  She wants to see me back in three weeks to make sure things are going well and said we would talk about the carbs then.  She didn't want to stress me out too much with carb counting. But... I am already focusing on low carbs. So what I decided to do is use the meal plan she gave me and focus on low carb. I think that will help. Hopefully I will start seeing some results soon because this week my weight is up.  I know it has something to do with me and my stupidity (i.e. no meds).

Anyway... You all (me too) should be happy to know that I am now back on my meds thanks to the comments I received as well as Kate's lecturing. ;) 

Ready to see some results!  Oh... and a tiny bit sad because Mel and I are going to be missing bootcamp on Saturday.  It is for a great cause though... we are attending a conference at a local church. I can't wait!!!!

  

Appointment with a Dietitian

Most of you know about me being insulin resistant. You can read a little about it here.  Sometimes I think this is just a fancy way to say... You're FAT!!! Now get off your butt and do something about it. And... I haven't actually figured out if my "thinking" is correct because I haven't had the nerve to ask anyone about it.  I don't like to offend anyone, but then again... I am labeled as IR too. Anyway... I am SICK of taking pills.  Let me just tell you what my doctor wants me to take DAILY.

Metformin (2 pills/2x day), Vitamin D, Iron, Synthroid (for my underactive thyroid) & Byetta injections (2 shots/2xday).  Psst... have I mentioned that I am ONLY 33 years old????

 

Listen... I am not a professional in the medical field, but I don't see what all of these medicines can do for me that I can't try to remedy through diet and exercise. They have some of the worst side effects ever.  You don't even want me to go there. YUK!!!!! 

Did i mention that I stopped taking the meds?  Yeah... I stopped!  They just make me... well they make me a lot of things, but one thing they make me is GASSY!!! Yes I said it!  Not to mention that they are expensive. The byetta alone is $150 a month because my insurance won't cover it. 

So... I am going to see a dietitian today!  Yes I am!!! I can't wait for 2PM to roll around. I am super excited to see what she might have to say, and I might even ask her my dreaded question about IR. Hummmm still contemplating that one.

I will follow up afterwards and let you know how it went. Hopefully she doesn't tell me I should start taking the meds again because (whine) I really don't want to! 

Wish me luck! ;)

ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

Grilled Chicken Salad & yet another fail...

Monday - Dinner:

This is a super special day... at least my kids would say.  You see... I don't cook all that often.  I get home late most evenings and my hubs usually has dinner cooked. Well last night I was in the mood for salad. I had seen Melissa's post yesterday with her salad pictures and decided I needed salad. 

Amber's Grilled Chicken Salad:

It comes in around 500 calories, 27 grams of Protein, 13 Carbs & 28 grams of Fat. I could have done without the avocado, but just wanted some good fat! 

Ingredients:

1/2 Avocado, sliced

1/4 cup - Cucumbers, cubed

6 - Grape Tomatoes

1 - Hard Boiled Egg, sliced

1/4 cup - 2% Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese

1 Cup - Romaine Lettuce

1 tablespoon - REAL bacon bits

2 - Large olives, sliced

4 - Mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup - Grilled Chicken Breast, sliced

1 tablespoon - Reduced Fat Ranch Dressing (to dip my fork in)

TALK ABOUT DELICIOUS!!!!

Fail...

So I finally had time to calculate the nutrition facts for the Allison.  I am so disappointed. I should have known that something so darn good would be so darn bad for me!!!  You see... I am insulin resistant. So... carbs (a lot) are a no no for me. Here are the results... I am so sad! 

THE ALLISON'S NUTRITION FACTS:

Calories: 463

Fat: 10

Carbs: 87!!!!!

Fiber: 29 

Protein: 27

I guess this means no more Allison for me! :( 

It's a sad sad day in Amberland!

Is She Really Cursed? lol

Who is the "she" I am referring to?  My car!  No I don't normally give my vehicle it's own personality, but I feel it is fitting in this case. You see it began in May... I went through a lot of effort to find exactly what I was looking for and in my price range.  The dealership had to get the car shipped in from another town which is about an hour and a half away from where I work.

Below is the day I picked her up from the dealership.  Isn't she pretty? LOL

Within two weeks I had Safelite Auto Glass come to my office to repair TWO chips in the windshield. :(

At around 1 month Katelyn and I were minding our own business in the local Academy parking lot when this chic backed into me out of no where!

I filed a claim right away with my insurance company.  The cop that came out said that it was pretty much my word against hers because we were on private property.  and the fight begins...

So about a week later I am minding my business driving to work and out of no where i hear this LOUD POP!

See that little hole?  Yeah well when the Safelite guy came out he said it looked like a bullet. Hummmm I may have believed that for a minute (maybe longer), but I know better.  Anyway... I was able to get a discount for being a frequent customer. LOL... $280 later (window and replacement tint) I am back to only a dent and waiting for the insurance company to come out and assess the damage their insured did to my car.

They finally made it out on July 5th to complete their estimate. It was my turn. I was in a hurry to get her fixed, but just knew it was going to be a long drawn out process.  I faxed the estimate to my shop of choice (big mistake) and waited for them to call me to say the parts are in and I can drop her off for repair.

July 25th I put her in the shop thinking it would take a week at the most given the little amount of damage. NOT!!!!

The nightmare begins...

I have been round and round with this girl's insurance company. Whatever you do... USAgencies is sooooooo NOT the way to go!  They are a huge headache to deal with. 

I kept close tabs on what was going on because I wanted my car back... besides they gave me a hatchback to drive.  Cody is VERY tall... driving that thing with all of my kids was torture. Anyway... Myself and the guy that was in charge of my car at the collision center were both leaving messages with the adjuster because they didn't approve enough work. urgh... no return call!!!! Well... I decided it was time to get to the bottom of this poor customer service. I managed to get my hands on the email address and phone number of the adjuster's supervisor. I sent a very detailed and lengthy email to the adjuster as well as her supervisor. That is when things started falling into place. Finally... some progress is being made. I mean this car sat in the shop for days with nothing being done all because the insurance company wouldn't go out and approve a claim (which I was told they had 24-48 hrs to do so).

So finally on Thursday August 11th I get the call that my car is ready to be picked up. YippEE!!!! I drop that crazy lil clown car off and head to the shop to pick my girl up!  Ha!  They bring her around and I am all giddy. The hubs is looking at me like I am nuts!  Yeah I might be just a little obsessed with this car. Anyway... thank goodness he was with me because i immediately notice something hanging down in the front under the bumper. So he brings it to someones attention. They pull it around back and put in some clips they forgot. (oops... rolling my eyes already)

I get home later that evening and notice two things... Keep in mind that my girl is brand spanking new... no blemishes what so ever!!!! So in the first pic below you see a tiny blemish. I only notice this because after the accident there was a chip of paint missing. Looks to me like the collision center only filled it in with paint. It is rough as all get out!!!

In the below pic you will see the chrome molding bent.  They took the entire right side of my car apart to paint it (supposedly) and when they went to take the molding off looks like they bent it. 

I am so annoyed. So I sent a very long and detailed email to the guy handling my car at the collision center.  The email explained my frustrations as well as ALL of the issues I expected to be taken care of in a timely manner. There were 7 issues that needed to be addressed... and counting  These two are just the ones I was able to get pictures of.

1. The poor paint job on the side

2. The bent chrome

3. They took a piece of paint off the door frame when removing the molding

4. They hooked the airbag up in reverse... strange.

5. The rear bumper (which they removed and repainted) has spots of grey where the paint didn't adhere

6. The license plate is missing a screw. What?!?!

7. There are tiny white paint markings on the passenger front window.

Now... all of this might seem petty to you, but this is my car and I take pride in the things I own and pay for!  I had a brand new car prior to the accident and I expected one returned to me.  I didn't expect to have to do a quality control inspection myself.  I had a lot of faith in this collision center and they ruined that!  So... today my girl is back in the shop, and I am driving a rental (courtesy of AllStar Toyota Collision Center).  Not sure how long she will be there but man I miss her already. LOL

I am done with my rant for the day. Tell me do you think she is cursed? 

Smoothie Fail - well kinda

So the other night I was craving one of those amazing Allison smoothies. I don't live close to the smoothie shop, so I couldn't just go get one. I decided to buy the ingredients. Sounds great right?  I could make this amazing smoothie at home anytime I want if only I could get the recipe right.  Well... It didn't come out great at all.  It was good, but nothing close to what Del made for us the other night.   

Isn't that a pretty green?  ;)

It wasn't nearly as sweet as I would have liked... And I think Del had something special he added only I can't figure out what it is.  I did forget to add the honey. (Maybe that is what was missing... hummmmm????) Anyway... I have some left over so I will be having this for breakfast for the next couple of days. My kids turned their noses up at it for now, but I will perfect it. ;)

best.idea.EVA!!!

I had such a good day today!  I have been rushing in the mornings, so i really don't have time to make breakfast. I usually grab a EAS AdvantEdge Carb Control shake and that fills me up until it's time for lunch. Lunch rolled around and I had to run a few errands so I ran into Whole Foods to grab a sandwich. Best sandwich and I don't even remember the name!!! ;(  I just don't even want to know the nutrition facts.  Anyway... My dinner last night was so yummy and I think it is super good for me, but that is still up in the air. I am going to figure out the EXACT amount of ingredients today.

You all know my girl Melissa. Well after bootcamp she suggested we go to Paradise Smoothies.  A friend of hers had mentioned this smoothie to her a while back and she had been wanting to try it.  We walked in and Mel starts talking to the owner about this smoothie that we want to try. She is naming off some of the ingredients and he stops her and says "You want The Allison". We both kind of looked at each other and were like ... ummm we guess. Given the ingredients that were in it we weren't too sure if it was going to be a hit with us.  I asked if he had a money back guarantee... he laughed. Ha! Anyway... Del, the owner, is so awesome!!! The nicest guy ever!!! Ready to hear what is in this FANTASTIC concoction? Are you sure??? Ok... well do me a favor first. Promise me you won't knock it until you try it!  I almost wrote it off after I found out what was in it.  BIG MISTAKE!!!

Ingredients:
Avocado
Broccoli
Carrots
Cucumber
Kiwi
Pineapple
Spinach

Squash

A small amount of honey

Whey Protein

2 oz. Vanilla Soy Milk

2 oz. 100% Pineapple Juice

A splash of Boost Kiwi Juice

12 oz Ice

Can you say YUM??????

This is me and Mel last night after bootcamp!  Sarah really kicked our butts last night!!!

So... the hubs was waiting for me at home so we could go to town to buy a lawn mower. Urgh... I guess because it is a pretty big purchase I needed to be there. Well I am so glad I was.  I don't like to haggle with people. I don't ask for anything... usually!  Well we were trying to buy a lawn mower and I really wanted the pull behind wagon to go with it.  I wanted the plastic John Deere pull behind wagon that matched with the lawn mower we were about to purchase. Well... I asked and guess what???? He threw it in for FREE!!!! I saved $199 last night all because I asked. That little guy was so nice.  I did have to persuade him to throw it in for free, but it didn't take much at all.  Katelyn was with me and she helped too. The hubs and Ben walked off because they didn't want any part of it.  I can say I was a little red faced after it was all over with, but only because I don't normally act like that. But WOOHOO I got a free trailer to match my new lawn mower all because I was willing to ask!  Go Me!!!! ;)

The Dreaded First Day of School

My kids started school on Friday.  Cody is a Junior this year, Katelyn is a Sophomore & Benjamin is in 5th (his first year in middle school).  The school year is always a little rough for my family.  Every last one of us are NOT... i repeat... ARE NOT morning people.  We like our sleep!  So our morning usually goes something like this...

• I hit the snooze button on my phone about 5 times.  I thought I would change the "wake up" tone and maybe it would help... ummmmm not even close.  The song is so pretty that I just really like to listen to it over and over again.  (Walk on Water by Britt Nicole)  
• I slowly crawl out of bed and mosey my way into Katelyn's room. I usually have to tap on her for a few minutes to get her to move a little.
• Then I make my way into the boy's room.  This is where I end up having to jump on the bed to get any sort of actual movement.  These boys are dead to the world. hehehe
• Now it is time to wake the husband up.  I joked about my alarm clock going off so much.  Oh goodness gracious alive!!!! This man will let his extremely loud and annoying alarm clock go for days.  I practically have to jump him to make him turn it off.
• Now that I have everyone up and sort of moving there is usually some sort of argument over who is taking too long in the bathroom, or where all the school clothes are. (I know... I really should have a plan and have these things taken care of before we go to bed, but it never works out that way)
• We are all up and out of bed by 6ish... and out the door at 7 sharp! This takes practice to be able to get this gang up and out the door in one hour.  I do believe I have perfected the Gainey wake up!!! Thank you, Thank you... I will take a bow now. ;) 
• That is pretty much it. Oh wait... I forgot to mention before we even think about getting in the car to head to school they all argue over who is sitting in the front. (New plan this year... One week at a time/per kid)

This is Ben on his first day of Kindergarten (2006). ;( Time sure goes by quick!!! 

Wish me luck with this new school year!  I am sure going to need it!

"Working mothers are guinea pigs in a scientific experiment to show that sleep is not necessary to human life."~ Author Unknown

My Birthday Weekend

My birthday weekend started off wonderful!!! On Friday (my actual birthday) I got a call from a friend, Rhonda, asking me to meet her in my parking lot at work. I walked outside and out of her car she stepped with this (from Rhonda and my BFF Cristy)...

What a great surprise!!!

Then I got home and you know the cake I was complaining about my hubs not getting for me??? Well...

I cut into it before realizing I needed to take a pic!  This cake should have lasted forever... but with 5 people in my house it didn't.  I had two slices... and boy were they worth every single calorie!!! I mean it... they were really worth it!!! One piece was my dinner, and the other was dinner last night.

Saturday I feel like I ran all day. 

I was supposed to get up and run 5 miles.  I got up at 5am, turned my phone on and realized Cristy wasn't going to make it so I went back to bed thinking I would get up to go to bootcamp. Ummmm wrong. I forgot to reset my alarm.  I fell back asleep and slept until 9:30. Katelyn had to sell Pastalaya dinners for her high school Softball team, so she had to be at the school for 10. I ran her to school, went back home picked Cody up, got a call from Kate needing me to bring her something she forgot... so I went back to the school, then Cody and I went to Hammond (15 miles away)to get some school things. Rushed home to get Benjamin and his friend to take them to Hammond for a movie. Rushed back home to eat a little lunch and be back at the school for 2. The team was having a scrimmage against themselves, then after that they were going to play the alumni, then after that they were having a hit-a-thon.  We made it home for 6:30 that night... completely exhausted.  Being out in the sun for that long completely drained all of my energy.  I do believe it was 100+ on Saturday.  Oh... and I totally forgot the sunscreen.  What a dweeb!!! ;)

Here's a pic of the softball team. (Very blurry)

They were so tired after such a long day. They decided to get WET!  They found plastic and rolled it out, put a hose on it and well... there you go a homemade slip n slide. Yes we are from the country! hehehe

Sunday the hubs had me up bright and early. We went to the hot air balloon show with his brother and sisters & all of the kids. Well... Ben was the only one of our kids that would get up and go so early.  The dreaded alarm went off at 4:45am. Urgh... But it was worth it! 

This one landed so close to us.  The kids got an up close and personal view. These are my peeps in the pic. My lil Ben there in the white hat trying to put his shoes on. He was laying down trying to go back to sleep. LOL

After the sun finally came up we decided it was time to go (it's about 7:15am). We went to Coffee Call and had beignets and cafe au lait. YuM!!!!!!

When we got home it was time to clean up!!! We had so much to do.  Chris cleaned the outside of the house while I cleaned inside.  I love love love to listen to music while I clean so I cranked it up and danced my way to clean the living room.

We finally finished cleaning and had to take Kate to a travel softball team tryout. Man this kid keeps us busy!!! She hasn't really played ball in about a year in a half because she had back surgery... twice (another blog later). It was so hot!!! She was so mad at herself because she didn't do as well as she thought she could have.  She will get it back... She is AWESOME at what she does! 

My weekend ended with a BIG OLE Burger from Five Guys!  It was so delicious.  I managed to keep my calorie intake below what it was supposed to be for the day too.  That burger was so darn big and came in at a whopping 900 calories.  WOW... I didn't eat lunch though so I was pretty hungry.

Now that I have bored you to death... Toodles Peeps!

“If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylum would be filled with mothers.” - Edgar Watson Howe

what a fun night!!!

I had so much fun last night.  Look how great our pictures came out!!! Katelyn and I decided not to do the reverse painting.  She is planning to do something different in her room, and said it wouldn't match. Boo!!!  Regardless... we still had tons of fun & will do it again very soon!

My beautiful piece of artwork!!! HA

Meet Katelyn! Isn't she just a doll? ;)

She got so messy!!! Look at my arm next to her... yes she even got paint on me!  Hehehe!!! Gotta love her!!!

If you haven't had the pleasure of going to one of these 2 hour painting classes... I suggest you try it.  This is only the second one I have been to, but they are so much fun! 

After class we walked across the street to a local pizza place.  They have the best pizza in the world!!!  I didn't have pizza though.  I had Pasta with Marinara.  I only ate about 1/3 of it because I wasn't very hungry.  It was just okay... Not great! Definitely not worth the calories!!!!

WHAT WAS WORTH THE CALORIES?????

I have the sweetest kids in the whole wide world!!!! I have been dieting and well today is my birthday.  For some reason I feel like because it is my birthday I am entitled to have cake.  My hubby is trying to be very supportive and told me that he wasn't going to do that to me. WHAT????? I am begging for this cake from The Cocoa Bean in Hammond!  They make the most delicious Chocolate Doberge Cake in the entire world!!! I told the hubs that was all I wanted for my birthday.  He declined! BOO!!! (But yay because he is helping me out... I would eat the entire thing for real)

When I got home from work yesterday (they started school today so they had to do it early) I had chocolate brownies waiting for me!  How sweet are my kids?  Katelyn said it was Ben's idea... she just helped him, but man I almost cried.  They knew I wanted cake and they did what they could to make sure I had something close to it!  Thank you to my sweet babies for thinking about me on my special day! Psst... I only had a tiny piece. Enough to get my chocolate fix & to show how appreciative I was of their super efforts!  Yay for the sweetest kids in the entire world!!!

Painting with a Twist

I am super excited about tonight!!! (I should be running, but...) Katelyn (my 14 year old daughter), myself, my sister and my mom are all going to Painting with a Twist tonight.  We will be painting "Whimsey Tree".

I couldn't think of anywhere in my house to use this painting besides Katelyn's room.  She and I decided that I would paint the picture in the opposite direction so we could use both in her room.  So essentially we are aiming for our pics to look something like this when put together...

I will be sure to post actual pictures tomorrow so we can compare. LOL

Play Dirty Adventure Trail Run

On Friday that I signed up for a race in September. You see... my bff, Cristy, and I try to run one event a month.  I haven't been able to make that commitment since April.  Oops!!! Anyway... the event that I signed up for is going to be super fun and is for any size or shape person!!!  I am super excited about it. My two teenagers are going to join me and my 10 year old is going to do a shorter run with obstacles.  I can't wait!!! This is going to be super fun! Go to http://www.playdirtyadventure.com/ and sign up!!! It is sure to be a BLAST!!!!!

Taken from my confirmation email:

The Play Dirty Adventure Trail Run is a 3 mile run with crazy obstacles throughout. You'll get to experience the giant mud pit, slip and slide slalom, dark mystery cave and tunnel slosh to name a few. Plan on coming out and having a great adventure and getting dirty! Don't forget that we will also have a Play Dirty Mini-Muck the same day where kids ages 6-13 can get in on their own mucky adventure. The ¾ mile course will have a mud pit, slip and slide, and other fun and messy activities! Challenge your friends and family to come "get dirty" with you for a great cause! Full details at http://www.playdirtyadventure.com/.