13 is a surprisingly good number!

Wow, I have really slacked in April.  But the month had some unexpected curveballs so I’m going to cut myself a little slack.  I did however accomplish the following things off my goal list:

• Practice listening to my voice.  This was a great habit to adopt.  I’ve had a lot of people weighing in on different things in my life and I made the very conscious effort to reflect on what I wanted and my opinion.  Upcoming blog post on that.
• Contribute pre-determined amount to savings account
• Volunteer in the community and bring friends.  Wrapped up my year as an Akron Reads tutor.  My student was precious and I convinced a few friends to come when we were short volunteers.  Such a highlight of my week all year!

I’m moving gluten-free and yoga to May and June.  I’ll explain why in a second.

I’m sure you are you now wondering why title of this post is about the number 13. Well, I made an interesting discovery this morning.  I thought I should step on a scale.  It was my first time in three months.  I haven’t gotten on the scale because (as I’ve said many times) this is not a project to lose weight.  I didn’t want that hanging over me.  I just want to get healthy habits in place for my next 40 years.

The inevitable happened.  Exercising, cutting soda amount and adopting healthier eating habits has taken off just over 13 pounds.  That was a delightful surprise.  However, I’m going to stay off it for another three months. It’s nice to know that my body is responding, but it’s not a goal and it can become an obsession so the scale will have to gather dust for a while again.

And, I’m certain that some of this is due to a massive eating change I had to make a week ago.  For about a month I've had the worst heartburn.  Like killer.  So I went to my doctor and got my treatment options.  Part of it includes dietary triggers.  Get a load of this list:

• Foods high in fat
• Sugar
• Chocolate
• Peppermint and other mint flavorings
• Onions and garlic
• Citrus foods and juices
• Tomato-based foods
• Spicy foods
• Caffeine drinks
• Soda/carbonated drinks (how glad am I that I was down to one coke a day?-- now I'm none)
• Alcohol

So basically it’s everything that is enjoyable in life.  However, when your throat and chest hurt—you are willing to limit anything you can.  After five days, I feel better, but my throat has some healing to do.

My doctor also asked that I get a stress test just to rule out anything else. I did it yesterday.  After paying for that, I see more than ever why it’s important that I have healthy habits in the future.  It’s expensive to be unhealthy!  So, while it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience, I have even more resolve to stay dedicated to a healthier and happier lifestyle.  Hopefully it will ward off pricey visits for a while!

And, I'm trying to hold off on the gluten-free challenge until my stomach levels out.  But I discovered this epic aisle in the grocery store stocked with gluten-free items.  I'll try a few things in May, but will try to do the real GF challenge later.  Yoga is on my list now for May. I discovered that they do a yoga class every Tuesday for lunch at my company.  Happy.