Knitting!

I have been crocheting for awhile, as you can probably tell. I know a lot about it and have even gone as far as attempting to write my own patterns. I love crochet. I would go as far as saying I love knitting even more! It holds a dear place in my heart because my grandma taught me how to do it when I was little. I think I was about 8 years old. I caught on quick. I learned the basics, and now I want to expand on them. I have tried a few patterns and FAILED horribly. My last failure was at a bad time. I was pregnant, more hormonal that normal, and was trying to make my daughter a dress that she could treasure forever and pass down to her children...this was a recipe for disaster. When I failed for the last time there I switched gears and started crocheting. I was able to push myself further with crochet then I had with knitting. Now I am ready to focus on knitting again, so this is where I am now.

I am attempting to make a sweater. It is very ambitious for my skill level, but I know it is what I need to push myself further. I am making the slouchy sweater from the Knit Cafe pattern book.

I am making it in the fisherman's wool in a brown color. I think it will turn out very nice. I am plus size and they do not have sizing that large, but I am making it in a large. I figure by the time I finish making it I will be that size, haha! I will have photo updates on my progress later. Until then...

Happy Knitting!

Brussel Sprout Flax Seed Turkey Burgers

Part of my weight loss journey has been experimenting with new foods as I try to eat cleaner and healthier. A big part of my diet has been eliminating nightshade foods (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc.) because of my arthritis. This means no ketchup, chile sauce or powder, french fries or anything hidden. I've recently learned the hard way, if it says "spices" in the ingredient I should not consume it. This unfortunately leaves me with fewer options when it comes to meal planning. After experimenting with different recipes and researching the benefits of different foods, this combination is what I came up with for our dinner tonight. I wanted to serve my family something that was healthy, but also somewhat resembles "real" food. After all, they are nice enough to eat my dinners. Breakfast and lunch are on their terms. :)

Brussel Sprout flax seed Turkey Burgers

Makes 4-8 patties

ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

3-4 fresh brussel sprouts

1 Tbsp. flax seeds

1 egg

non-stick cooking spray

garlic, black pepper or your spice of preference 

(I just used garlic and black pepper due to my nightshade allergy)

Chop brussel sprout into very small fine pieces.

Mix with flax seeds.

Mix in turkey meat and stirred egg. Make 4-8 patties.

Spray large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. 

Place burgers in and season to your liking. Cook 

burgers evenly, flipping throughout.

You can eat them like a typical burger, on a bun and add whatever condiments you like. 

Because of my allergies and low carb lifestyle I chose to eat mine as is. It was just as delicious!

Brussel sprout flax seed turkey burger with a side of broccoli and Havarti cheese.

Weight loss journey starts NOW!

After many many years of being overweight, I am ready to make a huge change. To be honest I have started and stopped this process many times.

In the beginning I wasn't motivated enough and I kept putting on the weight. Eventually my arthritis (psoriatic) got so bad that I needed to make a change or I couldn't walk or even breath sometimes. :(

I tried many times to exercise and it just hurt me so bad I couldn't walk the next day.  It was hard to overcome and I felt defeated. Those feelings didn't help my diet. I felt if I couldn't exercise, "what what the point?" I then put on more and more weight.

Skip to now, after having my daughter and having pain so bad I can't sleep most nights, walk or even sneeze without crying...I have had enough!

With the help of my awesome doctor and a new medication (new to me) I am finding some relief!! I've been on it a couple months and I am feeling some great results from it. The pain never fully went away, but how can it when I weigh this much and still have a horrible diet with no movement in my life?

So I researched and researched...I read that eating clean (duh!) helps...and not only that, for me specifically, but I could also incorporate an elimination diet of certain foods that contribute to inflammation and pain with arthritis. I have eliminated night shade foods and red meats thus far. It has been about a week and I FEEL INCREDIBLE! Omgosh! I wish I knew this when I was 10, my life could have been completely different.

With the help of my new nutrition and medication I am now able to EXERCISE! I have been incorporating yoga, walking and zumba on my wii. I love it and I have never felt better.

At my heaviest right after having my daughter I weighed in at 256#. That is a devastating number to me and I never want to see it again :(

This picture is plain awful! Turning point photo! lol 246#

I have worked hard these last couple weeks - starting at 246# two weeks ago-I am now down to 240#.

Slow and steady. I know if I keep at it I will reach my goal and get my life back. I have felt trapped in this painful body for too long. I am so ready to change.

Like I said before. I have started this journey many many times and quit too many times. What is different this time? I hope a lot is different. I am afraid of quitting. I am terrified to do this because I think I will just fail again.

I am trying to be smarter about things this time. I am more educated. I feel better.

One of the biggest things is I am trying to surround myself with positive thoughts from friends and family. I also just get on google (or bing) lol every once in awhile and search (weight loss motivational quotes). There is some good stuff on there! I recently made a poster with weight breakdown and pictures of myself, now and back when I was smaller, as motivation.

I think looking at this everyday and marking off each pound will give me great motivation to keep going on those days it gets too tough.

Until next time...good luck with your journey!