First of all: HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY, YES!!!!
The most recent step in my weight loss roller coaster has been a 5-day nutritive cleanse through an essential oil company that I love and promote and highly recommend: Young Living. My sister & I have gotten into essential oils pretty heavily since June 2014, and my sister even values them so much that she is no working toward a certification in holistic wellness and nutrition! Last October (2014), she & I went to the home of a Young Living distributor who has turned her life around because of YL Essential Oils. I had never met, or even heard of, this lady before our meeting, but I learned a LOT from her class... but my sister and she are Facebook friends and run in some of the same online social networking circles, so I didn't learn her story until my sister shared her testimonial FB post...
She posted about 8-10 photos of herself, starting from May 2013 to January 2015. The first 4 photos, I had no idea who this woman was... I was like, "great, another 'success story'"... and I then I got to photo 5!!! I did NOT know the lady in the early photos, but I KNEW THIS WOMAN!!! I had to go back, over and over to make sure I wasn't making things up and that this was, actually, the same woman! And I was motivated!
My sister & I spoke about this transformation, and decided that we'd both like to try and follow in her footsteps. The 1st thing K did was the Young Living 5-day Nutritive Cleanse. So we ordered one of those. Neither my sister nor myself had ever done a cleanse before, and we doubted we could do it alone, so my sister took 1 of her vacation weeks to drive up and visit me and survive this cleanse together... the first night she was in town, we watched a 30 minute testimonial video of K's experience. K explained everything she did, but reminded us that every body is different. After the nutritive cleanse, she spent the rest of the month re-balancing her minerals and nutrients using YL essential oils and supplements, but she didn't change much of her eating. And she didn't lose weight. The second month, she went off sugar. Month 3: white flour. Month 4: drive thru / fast food. I don't remember what Month 5 was, but it was another elimination... still no weight loss. But she wasn't doing this for weight loss - she was doing this to be healthy. In her words, "If I am supposed to be 399.6 lbs, then I'll be 399.6 lbs, but I'll be a healthy 399.6 lbs!"
During Month 5, her youngest daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Her daughter, at 2.5 years old was the youngest of K's bajillion children, and the only one who was forced to eat gluten-free. So, K decided to go off of gluten as her Month 6 elimination, purely to support her daughter... and she lost FORTY-SIX POUNDS IN 1 MONTH. And the weight kept dropping. Between October 2014 and January 2015, K had gone from 399.6 to 195 lbs... our minds were blown! We made goals for our individual needs and started the cleanse the following morning.
17 March 2015
16 March 2015
A New Journey, part 3
Then, 2 weeks into the New Year, I fell. For the first time since I'd moved here, so that was a win!, but, still. Falling & I are the worst possible combination. I have spent the past 2 months struggling with pain of several varieties, in multiple locations, and both chronic & acute. I went 6 weeks maintaining my weight, even on pain killers & muscle relaxants. Then, I hit a low and the chocolate cravings won out. I gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks and got VERY frustrated. AND I'm still in pain. Gah!
About a month ago - 1 month after the fall - I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon by Sonya. I visited him and he took xrays. Nothing is broken (naturally). He took me off of the pain meds and put me on an anti-inflammatory that, if not taken immediately after eating, and, if I don't stay upright for at least 30-60 minutes after taking the pill, I risk ulcers in the esophagus. No pressure. But it helped the pain and I wasn't high, so I was still quite happy. I can see the light at the end of this tunnel! Or, I'll have to have surgery. I'll find out on 20 March.
About a month ago - 1 month after the fall - I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon by Sonya. I visited him and he took xrays. Nothing is broken (naturally). He took me off of the pain meds and put me on an anti-inflammatory that, if not taken immediately after eating, and, if I don't stay upright for at least 30-60 minutes after taking the pill, I risk ulcers in the esophagus. No pressure. But it helped the pain and I wasn't high, so I was still quite happy. I can see the light at the end of this tunnel! Or, I'll have to have surgery. I'll find out on 20 March.
15 March 2015
A New Journey, part 2
A GYM MEMBERSHIP.
I can see things from his perspective, but this man also knew that I am dealing with a herniated disc, scar tissue throughout my left side from various injuries, and not a lot of free time. But I went to the gym. The doc had written that I had no restrictions, so the trainer dismissed my repeated reminders that I am inured and pushed me through a series of testing that ended up irritating my herniated disc for a week. Needless to say, I did not return. But I bought a Fitbit Flex and started making sure I had at least 5000-7500 steps in each day. That was more than I was doing before.
I lost the same 7 lbs for the next 4 months & returned to the physician, who shrugged and said, "well, you just aren't doing enough". And I walked out and found myself a new physician.
This new physician listened to me. And actually heard me. She was totally guessing, but wanted to try something: she wanted to know if, maybe it was my hormones that were wreaking havoc on my body and keeping me from losing the weight. So she diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and put me on Metformin (usually for diabetics, but used to lower insulin in those with PCOS -- I have no blood sugar issues, nor am I even pre-diabetic, but anything was worth a shot!) and Spironolactone (a diuretic). Sure! Why not? I dropped 10 more lbs immediately, and another couple pounds over the following 3 months, for a total of 30 lbs down since May, but still higher than my previous "highest weight" of 220.
I started seeing Sonya (the new physician) in November 2014. I started taking Metformin & Spironolactone, literally, the day before Thanksgiving. Over the holidays, I neither lost nor gained weight, which I am calling a success!
I can see things from his perspective, but this man also knew that I am dealing with a herniated disc, scar tissue throughout my left side from various injuries, and not a lot of free time. But I went to the gym. The doc had written that I had no restrictions, so the trainer dismissed my repeated reminders that I am inured and pushed me through a series of testing that ended up irritating my herniated disc for a week. Needless to say, I did not return. But I bought a Fitbit Flex and started making sure I had at least 5000-7500 steps in each day. That was more than I was doing before.
I lost the same 7 lbs for the next 4 months & returned to the physician, who shrugged and said, "well, you just aren't doing enough". And I walked out and found myself a new physician.
This new physician listened to me. And actually heard me. She was totally guessing, but wanted to try something: she wanted to know if, maybe it was my hormones that were wreaking havoc on my body and keeping me from losing the weight. So she diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and put me on Metformin (usually for diabetics, but used to lower insulin in those with PCOS -- I have no blood sugar issues, nor am I even pre-diabetic, but anything was worth a shot!) and Spironolactone (a diuretic). Sure! Why not? I dropped 10 more lbs immediately, and another couple pounds over the following 3 months, for a total of 30 lbs down since May, but still higher than my previous "highest weight" of 220.
I started seeing Sonya (the new physician) in November 2014. I started taking Metformin & Spironolactone, literally, the day before Thanksgiving. Over the holidays, I neither lost nor gained weight, which I am calling a success!
14 March 2015
A New Journey: Becoming a Better, Healthier Steph (A 5-part series)
SO! I thought about starting an entirely new place to blog, but I already have so many wonderful words here that I want to give it another try - I know it has been forever. I have been so busy that I've forgotten how to write - or even think - about any one thing... but I am starting a new path and I want a place to track it, so... either "you're welcome!" or "beware!".
I was at my highest weight in my life last May, after less than 1 year in a food desert. I now live at the exact midpoint of the east coast states.Every traveling from upper Florida to NYC, Miami to Maine goes right through my city. And there are what appears to be more fast food restaurants than people here, as a result. I am pretty sure that the Starbucks sign is a beacon for an alien spaceship. So I lived here for 10 months and tried out every. single. place.
It was not my finest moment when I stepped on the scale and weighed a quarter of a ton. And I was determined to reverse the damage I'd done to myself, both emotionally & physically. So I went to my doctor who agreed that I needed to lose weight. BIG SURPRISE! He prescribed me Belviq for appetite suppressant. And, as an appetite suppressant, boy, is that a magic little pill! But Belviq did not help with my sugar addiction or my poor food choices. I lost 10 lbs the first month. Then I stalled out. After 2 months, I checked in with my physician, and he - literally - prescribed me a gym membership.
A GYM MEMBERSHIP.
I was at my highest weight in my life last May, after less than 1 year in a food desert. I now live at the exact midpoint of the east coast states.Every traveling from upper Florida to NYC, Miami to Maine goes right through my city. And there are what appears to be more fast food restaurants than people here, as a result. I am pretty sure that the Starbucks sign is a beacon for an alien spaceship. So I lived here for 10 months and tried out every. single. place.
It was not my finest moment when I stepped on the scale and weighed a quarter of a ton. And I was determined to reverse the damage I'd done to myself, both emotionally & physically. So I went to my doctor who agreed that I needed to lose weight. BIG SURPRISE! He prescribed me Belviq for appetite suppressant. And, as an appetite suppressant, boy, is that a magic little pill! But Belviq did not help with my sugar addiction or my poor food choices. I lost 10 lbs the first month. Then I stalled out. After 2 months, I checked in with my physician, and he - literally - prescribed me a gym membership.
A GYM MEMBERSHIP.
20 September 2013
Blogging is Tough When You're Drowning in Work (and GoT)!
I am so sorry that my blogging has taken a backseat these past couple weeks! There are so many stories to tell, but no time to tell them... I am usually waking up between 6 & 6:30, in the office by 7:15, and working until around 5 every weekday, except Tuesdays, when I work until 9pm, then I'm usually in bed by 7:30 and either looking at a magazine (because that's all the mental capacity I have left) or playing candy crush saga (my sanity-saving tool, lately) for about an hour before I fall into a deep slumber.
On the weekends, I am awake by 8am, play candy crush saga for about an hour before I spend 8-10 hours grading and planning at home. My life would seem so boring, if it weren't for the fact that, as an educator, NOTHING is EVER boring!! Which is why I chose this field :)
In the past week, I have had one older student (50s, maybe?) file a grievance against me for PUSHING THE MUTE BUTTON on her laptop, that she brought to OUR COMPUTER LAB CLASS and then turned on and couldn't stop the sound from echoing throughout the classroom... can you tell I am thrilled about that situation?? It got resolved, she dropped the course (PTL), and then came to my office a few days ago to apologize -- so THAT was nice!
I have also had to kick 17 of 20 students out of my 8am class for not bringing in their homework FOR THE 3RD TIME THIS TERM (and it had only been in session for a month at the time!), which created both the dramatic effect I needed to make them realize I was serious, and a complaint to both the Division Chair (my boss) and the Dean (his boss) by my "old man" student (self-proclaimed, mid-50s). Later that week (last Thursday), when we were drafting our first essays & they were supposed to bring in Introductions to revise, this same student brought in an Intro that DID NOT FOLLOW THE PROMPT (Narrative Essays can be Autobiographies, yes, but not when the prompt specifically states to choose 1 moment in your life to narrate, and not after we've spent three weeks talking about that one moment. Needless to say, my "old man" student had a fit. He threw a tantrum in the classroom, then left the classroom and threw a tantrum in the tutoring center (where they told him the same thing I told him), then he threw a tantrum in my colleague's office (overheard by several adjoining colleagues' offices, including my Department Chair) -- where he heard THE EXACT SAME THING I told him!
But something magical happened, and he submitted an amazing essay 6 days later - after dozens of hours of blood, sweat and tears. I will say this: he is determined to survive! And then I learned that this was the VERY first essay he'd ever written in his life, and I nearly cried from both joy & sorrow.
And yesterday, I got the ball rolling on possibly getting 2 of my early college students (high school students in my college course) suspended from their high school for extreme disrespect of me, other students and the classroom environment, in general. Meeting with them & the principal on Monday morning... awesome.
So. Needless to say, I am making a name for myself?? The best part is, while I have been terrified of losing my job before I can build my career for the past 2 weeks, my boss ('s boss)('s boss) have all been noticing the manner in which I have handled these tough situations, and the criticisms of students, and they have said, 1) they aren't in the business of hiring someone, just to spend the first year trying to find ways to fire them (WHEW!), and 2) they are impressed.
What a great feeling!
In addition, this week has been a roller coaster - I mean, QUITE bipolar - and in the midst of the abovementioned chaos, I have also:
On the weekends, I am awake by 8am, play candy crush saga for about an hour before I spend 8-10 hours grading and planning at home. My life would seem so boring, if it weren't for the fact that, as an educator, NOTHING is EVER boring!! Which is why I chose this field :)
In the past week, I have had one older student (50s, maybe?) file a grievance against me for PUSHING THE MUTE BUTTON on her laptop, that she brought to OUR COMPUTER LAB CLASS and then turned on and couldn't stop the sound from echoing throughout the classroom... can you tell I am thrilled about that situation?? It got resolved, she dropped the course (PTL), and then came to my office a few days ago to apologize -- so THAT was nice!
I have also had to kick 17 of 20 students out of my 8am class for not bringing in their homework FOR THE 3RD TIME THIS TERM (and it had only been in session for a month at the time!), which created both the dramatic effect I needed to make them realize I was serious, and a complaint to both the Division Chair (my boss) and the Dean (his boss) by my "old man" student (self-proclaimed, mid-50s). Later that week (last Thursday), when we were drafting our first essays & they were supposed to bring in Introductions to revise, this same student brought in an Intro that DID NOT FOLLOW THE PROMPT (Narrative Essays can be Autobiographies, yes, but not when the prompt specifically states to choose 1 moment in your life to narrate, and not after we've spent three weeks talking about that one moment. Needless to say, my "old man" student had a fit. He threw a tantrum in the classroom, then left the classroom and threw a tantrum in the tutoring center (where they told him the same thing I told him), then he threw a tantrum in my colleague's office (overheard by several adjoining colleagues' offices, including my Department Chair) -- where he heard THE EXACT SAME THING I told him!
But something magical happened, and he submitted an amazing essay 6 days later - after dozens of hours of blood, sweat and tears. I will say this: he is determined to survive! And then I learned that this was the VERY first essay he'd ever written in his life, and I nearly cried from both joy & sorrow.
And yesterday, I got the ball rolling on possibly getting 2 of my early college students (high school students in my college course) suspended from their high school for extreme disrespect of me, other students and the classroom environment, in general. Meeting with them & the principal on Monday morning... awesome.
So. Needless to say, I am making a name for myself?? The best part is, while I have been terrified of losing my job before I can build my career for the past 2 weeks, my boss ('s boss)('s boss) have all been noticing the manner in which I have handled these tough situations, and the criticisms of students, and they have said, 1) they aren't in the business of hiring someone, just to spend the first year trying to find ways to fire them (WHEW!), and 2) they are impressed.
What a great feeling!
In addition, this week has been a roller coaster - I mean, QUITE bipolar - and in the midst of the abovementioned chaos, I have also:
- Been invited to join a Leadership Institute - a grant-funded training program in Community College Leadership that requires an application process, but I received a specific invitation without applying due to an anonymous referral. Crazy!
- Been asked to be part of a textbook adoption committee (which led to apparently organizing everything about it, haha) to find an appropriate text for this new state-mandated change in Developmental English programs (something about which I had never heard until August) called the DREs.
- Been asked to represent the college, along with my mentor and another colleague at a statewide convention-type training seminar in Greensboro in 2 weeks to bring info back to the college and share with the rest of the department. Hotel & travel expenses are paid :), and
- Been told by my department chair that he "thinks I have potential for leadership here at the college", what!?
And in the midst of ALL of THAT, I still managed to do my actual job of teaching 120 students in 7 sections, and plan for an 8th section that starts mid-October.
Two days ago, I had to send out over 10 emails to Distance Learning students who have been missing from class the past 2 weeks. If I don't hear from them by noon today, they get dropped from the course, per college policy... more paperwork for me, yay!
I have also marked over 500 assignments + 25 exams in the past week. And helped 2 students in my night class survive breakdowns over the stress of writing a research report. LITERAL BREAKDOWNS. Tears, shaking, running from the room to get air...
it's been a wild ride so far, and I am loving every minute of it...
and in the midst of ALL of THAT, I got addicted to Game of Thrones. So, you see? Blogging just HAD to take a backseat for a minute, but hopefully, this novel will suffice :)
xoxo
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