Week 6

I havent written about our Visalus Challenge in 5 weeks. Mostly because I was frustrated. hehe.

I am midway through week 6, and I am officially down 10 pounds. However, I lost 6 of those pounds in week one. The last 3 weeks have been hard, because I didn't lose anything. I realized that my daily calories were just too high still, so I went back to what I know to be tried and true. Tracking points with the Weight Watchers System. I moved from 2 Visalus shakes a day down to 1 shake a day. It seemed just too big a breafast for me. I'm happier with my coffee and fruit. I"m never hungry in the morning, so I felt like I was forcing this down my throat, and then ending up having too many calories per day.  I'm not ON Weight Watchers, I just use their method of 'points' to keep track of calories. But as soon as I started tracking, I lost the other 4 pounds quickly.

I found a great iPad app that I track my food intake with. It gives me a chart of how many calories, fat, protein, carbs, sugars, sodium I'm having each day, so I'm able to really see the quality of my food. It changes how I snack, because instead of having a 2 point snack that is carb based, I have a 2 point snack like cheese that has more nutritional benefits.  (Thank you BabyBel!) :)

So Visalus is great, but I don't credit my weight loss to it...because its not a miracle cure. Weight loss is based on calories in and out and moving. BUT, I know that the amount of vitamins, minerals and wonderful suppliments I'm getting from Visalus is super good for me, and is filling my body with things I normally would NOT have gotten in my diet. So I do credit it for helping my body be healthier. Its not about weight loss this time...its about being healthier. And I can feel that I am.

I'm mostly off bread, and find that when I do have it...it sits like a rock in my stomach. Not enjoyable at all. I find that eating a couple soda crackers when I have a 'bread' craving is easier on my tummy....tho I don't seem to crave bread at this point anymore.

We are half-way through our 90 day challenge!

ps...have I mentioned that Jason is dropping weight like crazy? He's running 5km (3.1 miles) 6 days a week, lifting weights, and having 2 Visalus shakes a day. He's loving it, and looking so healthy and fit!! :)

Week 1

So, at the encouragement of a friend, Jason and I decided to both take the "Body by Vi 90 Day Challenge".

This centers around the ViSalus 'shake mix' drink. Its a protein shake, but not the usual gross protein shake. Its marketed as "The Shake Mix That Tastes Like a Cake Mix". And they are not kidding!

You are to replace 2 meals with the shake. (Not a problem, imagine being required to have a milkshake for lunch?! Easy!) Then you have 2 healthy snacks, and a sensible dinner. We've just made the same ol dinners as usual.

After week one, I'm down 4.2 pounds.

But more than that...I don't feel tired during the day. No crash. Also, this is the first week in years that I've actually not used a sleep aid to fall asleep!

The shake is packed full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that have been missing from my diet in a BIG way. So I'm sure my body is just loving this.

I am also avoiding gluten and dairy. I admit, I still have milk in my latte. (only because I tried it with almond milk and almost gagged haha) But we are using almond milk in the shakes. (no taste difference there though)

I'm not OFF gluten, but I'm avoiding it when I can.

For me, it's not about disallowing things...but just making better choices. I usually have either a muffin or a thin bagel for lunch...and now I've had to have the shake. However, because I love icecream...I haven't really missed the bread in my day.

Anyway, I know that most Visalus users are also selling it. I refuse to do that. So this update on my blog will be unbiased. I'm not selling this, and I'm really bothered by all the 'reviews' that are by people pushing it. I just want to give a truthful portrayal of my experience. So I'll be honest.

So far I'm a big fan. But we'll see how the next 83 days go.

Transformation

I don't know if you've seen this video...its going viral right now. It made me cry...especially at 3:55 into the clip.

I watched it, and thought "Wow...that's amazing! If this guy can do that...what could I do?"

And then I heard a scripture screaming in my head:

 "I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength!" 

If man can do things like this through their own power and determination...how much more can we do when we have Jesus? With God, our ability for transformation goes beyond the physical into the supernatural..into the spiritual. It spreads into our families...it heals our relationships, it softens our hearts, it stops our addictions, it can put a baby in an empty womb, it can heal cancer... (My Dad is living proof of the power of God to heal cancer!)

So watch this an be inspired. God is in the healing and transformation business. :)

 

J-A-S-O-N

Now that Jason has a new job that is NOT working from a home office, he packs himself a lunch everyday. Anneka decided to put a note in his lunch on the second day of work. It said "Dear Daddy, I hope you have a great day at Dollco!  - Love Anneka" He was so touched, he put it on his office wall...and just gushed about it to her.

Anneka relized that she had tapped into Jason's 'love language'. A note from one of his girls makes him feel so loved! (He has kept every note or card I've ever given him btw...) So Anneka slipped in another note into his lunch today.

He cried :)

J is for "joyful"....

Product Rave

Remember PopTarts?

Okay...so they are over processed, and you either love them or hate them.

Well, Special K has some new "Fruit Crisps" that are 100 calories, and taste kinda like poptarts. They have that sweet taste and are kinda a fun snack when you crave something with that cookie/fruity/pastry taste.

Throw it in your purse when you go for a coffee. (I always have a 100 calorie snack in my purse when I go to Starbucks, so I'm not tempted to buy something there!)

Recipe

This is a GREAT recipe for a low fat version of Alfredo Sauce

It makes one large serving:

2 wedges Laughing cow lite cheese
1 tablespoon fat free sour cream
2 tablespoons skim milk (add more if it's too thick, but if it looks thin, that's okay, as it will thicken as it cools)
2 tsp Parmesan cheese
salt/pepper if desired

Heat together, mixing really well.
The cheese wedges don't melt easily...so I found that breaking them up and whisking it alot helped the cheese to melt.

It's 2.5 points, or 100 calories.

Pour it over a bowl of Catelli Smart high fibre pasta, and a couple cups of veggies (like broccoli)
Its great!

Product Rave

This is a GREAT ONE!

Or rather, "Smart One". Weight Watchers has a brand of products called Smart Ones. Frozen meals etc. Well, I had heard of these soups being in the US, but now they are in Canada! (In fact, the US has a few soups, like Progresso Light, that are Zero Points...but not available in Canada)

These are canned ZERO POINT soups! There are a few flavours: Vegetable Ministrone, Southwestern Vegetable and Thai Coconut Curry. (That last one sounds odd to me...but maybe it's good?)

Calories: 60
Fat: 0.2g
Fibre: 4g
Points: 0

So, my lunch today consisted of Minestrone soup (as much as I wanted), and a chicken wrap (see previous post about Blue Menu Wraps). Total Points? 2.5!!

Product Rave

This is Product Rave week! (can you tell?)

My favorite wrap is the Flat Out Italian Herb wrap (1 point), but we can't get them in Ontario. So my second fav is this!

PC Blue Menu Whole Grain Tortillas - Chipotle & Red Pepper flavour

Calories: 90
Fat: 2g
Fibre: 2g
Points: 1.5

Its 1.5 points, and has a great flavour..just a little kick....which allows you to use less mayo etc inside. In fact, I use Fat Free Miracle Whip (0 points)

These are great for making little pizza's too! You pop em in the oven (toaster oven) to toast, then put on your toppings, and bake until the cheese melts. Yum!

Product Rave

Another great product I love is Catelli Smart Pasta. It's "white pasta with the benefits of whole wheat". Our kiddos eat this stuff up! If you do prefer whole wheat, Catelli Healthy Pasta is great too.

Serving Size: 85g
Calories: 300
Fat: 1.5
Fibre: 9g
Points: 5

Like a goof, I didn't realize that the serving size weight was UNCOOKED! I thought it was the cooked weight, and was angry because when I weighed out one serving, it amounted to a little teeny portion of pasta. I checked out the website, and sure enough, "1 serving" is the uncooked portion. This is plenty of pasta for one person! And with 9 grams of fibre...it's really a tremendous product.

Product Rave

Okay...it's not a NEW product, but it's a forgotten one by most.

Graham Wafers are amazing. They are a cracker, I guess, but sweet like a cookie. They're a Crookie. I get the low fat version, of course. Yummy!

Serving: 4 wafers
Cal: 110
Fat: 2g
Fibre: 1g
Points: 2

If you're bored of the same ol quick snacks....try them! They are great plain, but also great with Laughing Cow Lite cheese (1 point per wedge) or even better with Low Fat Cheese Whiz (1 point)

Product Rave

It's about time!!

I love Old Dutch Chips. (aka: the best Canadian Chip out there!)
However, they are just so so so bad for you. Salt n Vinegar is my fav, because they use so much seasoning. They are really vinegary, which is a bonus if you love a good strong S&V chip!! Alas, a healthy lifestyle doesn't leave much room for a snack that has 14g of fat per serving!

Well...Old Dutch, I think I love you!!

They have now come out with the BAKED version of these chips! Now, usually with baked chips, you lose a ton of flavour. First, you have to get used to the non-greasy feel of the chip...because there is much less fat. (however, I now prefer baked chips and find the regular ones horribly greasy and pretty gross) But most baked chips simply are tasteless. Lays Baked BBQ are tolerable, but I wouldn't say they rival the regular chip at all. I'd rather not eat chips, than eat a crappy chip.

BUT THESE can rival the Old Dutch S&V regular chip, no problem.

The Normal S&V chips have

Per 50g Serving
Calories: 250
Fat: 14g
Fibre: 1

(that's 50% fat, and 6 points)

The Baked Version

Per 50g Serving
Calories: 190
Fat: 3.5g
Fibre: 5

(that's 16% fat, and 3.5 points)


So try these, and let me know what you think!

Experiment Update

It's been one week since starting my low fat, high carb, eat-as-much-as-you'd-like experiment.

I'm down 1.5 pounds, and have walked 6 of the 7 days. (it rained one day!)

I'm sooo happy to be eating unlimited pasta again!

Oddly, I find I'm not eating as much, since the carbs are very filling. A big bowl of pasta for lunch fills me up right until supper. (while before, I was dying for a snack by 2)

Things I've enjoyed eating this week:

• LOTS OF Potatoes (no butter, fat free sour cream)
• KD made without margarine or butter, with skim milk
• Various packaged pastas,w/ skim milk (most of the time, the fat in packaged pastas get their fat from what you add to it during preparation. So just leave it out. Tastes the same)
  
• Candy (twizzlers, nibs, Swedish berries...
  
• Fat Free puddings
• Beef Jerky
• Out to eat: Chicken burger with lettuce and bbq sauce, baked potato
• Out to eat: Teriyaki chicken and rice (from "Teriyaki" in the mall!)
  
• Bagels with jam and/or fat free cream-cheese (no margarine or butter)
• Oven baked fries
• Lots of honey-nut cheerios with skim milk
• Turkey meatballs in sweet and sour sauce
• Lots of rice
• Baked Lays chips (with fat free onion dip)
  
• Turkey Chili
• Lots of Fruit
• Veggies of all kinds
• No name's Teriyaki Chicken and Rice frozen meal
  

The hardest part is not being able to have fries or other deep fried foods. Abstaining from mayo, cheese and bacon on my chicken burger in a restaurant is hard too, but with a good bbq sauce (like the Apple Butter BBQ at Montana's) I hardly noticed it. So I miss fries, however, I did actually have them once this week, but felt physically ill afterward. Your body gets used to the 'clean' feeling of no oils.

We'll see how this week goes. Losing 1.5 pounds is easy....I'll know if this is worth it if I can lose a sturdy 5 more and get below my first target weight.

The Experiment

If you have been reading this blog long enough, you know that Weight Watchers has been a big part of my life for the last 4 years. Its given me a set of 'rules' or guidelines to live by, and I can just look at a food now and estimate (rather accurately!) the Point Value. Its not necessarily low fat, just portion control.

About 13 years ago, however, I was diagnosed with Gallbladder Disease. When you have this, you cannot have fat in your diet. So I turned to the popular diet guru of the day, Susan Powter (remember the bald crazy lady who screamed at you?) Her method was really easy, and safe for my gallbladder issues. It was all about fat. Or rather, the less the better. High Volume, Low fat.

I lost 40 or 50 pounds just by keeping fat out of my diet. No counting calories. Carbs and Protien were okay, fat was not. Pretty easy to remember. Here are the specifics:

One gram of protein = 4 calories
One gram of carbs = 4 calories
One gram of fat = 9 calories
Fat = more than twice the calories of the other two fuels your body uses.

The philosophy? You can eat twice as many carbs (than fats), for the same amount of calories.

High carbs, low fat. I know it's the opposite of the Atkins thing....but I saw it work miracles in me, and I wasn't deprived of carbs.

Instead of counting grams, you found the total fat percentage of the item.

Fat x 9 Divided by Calories = %

Example:
Calories 35
Fat 2g

2g x 9 (divided by) 35 = 0.51 (51%)
Too high. 51% of that food item gets its calories from fat.

Since you shouldn't let your diet be more than 30% fat, she recommends under 20% per day. that means you can eat ANYTHING you want as long as the calculation comes to 20% or under.

She calls calories fuel. Period. The catch? You must use the fuel. So the only stipulation to eating this way is that you must exercise for at least 30 min everyday (or at least 5-6 times a week) with an accelerated heart rate.

Things this diet forbids (due to fat content)

• No oils of any kind
• No butter, margerine
• No deep fried ANYTHING
• No pork
• No red meat (unless it's extra lean ground beef)
• No Cheese

However, what you CAN eat:

• Rice
• Pasta
• Bread
• Bagels
  
• Potatos
• Fruits
• Veggies
  
• Jams
• Juices
• Skim Milk
• Cereals
  
• Sugar (candy!)
• Anything under 20% fat
  

Eat, Think and Move. That's her thing.

Anyway...I remember how fun it was to eat candy, and bread, and pasta and not worry about how much I was eating. I could eat....and I lost tons of weight.

Lately, I've been frustrated with how little pasta I can eat on weight watchers. I love carbs, and I want to be able to eat them like I used to.

So I'm doing an experiment for 1 month. I'm going to eat a high carb, low fat diet until Sept 27, and I will report the results.

Wanna join me?

• Follow the 'fat percentage rules'
• Move everyday
• Use your brain. Choose whole grains, think smart. Just because you are 'allowed' sugar doesn't mean it's the healthy choice. Think.

Let me know. I'd love a buddy to try this out with.

(this diet doesn't work for people who have blood sugar issues like diabetes, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome etc.)

Fun Tips

Thanks for Vikki for sending this to me!

_____________

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze
mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for-get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.


No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! .. static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Celebrity Rehab 2

My favourite show right now is Celebrity Rehab 2 with Dr Drew Pinsky.

Its a rehab centre, where addicted celebrities have checked in to come off of serious addictions. At first i thought it would be just a stupid show, glamorizing drugs, and yet another un-needed reality show. But it's really been eye-opening. I've cried a few times...just watching these "Celebrity Characters" share their brokenness, addiction, childhood pain...and watch the masks fall off of them. Without all the lights and makeup...they really are just broken little boys and girls who ran to fame and their addictions to cope with their pain. It's powerful to watch them detox...and really...they become quite emotionally naked. I guess when you've done drugs for so long, you haven't spent time really feeling....so the absence of the drugs wreaks havoc on them, as they actually begin to feel. I'm so impressed at the show, and how they've managed to really keep it real. I think it's more a documentary than a reality show. I'm just such a fan. And I'm learning so much....

I've watched Intervention (another reality-type show about addicts) but I like this one sooo much more. I like CR because A) I know these celebrities. Or at least, the persona they've portrayed on tv or in the media. It's really quite something to see who they really are...and then watch a journey of their trials and triumphs as they walk through recovery. B) Intervention is only spends one episode on each person. So you don't get to follow the person past their 1 episode. But, on Celebrity Rehab, you get to follow the journey of several people for a whole season. I really like that part.

Besides...is it just me...or is this the most boring season of Surivor ever? I think I've found another way to spend my Thursday evening...

(I hear that it's on Sundays as well, on Much Music)

Turkey Chili

This is my favourite recipe. It's a chili made with turkey, and tonnes of beans and lentils. The fibre content is off-the-charts, and it's virtually fat-free. It tastes even better as left-overs the next day after sitting in the fridge overnight, letting the flavours meld.


- 1 pkg lean ground turkey
- 1 med onion (diced)
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 1 large can Beans in Tomato sauce
- 1 sm can kidney beans (if desired)
- ½ can chick peas
- ½ can lentils
- 1 cup corn
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2-3 tablespoons chilli powder
- 2-3 tablespoons white sugar
(use equal amount of chili pwdr and sugar)

(this recipe will use your largest soup-pot)

1. Fry up ground turkey with the diced onion. (Salt if desired). I just fry it right in the pot , since there is no grease to drain. If turkey is a bit too dry to fry, add a little water NOT OIL.
2. Add the rest of ingredients to the ground turkey/onion mixture in the pot, and let simmer for a couple hours. If you are in a hurry, it can be eaten in about 20 minutes of good boiling, but I recommend cooking it as long as you can.
   

NOTES:
- I usually mash the diced tomatoes a bit (using a hand blender) because I don't like big chunks of tomato in my chili. But that's optional.
- Don't skip the white sugar, and don't substitute Splenda. The combination of the sugar and the chili powder is what makes good chili, and the sugar works to caramelize the chili.
- Put the left-over lentils and chickpeas in baggies, and pop them in your freezer. Pull them out the next time you make chili!
- You can also use it in the crock pot. Just pre-fry your meat/onion, and put it with the rest of the ingredients into the Crockpot. 2-3 hours on high, or 5-6 hours on low.

Garnish with a heaping tablespoon of light sour cream, and enjoy!

*I like eating this with BAKED TOSTITO SCOOPS in lieu of a spoon!*

Got a Splinter?

So you find yourself with a nasty splinter and it’s embedded so far into your finger that your trusty tweezers can’t get it out. What do you do? Here’s a little trick that works.


Pantyhose it!

Take an old pair of pantyhose and run it over the area where the splinter resides, the material will grab onto the splinter and gently pull it out. Is the splinter too far into the skin that the pantyhose won’t grasp it? Read on!

The Banana Trick

• Cut a 1” square piece of ripened banana peel
• Apply the pulp side of the banana peel against the skin to cover the affected area
• Hold the banana peel in place with a piece of surgical tape. Leave on overnight.
In the morning, the banana will have drawn the foreign matter to the surface of the skin, ready for easy removal — or better still, the object may show up in the peel when you remove it from the skin. More deeply embedded splinters may require one or two more nights of this treatment, in which case you should use a fresh section of peel each time.

Why it works?

A ripened banana peel is rich in digestive enzymes. The drawing action of the enzymes will pull the foreign matter to the surface of the skin.

Yum-tastic Evil

I know I usually talk about healthy-choice favs, but there are a few guilty pleasures I really enjoy. Now, I don't have them often, but I really enjoy these:


Doritos "Sweet Chili Heat"

I don't like Nachos. I'm not even a chip fan. (gimmie chocolate or ice cream any day over a chip) but I'm sucker for these. They are sweet, but with a kick. Actually, what I like most is that they are so strong, that you really can just eat a few, and it's enough flavour to satisfy the chip-craving. Try crushing a few of these in a taco salad...yum!



PC Chocolate Fudge Crackle

If you don't mind "sticks" in your ice cream. : ) I think this is the best quality ice cream out there, especially for the money. I prefer it to Ben and Jerry's. The sticks kinda slow you down when you are eating, but that's what I like! You can't really wolf it down...you have to navigate and chew. It's kinda like exercise....yeah....that's it...it's exercise!


Cinnamon Rolls/Buns

I'm a sucker for a good cinnamon roll. I like the crunchy roll-types that you can make easily at home without a bread-maker. Soooo yum. When it comes to Cinnamon buns, my Mom has the market cornered. I've never tasted a better cinnamon bun. Period. Plus, she has an ultra low fat recipie...but you'd never know they were low fat. I think she could make alot of money if she sold them. They have Cinnabon BEAT!



Sweet Potato Fries

These are SO good. Of course, deep fried is always unhealthy....but if you are gonna eat fries, these are the healthier option. (Sweet Potatoes are loaded with Fibre, Vitamins, antioxidants, vegetable protein...on and on). My favorite ones are at The Works here in Ottawa. Sooooo good!

Tired

I started the Iron supplements. I wonder how long it will take until I feel better? I'm just so tired....all the time. I feel so disappointed in myself, because it's hard to run when i feel so completely wiped. I know I should give myself a break, but if I miss 1 or 2 nights of running, it's so easy to fall of the wagon altogether. (Story of my life) Pig-headed Consistency is what has always kept me going with whatever habit I've started (good or bad!)

But as much as I want to do it, my body just feels wiped. All the time. Frustrating. Today I'm close to tears. I find that when I feel this way, i just feel sad. Down. And I don't feel like doing anything. Everything feels like too much effort. Bah!

The good news is that iron actually helps thinning hair. I thought my hair was falling out and thinning just because i was getting older. Now it turns out that it was a symptom of the iron deficiancy. Nice. Would have been nice to know that before spending so much on over-priced salon shampoos.

Today is Thanksgiving. We had our turkey dinner yesterday with Jason's Mom. (Jason and I did a turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatos, mashed turnip, beets, and peas.) It was just the 5 of us. It's alot of food for 3 adults and 2 kids, but it was nice. The only problem was that I was so exhausted the whole time. Today i'm kinda thankful that we don't have any family dinners to attend, because I think I'd have to cancel anyway.

So I wonder how long until I feel better??

Results

Nope. Thyroid is normal. (At least, they didn't mention it)

But it appears I have very low iron, which would explain my tiredness. The doc wants me on a "Palafer" asap. I had NO clue what that was, until I Googled it. It's a supplement with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin C.

Fancy name. Why don't they just call it "Iron Supplement"?

Sheesh.