Enough is Enough ... No More Excuses!!!

An exciting story to share! :D

I posted quite a bit lately about my job and how miserable I've been lately. Well, today I came up with a potential game plan for a change. It's nothing that I'll be able to do immediately, but certainly something I can work towards and look forward to!

Yesterday I had a doctor appointment for my arthritis. When the medical assistant left the room I got to wondering what that job would be like. I like helping people, but I'm not a real big people person so that worries me a bit, but there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff involved too from what I've learned. All stuff I could definitely handle. I'll be doing much more research on it, but I'm really considering taking steps to get into the medical field. From what I've seen so far, it would likely mean a considerable pay cut. That was the main draw back I could see. That's when I got to thinking about how to make additional money to make up for it. That's when photography popped into my head. For years people have been telling me that I need to start selling my photos. I blew it off as friends and family just being nice, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I love nature and wildlife photography (obviously with the whole whale obsession I have), but along with that I just love animals in general. I don't want to be responsible for wedding photos or anything like that and I'd truly love spending extra time with dogs and other pets so that's where plan B comes from... starting to do pet photography on the side! I know my way around the camera and it is one of my passions so it would be a perfect fit for me!

I've been thinking for a long time where I want to go with my work. I'm not happy where I am anymore. I haven't been for a long, long time and it's only getting worst. I sick of dreading going in every. Life is too short for that. I want to be happy and for the first time in a long time I'm really excited about this potential change. Now to start figuring out the leg work.... :)
 
I've been so MIA around here but I read LaMa's comment about Cate being awesome and it made me grin, so I had to comment. I think most of us cycle through bouts of motivation both with our own diaries and those of others so don't sweat it. Your main focus has to be on YOU right now.
 
Oaks - I agree in keeping myself and my health a priority, but I do feel badly sometimes. :( I'm glad you all understand though! :)

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So, my little career change idea is still spinning in my head big time. The more I think about it though, the more I'm thinking I should just stick it out where I am and focus solely on getting a photography business going. I'm making more money here than I would as a medical assistant. I also have 4 weeks of vacation time here which I'm sure I wouldn't be able to get to start on a new job like the one I was considering. Not to mention a great 401K plan and benefits. I also have much more job security here. I've been here 15 years now (gosh... where does time go?!) so I guess it's best to just suck it up and make the best of it. I'll just need to be more vocal about things that bother me and speak up more often about it. I mean, if the photography thing pans out and if I'm going to be a business owner I'm going to have grow thicker skin anyway. As someone who's never really stood up for myself it'll be a challenge, but I think I'm up for it. It's been a long, long time since I've been this excited for anything! The thought of being my own boss photographing animals (wildlife and nature too) is like a dream! I'll definitely to pursue it.
 
Mandy that sounds like a good plan. Can you please send some sensible thoughts our younger son's way. He sets the bar incredibly high & burns his bridges & currently (apparently) is "between jobs" & with a credit card debt :( Having job security or any kind of security really is a good thing. Leisure time is the time you can pursue your passion & interests. Sometimes you can get a job that is just right, but I don't know many people who can do that.
 
Cate, that's my goal. If I can stick it out here and start doing photography on the side maybe it'll turn into a full time thing that'll support me in itself. I'm already excited at the thought of working with animal rescues and pet stores to try to photograph animals in hopes of getting them adopted out quicker while also making myself known in the area. So many thoughts running around in my head. I need to start writing things down!

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So this weekend wasn't a complete loss, but I wasn't as good as I needed to be either. My plan all day Friday was to go home and cook a nice healthy dinner. At the last minute that changed to ordering Dominos pizza. Argh! At least I managed to get a medium and not a large pizza so I didn't consume as much as I could have. Saturday went good. I ate all healthy food with the exception of a small slice of cake. Sunday, wasn't that bad, but I did indulge in some peanut M&Ms. I also BBQ'd steak tips and rice pilaf for dinner. I REALLY need to stop with all of these sugary, processed things. It's just so hard. :(

Today I'm running on very low energy. My poor dog has something wrong with his ear and he woke me up a little before 2am scratching and shaking his head, jumping up and down off the bed. He was very restless and I got very little sleep because of it. I'm lucky if I got 3 hours in. Needless to say I have no patience today and am exhausted. I'll be taking him to the vets this afternoon to see what's going on. He did just have a retrobulbar abscess (something I'd never heard of) a few weeks ago so I think they're probably related somehow.
 
Oops... forgot to share my weigh in this morning. I weighed in at 228.2lb which is down 1.6lb from last Monday. Not bad, but was hoping for more. I'm sure my eating over the weekend didn't help.

I am hoping to get Taebo in this afternoon provided my dog lets me.
 
MandyH said:
So this weekend wasn't a complete loss, but I wasn't as good as I needed to be either. My plan all day Friday was to go home and cook a nice healthy dinner. At the last minute that changed to ordering Dominos pizza. Argh! At least I managed to get a medium and not a large pizza so I didn't consume as much as I could have. Saturday went good. I ate all healthy food with the exception of a small slice of cake. Sunday, wasn't that bad, but I did indulge in some peanut M&Ms. I also BBQ'd steak tips and rice pilaf for dinner. I REALLY need to stop with all of these sugary, processed things. It's just so hard. :(
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I thought the same thing at first - completely eliminating processed and/or sugary foods from my diet was something I thought was going to impossible. However, once you go a few days without eating that stuff you honestly don't really miss it. It took me a few days to get over not having pop, sweets or processed, boxed dinners, but once my body adjusted to eating healthier I sincerely didn't have much of anything in the form of cravings.

The key to making the change is leaving all of that shit at the store - DON'T BUY IT. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables, raw cuts of meat and unprocessed grains (rice and pasta that don't come with seasoning packets). Leaving all the processed stuff at the store forces you to prepare and make your own meals which, to be fair, takes up more of your time, but the result is a collection of much healthier meals.
 
Hey Mandy, that's awesome about your pursuit of photography! I think that's something you should get started on immediately - it will shift your focus on something to keep you from stress eating - even if you do takeout/delivery, you can do a salad or something. I'm a recent convert to vegetable mu shu - it's all vegetables (and delicious salty sauce), so you fill up on that.
 
Chef, I get you! I actually did that last March when I went a full month without any processed food at all. I did it then, I can't seem to do it now though. You're definitely right in that if I don't buy the junk, I won't eat it. I'm just going to have to make that happen!

Amy - Thanks! :)

LJ - I've been editing photos for the past week or so to put on my Facebook photography pages and it has been keeping my nightly snacking at bay. Definitely not a bad thing! I'm working on putting a couple of books together for the whale watch companies I go with, but once that's done I can really focus on researching photography as a business. I'm excited! Yes, the last time I ordered out I had the options for delicious salads, but still went with steak and rice. Steak's not bad, the rice I need to learn to live without!

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So, yesterday was a bad day. Not food wise, just feeling badly... just not feeling right, feeling down. I'm going through my girly time right now so I feel very bloated and it's noticeable too. I friggin' hate it! I try to keep a positive attitude, but yesterday honestly felt like a rock bottom kind of day. I just felt disgusting, overly fat, and uncomfortable. I admitted once again that I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm sick of giving in to temptation. So when I went home, what did I do? If you guessed grabbed a bag chips, a candy bar, or a bowl of ice cream..... you're wrong! I popped in my Taebo DVD and fought through it. Man it whooped my butt once again, but I made it through. I'm paying for it today with soreness, but knowing why I'm sore is making it kind all ok. I can't say I'll be able to do Taebo tonight, but the treadmill is here waiting to be used so that's my hope for tonight. My dinner last night was steak and a side of steamed carrots and broccoli. So good!
 
WooHoo! Way to fight through the rough patch! Girly time can certainly do a number on us, but you showed it who was in charge. Super impressive!
 
MandyH said:
So when I went home, what did I do? If you guessed grabbed a bag chips, a candy bar, or a bowl of ice cream..... you're wrong!
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Best surprise ending ever!!! Sweating it out is ALWAYS the best answer. Exercise is supposed to majorly help with making you feel better during girly times, and I can't say I disagree. Steak and veggies is a solid dinner, I hope the down feelings are dissipating today.
 
Thanks ladies! :)

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Not much to report. Haven't even weighed in this week. Not because I'm feeling down or because I'm in a rough patch or anything, just haven't felt like seeing a number. Will likely weigh in on Monday next.

I did Taebo on Monday, was too sore yesterday, and just finished doing it again tonight. At this rate, I'd be happy with every other day as my routine although I would really like to get into it again 5-6 times a week like I did before. I can feel the drive and motivation coming back which is good. My only real concern right now is that it'll be warming up soon when summer hits and that's usually where my downfall is. I can't handle heat very well. I need to just fight through it.

I'm also a bit torn on my diet plans. Originally I said all processed foods have to go. I just don't know how realistic it is. I'm not doing very well with it. I'm also not doing as bad as I have in the past so that's a good thing. I think I'll just need to do a moderation / smaller serving size thing. As an example, my mother cooked spaghetti and meatballs Sunday night. I ALWAYS have seconds because it's so darn good. This time I was able to cut myself off after one serving and hey I survived! :)
 
I feel ya on feeling sluggish in the summer heat. We keep the living room nice and cool (and the bedroom when we sleep) so I end up hiding in there watching lots of tv. I think it's good if you start considering processed foods as treats and not as completely off-limits. Attaching guilt to foods is often a gateway to eating MORE, because brains are silly things. But of course we all have to find out what works best for our individual personalities.
 
It can be very hard to go to a completely no processed foods diet. Also, where do you draw the line? Do frozen veggies count as processed? Canned veggies? Canned tuna? All of those things are relatively healthy and can really make our lives easier when it comes to meal times, but they are technically processed. Either way, great job resisting second on spaghetti and meatballs. :D
 
For me, when I say processed food, what I'm trying to avoid is stuff like bread, pasta, rice, ice creams, chips, crackers, etc. Frozen and canned veggies would be fine as would tuna (although I'm not a fish eater). Basically trying to eat fruits, veggies, and fresh meats without breading, etc. It's tough. Sometimes when you're on the run and don't have time to cook it's so easy and convenient to just stop and grab a burger or a Subway sub somewhere (that's where the bread that I'm trying to avoid comes in). It's just hard. Living in such a fast paced world doesn't make it very easy. :(

I did Taebo 3x last week. Saturday I didn't do much, but yesterday I spent the day walking the beach. I found 11 sand dollars which I love looking for. Usually I'm lucky to find one or two, but to find 11!! I definitely found a hot spot and am already looking forward to going back. I felt a little off yesterday and wondered if I was coming down with something. This morning I know I am. My throat is very irritated and I'm very stuffy in the head. I'll be drinking lots of hot drinks today and don't think I'll be doing Taebo later. I might try to get a walk in on the treadmill. It's not as taxing so my breathing won't be as labored doing that. We'll have to see how I feel later.

This morning's weigh in wasn't pleasant at all at 229.2lb. I have no idea how my weight is up since two weeks ago, but it is slightly. I've been eating better, though not perfect, and I've been exercising more as well. Just don't understand that darn scale. Oh well, it is what it is. I'm not going to dwell on it, just going to work on doing better. The number will catch up soon enough. :)
 
Great job doing Taebo three times last week! That's awesome. :D

11 sand dollars is a lot. I don't htink I've ever found more than two before. I hope you feel better. Also, don't worry so much about the weight. Sometimes it does things we don't want for reasons we don't know. Just stay the course and it'll come back down. :]
 
Thanks Cory!

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So last week I felt like death all week. I had barely enough energy and will to go to work, but that was it. The rest of the time I spent in bed. Yesterday I felt a huge improvement, but was still tired so didn't do much. Today I felt better and went for a walk, but still have the nagging cough to get rid of. Hoping tomorrow will be even better.

Even being sick my eating was pretty good except for the excess of hard candies I consumed trying to soothe my sore throat. My goal this week is to not have any candy. I did some batch cooking today so my breakfast for this week will be chicken soup (no noodles - just onion, carrot, and celery). My lunch will be romaine lettuce wraps with turkey, cheese, and tomato. Dinners are still up in the air, but I'm looking to make those healthy. I did find some recipes for fat bombs. Anyone ever hear of those? I made strawberry cheesecake bombs and OMG are they delicious! Tastes like real cheesecake, but they're healthier. From what I've read, they are often used for people trying to lose weight as a weigh to get healthy fats and they're supposed to leave you feeling full and satisfied. We'll see about that. I'm hoping to use those when I feel my sweet tooth cravings coming on.

So that's about it. Not sure if I want to weigh in tomorrow or not. Most likely will, we'll see.
 
I'm glad you are feeling better Mandy. What are these fat bombs, Mandy? They sound very calorific. Hope the weigh-in is ok xo
 
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