20 Days Into Changing My Eating & 20 Questions to Ask

Fifteen days ago I was only five days into what I was calling a "detox" at the time. Twenty days into this I'm calling it a change of lifestyle. Twelve pounds less and I'm a believer. I'm not going to say it's easy but at the same time all I've really cut out of my life is refined sugar, junk food, packaged foods, dairy, and I'm trying to eat organic. I've also gone back to drinking Arbonne protein shakes for breakfast but I've now added extra fiber and a digestion booster this time. Not to sound like a commercial for Arbonne but this is what I was drinking last time I had a big weight loss.

I'm not going to lie. I have cheated a couple of times. My nephew's graduation from law school was last weekend and I had cake. I came home from my trip and having been off of Advil for my back for a couple of days I had a much needed margarita. When I lost 10 pounds I had another margarita. I know that's bad cheating but I was so happy I had to celebrate.

Now here I am 12 pounds down and it's hard to believe. Especially since my back has been out and I haven't exercised. Now I'm sick with this wicked cough and congestion. I keep promising myself that as soon as I am better I will not take my usual good health for granted and I am getting back up on my bike. That combined with my change in eating should make an even bigger difference. Updates to come as soon as I'm better.

I blogged last time about an article that I read in O Magazine that was really great and thought-provoking. It's in the April issue, "20 Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself." Some of these questions really made me think and self-examine. I used them to reflect on me and my life and they are questions I should re-visit again and again because life brings changes. Definitely an article to keep.

I won't list all of the questions, just my top 11 favorites. I'll assign them the number given in the article so you can reference them and see the commentary written about each one by a different writer.

1. Do I examine my life enough. - Sometimes too much and sometimes not enough.
2. Do I care too much about what people think? - Yes, one of my biggest problems.
4. What's your deal breaker? - A few things I know for sure. Prejudice and bigotry.
5. What do I really want to do all day? - Read, write and self-educate.
6. How do I want to be remembered? - Good person w/ a great sense of humor & good mom.
11. What am I afraid of? - Failing my children.
12. Am I paying enough attention to the incredible things around me? - Not enough.
13. Have I accepted my body?- Yes and no
14. Am I strong enough? - Still need to work on this but I do think I'm strong for my children.
17. Does what I wear reflect who I am? -This is a whole other blog topic & the answer is No.
19. Do I let myself fail enough? - Yes! That's what I've been doing this whole year. It's a re-birthing experience.

So there you go, 11 of the 20 questions. You may have other questions that mean something to you that I didn't list, so go read the O magazine article. It's a really good one. Next blog may just be about #17.

Changing Blogs, Trying to Eat Healthy, Injuries of an Old Woman and Misc Musings

Time flies when you're having fun. I've said that a hundred times at least and it does. Especially after you have kids. It's the secret nobody tells you.

Very soon I'll be changing blogs. Yes, I know... it's been a long time that I've been blogging here about all kinds of miscellaneous things. But that's just it. This blog has so much potential to be so much more. So very soon it will become what it was destined to become all along - a true shoe blog. A blog about all things shoes, shoe reviews, etc...

(My very favorite shoe by Nine West)

So where will my personal musings go? I'm thinking that it's time to resuscitate Hips 'n Salsa. I can't believe it's been almost FOUR years since I blogged there! I said I was going to take a short break but come on! Four years later! I know the layout needs a serious face lift and I'm on it.

But that still hasn't happened so we're here and I have to tell you I am on DAY FIVE of one of the hardest things for me to do. I'm doing a detox!! I've been eating clean all week, no processed foods, nothing out of a bag. I cooked some chicken early in the week that I continued to eat in different ways the rest of the week. What makes it so hard for me is that I don't really cook. This is forcing me to prepare my meals thoughtfully and that's good. I'm also not drinking alcohol and I'm limiting myself on the caffeine. I went a couple of days with no caffeine at all and I didn't slap anyone.

On the 5th day I've already lost 5 lbs and that's considering I haven't been able to exercise because my back is out of wack and other things that usually make a woman weigh more once a month. So considering those things I bet that I lost more than 5 lbs. The other thought is this, if I stick it out the whole 28 days, will I drop 28 lbs? Or at least 25??

Regarding the injury. I have NO IDEA what happened to my back. The only thing I can think may have happened is that I was at a lacrosse tournament all day Saturday and the chairs I sat in or the way I stood up. It could have also been when I lifted the ice chest out of my car. Maybe I did it wrong. No idea, but my back has been KILLING me all week. It's been extreme pain at some points, especially at night or early in the morning.

First I had a hurt Achilles heel and I had therapy on that. Next I had a bike accident and I smashed my foot with my bike.  I had therapy on that foot. Right when I was feeling better from my foot and thinking that maybe now I could get back up on my bike, my back went out. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting old.

I've made some notes when I think of some really good blog ideas but I haven't had a chance to write any of them.

So coming up: O Magazine had a great article recently entitled, "20 Questions Every Woman Should Ask Herself." I want to write about that.

There's also the question my son asked me one night regarding how many years do I have left to live and my attitude about death. Also about my dad being there now and seeing the Red Moon eclipse with him recently.

And finally a blog about clothes and why I don't wear clothes I really like, the same way I don't blog as openly as I'd like. I wish I was a true free agent, self-employed writer that said whatever she wanted to say and dressed as wacky as she wanted. But I'm not.