Awesome Sauce

Good Afternoon Lovelies!

I had to write and give you a quick little update post my medical diagnosis.

I've been eating a low carb diet and have been taking a medication to help my body use the insulin it makes to begin breaking down what I eat, and what I've stored.  I've lost a little over 5 lbs since my last post.  Doesn't sound like much... but it feels really good.

More than that... I feel really good.  For the first time in my life I wake up with energy and I have energy all day.  The first day I really noticed was the day I put my Christmas decorations up.  I went shopping, spent all day putting decorations up, cleaned, ran around with my mom... and didn't get tired until I went to bed at 11pm that night.  IT WAS AMAZING. Having lived in a constant state of exhaustion... it was a really incredible feeling.

What a difference!

Today was the first day I did T25 since the diagnosis and medication too.  I'm amazed again.  I had energy before, during, and now after!  I feel like I'm on cloud 9.  I'm buzzed, and frankly, ready to workout AGAIN.  I'm thinking I might go Zumba for an hour or so.  I feel SO good!  I can honestly say I have NEVER felt like this after a workout.  I'm usually exhausted and can barely exert the effort to shower.

I am amazed.

OH!  By the way, my husband and I bought new Cross Trainers from New Balance to wear when we work out... and they are THE SH*T.

Here is the website for the women's version that I have.

http://www.newbalance.com/Minimus-20v3-Cross-Training/WX20-V3,default,pd.html?dwvar_WX20-V3_color=Black_with_Diva%20Pink_and_White&start=1&cgid=203000

I bought a wide pair since I have sasquatch feet.  They're uber comfortable, have good support, and are light as a feather!

I'll keep you all updated as I progress.

And one more thing...

It's the Christmas Season, and I feel an overwhelming amount of love and thankfulness for the support and love you all have given me since I started this journey.

May God bless you, your families, and your friends with health, safety, and joy this Holiday Season!

Much Love,

Mychal

Health Update

So, just as an update for everyone...

Last week I went to a specialist to have some blood work done. My mom and I wondered if my two miscarriages may have been influenced by my thyroid. Today I got the results back. 

I have a metabolic disorder! 

Now, I'm not excited about it... But I am relieved. 

I'm relieved that now I know. I'm relieved that I know how to "fix" it. 

As it would happen, my body is insulin resistant. I make insulin, plenty in fact; however my body doesn't use it like it should. This explains my constant life struggle with weight. Everything that I eat, struggles to be processed and broken down by the insulin, so instead my body just stores it. Boo! 

The high insulin levels also mess with my hormones. My testosterone is higher than it should be. That explains why I have to shave my legs every other day!  Hahahaha

So... my doctor prescribed me several things.

Number one, Vitamin D. I'm deficient in that too. 

Number two, a medication that helps my body use the insulin it produces. Yay! 

Number three, a hunger suppressant. Helpful! 

Number four, diet and exercise. 

These four things will help me have more energy, lose weight, be healthy, AND have a healthy pregnancy in the future! 

I feel so very blessed that I live in a time and place where medicine is advanced enough to help my health and well being in this instance. I'm also so grateful for the wonderful physicians that monitor my health and have genuine concern about my well being. 

Life is a wonderful gift and I am so grateful that God has blessed me with a husband and family that love and support me. 

I look forward to the next few months. I am eager to see where my health and wellness will go from here. I am excited to workout and to try a variety of new and healthy recipes. 

I am excited to again have the chance to change my life. 

What a blessing it is to have my life's goal evolve and grow with every phase of my life. 

What a blessing it is to have such loyal, loving, and supportive followers and friends. 

Thank you!  

I promise to keep you all updated through my progress. 

Mwah!  

Mych 

Boo

Okay, it's Monday.  If you know me, you know that Mondays mean fresh starts. 

Which I need badly.

It's been a rough few months. Between my husband being stressed about his job and occasionally ill, and my two miscarriages, we haven't lost any weight. If anything, I'm embarrassed to say I've gained a few more. Boo! Boo you weight gain. Boo you. 

Thankfully, my husband was blessed to find a wonderful job which he started today. And we've been making lots of progress in the healing process emotionally. All of these have contributed to me and my husband starting a fresh new health chapter. We're focusing more on our health and our fitness than on our appearance and pant size. Which I find refreshing and much less stressful emotionally and mentally. 

Calorie counting, watching car carb and fat consumption, lean meats, and lots of veggies, with occasionally cheats (because we are only human and  it's holiday time...), and plenty of exercise is our couples fitness plan.  A plan that we can adhere to since I'm able to work from home. Gives me plenty of time to research and food prep. I feel really good about it.  

Since we've decided to hold off on starting our family, it gives us time to get our health and fitness back in order and spend some quality time in our marriage before we add any little ones. It also gives us the chance to focus on our spirituality and our relationship with God. Since my husband has recently converted to the LDS church, one of our goals as a couple is to be able to go to the LDS temple and be sealed as a family for eternity.  

Life is such a wonderful and precious gift. And I am so very grateful for the innumerable blessings that God has blessed our family with. 

I love and appreciate all of you who support and encourage me and my husband as we continue our journey. 

Have a wonderful day and week!  Be happy. Smile. Laugh. Love. Change your life for the better, and that in turn will change other people. It's a glorious day. 

Much love!

Mych

OUCH!

Yikes!

I got on the scale today for the first time since I got married.

I fell off the wagon.

HARD.

And so did my husband.  Unfortunately we're both about 50lbs over where we want/should be.

Talk about a punch to the stomach.  I worked my way all the way down to the 180's and here I am a mere 30lbs away from the heaviest I have ever been.

I vowed I'd never let myself go back there, but it would appear the joy and happiness of newlywed-dom, and the binge eating after our miscarriage has had an adverse affect on our weight.

Thankfully I have a wonderfully loving husband who has joined me in a renewed effort to get my health back under control.

We're more motivated than ever to be healthy and to do it together in order to strengthen our marriage, and prepare a healthy lifestyle for our future family.

We started this morning, and there were plenty of obstacles to keep us from achieving our workout, but we didn't let it.  After an intense Focus T25 workout, we had a healthy breakfast - and even took our supplements!  Zach even drank his vinegar!  Hahahaha.

My fitbit is charged and ready for action again and I'm making sure to make a concerted effort to climb the stairs often and get in as many steps as possible daily.

We're making a lot of modifications to our daily routine and we have a long way to go... but it's a start.

And most importantly, it's together.

My family is even in on the action.  His parents are starting a new regimen, my mom is doing T25 on the same schedule as us, as is my brother and his beautiful new wife.

It's so much easier to be healthy when you have a community of support, so I thank them AND I thank you all for continually supporting me in this lifelong journey.

Changing your life is a continual process and one I'm excited to renew on a daily basis.

Talk soon lovelies!

Mwah!

Mych

Life - What A Grand Adventure!

My darlings,

I know it's been quite a while since I've posted ... But life has literally swept me off my feet and whisked me away on adventure I'd only ever dreamed and prayed about.

So, I'm not sure how many of you were aware that based on a weird feeling/impression I left my job and life in Utah back in October. I moved back home and within a month found a new job with an wonderful CPA firm filled with amazing people. Not long after that I found an adorable two bedroom house in Boise for me and Effy to move into. I was geographically close to my family and still had my independence. My life was incredible. I was happy.

Then, as luck would have it... I met Zach.

A 6'2", blue eyed, strapping, smoldering, intimidating Officer Candidate in the National Guard, Firefighter, Farmers Agent, and Small business owner.

And what's weird? He wanted ME.

I know. It still doesn't make sense to me.

We started dating and everything was beyond perfect. He couldn't be a more wonderful match for me. I mean really, it's eerie.

My mom knew he was the one from the second or third time I brought him home. Apparently, he makes me glow.

My dears... I have fallen in love - and I'm getting married.

I cannot describe how I feel. Words cannot do justice to the profound elation, passion, joy, and completion that fills me to the brim and spills over in the form of goofy grins, giggles, and other various obnoxious love struck behaviors.

I wake up every morning wondering if this is all a fluke. Maybe it's a wonderful dream and any moment I'll wake up back in Utah. Alone. Bored. Stagnant.

But no, I constantly look down at my left ring finger to see a sparkling promise of a love and marriage that will last through eternity.

I feel whole. For the first time in my life I feel complete.

And he understands and loves me despite my life's story. He encourages me in my daily battle with my image and physical fitness. He is proud of how far I have come and he is proud at my dedication to stay healthy.

He thinks I am beautiful. And he is the first man who has truly made me feel beautiful.

I am blessed far more than I deserve. He is amazing and I thank God every moment that he placed him in my path.

In May I get to be his wife, his lover, his friend, his support, his partner, his confidant, and the mother of our future children. In May I will be Mrs. Wilson.

Life is an adventure. A grand one. And one I get to share through eternity with the man of my dreams.

May God grant and bless you all with the happiness and joy you all deserve.

Much love my dear ones.

Talk soon,

Mych

What I've Learned

So, I was sitting at home and decided I'd write a blog post, but was sans post ideas.

As such I reached out via Facebook for a topic that people would be interested in reading about.

A dear friend and complete inspiration encouraged me to write a blog post about what my fitness and health journey has taught me.

I've pondered upon it for a few days and have a few things I wanted to share.

1. If you set your mind something, you CAN achieve incredible things.

If you truly dedicate yourself to your dreams, your aspirations, you goals, and your happiness you can have everything you've ever hoped for, imagined, and desired.

2. You deserve to be happy.

Never sell yourself short. You should never settle. If you want something, work for, attain, and appreciate it.

3. You are more remarkable than you give yourself credit for.

Oftentimes we demean ourselves, we lower our value, or we allow social standards to measure our worth. We too often see ourselves as far less than we are.

4. Being healthy DOES make you happier.

I'm not talking about weight loss, I'm talking about general health & wellness. Knowing that your body can do what you want and need it to do. Pushing yourself to your limits and feeling the power and utilizing the genius design that is the human body... there is nothing more fulfilling.

5. Eat right!

Portion size, fruits, vegetables... eating nutritional food makes your body feel MUCH better. Binging out over the holiday wreaked havoc upon my body. Nothing feels better than eating right and exercising. It makes an enormous difference in how you physically feel.

6. Never give up.

There are ups and downs. We're only human. Your weight will flux, your going to miss a few days of working out, you'll get sick, or you'll get hurt, there are holidays, vacations, injuries... late nights at the office... you have to make peace with it and keep moving forward.

Lastly, don't compare yourself. Ever.

You need only to live in a way that makes you happy. To work out and be a weight that makes you feel good. Your value isn't measured by a number. You are worth more than a number can ever say. You worth isn't based on your dress size and you don't have to have the body of a model. You are beautiful. Reality is beautiful. Be you. Be real. Be healthy. Be HAPPY.

My last little tidbit is this: YOU ARE RADIANT. Let the brilliance of your existense shie bright enough to dispel all shadows of doubt and fear.

You can do this. You have the power to be who you've always been meant to be. To be the person you've always wanted to be.

Much love my dah'lings!

Mych

Reset, Restart, Resolutions

Do you know what I love about the holiday season? Well Christmas, duh...

But more than that, I find the start of the New Year completely invigorating.

Could you as for a better slate cleaner and time keeper? I don't think so. Not only that, but coming off of the holiday season allows for a completely energized and go-get-em attitude when we tackle a new calendar year.

So in the spirit of this fresh start I hereby list my additional life goals. (I would call them resolutions, but resolutions have a finality, an ending. I'm still in the habit of making positive long-term life changes; so goals work better for me.)

1. Get back on the nutrition/healthy eating horse.

Unfortunately, I've fallen off the calorie counting, careful eating, healthy food bandwagon the past few weeks. I'm ashamed. And I'm physically feeling the ramifications of my lax dietary guidelines as of late.

2. Kick ass and take names. AKA workout and get lean and fit.

I have a 25lb weight loss goal by the summer. I'm hell bent, and damned determined to accomplish it. I haven't gotten this close to fail now.

3. Allow myself to be more vulnerable.

I like to bitch and moan about how lack luster my social and love life can be. I'm adult enough to admit that a lot of it is my fault. I am overly protective of my heart and emotions, and I'm incredibly independent and do not like to ask people, or let people, help or love me. I have a goal to be more open, more believing, and more adventurous in the social realm. Things worth having and experiencing don't come without a price. And you can't know love or joy if you don't experience heartbreak and sorrow.

4. Write more.

I need to blog more. I'm sure my followers don't miss me much, but I miss writing. I also want to work more on my novel. I forget what an incredible outlet writing can before my psyche.

5. Love my being.

I am making a conscious effort this year to not look in the mirror and say negative things about my body, my appearance, or my face. I want to be proud and love my entire being: soul, body, heart, and mind, for the remarkable, incredible, and wonderful blessing that it is.


These are my goals. These are my hopes and aspirations for this new year. In addition to all the other goals that I'm consistently working on.

Lastly, I WILL update the blog. I promise you that.

Goals will be updated, photos... All of it.

We are starting fresh people. And I couldn't be more thrilled.

Feel free to email or comment with your new goals for the year ALONG with any topics you'd like me to write about, routines or recipes you'd like me to try, or questions you may have.

I love and adore you all! I'll write again soon.

Until then, I leave you with some thoughts to remind you of how wonderful you truly are AND of how deserving you are - even though you may not know or acknowledge it.

Much love,

Mychal