September 2015 – New Year, New Resolutions

Ahh, August – such changes have come about. Confirmation of a new job, busyness of packing and sorting, cleaning the apartment, paying way too much to move, finishing up everything at work. So did you catch that? Another job and move? It’s actually hard for me to even comprehend that it’s happening again – that I am doing it to myself again. I thought DC was going to be my last one for a while, but being here and being lonely and lack of money/saving I new I had to get out. Find somewhere that my money will go further and I will be able to actually start saving again. Get myself back in order. And my August resolution rocked also – just saying! Here is my September 2015 – New Year, New Resolutions.

Wow this month passed by in a blur. I pretty much say that every month, but this one really did. With worrying about whether or not I was getting this job or not, whether I could afford it, and figuring out how to get to the new job has been stressful. Because yes – I am moving again. Across the country again. To California. Normally when I move it’s me and my suitcases (and my mom’s too) but this time I am shipping the little bit I have – which amounts to 11 boxes. more than I thought it would be, but pretty sad-looking when you see your goods reduced to a minimal 11 boxes. It always looks like I have a ton of stuff – especially when strewn around – but in reality I know that my stuff doesn’t amount to much. I’m okay with that, and it made me realize that I really was paying too much for all that space. I can make do with a smaller apartment – not a studio – and be okay with it. And now another move! Shipping the stuff is making me nervous. My last day at work is the 9th, the shippers come the 10th and I do the apartment walk through (I am nervous because these apartment people are kind of jerkish), then I leave at 4am on the 11 to fly out. It’s coming quick, but I am so ready for this next phase. Makes me nervous when I get there, but thankfully I have family there.

As for workouts and eating for August, I am just so surprised about how well I did on the elimination diet. I honestly didn’t feel deprived at all, and I got to figure out new ways to sweeten things. There were a few times that I really wanted a cookie, but since I didn’t want to give myself too much leeway I held out and didn’t give in. I also figured out how to get my coffee with no real creamer – nothing worth sharing, and let me say that making “vegan creamer” like you see on Pinterest? Don’t believe the hype. You really have to have taste buds that don’t have texture issues because when you make date syrup with maple syrup? Then mix that with some cinnamon and milk and add that to coffee? There are little bits of date left as dregs at the bottom of the cup. My SIL would totally not drink it. You could probably run it through a fine mesh strainer, but I don’t have one. Just be aware of that if you ever try making your own creamer. Other than that I did good with my eating; still have issues on weekends with overeating; but I did figure out that if given a carb I will so eat it. Potatoes were that carb. Even though there was no butter involved, I sautéed and enjoy them way too much. As for workouts I was doing good the first couple weeks of the month with doing long mileage – but then blisters started happening and it started holding me back for a week. My mind was there, but my toe? So not up for it. Like all week my big toe and the one next to it were wrapped up, but it would just blister over after it popped. I was able to walk last Saturday for 80 minutes but then had to resort to the stationary bike. When I’m trying to bust calories the bike is just not it for me. Ever. But at least I did it and made it to the gym. No complaints. With everything going on, and the elimination diet, I was able to get to the gym almost every day. A couple of years ago when I did a version of this diet I felt so run down and just plain tired that I rarely made it to the gym, so it was a surprise that I got up almost every day for my scheduled workouts. I just felt awesome this month!

So with my move coming up in 11 days (eek!) my plan is to stick with the diet until then to keep up the steam. Moving to a new environment, with people who do not eat as you do, is tough. Especially when they don’t care about dieting or certain food choices. Or that you write a food blog and need to uses the stove even if it does heat the house up. So for my September resolution, once I get to Cali, I will choose one food allergen to slowly add in. The first one? Peanuts! I have so missed plain ole peanuts. And they are so much cheaper than any other nut! Even though I didn’t see any difference in the weird itchy bumps on my face I will be wanting to see what my food triggers are. I had gone years without eating chips, chocolate, soda, store-bought cookies, and other foods but all that discipline went right out the window when I got here. Silly but true. This month has proven to my mind that I still have that discipline inside me. As for the bumps, once I get into my job and get the health insurance figured out I am going to make an appointment with an allergist to figure this out. Because although it may be itchy, it’s also extremely embarrassing!