I’ve been wanting to do some sort of regular blog update for a long time but I get stuck on first of all wanting to go back in time but I’ve just got to get over that and start somewhere and then knowing what to write without taking forever each week.
So today I had the idea of having kind of a prompt format where I answer the prompt if I feel like it and try to keep it short and if I do it regularly it won’t get too overwhelming. I’m going to try to focus on this week but I will have to go back a bit on some items to explain some things.
High
The Piccolo Reunion was fun. I love to see all the cousins growing up together and getting along so well.
Low
Getting COVID. It was pretty bad for about three days but I’m grateful it wasn’t worse. It is still lingering though.
An Accomplishment
This week I conducted a science experiment of sorts by putting several electronic thermostats in a box and wrapping each of them in different common plant packing materials and testing which material held up better on a sunny porch and in a freezer.
It turned out to be the same thing for both conditions so now I feel fairly confident about shipping in the summer and how to best do it, which is very exciting because otherwise there’s about three weeks in the spring and fall of “perfect” weather.
So Kayla and Ruby helped me clear out a spot and make a shipping area so I have a place to store all the materials and pack boxes so I can hopefully save a lot of time shipping. Right now it takes me probably half an hour on average to ship a plant so I really need to cut that time down.
What’s New?
I seem to go through cycles where every few years I randomly gain weight despite not changing my diet, etc. I’ll gain like three pounds a week and eventually, it will randomly stop and then twice now I randomly lost the weight back off with little effort.
It’s super frustrating since I don’t know what causes it. I’ve been trying to get the weight loss to start but all I could manage to do is gain weight. Super fun. I keep thinking if I could just balance my hormones and fix some other health problems then the weight would just naturally come off.
Well, that route wasn’t working. In fact, several of the supplements I took that helped most people with my problem lose weight just made me gain like a pound a day. So I remembered about a place I heard about called MD Diet that is supposed to do medical weight loss.
I thought they could help with some of my health issues and that would help me lose weight. So I started going there about 1.5 weeks ago. It turns out they don’t really care about things like hormones, etc. so that’s frustrating but they have been in business for 30 years and seem really successful at helping people lose weight so I’m going to give it a try because most of my problems say they will get better if you lose weight – but that’s super hard to do when you have the problem in the first place. It’s a fun circle.
It’s better than any type of weight loss program I’ve heard of before. You pay a monthly fee and for that, you meet with the Dr. once a month, go to a one-time nutrition class, go in for a weekly shot and weigh-in, and get a monthly bio-analysis. There are probably a few more things but here are the main points –
- You take a few prescriptions that are very safe and have been around for years that are technically not for weight loss but that is a side effect of taking them. They are mostly appetite suppressants.
- You take an enzyme with every meal, lots of Vitamin C and a multi-vitamin
- You go in once a week and get a quick shot of B vitamins and you can pay more to add some other things in to lose more weight or help with other problems
- You are supposed to eat often. Since I tend to have hypoglycemia I am trying to eat 5-6 “meals” a day.
- All but one of my “meals” is a protein shake and a vegetable, usually raw.
- My main meal of the day is lunch. It’s still quite small. I’m still experimenting with what it is but something like some meat and a vegetable or a cup of soup and a vegetable.
- I’m supposed to have 75% of my calories from protein and 25% from carbs and only have 1,000 calories a day.
- The reason behind eating so many raw vegetables is because you burn more calories digesting them than you do working out so if you have lots of small meals with them then you basically just keep burning lots of calories all day.
- They say I will be at my ideal weight in about three months. We’ll see.
- Some days I’m hungry but I eat so often that I don’t have to wait long to eat again. I mean, I can eat as many raw vegetables as I want so I don’t need to be hungry. I’m just a little sick of raw vegetables is all and I’m just getting started.
- The first five days you start with a cleansing diet of only meat and vegetables and fruit one time a day and I lost 4.5 pounds the first week, which is awesome. But since then I’ve gone five days without losing any weight so I’m trying not to get frustrated.
What are the Children Up To?
Megan works at Pharmatech packaging supplements and is a shift supervisor now. Tyler is still a dishwasher at Los Hermanos.
Megan and Kayla performed at Stadium of Fire, which was a fun experience for them. The only downside was that’s probably where they got COVID and didn’t know it and passed it to a bunch of the Piccolos at a family reunion two weeks ago.
Norm had a birthday yesterday and we celebrated by going Geocaching and we saw some beautiful views of Utah Lake and lots of birds.
Kayla started volunteering at Scera Shell last night, for which she was really excited. Since it was her first time they just had her stand at the top of the non-busy hill. She didn’t have to talk to anyone but she got to wear a vest and badge and everything and watch the play for free.
I am Grateful For
See below
Faith-Promoting Experience
I was really nervous before girls camp a few weeks ago. I was having some health issues and was unsure how I would get through it. So, of course, I prayed to get through it. But after a while, I realized I should not just be praying to get through it but to enjoy myself and for not just me to have a good faith-building experience but also for the girls to as well.
I’m happy to report that, for the most part, it was an enjoyable experience and I especially think the girls could feel the spirit many times and felt like we were all friends. It was really more than I could hope for. I’m so grateful my prays were answered and I want to try to focus more in the future on not just getting through things but also enjoying the journey.
Thanks, Sis!