Tag: doing the work

Daily Food Diary – Day 139 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It is 139 Days since I began posting my Daily Food Diary! 😎

I completed my round of antibiotics and Prednisone for my recent bout of bronchitis, but the struggle is real.  This Saskatchewan rainy season that we are caught up in is just killing me. (Or at least annoying the heck out of my compromised lungs).

One positive of being on the aged side, is that we always have past experience to draw from.

Many years ago, I was driving home from the town where my parents lived.  I had been there to see my Mother and my Father (who was in the hospital dying after a four and a half year ordeal with sinus cancer).  The weather was brutal – white out blizzard conditions with temperatures in the minus 40 range.  I was driving a sketchy little sedan with NO working heater.  And… I was driving home to a marriage that was way past its best before date. 

I reached a point where I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to make it.  I thought of my parents, thought of the three kids I would be leaving to fend for themselves.   I cried.  (It was ugly). 

Then I saw a roadsign a few yards ahead and I decided that I could make it to that sign.   I made it home (obviously) one sign at a time.   And I learned one of the most invaluable lessons of my life.

Broken down to its smallest denominator I could get through anything.

So yes,  I will gasp and sputter and cough my way through one more cool, rainy, humid day.   I will do my morning aerobics, clear my lungs, and go get my x-ray done.  I will  stop at a greenhouse or two and buy some alyssum and hopefully a rhubarb plant…and I will keep on keeping on –  One step or yard or sign at a time. ⚠️

Tomorrow, hopefully the sun will shine.   Regardless, I will be back to celebrate 140 Days of posting my Daily Food Diary. 💜

Daily Food Diary – Day 139

Breakfast:

(1) c coffee (2)

(1/2) grapefruit (39)

(1/2) tsp sugar (8)

(1) Granola bar (160)  (3 grams)

Lunch:

(1) c lean pork tenderloin stir fry (107)

Snacks:

(6) Mini Easter Eggs (85) (2.5 grams)

(36) oz water

Supper:

(12) oz carbonated water

(4) oz pork chop (130) (1.5 grams)

(1) tsp olive oil  (90) (.7 grams)

(1) c brussel sprouts (100)

(2) tsp butter (69) (4.7 grams)

(1) c white rice (242) (.1 gram)

(1 1/2) tbsp soya sauce (2)

(1) side salad w/ Sunflower seeds, dried fried onions, French dressing  (250) (2.7 grams)

Total net calories: 1056

Net calorie goal: 1243 – 1056  = 187 under 👍

Total saturated fats: 15.1 grams

Saturated fat goal: 13.75 👎 (but close 🙄)

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💞☺️

A Bouquet of Childhood Memories💞🌞

Daily Food Diary – Day 43 of 365

by annemariedemyen, posted in 2025, Health and Fitness

It’s day 43 and the final day of YEAR THREE of my health & fitness journey.  At this point, it is more of an established health and wellness lifestyle. ☺️

At this point, I am still  consciously focussed on finding how far I can go and watching for anything that might be tripping me up along the way.  

Year One was a gradual awareness of how much work I had to do, the benefits of doing it, and a glimpse of the potential that I possessed.    The year ended with two setbacks –  a severe flu that caused my asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis to flare up and take me down.  AND… A broken left arm thank, to a collision with our Molly dog, who was an awkward hundred pounds of unbridled enthusiasm at the time.

Molly & I

Year Two was an ongoing battle to maintain the progress I had made and to claw my way to a few gains.  First… My arm did heal,  surprisingly well, and in a shorter time than my ambulatory care doctor had anticipated.  I give full credit to the level of activity I had reached in year one, and the fact that I could keep active enough during my recovery to keep my circulation going strong.   Second…I realized that the severe  digestive issues that I had been dealing with for years were due to an allergy or intolerance to yeast.  Cutting yeast out of my diet has been a game changer!  Third.. Respiratory issues triggered from the flu I had at the end of year one, continued on and on, lingering cough punctuated by serious relapse.   Throughout the year, I went through SIX rounds of antibiotics and prednisone.  Near the end of Year Two, I figured out that my ongoing coughing and flare up of infections was not due to my chronic lung conditions but by then a well established case of sinusitis.  🙄🤦

Year Three… was a good year for recovery and steady progress.   My health improved and I upped my strength training to three times a week, going from 5 pound weights to 10 pound weights by early fall.  Then, I suffered my first setback.  I struggled with all of the digestive issues that I had while consuming yeast, I tried and failed to shed ANY weight, I felt sluggish and off physically, mentally, and emotionally.  My strength training started to slide.  Finally, I took a realistic look at my diet and realized that I had been consuming a ridiculous amount of processed sugar.  Getting that under control did wonders for me until I suffered my second setback.   The umbilical hernia repair that I had had three years earlier became a major issue.  There had been ongoing issues from day one, but they could be easily resolved. Now that was no longer the case.   I have had an ultrasound and I have an appointment to see a surgeon in a few days.  In the meantime, I have had to ease off on my strength training but I did start this Daily Food Diary to get a better handle on my diet issues.

Year Four.. will no doubt bring unexpected benefits and unanticipated setbacks.  Such is life, and I am ready to embrace whatever life brings my way.

Sixty nine going on seventy in a few months.  Ready to move forward!

Food Diary – Day 43

(1) c coffee (2)

(3) Eggo waffles with butter & syrup (411)

(24) oz water

(1) c tea (1)

(1/2) c Mini Ritz crackers (150)

(1) c raw broccoli, cauliflower, & radishes with 2 tbsp. Dilly Dip (185)

(12) oz carbonated water

(1/3) tray of nachos with lean ground beef, shredded cheese, peppers, onions, and black olives (1200)

(1) c tea (1)

Total calories: 1950

*** More calories than I would have liked, but despite starting my day with sugar, I did fight off the sweets cravings for the rest of the day.   For me, that was a BIG win.

That’s it for today.  Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞