Healthy Me

I first heard about this fruit, acai, a few years ago and became interested in it due to my quest to lose weight and for its antioxidant activity due to years of not eating the best of foods.  I wanted to get healthy, feel good, put up a little bit of a fight with the aging process, and get active again.  If you've not heard of acai, let me tell you a little about it.

• The acai fruit grows in Central and South America.  It is a red/purple color found on the beautiful Acai Palm trees. 
• Acai contains both anthocyanins and flavonoids.  Anthocyanins (meaning "blue" and "plant") and flavonoids are both antioxidants which gets rid of free radicals in the body (free radicals contribute to the aging process).
• Acai has been called a superfood, containing essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, and phytosterols (phytosterols are known for their cholesterol-lowering qualities).
• It is also found in cosmetics for its antioxidant qualities.
• This fruit, long used by the Amazons for years, has become popular in Europe and the United States.

Acai Capsules

Coconut Water with Acai & Pomegranate

I had another gall bladder attack on Friday - worse than the first but not as bad as the second.  Thankfully, it only lasted a few hours and was over with.  A quick trip thru a drive-thru brought it on.  I knew better too but I am hypoglycemic and when I started getting nauseous while on the road, with little time to spare, I couldn't pull over to eat a salad so I ate the bad stuff while I drove.  It looks like potatoes in grease is my trigger (such as french fries, hash browns). 

I need to eat better this week so I can enjoy the five day holiday my kids have from school, plus my in-laws are coming into town.  Then, there is shopping!  I am looking forward to Cyber Monday so I can start shopping for my four kids.

I hope everybody has a Happy Thanksgiving later this week! 

I am looking for some good weight loss stories. How did you lose weight? How long did it take? Are you happier?  Why were you overweight (eating habits, medical, etc.)? 

I've struggled with my weight since I got thyroid disease nine years ago but it's been even harder for the last five years (after the birth of my last child).  It shouldn't be this hard to lose weight but boy is it ever! 

Feel free to comment!

Have you heard about the acai berry?  I am hearing good things about it and I see it a lot in juices at the store and in supplements.  I am going to look up acai reviews and see what this berry is all about!  I wonder if it can help you lose weight or perhaps it is high in antioxidants!  Either/or would be wonderful. 

I also need to look up some supplements for my teenage daughter who gets migraines during her period.  She needs something to stop the huge hormonal fluctuations that cause her migraines. Poor kid.

I've lost five pounds, my income is coming along nicely, and we are going to have a nice holiday season.  I can feel it!  I get to start Christmas shopping next week and I am excited to see what I find for our kids.  I would imagine the retail jobs are booming this time of year and I plan to take advantage and do some shopping.

It's less than a week to Thanksgiving!  Then there is Black Friday (which I avoid like the plague honestly) and then it'll be time to hit the retail stores and shop, shop, shop!

My teenage daughter has been trying on my dresses from my single days (early 20's)...and she can fit into them.  I can't believe the slinky little black evening dresses dream of mine - to one day fit into them again - is at an end. If my 13-year-old daughter can fit into them, I don't have a prayer of being able to do so ever again after four kids.  I have to be honest - hips that bore four children will never be that small ever again.  I just have to get real and face it!  What is sad is that one of them still had tags on them! 

My husband took my little Pom-Chi dog (about 3 lbs. of attitude) outside when he was changing the light bulbs in our Kichler lighting fixtures by our front door. He put my dog down because he thought she wouldn't run away. Yup, she ran...and ran...and ran. I go off running after her while she ends up stopping a van in the road. Thankfully, it stopped. Talk about being in the doghouse - it's where the husband is at.  If she'd gotten away, she wouldn't have lasted the night.  A coyote or big bird would've swooped her right up!

Getting healthy isn't going so well for me.  Apparently, I might have a gallbladder problem now if the two attacks I had over the weekend are any indication and are truly my gallbladder.  I'm 99% certain that it is my gallbladder.  The attacks were not fun.  Horrible in fact.  Pain worse than childbirth!

Thankfully, they only occurred during the night and didn't impact my day (other than being tired from lack of sleep).  I have too much to do during the day to get sidelined by illness.  Right now, I am on the hunt for baby thank you cards for a new mom whose child is going to celebrate his first birthday next week. I also have appointments to schedule and chauffeuring of my kids to do later for cheerleading. The gallbladder really needs to take a number!

If you came to this post through a gallbladder search, you might be looking for symptoms (I know I did!).  Mine were pain on the right side of my abdomen under my ribs, really bad pain around through my back, nausea, and vomiting.  I could not get comfortable in any position with some positions hurting more than others.  For my second attack, even the elastic waistband on my pajama bottoms hurt!  Both attacks came on after eating high fat meals earlier in the day.  One attack lasted 4-5 hours and the other lasted 2-1/2 hours.  They both stopped spontaneously (pain pills don't work).