It's Alive!

I am once again resurrecting this poor, neglected blog o' mine.  I thought about starting a new one, but I am a little partial to this old gal so I figured I would dust her off and take her for another ride.

I am still watching too much TV and enjoying the adventures of my ever-hilarious children (who are both now teens) and after reading some of the old entries, I realized I missed documenting some of their antics here.

But the main reason I came back is to chronicle a new journey to improve my health and lose some weight and conquer "estrogen dominance."    I was just recently diagnosed with this condition and it explains so much of what has been going on in my life the last 13 years or so.  The list of symptoms reads like a book based on my life.

I have already made some significant changes.  Even before the diagnosis, I had given up most dairy.  I just can't tolerate it anymore.  And it was a chore for me.  I am a chocolate milk girl.  I drank it every morning.  And then, within 20 minutes, I would face some of the worst...uh...let's just say intestinal distress.  It took me a couple of years to admit it was the milk and give it up completely, but let me tell you, I have felt soooo much better since I gave it up.  I don't eat yogurt or cottage cheese either.  I do have cheese sometimes but not nearly as much as I used to.

I also gave up my beloved Dr. Pepper.  And for those who know me, you know this was a big change for me.  I lurve my DP and it was a big decision.  I wanted to give up caffeine because it is a major player in the whole estrogen dominance arena, so I tried the caffeine-free stuff.  Then I decided to eliminate all of the processed and chemically altered things like HFCS so I gave that up.  I did find a soda called Dr. Better made by Virgil's which is reminiscent of Dr. Pepper and made with all-natural ingredients.  It is also caffeine-free and makes for a nice treat once in a while.  It's way too expensive (read: I am way too cheap) to make it a daily thing anyway.  I am, for the most part, a water-only drinker now.

I (mostly) gave up fast food.  I was eating that junk 3-5 times per week.  Now, I have it about once per week - usually when I have failed to plan and don't get away from here with my packed lunch.  On those occasions I try to make smarter choices from the fast food joints but there really isn't much that is smart about those places.

I started exercising again.  Mostly, I am just riding my recumbent bike.  It's a start, it gets my heart pumping and (best of all) it is in the living room, facing the TV, so I can watch Roseanne while I ride.  Plus I need to ride for my torn ACL (a story for another day) anyway.


I am making other changes which I will chronicle here as I go along.  I'd like to say my family is 100% on board with all of this, but The Pleaser has never met a veggie that he liked and Phone Guy (despite his good intentions) is not ever going to be a "health nut."  He wants to be supportive but he also wants to eat bacon cheeseburgers and chocolate ice cream for every meal. Danger Boy is receptive to a lot of things.  He really digs spaghetti squash primavera.   But he thought I was trying to kill him with cauliflower mashed "potatoes."  So it's a battle.

So that's it, in a nutshell.  I came back to blogging in hopes that it will help me be accountable on my journey and let me share a laugh or two...even if I am just talking to myself most of the time. And if someone else finds me in their quest for information on estrogen dominance, then maybe they will find some of the information I have found helpful in their own journey.