Quick Update

A really quick update before I go to bed. . .
My nice, comfy bed, with the nice, soft pillows. . .
Oh.
Yeah.
The update.

So far, so good.
All of my meals are S's so far (meals with fats and protein), though I think I might have had a few cross-overs (low carb and fat) a couple of times (those sneaky carbs. . .).
My parents left me lovely Protein Peanut Butter Cups (will post link to recipe soon. It's wonderful!), which happily melted in my room (that's what happens when your dorm doesn't have air conditioning and you start talking to faculty/RA/ARA/etc. who are introducing themselves to the students. . .).
Now I have delicious gobs of peanutty chocolate goodness!

My campus is rather rural, so I'm thinking  that most of my daily exercise will end up being walking from building to building.
If I can find the time between things, I might try a ten minute exercise routine.
I'll have to see if I can work that in, as I'm also looking for a job. . .

I have a very hectic schedule for this semester, but I'm happily looking forward too it!
I don't do very good with too much time on my hands.

Well, good night and God Bless!

Trim and Healthy, What is That?

I'm not sure if you have heard of the Amazon bestselling book, Trim Healthy Mama.
If you haven't read it yet, go look it up.
I'm so glad my mom bought it, even with its rather hefty price.
Believe me, it's well worth $35 (keep in mind, that that huge book [617 pages to be exact] is mostly cookbook).
It's packed full of information that will change the way you look at everything.

Here's a little about me before I started this life style:
I was nineteen years old, almost a hundred pounds over weight (I refused to weigh myself because of how large the number was getting),
in horrible joint pain for most of the week,
in love with all sorts of active stuff but unwilling to join in because of said pain,
and hiding behind all sorts of walls that I'd built up because I was afraid that they'd notice me (and my weight), even though I wanted to be noticed. 

Here's a little about me now that I've been on this life style for about four months:
I'm twenty years old,
I've lost about twenty pounds now without adding exercise to my daily routine (it's on the horizon though),
my joint pain has lessened to the point that I can garden and do things that I love again,
and my walls are starting to come down (sometimes I actually like how I look). 

What if you can't spare the money to try this?
What if you are on a budget, but still want to try this?
If you are willing to try this life style without the book, then I'd love to try and help you.
I'll be posting soon four different parts of what this life style is built upon. 

I'll see you then!

SDG

Joy

Wisconsin weather is unpredictable, it was cold last Sunday!

Project One: Trash Can

As a (very) low budget college student, I do what is necessary. 

So, instead of paying $5-10 or more on a trash can, I up-cycled one.

I made my trash can out of an old family sized ice cream bucket and some left over chalk board paint that my parents have. 

It was quite easy really. 

Here are some pictures I took of it today. 

(As you will see, it fell in the grass a couple of times, and I'm not being a perfectionist with it, which is really unusual for me.)

 A very obvious view of the poor paint job around the rim. . . 

The poor handle. . . maybe I should paint over it in a different color? 

Hm. . .

Until later!

SDG

Joy

My Journey Begins

My journey as a college student begins in a week. 

I'm very excited because I love to learn. 

But I'm also very nervous, for many reasons.

To start things off, I'm very human. 

I'm self concious, especially because I'm over weight. 

In fact, I have at least 65, maybe 70 pounds to lose.

Then there's health problems. . . 

My mom and I have studied multiple possibilities for my joint pain that I have, and we think I might have Chronic Lymes. 

We've gone to the doctors before about it, and they just say that it's because I'm over weight. 

Here's the thing: I'm naturally active. 

It's because of the joint pain that I'm over weight. 

The days that there's no pain, I'm outside gardening, dancing randomly while cleaning, doing other crazy things.

Then there's food. 

As you probably know already because of the title of this blog, I follow the Trim Healthy Mama way of life. 

I separate my Fats and my Carbs. 

I do not eat both kinds in a meal unless I'm purposefully eating a Crossover. 

It's really a yummy, do-able way of life. 

I'll post later on how this way of life works. 

I'm nervous though because I have to do a meal plan while in the dorms, so I'll have to figure out what I'll be eating each meal. 

Then there's snacks. . . 

What other than nuts will keep in my dorm room?

Then there's my writing. 

This past year I've gone through the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum. 

I believe I've found my future career, at least I hope so. 

I've already completed a novel (in under a year to boot), and I hope to write one every year unless God changes things. 

But because it takes time to get published, I've decided to try and get a double major in English and Pedagogy so that I'll have a way to survive!

Then there's my family. 

I've been homeschooled all my life in a big family, so I'm really close to a bunch of my siblings and my parents. 

I'm really hoping to not have homesickness while I'm gone. . . 

But I still have that fear that I'll never have the same relationships that I have with them right now. 

Of course it's an unrealistic fear, we all change. 

I know that. 

But I still have that fear.

I'm super excited for the years to come. 

I'll be posting an over view every weekend on how I do each week, and odd posts when ever I can during the rest of the time.

Thanks for listening to me ramble.

God Bless!

Joy