I ate a box of mac and cheese every day for lunch the first 2 weeks of social distancing. I went to Dunks, I ate muffins and doritos, a sensible dinner and then some cupcakes. washed it all down with Pepsi. I knew that I was not eating correctly, but I didn’t care. It was stressful and I am a comfort eater. If this is the worst thing that happens during the corona outbreak, then I am blessed.

I really wanted to make the time I had at home meaningful and make some sort of impactful change. I wanted to start with myself so I took a month or so and switched to coke zero and coffee, cutting out the full calorie Pepsi. I also started to ensure I was drinking water every day. I commitied to filling my 32 oz cup up twice at a minimum. Most days, I was drinking over 100 oz of water. Soon I started to play games with myself. water before soda. Soda only at certain times. And then the soda was gone.

Even with the change of dropping soda, I was still lethargic and crashing during the day. It was impoosbile for me to keep up with PJ and my inhalor was on overdrive. I was incredibly unhealthy. I did realize how lucky I was to have this time and I wanted to use it wisely. My friend had been doing 30 days for healthy living and I was watching videos and post, interested but afraid to commit. FOr me the money wasnt an issue and I know that makes me fortunate, but actually would I, could I do it ?

The program is positioned as a jumpstart for healthy eating habits. The commitment is 30 days. You are to give up alcohol, coffee, soda, added sugar, gluten, dairy, and soy. Instead, you do 2 protein shakes a day, as well as some other suplements and tea, eat 2 healthy snacks and have dinner. All products are vegan. The idea of this seemed drastic. At the time I signed up my goal was weight loss and i figured hey ! If I’m not eating anything I for sure will loose weight – plus its 30 days. That’s it. I had already been housebound for 30 days and I never thought I could do that.

Here is the thing – for weight loss, for diet – anything works. Anything. You literally need to pick something and just do it and it will work. Keto, Whole30, Shakeology, Jenny Craig – it doesnt matter, you just have to follow the plan and it will work for weight loss. Did I mention while I was chugging Pepsi and eating Mac and cheese for lunch I was doing weight watchers ? So like I said, follow the plan.

What drew me to Arbonne was the claims that it will help with inflamation and it removes allergens. This is what got me. I was still about the weight loss, but I have had so many issues from kidney stones, digestive issues and just fatigue. I was always tired.  I needed something to kickstart the new me.

i decided to hop on and start all in with Arbonne’s 30 days for healthy living. From day one it was different from anything I have ever tried. I look forward to my shakes and teas. I feel so much better. I am eating lots of fresh healthy foods including chicken, beef and pasta. I have energy. I have had some cravings but more in the how are you all enjoying your fries and bread snarky comment variety. I am finding new combinations of food I never imagined. My skin is clear. I am tasting my food.

At this point, I am about 12 days in out of 30. I thought I knew about healthy eating before and I just didnt care. I knew nothing. My relationship and approach to food has changed so completely I am excited for what is next. Am I saying I am never going to eat mac and cheese again ? I honestly can’t answer that. What I can tell you is that I don’t want to eat it today.

If you are interested in learning more about Arbonne products, please reach out to Jessica on FB Discover and Learn about Arbonne

or at her Arbonne site Jessy’s Arbone page

“Or it could be stress from work”. This is what my doctor says to me after I give her a list of symptoms a mile long. As a known hypochondriac with a tendency to exaggerate; I am use to my doctors taking me with a grain of salt.  Note: new doctor has referred me to have 3 MRI’s, to see a neurologist, a pulmonary specialist, an occupational therapist and  an allergist, tested me for celiac disease and lactose intolerance as well as drawn vampiric amounts of  blood and squeezed more pee out of me in the last six months than all other doctors in the course of my 34 years. She’s test happy and I love it.

Maybe she caught on, but my symptoms are real. I am lethargic, moody ,I do not want to do anything – ever, I have low energy and could pass out easily before 8 pm every day. I explained how I was eating better and lost weight and then gained it back as well. She agreed to take blood to test me for anemia and vitamin D deficiency but said most likely it is stress from work.

I almost told her not to run the blood work.

Stress from work makes sense, my day job is in retail sales and it’s not exactly a relaxing environment. Also, my appointment was after two days off from work so I was more relaxed than normal.

Today I received notification that I do indeed have a vitamin D deficiency. I am not happy that I HAVE SOMETHING, but rather HAPPY THERE IS A REASON FOR WHY I FEEL LIKE CRAP ALL THE TIME.

So listen up. This is something that was a side note to a follow-up doctors appointment to my last MRI. If something doesn’t feel right, tell your  doctor. Who cares if you are test happy. I would rather take the test and be fine than ignore a chronic problem.

My doctor being test happy worked in my favor. I could have easily chalked it up to stress. So I need to take a supplement and step out into the sun for a while…

I am trying to clean. It has to be done. people will be be here and it is getting to the point of disarray where its easier to buy a new gadget than look for the old gadget. I want to clean. I am motivated to clean. But I cant get up.

The point is I love to proscrastinate. I made lists on paper of what to do. I downloaded an android app on my phone to help me beat the clutter. I turned down offers for help from known worker bees. ANd what have I been doing instead of cleaning ? crafting ? reading ? watching movies I have been meaning to see ? researching ? – nope.

I have basically been sitting around doing nothing. And I like it. So had an epiphany of sorts.

If I get off my butt and clean, I can procrastinate all I want !

If I keep my house clean, I can spend hours every day procrastinating !

I need to clean so I can sit around and do nothing more often !

So, I immediately sat down and wrote this post – because after all, this is productive use of time and certainly can’t be classified as proscrastination, right ?

My main thanksgiving meal, was pretty much dairy free. I ate ham and turkey, stuffing and squash. I skipped the mashed potatoes. I drank wine.  I drank my coffee black. I wasn’t really tempted by anything – until dessert. Cheesecake, Boston Cream Pie, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie – a delightful dairy lovers dream. And I thought, why not. Its been 2 weeks. Lets see what happens. I popped a lactaid and ate a piece of cheesecake. it was heavenly. No belly ache or sudden urges, but I knew I ate dairy and suffered mildly for it later. But the point is I can eat cheese, milk, cream, ice cream – I will just get sick if I do.

If I had chosen the pecan pie I would have gone into anaphylactic shock and been hospitalized. Pecan Pie is not an option.

I am lactose intolerant, but I am allergic to tree nuts, peanuts and seafood.
What’s the difference ?

According to food allergy.org , “Many people think the terms food allergy and food intolerance mean the same thing; however, they do not. Food intolerance, unlike a food allergy, does not involve the immune system and is not life-threatening. Lactose intolerance, trouble digesting the milk sugar lactose, is a common example. Symptoms may include abdominal cramps, bloating and diarrhea.

A food allergy occurs when the immune system reacts to a certain food. The most common form of an immune system reaction occurs when the body creates immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to the food. When these IgE antibodies react with the food, histamine and other chemicals (called “mediators”) are released, causing hives, asthma, or other symptoms of an allergic reaction.”

I am one of the lucky ones to have both allergies and intolerances in my foodie arsenal. you will never see me eat a peanut. But a light dusting of parmesan is entirely possible, though not recommended.

It’s been about 48 hours since I cut out dairy and I must say I feel fantastic ! No emergency trips to the bathroom, no bloating or cramps. I also noticed that I am eating a lot less, but that may be due to the fact that there is dairy in almost everything I eat. well not any more my blog reading friends.

A typical lunch for me prior DFL would have been pizza, a grilled cheese, a quesadilla, cheesy brocolli soup, macaroni and cheese … do you see the theme ?  A special trip to good old Stop&Shop was underfoot.  It literally took me two hours of reading labels to realize the whole process needed more research.

What I wound up with : 3 containers of chicken and rice soup, two boxes triscuits (no cheddar flavors 😦 ), some vegan french toast sticks, some teddy grahams, mango sorbet, soynut butter, soy milk, bagel flats, lettuce, cukes, chicken.

Oh what fun.

Every yummy thing I like involves cheese. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would certainly be cheese. I don’t mean any fancy kinds either. I would be perfectly content eating those cheese filled aluminum pouches that come in Velveeta mac and cheese. Let me assure you of that.





SO almost everytime I eat, I get sick. It comes out of me in one way or another. Usually immediately and sometimes it keeps coming out of me. I’ll stop there… but you catch my drift. I casually mention this to my doctor at my physical and it turns out I may be lactose intolerant and possibly gluten intolerant. fun stuff.

Doctor: How long has this been happening ?

Patient : A couple years. I get it. I know. Im lactose intolerant and in denial.

Doctor: How often do you eat dairy?

Patient: I might as well be mainlining ice cream. true story.

So for the next 14 days, I will not be eating any dairy. I am already dying inside. Today marks the end of the first 24 hours – and I have been good !!! SO very, very good.  Want to know what I ate : I had a soy gingerbread latte, oatmeal, rice, chicken, vegatables, a nantucket nectars and I am about to indulge in some popcorn. So far so good.

What would I love to eat ? A giant bowl of queso followed by a gallon of Ben and Jerrys. It’s gonna be a fun ride!

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