Author: Yajaira

We had a pretty low-key Mother’s Day. It wasn’t our weekend with the kids 🙁 , which sucks, since we’ve had them pretty much every Mother’s Day so far 🙁 .

Jorge and I started our weekend on Friday with a quick jog at the park. We talked about dehydrators during the day and decided “why not?” and took our sweaty selves to Walmart on the way home to purchase a pretty well reviewed and cheap dehydrator. We made some badass beef jerky!

Jorge took the next day off since he had a bad cold, but he took me to breakfast at a restaurant buffet, Los 4 Compadres, he’d been going to. Although they had a beautiful spread of fruit, but since I was just starting Ketp again, I opted for the fattier things to coincide with the diet.

To be honest, the bacon was too fried and tasted weird :(. Anyway, we got home and John gave us a surprise visit! Hadn’t seen my bro since…I can’t even remember! He came bearing gifts for Mom and me, including some cashola for my birthday and Mother’s Day, and some for Mom for Mother’s Day as well, which was a great surprise!

Then he treated us to Mooyah Burgers. I had the Ice Burger, of course.

We chit-chatted and caught up on tons of stuff. It was great hanging out with him. Felt like the old days when we’d go everywhere together and eat Kumori on the way, heh. 🙁

On the way to visit Gramma, I stopped by 5 Below and got a few work out thingies (an ab wheel and 2nd yoga mat), including some cute shorts.

We visited Gramma, then picked up Jorge at home. Mario was nice enough to share the kiddos with me on Saturday evening to celebrate Mother’s Day. My poor Emmos had gotten a cold that had creeped up on her pretty fast, and Mary took her to the night clinic with a fever 🙁 . Mary did us the favor of dropping the kids off at Cracker Barrel after the appointment, where we would be having our early Mother’s Day dinner. There, I gave Eenan his invitation to a luncheon for a scholarship he is receiving from my workplace’s education program 😀 ! To say I’m grateful is an understatement!

I knew it would be a little tough to figure out a Keto-friendly entree at Cracker Barrel, but I think I did alright.

And then the hubs ordered me one of my favorite desserts there…the Coca-Cola Cake with vanilla ice cream 😯 . My brain told me, “Eat only 1 spoonful,” but I got about 3 spoonfuls instead 😳 and shared the rest with the kiddos. Old Me would have eaten the entire thing (and boy, how I wanted to!).

The kiddos looked around in the shop after we ate and then we got home and relaxed, watching “Stitch Has a Glitch” and playing checkers <3. And Jorge and the kiddos gave me my gifts! 

Such a great night, indeed.

Jorge woke up feeling even worse the next day, and though he usually goes all out on Mother’s Day morning, I couldn’t hold it against him since he felt so miserable. So Mom, Emily and I headed to the market to pick up some barbacoa and menudo–both of which pair very well with our diet!

I dropped the kiddos off a few hours after we had breakfast with their dad 🙁 . Love those babies of mine!

We got a few gifts for Gramma on the way, including some pants (her pants always go missing 😡 !), flowers and balloons and stopped to visit her for a while. All-in-all, it was a great Mother’s Day, even though we didn’t have all the kids all together 😕 . Very blessed that my Gramma is doing so much better!

I feel a lot better than I did my previous post. I’m almost embarrassed that I puked my heart and soul into that post and almost deleted it, but as they say: better out than in!

Anyway. I’ve focused a lot of my energy since then into things that I do have control over now, at the moment: the kids, of course, and Jorge take priority, but I’ve also started really watching what I’m eating and SOMEWHAT started exercising again. I even used some of the birthday/Mother’s Day money mom gave me to buy some cute work-out tees! (In typical Mom fashion, the rest was put towards bills 🙄 !)

These were on clearance at Walmart, for $3.00 and $3.15! Too bad I couldn’t get any good deals on work out pants! THAT’S what I really need! 😕 I have lots of size 0-2, but it’s been a while since those fit comfortably! 😆

So I started on the Keto diet again on April 30, 2017. The last time I did this “diet” was in 2013 and I lost about 12-13 lbs. and looked much better than I had in a while at the time. It was before I had my breast reduction, of course, but being on Keto was the only time I EVER in my life went down a bra size. Even when I was religiously doing P90X daily and Taekwondo 3x a week in 2010, I didn’t loose boobage. In 2013, on Keto, I went from DD to D. I was shocked! 😆

The girls started selling Girl Scout cookies early 2014…and I DID NOT ease back into eating carbs–I literally shoveled a box of cookies a day 😳 . So naturally, I gained weight AND when I went for my routine check-up on February 7, 2014, I stupidly got my labs done at 3pm…right after consuming 4 Thin Mints. Of course my cholesterol came back off the charts (394, something like that??) and I was put on a Statin STAT because of my family’s medical history. They sat me down and I got a stern talking-to about what to eat and what not to eat. I was pretty bummed.

So I’m going into this venture once again, but wary and aware of the risks. I’m still trying to figure out how much a lipid panel (to check my cholesterol levels) would be, since I already got my routine check-up done and my levels were slightly elevated then. I don’t want to end up having a stroke or heart attack for the sake of vanity!

Speaking of, other reasons I’m getting back on the Keto train–besides obviously losing weight–is 1) Jorge got back on it a few weeks ago and it’s much easier for me to come up with dinners when I’m cooking for both of us (because, let’s face it: sometimes I have to make an extra meal for my picky girls 🙄 ). A third meal would be ridiculous!

2) Since getting off birth control in February-ish of this year (had gotten on it again around August 2016 to help regulate my monthly visitor), my acne has been out of control, mainly on the chin area, which reflects hormones out of whack and/or stress (and I have a bad habit of touching my face, so I’m sure that doesn’t help!). So I’m hoping steering clear of sugar and carbs will help. I’ve been reading articles on Dietdoctor.com, and a piece on acne states:

…modern studies show a probable connection between high-glycemic (high-carb) diets and acne.This may be caused by the effect on growth hormones like insulin and IGF.

To improve acne, your best bet is a fairly strict low-carb diet – ideally one that is also low in dairy products.

I’m willing to try anything to clear this embarrassing problem. The only thing that makes me nervous about Keto is the amount of cheese you could possibly eat–and I’m lactose intolerant (and also, the cholesterol!)! I think being lactose intolerant is another sign my body’s giving me to lay off the sugar and give my face a break, so I’m going to try to use as little as possible, as much as I love it 🙁 .

I’m actually much more excited about cooking than I had been in a long time. Here are a few meals I’ve made:

You can find the recipe for those awesome Keto Krepes here.

We’ve cut our eating out a LOT, but when we have it’s been easy to make substitutions:

I’ve also lost 3 lbs.! Just weighed in this morning and it’s the little boost of motivation I needed to keep going. Now, if I could just find the time to do P90X again! Or at least the 40 minutes I need to get to the park to run! Emily has her GT Project due and we need to finish it TODAY.
[edited to add:] Emily finished her project at school and all I had to help her with was flash cards for questions and finding her prizes to give her classmates as she quizzes them, so we got to go walking/running![/edit]

Changing gears: my poor Gramma hasn’t been doing too well 🙁 . She was in the hospital on Sunday due to possible signs of suffering a mini-stroke. Ugh. Long story. Let’s just say I had to BITCH and threaten a lawsuit in order to get those idiots at the nursing home to move their asses and get her to the hospital! She may have Bells Palsy, which they will correct with medication but only to a certain extent 🙁 . Mom and I waited in the lobby while Aunt Nora stayed with Gramma and we got hungry, so we went to the gift shop. There was a beautiful, almost heavenly glow coming from the snack area. There were muffins, and cookies, and chips, oh my!! It took all my willpower to only purchase these:

I shared the almonds and pickle with Mom and I was proud of myself for sticking with it. Mom, on the other hand, got Fritos -_-.

Gramma is doing as well as possible. I feel so bad that she’s in any discomfort.

I’ve been posting less on my regular social media and focusing a lot of attention on my food and health Instagram account. If you’d like to see meal ideas or just what I’m up to, the link is: @yaya_goes_keto (formerly, @yayastartsover). I’ve documented most of my ups/downs/tries/fails . When I started up again in June 2016 after all the complications I had with the breast reduction from February 2016-June 2016, I was tracking on MyFitnessPal and working out (P90X). I went from 123 lbs. to 119 lbs., but that was quickly short-lived thanks to the last complication I had, and then I’m pretty sure I had some weird trauma/mental block that was keeping me from working out since it seemed like every time I got into a routine, I ended up at the doctor’s office again. But I hope I’m successful this time and can keep up with my “diet” (or Way of Eating) and workouts, even though I know I won’t be able to workout every day. I have to admit, eating this way has been pretty easy so far!

I’ve been tip-toeing about how exactly to word this post, but I figured–fuck it, I’m just going to type.

The past few months to a year, I’ve already felt like I’m at a standstill; like I’m underappreciated and like I should simultaneously be doing more. The past week has really intensified this feeling.

I started the day out on Monday with a fresh, positive outlook. The kids and I left the house ON TIME for once on a Monday! I dropped everyone off with time to spare at all the places we needed to be and I strolled into work about 10 minutes early. ON A MONDAY! That NEVER happens! Usually I’m skidding into the Monday meeting by the skin on my heels!

So anyway, our boss treats us to Cracker Barrel for a job well done the past few months. It was such a great surprise (especially because I was starving and hadn’t packed breakfast!) and it made Monday that much better.

We get back to work and I have to turn in some stuff that was already late; the 2nd batch of items that needed to be turned in. I’d done the first batch on Friday, but was told to wait on this one since it was a lot of stuff. To make a long story short and leave out a few details: Someone was scolded, and this same someone implied that it was my fault and told me “that’s the reason you’re here”. That I’m here for something mediocre; like nothing else that I contributed was important whatsoever. I was furious and I stayed quiet. Well, not too quiet, because I did mention a few things, because I was that appalled. I walked away fuming and to be honest: hurt. I bust my ass, and that’s how I’m repaid?

The couple of people I told about what happened were also shocked and couldn’t believe what was said to me, because they agreed: it wasn’t my fault. So I tried to go on about my day, but I was angry.

I had to opportunity to attend the Mayor’s Prayer Luncheon, where David A. R. White was the speaker. It was a wonderful event: the food was great, I ran into Karina! The speeches were sweet and Mr. White’s presentation was incredibly inspirational and often humorous. I felt like his entire speech spoke to me, and I needed to hear it at that precise moment. In short, it was about how we’re all here for a grand reason and how one thing shouldn’t make you feel like you should give up. I became teary, but held myself together. I decided at that moment that I need to make changes.

Skip forward to Wednesday, when I’m having a conversation with a friend, and I find some things out that turn me into a blubbering mess. Things that I suspected already, but knowing for a fact made me feel like I got punched in the gut, like I was heartbroken. It highlighted what “that” person told me even more, and I just felt like a loser, and I know I deserve more. (Before I go on, no, this has nothing to do with my husband or our marriage!) I cried for 2 days straight. Jorge was a huge support and listened to me bawl my eyes out, as were 2 other friends. I know what I have to do, but it’s at the risk of sounding ungrateful, or adding a lot of stress to my plate, or starting all over.

Either way, it needs to be done. And it’s going to suck.