Turning A New Page

One year & one month ago I made the decision to live healthier & lose weight. My doctor had just informed my that my blood test showed I had high cholesterol & high triglycerides which put me at a high risk for heart disease; heart attack & stroke. Those are some scary words & as a then 24 year old it was a difficult diagnose to swallow. It was unexpected. After that I really put all of my energy into exercise & eating healthier. I thought that I could lower my cholesterol the natural way. To my surprise it helped a little bit. In September I followed up with new blood work & my results showed that my triglycerides went from 262 to 143, my LDL (bad cholesterol) from 150-149 & my HDL (good cholesterol) had gone down even lower (not a good thing) numbers were weird & still not healthy but I was so happy that with my lifestyle change I was able to lower my bad numbers, even if just by a little bit. Over the last 5 months I have lost some weight but mostly have maintained. I am ready to go further  & meet my goal weight. Today I signed up for Weight Watchers. My great friend Amber (& others I know) have had such a great success with this program. So today I turned a new page on this journey to being healthier & more fit. I've missed the gym for a few weeks because of pneumonia but I am ready to get back tomorrow. This process has been a roller coaster no doubt! This one year & one month has left me feeling successful & proud of myself. So far I have lost 25 pounds but plan to lose another 19 pounds. Although it did take me a long time to lose the weight, I am happy that I did it at my pace, the way that it worked for me, & with the support of my husband, family, & friends. I will soon be getting new blood work to determine how much this weight loss has helped lower my LDL cholesterol. I am confident & ready to take on this new challenge. 

Are you taking on any new challenges health wise? What are some of your successes? 

Beatriz
  

What's In My Cross Body Bag

My best friend Alycia inspired me with a What's in your bag mama? post where she emptied out her bag & exposed its contents. I've seen some of my favorite makeup gurus making videos like this on YouTube & although my bag is no where as exciting as theirs or Alycia's, I thought it would be a fun thing to share. I am really surprised how little I keep in my bag these days. I switched from a large Michael Kors bag to a smaller cross body bag I just bought by Giani Bernini that doesn't fit as much, which I like, but might make it a little boring. Without further ado, the stuff in my bag currently.

• Coach Sunglasses- these shades are new & I am loving them at the moment.
• Korres Lip Butter- in pomegranate has a slight tint & great moisture for my lips
• Rimmel Lipstick - number 103 Kate Moss line
• Smashbox Lipstick- in the color Melodrama
• NYX Lipgloss- in the color Beige, weird name since its more of a pink.
• Mac & Jac Wallet- I have so many membership & points cards from several stores, currently no cash :(
• Sharpie Pen- my favorite pen to write with, perfect thickness & smooth (yes I care about it that much)
• Inhaler- used it a lot while I had pneumonia, & now I use it when I feel I'm not breathing as well
• Tissues- because I'm still coughing a lot & no one likes a person who coughs into their hands

My bag contents are always changing, sometimes I have 5 lipsticks at a time because I forget to take them out, luckily today I only had 2. My shades are probably the most necessary to have at all times, what do you have to carry in your bag at all times? Share in your comments or make a What's In My Bag post of your own. Have a good day.

Beatriz

My Pneumonia Adventure

The last several weeks have been full of lives distractions. I'm all for a change every once in a while but it didn't seem like we had any sort of routine going, it was a tad bit overwhelming. The biggest downer was me getting sick. First I thought I had the flu, I had all of the symptoms but around the 3rd day I began getting this really bad cough & it was making it impossible for me to sleep. Fever was high & body aches ravaged through my body day & night. I decided to see my doctor, mainly to see if he could give me anything to help me sleep. He sent me home with Tamiflu, Benzonatate (to help control the urge to cough) & some cough syrup with codeine which was suppose to help me sleep. It didn't of course, so a few days after that I found myself in the ER with a high fever (still!) a cough that wouldn't quit & made my head feel like it would explode if I coughed one more time, & a lack of sleep that really brought me down. Still they sent me home with pain killers for my headache, an inhaler, & a few directions to getting better. After a couple of days more of spiking temperatures, night sweats, chills, headaches, coughing, I saw my primary doctor one last time... this time I demanded an X-Ray of my chest, I knew something did not feel right & I was tired of being sent home & told that I "just needed to ride out this flu." At this point (a little over a weeks time) I was feeling frustrated, emotional, anxious & fed up with the dozens of medications I've been using, I cried to my doctor & asked that he please order an X-Ray- so he did. I'm glad I did because the next day I received a call from my doctor & it turned out that indeed I had more than just this season's flu, I had pneumonia in my right lung. I cried when I heard him diagnose me. I think I was crying out of relief. He immediately sent a prescription for antibiotics to my pharmacy. I knew there was still a long road ahead to recovering completely. Today was my final day taking my antibiotics but only the 3rd day I have felt well enough to be out of the house enjoying life. Through all of this frustration & sickness I am very thankful for Matt who was there for me. He really went above & beyond to make sure I had everything I needed. He consistently asked how he could help me or make me more comfortable. He even took a couple of days off work during my worst days to keep me calm & relaxed. He brought me food in bed, made grocery store/food runs, drew me baths, & even rubbed my feet. He is the best. I love him so much.