Starting On a Healthier Road

I took Beth to a nutritionist on Monday. We checked in and she filled out the paperwork, then we waited to be called.

Claire (she looked like she was around 30) came out to get us and took us into a private room. She talked with Beth about why it's important to eat healthy, and asked her why she wants to lose weight. She spoke directly with Beth the whole time and Beth answered every question. 

When Beth went dairy free I typed up a list of things that she could eat. It's on her bulletin board and she's starting to make better choices when she shops. 

One thing Claire gave her was a list of what each food offered: protein, carbs, good fats, and how eating them together is better. Plus portion control, what to do if she's still hungry after she eats... things that sound better coming from someone other than your mom. 

We were in there for over an hour and Beth seemed to be pretty excited about it. On our way home we stopped at the grocery store for just a few things and one thing I grabbed was an apple. Beth asked me about the pears and when I pointed to them she said, "No, not that."

"Those are pears Beth. What were you thinking about?"

"They're like apples."

I pointed across the aisle and asked if she wanted a peach or nectarine? 

"Yes. A nectarine."

She had to use two hands to put the twist tie on, but she was excited about buying a nectarine! 

Tonight we did our weekly shopping. It was kind of weird, do you have a regular routine when you go grocery shopping? The Safeway we go to has two entrances and I had to put a letter into the blue mailbox that's on the other side of the parking lot, so we went in the other door, and started our shopping at the other end of the store. We started on the deli side instead of the produce, went down the aisles from the other direction, we saw the store from a whole new perspective! It was like we'd never been there before!

We loaded everything in the back of the car and after we got in she tells me, "I did not buy my licorice." (She usually buys two pounds every week.) "What?! Beth that's fantastic! That was a great choice!" And I gave her a high-five.

Here we are on the road to a healthier lifestyle!

In The Mean Time

Chuck and I took a walk along the waterfront today. It was chilly, but the sun was out and it made for a gorgeous day! He had some money left on his Starbucks gift card so we each bought a drink and it helped to keep our hands warm while we walked! 

 

 

Beth had a doctors appointment yesterday. I took a picture of her at the lab, thinking I would then take one at the doctor so you could see the whole process, but of course, I forgot to take one yesterday. :) The thyroid medicine still isn't strong enough so they raised the dosage and will see her again in 2 months. She also talked about putting her on diabetes medicine because she keeps gaining weight and is right on the verge of being diabetic. I'm not a big fan of taking a lot of medicine so she talked about various snacks that would help; tomatoes with cheese; celery with peanut butter; bananas with yogurt. And she said to eat these foods together because they counteract the bad and enhance the good in each food. Really? I thought eating a banana was good, but she explained how just the banana would cause the sugar to do the wrong things in our bodies but the yogurt would... oh my word. Why does nutrition have to be so hard?!?  

 

But, I'll start having Beth eat combinations of these foods. Anything to help her lose weight. I'm shocked at how much weight she's gained in just the last few years. I'm sure it's a combination of food choices, lack of exercise and thyroid. She's busy every day of the week except Monday, when I give her chores to do around the house. Every other day she's out and about. Last week she came home from her art class with two large candy bars in her backpack. She's 30 years old so I didn't take them out or even say anything about 'em but I know she doesn't always make the best food choices. And when she is home, she's usually sitting in front of her TV. I've tried to get her to exercise, to dance or do some stair stepping. We even took that weight loss class last year! Didn't help. She just doesn't want to do the work to lose weight. So, we'll see what the test results show in 2 months.

 

In the mean time, she's been wanting me to do her hair lately. Usually she just puts it up in a pony tail or a headband but lately she wants it styled. So I pull up the front and let it hang down in the back, sometimes Diana will put it in a fancy braid. It has grown SO much the last few months. It seems like suddenly it's down to the middle of her back! It's so long, people are starting to make comments about it. I took this picture this morning, before she left for art and karaoke. I think she's enjoying the attention. :)