For those of you who may not know my story,  please allow me to back track a little…

After graduating from college in 2003, I did some freelance web designing for about a year. After not getting paid fully for a couple of projects, I decided that I needed a break. Weeks later, I ended up traveling to Foxtail Farm where I spent a couple of months doing an organic farming internship. It was there that I learned about Heifer International. The following year, I spent 6 months doing volunteer work at the Heifer International Ranch and Learning Center in Arkansas.

While I was away, I found out that my mother stopped taking some of her meds. Back then she was on about 15 different medications a day. Needless to say, she was experiencing some severe side effects with some of pills and wanted her doctors to wean her off. Being that she was going to a free clinic, her requests fell on deaf ears. She then grew impatient and decided to take matters into her own hands. Sadly, this decision led to some serious consequences. My mom would soon learn how fatal it can be to stop taking certain drugs incorrectly.

On August 26, 2005, 2 weeks after I came home from Arkansas, my mother suffered a cardiac arrest and I watched her die in the ER. Although she was resuscitated, witnessing all of this was probably one of the worst experiences of my life. To make matters worst, I was carrying guilt for all the years of bad attitudes that I had towards her. Even that fateful night, I remember being so annoyed that she made us wait until the last minute to take her to the hospital for the breathing problems she was having. She thought it was asthma and kept putting it off. When she finally couldn’t take it anymore, we ended up having to drive through hurricane Katrina.  We would later learn that my mother’s heart was failing and pumping fluids into her lungs the whole day, hence the breathing problems. I still sometimes wonder if things would have turned out differently if we had acted sooner…

After mom had the cardiac arrest, her prognosis wasn’t good. She was without oxygen for too long and ended having quite a bit of brain  damage. The doctors weren’t hopeful and didn’t expect her to live more than a few days, if that much. Fortunately, mom would prove all of them wrong and live for another 10+ years.  Unfortunately,  she was no longer able to walk, talk or do anything on her own. Although she had a wake/sleep cycle and showed signs of awareness, she was said to be in a persistent vegetative state.

Despite all of this, her health was pretty stable for the next 8+ years. She needed total care, but was able to breath on her own. Then, about 2 years ago, her health started to deteriorate rapidly. She started going in and out of the hospital, almost on a monthly basis. At first I thought it was negligence from the nursing home, but then with each hospital visit she would come back with a new problem. Eventually one of our worst nightmares became a reality – mom needed life support.

After my mother was put on a respirator, everything went downhill from there. Between 2014 and 2015,  mom was in and out of the hospital for pneumonia, developed folliculitis,  and even started to have some kidney problems. The whole family felt helpless as we watched her suffer.

At this point, I wish I could say that things got easier after a while, but they didn’t. As I mentioned in my last post, on February 5th, I got laid off. It was rough, but at least I was able to visit mom more often since I had more time on my hands. Then 18 days later, my mom passed away, surrounded by me and all my siblings. My dad, who apparently was sick and kept it on a down low, would soon follow 2 months later.

Fast forward to the present, it’s been hard. Yet, things are finally starting to quiet down a little. I’ve had a couple of scary mommy moments, which I’ll write about in a future posts, but overall, life is slowly getting back to some level of normal. The holidays were/are rough without my parents, but I’m getting through them.

So, what happens now, you ask? That’s where blogging comes in. I know this sounds like a cliche, but I have some goals for 2016. My hope is that by writing about them down, I could be held accountable – even if it’s from just one person reading this post. It’s a lot easier to quit when no one is watching.

With that said, here are my 2016 goals:

1. Limit Eating out – Most people who know me think that I eat a pretty clean diet already. What they may not know is that I don’t like all the clean up that happens during/after cooking and eat out quite a bit. My goal this new year is to limit eating out to no more than twice a week, if that much.
2. Limit Combining Carbs with Fats – Another thing many may not know about me is that I love foods that are both rich in carbohydrates and fat – 2 things that don’t go well together when one is trying to trim down. My goal for this new year is to limit carbs to less than 10 grams a dish if I’m eating fats and to limit fats to less than 10 grams if I’m eating carbs/starches.  If I need to eat out, I’ll stick with foods that require little to no cooking with fats, such as salads or uncooked sushi. Most restaurants use soybean or canola oil in their dishes anyways, and those fats are about as bad as drinking plastic.
3. Focus on Losing Inches and Fat Rather than Weight – I have absolutely no idea what my ideal weight should be. Even when I was 40 pounds thinner than I am now, I still felt like I was what some would call “skinny fat”. So, instead of focusing on a number on a scale, I’m going to focus on 3 things:
   • Amount of inches lost
   • How I look in the mirror
   • How my clothes fit

   Once a month I may weigh in to track my progress, but the number on the scale won’t be my primary focus.

4. Have a normal Pap Smear at my next OB/Gyn Appointment – To my male readers, I apologize if this is TMI. The OB that I’ve been going to has recently “fired” me as a patient, because I chose to deal with my abnormal pap smear naturally rather than following her advice. I know it’s a gamble, but it’s one that I’m willing to take, for now. I will do whatever procedure is necessary if my next visit is it still abnormal, but all I wanted was the opportunity to try to improve my health my way before allowing a doctor to mess with my body. Maybe it’s because giving birth naturally to my son was so traumatizing, but the last thing I want at this time is for any doctor to come near me with any sort of invasive procedure or sharp instrument, unless it’s absolutely necessary.
5. Improve my credit score – There was a time where my credit score was so amazing, I could walk into a car dealership with no money and leave with a brand new car. I want to be able to have that “buying” power again. I plan on and have already started doing the following:
   • Live beneath my means
   • Cut down on expenses
   • Pay off some hospital bills
   • Stay current with student loans
   • Stay current with credit card bill until I pay if off completely

And that’s all I have for now. For those of you who are still reading, thanks for hanging in there! You are appreciated. I would love to hear from you. How was your 2015? What are some of your goals for 2016? If you hold me accountable, I’ll return the favor. Blessings to you and Happy Holidays.

The post I’m back, for now appeared first on Natasha's World.

Anyways, I also had my own health scare a few weeks ago.  I was at work when I started experiencing chest pains on my left side. I jokingly told my coworkers that I thought I was having a heart attack and they all bust out laughing and soon I joined them. However, the next day the pain was still there. Then the following morning at 5:30am, I woke up sweating and having a hard time breathing. I knocked on my brothers bedroom door to tell him and he quickly rushed me to the ER .

As soon as I mentioned chest pain, the ER staff did not delay to rush me to the doctor. They drew a lot of blood and injected me with this iodine thing that made me feel like I peed myself.  Then they did a CT scan to make sure I didn’t have some type of clot.  After what felt like hours of waiting, the doctor finally came in to tell me that they found nothing. He gave me a prescription for pain killers and had me take one with some crackers and apple juice. I burped, felt better and it all suddenly made perfect sense. I had bad gas.

As for my weight loss efforts, I have lost about 20 pounds since I last wrote about wanting to lose weight. Most of my success is due to me incorporating more raw foods into my diet and getting more physically active. Eventually, I will write more details on how I was able to achieve this.  It hasn’t been a walk in the park and I did reach a plateau as a result of straying off the wellness path. Good news is that I have been able to maintain my weight and am now ready to pick up where I left off. My goal is to lose the remainder 20 pounds by December 31, 2008.

Well, that’s all for now. Be safe.

The post Updates, Hospitals, Car accident and Weight Loss Success appeared first on Natasha's World.

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I was reading a post by Dhrumil on the “We Like it Raw” blog where he featured the video of Jill Bolte Taylor’s stroke experience. I thought it was so inspiring that I’ve decided to post it here. If you have about 20 minutes to spare, then I invite you to kick back, relax and enjoy.

The post Intentions and Weight Loss appeared first on Natasha's World.

So I arrive at the nursing home, feeling stuffed from all my newly bought treats. Moments later, I was told that one of my mom’s roommates at the nursing home decided to have doctors take her off the ventilator. She was the only resident, aside from my mom, that I got close to since I used to call her sons for her all the time. The news of this hit me pretty hard, and I was up late munching… I am such an emotional eater. But as sad as it made me, I totally understand why she would decide to let go. She was suffering a lot and to make it worse, she was completely aware and lucid. There’s only so much a person can go through. I don’t know if she’s still here, but I plan on calling her sons to find out later today.

Well, I better get going. I’m taking a break from the detox today, but will try again tomorrow. Have a blessed day and try to stay in the present.

The post Falling off the Wagon and Letting Go appeared first on Natasha's World.

Hmmm… I think the break from cooked food has got me thinking some more on what may be the real cause of my cramps. Maybe this is my ego’s attempt at looking for a way out of becoming a raw vegan :P… The more I think about it, I’m almost positive that caffeine and dairy are the major culprits. I can give up caffeine and dairy, just not sure I’m ready to totally give up all cooked foods yet. Nice going ego.

Speaking of ego, I also decided to start reading A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle and to follow along with Oprah and Eckhart’s Monday night classes. I’m just finishing up chapter 2 and I must say, it’s a lot to grasp. He speaks quite a bit about the dysfunction of identifying ourselves with our ego and all the many things that it wants and needs. As I read this book, I can’t help but to think that maybe I’m not quite awakened yet. Or maybe that’s what my ego wants me to believe… Nonetheless, I intend to read the entire book and follow along with the classes. I find that I comprehend the book better after I watch the videos.

Anyhow, I gotta go. ‘Til next time.

The post A Detox, the Ego and a New Earth appeared first on Natasha's World.

I really want this to be a lifestyle change rather than a temporary diet, so I’m taking my time and making adjustments as I go. I’m going to do this for a couple of weeks. Once I see that my mind and body are cooperating with me, I’ll tell you all about it. Have a great Sunday.

The post Weight Loss 2008 – Plan B appeared first on Natasha's World.

In the past week, I’ve experienced everything from low grade fever to stiff neck to a slightly elevated blood pressure. I could blame all of these symptoms on the breathing exercises, but I have no way of proving this. So, let’s just say that I’m on the path of discovering an exercise techniques I can stick with.

As for the eating, I’m still working on making wiser food choices and eating no less then 2-3 hours before bed. I believe that my food choices have improved in the past couple of weeks, but still need tweaking. Once I come up with a specific plan, I will post it here.

The post Weight Loss Challenge Status – Week 2 appeared first on Natasha's World.

I know I said I would post videos with demonstration and such, but this past week has been crazy. I just started a new job and am still adjusting to the new schedule. I haven’t had more then 4 hours sleep a night since starting and as I type this I wish I were in bed. *sigh* Please bare with me. In the meantime checkout “Be a Loser” but Greer Childers or Rashelle Haines’ Life Lift for more information.

Results of Week 1:

• Weight: 197 lbs.
• Chest: 42.5″
• Waist: 34.75″
• Hip: 46″
• Left Bicep: 12.25″
• Left Thigh: 27.25?

As you can see in comparison to my beginning stats, the only area where I lost inches was around my waist. I was hoping for more inch lost, but I think this is promising considering I made absolutely no diet change whatsoever. I wonder how many inches I’d lose if in addition to not skipping meals, I made healthier food choices.

I had a tough time finding exact spots for the measurement of my chest, bicep and thighs, so I kept the measurement the same. For this reason, I’ve decided that in the future, I will measure upper abs, waist, middle abs and hips.

Here are some disclaimers, tips and lessons learned about aerobic breathing:

Aerobic breathing is NOT for everyone

If you have glaucoma, uncontrollable high blood pressure or are pregnant, find another type of exercise. Part of the breathing requires holding your breath for a few seconds, so you can only imagine the pressure that would cause.

Do the best you can

Although it’s good to aim for 40 breaths a day, start off doing what you can. If 15 breaths is all you can do, that’s all good. Try adding 5 breaths a day until you reach 4o. If you push yourself too hard, you could end up like me – burnt out. I started off hyped up about doing 40 breaths and would double or triple the next day if I didn’t meet my goal the day before. The problem with this when first starting is that you can end up not enjoying the process by working too hard. Too much at first can also cause some dizziness or nausea .. almost the way you would feel if you decided to go for an hour run on your first day of jogging.

Stay hydrated

After my 1 week trial I now understand why it’s important to stay hydrated: you will get very thirsty after doing the aerobic breathing exercises. Apparently, the body is taking in more oxygen, and requires more fluid, much the same way you’d need fluids after a nice jog.

Get plenty of rest the night before

If you’re like me and do your exercises in the morning, it’s important to get plenty of rest the night before. As mentioned earlier, I haven’t had a full night sleep since starting my new job. As a result, I find that I get winded and have a tough time completing my sets. Some have said that doing the breathing exercises energize them , but I get the opposite effect. I get really relaxed after a set, so imagine 5 sets after only a couple of hours of sleep. Can we say “Nappy Time”?

Stay Motivated

Ok, this is a to be continued section, because I am still trying to figure this part out. Like I said before, I have burnt myself out a bit, so this morning I decided to give myself a break. I will most likely do my breathing exercises after work, but a break is good if you need it.

For now, I think the best motivator is results. In my case, I tried this for 1 week, made no change to my diet and lost almost an inch around my waist. My pants also fit looser and I feel a tighter in my chest area. Not bad, huh?

My goals for week 2:

1. Get more sleep
2. Make healthier food choices
3. Increase my water intake
4. Make a demo video

Till next time.

The post Weight Loss Challenge – Week 1 Results appeared first on Natasha's World.

Unfortunately, I never stuck to it long enough to see results. I sorta got discouraged because years ago there were no before and after pictures from other users. However, a few days ago I decided to revisit Rashelle’s site and was blown away by Steffi Power’s testimonial. This woman went from 190 pounds to her current weight of 130 pounds. Her routine was to do her aerobic breathing exercises, drink plenty of water and not skip any meals. A bit challenging for some of us with bad habits, but very simple and doable.

So, I am on a mission. One of my New Years Resolutions for 2008 is to lose 40 pounds and I believe that aerobic breathing may be the method for me. In case you’re wondering, I have tried more traditional methods. I’ve done the changes in diet, typical workout and even lifted weights. My problem is that I don’t do well with too much restrictions. Whenever I hear “You should or should not do that..” I want to do the opposite. And so you can imagine how challenging it was for me to try and follow a weight loss plan.

The difference with this is that I don’t feel restricted. I don’t have to stop eating my favorite foods and there are no memberships to joins or pills to take. I simply have to:

1. Make a small commitment to do my breaths everyday
2. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water
3. Eat when I’m hungry

I already started doing aerobic breathing exercises on Wednesday morning. I also measured and weighed myself.

Here are my stats and future plans:

Stats:

• Weight: 197 lbs.
• Chest: 42.5″
• Waist: 35.5″
• Hip: 46″
• Left Bicep: 12.25″
• Left Thigh: 27.25″

Plans:

1. I intend to post videos with more details on how aerobic breathing works and what my routine is going to be.
2. I will be weighing in and posting the results every week.
3. Once a month I intend to post updated “after” photos. If I see a dramatic result sooner, I’ll post the picture at that time regardless of the time span.

I am both excited and nervous at the same time. I’m tired of feeling heavy, so the possibility of finally losing this weight gets me fired up! At the same time, I am revealing my size and weight to the world which is kinda scary to me. Will people judge me for weighing as much as I do? Will I be disciplined enough to stick to my goals? These questions and more are running through my mind as I type this.

Ah well, I’m going forward anyways. I believe this is a year of change – does that make me sound like a politician? Anyhow, stay tuned.

The post Weight Loss Challenge for 2008 appeared first on Natasha's World.

Ok, ok… this is where I come clean. My track record with keeping my New Years Resolutions these past few years have been shoddy at best. I always seem to find some excuse or distraction for falling short of my goal. Some of those excuses sounded good, but is there ever a good reason to break a promise to yourself?

So, I’ve decided to try something different for 2008. Up until now, I rarely told people what my New Years Resolutions were, and if I did tell someone, it was a person that I knew wouldn’t hold me accountable. This year, I am going to post them right here for the whole world to see… or at least the 3 people that actually read my blog .

With that said, here are my 2008 New Years Resolutions:

1. Lose 40 pounds
2. Have a budget and stick to it
3. Stay organized with all my paperwork (e.g. mail, bills, etc.)
4. Take better care of my fingernails and toenails
   (they are looking pretty scary right now…)

Ok, that’s it for now. I’ll update this post if I think of any new goals. As for my weight loss, I have a plan in mind, which I will detail on my next post. Now that I’ve gone public with my goals for 2008, how about you? What are your New Years Resolutions?

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