Well. Life has been busy and thus, I haven't posted anything on here for....well...forever. Almost seven months, to be more exact. I fell of the bandwagon of natural living for a while....I now am using store bought deodorant and toothpaste*, and my eating habits went downhill for a while. So...that also has kept me from posting on this blog, titled, El Natural. However, lately I have trying very hard to start living a lot healthier and better. I have working on trying to lose up to 20 pounds for the past three or four weeks, by cutting way back on my sugar intake (I am very much a sugar and soda addict) not drinking soda except for special occasions (such as a birthday party or a Sunday evening) trying to eat a lot less junk food and more healthy foods overall, and, for the last couple of weeks, exercising two or three times a week. I am off of gluten once again....I researched a little bit on my test results that I got over than a year ago, and from what I have been reading, it seems that my test results were actually positive for gluten sensitivity. My stomach was still bothering me quite a bit, so I figured it would be a good idea to go off of gluten again and try to be more strict with not consuming it. So far, it has helped. My stomach still has problems, but they have gotten better. I have recently realized that corn also seems to bother my stomach quite a bit, so I have been avoiding that as well. Today, I was reading up on going grain free and the harmfulness of consuming grains, so I may go completely off of grains soon. The last four days have been very bad for my diet and exercise routine, as Thursday was simply a generally bad day for me, which led to me buying lots of candy and consuming it all throughout the weekend. My life schedule was also busy this week so I didn't exercise for about five days. However, today, after a not so great morning (which involved more candy...because I was stressed...and let's be real, I eat bad foods when stressed and upset) I have picked myself back up and re-motivated myself, completing the re-motivation with a very brisk, sweaty walk with my sister, Samantha. I'm also out of the candy that I bought now....so it will be easy to keep from falling back into eating that again this week. The positive side to my weekend of horrible eating habits is that it has made it very evident to me how negatively candy, sugar, soda and the like affect me. I feel like absolute crap, physically. My body aches and has an overall feeling of complete yuck. The three or four weeks I've spent almost completely off of sweets and soda I felt much better. Shockingly....sugar is bad for you! :P
What else is new....? Work has been busy but I haven't had to spend as many late nights there like I used to, so I am definitely happy about that. I totaled my car (no one was seriously hurt)...and bought a beautiful, red, sassy, 2002 Subaru Legacy. Her name is Cece annnnd she has two moon roofs! (The moon roofs were the deciding factor in purchasing the vehicle, lol). I have been working my rear off to pay off the small loan I took out to buy my new car...which meant switching back to 40 hour weeks (I was working 32 hour weeks, with three day weekends...I miss my three day weekends). Overall, it's going well. However, I am trying to pay it off by January...I'm really hoping that I can. I'd explain the reason for that, but...it's a secret. So, I can't. For now, just know I hope to pay off my car by January.
As a final note...I have discovered that Wintergreen essential oil is amaaaaazing! Great for sore muscles! Seriously, I like it even more than peppermint when it comes to soothing my aching muscles and back. Give it a try!
*A note about the toothpaste and deodorant: I am a rather lazy person when it comes to some things and the homemade toothpaste and deodorant was just too much of a hassle. The doederant didn't smell good, for one, and I love nice scents. It also was a pain to take places...because it would melt into a sticky mess in the heat. The toothpaste didn't seem to leave my mouth feeling very fresh and clean....and I'm not a fan of that, so I switched back to store bought. However, I do want to try both of them again soon...I'll just need some new recipes to try out for them first.
