Weekly Weight: 235.3 lbs

I was pleasantly surprised by this morning’s weigh in. I may have gained weight over the holiday but it was only about a pound. Please excuse the hair in the photo by the way. I brushed my hair before pulling the scale out and didn’t realize there was hair on the floor until later. I saw it after I put the scale back in it’s out of the way place and cleaned up the floor but until I sat down to post this I didn’t realize it was in frame. It is the curse of a clear glass scale. well that and the reflection of me taking the photo.

Anyway, while a weight gain isn’t something I would normally celebrate i have to say I am pleasantly surprised that it was only one -ish pounds. I was expecting a lot more actually. Especially after yesterday’s realization. I posted about this on my daily post, but to sum up, I realized that Each time I didn’t really feel like doing my indoor workouts I would lower the reps that I did and then later forget that i lowered them so the lower number became standard. Until the next time I didn’t really feel like doing them and so I’d knock off another couple. It was a bad cycle.

I’ve fixed it by creating a spreadsheet actually. It’s a simple Excel sheet with the numbers clearly marked on the page. Like my food journal it is helpful for me to write everything down. And if I have to see the numbers I can’t fake them to myself. I have the bad habit of thinking, Oh I’m sure I only planned to do twenty of these squats today. If I have marked down on the paper that it was in fact thirty, it is harder to think twenty because I’ll know I am lying to myself. It is the same with food actually. Measuring and weighing are a bit of a pain, but it keeps me from saying things like, sure that looks like only half a cup. And then only counting half a cups worth of calories when i actually consumed a full cup.

Which I actually started recording my food again this week as well. during December I did pretty good with recording the meals I prepared. The problem was that I had a lot of meals that I didn’t prepare. Which is why I was expecting a lot more of a weight gain. So, pleasantly surprised. Let’s get the official stats for the first weigh in for the new year then.

The Stats:

Starting Weight: 246.0 lbs

This week’s weight: 235.3 lbs

Lost thus far: 10.7 lbs

I know there is still a long way to go but I am committed to reaching a healthy weight. And I think I have set myself up with the tools to accomplish this in 2023. At least that is the plan. It is one I hope to stick to. As it is January, hopes are high. I think that if I can stick with the plan, I can manage it. I suppose we have twelve months to figure that out.

Trying out the Honey Pot Lavender Rose Panty Spray

I am a big fan of the Honey Pot’s foaming shower wash. I tried it and incorporated it into my daily routine. It has become a staple in my daily routine. It is ph balanced for a woman’s body and even though I was skeptical about actually needing it before once I tried it there was no going back to just using a regular body wash on my nether regions.

however after trying, loving and repeatedly repurchasing, I didn’t try anything else out from the brand. And so I decided to pick up this Honey Pot Lavender Rose Panty spray to try out.

Totally innovative and dynamic, The Honey Pot Co’s Lavender Rose feminine hygiene spray is a great way to feel fresh throughout the day. We’ve updated our refreshing herbal panty sprays with DeoPlex® technology, resulting in a perfected formula for better deodorization and moisturization. Use this feminine hygiene spray to freshen up fast, without any artificial fragrances or harsh chemicals.

I chose the lavender and rose because I thought they would be a good balance. They work well together but they are a bit strong for me. The heavy scent is a bit too perfume-y and I would prefer a lighter fresh scent. I think if choosing again I would go for the cucumber and aloe scent instead.

And would I purchase this again? Yes actually I think i would. It isn’t as necessary for me to have on hand as the wash, but it was quite useful this summer. When I went for my walks in the summer heat, i came back sweaty. while I generally jumped in the shower as soon as I could peel my clothes from me often times I just rinsed myself off with water. I like to do a full shower at night and just rinse off after my walk. with the water rinse and towel drying bits of me over drying more than any form of personal scent were the main issue. This spray was just enough moisture without causing any fragrance irritation in sensitive areas.

For me the Honey Pot Lavender Rose Panty Spray was excellent post work out, simply for the way I move and care for my body. The scent was a heavier one but can easily be remedied. While I might not need this as much as the heat fades and autumn gets underway, it is something that I will certainly have on hand as spring fades into summer. I will just choose a lighter scent to suit my own personal preferences.

Let’s talk about the tummy…

I know it isn’t a sexy topic and it isn’t a particularly fun one, but sometimes things need to be discussed. Over the years I have suffered from bouts of bloating and constipation. I have tried numerous changes to my eating habits over the years to deal with it.

Oddly enough with as much time and energy as i spend working towards healthy weight loss most of my ‘diets’ over the years have been attempts to deal with the uncomfortable bloating and tummy troubles. I’ve gone from Vegan to Caveman diet and pretty much everything in between. What I ended up landing on was a well balanced diet incorporating all of the food groups, limiting saturated fats and sugars (which seems to work best for me). I also ended up understanding that my gut sometimes simply takes a long time to process foods.

And that, it turns out, isn’t an issue with my diet it is simply how my body works. Mostly I just understand that and live with it. it is an annoyance sometimes, but not a huge health concern so I count myself pretty lucky all in all.

A while back I was sent a sample of Phillips Colon Heath daily Prebiotic 4-in 1 Symptom defense. The sample was sent by Influenster and I liked it enough that I ended up purchasing it on my own and have since kept purchasing it. According to the product page…

Phillips’^® Colon Health^® Probiotic has three types of specially selected probiotics that: Help replenish good bacteria in the digestive system, including in the colon*, Help defend against occasional digestive issues and support the health of your colon*, Phillips’^® Colon Health^® Probiotic provides 4-in-1 Symptom Defense™ against occasional:* Gas, Bloating, Constipation, and Diarrhea. Unlike some other brands, Phillips’^® Colon Health^® Probiotic promises 1.5 billion CFUs at time of expiry.

The capsules are easy to swallow and not overly large. I took one each morning with a bit of toast and that was good for me. Now for me, my body has a way of trapping rather than releasing so I suffer from the bloating and constipation elements. The first few days my body had a grand release shall we say. I stuck close to the bathroom and I can honestly say I have never burped that much in my entire life.

For me I will often get a bubble of gas that feels like it is trapped between the end of my sternum and the top of my stomach and it will sit there rather painfully for a few hours before it slowly dissipates. The first few days of taking this Colon Health Probiotic an hour after the pill went down, the bubble of air came up. The burbs rivaled those produced by teenage boys with a shaken up two liter of soda on hand. I didn’t attempt to recite the alphabet during release, mostly because I was very surprised. Usually burping for me is very difficult.

And given the name Colon Health I expected all the effects to be on the other end of the system.

To be fair it helped on that end as well.

After a couple of days when I was beginning to suspect that taking the probiotic would mean always being within ten feet of a restroom, everything leveled out. My restroom visits returned to normal. However I didn’t have the internal build up or bouts of constipation. Once my body had a good spring cleaning everything just ran smoothly.

I know this isn’t a particularly fun topic to talk about, however it can be useful. Was the bloating a life threatening issue? No, but when it occurred it made me feel miserable. For me this was a simple fix that made me feel a million times better. Now clearly this is not meant as any sort of medical advice, so if you have major issues definitely talk to your doctor and follow their advice. For me and the simple bloating and constipation issues, this was a simple fix that meant a world of difference. And I really wish despite this being a not so pretty subject, someone sat me down and talked to me about this earlier. If any of the above issues are ones you have, I hope this little bit helps you out or at least gives you an avenue to explore.