Trying a NEW lifestyle

A lifestyle change is always challenging; and especially when you're dealing with autoimmune conditions. So, I've been dealing with fibromyalgia for about eleven years now and I also was diagnosed with candida for which I've dealt with now for six years.

For those who don't know about candida, it's a fungal growth that's in the gut flora that fights off infections and helps build up immunity in our bodies. The problem with me is there is an imbalance in my system, (often caused by various reasons), which makes the candida ineffective and therefore attacks the body instead of helping it.

Having candida you have problems such as brain fog, digestive issues, oral thrush, food allergies/intolerance, fugal infections with skin and toes, joint pain, low mood, and weakened immune system just to name a few. 

I went to a specialist about six years ago and she believes I developed fibromyalgia from a weakened immune system, which is caused by the candida.
Now how I got the candida was probably because of the high metals in my body which didn't allow for the nutrients I ate in my food to absorb in my gut which didn't allow to build my immune system which caused the candida, which caused the fibromyalgia.

Someone as myself with fibro and candida, maintaining a diet which is beneficial, yet satisfying and affordable is a very hard balancing act. When I had a well-paying job back in Houston, Texas it wasn't hard. I would buy the supplements to cleanse my organs and rid me of my candida and I also could afford the right kinds of food that would contribute to that healing as well. I lost 30 pounds in three months, my energy was great, I wasn't cramping nor spasming from the fibro as I usually do, and was able to think more clearly.

Well, fast forward to August 8, 2017, four years removed from Houston, Texas and in and out of jobs for the last four years here in small-town Pennsylvania and my health has been a real struggle. Not having the money to buy the things I need to help with my conditions has been a real test. Thankfully I have a smart and beautiful wife that has helped me in my trying to attain some normalcy in my life and still enjoy some of the foods I eat. She was a personal trainer for years and studied nutrition which in turn is helping me.

Basically, I have to rid myself of all food and liquids that contain ANY kind of sugar or sugar alcohol. That's a LOT of food left out of my diet. I can't say I'm always honest and so I succumb to eating an occasional sweet or drink (wine, beer, or distilled spirits) when I get a craving. The best way to avoid that is not to take in those things, but I love chocolate sooo much!

Well, three weeks ago my wife started me on this 16/8 diet which you have an eight-hour window to eat and afterward you fast for the next 16 hours. Now, I wouldn't recommend this without consulting a doctor first, especially those who have sugar or blood issue problems - I'm just describing my experience - this isn't for everyone - you have to have patience and will power to do this, and there are some initial side effects.

One, you will be cranky - yes, I mean who wouldn't be when you have a habit of eating whenever you want!? For me, that was the hardest adjustment. There will be detoxing since that's what the 16 hour fast is for, to cleanse your body and allow it to repair itself like it should; so some may experience constipation or the other thing  - no TMI here. Also, some people may experience nausea like I did the first week getting adjusted to eating so late or others may also experience dizziness and headaches. 

After the second week, I've adjusted a lot better; now you don't have to do this 7 days a week. Some people just do it during the week and take the weekend off or some just do it for 4 days a week. Me, I'm trying to do it all 7 days. It's not easy at times. I have gotten cravings during the late evening after 8pm and I'll just make me a cup of tea and sweeten it with stevia. The point of this is during the fast you don't want to intake any more calories so your body can do what it needs to. So NOTHING that contains calories is the goal here, or you defeat the purpose. For me, since I have the candida, my goal is NO sugars while I eat and definitely none during the fast, so I put Stevia in everything I want sweet. 

So far, I've lost 13 pounds in three weeks. So not bad, but I'm still adjusting to the schedule. I have cheated on the weekend, but only once. 

So if any of you reading this want to try a new way to lose weight and want your body to function better, or you're like me where this is a must having fibro and candida, I would say do some research, talk to your doctor and see if this is right for you. All I can say is it becomes easier the longer you do it and for those, without my condition you can still have your cake and eat it too  - literally.

Until next time I write - do the right thing and the right thing will happen. 

Cutting it close

Getting a haircut is a serious thing. I being from the old school like proper scissors cut and not to be outdone by women I take my haircuts seriously. After leaving Texas I was dreading finding a new person to cut my hair - since it can be an ordeal finding just the right person while enduring endless bad haircuts and looking like a young Jerry Lewis in the meantime - for those who don't know who he is Google him. Even in Texas, I went through 5 people until finding a person who truly knew how to CUT hair and do it consistently. Thankfully that person worked at the Supercuts in downtown Houston and did it for 7 years. After building up trust and a good rapport it was gut-wrenching not knowing who would be giving me my haircut in the near future. It's like going to your favorite restaurant and you find out the cook you've eaten from for 7 years just up and quit and the manager is trying to cook in the kitchen; mind you he has a BA in business but can't boil water. Well, most of the people tell me they have a cosmetology license but it doesn't mean they know HOW to cut hair.

Well after being here for two months the time had come for me to get a haircut. I had been asking my friends who they'd recommend, but I never really got a ringing endorsement. The one who could potentially be my "stylist' was a popular one with the kids. I was told she was always booked she had so much business but it was mostly kids' haircuts I didn't know if the endorsement came from mothers who tried to save money and leaving with kids that loved their fades or just fad haircuts.

Well, since I couldn't remember where she worked and I didn't have another week or two to wait I decided to go to another Supercuts relatively close by. Oh and for those who don't know; getting around in this part of Pennsylvania is measured by time, not by miles. So being it was only 20 minutes away was very good by local standards.

So I arrived a little before lunch and find there was only one person in the place - good thing it was empty and I was the only customer. The look on her face showed surprise - I guess they don't get too many lunchtime comers - in downtown Houston, it was a normal occurrence; in fact, that was the time it was most busy. So I asked her if she could give me a scissors haircut. She said yes and asked how I wanted it done. I guess there are different ways you can give a scissors haircut? I told her I got mine from a Zen Supercuts master haircutter and she had her work cut out for her. After asking me a series of questions I think she finally had an idea of what I wanted. Below is the end result. I certainly can live with it; what do you all think? By the way, my wife really liked it. I will go back again to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke. But if it is, then I will feel like David Carradine in Kung Fu (Google him too if you don't know), wandering in the proverbial desert thirsting to find the person who can give my hair follicles permanent relief.

The Soap Channel...

Nothing like the clean unadulterated feeling and calm relaxation as you lather in pure thoughts by watching the soap channel. Enjoy.

Always count the cost...and if it's too good to be true it usually is

The bible says to count the cost; and the reason for it is because it prepares us to expect the unexpected, to make sure we're able to afford whatever undertaking we might consider. Is the course we're going to take worth the risk, time, or the money? By taking this course it can and often does save us from regret or even heartache.

Then there's the saying if it's too good to be true then it usually is - and this is where I didn't consider the counsel of counting the cost which caused me to get something that was to good to be true - alas, I now have regret.

Now days you have so many avenues for television. There is cable TV, which I never really liked; one reason is that it always has been the most expensive option. There is satellite which I loved that every channel was digital, but any strong storms or heavy winds and you don't have service. Then there is the internet. I use U-Verse which is nice but unless you have at least 12Mbps than your picture isn't that good since it streams the signal - I tried 6Mbps and it was always breaking up and if you wanted to see a movie through your smart TV it would lag badly.

There is also Hulu and Netflix and their cost is not too high but you get what you pay for as well. You can't see live shows and why would you want to see a game that was on yesterday with the scores, highlights, interviews, and commentary on the same night? Or yesterday's news the next day, like CNN, MSNBC, HLN, and such being always a day behind?

I remember when satellite TV was 29.99 a month and you would get a decent amount of channels; nowadays these services cost so much and they tax you for this and that; services fees, HD fees, box fees, and before you know it you're paying more than what they originally said it would cost.

So while in CVS the other day I came across "As Seen On TV!" - my first mistake. Among the items they sale that make you believe you can't live without was one that caught my eye "Rabbit TV"; my second mistake. The price was 9.99 and it said for a year you could get over 500 channels on your computer and live programs to boot free! I was so excited like I hit the jackpot or something, like you want to pat yourself on the back and say good job, man. But that's not your brain waves making new connections, no those are brain cells dying and you don't realize it until much later. Here is where I didn't really count the cost; doing my research, checking reviews, and seeing if this item was worth the money; third mistake. So I bring it home and it's no more than a mini square stick with the word "rabbit TV" and a rabbit logo - genius. The instructions were close to nonexistent, but it made sure you immediately questioned your purchase with a paper in big bold red letters and a stop sign saying; "STOP! DO NOT RETURN RABBIT TV TO YOUR STORE". I was starting to feel bad about this. So I install it; it installed so fast it seemed like a virus or worm invaded your computer - I'll tell you why later. So anyway, once installed I clicked the desktop icon and it initiated the program and opened in Internet Explorer. I use Google Chrome so I grabbed the address and pasted it in the Google browser and opened it from there. I registered with a username, password and opened up to the unknown. I wish I hadn't. The site said you have all these choices of shows and even live sports, news, weather, and concerts - you guessed it - it didn't work. No live shows - everyone I clicked just kept in perpetual circles like it was trying to log on. The shows they said they had were in actuality links to the actual site. NBC, ABC, ESPN, and so on - and you don't need this device to do that. After my first try, I tried to log on again and now every time I do it says I'm logged on to another computer and I had to make sure I log out - oh, and it also says I have to unplug the device and plug it back again and re login. So I tried to uninstall and reinstall the program. Well, the icon and program shows on my desktop and start programs, but I can't find any trace of it on my hard drive. So now it's on there, but where I don't know and now I can't get it off my computer since I can't find it.

This is where the realization hit me of if it's too good to be true it usually is. I wasted 10 dollars and some change because I was too impulsive of a 47 year old man to logically and analytically reason out if this was all worth my money, time, and effort. If I can make myself a victim albeit it was a small one, let this blog teach you if anything this; don't believe everything you hear on TV or on the internet. Don't be impulsive, always count the cost and do the research to make sure it is what they say it is or does. You could be spending your money on something much more costly and much more damaging to your life.

So, always count the cost before doing anything that will take away from your finances,your time, and your intellect. If it's too good to be true, than it usually is.By the way, I don't recommend this product at all. Take it from me before they take it from you.

Hoping the third time's the charm...

Well, I'm going to turn in the second blu-ray "One for the Money" and hope the third one is the charm and actually works. No telling if it will or not but my hope is that it will. Can I ask you all out there; have any of you ever had this much trouble renting blu-rays online, be it BlockBuster or Netflix, or some other obscure online rental company? With the advent of blu-ray being double-sided and able to hold up to 50GB of info you would think they would find a way for them to play without messing up so easy. I'm dating myself but I remember when there used to be "laserdiscs" that were the size of an LP album? An ex-friend of mine had one back in the day and I remember going over there to see a live concert of Paul McCartney and Wings. But, that was the past and now we these discs that are smaller and lighter, but nothing has changed in that sometimes products still give us trouble. Well, I'll have to wait about two days before I get another blu-ray in the mail. Once I do let's hope this one works, or I just might give up the by mail version and take my chances with the store.

Another day - another blu-ray

Okay, so first of all good Sunday morning to you all. Here is another BB blu-ray that I got from the store and as you will see, this one works perfectly fine. No pauses, skips, or stops. And I got another blu-ray discs and two regular dvd discs and they all worked perfectly fine. So, what is the discrepancy in the blu-rays that are delivered in the mail? I have no clue but the next one I get I will see if it too is workable or not. I'm paying a little over 10.00 a month for BlockBuster online which isn't bad, but the point of this was for convenience so that I wouldn't have to go to the store to get a movie! The only good thing is that unlike Netflix is that you can actually go to the store if indeed your disc doesn't work. I'll have to upload the video first to YouTube and then link it here. Well, that's all for today, it seems this will be a slow and boring blog. Have a great day everyone!

Just thinking out loud...and need some feedback

So today, I got another blu-ray of the same movie I turned in a few days ago because it would not work on my blu-ray player. I called the service center and spoke with a person I had a hard time understanding and they were of course apologizing for the inconvenience I was experiencing and even gave me a coupon for a free rental in the store. That was fine and all but it doesn't explain why these discs are messed up! By the way the movie I turned in was "One for the Money" starring Katherine Heigl. I'm conjunction with this blog I will be posting a short video to show everyone the problems I have with these discs. I mean I can't be the only one having these problems, can I? The strange thing is that when I take these damaged discs into the store and replace it with one from the store, they work fine. I would like to hear from others who use BlockBuster Online to see if they are experiencing the same thing as me.

Well, I tried to upload the video, but it didn't work. I will have to try again...later on this morning since it's already 1am.