heat, cookies, headaches, #lessprocessed

• no heat – until Super Storm Sandy blew into town, it had been warm around here. Warm enough to not need a coat and warm enough to not need heat. After Sandy, and our power came back on, we decided it was time to turn the heat on for the first time. We opened all the windows in preparation of the stink of starting a forced air, gas heater for the first time in many, many months. We turned the heater on and NOTHING happened. We tried to relight the pilot to no avail.
• We had a friend (who is more lie family) come and check it out and he thought it could just be a cheap part. They tried – NO GO. So it is not going to be a quick, easy fix. Instead we are looking at a minimum of a $400 part plus labor costs because my friend is not a heating guy and does not feel comfortable to do the bigger job.
• On the up-side, the weatherman says its going to warm up this weekend.
• On the not-up-side (well, besides broken heater), I have been keeping my eating under control this week. For the most part. I have not exercised, only stretching here and there, and normally that would push me straight to eating like crap. Not this week. This week, I made the best choices I could!
• Until the cookies came out. I am trying to eat mainly wheat-free (not eating  the big wheat stuff – pastas, breads, cookies, etc but I am not obsessing whether my soy sauce has gluten in it) and I have been doing pretty good with it. However, I am not perfect. My husband went to the store and came home with snickerdoodle cookies. I didn’t even know they were in the house. The other night, AJ microwaved the cookies and the whole house smelled wonderful. I tried to resist but I have no control.  I ate 4 cookies – ok, not the end of the world. I can move on.
• Until I woke up yesterday. The morning after the 4 cookies. I woke up with such a headache and a bellyache. And my joints were achy. OK, the achy joints may be from the lack of heat in my house or the way I slept. But, the belly and headaches that lasted ALL day…definite side effects of sugar and wheat. Nothing like clear cut, physical evidence of how my body does not like wheat or sugar or the combo
• There has been a TON of talk around the interwebz about different diets and challenges – paleo, #unprocessed, #whole30, clean eating…blah, blah, blah….and I have been struggling with this stuff. However, my good friend Roni (you know the one, that awesome chica who created Fitbloggin) has been tweeting #lessprocessed because super strict unproccessed did not completely work for her. I totally get it totally unprocessed is un-doable for me, at least for now. But for now, is the only time frame I can think about.
• I do not want to diet. I want to lose weight and be healthier, but I do not want to diet. The last time I truly dieted, I lost 60ish pounds but then went back to normal eating (plus an injury) and gained most of it back. I don’t want to do that again. I hate to sound so cliche but I really want to make permanent, lasting, lifestyle changes. I don’t want food or exercise to be the enemy or a punishment. I want to enjoy it all.
• I want to enjoy life. I already do but I want more. More joy, more fun and just more out of life.

• I have also decided for now, I want to blog more often (it’s good for my head) . I may blog in bullet points forever – it really matches my rambly brain these days!
• What do you want?!?