Happy New Year!

I am actually very excited for the fresh start that a new year brings. I am NOT a person that is into the whole New Year Resolution thing, because as everyone knows they do not work. What I am super excited about is the “firsts” that I will be undertaking this year. 2016 is shaping up to be a year of big change in my world. That is both exciting and terrifying LOL.

I did a quick Facebook post yesterday on how I had hit my year end weight loss goal of 70 pounds. Thank you for all the comments and love that the post received. Many people are asking me what I am doing to lose the weight, and so I thought I would share a bit more.

In August I undertook a 90 Day Challenge to adopt a new Way of Eating. A friend of mine runs a challenge group on Facebook that inspired me to adopt a #LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) way of eating. The pounds started coming off and once I was in full ketosis, the junk food, carb and sugar cravings subsided. I eat to keep my “net carbs” (carbs – fiber) under 20 net carbs per day. That’s really all I have been doing.

I haven’t been spending money on any of the fancy potions, teas, drinks or supplements that claim to bring about major change.  I am simply eating whole real foods and keeping my net carbs under 20 each day.

To follow along with how I have been doing, you can search healthy weight loss here on AHWH.

New Year, New Challenge

The point of posting this today is that there is a New 90 Day Challenge starting.  If you are interesting in getting healthy and starting off 2016 with a new way of eating, I invite you to join the challenge and get healthy alongside me.

Although I have lost 70 pounds, I still have a long way to go before I reach my final destination.   It is the first time in a really LONG time that I have even felt like I will get there.  I am excited to continue on this journey to health.

Here is some information that will help you get started:

• Click here to join the 90 Day Low Carb Challenge Group on Facebook.   This is a fairly large group, and it has a ton of information and inspiration on eating low carb.
• Click here to get signed up for the email information regarding the challenge.
• Here is a quick checklist to help you get started with this Way of Eating.
• You can also follow me and my progress on Facebook, and also via email.  I would love to see you join in.  Send me a quick message letting me know that 2016 is a year of change and we are gonna do it together!

Of course it is a perfect time to start a new WOE and a new challenge. After the holiday are over, we are all wanting to shed those few extra pounds that were put on with all the yummy foods, family time and parties!!

I would love for you to show this post some love!! Like, comment and share it! I look forward to having you join me on this journey, WE CAN DO THIS!!!

Talk soon,

P.S. – Please take a minute to connect with me: Facebook | Pinterest | Google+ | LinkedIn

P.P.S. – Get More Tips n Tricks from AHWH sent directly to your inbox, that way you’re sure not to miss anything.

So it’s been 2 months since my last blog post and I want to apologize for that.  I don’t really even know how to start this post except to say that my life has been on a crazy roller-coaster for the last several months and I was simply unable to manage all the projects that I had on the go.

I have actually being putting this post off for several days because I didn’t know what to say or how to start…. so here goes. 🙂

Updates

My grandson was born on September 18 – he turned 3 months old already last week (time is going so fast).  He is growing like crazy and getting cuter every single day!  I never really pictured myself as a Gramma, but I have to say it is one of my very favorites “hats” that I now wear proudly.

My daughter Janine and baby “D” (as we call him) stayed with me for the first 6 weeks after he got out of the hospital.  That time was very special to me as I got to watch him grow and change every day.  I also got to spend time with my daughter and strengthen that mother-daughter bond we have.  Time I would not change for anything.

They have been back home since November, and I truly miss watching him grow and change everyday.  They are coming home for Christmas later today and I am super excited to spend a few days catching up on baby snuggles.

I went to Florida at the end of October for an Event and got to spend a week in the hot Florida weather.  This was the first actual trip I have taken since my son was 12 and we went to Disney in California.  I was actually very nervous to go, but it all turned out well.  I was there for the DS Domination event (more on that in a future post).  I was grateful that my mother was able to come with.

I do plan to do more trips/vacations in the future, and this one was a great starter.  I was traveling with someone, I was going to meet with people I already knew, and so it felt safe.  The time went extremely fast though and now it almost seems like a distant memory.

I have never been to an “event” before.  Wow it truly is a great way to meet people, form friendships and working relationships.  It is true what they say, the time at the event just networking can be priceless and well worth the trip.

Christmas sales started immediately upon returning from Florida.  Unfortunately with all that had been going on my business was not in great shape to enter the holiday shopping season.  So I basically had to put every spare minute and ounce of energy that I had into building up to where I was able to do quite well in my eCommerce business.

In the midst of all of this, I was also going through a huge life change, and as of December 19, I officially became an “Empty Nester”.  This has been a huge challenge for me and major goal.  It is a very bittersweet situation and at the moment still very fresh and emotional.    I am not all that ready to talk about it just yet, but look forward to sharing more with you on that in early 2016.

My Healthy Weight Loss journey is the last thing I wanted to update you on today.  So many people have been asking.   The last time I posted was October 5th (sorry it’s been so long) and at that point I had lost 37.5 in two months.

As of Monday December 21st I have now lost 67 pounds from what I weighed on August 3rd!!!!

I went to my doctor on Tuesday for my regular 3 month blood sugar check and he was THRILLED with my progress.  My sugars are down to within a normal range, and I am officially off the Metformin (another of my major goals).

I would love to be a full 70 pounds lighter by the end of the year…. but we shall see, it is Christmas after-all!

Now that the Craziness is over….

I wanted to be sure and do this post before Christmas.  I am excited for my life to settle back into a bit of a normal routine, though with so much change in such a short period of time I don’t really know what that normal routine will be…

I look forward to resuming a regular blog schedule and have already jotted down some great ideas for future posts.  Since I want At Home with Heather to be about building the life that you love, and sharing how I go about doing that with you, it should be very interesting and will include things like:

• Being a brand new Empty Nester
• How I plan to make a very nice full time income working from home
• Being a new Grandma
• Learning to live a Healthy Lifestyle
• Finding things that excite me and learning to move from the role of caregiver to caring about me!

I would love for you to follow along with this journey.  As I write this today, I am feeling so many emotions:  excitement at starting a new phase of life, sadness at the end to my 18 plus year career as a foster parent, and nervous anticipation at whether or not I can actually pull this off lol!

I want to take this time to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.  Take time to spend with family and loved ones to make good memories.

Talk soon,

P.S. – Please take a minute to connect with me: Facebook | Pinterest | Google+ | LinkedIn

P.P.S. – Get More Tips n Tricks from AHWH sent directly to your inbox, that way you’re sure not to miss anything.

Wow the last 2 weeks has sure been a whirlwind for me!

This post is just going to be a really quick update on exactly what has been happening in my world. First let me say I’ve missed being on AHWH and social media the last few weeks. I feel like I am so far behind that I think I’m first.

However… Continue reading →