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Whoa! What a week!! Four nights in a row I have been burning the midnight oil! I’ve put on a few pounds too. I haven’t weighed myself but I don’t need to…I can feel it in my clothes. One more week of a nightmarish schedule and then I should be able to regain some balance in my life. Until then, enjoy the weekend!

Ciao

Debby, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

Wednesday was a very special day for me.  My youngest daughter graduated from college.  She has worked really hard and I am very proud of her.  She is one of the lucky ones, who knows what she wants to do and found a job in her field.  Now with every celebration in our family there is food involved.  I’m not even beating myself up over indulging a little extra.  This is life and celebrations happen and I will deal with it the best way I know how.  I made sure I ate something before I left so that I wasn’t starving and raid the buffet table.  I also will make sure that I make healthy choices for the rest of the week and do a little extra walking, which I enjoy. 

Hope everyone has a great week!

Susan, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

I don’t even want to talk about my weight this week. In my line of business, June is a month LOADED with events and socials which equals food and drink in abundance and makes it difficult to really stick to my plan. So I’ve conceded to just ride the wave for now and when June ends and July begins, jump right back onto the wagon and get that scale moving downward once again!

Ciao!

Debby CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

Okay, enough with the rain already!  As far as I’m concerned we’ve had enough rain for awhile.  I’m ready for some nice sunny hot weather anytime now!  Now that I’ve stated this, it will probably get really hot and humid for the rest of the summer – which is just fine with me. 

The weight loss is still going in the right direction, just slower than I like.  I have lost a total of 12 pounds so far.  Of course, I have not been to the gym for 2 weeks, which changes this week.  The plan is to get back on track starting on Thursday with the Ball Fusion class at the gym.  

Bye till next week.

Susan, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

Well silent I am not , but who knows what my liver might be thinking. The liver is the workhorse in our bodies, it filters out all the toxins we put in via drugs, alcohol, chemicals in processed foods and even the air we breathe…it all stops at the liver first.

If our liver is working well it will get rid of those toxins and the rest of your organs will be handed less work to do and everything inside us is happy!!

However when the liver starts to fail, it will not scream and yell at you, it will keep working to the best of its abilities , it won’t clean out as many toxins , but heck your other organs can handle them! They have had it easy for so many years…thanks to your liver.

Other charities get lots of funding from drug companies, not the liver foundation…the reason for that is pretty clear from my perspective. Drugs don’t help the liver in general. The liver needs to be treated with tender loving care by its owner, its really the only way to lessen the work and allow it to heal itself.  So why would drug companies throw money behind a charity that it can’t count on making money from!

The other huge problem for the Liver Foundation is the general public’s view of liver disease. We associate liver issues with someone who is an alcoholic, drug addict, tattoo parloured partier who is always having unprotected sex!

As long as we are NOT that person….we should be fine right! WRONG so completely wrong, but until your liver is badly damaged it will not complain…picture it as Donkey in winnie the pooh….just trudging along through life hoping someone will notice him!

I am involved in 2 different charity events for the liver foundation in the Toronto area this weekend and I hope you will stop by and show your support!

Friday I will be at Union Station for the morning rush hour and the afternoon rush collecting money for The Canadian Liver Foundation and again on Father’s day at Boston Pizza in Brampton at 410 and Steeles. Bring your dad for lunch and help a great cause with me!

for my daughters sake and for someone you love who doesn’t yet know they have liver disease!

Hugs

Michelle Clermont, CHFI Guest Blogger

I was at my chiropractor’s a couple of times this week for my acupunture treatments to help with the tinnitus. He and I often have great discussions. This week we talked about the amount of toxins we are all exposed to in every single aspect of life. Neither he nor I are great proponents of synthetic drugs, although we acknowledge there is a time and place for some. It seems that there truly is a dichotomy between those who develop treatments for the good of mankind and those who do it for profit. Unfortunately, I think the latter may well have the upper hand. In any case, it means we all have to conscientiously live as healthy a lifestyle as possible given all the roadblocks we face. Good nutrition, avoid processed foods, exercise, laugh, find activities which de-stress and take every day one day at a time. Sounds easier than it really is! My weight this week has stayed the same…again! I can’t complain though. My youngest child turned 15 over the weekend and we had a family BBQ complete with beer and ice cream cake. I indulged in both and loved every minute of it. Plus I’m premenstrual, so water weight tends to be an issue as well.
Until next week…ciao!

Debby, CHFI Listener and Helath Challenge Blogger

I have two wonderful daughters who are in their twenties.  They live downtown and are both finished college/university.  I worry about them getting good jobs, hopefully in their preferred profession, so they can pay the bills and start paying off their student loans.  One daughter has a job but starts at 5:00 am, so I worry about her getting to work without getting mugged.  Are they taking care of themselves, eating properly and getting enough rest? (who am I kidding I know they aren’t getting enough sleep!)

It was easier when they were younger because I had more control over their environment and health.  I made sure they ate regularly and got to bed on time.  Now when I call them and leave a message if I don’t hear back from them by the next day I start worrying that something bad has happened to them. (In actual fact they are probably just too busy to return my call. ~sigh!~)

You would think with all this worrying I would have a lot of nervous energy and loose weight but it doesn’t work that way for me.  The only thing I can do is make sure that I take care of myself (eat properly, get enough exercise and rest) and trust that my girls will do the same.  And the answer to the question is “A mother never stops worrying!”

Hope everyone has a “worry free” week.

Susan, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

Saturday June 5th was the first day in 9 months that my 13 year old daughter was able to walk without any dizziness. Extreme vertigo had her wheelchair bound since September. I wrote about this day completely in my previous blog on WordPress that you can find at http://gethealthywithmichelle.wordpress.com

Today is Wednesday June 9th, and it is Megan’s 2nd day of no dizziness.  She is currently in the shower for the first time without my help in 9 months, she is getting ready to go to school and surprise her classmates and her teachers who have all watched her suffer and not be able to participate. She will be having such a special afternoon with her class , i hope this day is one she never forgets where she feels normal again at least for one day!

We don’t know why the dizziness is showing signs of leaving, it could be due to a change in diet, and exercise, it could be thanks to the Osteopath who has been treating her monthly with slight adjustments, maybe its that I took her off all the narcotics that doctors have prescribed in the last 2 years.

I don’t know but my god I am thankful!!! This means so much to us after 2 years that have not shown any true progress for Megan in her health.  Only declining …this is her climbing back out of the mess of issues that plague her body!

I am volunteering to speak for the Canadian Liver Foundation and as part of a fundraising effort I will be at a Father’s Day event at Boston Pizza in Brampton , walking 5k in September in the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon and I am looking for sponsors for that! Find out how you can run , walk or sponsor someone at http://www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com/en/charity.htm .

Search for Michelle Clermont to find my page on there. I will never stop fighting to help people with liver disease after seeing what it can do to a child. I have seen my daughters decline and  I know a 12 year old boy with fatty liver disease who is going in for surgery next week to have his appendix removed and a biopsy done.  There is no way that children should have to deal with this!  We need research and cures!

So I am counting on miracles for her liver disease in the long term and I am thankful for the miracles of today for the changes in her extreme vertigo…

Things are finally truly looking better! Things will finally shift enough to allow me to focus back on my health and losing the weight I set out to do this year!

Thank you for not giving up on me!

Michelle Clermont

I guess I should be greatful, after chickening out for my weigh-in last week, that this week my weight remained the same. Man is it ever hard to lose the next 10 I’d like to lose! I’m still battling with my tinnitus and floaters in my eyes which I have to say is bringing my spirit down. I have started acupunture again for the ringing in the ears. Hopefully this will help reduce the noise! I find it hard to concentrate on anything as a result!

On a more positive note, I can’t help but LOVE the wonderful weather we’re having! Last weekend my daughters, my mother and I scoured downtown looking for the perfect bridesmaids dresses for my girls. We struck out but enjoyed walking around in the glorious sunshine! The walking was great exercise…in fact I was stiff the following day. God! I really must be out of shape!

Until next week, live well!

Debby, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

I spent this past weekend on my own, which I thoroughly enjoyed!  Don’t get me wrong, I love my boyfriend and the life we share.  But I do like spending time on my own once in awhile, not having to worry about meals or sharing the remote. (I did have to take care of the dog and cat)  I had a manicure, got my hair cut and went shopping (mostly for groceries).  I did manage to get the housework done in between watching “girlie” movies.  Plus I had a nice visit with my daughters.  Being away from each other makes you realize how much you love and miss the other person. Needless to say I was happy when my boyfriend got home.

The weight is still coming off slowly, but I am down a size, which is great.  Luckily I still have clothes in this size.  But after I loss another 10 pounds I will have to buy some new clothes.  Now that’s something to look forward to!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Susan, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger