August 03, 2021

 So, here I am.  I've been having a desire to post here.  I know this blog started as a healthy lifestyle reporting place but it seems to have morphed into a group journal or something.  Anyway, I like to read the posts.  I have a couple of goals to report right now.  One is that for 12 years I've been trying to find someone to help me with my hormone issues, etc. and as you all know I have finally found someone in Park City, Dr. Nielsen at the Nielsen Clinic.  He is amazing!!!!  But I'm very motivated to follow his advice because I feel like I finally know what's wrong with me health wise and he's teaching me how to fix it.  I have been on the diet he prescribed for almost 10 weeks now (I can only eat vegetables of all kinds, whole fruit, eggs, nuts, chicken, turkey and fish.  So no grains, no dairy, no sugar of any type, no red meats, no fruit juices, no nitrates).  Although weight loss was not the main goal in the beginning, it is a side benefit and it's very exciting to me since I've been trying to lose weight for the 12 years and been extremely discouraged about it with not much success.  So far I've lost 15-16 pounds.  I started with my weight at basically 190 (about 30 pounds more than I ever weighed 9 months pregnant).  Dad and I go to the gym three times a week where I walk on the treadmill, stretch and do a toning circuit, nothing too strenuous because of my adrenal exhaustion.  But I also can weigh myself there on one of those weighted scales that seem to be most accurate.  So as of Monday I weighed 175.  My goal is to get down to 121 within the next year.  So far I seem to be losing 1 and 1/2 pounds a week.  So far I haven't blatantly cheated on my diet, but I've accidentally had little bits of things I shouldn't a few times.  The food I'm eating is delicious and my body is really loving it!

The other goal I've had lately that I will write about is to relearn to make mayonnaise, especially since I can't find ANY in the store that doesn't have sugar in it.  I've made about 10 batches in the last 2 months with none of them emulsifying properly.  It's been so frustrating because I've made dozens of successful batches and taught a few classes and several individuals how to make it.  I couldn't figure it out until in my research I read that maybe the eggs aren't fresh enough.  So I called around my ward to see if anyone had fresh eggs.  All I found was a family that sold fresh quail eggs.  So I bought 18 of them.  I've made two half recipe batches (which takes 6 quail eggs) and they have worked like a charm!!  I'm so excited about it!!  Of course, not as excited as when I first learned to make it.  Now I know that all those times I had failed mayonnaise in the past it was likely that the eggs were too old.