Category: General Weight Loss Tips

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General Weight Loss Tips

Getting Insured

I have something big to share. I’m buying group health insurance for myself and my husband starting in August. This is a big deal to me for many reasons. 1) I can stop worrying 2) family can stop worrying 3) this has been a freelance goal of mine for a year 4) I can get pregnant and not worry about not being covered 5) I found coverage!

And finally, pride. Pride because I found a way to make it happen. Do I think the health care system is corrupt and needs serious changes? Yes! But what I want and what is are two different things right now. I am writing this to help out those who may be thinking about the self-employment route, but are worried about not having health insurance. Here is what I’ve discovered:

1) Having an LLC between two people automatically qualifies you for group health insurance. Getting an LLC is pretty inexpensive and easy to do. Our LLC is not our main source of income, this isn’t an issue. Having group health insurace is guaranteed coverage at a group rate. Pre-existing conditions are not an issue here.

2) It’s more affordable. But not cheap. When I had a full-time job it would cost about $600 a month to bring my husband on to my plan. And another $250 a month when we have a child. When I left my job I qualified for COBRA for only 18 months at $550, just for me. Our policy now with full-coverage for $800 a month. Ouch. Yes. But, I couldn’t even get coverage as an individual. Another thing to consider is, is that this policy would be about $300 less when I’m no longer obese. How’s that for incentive?

3) Making the decision to make it happen. I realized that I needed to double my income to comfortably afford health insurance. I came up with a plan that works for me. This didn’t mean taking on hours upon hours of design work or killing myself to make more jewelry. It means that I have found a way to streamline my production and cutting back on excess (unpaid) work.

I have started writing freelance articles (improved writing skills!) that only adds about 15 hours to my already dedicated 10-12 per week. So by only working 25 hours a week I can afford all of my living expenses with room left over to pay down debt and save with some left over for fun stuff and travel.

This also leaves room for my creative projects, which is most important to me. It took a year to get to this point. Time organization and priorities can be tricky when you’re your own boss, but not impossible. I decided to stop spinning my wheels and make it happen.

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Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

Getting Insurance

I have something big to share. I’m buying group health insurance for myself and my husband starting in August. This is a big deal to me for many reasons. 1) I can stop worrying 2) family can stop worrying 3) this has been a freelance goal of mine for a year 4) I can get pregnant and not worry about not being covered 5) I found coverage!

And finally, pride. Pride because I found a way to make it happen. Do I think the health care system is corrupt and needs serious changes? Yes! But what I want and what is are two different things right now. I am writing this to help out those who may be thinking about the self-employment route, but are worried about not having health insurance. Here is what I’ve discovered:

1) Having an LLC between two people automatically qualifies you for group health insurance. Getting an LLC is pretty inexpensive and easy to do. Our LLC is not our main source of income, this isn’t an issue. Having group health insurace is guaranteed coverage at a group rate. Pre-existing conditions are not an issue here.

2) It’s more affordable. But not cheap. When I had a full-time job it would cost about $600 a month to bring my husband on to my plan. And another $250 a month when we have a child. When I left my job I qualified for COBRA for only 18 months at $550, just for me. Our policy now with full-coverage for $800 a month. Ouch. Yes. But, I couldn’t even get coverage as an individual. Another thing to consider is, is that this policy would be about $300 less when I’m no longer obese. How’s that for incentive?

3) Making the decision to make it happen. I realized that I needed to double my income to comfortably afford health insurance. I came up with a plan that works for me. This didn’t mean taking on hours upon hours of design work or killing myself to make more jewelry. It means that I have found a way to streamline my production and cutting back on excess (unpaid) work.

I have started writing freelance articles (improved writing skills!) that only adds about 15 hours to my already dedicated 10-12 per week. So by only working 25 hours a week I can afford all of my living expenses with room left over to pay down debt and save with some left over for fun stuff and travel.

This also leaves room for my creative projects, which is most important to me. It took a year to get to this point. Time organization and priorities can be tricky when you’re your own boss, but not impossible. I decided to stop spinning my wheels and make it happen.

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Categories
General Weight Loss Tips

Why Paleo

Thank you guys for the support on yesterday’s blog entry. After deciding to start a “no factory food week” and being introduced to Paleo, I thought it only made sense. Paleo is minimally processed (depending on what you choose to eat) and that is what appeals most to me. It isn’t “low carb” or meat heavy like the name shows it to be.

It’s not that I’m convinced scientifically that this way of eating is better because of our long ago ancestors, it appeals to me for it’s lack of crap. The thing that bothers me the most and something that I will have to deal with in the coming months is criticsm to trying something new. But here is what bothers me the most…

A sample day on Paleo (not unlike what today promises to be):

Breakfast: eggs and fruit

Lunch: some sort of mixed greens salad with roasted vegetables, olive oil and lemon dressing

Dinner: (we’re going to a cookout) grilled steak and vegetables, sweet potatoes

This is how I aim to eat no matter what I call my eating plan: counting calories, paleo, tomato, tomäto

Now if I announced I’M ON WEIGHT WATCHERS AGAIN, and decided to go the processed food route. No one would say anything.

Please help me to understand this mentality?

When I try something new that is different from what you do it’s not my way of saying, you’re doing it wrong. It has nothing to do with you. It’s my way I trying, again, to find something that I can do long-term to lose weight. How I lose weight has nothing to do with anyone else, but me. And when I’m successful, it won’t matter how I got there. When my blood test shows better numbers, when I’m less depressed, when I’m less foggy, when I don’t have to hide food or lie about food, when I’m not trying to stuff my feelings with food, when I can fit into an airplane seat without an extender or shop in any clothing store I like— that is what will matter the most. Not that I chose vegetables, meat and fruit. But, I can’t have all those precious things without making a real decision about how much and what I consume. A decision that is very hard for me to make when staring bread right in the eye when I know I can have it, but not too much. Maybe one day, but not today. I’ve known this for a very long time.

In my day to day life I noticed I was eating way too much processed foods. My sandwich thins, mayonnaise, pickles, meat that isn’t local, cereals, frozen meals, nutrition bars…I could go on. This doesn’t mean I won’t have organic-nitrate-free bacon or pure organic bars if I want it, but I want less ingredients in my life.

Just yesterday we switch our cat food to a more expensive brand. About a week ago I noticed one of our cats was (how shall I say) leaking. It was gross and smelly, so I took him to the vet. She told me that he needed more fiber in his diet. Fiber that he wasn’t getting from his very commercial (and cheap) cat food.

I looked at the ingredients of his new cat food and could pronounce every single ingredient: chicken, oats, sweet potatoes, kale…you get the picture. And then we went to compare it with his old cat food that was half the price and out of a paragraph of ingredients I could pronounce two: corn and soy. I was stunned. We decided it was cheaper in the long run to give them better food with less vet bills, so fancy cat food is where we went. This story is not unlike our own.

What is better for us? Not you. Not the guy down the street. But us. I struggle with my weight. I struggle with overeating. This is why I’m here. I’ve been here way too long to not be somewhere different. The food that consumes my thoughts the most are the same foods I shouldn’t be eating except on very rare occasions.

Allowing refined flours and sugars in my life doesn’t work for me. I want it to work, oh help me, if I could control myself around pizza, hamburgers (with the bun), cereals, bread and anything remotely sweet, I would have done it by now. I just can’t for longer than a few days. And then I’m consumed again.

I’ve been down a similar road before, yes, but this road is one with less meat, more vegetables, more fruits and more planning and creativity. This is not the time for sideways looks, questions, doubt… all I ask is this: if you don’t agree, keep it to yourself. Trust that I will find my way myself. Unsolicited advice does not look good on anyone, it says: you know better. you’re doing better. you make all the right decisions.

But do you know better for me?

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