I’m often asked, “Kristi, how do you have so much energy?” I shared a couple of days ago about how having a wheelchair-bound husband with M.S. means that literally anything that happens in this house is my responsibility. He can’t help me with anything. Cooking, cleaning, organizing, taking care of our pets, sorting through mail, taking out the trash, taking care of Matt — that’s all on me. And that’s in addition to the DIY and remodeling projects I do on the house. And now, I also host and cook a meal for anywhere from 8 to 17 people once a week.
It’s a lot. And all of that requires a lot of energy. But energy is something I’ve felt was in very short supply over the last two years. In 2020, when the world spun out of control, I was like a whole lot of other people I know. I lived in constant stress. And I don’t mean normal, everyday stress. I mean “the world is going to end” kind of stress that a lot of people were feeling. I mean, let’s face it. 2020 was a stressful kind of year for just about the whole world, right?
And what do I do in response to stress? I eat. And eat. And eat some more. During 2020 alone, I gained 40 pounds, and I’ve been carrying around that extra 40 pounds (in addition to the weight that I already needed to lose) ever since then.
You don’t gain 40 pounds in a year by overeating broccoli and salads. You gain it by eating junk — lots of sugar and processed carbs. And when you gai 40 pounds by eating a steady stream of processed carbs, your energy completely tanks. And that is pretty much how I’ve felt ever since. I’ve been living in a constant state of exhaustion to the point that if I ever sat down for any length of time (to watch a TV show, to work at my computer, etc.), I would fall asleep. Just sheer exhaustion 24/7.
Well, this isn’t some sort of “and this is how I’ve lost 50 pounds” kind of post. Maybe later this year I’ll be able to share that. Hopefully. Not yet, though.
But I did want to share what I’ve been doing every morning, because it has made a HUGE difference in my energy!
Yesterday, I was in the home gym working and sanding trim. I got all of the wood filler/nail holes sanded, and I’m hoping to get the caulking done today so that I can get the trim painted this weekend. Here’s how it looks as of this morning…
But while I was working, I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I have so much energy!” And this has been a constant thought that I’ve had almost every day for about the last two weeks. And in the last two weeks, I’ve changed two things: (1) the food I’m eating, and (2) the vitamins and supplements I’m taking.
I honestly can’t tell you if it’s just one of these things giving me tons of energy lately, or if it’s all of these things working synergistically that makes the magic happen. All I can tell you is that over the last week-and-a-half, I feel like I’m running on jet fuel. I mean, I have boundless energy to the point that when it’s time to start closing up and night to get ready for bed (usually around 11:00pm), I’m disappointed because I feel so good that I don’t want to stop. I honestly can’t believe the difference.
So back to those two things that I’ve changed. First, my diet. I’m not following any kind of strict diet right now, but I am making a conscious effort to cut out the sugar, processed carbs, and seed oils. I think we’re all smart enough to know that a steady diet of Sonic, McDonald’s, chips, cake, and cookies is probably not doing us any favors, right? So I won’t belabor that point.
But then there’s my morning routine, which I think has made a HUGE difference. Every morning, our alarm goes off at 7:50, and we get up around 8:00. I get Cooper a snack, and put him outside in his yard, and then I get Matt out of bed and put him on his Theracycle. That’s about a 20-minute process. But once he’s on his Theracycle, that frees me up for an hour and 39 minutes.
Those 99 minutes are when I edit pictures, write my blog post, and if there’s time, I take a few minutes to quickly scroll Facebook and Twitter to see what’s going on in the world.
But before I sit down to edit pictures and write my blog post, I spend a few minutes in the kitchen taking vitamins and supplements, and I’m pretty sure that this is where the magic is happening lately. Here’s everything I’ve been taking consistently over the last two weeks. (This isn’t sponsored. None of these companies know I even exist. But since I do purchase a couple of them on Amazon, I’ve provided my Amazon affiliate links for them.)
Skinny Fit collagen — I’ve actually been taking this for a few months now. I had originally ordered Vital Proteins collagen, but it’s unflavored, and it seems to work better with hot drinks or smoothies. But I don’t drink hot drinks or smoothies. Every once in a while, I’d remember to add it to my food if I were eating soup or a stir fry or something else that it could easily be mixed into, but most often, I’d just forget.
So when I saw this Skinny Fit advertised, and saw that it came in some yummy flavors (the tropical fruit is my favorite) that could be mixed in water, I decided to try it. And it’s so good! It’s like my little morning treat that I look forward to, so I never forget it. They have 50% off sales quite often, and that’s the only time I’ll buy it.
It took about two months before I started noticing any differences, but I’ve definitely noticed differences since taking it. First, my joint pain is gone. I mean, you can’t gain 40 pounds in a year by eating junk and not expect that to affect your joints, right? So I had been experiencing joint pain for a while. After about two months of taking this, that pain went away.
I also noticed that the fine vertical lines above my top lip (those lines that lipstick always creeps into) are gone. And my hair is noticeably different. It looks and feels a whole lot thicker to the point that my mom even noticed and asked me what I was doing to my hair to make it looks thicker. Obviously, two months isn’t enough time for additional hair to grow in and grow as long as the rest of my hair, so all I can think of is that the collagen has actually changed the texture of my hair. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I can just pass along what I’ve experienced.
Anyway, I love this collagen, and because it’s so tasty, I never forget it. It’s my morning treat that I look forward to, and I sit here and sip on it while I edit pictures and write my blog post each morning.
I don’t have much to say about the rest, except that every one of these is part of my morning routine:
Mary Ruth’s liquid morning multivitamin. This showed up at our house from Amazon one day. Either Matt or I bought it, but neither of us remembers buying it. ? It was in our Amazon account, though, so one of us clicked that “Buy Now” button, obviously by accident. I’m glad, though! I’m going to keep on buying it.
Skinny Fit Skinny Gummies — These are apple cider vinegar gummies from the same company that makes the collagen. They’re an additional morning treat. I was expecting them to make me skinny, but so far, that hasn’t happened. ? (Just kidding, of course.) But apple cider vinegar is good for many things.
D3 — I don’t think I need to explain what Vitamin D is, or its benefits. Most of us should probably be taking D3 to benefit our immune systems.
Mary Ruth’s Lymphatic Support — I started taking this in hopes that it would help with inflammation. (Of course, getting rid of my fast food diet goes a long way to help that as well.) It definitely helps and makes me feel better, but this amazing woman also helps. If you want to learn more about your lymphatic system, reducing inflammation, dry brushing, etc., you should definitely follow her!
Vitamin B Complex Gummies — Matt bought these for himself, and then decided he didn’t want to take gummies because of the sugar. Ugh! I wasn’t going to throw away money, so I’m taking them. Once these are gone, I’ll probably switch over to a B complex capsule. B12 and B6 are known for giving an energy boost.
Green Tea Extract — A few years ago, I was getting so much done and always felt like I had a ton of energy, and all I was taking at that time was green tea extract. I haven’t been taking this for the full two weeks (it was a later addition just a couple of days ago), and I was already feeling full of energy when I added it. So I can’t attribute all of my energy to this, but I’m certain it will help based on my past experience.
So that’s everything I’m taking right now, and I wanted to pass those along to you in case you’re feeling like you could use an energy boost. I wish I could pinpoint one or two of them to which I could attribute my “running on jet fuel” feeling, but since I started this whole morning routine (minus the green tea extract) two weeks ago, and didn’t add them in one at time, I can’t pinpoint anything in particular.
All I know is that I have more energy than I’ve had in two years, and definitely more than I should while carrying around all of this extra weight. And my hope is that if I continue eating healthy, home cooked food, and stay away from the processed junk, this extra energy and movement throughout the day will lead to that extra weight coming off.
And, of course, our home gym will help with that! Which is why I need to focus a great deal of this energy into finishing that room ASAP.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I hope you’ll join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you want to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and have each new post delivered to your email inbox. That way you’ll never miss a thing!
