Aloe plant

I’m back from my convention, and I’m all settled in. I’ve had a chance to weigh in, and I’ve gained four pounds.  It’s concerning, but not entirely unexpected.  I know what steps I need to take.  I’ll outline them below, but I also want to talk about something else I’m trying: the aloe water remedy.

What is the Aloe Water Remedy?

The Aloe Water Remedy is something I found in the great black hole that is Pinterest.  You can find the original video here.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  “But Jaye – aren’t you trying to get to a healthy point ‘for you’?  I’m ninety percent sure trying random potions concocted from Internet videos isn’t exactly helping you get there.”

Ah.  Yes.  About that.  I never promised you I’d be rational.

But look.  I’m trying this so you don’t have to.  At least you can see how I’m handling the remedy before you try it, right?

So the article describes this as containing ingredients you “probably have already.”  The voice in the video has an Indian accent, and maybe most Indian homes have pure aloe juice on hand.  I live in Boston.  I don’t have aloe juice on hand.

You want to know who has aloe juice on hand?  Amazon.  They’re a monopoly, but they’ve got what you need.

The other ingredients were easy to come by.  Okay, I’ve run out of honey due to poor planning and poor inventory control on my part.  But I’ll be fixing that on Friday.

Basically, you mix the drink.  You drink the drink.  You go about your day.

I’ve been doing this for four days now.  I know that aloe is supposed to have diuretic qualities.  I couldn’t say if it’s having much of an effect.  It’s supposed to “aid digestion,” which is usually a euphemism.  So far it’s had an opposite effect on me, but we’ll see how things shake out over the next month.  I’ll definitely keep you posted.  I can tell you the taste is fine.

Other Issues Surrounding Gain

I haven’t been able to move around as much as I’d like.  I’m dreadfully behind on work, which means my butt’s been in a chair instead of on the bike.  I did get my 10,000 steps in on Halloween night, which left me unable to move or work.  I don’t think I’ll be doing that again.

Sleep also hasn’t been coming to visit as easily.  A lot of that is the result of stress.  Again, I’m dreadfully behind.  My child care has skipped town, so that’s been an issue.  The end result is I’m staying up later to do work, which means I’m getting 4 – 5 hours of sleep instead of 7 – 9.

And we’ve already talked about how sleep affects me.

So I’m concerned, and I’m making more of an effort to get to bed.  I’m working hard to stay asleep too, which is a huge issue.

So I’m working to correct my course.  And I’m trying something new, just to see if it works.  I’m not putting all of my hopes on it, but I don’t lose much by trying it.  Hopefully I’ll be able to carve out some time for the exercise bike next week.