I refuse to get on bandwagons: Paleo, Clean, Crossfit, Coconut Oil … ok, I may have bought and used coconut oil in recipes, but I’m not a devout follower.

However, this year, the sad reality sunk in. I’m 39 and high blood pressure runs in my family. It runs so well that I’ve had it for about a year and I have to be on medication for it. I’ll be honest. I hate that.

I half-heartedly decided my goal for 2015 would be to get off the medication. It’s one pill, once a day, but still too much for me.

I then talked myself into joining Weight Watchers. It’s been slow weight loss, but I’ve been realizing, every time I actually track my points, that I need to make a change to my eating habits. I can’t just sit and hope, wish and want things to get fixed. I need to act.

So I’ve been dabbling in Overnight Oats and Nutriblasts and 100 Days of Real Food’s slow cooked refried beans. Each attempt has been successful, delicious and encouraging.

That’s HUGE for someone who really could care less about being in a kitchen around sharp objects and intense heat.

Just a few years ago, my hubby and I were inspired by our generally healthy Northern California surroundings, to try something called the #Unprocessed October Challenge. Andrew Wilder on his Eating Rules blog issued the challenge to eat unprocessed, “real” food for the month of October.

We tried it. Didn’t last the whole month. But we felt better, lost a bit of weight & wondered why we didn’t eat like that more often. It was GREAT!

Then life got busy, we forgot about the challenge, laughed at the idea of meal planning and grocery shopping … and here we are today.

At a glance, it’s a major overhaul to try this challenge now. We often eat out. I drink Starbucks mochas & Pepsi pretty much every day. But I also have high blood pressure and I don’t want that anymore.

The stats for heart disease in women are scarier than walking into the Halloween SuperStore at the strip mall. The American Heart Association says one in three women die of heart disease. That’s scary. For Latina women, the numbers are scarier. And I’m puertorrican.

I want to live as long as God would allow–and I pray it’s a LONG time for me and my family. I’m asking for His help to turn things around.

And I know it’s been said way too many times without great results, but …

…Starting tomorrow (for real) my family is taking on a new challenge.

It’s a combination #Unprocessed October with 100 Days of Real Food (31 day trial) Challenge, and with God’s help & lots of prayer, I will post & share our journey.

My story, like Weight Watchers says, will have ups and downs, but it’s MY weight-loss-family-health-improvement-story and I honestly can’t wait to write it.

Thanks for following along! To health!

~Coppelia