Still Going

It hasn't been a really productive few weeks in the weight loss department but I am focusing heavily on the exercise. I am at the gym at least 4 times a week and doing a minimum of 60 minutes a day of cardio and then lots of weights. I know my size is changing and I am shrinking even if the scale doesn't necessarily say so right now. I bought a pair of pants two weeks ago and already they are too big.

I still have about 15 more pounds to go but I feel a lot healthier and on the right track. I have not had soda in 6.5 weeks and that alone is a worthy jump in the right direction.

I have been sticking strictly to my Weight Watcher points and expect that any day I will be dropping another pound or two. I think all the increase in the exercise is probably helping me to change shape more than anything right now and that in the next week or so the scale will start reflecting those changes as well.

DONE...

Well, not technically but with the diet portion I am DONE. After Monday and seeing such little results in the previous 10 days and frustration hitting a peak I decided to bag it. I can lose 1-2 pounds a week on Weight Watchers eating and still eat REAL food!

Now I am not bashing the diet itself. It really did work. I lost a total of 14.5 pounds in one month on it. It also helped me to get off the Diet Coke and be determined to eat healthier. I really feel like it has helped reset my insulin levels and hopefully that also means my thyroid and metabolism as well.

I started doing Weight Watcher eating rules on Tuesday, June 9. In the three days since, I have lost 2.5 more pounds. Go figure! Oh it reminds me that even healthy food tastes good. When you have been so deprived for so long, good food sounds fantastic. I am going to stay off the Diet Coke for sure. I have tried to eat only whole grains and brown rice when I have to eat carbs. I know that won't stay like that 100% but if I live that rule 90% of the time, then I should do fine.

I started my real journey with losing weight on April 9. To date I am at 20.6 pounds down! YEAH!!! Only 12 more to go before I am in healthy range. My scale says my Body Fat has gone down 4%. I have no clue how it knows or even how reliable it is but a loss is a loss.

It feels good to not feel like a big round balloon. I know I have more to lose but I can feel a significant difference and my self esteem is rising with each pound down. I still had a lady ask me in church if I was pregnant (something I haven't had asked in quite a while) and I started crying. I didn't lose 20 pounds to be asked if I was pregnant. Oh well...

Here's to another week and a few more pounds! I am 1 pound away from seeing numbers on the scale that will surely make me cry! YEAH!!!

Day ?

I honestly don't know what day I am on. I just know that in 14 days I move on to the next phase of the diet. I have not been really good for a few days as traveling and family gatherings make this whole thing tough. And, once again, I spent a very sleepless night with digestive issues from eating bad yesterday. I am trying hard to remember that it's ok to fall off the wagon as long as we get back on tomorrow. I think the worst thing about this diet is that it goes against my philosophy of "moderation in all things." There is NO moderation with this. I know that when you tell your body there is something it can't have, it just wants it more. I will be glad to get off the diet and start incorporating some more moderation.

I have now been 29 days with NO DIET COKE!!!! In fact I have only had a small 8 ounce cup of homemade root beer last week at a church party. Other than that, it's been all water and fresh squeezed lemonade. I really don't plan to go back to pop. I think I might order a fresh lemonade or strawberry lemonade occasionally when we eat out. I am pretty sure that if I allow myself even one Diet Coke I will not be able to stop...so better not to start.

To date I have lost 18.4 pounds since April 9. YEAH!!!! I am hoping to get down at least 5 more in the next two weeks. I think that is fairly safe number to hope for. I am happy to see the down hill side of this insane diet. I think I might do it again but I would do the 23 day version instead of the 40. 40 is just too long and too difficult.

Day 20-Something

Lessons Learned from the Trenches

Well, it has been an interesting week this past week. I have never felt more like Eve in the Garden of Eden and being tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. It has been nuts! As of Friday I hit a low of 12.4 pounds lost on this journey and then I let Satan get the best of me and I chose to throw the diet out the window for a few days while my sister was here. While I didn't eat horrible, my choices are now making me pay dearly. I can't remember feeling so lousy in all my life. Friday I blew it a little and yesterday I ate FRENCH FRIES....GASP!!!! Now while Kim and I shared a meal at Training Table yesterday (and still no Diet Coke for me) the oils and grease have turned my stomach upside down. Or perhaps it was a glass of the homemade root beer at the ward party in all it's sugar glory...I don't know. All I know is that it is 3:50 a.m. and I feel like garbage.

I will not and cannot blame my bad choices on my visiting sister, family BBQ or Makynlee's birthday party. And even though I know this little falling off the wagon will set back my weight loss, I have learned a few things and am actually kind of glad it has happened. I know a little of how Eve must have felt when she said "it is better to pass through sorrow so we can know the joy" kind of thing. I may feel sicker than a dog tonight but this choice was mine and these are my consequences and believe me, this is going to make it a whole lot easier just to stick with the diet. It was crazy how quickly all those oils and greases have gone through my system...not a fun feeling.

Another thing I am learning is that my insulin is getting low and steady YEAH!!!! What a grand discovery to know that I haven't had any really bad hypoglycemia episodes at all in these past 3 weeks. No sugar means no over-competitive insulin. I can now see why you still aren't supposed to incorporate sugar until after the 3 week maintenance period. I hope I haven't sabotaged the whole experience. I know that I will do the 23 day session again instead of the 40 days. 6 weeks is just too long. Two shorter sessions would have been more doable. Oh but what I have learned. As hard and hellish as this has been, my brain is slowly switching gears. I want to eat only to live. A fresh squeezed lemonade is better than a Diet Coke. So even though the scale is not going to be nice to me for probably another week, I have to say it really has been a good thing for me to start to realize.

Here's to another week and doing better and feeling MUCH better once all this garbage rids my system!

Since April 9th my WL total is 16 pounds.

Day 16

Well, I was down 8.4 pounds as of this morning and then I just caved and had a few handfuls of popcorn tonight at the movie theater. My stomach is protesting in a BIG way but my taste buds were totally going bonkers. So I am sure my weight loss will suffer from this lack of will power from tonight but the available food I have to eat is just lacking in variety. I made it through Makynlee's birthday without even so much as licking a beater of the frosting or popping an m&m from her cake. I made a baked apple while everyone else ate cake and ice cream.

Here's hoping Week 3 will be good!

Day 13

Still stuck at 7 pounds on this hard diet. On a good note though, I am at almost 11 pounds down since I started getting serious about losing weight on April 9th.

The diet is getting easier but food is sure tough to enjoy when there just isn't a huge variety. I read that I could eat dried fruit but I am finding that my weight has not lost or has even rose on the day after eating dried apples. I ate the appropriate serving size for them but apparently the calories are higher in dried fruit than fresh. I have no clue why that is. If you just remove the water from an apple, then why are there more calories in that same apple?

I have been exercising every day but nothing too extreme.

Day 10

Down a total of 7 pounds today! Woo hoo. The thing I am struggling with the most of temptations of every sort. BriAnna made cookies last night and their smell assaulted my poor withering taste buds. I resisted of course and was happy to see the scale jump down 1.8 pounds this morning from yesterday.

The hardest part of this whole experience is finding a variety of way to eat the same foods over and over. Yesterday was a tough day as I just wasn't hungry at all. I don't know if it's the hormone shot that is keeping me feeling full or what, but I just have a hard time eating. Perhaps I know how much effort has to go into preparing each meal an that makes it hard too. Today I am going to grill a burger loaded with spices so I am excited about that.

Another challenge is finding time to prepare my own meals along with the rest of the family's food. The other night I made waffles for them and wow, the craving to lick the batter bowl as unreal. I love waffle batter! I resisted. I have not cheated once this week at all.

As tough as this is, I can see that the pounds are falling off. Even the inches are starting to show (on the measuring tape). I haven't noticed a huge difference in fit in my clothes yet but I am sure I will as this next week progresses. I find that I am changing how I feel a little about food. Right now food is merely fuel, nothing else really. So I am basically eating to live. Not the other way around. I hope to find a happy balance someday where I can still enjoy food AND remember that it is only fuel. It has been 7 days now without a Diet Coke and although I would love to have one, I am not as all consumed with the need for one. We'll see how things progress and if I ever drink one again. I am more concerned with the Aspartame than anything.