Well..... what an interesting week in terms of weight loss vs. fat loss.
So I'm doing really well on IP. I'm really proud to say my 'cheats' have been in the fat department, not sugar. I don't crave sugar. I crave salt and crunchy stuff so that's pretty easy to fix. My biggest cheat has been to eat 2 pieces of bacon at dinner. Technically, bacon is too fatty on the IP plan but even my fabulous coach has told me she'll eat a piece of bacon now and then. Well folks, I had two and I still lost 5 lbs this week! Go figure.....
So results of my fat loss went in reverse. Women who are at 'that time' of the month have hormones going in all sorts of directions and believe it or not, it can mess with the $5000 fancy scale the office uses. My coach said to completely ignore the reading as it'll settle back down as soon as my hormones do. Interesting.... so I have no reading to show in that department other than a gain. Since I have eaten little fat and my body is in ketosis it's impossible for me to have gained fat. I'll just be patient and wait a week for a better reading.
I did lose more inches though! I've lost another 3.5 inches for a total of 11.5 inches for the month. I know some women lose a lot more inches but I think I've done well losing 17 lbs in 26 days! The magic of low carb/low fat/no sugar living! Woot!
I still have another day before it's the end of my 4th week so I look forward to weighing myself on Monday morning to see what my own official loss is for the month. I know my scale isn't 100% but it's close and I think I am okay quoting it!
Now it's time for lunch! :-)
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Trina's book of revelations
Well.... I keep saying my scale has to be off at least a little. I don't know if I'm trying to not be disappointed since the scale at my IP office always reads a lb. heavier but I realized that I go in after I eat breakfast, drink 2 cups of coffee and at least 24-32 oz of water so it's inevitable that I'll weigh heavier!
It's also a little confusing since I technically weigh in 2 days earlier than the ends of my week. In the grand scheme of things, I guess it really doesn't matter because I'm losing weight! It freaks me out how fast this process can be IF your body is ready for it. I know that eating right has 100% to do with losing weight. Yes, exercise matters too but you have to fuel your body correctly or it doesn't matter. If you don't eat enough calories, your exercise can send you into starvation mode and not burn fat. If you eat a lot of carbs, well then you're out of ketosis and your body will really only use all the carbs in your body. A certain amount of carbs is necessary for maintaining your blood sugar so your body can function but carb loading should only be done by people who are training their bodies for extreme exercise, marathons, football games, etc. Granted, we all need to enjoy life and our food so carb loading will happen. I certainly was a carb loader and that's part of the reason why I have gained so much weight in 10 years. All the sugar going into my body had no where to go so it turned into fat.
How refreshing it is to be eating so little sugar and to not want it! To think that my carb load is so diminished that my own body is choosing to use the fat that's been there for so long! I still think back to my 12 year old self and remember looking at my little belly pooch (I was fairly developed by 12-13) and thinking how fat I was! I really wasn't.... I was pretty thin back then! I've looked at other pics of myself at 19, at 25, at 32 and even at 40 and I wasn't fat. I was comparing myself to models, dancers, singers and movie stars though and compared to them I looked bigger. How crazy can the media be? I was never bulimic but I certainly think I had body dysmorphic disorder and some anorexia. I think I went to the other extreme too and just used food to hide and self-medicate.
So, all this revelation at 50? Better late than never, right? It is amazing to see how I used food and how I look at myself all these years later. I'm starting to become happy, really happy which hasn't been the case for about 10 years. My poor husband has had to deal with a wife who's been depressed (I lost my dad 10 years ago and tragically lost my mom 2 years ago), lost my supposed dream job, have been unemployed for some time, gained 40+ lbs and a lot of health issues from it. The only great thing that happened to me was getting married and adopting our precious 4-legged furry kids. Even that didn't carry me out of my depression though. It has taken my getting out of this carb driven fog to finally start feeling better!
Hallelujah! It feels really good to crawl out from under this rock of depression! 10 years worth of depression! Holy moly, this feels really good! Now, to get my focus back so I can get my head in the game and find a job that I love and deserve!
Oh yeah....back to my scale. It says I've lost 15.1 lbs since signing up for IP on July 25th! I didn't start the program until August 5 but I'm still down 15.1 lbs! WOOT! I won't advertise the exact losses on my FB page because I already have people sabotaging me. I know they don't mean it, but it still hurts. People will always question IP, Medi-fast and other low carb/no sugar diets because of the speed at which people lose weight. It's fine if you do but if you're not a scientist or doctor that studies this subject just lay off all of us that are trying to do things our way, okay? Low carb/no sugar is the right thing for me to do so as long as we can afford to keep me on this plan, I'm doing it. My goal is about 50 lbs total but the number may change dependent on my body fat. I'm really going by that more than anything. I don't care what my final weight is as long as my body fat is in the healthy range!
It's also a little confusing since I technically weigh in 2 days earlier than the ends of my week. In the grand scheme of things, I guess it really doesn't matter because I'm losing weight! It freaks me out how fast this process can be IF your body is ready for it. I know that eating right has 100% to do with losing weight. Yes, exercise matters too but you have to fuel your body correctly or it doesn't matter. If you don't eat enough calories, your exercise can send you into starvation mode and not burn fat. If you eat a lot of carbs, well then you're out of ketosis and your body will really only use all the carbs in your body. A certain amount of carbs is necessary for maintaining your blood sugar so your body can function but carb loading should only be done by people who are training their bodies for extreme exercise, marathons, football games, etc. Granted, we all need to enjoy life and our food so carb loading will happen. I certainly was a carb loader and that's part of the reason why I have gained so much weight in 10 years. All the sugar going into my body had no where to go so it turned into fat.
How refreshing it is to be eating so little sugar and to not want it! To think that my carb load is so diminished that my own body is choosing to use the fat that's been there for so long! I still think back to my 12 year old self and remember looking at my little belly pooch (I was fairly developed by 12-13) and thinking how fat I was! I really wasn't.... I was pretty thin back then! I've looked at other pics of myself at 19, at 25, at 32 and even at 40 and I wasn't fat. I was comparing myself to models, dancers, singers and movie stars though and compared to them I looked bigger. How crazy can the media be? I was never bulimic but I certainly think I had body dysmorphic disorder and some anorexia. I think I went to the other extreme too and just used food to hide and self-medicate.
So, all this revelation at 50? Better late than never, right? It is amazing to see how I used food and how I look at myself all these years later. I'm starting to become happy, really happy which hasn't been the case for about 10 years. My poor husband has had to deal with a wife who's been depressed (I lost my dad 10 years ago and tragically lost my mom 2 years ago), lost my supposed dream job, have been unemployed for some time, gained 40+ lbs and a lot of health issues from it. The only great thing that happened to me was getting married and adopting our precious 4-legged furry kids. Even that didn't carry me out of my depression though. It has taken my getting out of this carb driven fog to finally start feeling better!
Hallelujah! It feels really good to crawl out from under this rock of depression! 10 years worth of depression! Holy moly, this feels really good! Now, to get my focus back so I can get my head in the game and find a job that I love and deserve!
Oh yeah....back to my scale. It says I've lost 15.1 lbs since signing up for IP on July 25th! I didn't start the program until August 5 but I'm still down 15.1 lbs! WOOT! I won't advertise the exact losses on my FB page because I already have people sabotaging me. I know they don't mean it, but it still hurts. People will always question IP, Medi-fast and other low carb/no sugar diets because of the speed at which people lose weight. It's fine if you do but if you're not a scientist or doctor that studies this subject just lay off all of us that are trying to do things our way, okay? Low carb/no sugar is the right thing for me to do so as long as we can afford to keep me on this plan, I'm doing it. My goal is about 50 lbs total but the number may change dependent on my body fat. I'm really going by that more than anything. I don't care what my final weight is as long as my body fat is in the healthy range!
Monday, August 26, 2013
IP: Week 3 done!
Today starts Day 22 or Week 4!
I honestly didn't know if I'd get to this day. It's been written that it takes 21-30 days to create a habit but it can take a lifetime to break one. So my eating lifestyle has been crazy and sporadic throughout the years. I don't think I'll ever stop battling the bad food cycle. But I do think I've learned some things in 3 weeks and that I've gained a lot more confidence in myself in terms of making good food choices. That's a huge thing to me. I have always been obsessive about food. When there's something I want to eat I can't think about anything else. If I make a pan of brownies I guarantee you half the pan will be gone in a day. I love Japanese food so I can eat a ton of it. I like potatoes and bread more than sweets so chips, bread slathered in butter, a scone, hash browns, mashed potatoes are like heaven to me. But TODAY I don't want those foods (well, except for the Japanese food! I love sashimi, sushi, tonkatsu and sukiyaki!) right now. I actually don't miss it and don't crave it. I want to hurry up and be done with the initial weight loss so I can transition back to real foods 100% of the time but it's not so I can eat those specific foods. I just want to be able to eat normally and prove that I can do this for the rest of my life.
I talked about my skewed body image in a previous blog. I want to get this excess fat on my body off so that I'm at a healthy body fat percentage and then eat to maintain my healthy weight, whatever that number turns out to be. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy. I want my cholesterol and blood sugar and blood pressure numbers to all be normal. I want most of my body aches, pains to be gone. I want to not be addicted to sugar. I want to love exercise again. I want to be able to wear a bathing suit with pride. I want to hike a tall mountain. I want to go on a cruise to a tropical place and wear summer clothes and be comfortable in them.
I am happy to say I have not cheated on this program. I am really proud of what I've accomplished so far. I never thought I could resist foods before. I have never stopped craving sugar or starchy foods before. But as of today I have.
So as of today (based on my scale) I've lost 13.2 lbs and my body fat percentage is down 3%! The fancy scale at IHC says I've lost 8lbs of fat and my measurements say I've lost 8" overall. Pretty exciting stuff!
I honestly didn't know if I'd get to this day. It's been written that it takes 21-30 days to create a habit but it can take a lifetime to break one. So my eating lifestyle has been crazy and sporadic throughout the years. I don't think I'll ever stop battling the bad food cycle. But I do think I've learned some things in 3 weeks and that I've gained a lot more confidence in myself in terms of making good food choices. That's a huge thing to me. I have always been obsessive about food. When there's something I want to eat I can't think about anything else. If I make a pan of brownies I guarantee you half the pan will be gone in a day. I love Japanese food so I can eat a ton of it. I like potatoes and bread more than sweets so chips, bread slathered in butter, a scone, hash browns, mashed potatoes are like heaven to me. But TODAY I don't want those foods (well, except for the Japanese food! I love sashimi, sushi, tonkatsu and sukiyaki!) right now. I actually don't miss it and don't crave it. I want to hurry up and be done with the initial weight loss so I can transition back to real foods 100% of the time but it's not so I can eat those specific foods. I just want to be able to eat normally and prove that I can do this for the rest of my life.
I talked about my skewed body image in a previous blog. I want to get this excess fat on my body off so that I'm at a healthy body fat percentage and then eat to maintain my healthy weight, whatever that number turns out to be. I don't want to be skinny, I want to be healthy. I want my cholesterol and blood sugar and blood pressure numbers to all be normal. I want most of my body aches, pains to be gone. I want to not be addicted to sugar. I want to love exercise again. I want to be able to wear a bathing suit with pride. I want to hike a tall mountain. I want to go on a cruise to a tropical place and wear summer clothes and be comfortable in them.
I am happy to say I have not cheated on this program. I am really proud of what I've accomplished so far. I never thought I could resist foods before. I have never stopped craving sugar or starchy foods before. But as of today I have.
So as of today (based on my scale) I've lost 13.2 lbs and my body fat percentage is down 3%! The fancy scale at IHC says I've lost 8lbs of fat and my measurements say I've lost 8" overall. Pretty exciting stuff!
Friday, August 23, 2013
IP: Day 18
It's been normal around here as I continue to get used to the IP protocol. I finally got brave and took on cooking cauliflower in a new way since my coaches at IHC were praising the wonders of it as a substitute for rice, for applesauce, mashed potatoes and even a pudding!
I tried making 'fried rice' last night and dang if it wasn't one of the yummiest things I've ever eaten! I would have never known it was a vegetable! I didn't add meat to it (I almost always have ham in mine) but it was okay without it! Of course, I couldn't use all of my traditional sauces/flavorings that I use in regular fried rice because of the sugar but I still enjoyed this very much. The whole family enjoyed it too.... that made it even better!
I'll probably try to do a mashed potato dish with them next time. I don't 'miss' potatoes like I thought I would, but I like the idea of enjoying veggies in a different way. I am still not supposed to be using butter so I will have to work that one out.
I weighed myself and my Fitbit scale says I've lost almost 13 lbs! Granted, I think my scale reads lower than the one at IHC so I will keep my excitement down until I get weighed tomorrow morning. Still.... I'm on day 18 and every morning my scale has dipped down. I know there will come a time when the scale will not budge but the inches keep coming off but for now I am enjoying seeing all my hard work coming to fruition daily!
I'm still in my 'largest' size of pants but they are getting looser. I did my own measurements this morning and of course the most inches have come off the bust! I really want my waist, belly, thighs and hips to whittle down and I know they will but I'm always the impatient one! From what I can tell, my top has shifted into 'Medium' land (Hurray!) but my waist and hips are still an 'XL'. I don't know my original measurements so I hope to see some numeric results in the right direction!
My husband is planning to take his mom and me to our local Hawaiian restaurant Saturday night for dinner to celebrate my ongoing weight loss. Can't wait because they serve an IP menu so I don't have to worry! Last time there I had Kalua Pork (which is amazing, I might add) but I'm thinking I'll be enjoying some chicken this go round!
I tried making 'fried rice' last night and dang if it wasn't one of the yummiest things I've ever eaten! I would have never known it was a vegetable! I didn't add meat to it (I almost always have ham in mine) but it was okay without it! Of course, I couldn't use all of my traditional sauces/flavorings that I use in regular fried rice because of the sugar but I still enjoyed this very much. The whole family enjoyed it too.... that made it even better!
I'll probably try to do a mashed potato dish with them next time. I don't 'miss' potatoes like I thought I would, but I like the idea of enjoying veggies in a different way. I am still not supposed to be using butter so I will have to work that one out.
I weighed myself and my Fitbit scale says I've lost almost 13 lbs! Granted, I think my scale reads lower than the one at IHC so I will keep my excitement down until I get weighed tomorrow morning. Still.... I'm on day 18 and every morning my scale has dipped down. I know there will come a time when the scale will not budge but the inches keep coming off but for now I am enjoying seeing all my hard work coming to fruition daily!
I'm still in my 'largest' size of pants but they are getting looser. I did my own measurements this morning and of course the most inches have come off the bust! I really want my waist, belly, thighs and hips to whittle down and I know they will but I'm always the impatient one! From what I can tell, my top has shifted into 'Medium' land (Hurray!) but my waist and hips are still an 'XL'. I don't know my original measurements so I hope to see some numeric results in the right direction!
My husband is planning to take his mom and me to our local Hawaiian restaurant Saturday night for dinner to celebrate my ongoing weight loss. Can't wait because they serve an IP menu so I don't have to worry! Last time there I had Kalua Pork (which is amazing, I might add) but I'm thinking I'll be enjoying some chicken this go round!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
IP: Day 16 done!
I'm probably going to start writing in weekly increments but I just wanted to write about the struggles that go along with this plan.
I'm still on target as far as I can tell. The scale keeps dipping down steadily in quarter/half lb increments and I'm hoping this week shows a bigger loss because of the time of the month issue. I am assuming I've got at least a lb of water sticking to me and I want it to go away now!
I can totally tell I'm in ketosis. That's the weird part. My taste buds are different. I am tasting something that isn't there but I know it's a symptom of ketosis so I won't complain. I am generally alert and awake, even if I had a late night or little sleep the night before. This feels really great, actually. I am finding myself to be hungrier these past couple of days. I'm thinking my snack may either have to move to earlier OR I have to do dinner earlier and have my snack at rehearsal. I'll talk to my coach about it and see if there's anyway to help avoid that boredom/craving thing. The odd thing is, even though I'm hungry I'm not wanting candy or chips or crap. I just want protein! What I want out of the chips and such is salt and crunchy texture. I'm wondering if I shouldn't space out my lunch (which happens to be my Southwest cheese curls which I LOVE!) so that the crunch and the spice lasts a little longer?
As far as I can tell, I'm hovering between 10.5-11 lb weight loss. I'm hoping I wake up to good news and see me slipping into another decade lower on the scale. It's only 2 lbs away!
The only other thing that's making me grumpy is that I am not close to shifting into a different size. I guess I was really cramming this fat body into a size too small. That makes me feel slightly ashamed as I didn't realize how overweight I was/am. I do now.... but at least approximately 11 lbs of it is already gone! And the cute jeans that were so uncomfortable are now super comfy and loose through the waist, hips and thighs! I still look forward to having to give those cute jeans away though!
I know I should be happy and deep down, I am. I'm proud of making it through 16 days and look forward to the progress I will make over the next 6-8 weeks! I will get my weight checked in 4 days so I'm crossing my fingers that this week is a super productive week for weight loss! I hope the hunger diminishes over the next day or so..... I could see how tempting snacking could really be if I had been feeling weak!
Oh yeah, the other cool thing I noticed today is that my neck and jawline looked a little more streamlined! I have hated my full face and double chin for ages and I am going to be so happy to say goodbye to that!
I'm still on target as far as I can tell. The scale keeps dipping down steadily in quarter/half lb increments and I'm hoping this week shows a bigger loss because of the time of the month issue. I am assuming I've got at least a lb of water sticking to me and I want it to go away now!
I can totally tell I'm in ketosis. That's the weird part. My taste buds are different. I am tasting something that isn't there but I know it's a symptom of ketosis so I won't complain. I am generally alert and awake, even if I had a late night or little sleep the night before. This feels really great, actually. I am finding myself to be hungrier these past couple of days. I'm thinking my snack may either have to move to earlier OR I have to do dinner earlier and have my snack at rehearsal. I'll talk to my coach about it and see if there's anyway to help avoid that boredom/craving thing. The odd thing is, even though I'm hungry I'm not wanting candy or chips or crap. I just want protein! What I want out of the chips and such is salt and crunchy texture. I'm wondering if I shouldn't space out my lunch (which happens to be my Southwest cheese curls which I LOVE!) so that the crunch and the spice lasts a little longer?
As far as I can tell, I'm hovering between 10.5-11 lb weight loss. I'm hoping I wake up to good news and see me slipping into another decade lower on the scale. It's only 2 lbs away!
The only other thing that's making me grumpy is that I am not close to shifting into a different size. I guess I was really cramming this fat body into a size too small. That makes me feel slightly ashamed as I didn't realize how overweight I was/am. I do now.... but at least approximately 11 lbs of it is already gone! And the cute jeans that were so uncomfortable are now super comfy and loose through the waist, hips and thighs! I still look forward to having to give those cute jeans away though!
I know I should be happy and deep down, I am. I'm proud of making it through 16 days and look forward to the progress I will make over the next 6-8 weeks! I will get my weight checked in 4 days so I'm crossing my fingers that this week is a super productive week for weight loss! I hope the hunger diminishes over the next day or so..... I could see how tempting snacking could really be if I had been feeling weak!
Oh yeah, the other cool thing I noticed today is that my neck and jawline looked a little more streamlined! I have hated my full face and double chin for ages and I am going to be so happy to say goodbye to that!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
IP: Day 14
Well.....just finishing up my first two weeks on IP! I think I've done well, considering I've had to go out for dinner 3 times and attend a wedding reception! I even had a reception today that I was supposed to attend but we were a little overloaded with too much to do so I'm secretly (well, not so secretly I guess) glad that I didn't have to battle a table full of potluck today.
When I weighed myself this morning I was down 11 lbs. Granted, I still don't know if my scale is accurate but I know it's close to the fancy one at IHC. I just figure mine is within a lb. of that dandy gadget so I'll go with what I read on that scale!
I can't believe I'm saying this but even though I 'want' to eat a sweet treat (just saw a blog post for cremè brulèe fudge! OMG!) or a piece of good French bread with butter I'm not craving it. Does that make sense at all? My mind totally remembers the taste and the texture of that piece of bread with the butter and keeps telling me how delicious it would taste. But I can honestly say my stomach is NOT asking for it at all. It's really, really strange not wanting the very things that I used to obsess over.
Life isn't perfect with IP yet though. I'm still eating erratically because of crazy schedules so I am just finishing my 'snack'. It's late....and I really shouldn't be eating after 8pm. But at least I can say I managed to get the last of my veggies in my belly with this last plateful of sautèed kale I just finished. ;-)
When I weighed myself this morning I was down 11 lbs. Granted, I still don't know if my scale is accurate but I know it's close to the fancy one at IHC. I just figure mine is within a lb. of that dandy gadget so I'll go with what I read on that scale!
I can't believe I'm saying this but even though I 'want' to eat a sweet treat (just saw a blog post for cremè brulèe fudge! OMG!) or a piece of good French bread with butter I'm not craving it. Does that make sense at all? My mind totally remembers the taste and the texture of that piece of bread with the butter and keeps telling me how delicious it would taste. But I can honestly say my stomach is NOT asking for it at all. It's really, really strange not wanting the very things that I used to obsess over.
Life isn't perfect with IP yet though. I'm still eating erratically because of crazy schedules so I am just finishing my 'snack'. It's late....and I really shouldn't be eating after 8pm. But at least I can say I managed to get the last of my veggies in my belly with this last plateful of sautèed kale I just finished. ;-)
Saturday, August 17, 2013
IP: Day 13 ( and first weigh in)
Well, I had some good news at my weigh in which was that I had lost some weight. I had hoped for more but I'm such an over-acheiver so that's typical of me, LOL.
My scale at home is definitely nicer to me than the one at IHC. I will need to remember that the next time I weigh in! It is too, unfortunately that time of the month so I am retaining water which my wonderful coach Rochell said would happen and to not be so hard on myself! I'm trying....really, I am. ;-)
So the good news is that I've lost 9.2 lbs (according to home it was 10.2 lbs. I now see I have to account for a lb.) and 5 1/2 inches! That was definitely cool news! How the heck did I fit into these clothes before? I'm hoping that next week will show a much stronger loss, especially if I'm letting go of the water weight. Rochell also proudly told me I have lost 4 lbs of FAT. I am ecstatic about that! I have a lot of that to lose so just getting rid of 4 lbs of it in 12 days is pretty dang cool! Ultimately, I have to remember it took me years to put on all this weight and I'm going to manage to lose all of this excess fat in less than 5 months if I stick to this plan. That is absolutely amazing and that's the prize I have to keep remembering. This program works fast and efficiently if I am willing to put good foods in my body and avoid all the bad things for a little while. I will be able to enjoy all those things I love again soon enough but in moderation.
I think what's even more exciting is that I'll be able to go to my next physical and hopefully have no signs of diabetes and that my blood pressure will have come down! I haven't told my doctor that I went on IP so it will be fun to let the numbers do the talking!!!
Who knew that I'd be excited about going to see the doctor? LOL!
My scale at home is definitely nicer to me than the one at IHC. I will need to remember that the next time I weigh in! It is too, unfortunately that time of the month so I am retaining water which my wonderful coach Rochell said would happen and to not be so hard on myself! I'm trying....really, I am. ;-)
So the good news is that I've lost 9.2 lbs (according to home it was 10.2 lbs. I now see I have to account for a lb.) and 5 1/2 inches! That was definitely cool news! How the heck did I fit into these clothes before? I'm hoping that next week will show a much stronger loss, especially if I'm letting go of the water weight. Rochell also proudly told me I have lost 4 lbs of FAT. I am ecstatic about that! I have a lot of that to lose so just getting rid of 4 lbs of it in 12 days is pretty dang cool! Ultimately, I have to remember it took me years to put on all this weight and I'm going to manage to lose all of this excess fat in less than 5 months if I stick to this plan. That is absolutely amazing and that's the prize I have to keep remembering. This program works fast and efficiently if I am willing to put good foods in my body and avoid all the bad things for a little while. I will be able to enjoy all those things I love again soon enough but in moderation.
I think what's even more exciting is that I'll be able to go to my next physical and hopefully have no signs of diabetes and that my blood pressure will have come down! I haven't told my doctor that I went on IP so it will be fun to let the numbers do the talking!!!
Who knew that I'd be excited about going to see the doctor? LOL!
Friday, August 16, 2013
IP: Day 12
Today is the last day before my first official weigh in at the Health Center. I'm a bit nervous yet really hopeful. I have been weighing myself at home and I pray that my fancy digital wi-fi scale is either accurate or a little heavy so that the loss at the office will be better! LOL
I have done well and have not cheated. Yes, I do look longingly at some foods but I even wash my hands if they come in contact with anything not on the IP approved list! I had grabbed a breath mint from my purse and popped in in my mouth and as soon as I tasted it I realized there might be sugar in this and spit it right out! Thank goodness no one witnessed that! I don't know if there was sugar or substitute in the mint but I can't take any risks. I am not craving sugar and I've noticed my taste buds are becoming sharper and more aware of other flavors, spices and herbs in foods.
I hope that we'll be able to maintain the program financially as long as I need to be there.....if not, I'll figure things out but it's been so easy having all the packets and drinks so handy for me so I don't have to think about it.
All right....got to stay positive and motivated! Come on, body! Lose another pound before my weigh in!
I have done well and have not cheated. Yes, I do look longingly at some foods but I even wash my hands if they come in contact with anything not on the IP approved list! I had grabbed a breath mint from my purse and popped in in my mouth and as soon as I tasted it I realized there might be sugar in this and spit it right out! Thank goodness no one witnessed that! I don't know if there was sugar or substitute in the mint but I can't take any risks. I am not craving sugar and I've noticed my taste buds are becoming sharper and more aware of other flavors, spices and herbs in foods.
I hope that we'll be able to maintain the program financially as long as I need to be there.....if not, I'll figure things out but it's been so easy having all the packets and drinks so handy for me so I don't have to think about it.
All right....got to stay positive and motivated! Come on, body! Lose another pound before my weigh in!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
IP day 11
Well, I woke up and weighed myself (just because I'm obsessive that way, LOL) and I saw a .2 loss and was disappointed. I need to lighten up (not just literally but figuratively!) because a loss is a loss!
Yeesh.... so I'm working on that. I ended up having a busy day and wasn't prepped with lunch so I had to wait until I got home and eat. I decided to weigh again even though I had just been drinking water to make sure I was staying hydrated and I had lost another 1.2 lbs! Of course, my body was lacking food so I know if I weighed myself now it would be higher again but that is A-Ok with me! I'm just so happy to see the numbers going down!
I put on a pair of my fat jeans that were feeling super tight not too long ago just to test my body and see what's happened since I haven't been measured in over a week. They are super comfortable now so I know I've lost inches! Yay!
I have figured out that I'm still trying to reprogram my head a bit.....when I'm in a hurry or hungry I will see a BK or Wendy's and think "I can just stop by and get a burger!" and then I realize I can't. It's a little disappointing but it's not my stomach that's sad. It's my memory of the taste and smells of a burger and fries and a soda that I'm missing. I can stop by these places and get a salad and if I really wanted to get a burger I would have to not eat the bun. Or the ketchup. Or the fries. Or the soda. There will come a time when I can eat these things every once in a while but the lifestyle change I'm making will eliminate a lot of carbs (which includes most sugar) for my lifetime. I know that sounds severe but I won't eliminate all these things 100%. I'm just cutting way, way back. It's my choice....especially since my pancreas was taking a diabetic turn for the worse and I really needed to heal it and bring it back to normal which is what I'm doing right now. If you can believe it, I cannot wait for my next physical when they do blood work! I want that diabetes to go away and I know it will now that I'm not eating sugar! Hopefully the high blood pressure meds will get eliminated too!
Well, that's it for the moment..... one more full day before I go to my first official "weigh-in"!
Yeesh.... so I'm working on that. I ended up having a busy day and wasn't prepped with lunch so I had to wait until I got home and eat. I decided to weigh again even though I had just been drinking water to make sure I was staying hydrated and I had lost another 1.2 lbs! Of course, my body was lacking food so I know if I weighed myself now it would be higher again but that is A-Ok with me! I'm just so happy to see the numbers going down!
I put on a pair of my fat jeans that were feeling super tight not too long ago just to test my body and see what's happened since I haven't been measured in over a week. They are super comfortable now so I know I've lost inches! Yay!
I have figured out that I'm still trying to reprogram my head a bit.....when I'm in a hurry or hungry I will see a BK or Wendy's and think "I can just stop by and get a burger!" and then I realize I can't. It's a little disappointing but it's not my stomach that's sad. It's my memory of the taste and smells of a burger and fries and a soda that I'm missing. I can stop by these places and get a salad and if I really wanted to get a burger I would have to not eat the bun. Or the ketchup. Or the fries. Or the soda. There will come a time when I can eat these things every once in a while but the lifestyle change I'm making will eliminate a lot of carbs (which includes most sugar) for my lifetime. I know that sounds severe but I won't eliminate all these things 100%. I'm just cutting way, way back. It's my choice....especially since my pancreas was taking a diabetic turn for the worse and I really needed to heal it and bring it back to normal which is what I'm doing right now. If you can believe it, I cannot wait for my next physical when they do blood work! I want that diabetes to go away and I know it will now that I'm not eating sugar! Hopefully the high blood pressure meds will get eliminated too!
Well, that's it for the moment..... one more full day before I go to my first official "weigh-in"!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Making it official!
I've had a blog here on blogger for years but I never convinced myself to start an actual blog about my journey towards getting in shape. I know I was too scared I would fail. Even if I was talking the talk and sounding like I was really in the game, I wasn't. I knew there was something missing and I finally figured it out.
I know that medicine/health/fitness/diet is a true industry and there's always a new fad coming out. I was convinced more than once to buy something 'as seen on TV' in hopes of losing that 20 lbs or whatever the goal was. I have bought more exercise CD's than you'll ever know. (I intend to seriously use them though! Really!) I can't get over how many diet books, self-help books I have bought over the last 20 years convincing myself I would lose the weight.
I have belonged to many gyms but my interest would wane dependent upon what was going on in my life. I have had my share of distractions and struggles and they managed to become my excuse to stop. I used to go to the gym religiously and was maintaining my weight for years. But the problem was: I wasn't eating clean and then treating myself once in a while. I was drinking diet sodas, eating sugar, super fatty foods, etc. I was managing to burn off what I was eating but nothing beyond that. It was so frustrating to be a size 10 (occasional 8) and not break the barrier. I could not be convinced that eating clean 90% of the time was really important because I hate being deprived.
Well, considering the fads that have come and gone I am surprised it took me this long to finally come around to the Ideal Protein way. I know that lots of folks have great success on WW, Nutrisystem (total disaster for me), Jenny Craig, Atkins, South Beach, as well as medical programs like Medifast, and other home-based businesses like Herbal Life, Advocare, Body By Vi or Amway. I have done my research though and it comes down to what you eat first. Exercise is important and supplements are too but if you eat poorly it does not matter.
I had a physical a year ago and I was unhappy with my results. I was 40 lbs heavier than I wanted to be. I had high blood pressure, pre-diabetic, and feeling generally crappy. I did go to a acupuncturist and managed to get rid of many issues but inevitably the diet part of that plan failed. I just wasn't committing to eating right!
A year ago I also saw a friend of mine looking a lot thinner and I went right up to her to find out what the heck she was doing or if she was sick! Seriously, I thought that might be the case because the loss was so dramatic. She told me about IP, encouraged me to go to an open house just so I could hear about it. She warned me it was expensive. Well, my heart just sank right then and there because I just didn't have the spare cash lying around. She still encouraged to go to the free session, just to find out about the plan so I did. I learned all about ketosis, resetting the pancreas, the huge success of the program, met some current as well as returning clients and tried some of the 'foods'. I was convinced it was a good program but I wasn't ready to commit. It was probably more about the money but I really wasn't ready to go for it. It went into my mental file cabinet.
We had friends that had some success on Nutrisystem around this same time and so we thought we'd try it. We managed to do it for 2 months but I'm sorry, the food is awful. The 13 lbs I lost on that plan came back with a vengeance this year when Mark was laid off from work. We ate at home during his time off and we were not being super active so we both gained everything we had lost. I gained an extra 4 lbs too I had to buy clothes in the next size up and I had always sworn to myself I would never be this big. I tried to pacify things by buying cute clothes and shoes and thinking 'I can look beautiful no matter how big I am". I almost had myself convinced until I consistently saw how awful I looked in photos. I know, I know....I don't look awful BUT I looked distorted and bloated. It was obvious I was uncomfortable too. I no longer looked like the 'me' I remembered. It took a little while after that to really decide to get the guts to ask my husband to let me try this last ditch effort to get back to my healthy self. Not get skinny or cute, folks but healthy. I knew I had to do IP. It was the most medically sensible thing I could do for myself despite the expense. I like the discipline of eating specific types of foods at a certain time and being held accountable by having to maintain a food journal and come in for weekly weigh-in's. I also have a coach that works with me and answers any questions I have and supports me when I feel down. The big plus is I still get to cook or go out to dinner so my creativity is currently being used in making low carb, low fat dinners that I can eat that taste great enough for both me and my family. Taste, look and texture is super important so I'm working on this.
My husband has been a huge support and my biggest fan. I want him to be able to do this diet too but it's already pushing us past our regular budget. Hopefully, I can continue to research and find the right foods, protein powders and other things that can help him trim up in the meantime. Men do luckily lose almost double what women do so I'm thinking he can lose some weight just from my cooking healthier.
The cool thing about IP is that this diet isn't permanent. Once you lose the fat/weight you want the you switch to maintenance forever. It's a doable plan too with normal everyday food. You don't have to keep doing 'packets' and protein drinks! I'm looking forward to having a cheat day every week where I can eat anything and not feel guilty because I can go back to my Phase 1 ways for a day or so to re-tune myself. Getting my health back is finally the priority it needs to be. I'm really excited about this journey I'm embarking on. I hope you enjoy it as well!
IP started: 8/5/13
Goal: 23-25% bodyfat or approximately 40-45 lbs.
I know that medicine/health/fitness/diet is a true industry and there's always a new fad coming out. I was convinced more than once to buy something 'as seen on TV' in hopes of losing that 20 lbs or whatever the goal was. I have bought more exercise CD's than you'll ever know. (I intend to seriously use them though! Really!) I can't get over how many diet books, self-help books I have bought over the last 20 years convincing myself I would lose the weight.
I have belonged to many gyms but my interest would wane dependent upon what was going on in my life. I have had my share of distractions and struggles and they managed to become my excuse to stop. I used to go to the gym religiously and was maintaining my weight for years. But the problem was: I wasn't eating clean and then treating myself once in a while. I was drinking diet sodas, eating sugar, super fatty foods, etc. I was managing to burn off what I was eating but nothing beyond that. It was so frustrating to be a size 10 (occasional 8) and not break the barrier. I could not be convinced that eating clean 90% of the time was really important because I hate being deprived.
Well, considering the fads that have come and gone I am surprised it took me this long to finally come around to the Ideal Protein way. I know that lots of folks have great success on WW, Nutrisystem (total disaster for me), Jenny Craig, Atkins, South Beach, as well as medical programs like Medifast, and other home-based businesses like Herbal Life, Advocare, Body By Vi or Amway. I have done my research though and it comes down to what you eat first. Exercise is important and supplements are too but if you eat poorly it does not matter.
I had a physical a year ago and I was unhappy with my results. I was 40 lbs heavier than I wanted to be. I had high blood pressure, pre-diabetic, and feeling generally crappy. I did go to a acupuncturist and managed to get rid of many issues but inevitably the diet part of that plan failed. I just wasn't committing to eating right!
A year ago I also saw a friend of mine looking a lot thinner and I went right up to her to find out what the heck she was doing or if she was sick! Seriously, I thought that might be the case because the loss was so dramatic. She told me about IP, encouraged me to go to an open house just so I could hear about it. She warned me it was expensive. Well, my heart just sank right then and there because I just didn't have the spare cash lying around. She still encouraged to go to the free session, just to find out about the plan so I did. I learned all about ketosis, resetting the pancreas, the huge success of the program, met some current as well as returning clients and tried some of the 'foods'. I was convinced it was a good program but I wasn't ready to commit. It was probably more about the money but I really wasn't ready to go for it. It went into my mental file cabinet.
We had friends that had some success on Nutrisystem around this same time and so we thought we'd try it. We managed to do it for 2 months but I'm sorry, the food is awful. The 13 lbs I lost on that plan came back with a vengeance this year when Mark was laid off from work. We ate at home during his time off and we were not being super active so we both gained everything we had lost. I gained an extra 4 lbs too I had to buy clothes in the next size up and I had always sworn to myself I would never be this big. I tried to pacify things by buying cute clothes and shoes and thinking 'I can look beautiful no matter how big I am". I almost had myself convinced until I consistently saw how awful I looked in photos. I know, I know....I don't look awful BUT I looked distorted and bloated. It was obvious I was uncomfortable too. I no longer looked like the 'me' I remembered. It took a little while after that to really decide to get the guts to ask my husband to let me try this last ditch effort to get back to my healthy self. Not get skinny or cute, folks but healthy. I knew I had to do IP. It was the most medically sensible thing I could do for myself despite the expense. I like the discipline of eating specific types of foods at a certain time and being held accountable by having to maintain a food journal and come in for weekly weigh-in's. I also have a coach that works with me and answers any questions I have and supports me when I feel down. The big plus is I still get to cook or go out to dinner so my creativity is currently being used in making low carb, low fat dinners that I can eat that taste great enough for both me and my family. Taste, look and texture is super important so I'm working on this.
My husband has been a huge support and my biggest fan. I want him to be able to do this diet too but it's already pushing us past our regular budget. Hopefully, I can continue to research and find the right foods, protein powders and other things that can help him trim up in the meantime. Men do luckily lose almost double what women do so I'm thinking he can lose some weight just from my cooking healthier.
The cool thing about IP is that this diet isn't permanent. Once you lose the fat/weight you want the you switch to maintenance forever. It's a doable plan too with normal everyday food. You don't have to keep doing 'packets' and protein drinks! I'm looking forward to having a cheat day every week where I can eat anything and not feel guilty because I can go back to my Phase 1 ways for a day or so to re-tune myself. Getting my health back is finally the priority it needs to be. I'm really excited about this journey I'm embarking on. I hope you enjoy it as well!
IP started: 8/5/13
Goal: 23-25% bodyfat or approximately 40-45 lbs.
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