A Very Interesting Development

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a most enjoyable time with your families and friends. I know I sure did. God has blessed our family with so much more than we could ever hope for and so much more than we deserve. This Christmas as we celebrated the birth of our Savior was no exception!

So here's what's interesting. I was SO anxious to get off plan that I went back to the office after my last weigh-in on Thursday and immediately had a cookie. Just one, but still. I was officially ready to eat whatever I wanted. I joked with people at work before I went to weigh in that I was going to stop at Taco Bell on my way back (and Dairy Queen, etc.). I didn't do any of those things, of course, but it paints the picture to where I was psychologically on that day.

The plan was to not go crazy in portions, but to eat whatever foods I wanted in moderation until the 1st of the year, when I would go back on plan and hit it hard again.

So Thursday night, Friday and Saturday were GOOD food. I got to eat all kinds of things that I hadn't eaten in awhile and our Christmas meal on Friday was fantastic. It was SO NICE to be able to sit at the table with my family and eat the same things they were eating!

Then an interesting thing happened. I was SO TIRED Saturday night. I didn't feel sick at all or anything like that, but my body just didn't feel like I'm used to it feeling. I felt sluggish and stuffed and it pretty much sucked. I didn't eat a lot of anything, but the food was just so much heavier and richer than the foods I'm used to eating that I felt full QUICKLY.

So, I decided Saturday night to go back on plan yesterday (Sunday). What's interesting is that I didn't do it because I felt I had to or out of guilt because I ate off plan for 2 1/2 days. I went back on way before schedule because I simply wanted to!! O_O! This is not something I was expecting.

So I got on the scale yesterday morning, just to gauge the damage done before starting on plan again. I was up only 2 lbs from Thursday morning (maybe 2.2 or so). So I got back on plan and had raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar 3 times yesterday to help flush out any water retention and when I got on the scale this morning, those 2 lbs were gone! I'm back to where I was on Thursday. YAY!!

In the end, I couldn't be happier that I got to enjoy some fabulous food with my family, but that SlimGenics has clearly taught me how to do it right! This gives me great hope for my future of keeping the weight off once I finally get to my goal, which is a hope I've never really had before. :-)

Is it Christmas Yet!?

a.k.a. can I "legally cheat" on my diet yet? ;-)

I can tell I'm soooooo ready for a break from dieting right now, because I am barely hanging on by a thread all week and then falling on the weekends because I cannot wait to be able to eat some cheese, some ham, whatever!

I am anxious to just take a little break from the counting calories, worrying about every little thing that goes in my mouth, etc.

The problem is, I don't want to sabotage myself and gain back too much weight. I totally fell off the wagon last weekend, and now today we just had Culver's for lunch. And this week, I don't even have being snowed in by 17" of snow to blame...

I did weigh in this morning and my final tally for the week was 4 lbs, bringing me to a total of 54 lbs in my first 16 weeks.

Here's my concern: I'm way ahead of schedule (they told me today that I only needed to lose .9 lbs/week from here on out to finish before I'm out of weight loss weeks) and I was hoping to ring in the new year down 50 lbs, which I hit last week. Why is that a concern? Because I'm losing determination too early!

Tomorrow night I am taking my dad to the Vikings 50th Season Celebration and I was planning on eating whatever they served there. Friday is Christmas and we're making a traditional and yummy meal. The week after I have breakfast at Key's with my department at work for our Christmas celebration AND our small group is having a little party that week too. What does all this mean besides yummy?

It means that I have to be careful eating pizza and Culver's and all that just because!

So in the end, yes, I clearly need a little break. I am so beyond thrilled with my results so far, but it's really getting to me psychologically. Obviously, 4 months of strict deprivation is taking it's toll on my brain! Ha!

One thing that I have going for me is SlimGenics, though. Seriously. If I were still doing Weight Watchers, I would have stayed off my diet after last weekend until the end of the year. I would have probably gained back 15 lbs before the end of the month. But the support and accountability of knowing that I have to get on a scale in just a couple days and show the center what I've eaten (and step on the scale 3 times a week so I can't fib!) helps keep me focused on getting back on plan after going off for a meal, etc.

I just have to hang in there a little while longer... only a week or so until I can relax for a few days and stop worrying about it and feeling guilty when I do give in. Then I will have that "New Year's Resolve" to hit it hard again after the first of the year and finish the second half of my journey.

I just pray to the good Lord that I manage to maintain the 50 lbs of weight loss by then, because there is nothing worse than having to lose the same weight TWICE and prolonging the diet phase!

'Tis the Season

...for getting sick, that is. :-(

All weekend I had a terrible cold that was in both my head and chest. Finally yesterday I'm feeling better and I go to work. Get home last night and as soon as I walk upstairs this massive wave of nausea hits me like a ton of bricks and I'm down for the count for the night. It only got worse from there.

Now today I'm home from work (boo!) and trying to make healthy choices. Stomach feels better after eating breakfast this morning (a chocolate VHP = Very High Protein shake) and going back to bed until about 10:30, but now I'm actually starting to get hungry. While this is a good sign, I want to be careful, because I'm sure my stomach situation is tenuous, at best.

The good news is that despite my going COMPLETELY off plan last Saturday during Snowmageddon 2010 (I think we got about 17" of snow and the pizza I blogged about was just the beginning... oops), I weighed in yesterday down 1.75 lbs since last Friday. No clue how that's even possible, but I'm now at a total of 51.75 lbs!!

Of course, I got on the scale this morning and I was down almost a full 2 lbs since yesterday morning, but since that loss is from being sick, I'm sure it won't stay. But it's one small victory in a day of feeling like poo.

Hope everyone is having a better day than me!!

Your Grandma Was Right!

GREAT article from The Resurgence that ties right into what I said months ago about gluttony and overeating. Just too good not to share here!

http://theresurgence.com/2010/12/11/your-grandma-was-right-all-things-in-moderation

The Weather Made Me Do It!

So I had my first unplanned "oops" today. Between the weather outside (we've gotten about 10" of snow so far and it's still falling fast - they're saying around 15" - 20" when all is said and done) and this chest cold making me feel rotten, I just couldn't muster up the appetite for salad for lunch. Sooo... we ordered pizza.

I only have one thing to say about it right now: IT WAS GOOD!!! ;-)

HUGE Milestone and Year-End Goal

As you can see by the ticker at the top of the page, today's weigh-in at my SlimGenics center yielded 1.5 lbs for the week for a total of 50 lbs lost!! WOOHOO!! I am past the half-way point and what a huge milestone to hit only 3.75 months in!!

Still having some pretty big cravings and I'm certain it's mostly due to the weather. It's cold (and there's 9-13 inches of snow minimum on the way tonight and tomorrow!!) and I just want warm comfort food. I had a salad for lunch and it was NOT what sounded good. ;-)

However, the good news is that I've discovered flavored herbal teas. I never realized all the flavors you could get these in (never really been a tea person), but Sugar Cookie tea does actually help with cravings. The Bengal Spice tastes almost identical to a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte, which is my favorite drink they have! And, since herbal teas are unrestricted on the diet, I'm enjoying 3-4 cups a day in a variety of flavors and they are treats. :-)

It's probably not great that I am counting down the days until I can take some time off the diet. I am not very far in, but for some reason I really need it. I think it's because most diets allow you something every single week (one cheat day, 35 extra points for the week, etc.) and this diet affords you NOTHING off plan. Of course, most diets don't yield the results I'm seeing either, so it's worth it to me. But, around the 23rd of December, my plan is to not go crazy, but not really deny myself anything for the celebrations either.

I want to make my son real Christmas cookies and I want to eat a few. I want to enjoy my department celebration at work, Christmas itself and my Small Group family fun night.

So, I'm hoping that between having a couple more weeks to lose some weight, taking into account what I will gain back during that time (probably about a week of sporadic off-plan food), I want to ring in the New Year having lost 50 lbs, then I can jump back on and finish the 2nd half of my journey.

Well, time to hunker down and make sure I have everything I'm going to need for the weekend, as the latest models are predicting up to 2 FEET of snow here in the metro area, so I don't plan on going ANYWHERE this weekend. Couple that with highs BELOW ZERO on Sunday and I'm staying put!

Have a great weekend everyone!

1 Pound to Halfway!

I can't believe that I'm only 3 1/2 months into this assumed "10-month journey" and I'm able to report that I am only 1 lb away from the halfway point!

When I weighed in on Friday, I ended the week down a total of 3.5 lbs, putting me at 48.5 total!! 49.5 marks halfway and OF COURSE I'm anxious to hit my 50-lb milestone!

However, somewhat interestingly I guess, my weight loss has come to a screaming halt since Friday. Figures, huh? Last week I saw about .4 - .6 lbs gone every single day. Saturday morning showed ZERO loss since Friday and this morning I was exact same weight yet again. Two consecutive days of no loss!? Maddening, to be certain, because I haven't eaten a single thing off-plan and I'm just dying to be down 1.5 more lbs.

Tomorrow is another weigh-in day, so hopefully it won't be more of the same when I get on the scale in the morning!

Headaches & Holidays

This time of year makes it almost impossible to diet, especially as someone who really loves and enjoys food. Food is not fuel; food is a treat, a reward, a comfort, etc. etc. And the food everywhere right now is some of the best!!

Add to that the fact that I feel lousy because my constant sinus headaches have returned and it's really cold outside: recipe for wanting food that I cannot have.

So I started getting a bit crabby about this last Friday and Saturday, especially after walking around Costco on Saturday amidst all the samples that were holiday-themed, etc. Mike then asked me (after prefacing it with "If I'm way off base on this, I'm sorry") if I wanted to get a pizza for dinner, pointing out that no one can deprive themselves constantly without going bonkers. I think that was the nicest way possible he could have said "You are way too crabby and driving me crazy!!" ;-)

I pondered it all afternoon and eventually decided to go ahead and get the pizza. I was still smart about it, as much as I could be, and we just split a thin-crust 10", with my half having only veggies, no meat.

Now, you would think that having that pizza would have held me over for awhile, but unfortunately, it really didn't. My headache started RAGING on Sunday and Monday was even worse. Tuesday and today have slowly gotten better, but the pressure has not left completely. The cold outside is still there. The chocolate and other yummy treats are still there!!

I think I'm going to just have to accept that December is a tough month and that it's likely going to be the hardest month of my weight loss. Better to prepare for that now and have a plan, right?

The good news is, the pizza didn't totally derail me and I'm still motivated to stay on plan, even if I don't really want to. So far, I'm down 2.25 lbs for the week for a total of 47.25 lbs. Weighing in today sure helped remind me why I'm doing this in the first place. 

To lose weight AT ALL during the holiday season has got to be considered a victory (especially when indulging in a little cheesy goodness!), so I'm going to just keep on keeping on!

One Holiday Down, One To Go!

Well, Thanksgiving is behind me, but Christmas is still ahead, as are all the treats that will likely be EVERYWHERE until then!!

I decided that this week was as good as any to switch to "winter clothes" for weighing in. I have been wearing summer capri pants and a t-shirt to weigh in all along, but finally decided it was just too flipping cold to do that anymore. I put on a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt and figured I'll get the one or one 1/2 lbs back in the spring.

The results? Since last Saturday, down 1 lb. Definitely my worst week so far, but not terrible considering. They said it's really a 2 to 2 1/2 lb week because of the clothes, which is true, but officially it's one on the week, for a total of 45 lbs. Hey, at least I hit another 5-lb milestone, right? :-)

They were actually VERY encouraging at the center, saying that was FABULOUS for the week that included Thanksgiving. One of the employees was UP 4 1/2 lbs since Tuesday. D'oh!! That made me feel pretty good about the week. :-)

For Thanksgiving, I ate more proteins than allowed on plan, but they were all on-plan foods, so that's probably why I held steady. I also made a few recipes that all had cottage cheese in them, so there's that sodium monster too; I could be retaining some water again because of that.

I did make some FABULOUS SlimGenics Holiday Cookies that I actually really loved. My little one did too; he asked for them for breakfast this morning! Ha! NO SUGAR and NO FLOUR!! They are very high in protein and tasted mostly like a frosted spritz. I was STUNNED that they were as good as they are. Everyone enjoyed them, including me!!

What yesterday really taught me was that it IS possible to eat healthy food that tastes good; it doesn't HAVE to be full of fat and starch, etc. Of course, it might not taste AS good as the fully loaded stuff, but it didn't really taste like "diet food" or anything either. I truly enjoyed the food I ate yesterday.

And if I can feed my 2-yr old cookies that don't have sugar in them, well, all the better. ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their day and realized just how much we all have to give thanks to God for!

So Glad I Didn't Cheat!!

I made it through! I still would love to have a cheeseburger (duh!), but the severe cravings have passed and I was rewarded this morning for pushing through without cheating AT ALL. Not one bite of something off plan! 

Weighed in this morning and was down an additional 2 lbs since Wednesday, putting my weekly total at 3.75 lbs! Yay! Total lost through 3 months = 44 lbs! Average weight loss through the first 3 months = 3.67 lbs/week! O_O!!

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could have lost 44 lbs in 3 months. Yes, the cravings sucked and I struggled, but it is SO WORTH IT in the end.

I WILL be able to have a cheeseburger again, and if I just keep being strict on this diet, it will be sooner than originally planned for sure!! 

Now, if only I could do something about this FREEZING COLD WEATHER!! ;-)

At least cold weather helps keep your metabolism going because your body needs to generate more heat. :-)

Would Somebody Give Me a Cheeseburger Already!?

Well, as if you couldn't tell from the title of this post, I'm struggling a little today. I'm having some wicked cravings and am starving!!

As much as I'm a pizza person, all I can picture is sinking my teeth into a nice, juicy Culver's Cheeseburger!! ACK!! CRAVINGS ARE OUT OF CONTROL!!!

I'm pretty sure this is all related to the suckiness that is being a woman, a.k.a. PMS, because I'm having some definite water retention today too.

Ok, so please excuse me as I go eat my crappy little unsatisfying Lean Cuisine meal for lunch! Boo!! ;-)

Oh, and I weighed in yesterday and am down 1.75 lbs for the week, 42 total.

Repeat to self: "Stick to it! The stricter I am, the faster the weight will come off. The faster the weight comes off, the sooner I'll be done!!"

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

How To Tell My Comfort Level With a Recipe

This morning I tackled the Apple Pancakes recipe out of the SlimGenics cookbook. About half-way through, as this cooking dummy struggled with the seemingly simple task of peeling and grating half an apple, I realized that I was making one of the biggest messes my kitchen had ever seen!

By the time I was pouring the batter into the pan to cook said pancakes, the kitchen looked like I had spent an entire day slaving over a meal for 12, not apple pancakes for breakfast, for one!!

I then pictured myself making hamburger stroganoff or cheese tetrazzini from scratch and thought, man, those are much more complex recipes, but I clean up as I go and by the time the dish is in the oven, etc. the kitchen is spotless.

It's because I am comfortable with those recipes and have made them a thousand times! 

So if you're ever over for dinner and I'm making a huge mess while making dinner, you're likely a guinea pig for a new recipe! ;-)

40 Pounds!! 40 Pounds!!!

I woke up this morning to a few inches of snow on the ground and it really coming down. We are under a winter storm warning with the threat of as many as 11 inches of snow today. Ick.

I could see by looking outside that the roads were a mess. But, they looked slushy more than slippery.

So, I had a decision to make. Journey out into the storm to do my 3rd and final weigh-in for the week, or let the week stand at 1 lb and a total of 39?

Of course, being as close as I was to 40, I had to go!! So I got ready and figured the earlier I went, the better. Less people on the road and less snow than there will be later.

I ice-skated my way to the SlimGenics center (almost literally; we still have desert freeway tires on the rear-wheel drive Expedition, so it was a very dicey drive), but it was SO WORTH IT!

Not the best week, as I only lost 2.25 lbs (which would be great on any other diet!!), but I don't care about that, because that puts me at 40.25 lbs total in 11 weeks! YAY!!

So, now I'm home safe and sound with the knowledge that I've lost 40 lbs in a very short period of time. It sucks outside, but I'm glad I went. ;-)

Sodium-Fest 2010!

Apparently sodium is my kryptonite.

This week has been fairly interesting. I knew I only had to lose 2 lbs this week to hit my 40 lb milestone. That should be easy, right? I mean, I'm averaging close to 4 lbs a week; I got this!

So I weigh in on Tuesday and I'm UP .25 lbs! What?! I've been doing great; staying on plan and trying new recipes from their cookbook. Of course, this wasn't a huge surprise or anything, as the scale at home had been either staying flat or showing small gains; creeping back up .2 lbs at a time. 

Can I just stop right here and say there is nothing LESS motivating than a lack of results? I mean, if I'm not going to lose weight or even gain weight, I can eat pizza and do that, right!? That being said, I have stuck to it and have not eaten any food off-plan. But I WANTED to, you know?

Ok, back to the SlimGenics Center and my sitting there saying WHY!? They look over my food journal and immediately notice that I've been eating cottage every day for almost a week. I previously hadn't really eaten it at all, as I'm a much bigger fan of the greek yogurt or eggs for breakfast, but lots of the recipes that looked good to me include cottage cheese as your protein. 

Apparently, cottage cheese is full of sodium and it appears that I've been retaining water. It's not listed as such on the plan, but they said that I really shouldn't eat cottage cheese two days in a row and never on the same day as beef, the other big sodium culprit. Oops. I'd been eating it every day for many, many days.

And of course, I had brought a Lean Cuisine 4-Cheese Pizza to work with me for lunch that day, which had over 600mg of sodium AND I was planning on grilling steak for dinner that night to enjoy the nice weather. Ok, so Tuesday turned into Sodium-Fest 2010. I got on the scale Wednesday morning and wasn't the least bit surprised to be up another .6 lbs.

Another digression here: so how does water retention work? I mean, if I'm still technically eating few enough calories to lose weight, but retaining water, why don't I still see a small loss? Does the lost fat just make room for water and I retain more and more water as I lose weight?! This concept seems silly to me, but the fact remains that I have been staying the same or gaining for like 4 days... Hmm...

Ok, so I resolve to eat as little sodium as possible starting Wednesday and see how the rest of the week goes. I got on the scale Thursday morning and was down 1.25 lbs from the day before. Clearly shedding some water weight. I weigh in at the center and I'm also down 1.25 lbs from Tuesday's weigh-in, putting me at 39 lbs total!! Only 1 more lb to go by Saturday to make it an even 40!!

Of course, I was rushed yesterday morning (Thursday) and ended up grabbing quick snacks and another Lean Cuisine meal for lunch. I didn't want to do that, because one of the snacks I grabbed and the meal contained over 1,000 mg of sodium between them, but it was that or nothing in order to get to work on time. 

This morning I was actually down another .2 lbs from yesterday, but I really think it would have been more if I had laid off the sodium-laced food again. They said it sometimes takes 2-3 days for your body to shed all the water weight, so I screwed it up yesterday.

So now I am off work until Tuesday, giving me plenty of time to plan each meal and make sure I steer clear of kryptonite, I mean sodium. ;-)

Cooking Vernacular!?

So in keeping with my post from yesterday, this morning I decided to try the French Toast recipe and the Maple Syrup recipe from my SlimGenics cookbook.

The french toast was simple; it's really not that different from your standard recipe, as bread, milk and eggs are all on plan anyway. I could have used basically any recipe, if you ask me.

But the maple syrup is something that I will need their recipe for, as there is no syrup on the market that is on plan, to my knowledge.

Here's where I get frustrated. I don't know if their recipes are just different, or if I just don't know the native cooking language. I've made plenty of recipes from a simple "Better Homes and Garden" cookbook before and they've all turned out very good. But I do know those cookbooks are probably more geared for the beginner, so maybe things are spelled out more clearly (and thoroughly) than in other cookbooks. I don't know.

So help me out here. The syrup recipe: melt butter, add stuff, blah, blah. Then:

"Reduce mixture down into a syrup."

What the heck does that mean? My best guess is that I keep it over heat until it reaches the desired consistency by way of evaporation, etc., but I have NO CLUE what it means to "reduce mixture down".

Am I the world's biggest cooking dummy? :-(

I'm too Picky and Uncreative!

My week this week was all out of whack. I normally weigh in at the SlimGenics Center on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This week was Monday, Thursday and Saturday. I felt off kilter all week (not because I didn't get to weigh in when I normally do, but because of the schedule upheaval that caused the odd weigh-ins).

That being said, I also had a frustrating week. I knew I would hit my 35 lb milestone, since I only needed to lose the .25 lbs to do it. And I did, I hit it on my Monday weigh-in. But, then my Thursday weigh-in showed me UP .75 lbs from Monday (although I was wearing a fleece top and jeans after wearing capris and a light shirt on Monday).

Still, that wasn't my major source of frustration. What has been tough for me is that I just am flat-out getting sick of eating the same foods day in and day out. Is it worth it? Of course. But does it lead to instant frustration when I don't see extreme results on the scale? Yep. 

The problem is I'm very picky and also have no creativity when it comes to cooking. So, when it says a 6 oz chicken breast is a protein portion, I literally grill up and eat a 6 oz chicken breast.

It's all getting very old and I want to not have to think so hard about what I'm going to eat next and figure out how I can eat something that sounds remotely appealing without tons of planning. I don't even need to eat terrible-for-me foods, but there are mornings that I just want to grab a bowl of cereal, because it's easy, and not have to cook up some eggs or whatever. Food prep is just not my thing. I like convenience.

So, I have this SlimGenics cookbook and I have to resolve to use it. I need to pray that God would give me some skills in this area, supernaturally, because I absolutely must keep going on this journey, but I really need some help here.

I can hardly complain about my progress, this I know. I'm losing weight at a pace most people would be thrilled with. I do know this. But a long, cold winter is staring me in the face and I'm all about warm, soft comfort food when it's cold. And soup is not my thing either. I want pizza, cheese enchiladas, pasta with white sauce, etc. Eating literally and straight-forward from my list of approved foods does not make good comfort food. So... I'm going to spend some time today going through the cookbook and pray that I find some recipes that I actually want to try!

Oh, and for the week? I weighed in this morning and I lost 3.25 lbs this week, putting my 10-week total at 38 lbs. Maintaining a 3.8 lb/week average this far in is really incredible. And as thankful as I am for that, that doesn't mean I want to eat food that doesn't appeal to me on a regular basis. 

Please pray that I can find some ways to get creative and stay on plan!

What Else Can I Take Off?

So I go into SlimGenics today for my final weigh-in of the week. I step on the scale and the results? I'm down 4 lbs for the week for a total of 34.75 lbs!

My consultant for the day starts laughing and says "only .25 lbs to 35! Go pee or something!" 

We all start laughing and wonder what I could take off that would drop me .25 lbs. Socks? Rings? Both?

In the end, I was happy with the 4 lbs for the week and know that I'll hit the 35 lb milestone next week! :-)

My average thus far in the game is 3.86/lbs a week, which is beyond anything I could have hoped for in this journey.

I will definitely be taking it easy tomorrow for our Thanksgiving celebration and will just eat some turkey (not off plan at all) and a little mashed potatoes. Will probably skip the pie. ;-)

Early Thanksgiving Dilemma

I know it's early for most everyone to be thinking about Thanksgiving, but the reason it's early for me is the same reason it's a dilemma.

My Grandma, Aunt & Uncle snowbird in Laughlin, NV for the winter and they're leaving very soon. Therefore, our family is celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.

Now, I had decided that I was going to not worry about SlimGenics and dieting for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it's coming up so soon after the NY "trip of eating" and only a couple weeks after doing the plateau-breaker. As a result, this week I am seeing a really good loss so far (just went and weighed in over lunch and I'm down 2.5 lbs from last Friday until today - total loss of 33.25 lbs). 

Since the weight loss seems to ebb and flow, I'm hesitant to interrupt a period of really good weight loss. I'm much more willing to eat off plan when I'm not seeing a lot of loss.

I guess we'll see how the week shaped up when I do my weigh-in on Friday and re-evaluate at that time.

I've REALLY Missed My Ring!

So today marks a very important milestone reached for me. I am wearing my wedding ring!!

I haven't worn it in over 2 years, as I had to stop wearing it while I was pregnant and I haven't been able to get my weight down enough since he was born for it to fit again, but today it's ON!!

I've been trying to get it on for a couple weeks and knew I was getting close. It's tight, there's no question, but I don't care! Tight on my finger is better than in the safe.

Going down sizes in clothes is obviously fabulous, but this is really huge for me. I have been extremely bothered by not being able to wear it, so this is just a happy day for me!! :-)

Oh, and as long as I'm updating, I was down another pound over the weekend when I weighed in yesterday and my total loss is now 31.75 lbs. :-)

Great News for a Not-So-Great Week

Well, I weighed in this morning and I didn't have very high hopes, because according to my scale at home, I am only down .2 lbs since Monday. UGH. I had such great hopes for this week and hitting my 30-lb milestone after being down 29.25 lbs on Monday.

So I went in, kinda feeling defeated before I even stepped on the scale, because I doubted I would be down any more since my 29.75 lbs on Wednesday. I get on the scale and... drum roll... I'm down another whole pound since Wednesday! WHAT!?

While this is good news indeed, I'm still a little confused as to why they are showing the loss and I am not.

So I lost 2.75 lbs for the week, which is not great for the week after a Plateau-Breaker, but still a good loss! My total loss is now 30.75 lbs! Woohoo! That puts me at an average of 3.8 lbs/week for the first 8 weeks. That's pretty insane. Thank you SlimGenics and thank you God!

I seriously don't understand why my scale doesn't show more than .2 lbs since Monday and theirs shows 1.5 lbs, though. I guess we'll wait and see how it looks over the weekend when I go back in for my Monday weigh-in.

At least I'll be on the "progress board" for another week, but this time in the 30# category! Yay!

Have a great weekend everyone.

SO CLOSE!

So I am again frustrated, mostly because I have no patience whatsoever!!

I was very happy Monday after having a nice loss over the weekend and weighing in at SlimGenics 29.25 lbs down. Of course, I convinced myself that I would hit 30 lbs by my weigh-in today, because 1/2 lb a day has been the minimum loss I've been seeing. And of course, I did the plateau-breaker last week that was supposed to kick my weight loss into high gear again this week.

Apparently I got cocky. Forgot to recognize continually that this success is NOT something I'm obtaining on my own, and that I have to keep giving it to God. He is why I have been so successful so far; there is no way I could have lost 28 lbs in 7 weeks on my own; it's because I keep praying and giving it to Him that I've come this far.

Soooo... I get on the scale Tuesday morning.... and I'm UP .2 lbs!! Now, .2 lbs isn't very much and it does happen from time to time. Did I mention I have no patience?

Ok, no biggie. It and more will be gone today! I get on the scale this morning and the .2 lbs are gone, BUT NOTHING MORE!! WHAT?! How can I weigh the same thing on Wednesday morning as Monday morning when I'm supposed to be shedding weight like crazy because of last week's plateau-breaker?

So I went to weigh in and at least I was down another 1/2 lb with them (probably had lighter clothes!!), bringing me to 29.75 lbs! SO CLOSE.

They are convinced that I'll hit my 30 lb milestone on Friday, but I'm going to be doing some extra praying and handing my health over to God (again and again and again!!).

Fettuccine Alfredo!

So if you're someone who has eaten a few meals with me (and maybe only one, even), you know that I'm all about things that are white. Cream, white sauce, sour cream, etc. I always go with the white sauce, not the red. Yes, I KNOW that's a big reason I'm fat, but I LOVE IT!! ;-)

Right now I'm sitting here enjoying a nice bowl of Fettuccine Alfredo as I type this blog post. And the best part? I'm not off plan!! :-)

I am actually eating a SlimGenics "snack" of Fettuccine Alfredo. Is it as good as it would be if I cooked noodles and combined them with milk, cream, butter, parmesan cheese, garlic and butter? Absolutely not. Is it still really good and a warm, creamy treat of pasta? YEAH BUDDY! Despite all the other snacks I've tried being really good, I was still really worried about this one, so I only bought one box. Now that I've tried it, more boxes will be purchased and consumed!

Ok, so back to business. I am back on my normal plan today after 5 days (Mon - Fri) on the BioGenics Plateau Breaker and 2 days (Sat & Sun) on the Fresh Start. Apparently, the weight is supposed to start really falling off again, like in the beginning.

I'm really happy to be back on plan because my snack choices were limited to only those that were 100 calories or less for that entire 7 days and I wasn't allowed any milk or starches. I'm so looking forward to tacos tonight that are actually in a tortilla instead of over a bed of lettuce.

I weighed in again this morning and I am SO CLOSE to my 30 lb milestone - 29.25 lbs! Surely I should hit that this week, especially since the last 7 days was supposed to kick the weight loss back into high gear. Maybe I'll even hit it by Wednesday!

I was thinking this morning about the fact that I'm about 30% done with the weight loss phase already. Based on what I expected when I signed up, I should be starting Week 13 today, but I'm starting Week 8!

I'm really glad I'm ahead of the game and hope I can stay that way, because Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming... ;-)

Results Not Typical

You know when you see those commercials for diets, diet pills, etc. and they show these before and after pictures of all these people who have lost extraordinary amounts of weight, but they put this disclaimer at the bottom of the screen in very small, white letters stating "Results Not Typical"?

Of course, I've never been one of these people. I've tried the diets, the pills, whatever, and had little to moderate success, but never "results not typical" success.

But now, I finally feel like a Results Not Typical girl!! Woohoo!

I weighed in at the center today and I'm in the middle of my 7th week. My total weight loss to date is already 28 lbs!! O_O!!!

And here's what makes it even MORE results not typical. We spent last weekend in Manhattan and I completely went off plan. It was planned and I told SlimGenics about it ahead of time, because I couldn't imagine going to NYC and not having pizza, etc. We left last Friday morning and returned late Sunday night, which was 3 full days of eating whatever I wanted. I couldn't believe that I still lost 3.75 lbs in the past week, which includes those 3 days!

Since they knew I was going off plan and my weight loss had slowed down last week before going, we planned ahead and I have been on a 1-week plateau breaker since Monday, which obviously is working since I'm having such a great week.

Needless to say, I feel that any and all sacrifices have been and are completely worth it, as is the cost of the plan.

Oh! And I was going to post this last week, but I was so busy that I didn't get to it, but I went into the center for my first measurements since the first day I went in and signed up for the plan and I have lost a total of 21.25 inches!! Now, that's adding together the inches lost off my chest, waist, hips, thighs and arms, but still! The largest loss was off my waist, which was 6 inches!

So, apparently this is a really happy post and I'm extremely satisfied with the plan, even though it's certainly difficult at times. But really, what diet isn't?

So far I just want to say Thank You SlimGenics!!

First Plateau?

...or just water retention from being in a perpetual healing state?

So let me start by apologizing for not posting in awhile. I know that I'm more apologizing to myself than everyone else, because it doesn't really hurt you if I don't post, right? ;-)

I need to remember that I started this blog to stay accountable and I can't do that if I'm not posting what I'm going through. So, I will try and do better. I guess that's all I can do.

Back onto the subject at hand. SlimGenics. Dieting. Weight-loss. The seemingly never-ending battle!!! 

I've actually been doing really well, even though I haven't reported it. I survived Zach's 2nd birthday party, which was filled with pizza, salads that are too good to be called "salad", cake, etc. I ate NONE of it. I actually ate a bowl of broccoli for lunch while preparing the Papa Murphy's pizzas - I was proud of my willpower, but I will not lie - it SUCKED!!! I didn't want broccoli - I wanted pizza!! Ok, enough of the boo-hoo fest. 

So, I made it through and then made it through last week, but noticed that my weight loss was starting to come to a screaming halt on my scale as the week went on. I weighed in on Friday and was down a whopping 4 lbs from the Friday before, putting me at 23 lbs total. Yay! However, most of that loss was from the weekend before and early in the week.

So, when I weighed in yesterday morning, I wasn't surprised to see that I was only down .25 lbs since Friday, putting me at an official total of 23.25 lbs for the first 5 weeks. Now, don't get me wrong, 23.25 lbs in 5 weeks ROCKS, but I also know that if something doesn't change, this week is going to be very disappointing.

I talked to them about it and it looks like I may be either plateauing or experiencing water retention. A possible reason for the water retention is that I have had some very sore muscles (both from exertion and from slipping on the stairs and twisting in a bad way) and apparently when our muscles heal, they retain water. So, I am on a 3-day Omit and Flush to try and get that water out (if that's it).

If not and my weight loss stays dormant for the week, they are going to put me on my first 7-day plateau breaker next week. I am going to be straight up here: I do NOT want to do that. I saw my friend at work struggle through one and it does NOT look like something I want to do. If I have to, I will, but please pray that it's just water retention and that I don't have to do that next week!! ;-)

Thanks for sticking with me; I promise I will try and be better about posting regularly. :-)

Well, I Ate Pizza...

So I started out last Friday with the excellent news at my SlimGenics weigh-in that I was down 4.75 lbs for the week and a total of 16.75 lbs! Yay!

But... the day didn't continue down that path. 

I went to the Ford dealer to drop off the Exped for a 60k service, and since I insist on wearing flip-flops until I am simply forced to stop, I was wearing them that day. It was drizzling outside, so the service drive was wet. When I stepped down out of the Exped, my foot went completely out from underneath me and I fell, with the running board of the truck breaking my fall right in the middle of my back. I then ended up on my butt on the ground. OUCH!!

So, not thinking that I am not eating the heavy stuff that I used to eat, I went home and immediately too two Aleve. This has never been a problem for me before, but by early afternoon it was a clearly a problem this time.

I got so incredibly sick and all my energy was focused on not vomiting. I was less than 1 week removed from the stomach flu, so my intestinal fortitude was running low and I didn't want to spend another weekend in that condition. I started having sharp shooting pains and I immediately knew that the salad I was going to have for dinner was not going to do me any favors and that I needed something heavy in my stomach to assist. So, we ordered pizza. I got a thin crust with only mushrooms on it and I only ate about 4-6 small squares, but it sure helped calm down the tummy (and it tasted sooooooooooooooooo good!!!).

Luckily, I got up on Saturday morning and I weighed exactly what I had Friday morning. I weighed in at SlimGenics again on Monday morning and I was down 1 lb from my Friday weigh-in, so apparently eating very little of it was good. I have to admit that if I had gained weight back, I don't know if I would have reacted in the "well, I already blew it, I might as well have the leftovers for breakfast" or if I would have buckled down even tighter. But, seeing that I stayed the same motivated me to get back on it and make sure I didn't backslide at all.

Of course, I've been preparing the leftovers for my son for lunch every day since then and it's been torture to not have any more now that I'm feeling better myself, but I have not!! I even managed to stay on plan on Sunday at the Minnesota Vikings Game (and did that make me want to have a drink or what!?) ;-)

So yesterday morning at the weigh-in we wrapped up my first month on the plan with a total loss of 17.75 lbs. Wow. I am VERY happy with those results - that's a lot of weight to lose in just one month!!

I'm sure I won't lose that much in the months going forward, but it sure is nice to start out that way. :-)

Good News / Bad News

Well, which do you want first? ;-)

Considering it's not really good or bad news for YOU, you probably don't really care, huh? Ok, I'll get on with it then!

The good news is actually two-fold.

1. When I weighed in last Friday for my 3rd week official total, I was down a total of 12 lbs. Yay!
2. When I weighed in this Monday, I was already down 3.5 more lbs since Friday, for a total of 15.5 lbs!! O_O!!

Ok, so that's a direct lead-in to the bad news (which is also two-fold), with the first part being that I spent the weekend with a stomach bug, and it's WHY I lost all that weight. Ick. 

I don't expect that weight loss to stick, as I'm certain that once I'm fully re-hydrated it will go back up. However, this morning when I got on the scale (after managing to eat almost all of my required food for the day and getting in all 80 oz of water yesterday) I was down another whole pound from yesterday morning. I didn't expect that; I really thought I would be back up. So I guess we'll see just how much comes back by the end of the week.

The second part of the bad news is that I would just kill for a pizza right now. I am still so weak, trying to get my strength back and eating light just isn't cutting it!! I cannot shake being hungry and I want so much to eat something filling, warm and comforting.

I brought a salad for lunch today and knew this would be an obstacle, so I tried to make it as appetizing as possible, using one of my fruits for the day by putting raspberries on it and bringing raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Not helping!! I am forcing it down with my Diet Sunkist. :-(

If I were further along in the diet (like, say, 3 months or more), I would so just eat the stupid pizza. But since I'm still in the first month, I just cannot bring myself to go off plan and backslide. I want the 15 lb milestone to stick for the week!!

So, I will continue to choke down my salad for lunch, because I know I will enjoy some leftover turkey tacos (which are actually VERY VERY YUMMY!) for dinner tonight. Then I will have gotten through another day and hopefully tomorrow I will feel better, have more strength and staying on plan won't be so hard, right? ;-)

This Week's Final Weigh-In (and a SHOUT OUT!!!)

So I just got back from SlimGenics for my final weigh-in of the week and I'm down a total of 9.25 lbs!! Yay!!

I also learned that Friday is the day that they measure your weight loss for the week, not Monday like I thought. So when they put down on the chart your weight loss for the week, it's compared to the previous Friday. So with that in mind, my 9.25 lbs breaks down to 5.25 lbs the first week and 4 lbs this week.

Now, for the more important part of today's blog post. The shout out. It goes to my loving hubby, Mike. He has always been so supportive and encouraging no matter what the situation has been, but he has really gone above and beyond in supporting me in this journey and it is making such a huge difference.

There are two things that I really want to mention specifically here. The first is the obvious open support that he gives in that he doesn't eat foods that he knows I would enjoy (like cake at my Aunt's birthday party last week). But more importantly, and less obvious to everyone else, is that he is really doing a lot to make foods that aren't my favorite (specifically chicken) not only tolerable, but likable and enjoyable for me.

He has been creating some fabulous marinades to let the chicken sit in (all with on-plan herbs and such) so they don't have that "chicken" taste that just throwing a chicken breast on the grill has. For lunch we just had grilled chicken that sat in a spicy marinade of green chilies, dry mustard, crushed red pepper, etc. for 24 hours and it was GOOD!!

I really believe his support and help like this is going to be the difference, as my dad said, between success and failure.

Thank you, baby. I love you and appreciate how behind me you are and the help you're giving me more than you'll ever know. We all need a great support system to help us succeed in life and you give me the best one I could ask for.

My First Challenges & Frustrations

Well, it was bound to happen sometime, right? ;-)

This week has not been nearly as motivating as the first week, but luckily I don't feel defeated or anything and I'm still very motivated to stick to this and keep going. 

While I knew the weight loss would not continue anywhere near the pace of the first week, it has slowed much more than I anticipated so quickly. When I weighed in Monday morning, I was so happy that I was down 7.75 lbs. Then, I weighed in yesterday afternoon and I was UP .5 lbs since Monday morning. Talk about a bummer!

But, they stated that it's very normal and to not worry at all. People generally don't lose the weight just down, down, down. It's up and down, up and down, but the average for the weeks is generally more consistently down. They said I'm doing great and that I could still reach my 10 lb milestone this week, which would be awesome.

I think I need to change it up more and eat a larger variety of foods, not allowing my body a chance to acclimate to anything. I need to be more creative and try new recipes!!

So that's the (minor) frustration, now for the challenge. I'm actually not all that worried about it, to be honest, but still. Tonight we are going to the State Fair for the MercyMe/Jeremy Camp concert. YAY!!! So excited for the concert; not so much for all that tempting State Fair food. 

Luckily, I haven't been having cravings and I don't yet really feel like I'm missing fattening food. It's certainly way too early in this journey to even consider taking steps backwards, so I'm 100% positive that I won't actually eat anything. That doesn't mean I'm not bummed that it will be another year before I get the chance to eat those mini donuts or cheese curds. ;-)

I weigh in again on Friday morning, so I'll be back after that to report on my last weigh-in for this week. :-)

Have a great day everyone!

One Down, 39 To Go!

Well, it actually might be less than 39, since the 40 weeks of weight loss was based on 2.5 lbs a week and I just had my Week 1 weigh in at SlimGenics and I lost 7.75 lbs!! Too bad every week can't be a Week One, huh? ;-)

As you can imagine, I'm pretty happy with that for Week One and I'm highly motivated to keep going. How could I NOT be?

Going forward, I'm praying for 3 lbs a week. SlimGenics says I can lose 3-5 lbs a week, so I figure if I can keep on track with the low end of that, I will be pleased, because that's a lot of weight each week. If I were to maintain that average from here on out, my weight loss phase would be cut down to only about 31 weeks instead of 40 weeks.

The best thing is that I really haven't been all that hungry (they say you won't be, but I had to experience it to believe it!), except for one day last week where I was out and about running errands in the morning and I forgot to bring a morning snack with me. I didn't eat anything between breakfast and lunch and as a result, I was STARVING by the time lunch rolled around and I really wasn't able to recover all day.But other than that, not hungry! 7.75 lbs of weight loss and not hungry! Who knew it was even possible?!

Of course, there will be no Great Minnesota Get Together (The Minnesota State Fair) for me this year, because that's just all about eating (at least to me!) and there is no way I'm going to ruin what I've started. Mini-donuts, cheese curds and milk shakes will have to wait a year. Everyone who is going, have some for me. ;-)

Prep Days are Over ~ First Day on Plan!

Yay!! Prep days are officially behind me and today I started the weight loss phase on my plan. The piece of toast with butter that I had with breakfast never tasted so good before!!

Anyway, without further adieu, yesterday I said that I would report one more time the weight loss according to my scale in the morning, which would accurately reflect just how much weight I lost during those three prep days. The final tally is in and.... drum roll please.... I lost a total of 6.8 lbs in those first 3 prep days!! Whoa. To say I'm happy with that as I begin is an understatement. That makes the prep days sooooo worth it.

Something interesting I did today was to compare our scale to the SlimGenics scale. I went right to SlimGenics after work and weighed in. Then when I got home, I immediately walked in the door and weighed myself on our scale under the same conditions as I had just 15 minutes earlier on their scale. I weighed EXACTLY the same on our digital scale as their digital scale. Nice to know we have an accurate scale. Makes me feel even better about the 6.8 lbs. ;-)

But here's the kicker: I was wearing jeans and a pretty heavy long-sleeved top today. They commented on how heavy my clothes were before I even stepped on the scale at SlimGenics. So after weighing myself here at home, I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, went to the bathroom and got back on the scale and I weighed 2.2 lbs less!

This was really good news, because when I stepped on their scale, I was only down 2.5 lbs from my start weight last Friday. Of course, I knew the loss would be less than my 6.8 lbs because of the "last-hurray" weekend gain, but I seriously doubt I gained 4.3 lbs over the weekend, you know? I'm actually down closer to 4.7 lbs from my start, meaning I gained about 2.1 lbs over the weekend.

There it is. The last time I will worry about my weight loss according to my scale starting from this past Monday. I know my scale is accurate, which is nice, and I really only wanted to get a good baseline of what I lost in those three days since I hadn't weighed in at SlimGenics since the previous Friday morning.

So here I am, Thursday of my first week and I'm already officially down almost 4.7 lbs.

I think I'm off to a great start. Thanks for the prayers everyone, because I'm sure they're helping. They always do. ;-)

Final "Prep" Day!

So today is my last "prep day" and I officially start the plan tomorrow. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

I never thought I would be so anxious to start a diet in my life, but there are so many things I haven't been able to eat these three days that I will be able to eat starting tomorrow (like starches and fruits, etc!). And all the snacks I bought from them last night... oohhhhh... they look so good. Can't wait to be able to enjoy two a day starting tomorrow!!

Now, I want to talk about what I've lost so far, but I will advance warn that this is the first time and also the 2nd to last time I will mention what I've lost according to my scale at home. The reason is this: I weighed in with SlimGenics mid-morning last Friday, obviously fully-clothed and with food in my belly. I then proceeded to have many "last meals" over the weekend, so I'm sure I put weight on (as I said earlier, I weighed the same thing Monday morning before eating anything and with no clothes on...).

So yesterday afternoon I weighed in at SlimGenics again, and I was down .25 lbs from last Friday. That, to me, is my official weight loss, because that's going to be what I track going forward, which is why I'm not going to talk about what I've lost according to my scale.

I do want to state that I've been getting on the scale every morning under the exact same conditions (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday), just for a baseline of how these prep days are going. Tomorrow will be last such weigh-in that I'll report, but I will report it as it will be my total lost for those three prep days. Going forward I will only report the SlimGenics official weight loss, even though it will be less.

Ok, all that build up just to say: so far I am down 4.4 pounds for the first two days!!! Crazy!!! It will be interesting to see what my final three day total is for these prep days. Talk about kicking off a diet on a high note!!

Now, for areas of improvement and monitoring: if there is any one thing that I already realize I'm going to have to be aware of, it's getting in my daily salt intake. Since I will be getting virtually no salt from the foods I'm consuming, I have to add back in 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. of Morton's Lite Salt to my food each day. I've never been a salter, so remembering to do that has been tough!! Yesterday I didn't get in any at all, but today I've been good so far, having some with both breakfast and lunch.

Another issue in question was my water consumption. I am supposed to drink 80 oz of water daily, but have been drinking 96 oz, since I just fill my 32 oz water bottle three times. I asked them about this last night and they said to not go over 100 oz in a day, as it will indeed start to flush out vitamins. They're not cheap, so we don't want to do that! ;-)

Ok, so I'm off to a good start and really looking forward to more choices starting tomorrow. Going to do some grocery shopping tonight to make sure I have some good meals to plan for the rest of the week.

We've only just begun ~ thanks for sticking with me!

I'm off and running!

... to the bathroom, that is. ;-)

Today marks the official start of my journey on the SlimGenics diet. I have upped my water consumption (I must say I LOVE the thermo-boost packs that I mix with my water!!) and as a result, I have spent a large part of the day running to the bathroom. Ha!

I will admit that I'm hungry today, which I fully expected. There are many foods that I'll be able to eat on this diet, but not yet. Very minimal for these first 3 "prep days". To be fair, I can have unlimited green veggies and meats, but I haven't eaten all that much (no veggie snacks this afternoon) because I've been busy, so that obviously plays into being hungry. Tomorrow when I go back to work, I plan to bring more food and to set alarms on my computer to remind me to eat snacks. If I can eat more food and curb the hunger, why wouldn't I?

I had two hard-boiled eggs for breakfast; half an orange mid-morning; steak, green beans, snow pea pods and green peppers for lunch; the other half of the orange mid-afternoon; and I'll be having grilled chicken and salad for dinner (and I consumed about 96 ounces of water today!).

All in all, I think it's been a pretty good first day. I was a little worried about all the omega vitamins that I would be taking, because some of them make you burp up a fishy taste. YUCK!! These, luckily, do not. Phew.

Oh, and I got on the scale first thing this morning and I weighed EXACTLY (to the ounce) what I weighed at the SlimGenics office last Friday. I found that to be comforting, considering I ate a lot of fatty food over the weekend. Of course, I'm sure I gained, as I was wearing clothes when I weighed in at the SlimGenics office. ;-)

I've made it through Day 1! Only 279 more to go!

The Final Supper

So tonight is the final supper; the last food I shall eat before officially kicking off my SlimGenics journey tomorrow. My first three days I anticipate being hungry, though who knows. I have to eat the same thing for these first three days, called the prep days. However, I get unlimited portions of proteins, including, but not limited to:

• Steak
• Hamburger
• Chicken
• Shrimp
• Turkey

I can also eat unlimited amounts of green veggies, so I see lots of snacking on green peppers, broccoli, snow peas and cucumbers in these three days.

I did LOTS of shopping today to buy all these healthy foods and I actually felt really good for the first time in a long time going through the check out line. It wasn't just that I wasn't buying junk food, because I've done that a lot. But usually, I'm buying a ton of frozen meals, etc. This time, it was healthy, fresh food. Fresh produce galore. And the best part? It all looks GOOD to me. Of course, I'm sure I'll get sick of it after three straight days, but at least it's food that I enjoy, like eggs for breakfast and oranges for snacks.

So tonight for my final meal, a some good friends are bringing over roast and loaded baked potatoes. YUMMY!! It's gonna be a meat and potatoes kinda night (of course topped off by watching Brett Favre and my Vikings ~ can't believe that's the first shout out I've given them, even though they have nothing to do with my journey, other than to hopefully make me smile for much of it!)

It's time to go enjoy some good friends, good football (I hope!!) and some good Minnesota food for the last time in about 10 months. Tomorrow will be the start of the journey towards a healthier, smaller me!!

It's Official!

I am now officially signed up for SlimGenics and I start the plan on Monday.

I spent a couple hours there this morning going over everything and I'm VERY excited. I cannot believe I'm saying that about a diet!!!

They really focus on the "maintenance" and stick with you for a full 16 weeks after you reach your goal weight to help you reintroduce the foods you love and help you learn how to maintain the weight on your own. This is EXACTLY what I need! 

So in the interests of complete transparency, after doing my weigh-in, my weight loss goal is 99 lbs. That is A LOT of weight. But hey, I was happy to see it not tip 100 - a whole 1 pound less! Haha!

My weight loss phase is 40 weeks. I know that's a long time, but man, 99 pounds in 10 months will be a pretty remarkable feat, so I'm very pleased with that. There is NO WAY I could lose 99 lbs in 10 months on my own, if I could lose it at all!!

The even better part is that you are monitored and it's done in a healthy way, despite being so quick. Your body's metabolism is just kicked into high gear and you are not depriving it of anything, especially lean muscle mass! That is so key.

I'm already looking forward to having more energy and living a healthier lifestyle. Just a few more days and I'll be starting the journey!

Thanks for the support and prayers I'm already receiving. I'm very ready to make this change in my life and having my family and friends alongside me means so much.

Today's the Day!

Yay! I have my first Slimgenics consultation today in only an hour and a half; then I will be officially signed up and on my way.

My intent is to start the plan on Monday, which sounds like it will work for them, as that is when their "week" starts.

I feel like I'm going to explode today, as I ate WAY too much yesterday. I had baja sauce with chips in my weekly team meeting, Culver's for lunch, cake for a co-worker in the afternoon and then Buca for dinner. Ugh. I actually have a headache today. I have no plans for food at all today, which suits me just fine.

Everyone please say a prayer for me as I head off to my first appointment. I'll post more later once I've actually visited and signed up!

Beware the Pre-Diet Phase!!

So, you've seen my list.

Since then, I've eaten some very yummy foods (including pizza, gnocchi with alfredo sauce and a Wendy's Baja salad) even though I haven't stuffed myself with any of them. I basically just haven't watched what I was eating and I've had some candy, etc.

This morning, a pair of jeans that I've been wearing comfortably for many months were tight enough that I had to lay down on the bed to get them on!!

I am excited enough about this weight loss journey that this is upsetting. I don't want to gain 10 pounds the week before I start the Slimgenics diet. That's just 10 more pounds I'll have to take off and 10 more pounds I'll have to pay them for.

Of course, we're having pizza for dinner from Savoy's tonight (YUMMY!!!) and tomorrow night I'm going to Buca di Peppo with a couple girlfriends for dinner. My birthday is this Saturday, so I'm obviously not going to worry about it that day.

I must try and eat lighter lunches and such because I do not like that I've started a weight loss blog and since then, my jeans are tighter!!

What Would YOU Eat?

Ok, so the countdown is on. I have 1 week before I start the new Slimgenics program. We all know the most important question at this point: What to eat?

Now, I want to keep my previous post about Gluttony in mind, so I'm not looking to go overboard here. However, I do want to enjoy some good food in moderation, so I'm thinking about the things I'll miss the most during the weight loss phase, and trying to get them in this week.

Some of my favorites:

• Pizza 
• Pasta with alfredo sauce (or any cream-based sauce, really)
• Mexican food (this one is tough for Minnesota!)
• Chinese food (Orange Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken...)
• Pizza!!
• Did I mention Pizza? ;-)

Ok, so these are some of the foods I'm going to be enjoying this week, in addition to just trying to eat a lot of the food in the house that I would prefer is gone while dieting.

What are some of the foods that you would enjoy if you only had 1 week left to eat them for awhile?

Gluttony IS a Sin!

Awhile back, while having a strategic discussion about how to approach weight loss, Mike and I had a conversation that really stuck with me regarding gluttony. The bible talks about it and labels it a sin, just like overeating or sexual immorality. In fact, it was even listed as one of the sins that led to Sodom's destruction (Ezekiel 16:49, NLT states: Sodom's sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness...).

What specifically stuck with me was how so many Christians look down on overindulging in alcohol, but don't think twice about overindulging in food (us included!).

Like most people, we really use food to celebrate (and I don't think there's anything wrong with that). So at what point does it become sinful?

What would we say or think if we saw a family member get falling-down drunk at Thanksgiving dinner? Would we rationalize that they had a good excuse, because it's a holiday or would we still look down on the behavior? So what if we overeat until we need to be rolled out the door? We think nothing of that; in fact, most of us can completely relate. So just like having a drink isn't a sin, enjoying good food, in my opinion, also is not. But overindulging is.

So, how do we flip the switch and change our way of thinking to be more godly when it comes to overeating? My best answer at this point is to ask you to let me know if you find a way, because I haven't yet found it! ;-)

For starters, I looked at the definition of gluttony. I guess I never really viewed overeating at the occasional meal as gluttony. I pictured some 400 lb dude surrounded by food; eating day and night. However, the dictionary definition of gluttony is simply as follows: "excessive eating and drinking". So how does the bible define it? I decided to look at the passage from Ezekiel in different translations to see if it shed any light:

NIV: Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned...

NASB: Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease...

ESV: Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease...

Clearly, there have been many times in my life that "overfed, abundant food and excess of food" have applied. Heck, there have been times in the past week!

Does that mean that I can't ever LIKE or ENJOY food? I don't think so. I just believe it's about moderation.

I must try to work on that, especially with my birthday coming up...

I'd like to ask that you find some other bible verses regarding overeating and gluttony and post them in the comments section. Here's one more from me: 

Proverbs 23:20-21 (NIV):

 ²⁰ Do not join those who drink too much wine
       or gorge themselves on meat,
 ²¹ for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
       and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Journey #1: Weight Loss

So, this would be my first ever post on my first ever blog. I've been part of blogs before, but I've never had one of my own.

Basically, I honestly can't imagine that many people really caring, but I decided to do this more for my own accountability than anyone else.

Our journey on this earth isn't easy for anyone. We all need all the help we can get, right? So this is my call for help.

I want to be a better Christian, a better wife to my husband and a better mom to my little boy. So to that end, I've decided that my physical and spiritual health are at the center of all those things and that is what I need to concentrate on. I believe I need the physical health before I can truly attain the spiritual health to its fullest, so that is where I will begin.

Anyone who's known me all my life has got to know just how uncomfortable I am in my own skin being this overweight. This is just not me. God did not design me to be this way, so by being this way, I have let the evil one win. What's up with that!?

Well, it's time to do something about it. Is it going to be easy? Nope. Is it going to be cheap? Nope. Is it going to be enjoyable? I'm guessing not! But is it going to be worth it? YES!!! Am I going to be a better wife because of it? YEP! Am I going to be a better mother? MOST CERTAINLY. And most importantly, am I going to be able to more effective for the kingdom of Christ? YES!!!

So how can I NOT do it?

This coming Friday I have my first appointment at Slimgenics. It's a weight loss program to be sure, but the key for me is that I will have a one-on-one weight loss counselor that I will meet with 3 times a week to help me. I believe that will be the key. If I could have done this on my own, I would have already!!!

I work with a woman whose best friend did this and has had amazing (and more importantly LASTING) results. She finally caved and decided to do it herself 6 weeks ago. It's not the cheapest route, to be certain, but when is hiring a personal counselor for ANYTHING cheap? Heh.

Only 6 weeks in, the changes in my co-worker have been inspiring. I sat down and talked with her about the plan and came to the same conclusion she did: can I afford to do this? How about asking the better question: can I afford NOT to?

So I am going to use this space to post about my journey and how it's going. When I'm having good days, when I'm having bad days and everything in between.

What am I asking of you? Click on the right to follow my blog - I need support and prayers that I will stick with this and come out the other side healthier for my family and for God!