1 month update

About 2 months ago I took pictures and measurements. The after 1 month of my routine I took pictures again and measured myself again. I was going to post pictures but think I will wait another month or 2. The difference is shocking. I lost approximately 18-20 pounds depending on the scale. 4 inches from my waist, 1 inch from each arm and leg, and 3 inches around my chest. Most of my pants are getting too big and I am starting to get out the smaller clothes. I am starting to get excited!

Vacation

I took a 3 day "vacation" from my high protein diet. A friend had a party on saturday night and it was my 6th anniversary and I wanted to celebrate! I actually found that I didnt eat as much as I thought I would and some of the food made me feel a bit gross. I was actually excited to get back on my eating plan and feeling good again. Its recommended also that every few weeks of doing this restrictive of a diet that you eat regular foods for a day or two to jump start further weightloss or if you have stalled a bit. In 2 days I will have been doing this for a month. I will be taking pictures and doing a final weigh in....

I have been on a strict no carb diet for almost a month now . I am feeling hormonal and craving everything in sight. We went out to dinner last night and I broke down and fries. Is'nt it kind of silly that I felt guilty? I should'nt I know. I believe most "diets" fail because people feel deprived. When I lost weight before if I felt I NEEDED a pint of Ben and Jerrys I would eat a pint. I think it kept me on the correct path. I am not saying to binge of food everytime you feel the need but giving into cravings in moderation. Although this weekend a friend is having a party and its my 6th wedding anniversary so I am taking the weekend "off" Its recommended that 1x a month or when your weightloss stalls to eat normal foods for about 2 days again to jump start further weightloss.

This week....

My DR called yesterday and said all my blood tests looked great. The only one that was slightly high was my thyroid but not enought to justify medication. I have a stack of 5 exercise DVDs that I will be trying this week to find more that I would like to buy. By the end of the week I will make a list of what I think. Also last night I watched a documentary that I checked out from the library. Its called "Fat". It essentially about how people are overweight for more reasons that just overeating. About how we are wired and have the compulsions we do. I do not really overeat or binge. I eat healthy organic foods. I am dairy, gluten, sugar, chemical/preservative free. You would think with a diet like that I would lose weight. I have struggled and the weight just does not want to come off. To get any weightloss I have to go to the extremes I am. Exercising intensly, eating a low carb diets and supplements. At one point I was considering surgery because EVERYTHING I was doing was not working and it was very frustrating. Now that I am finally losing I feel very encouraged!

I went to my weekly meeting expecting them to tell me I lost at least 3-4 lbs and I only lost 1.5! Its a bit discouraging when I exercised and strictly stayed on my eating plan all week. My husband keeps telling me maybe it was a small plateau and this week will be better. I am committing to try and walk and do a DVD daily and see what my results are next week. Its hard to fit it all in when you have a busy 5yo! I hoing this week will be a better week....

Getting noticed....

I went to Central Market and ran into an old friend. My greeting was " Wow, you've lost weight. You look great!" Its affirming to know that other people are noticing because I dont feel thinner yet! Even my wedding ring is getting too big. I think I can wear it maybe another week before I have to put it up until I am done losing weight and can get it resized.

The beginning

Here is a brief description of what I have been doing the past few weeks:
April 11th I flew to Wisconson for a week long vacation with my aunt. We spent the week doing raw foods fast. I started an exercise DVD series called Slim in 6 by Beach Body. I managed to do it everyday I was there.
April 18th I arrived home and went grocery shopping. I was starting the Atkins diet again the follwing day
April 19th-April 26th I am in the Induction phase of the Atkins diet and just feel tired and out of sorts. The first few weeks you usually feel like that until your body adjusts to the diet. I have been keeping up my dvd every morning and walking when I can.
April 27th I hurt my knee from the dvds. There is alot of lunges and squats and I either was'nt doing them right or my body could'nt take that much exercise that soon. I am taking a few days off until my knee gets better. In the meantime I will still be walking. I am checking out a few Pilates dvds from the libary to try. Its great exercise and much easier and the joints.
April 30th I am doing Pilates and walking and starting to feel better.
May 1st A local group is putting on a "Biggest Loser" competition. I decided to join. It will help keep me accountable. They meet 1x a week and there is a new topic every time. My first meeting they had a Zumba instructor come and do a demo class. Me dancing is a scary sight! Everyone paid $10 to join and it goes in a pot. Every week you weigh in the and the winner gets a prize. At the end of the competition in June the 1st and 2nd place winners split the money. I think there are about 25 people signed up.
May 2nd I went to the DR to run the diet past her. She thinks all that I am doing is great. I am doing a few blood tests to make sure everything is ok with my body chemistry. I am loosing weight so rapidly that I want to make sure all is ok.
I plan on posting my total weightloss for the first month on May 19th.

A little bit about me.....

I have been struggling with my weight for about 10 years. Back in 2001 I was a serious car wreck that resulted in a severe back injury. I went from about 130lbs to 235ish in 2 years. After PT and pain meds I was not getting better.In 2003 I finally started walking, lifting weights and started the Atkins diet. I lost about 95lbs in 9 months, it just melted off. Size 22 to a size 6. Life went on and I got pregnant with my son. When he was 3 months old I was about 160lbs in hopes of getting back to 135 within a few months. Another car accident aggravated my back injury sending me into a downward spiral. Pain, immobility and the weight started piling back on. Since mid 2005 I have been holding steady at about 195-200lbs. I have made many attempts to diet/exercise and lose the weight. Nothing I did worked. I never lost more than 10 pounds and it always came back on. Recently my life has been full of tradgedy and sadness. My 23 year old brother and father passed away with 4 months of each other. And a few other very stressful life circumstances. It was almost too much to bare and I was not coping. I was drowning and could not catch my breath. I am not really sure what happened but something switched on in my brain. It was either sink or swim and I had to make a choice. Since that happened the weight has been coming off.....