Melt into Svelte!

Hello tumblr peeps! long time no see! Looking back on this blog it’s been 2 years since the last time I posted and 7 SEVEN whole years since I started this weight loss journey. In that time I have grown this person… 

I was pregnant with her when I wrote my first post… but I’ve also grown this whole person…

What?

and guess what? I haven’t lost any weight in fact I’ve gained weight. I started this blog at 253lbs and today I weigh 268! But that’s not the highest Ive been, when pregnant with my second baby I tipped the scales at a whopping 300. Seeing that 300 literally made me cry. I tried to brush it off cuz I was pregnant and it was a ROUGH pregnancy but the harsh truth was that I was 300lbs and for 3 years after that pregnancy I floated around in the 290s trying to be healthy without killing my mental health. I ate regular meals, plenty of veggies, went to the gym and tried to be healthy. I even hired a professional nutritionist because I was SO discouraged with my lack of success, and I needed someone to tell me what to do. The nutritionist had me eating 6 small meals a day and recommended low fat, foods with artificial sugars because I told her I'm pre-diabetic. I figured that I wasn’t going to get healthy by swapping fatty junk food for low fat junk food, so one day I just had a melt down... I sat in my room and I cried and I prayed and I asked God to tell me what to do, what to eat and HOW to lose weight and get healthy. I poured my heart out and reflected on all of my feelings my struggles, my hopes, my desire to just BE HEALTHY. It wasn’t for  lack of trying. I was TRYING I just had no idea what to do with all of the conflicting information out there. I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning I woke up and got Zoey ready for school and just felt like crap, so I didn’t eat breakfast, and for a few days I just fell into my normal habits of skipping breakfast and eating when/whatever I felt like. Then my brother, out of the blue sent me this video...

While I was watching it, I knew.. and that voice inside me said “this is the answer” Fasting! It just clicked and made so much sense! Growing up my family regularly did 24 hour fasts as part of our religion, so I started digging and have found such a wealth of information that I never found before in any of my other weight loss attempts.

I did my first 48 hour fast on November 14th and since then have lost 30lbs. I don’t always eat what I should, it’s still a struggle, but the scale is finally moving in the right direction and the science just makes sense to me! SO going forward I’d like to share my journey with Fasting, extended Fasts and Intermittent fasts. I got a lot of information from Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. Eric Berg on youtube plus a few other sources I’m not confident sharing yet. I also incorporate a low carb/higher fat/ paleo way of eating.

oh boy, I was gone for a few day i guess. so here is a condensed version..

Day 13 Water Wednesday In a nut shell, I’m not drinking enough water even though I feel like a fish and I’m peeing constantly. I’m also drinking NOTHING else, so I don’t really see how this is possible.

Day 14 Gratitude Thursday

What are you favorite foods? The ones I’m not supposed to have :/ pizza, ice cream, pasta, bread. Do you have a favorite recipe? I’m a big fan of my mom’s coleslaw. for some reason cabbage is climbing the ladder to being my favorite veggie. I have to dig out the recipe book so I can make it this week! Do you have a favorite recipe book, website or food app? I’m a big fan of Pinterest, but my mom made me a recipe book of all of her recipes that is a goldmine of things not found on Pinterest. Give us a list of five foods or recipes that make you happy! Honestly, my problem is that there are foods that make me happy. So I’m not going to do this. it’ll look like the answer to the first question and I’m already having a rough day.

Day 15 Fun Food Friday Part of this answer is a convenient excuse cuz I didn’t do it, but I’m kind of depressed today about food, and myself and I need to stop associating food with fun and happiness. So no, I’m not gonna cut my plain chicken breast in the shape of a Dino to make it fun, cuz I need to start thinking of food as nutrition and fuel for my body. Something that needs to be done and chosen wisely, not because I’m bored or because it’s fun. Sorry to be a party pooper.

Day 16 Weekly Check In

I was doing really well but something about today put me in a funk. I ate nothing all day, and nothing in the house was anything I wanted to eat. So I went to the grocery store and everything was full of carbs and sugar. I felt so numb just walking up and down the isles with an empty basket not knowing what to buy. I looked at all the junky foods I would have normally eaten like they were old friends that had wronged me. I miss them, but I hate them and I hate how they make me feel. So I made my Hubby pick what we were having for dinner and he made a chicken, bean dip with cheese and salsa. It’s really good, but more carby than I should have and I ate it with chips soooo yea. I’m also annoyed cuz the therapist I’m supposed to be seeing to help me with this is booked solid until the middle of February. How is this going to help me? It would have been nice to talk to her today about how I’m feeling but I’m sure by the time my appointment gets here, I’ll have forgotten all about it and I’ll be in a good mood again.

Any who, I’m gonna go watch a sappy chick flick and probably go to bed early. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Monday January 11th - Motivational Monday

What motivates you to eat healthier or to follow a specific nutrition plan? -I’m following a keto diet and my biggest motivator is honestly being afraid of the amount of fat I’m eating if I slip up and eat too many carbs all that fat gets stored and my efforts will have literally been for nothing.

Do you cut out processed junk foods or limit what you have in the house so you don’t eat when you’re having a bad day, bored, etc? -in an ideal world yes. but in reality no. I used to work at wholefoods and i totally understand the green and clean eating. I know why whole foods are important and why a plant based diet is best. But I cant. I’ve tried so many times to lose weight and get healthy just eating clean and I always fail. I try to do things in moderation and then just don’t listen to my very good advise. I also live with a lot of people who keep a lot of bad food around and I just drive myself crazy trying to avoid it all. The keto thing is working for me though so far. I don’t have too many cravings and I haven’t felt deprived at all.

Do you still enjoy your favorite foods, but in moderation? -well it’s only been 12 days but I’ve only cheated once and I feel pretty good about that. If I can keep up that pace I’ll be happy. I find having a moderation mentality doesn’t work for me. Whereas if I say I can’t have it at all, I do better

Do you have any tips, tricks, or strategies you use to keep less-healthy foods to a minimum in your diet? -nope, not really

Do you try new foods or recipes to keep things interesting and not feel monotonous? -monotony is a struggle for me. I have to constantly try new foods cuz I get bored very easily. The other day I made my own soup from scratch, and I made chili in the crock pot last week. I’ve become very fond of sauteed cabbage and or Brussels sprouts. Pinterest is my best friend.

When you go out to restaurants, do you check the menu beforehand to limit looking at unhealthy options to resist the temptation? -I haven’t, but that’s a good idea!

Tuesday, January 12th - Try it Tuesday

Try a new recipe or new food today!

hmmmm well I was out today, So I got a Wendys salad :/ Does that count? I’ve never had it before, cuz I’d normally get some ridiculous burger. But yesterday I did experiment a little. There is this broccoli au gratin recipe that I love. It normally has bread crumbs on top so when I made it yesterday I left off the bread crumbs and I added in some chicken chunks and it came out pretty good! I’ve been a slacker and haven’t taken many pictures, so here’s a screen shot of my Pinterest board... as you can see I like cooking. I reaaly need to make a keto board though so I’m not looking at those yummy carb and sugar filled recipes while I’m scrolling.

Yesterday was a bad day. I felt horrible and spent most of the day in bed. Then when I woke up I had no self control and ate way too much. Then went back to bed. I was only awake for about 7 hours but still managed to eat 2,086 calories. (Sad face) but I won't let this derail me like it usually does. Today is a new day!

Tell us about your food:

How did I do this week?

Look back at the goals you set on January 3rd.  

Did you make any progress? -I’d say it’s probably too soon to see much progress since my goals were set for the full month, however I’ve made it a whole week so thats 7 days down.

What went the way you planned? - I haven’t had a single drop of soda which is awesome. I’ve also kept my carbs at a minimum and I think I’m doing a satisfactory job with the diet.

What struggles did you have? -My biggest struggle is being out. Hubby and I got a gift card for Christmas we wanted to use so we went out to Chili’s and there wasn’t much I could eat. I ended up getting chili but I still ate some chips and southwestern egg rolls. -I also forgot about my diet all together at one point. We went to McDonald’s and without thinking just ordered what I usually get but fortunately snapped out of it before it made it to my mouth. So I threw out the buns and gave my fries to my hubby. Not as good as the salad I intended to get. But much better than the normal “oh well” I would have done normally

How did you and your accountability partners do in supporting each other through the week? -Just knowing that my accountability partners are here is a big help, we chatted a little, and they gave me encouragement on my posts.

Is there anything you need to really work on this next week? -I need to work more veggies in this week. with the exception of the day I went to McDonald’s I’ve had a big serving of either greens or cabbage for at least one meal, but I need to do better.

Every week we also want you to tell us at least 1 thing you learned from another blogger doing this challenge.  

What did you learn from your fellow Sparkers this week? -Well I learned that they sell stationary frames to make your road bike a pregnancy safe indoor exercise bike. that is cool, and I wish I had known that when I was pregnant! thank you @awesomeandblue 

Forgiveness Friday

Day 6 - Word Wednesday

Time Management Tuesday

I honestly have NO time management skills. I’m basically that person who flies by the seat of her pants making up rules as she goes. However knowing this was coming up, I went and bought a wall calendar at target yesterday while I was out. I’ve used it in the past just write appointments on and when bills are due so I wouldn’t forget and it was really helpful, so I plan to incorporate that idea into my health goals as well. I also like big wall or desk calendars because of the large amount of space to write in.

I also went to see my primary care Dr. yesterday and I got back on my medication and talked to her about my goals. She suggested cognitive behavioral therapy so that I can figure out why I keep starting but never actually accomplishing anything. So I set that up and actually had my first appointment for that yesterday as well. It went really well and I’ll be doing monthly weigh ins and setting goals etc. so I’m sure I can talk about time management with her as well.

Hey ! I'm still here! I had a late night last night and a busy day today. But tomorrow is wide open so I'll catch up on my posts tomorrow!