Monday, November 30, 2009

DietSchmiet aka How I've Lost 20 Pounds....so far..

I've been getting lots of compliments on my recent weight loss (thank you!!) and lots of questions as to how I did it. I've lost about 20 pounds in the last 3 months (yay!!) and am feeling better than I have in a very long time, thanks to a few interesting discoveries along the way.

I started out doing a low carb diet, since I managed to have success on this diet about 10 years ago. The last time I did it, I managed to lose about 30 pounds. This wasn't from dieting alone, as no diet should be. I was also exercising pretty regularly. The thing is, I didn't stick to it and managed to gain it all back plus about 10 extra pounds on top of it. Yikes!!

There were also a LOT of life changing and very stressful situations that happened between then and now. I won't go into details on those right now, but let's just say that these situations did not do any favors to my weight or waistline. I know people who lose weight when they are depressed or stressed out. I, however, was quite the opposite. I ate. I ate bad food. And I ate a lot of it.

So here I was, 40 pounds heavier than I was the last time I thought I "successfully" dieted. I made up my mind to try to do something about it (for about the 500th time...haha). But this time, I've managed to stay strong enough to stick with it for more than just a few days.

Soooo, as I was saying, it started off as a low carb diet. Only this time I wanted to do it healthier. I was eating more veggies and leaner meats....not just meat and cheese and eggs. The first week was rough. I was still craving the foods I had given up and I was feeling very tired and run down. I thought it was just my body getting adjusted to having to learn to burn off my stored fat for energy instead of carbs. I remembered feeling kind of tired the last time I did the diet 10 years ago, so I decided to stick with it. I was starting to lose weight, plus I was exercising. However, I still wasn't feeling any better. In fact, I was feeling worse.

On top of all of that and totally unrelated (or so I thought), I had also been dealing with some sort of skin condition off and on for about 5 years where I would just randomly start itching in different places on my body, usually arms or legs, but I wouldn't break out (yeah...I know...weird AND frustrating). This was also happening more frequently. So, after suffering with this for too long and fed up with having to keep Benadryl always on hand, I finally decided to make an appointment to see an allergist about 3 weeks ago. And, guess what...I found out I was allergic to eggs and dairy products (What The Fruitloops??!!). I was basically told to go on a 'cave man' diet for 6 weeks and then come back and be re-tested. NO eggs, NO dairy, and NO processed foods with the exception of Thanksgiving day, where I did cheat, (Come on, I was NOT about to pass up pumpkin pie AND homemade macaroni and cheese...nuh uh) BUT... I didn't beat myself up about it and I got back on track the very next day.

So now, basically all I'm eating now are lean, unprocessed meats, lots of veggies, LOTS of water, and some fruits and nuts. And in the last 3 months, I've lost 20 pounds and I feel a lot better than I have in a verrrrrrrrry long time. If you really think about it, this is a very healthy way of eating. Also, on top of walking and rebounding, I'm also trying to incorporate strength and flexibility exercises such as weights and yoga, back into my fitness regimen.

So there you have it. That's the verrry long story of how I've been losing weight...haha. I still have a long way to go. I would like to lose about 40-50 more, but 20 is definitely a very nice start and I'm very proud of myself!

Th...th...th...that's all for now, folks!
Take care and be nice to yourself and others. :) xox