Day 23- Hoping for Change

I had a great meeting with my doctor a few days ago and we are try a few different things. Even though I didn't lose any weight last week and actually went up by a pound, I did lose more inches in my arms, stomach, and hips! 

One issue that we discovered what that I wasn't eating enough variety. I was having too much red meat which clogs you up so that didn't help my constipation. I was eating too many green beans, and wasn't mixing up my fruit enough. Basically my body got bored!

So my new eatin plan is to have chicken, turkey, fish, and beef in a meal rotation so that I'm not having the same foods at the same meals day in and day out. 

My doctor also encouraged me to eat more salads because they are mostly free vegetables. So I'm going to be having salads for lunch and cooked veggies for dinner this week.

For fruits I got honeydew, mango and strawberries so I should have a good rotation for fruit as well.

The other change is that they gave me a supplement to take during my meals to help me deal with stress. Even though I haven't felt like I was stressed they were seeing a stress response in my body. I'm also trying the excellerator this weekend 15 minutes before each meal to see if they kicks my body into drive. 

I also was told to try to do little bits of exercise like gently walkin for 20 minutes and so I'm going to try to walk about 7500 steps a day to try to up my burn.

Later today I'll post my weekly photo.

More news tomorrow!

Day 20-Continuing the Journey

So, I've been good and not weighed myself for the last few days.  I'm anxious to see what the scale says tomorrow.  I've been doing well with temptation.  Last night I went to play bunco and I didn't eat any of the candy or cookies or other delicious looking food that was available.  I just had 2 glasses of water.  This morning I watched as my husband ate 2 large cinnamon rolls right in front of me during class and I will say that they looked delicious.  There is still a part of me that wants to eat the sweet and fatty foods that I see all around me.  Sometimes I even sniff them just to be able to scratch my itch and I wouldn't say that fulfills my desire but I've been much stronger than ever before and have not cheated once.

I am getting bored of the foods I can eat and I know that I'm nearing the halfway point so I am pretty sure I can make it.  I just hate having to cook and then having to eat that same flavored food each day either for lunch or for dinner.  I'm craving other meats and proteins such as tofu or salmon.  I'd kill for sushi or ramen (not the instant kind). I also miss pasta and pizza and fondue.
This weekend I'm going to go to a butcher shop and see if I can get some other meat options for a decent price. Chicken and steak are now over rated!  I'm also going to experiment with some other vegetables.  I might make zucchini "pasta" with sauce just to have something different for a side dish.
I really hope that I've lost more weight and inches this week.  Because if I haven't I will be super disappointed and will be wondering if all this sacrifice was worth it.  I do feel like it's a sacrifice because I'm a foody and I've given up delicious foods and new experiences with food just to try to lose weight. And if this doesn't work, I may have to really look into my body chemistry because so far regular diet and exercise, atkins, south beach, never worked after the first 2 weeks.   It's not like I normally eat badly  but I do have a sweet tooth.
Well, I think I've ranted enough.  I will let you know how tomorrow goes.  Its another official weight in day and I am hoping for good news.  I've done everything right this week just like I have for the last 3 weeks so numerically things have to be lower, but my body never follows what it's supposed to do.

Day 17- Frustration sets in

I haven't blogged for a few days because I've been frustrated with everything.  My weight has fluctuated up for the last few days even though I've been adhering to the diet very strictly.  I feel thinner and am just not sure what's going on.  I've even been managing my stress (and quite frankly, if my body can't handle stress then I need a new one because I'm a stress junkie).
My husband has made me promise that I won't check my weight for a few days and so I'm hoping on Friday when it's official weigh in day that I will be lighter.  I have a therapeutic massage on Wednesday and that will hopefully help my legs feel better and will help flush out some toxins in my legs thus making them thinner.
I know right now I'm struggling with control issues which is making the lack of weight loss harder.  I can't control the craziness at work or with my personal business sales, but I can control what I put in my mouth. So I'm frustrated mostly with the fact that I'm doing everything "right" and I'm not seeing results.
This summer I have a weeding that I'm in, another that I'm going to, I'm turning 30 in just over a month, and I have 2 beach vacations and all of these are making me really want to lose weight and look beautiful.  This is adding to the frustration because I'm again afraid that this diet won't work just like all the rest.  But I'm nearly half way through and I will keep the faith and keep on blogging and checking in with myself because I think that this is helping me to keep on going.
I will say that I'm not hungry even though I'm eating so few calories.  I'm also drinking a lot more healthy fluids which has made my skin clear up and is much softer. My hands are still pretty dry but my face hasn't needed moisturizer in a while. Another plus is that I haven't had a migraine in 3 weeks which was another factor in me starting this diet.  I wanted to clean out my system to try to figure out what was causing my migraines.  So, now I'm off to have a relaxing bath and to get ready for bed.  Stay tuned!

Day 15- Settling In

Today I went to Costco to stock up for the week. I have an eye round roast in the oven which I'm super excited about. Eye Round is one of the leanest cuts of beef possible and I was able to cut off the fat so now it's almost fat free! I turned the oven on to 500 degrees and washed the roast off. I patted it dry and rubbed crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme all over it. I let that sit on the kitchen counter for a half hour to let the meat soak in the spices and then put it in the oven for 30 minutes. I then turned off the oven and am letig it sit in the oven for 3 hours. It should be nice and tender tonight and has made the house smell amazing! I also have my own dill pickles pickling in the fridge. 

I also bought chicken breasts and another thyme of steak. We don't eat pork so our meat choices are limited.

Here's my weekly picture update.

No weight loss on the scale yet but I have a feeling that tomorrow I will drop a pound or two because I've been less stressed and walked a bit extra today. Stay tuned for tomorrow's update!

Day 14- Small Successes

So weigh in day came and went.  Still no change although the scale keeps showing that I went up in weight which is crazy.  I think my body just enjoys the roller coaster ride and thinks that if it makes me think I'm not succeeding that I'll quit.
I did however lose inches!! 5.5 inches to be exact!  3 on my thigh, 1 on my calve, and 1 inch on my waist.  So I will celebrate this victory like the rest and will let the weight do it's thing.
I am switching my clearvite to the mornings and hopefully that will kick my metabolism into high gear.

Day 12 and 13-settling in

So I finally had a big loss! I'm now down to 177, although I've been here for two days straight. 

I'm getting used to saying no to myself and staying on plan although several times today I've had my inner sabatour pipe up and say oh you can eat just one: mini cinnamon bun, pretzel, pickle. But I've been able to stay on plan and not sneak. I will say that I do find myself missing some of my old comfort foods and I have had a stressful week, but I think in goin to be ok. In almost 1/3 of the way through this journey with official weigh in tomorrow. I'm making healthier choices and I am training myself to be able to say no after the supportive drops are gone.

I rewarded myself today with a manicure which I haven't had in over a month and it was a nice way to pamper myself and de-stress and a great option that kept me from eating.

I am getting a little bored with my good choices so I'm going to need to be creative next week which will be the half way mark.

The constipation has gotten better but I'm having to force myself to drink about 100 oz of liquid per day. I've been having tea, water, and lemon fizzy water. I might try chocolate chai again because I do miss chocolate.

More news tomorrow!

Day 11-Breakthrough

Today I had a breakthrough mentally. No I still haven't lost any weight or gone to the bathroom but I'm going to keep on trying. I know mathematically that what I'm doing has to work because I have at least a 1300 calorie deficit each day. I think what is happening is that I'm so afraid of brin successful, of losing the weight, of being thin; that my body is holding on to all this fat. I'm subconsciously looking for a reason to quit and my body is giving that reason to me by makin me constipated and not losing any weight for 5 days.

Usually when I don't lose weight after a few days on a diet I quit, but not this time. This time I'm sticking to it because I know it will work! I feel thinner and mentally I'm making smart healthy choices and I'm over coming demons daily. I'm even starting to celebrate small victories even if it's just by myself.

We shall see what tomorrow brings!

Day 10- Frustration

Well, I haven't lost any weight for the last few days.  I know that the literature said this could happen, but I expected it to happen later in my journey. I'm continuing with the diet, but am fearful that my doctor is going to make me start all over because I didn't load right. I'm also afraid that my body is just going to fight me forever as I try to loose weight. I have never been able to loose more than 9 pounds before my body rebounds back up no matter if I'm following the program to the t like I am now.  

I'm also concerned that I'm not going to the bathroom enough. I feel like if I could be regular then I might be able to loose because my body wouldn't be holding on to three days of food.

I went back to watching everything and made sure that I was under 500 calories for today and plan to do the same tomorrow. I feel like I've lost weight, but also feel a bit bloated and my lower back hurts.

I will keep you posted.

Day 9- confounded

So, today, I didn't lose any weight, but my pants are fitting looser. So I'm a little confused but I'm carrying on. I ate about 100 calories more than I was supposed to but I also took a walk so I burned a few extra calories. Tomorrow, it's back to being stringent and well see where we are after. Few days. I'm considering going down to 3.5 oz of everything instead of being at 4 because I'm afraid I'm eating too much.  I felt hunger a little more and have had several cravings pop up today but I fought through them.  I am missing bread and sweets as well as salmon.  I think if I had to give up bread and sweets for the rest of my life I could do that but giving up salmon and sushi I just cannot do.  I might try having fish tomorrow night and see if that also helps since I've eaten a lot of red meat today and have had it just about every day since starting.

Right now, it's about 8 pm and I'm having a cup of tea but I'm wishing it was something sweet.  I think eating the fruit last leaves me with sweet taste in my mouth and that makes me want more sweet.  I will say the the fruit is starting to taste stronger so I see this as a good thing.  

Mo news tomorrow, hopefully I will have gone down on the scale!

Day 8- one word...IKEA

There is not enough water or tea in the world that can combat the smell of food at IKEA! Boy was it hard to not slip up and since you can't bring water in you are forced to give up a lifeline in the name of new furniture. But I did escape with only furniture in hand!

Now I'm off to the grocery to do shopping before lunch, water bottle in hand!

My weight this morning was 181.2 which means I lost another pound!

Here's my weekly photo! 

I'm down a pant size, I got on a belt I haven't worn in 4 years and my boots went on without a struggle on my calves!

Today hasn't been so bad. Whole foods was also a little difficult but I made it through and then te rest of the day was pretty smooth sailing.

Dinner was a roasted turkey breast and a huge salad. I'm not going to make it a habit to have big salads but one a week isn't so bad. My fruit today was a fruit salad of blackberries, strawberries, and mango and it's amazing! 

I feel super full and I'm enjoying a cup of tea. More tomorrow!

Day 7- First official weigh in

Well, this morning was disappointing.  I didn't loose any weight, but my period started and so maybe tomorrow will be a bigger loss. All said and told though, I've lost 5.9 pounds in a week and 11 inches all over my body!

I had another stressful day at work and I need to create strategies to help with that because being stressed will make it harder for me to loose.  I'm going to get a few more calming teas, even though I have lots of tea at home, I'm drank all of them at least once and many more than once and I'm bored.

I went to a community dinner tonight and was tested. I ate ahead of time so I was full and did see that I could eat the salad but I'm seeing such success and I want to learn how not to snack so I ended up just having water. That was fine until I really started smelling the food and then I really started wanting some of the bread.  I was able to keep from eating it and was glad when it was time for my drops because I'm not sure I would have been able to fend of the smells much longer.

I'm home now and relaxing with a cup of chai. I might need to see if I can find a chocolate tea of some kind because my brain is telling me that I miss chocolate.  

Tomorrow is shopping day and so I've planned a menu for next week and look forward to my exciting trip to whole foods.

Day 6- emotionally challenged

Today was emotionally challenging for me.  It started with a smaller weight loss than I wanted and then continued with lost of stress at work. My period is starting and I think that played a factor as well. 

My plan with lunch to bring chicken and fruit was good, but I think for tomorrow I will also bring my vegetables as well.

I got home later than usual and was super tired and stressed and went to look at a take out sushi menus. Looking at the sashimi list I knew I couldn't have anything. So, being strong (and I'm very proud of this) I made tilapia with onions, peppers, and tomatoes.  I baked that for 30 minutes at 350 and before covering it with foil I used the Pampered Chef Moroccan Rub. They don't carry it anymore and  so I don't use it very often but it was really good on the fish. I also made green brand and had strawberries.

My weight today is 182.3.

Day 5 update

Ok so I had to update you on my success! I made it through all of the baking without even a bite and only smelled the bread! The chocolate didn't even tempt me!

It's now about 10:20 an I've just finished the last of my water for the day. In trying to drink over 72 oz of water or tea a day to help my body flush all the toxins that have been stored in my fat cells. I think it also helps me lose the weight faster.

I'm slightly hungry but I think that's just because I'm tired so I'm going to listen to my body and head to bed. I'm hoping for another big loss in the morning!

Day 5- The easiest yet!

Well, as bad as yesterday was, today was good. I am down about 5 pounds which is amazing but I still don't feel like I've lost that much. I still think I'm retaining water because my period is due.

Today was a lot of practice for the next two days. I started off with a big cup of tea an I'm finding that having beverages around keeps me full so that even if I do have hunger pangs I don't feel them. It also means that I'm getting up from my desk more to pee which means I'm burning a few extra calories.

Lunch was similar to yesterday: grilled chicken, green beans, and strawberries. One of the tricks to packing my lunch is that if I put the meat on top of the vegetables then when I go to reheat the little bit of fat and the seasons from the meat end up on the vegetables. This helps because I miss putting oil or butter on them.

Dinner was grilled steak on green beans with blueberries. I had to pack my dinner like a lunch (training for the next two days) because I am helping my husband with a program at work tonight and wouldn't have a good way to eat dinner on plan.

Tonight we are baking bread with toppings and so that is king to be a test. So far I haven't cheated and now that I've had dinner and I'll have my trusty bottle of water I should be ok.

Today, I didn't feel hungry between lunch and dinner which was good because I could push dinner back by about 30 minutes which hopefully means I won't get hungry right before bed.

Tomorrow and Friday I have lunch meetings. My plan is to take my chicken with me for tomorrow and eat it right before the meeting and then to have salad and fruit with everyone else. I'll brin my own meausring cups so that I make sure not to over eat.  I this isn't successful then I will know and I will take my lunch for Friday. 

My weight is now down to 184.6!

Here's a picture of part of dinner, these ziplock containers are just the perfect size!

Day 4- Harder than the day before

Boy was today hard! Not only am I PMSing and had a really hard day of work, I was hungrier than yesterday! This morning I didn't have a glass of tea right away and that meant I was hungry from the start. Lunch was great! Salad, chicken, and blueberries. The more tea before dinner. Dinner was sautéed spinach, steak, and strawberries. 

I'm now feeling "hungry" and warring inside myself over wanting to figure out how to eat something "sweet" or chocolate. This is my first real test where I can taste the chocolate and feel it in my mouth. I'm going to try drinking water to see if I can get rid of the craving or at least the fake hunger.

I weighed myself today was a slightly disappointed at only a 1 pound loss. I'm now 187.2, and I'm hoping that I will have a larger loss tomorrow.  But it's possible that my hormones are not only making me cranky and achy, but also they are causing me to retain water.  So stay tuned as I struggle to beat the cravings that I've never before succeed in beating.

Day Three- The VLC Begins

Well, day three began just fine. Two cups of tea for breakfast and so I had lunch around 11:45 but that was also because I had my lunch meeting. I did pretty well too because I found a place where I could make my own salad. I chose all approved vegetables and had red wine vinegar with salt and pepper. It was really good! 

I started to get hungry around 6 and had a great dinner of chicken, veggies, and strawberries. It's now 7 pm and I'm feeling full but struggling because now the snacking urge had begun! I will keep drinking water and hope that the urge goes away.

I seasoned the chicken with Greek rub from the pampered chef and let it sit for about 10 minutes and then through it on the George Forman grill.  The veggies were microwaved and I cut the strawberries in quarters so that they would last longer.

Another great tip was using the small plates because it made me think I had more food than I actually had.

Day two- what am I doing?

Wow, day one was difficult, but day two was even harder because I knew how much I would need to eat! I started early with a giant cup cake from Costco but that led to a minor migraine, boy am I glad I don't have to do that again! I ended up eating two of those cup cakes and still had to have a late night fry run. I figured out as I went to bed I should have just drank soda all day, but instead I ate my calories. 

My husband and I had tickets to the theatre so he took me out for dinner.  We had amazing wine and my favorite meat-- DUCK! Dinner was amazing but I didn't have enough room for dessert.  So I had a few m&ms at the theatre, but that meant I was about 1000 calories short to we stopped at Wendy's for a sprite, frosty, and fries. Needless to say, I'm kind of excited to be entering phase two today.

As I write this I am enjoying a cup of herbal tea and have already packed my lunch (although I have a lunch date, so my plan is to just have a salad) so I have 4.1 oz of grilled steak and 4oz of blue berries. 

I cooked up 4 Costco steaks on my George Forman grill and it looks like each steak is at least 3 meals. I also have chicken to grill and I'm excited to try all of my Pampered Chef spices. I'm in love with the Greek rub and I think it will be awesome on my salads and chicken!

My starting weight for the diet is 188.2, more later after my first day on the diet. I'm excited and scared because I've never lasted on a diet before.  But this is different because I have the doctor to check in with and it's costing me a TON of money!

End of day 1

Well, I didn't make it to 5000 calories. I just could physically eat any more! I think the cupcake might have been what did me in. 

You may ask why I'm eating so much to loose weight. Part of the chirothin journey is the three phases: loading (days 1-2), loosing (days 3-40), and maintenance (days 41-42). In the loading days you eat basically until you are sick.  This does two things: first you shock your body and second you create minor aversion therapy (so eat a lot of things you don't want to eat after the diet). Right now it's 8 am and I need to begin eating for day two.  But I do want to share with you my starting weight as well as I will be posting recipes, photos of my journey, and will probably share my major struggles as I hit my walls and break through them.

Starting weight for loading days: 187.6

Day 1

So the journey begins and boy this is not as easy as I thought. Eating 5000 is SO hard! This is almost triple what I eat normally.  But I will carry on and I will get there!

We were to costco to buy fruit and veggies plus chicken breast, flank steaks, and fish. My plan is to cook tomorrow for the entire week. 

I'm starting this weight loss program so that I can be cute and healthy for my 30th birthday which is coming up in  two months.

I'll write more tonight after I've succeeded in eating all my calories.