21DSD Day 9

Yesterday I ventured to the doctor to follow up on my weight issues.  According to the doc’s scale, I was down 4lbs!  YAY!  I know I’m down more than that because I typically weigh in the morning before eating or drinking anything and after going to the bathroom.

Good news! My doc said I picked the perfect program to be on.  She even mentioned that this is what she’s been trying to tell me but it just took time for it to click.  I’m worried about what my body will do when the 21 days is over.  I’m definitely going to try to keep up the detox plan to some degree.  I’ve got to allow myself some sort of felxibility in the plan and to eat things that I enjoy but don’t really fall within the program.  For example, I REALLY want chick-fil-a! Yum

My side effects are subsiding though I’m still getting mental cravings.  I just want something in my mouth.  I heard on the audio support today that chewing on a cinnemon stick works.  Not something that interests me at all.

Anyway, here are my meals yesterday:

M1 (pre-workout): 8 almonds, half a banana

M2: 2 hard boiled eggs, 4 slices bacon, 2 cups coconut milk, 1 scoop whey protein (which I ended up shaking half all over myself)

M3: Perfectly grilled chicken, mixed greens with balsamic vinegarette, Faux-tatoes

M4: 1 small green apple with almond butter

M5: Flank steak with peppers and onions and cucumber with olive oil and lemon juice.

I also tried the Chia N’Oatmeal this weekend too.  Soooo good! (note the cookbook in the background 😉

21DSD Days 4,5,6 & 7

Man!  I didn’t realize I had gotten behind.

These days I really started to feel the effects of the detox.  I had low energy, headaches and an overall moody temperment.  However, the food choices are great and my cravings have certainly subsided a lot.  There are still times throughout the day I want something but they are mental and not consuming my like they had before.  I truly feel like I’m eating REAL food and so I don’t feel deprived at all.

Saturday was probably one of the worst days on side effects.  I’m trying to follow the program as closely as possible but there are some things that just won’t work.  For example, when I started I knew it would be easy to avoid things in certain social situation and prepare food for myself for the 21 days.  However, 2 days before I started, I was asked out on a date.  I don’t date, in fact, I really didn’t think it was in the cards for me.  I was elated to go out and realized that part of going on a date was partaking in a few things that aren’t necessarily 100% 21DSD.  I think I just have to be okay with that.  So, I have allowed myself a little bit of wine.  However, Saturday, after Friday’s date, I had an aweful spell where I got super dizzy and had a raging headache.  I couldn’t see straight and couldn’t walk very well.  So, post 21DSD, I’ll need to really keep the alcohol in check.  Additionally, future dates will need to be slightly different.

My meals have been roughly the same all week.  It’s just so easy to prepare 1 breakfast, 1 lunch, and 2-3 dinners and eat off of those for a week.  It saves money and time for me.  Plus, I’m only feeding one person.  Diane’s recipes have been fantastic and I’m really looking forward to following these meals after the 21DSD.

 

21DSD Day 3

Day 3 seemed to move along as usual.  I didn’t necessarily feel any different than I had the day before.  In fact, I feel like I’m beginning to feel better about my body.  I actually feel “lighter”.  It’s a strange but great feeling.  I think my mood is better and I’m excited about the day.

I did get tempted by donuts but I kindly declined.  The best part about it, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be!

The meals were again, the same as the day before with a few modifications:

M1: Banana and almonds pre-workout

M2: Swirly Crustless Quiche and bacon with a protein shake made with coconut milk which is allowed on the program.

M3: Mustard glazed chicken thighs with mixed greens and balsamic vinegarette (paleo recipe) and carrots

I plated my lunch to give it a little more flare and make it more appealing.  It worked.

M4: 2 celery stalks and almond buter

M5: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

21DSD Day 2

Yesterday was when the effects of the detox starting showing up.  I had cravings but after reading one of the daily emails, I realized that is was probably more mental then physical.  I like having a little treat after lunch and that mental note lingered throughout the day.  I just had to power through it.

I also had a headache most of the day and was tired.  So tired that I went to bed at 8.  But get this….I had a hard time falling asleep.

My sleep situation is kinda strange.  I have been diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia which literally translates to “you are overly tired but we don’t know why.”  This means, I could sleep all day every day and it takes me less then 8 minutes to fall asleep.  Well, I have struggled with falling asleep over the last several days.  I’m fairly certain it’s not the detox but more or less has something to do with medications.  I’m currently tapering off my anti-depressant and anti-anxiety, I’ve gone of birth control, and I’m on a short round of phentermine.  All this is to reset my body and prevent additional weight gain.  The phentermine revs up your metabolism so that could be a contributing factor.

I hear day 3 is pretty rough.  I’m hoping to power through.

My meals yesterday were the same as the day before with a couple of exceptions.

M1: Banana and almonds pre-workout

M2: Swirly Crustless Quiche and bacon with a protein shake made with 2% milk (I know this is not allowed but I’m trying to get rid of the milk and that was the last of it).  I added the protein shake since I did a hard workout first thing in the morning.

M3: Homemade turkey burger with mixed greens and balsamic vinegarette (paleo recipe) and carrots

M4: 1/2 banana and almond buter

M5: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

Good news though, I’m down 2.6 lbs.  I know I’m not supposed to weigh myself during this but I really need to as I’m trying this challenge to reset my body so I can start loosing weight.  My problem is going to be NOT getting on the scale every day.

21 Day Sugar Detox

I’ve hit a breaking point.  Post Half Ironman, I worked hard to start loosing weight.  The first few months were pretty bad.  I was depressed and eating quantities like I did when I was training but the quality was horrible.  Hello Ben & Jerry’s Tonight Dough!

I quickly realized that wasn’t going to work and made a point to shift my thinking.  I picked up a really good book about food addiction and started reading about the Whole 30.  I found that there was a lot of merit to the thinking.  It does start with food.  And what I put in my body truly matters.  So, I began applying some of the principals: more veggies, carbs in the morning and none at night time, and more healthy fats.

Yeah, that scale didn’t budge.  In fact, I’ve gained about 8 pounds.  I’ve been diligent about counting my calories and not going over, yet I still gain weight.  What the eff?!

I sought out my doctor who tested all levels of my thyroid.  The results show that I’m on the fringe of the healthy range leaning towards an underactive thyroid but because I’m still in range, “there’s no issue with my thyroid”.   So, we are still trying to figure out why I’m gaining weight but until then, I’m jumping on the paleo train by starting with the 21 Day Sugar Detox.

I’m super excited about it.  Sugar in all of it’s forms has always been an issue for me and I’m curious to see what happens when I eliminate it and replace it with foods that help curb cravings.  I’m also interested in using this to begin eliminating foods that may causing weight gain by impacting some internal function of my body.  Again, it starts with food.

Day 1 recap:

Day one was great except I did fail after the first day…I had wine.  Honestly, I had a good excuse.  I had scheduled a date without even thinking about the fact I was starting the 21DSD on Monday.  Honest mistake.  Otherwise, the food is great!  I ordered the 21DSD cookbooks and have whipped up several recipes that I’m enjoying.  Here’s what I ate on day one:

M1: Banana and almonds

M2: Swirly Crustless Quiche and bacon

M3: Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs with mixed greens and balsamic vinegarette (paleo recipe)

M4: Celery and almond buter

M5: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese (my fave so far!)And for grins and giggles, here are some recent pictures of me serving as my “before”.

Slowly

  I’m really trying to get on plan and stay on plan. It doesn’t work if you don’t work it. I’ve got access to a nice grill this week so I’m trying to take advantage. I grilled mahi, summer squash, and a peach. Everything was delicious!  Especially the squash. 
  I’m also continuing to pack my lunch which has been the same all week. 
And lastly, my super blonde hair is back and I LOVE it!! 

 

Let’s Try This Again

  Today was a good day. I did yoga today at lunch and it was fantastic!  I made a plan for all my food and stuck to it. I also went back to personal training and it feels so good. 
I packed my lunch and it was so delicious and fresh!  

 
I’ve also been adding to my vision board. I try to remind myself of things that make me feel good: 

 
and the things I’ve done! 

 
Thanks to Nappy Roots for the positive start!

 

Promises

  I’m down from last week but I’m still up. But I must find a new way of thinking and a new way of thinking in order to reach my goals. The biggest is keeping a promise to myself. I keep making excuses for why I’m not loosing weight or practicing the things that I know work. 

I’ve also identified a trigger of alcohol. It’s not that I binge but I don’t count the points. Even if I have one or two, it’s still impacting my weight.  And most of the time it happens on the weekend when I haven’t planned all that much so then everything goes to the wayside. 

My plan for the week is to plan out the weekend. I need to plan out activities and what I’m going to eat and when. I am also going to try to practice self affirmations each day as well as three things I did well that day. 

And here is a throwback to remind myself how I felt when I was at my best.   

Check out those legs!  I WILL get there!

Post RAGBRAI

  I’m back from my Iowa adventure on a bike and I ONLY gained 2.5lbs over the trip. That, my friend, is a victory. My first year I gained 8 lbs and last year I gained over 4 lbs.  I made a plan and stuck to it. 

Now it’s time to get real. First up, morning run.  

 I had a great run this morning and I’m trying to work on documenting the run somehow. 

Next, meals.   I got this bento box in a Weight Watchers starter box. My goal is to pack ALL of my lunches I his box to help with portion size.  My snacks this week are smoothies and protein bars and fruit if I need it. Today I was hungry, but as someone said to me last week, it’s only a week of suffering before I’m back to being in control!

RAGBRAI Day 4

  Ugh!  It’s hump day and the more I ride the hotter and more swollen I get. I guess I should t worry too much about it because it’s not like I’m out to impress anyone. But are we seeing a theme here?  My thighs and butt are my strength but the thing I hate the most. They are so strong. They carry me to amazing places and over finish lines. But, they are huge. They’ve always rubbed together and now I’ve gone up 2 short sizes in order for my thighs to fit in them. I’m working on loving them but it’s hard.