Can't believe its almost done!

So we have ended week 5. This means only 1 more week and I will be able to work out and eat breakfast! I am very excited for this to start, and what this next step will bring. This will be step 3 in the process and will last 3 weeks. Then we will be on to step 4 and I get to start adding in regular food! Wohoo! Why am I so excited for this?

I have been suffering along these last 5 weeks, just eating a taco salad consisting of lettuce, tomatoes and taco meat. I miss my cheese and sour cream. I averaged Mexican food 3 days a week before this diet. No I won't be able to do that every week, but 1 a week would be awesome. It's my favorite food!

We joined a Gym this week. We will be going to Flex 365, behind the Chipotle. We are super excited to get started there, I am planning on doing some weight lifting to tighten all this extra flab from loosing weight and doing the elliptical. I may eventually do some aerobic classes, because I love me some Richard Simmons and I like to dance and exercise. 

So week 5 didn't have as much stellar weight loss that I wanted. I lost 2lbs. this week bringing me down to 265.8. I wanted to loose so much more but my body is slowing down on how much weight I am loosing every week. I am still happy to have lost anything. I am hoping with adding in exercise I will continue to loose inches and weight. I go on Monday for my next 10 day appointment so I will let you all know how this goes.  I will include before and after pictures on my next post. I haven't had a chance to take them. 

I got the sweetest message from a friend of mine on Facebook the other day and she has joined the program with Dr. Joe now as well. I am so very excited for her and this journey she is going on. I encourage anyone who needs to loose weight and has tried so many diets and failed to look into this diet. I have never felt more determined or on top of things. 

Hope you all have blessed days! Until next time, 

Faith, Trust, Love, Pixie Dust, and Me!

We have made it through week 4

So sorry that I didn't post more this last week. It seems sometimes life just gets away from us. I have officially made it through my forth week on the diet program. It has definitely not been the easiest 4 weeks, but their has been many blessings. I still can't believe that I living free of all diabetes medication. It's just crazy.

 

Matt and I went yesterday and toured the 24 hr. fitness by us. It was late at night and we weren't able to sit down with someone about pricing but we got to see the facility. In less than 2 weeks now, I will be starting exercising and I am super excited for that. We liked the facility, but want to see how expensive it is. I did get a little exercise today, we took Trenton swimming for a bit and it was so much fun. It's the first time all summer I had been in the pool. The exciting thing is I bought 2 yrs ago some swim shorts on clearance, they were a size smaller then my usual ones. And sadly were always to tight to wear. Well all that changed today. I wore them to the pool and it was such an amazing feeling.

 

So I went this week for my Week 4 weigh in, I was super excited for this. I went the day before my actually 4 weeks was up, so my weight was 268.6 and I had lost 28.8. I am excited to share that the next day on the official last day of the Week I got down to 267.8 and lost 30.6lbs in 1 month!!!! This was so very exciting!!! I am hoping in the next two weeks to loose 5lbs a week, and make my total 40lbs by the end of my 6 weeks.

 

So for the numbers!

 

BMI starting was 51.1 now 46.1-- 5 points lost on my BMI this month.

Body Fat Mass starting was 159 now is 142.4 so I have lost 16.6lbs on my Body Fat Mass this month.

Visceral Fat starting was 18 starting and is now 16. Same as last week, but he says this isn't a big deal.

 

So all in all, some excellent numbers!

 

So here are the pictures. The one on Left is the day I started and one on right is today.

 

 

 

 

I am so excited to look at these pictures cause I even can see a difference! So I hope you all have a wonderful week! Until next time............... Faith, Love, Pixie Dust, and Me!

 

 

 

 

Best News EVER!

So usually I don't do two posts in a row, but I had to share the most amazing phone call that I received yesterday. So my I went to my Dr's on Wednesday and did my A1C blood draw. My doctor's office called me with the results. A normal non diabetic persons A1C is 4.0-6.0. Mine was 5.4! So he has taken me off all of my diabetes medication and told me to continue to eat healthy and work hard! I can't begin to tell you what this means to me. Diabetes has been looming over my head these past 2 years and I have struggled to keep my numbers in a good place. But I have finally done it! In just 3 weeks of following this amazing diet plan, I have completely turned my life around! 

I am going to be honest for anyone interested in doing this diet. If you are a picky eater like me this diet is super hard! It causes you to really step out of your comfort zone. I have been blessed to not have a ton of side effects or troubles but it hasn't been easy, I have really started to hate chicken more than I did before. Plus the chicken that I could eat(because I am picky), it was Weight Watchers Chicken Burgers has been discontinued for all Hy-vee grocery stores. And is sadly not sold anywhere else locally. So now I have found some at Target that we can try, but I dunno. Yes I am weird.... I don't like Chicken Breasts. I am so picky! I also won't eat anything with a bone. It's made this diet have super limitations. But I am working through them. 

I had several people on Facebook request the original picture and then the picture for Thursday comparison shot. So here you go (Right start Date/Left was Thursday)

 I must admit even I see the difference now. It's crazy what 25 lbs. will do! Dr. Joe thinks that I will easily be down 50 lbs by the time we go to Disney World. It's just so crazy to think that in such a short time I am achieving so much! I know that I will always have to be smart about my eating and diabetes, because as much as I am diabetes free now. There is no cure! Just being smart and making good decisions will be my cure. I feel so blessed knowing that God and my Daddy are watching over me. I will my Daddy was here to see this. I know he would be so excited. He always worried about me and wanted me to be healthy. 

Lots of Love to all! Faith, Love Pixie Dust and Me!

Halfway Point-- Day 21!

I have made it to the halfway point!! I am so excited to share this with you all! This has not been the easiest 3 weeks, but it has been such a blessing filled experience. I know I couldn't do any of this without God. He has held my hand through it all, and I feel like that first week he carried me. It has been such an experience. While I tire of eating Chicken and Turkey and I miss the non-healthy things, I can not argue with the results. 

As of this morning we are at the end of Week 3 and I have lost a total of 25 lbs. I am down to 273.4!!! I am so excited by this, I have never ever lost this much weight in such a short time. And the reason this is happening is because I am following the diet, I am doing what I need to do. I am refusing to give up. Have I had slip ups? Yes..... I have in total over the last 3 weeks.... eaten 5 Cheetos and 3 Fritos. I realize these are small amounts and nothing to freak out about. But after talking to my mom and discussing these are a stumbling block for me.......... the Cheetos have found the trash can. Poor Trenton will have to suffer without his junk food for the time being. 

Matt has also been doing so amazing! He has lost weight( Last count I think was 9 lbs) and is running again almost everyday! I am so very proud of him. He is trying to get healthy with me and is doing an amazing job! 

So I went in for my next 10 day visit yesterday and am so excited with the results. 

My Body Mass index started at 51.1, went to 48.1 and is now 47.1-- I have lost 4 points! 

My Body Fat Percentage started 53.4 went to 53.0 and is now 51.9-- lost 1.5%

My Visceral Fat started 18 went to 17 and is now 16-- 2 points! 

Also on Wednesday I went for my epidural in my back. I should know by Monday if I am going to need another one, next month. Let me just say not a very fun experience and kind of embarrassing to lay on a table naked butt up in the air and get stabbed in the back. But hey if it works and I can walk Disney World in October bring it on! 

This is such a freeing experience. I am feeling so much better and am just so excited about every detail. I will say though the people who love and support me keep saying oh, I see such a difference already, its so hard when you see yourself everyday to really see a difference. But I can tell in my clothes and in my comparison pictures. So now to the pictures. 

The purple is from the last 10 day meet up on 7/5/16 and the Gray is from 7/14/16

So until next time! We shall keep chugging along!!! 

---- Faith, Love, Pixie Dust, and Me! 

GOALS!

Good Morning World! Today we woke up to day 16 and I have achieved not just one goal but two goals! I am down to 276.8, so I made it past my first goal of 279. Wohoo!!! And I have also lost 21.6lbs. So both goals squashed in a little over 2 weeks!!! I am so excited about this and still a bit in shock this morning. 

I couldn't be doing this without the support of all of you! I can't thank you all enough for the constant support. Everyday is a struggle to maintain this way of eating. I get bored so easy with what I am allowed to eat. Mainly this is my fault cause I am such a picky eater and won't eat alot of what is allowed. But I also am missing MEXICAN!! Yesterday I was so close to cheating for dinner. I wanted Mexican food so bad! Matt is so amazing and just talked to me about how we are just in Week 3 and it would be better if I waited until we were at least thru week 4. I think he was doing this cause they say after a month of doing things they become a habit and this won't be so bad then. So instead we went to Panera and I ordered a salad(minus of course things I couldn't have) and ate that and an apple and it was perfect. 

We are less than a month from being done with the first 6 weeks. And I am getting excited! I am ready to start the next step and add in exercise. Although that is going to be dependent on my back. I go Wednesday for an epidural to see if it can help calm the inflammation. I am praying this will happen, as I would love to be able to move around again. 

Matt and I are also excited about another big thing coming up. On Wednesday we will be at finally under the 100 day mark for Disney World. We will soon be at 99 days! When you started with over a year this marks a huge milestone. Its crazy to think in 3 months, we will be having the vacation of a lifetime. That is part of the reason I want to be able to walk, and why I am so happy this weight loss is working. I am going to be working my butt off to get my walking legs in shape come August. 

So what's next? Thursday is my next Weight loss Appointment and I will update everyone on the progress. Hopefully we will see lots more on my BMI!! So until then! Hope you all have a wonderful week! And on an important note, keep the guys in Blue in your prayers. Everyday I work with these men and women and feel so much respect for what they do and how they protect us. They risk their lives and leave behind families that love and cherish them to protect us. Remember them this week and all they do for us! 

Until Next Time:  Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust, and Me! 

My First Official Weigh In!

Well, here we are on day 11. Usually I would meet with Dr. Joe or Kelly on Day 10, but since it was the amazing 4th of July. We are meeting today on Day 11. To recap forward I haven't cheated and am going nuts. Last night at my mom's was the hardest. I had to be done eating before everyone started and I couldn't eat a hot dog or a s'more!!! And don't get me started on the coconut cream pie. I LOVE PIE!!!! But that's probably what got me to this point, so time to move on.

Day 7-11 has been pretty normal. I went back to work, which honestly I thought would be harder, wasn't to bad. The girls are super supportive and understand how little I am allowed to eat and cheer me on. Matt has been such a trooper as well, he is too loosing some weight and running. I am so very proud of him. So thankful I have an amazing supporter thru all of this by myside. My sister has also been eating healthy with me, and working her butt of too. I am so proud of her!

So today when I woke up my weight was 282.2, so I am down 16.2lbs in 11 days! I am so very excited about it. The lowest I have been in the last year is 279. I could never get past that and so my first goal is to get past that, I am so close I can taste it. After that. I will also be at the other 1st of 20lbs. So close! Once I get that, my next goal to get to 250lbs. so after my first goal I will have another 28bs to go to get to the 2nd one. I can't even tell you the last time I was 250lbs. The weird thing is I have never felt that was attainable until now.

This diet has been such a struggle. I go through highs and lows. Times when I am trying to decide to I really want to do this, it wont hurt anything if I just eat a few Cheetos will it? And then there are times when I am pumped and I am like I can do this! You are doing awesome! Just keep going! But one thing that has remained constant is my strength in God. I know he is right there with me when I am in my lows and he is helping me get through it.

So on my original consultation with Dr. Joe I got on this special scale that measures different things in your body. With it I got this awesome printout that told me about myself. The nice thing about this is we will do this every 10 days and I will get to see the difference! I will be able to have paper showing me the proof. Cause I know when I look in the mirror I still see same old me. But my sister says she can already see a difference. But I can tell you all I feel a difference. My pants are starting to feel looser and my back doesn't start to hurt as fast as it was.

So lets compare the changes that have already happened that the sheet tells me about:

My Body Mass Index went from 51.1 to 48.1
My Body Fat went from 53.4 to 53.0
My Visceral Fat went from 18 to 17

So wohooo!!! They all went down!!! I am super excited about this. I am getting closer an closer to not being obese. I still have a long road ahead but its a start!!! Dr. Joe says I am making amazing progress and that in the next few weeks I will have even more weight loss. So before and after pictures Day 10: The Pictures on the right in the purple tank are day 10's. The Gray is Day 1. I will try next time to be as exact, but Trenton was taking them for me tonite ;)

1 Week Down!!!

So we have made it to Day 7, and I am super excited to reach this first milestone. I don't meet with Dr. Joe until Tuesday(meet every 10 days). So the first week has been an adventure and one that hasn't been as bad as I expected. Although I really miss bread and cheese I have stayed 100% strong and on the diet. But oh how I dream of the days I can have cheese again. LOL, but I digress. 

So as I discussed in my last post, I weighed a lovely 298.4 lbs. when I started this journey 7 days ago. I am happy to share that as of this morning I weigh 286 lbs. Yes you are reading that correctly in the last 7 days(including the first day that I gained 1.6 lbs(making me 300). I have lost from my original weight of 298.4 lbs, 12.4 lbs!!! Yes you read that correctly in 1 week I lost 12.4 lbs! Was this easy heck no! Is it getting easier? Yes it is. 

So how am I feeling? Most of the time I feel okay. But a lot of this is my body getting used to the new blood sugar levels. I am diabetic and have struggled with it at times. I like my sweets and anything carbs. But this diet has done amazing for my numbers so far. I am averaging 106 even after eating. I am usually not this low and its amazing! But sadly it comes with some effects as my body gets used to this. I get a bit queasy at times and just kind of blah feeling. But usually it passes after the day goes on and I feel fine. 

The first big food adventure of the week was Day 3. I made a recipe in the book called Beef and "Rice" This is essentially beef and cabbage with spices and chkn broth. Let me tell you, I am not one that is all that familiar with cabbage. So I choose red cabbage and made the stuff. Never again it took 3 days for the smell to go away. I smelled the stuff everywhere. It didn't mind the meal its self, but the smell of my house permeated for days and every time I smelled it I wanted to get sick. So no more cabbage for me. Below is a picture of that fun meal. LOL

So since I am supposed to be eating healthy and not using canned and processed foods on Day 5(Wen) I had my first adventure and made homemade tomato sauce. This was actually a fun adventure but an adventure indeed.  So first I bought 5 lbs of Roma Tomatoes, and had to core them and slice and x in the bottom of each, than you put them in boiling water for bout 45 sec to a min, and move them over to an ice bath. After the ice batch, you peel the skin off and puree them in the food processor and then put them back on the stove to cook for 30-90 min. It was so much work, but after I added my seasoning we had an awesome dinner of zucchini spaghetti and I had lots to freeze for several more days of yummy meals!  

 

                             

  

So Day 5 was a busy day, somehow my amazing puppy dog got my brand new vitamins off my nightstand while I was gone at appointments. There was over 60 pills in the bottle and he managed to chew the lid off and eat every single one of them. He then got a trip to the Vet and 78.00 later and 16.00 for a new bottle of vitamins we have a healthy happy doggie. 

So there we go...... week 1 is done! I have it all figured out that this first 6 weeks will be done on Aug 4th. And I can't wait to get there! Also in big news I met with KC Pain this week and I go on the 13th for an epidural in my back, that will hopefully help with all the pain I have been feeling walking and I can start walking again! 

Till next time: Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust and Me!