Almost 9 weeks now

Almost 9 weeks on my new plan and here I am! I wasn't doing waist measurements before but I have now started. My waist has gone from 45 inches down to 44.5 inches since I started measuring. I sure wish I would have a starting point for that because my stomach has gone down so much since I started the plan! My weight is now 227.5, so I have lost a total of 23.5 pounds in almost 9 weeks. Not bad.

I almost ate a piece of cake a few days ago. We were at a birthday party and I have been feeling really down about the eating plan lately. I was so close to eating it, I could taste it! Then I looked around and I saw my other friends who are hoping to become healthy and eat better. I see them struggle just like I have in the past. They were making the choice to eat the hot dogs, the chips and the cake. Maybe there is no room for eating these things when one is an addict? I have been in their shoes many times, and it never served me well to eat like that when trying to make a change.

Sure I want to believe that I can eat a piece of cake, or have an ice cream cone here and there... maybe I can in the future, but for now I am an addict and it would just be the start of a downward spiral. It does make me feel depressed sometimes. I miss and love the taste of those foods! But as many people who have been successful with food say, skinny feels better than food tastes! 

It really does. There are no words for how good it feels to be comfortable in your own skin! I have been there before and it is really a whole new world. I am excited to get back to that feeling. For now though, I will enjoy the journey and appreciate the small victories along the way! Life is about the journey, not the destination, right?

7 weeks!

It has been 7 weeks on my new plan. I am sticking to it and things are going good. My test results did show some improvement, although I was hoping for a bit more dramatic improvement. I guess I didn't become unhealthy overnight, so I won't heal overnight either right?

My weight has stalled now and is hovering around 235. I am happy with this weight but I would be happier with more physical results. I haven't been eating many vegetables, so I think I might have a goal of getting my veggies in each day and maybe that will help move the scale a bit. If the scale doesn't move for a while, I am still incredibly happy to be treating my body better and getting healthier.

People notice now that I look much healthier in my skin and face. My stomach is not out further than my chest now, and I am eating zero junk food.

As you may be able to tell by my blog, I love pictures and I don't really like to post with out adding a few! Here are today's pictures:

Our strawberry patch, which grows bigger every year!

Our new deck and garden. I will have lots of fresh vegetables to choose from this summer!

Here is a drink I have been having daily to help my liver out. It is lemon juice, half a full lemon, a table spoon of olive oil and a cup of water. I blend it for a minute and then strain the solids out. It isn't too bad, but it isn't great either.

I have been making stew often. I make it from scratch and it is amazing! I sometimes eat it for 2 meals per day! This one has yams, chicken, vegetables and barley. It is delicious!

and here is a current picture of me. The lighting isn't great but I may as well take pictures of myself so that I can see the changes. I already notice the swelling around my eyes has gone down and my skin has cleared up.

I hope to keep the happy updates coming!

Hope you are well,

Michelle

I've made some changes!

6 weeks ago, I began a new plan that will help me to return to health.

I quit dairy, sugar, flour products and fried food.

I began drinking 80oz of water per day, squeezing fresh lemon into almost all of them.

I began enzymes and homeotox.

275 was my highest weight. This was when I was pregnant with my youngest baby Talia, who is now almost 2 years old. Here are some pictures of that time. This change I am making is not about weight, it is entirely about health and wanting to have energy and full range of motion so I can participate in life with my children. However, since weight can be an exciting part of the journey, here is my "before" pictures. This is me in 2011. I have had the baby, and I have dabbled in weight watchers between then and now so my start weight for this new plan is a bit lower than my all time high.

 

I started this plan weighing 251. My highest non-pregnant weight was around 260. My weight went up and down while doing weight watchers since I would be on and off the plan. Weight watchers is a great program, but you have to stick to it, which I wasn't doing for longer than around 7 weeks each time.

I went to a local lady who has qualifications such as blood analysis, urine and saliva analysis and iridology. The first thing she noticed was that my blood cells clump together and I had bacteria in my blood. She suspected leaky gut. She found some things in my eyes which I don't recall the details of and my test results as a whole showed that I was not digesting food properly, I was not absorbing nutrients and my kidneys and liver were struggling to do their jobs.

I have kept to the plan for 6 weeks now and I had my follow up appointment today. She changed some of the supplements up according to my new test results, but the eating plan will remain the same. The only thing that will change is that I can now introduce one to two servings of fruit per day.

Some of the major changes I have noticed are that I can actually sleep and I feel well rested and I am not so weak and tired. The first week was very painful. I had an intense pain in my lower back/bum/upper legs. After researching it, I have learned that it is very common with detoxes and also when a person begins a raw food diet. I am not eating a raw diet, but I am open-minded to it. I have more energy and I am able to get so much more done around the house. I have more feelings of well being and more energy. I have had almost no cravings for junk food which has really surprised me since I literally felt like a slave to it before.

I could go on and on about this plan, but I will sign off for now. Also, even though health and vitality are my main focus, I will end off by telling you that my current weight, after 6 weeks is 235. That is a total loss of 16 pounds. It feels great to move toward a healthier weight and body size! It feels even better knowing that I am beginning to reverse the damage I was doing internally with my previous lifestyle choices.

Much love and light,

Michelle