A New Low

Today is day 172 of my lifestyle change/ weight loss efforts. It's a big day for me because I actually find myself LOWER on the scale than I did when I lost so much weight two years ago.  I think it's likely that this is the lowest I have been since before my baby girl was born at the end of 2001.  I can't say that without absolute certainty because I wasn't one to weight myself for a lot of years because the numbers were so disheartening, but I do know it's the lowest I have been since my 40th birthday.

It's exciting for me because I have so much more balance in my weight loss this time.  Taking care of my body has its proper place in my life.  When I lost the weight at 40, I honestly think I was teetering on the edge of a midlife crisis.  There was an obsessiveness to the process and it wasn't completely for the right reasons, I was very hung up on how I looked, and who might be looking at me than I was about my overall health and well-being and feeling good.  This time the looking good (or better) is just a bonus, and not a focus.

When I lost all the weight the first time I was obsessively rolling out of bed every morning, every morning, to work out on the Wii Fit.  Morning workouts aren't a problem per se, but I remember a conversation with a friend at one point where I told her, "God will always be there, right now I need to focus on me and my body." Um, what?  Hello, danger!  Danger!  It wasn't very long after that that my weight loss efforts completely fell apart and I began the process of putting back on the 50+ lbs that I gained before this current effort to lose weight and get healthy in God's strength and not my own.  I put those 50 lbs on in 2 years.  I wonder if my friend wasn't praying for my perspective to get right.  If she was, I am grateful because I know I walked right up to and contemplated walking down a very dangerous path.

In that season of my life working out became like an addiction.  I remember finding myself in a hotel gym at 6 in the morning on a weekend trip with my husband because I HAD to work out, HAD TO.  It was compulsive and unhealthy.  I was on a marriage retreat weekend and focusing completely on me.  That's a person I don't want to be.

Am I proud of this weight loss?  Yes, I am. But I refuse to be PRIDEFUL IN this weight loss.  I know it's not about anything other than honoring God in my body.  I know it's by HIS power that I am able to have balance and make good choices, work out when I can, but never before or in lieu of spending time with the Lord.  The only thing I find myself being regimented in these days is spending time with Him.  I don't even roll out of bed without prayer, the Word and or journaling to Him.  And every day I pray, "Lord help me lose the weight, but help me keep it in the right perspective. And NEVER let me become full of myself in the process."

I have been open and shared a lot about this weight loss/ lifestyle change process because I want to encourage others.  With God's help ANYONE can do it.  And if you do it with Him, it is a journey worth taking.  All glory to Him!

As of Day 172 I have lost 50.9 lbs; I've lost 3" in each of my arms; 9" in my chest; 13" in my waist; 9" in my hips; and 5" in each of my thighs.  That's 62 1/2% way to my weight loss goal and a total of 47 inches.  That's less than 6 months, only 24 1/2 weeks, and I feel like a new person.  It took two things, saying "Yes" to God and allowing Him to be Lord of my body, the food I eat, and how I care for myself, and then taking the first step with my hand in His.  It's totally worth it, and again, ALL glory to Him!!!

Subtracting carbs

One of the biggest challenges I find in low carb dieting is family meals. In the early part of the diet I typically just go off on my own as far as meals go and don't try at all to eat with the rest of the fam. Sometimes they suffer the consequences though, lots of sandwich nights and frozen pizzas. It gets old quick.
Feeding a family low carb if they aren't eating strictly low carb isn't wise. The meals are often high in fat and calories, which is fine of you're low carb and in ketosis, but not great from a regular diet.
So the key to family meals when I'm dieting is to try to modify for myself subtracting the carbs. Beef stroganoff? Reserve a little meat and mushrooms before adding the sauce and noodle portions and mix a little sure cream in.
I've shared a picture of a family meal this week that I modified. It's not exactly a low day healthy option, but it's a great quick meal before church on a Wednesday night.
I cooked 5 sweet italian sausages as directed on the package. I took 3 whole sourdough rolls and 1/8 of another roll. I buttered the bread and sprinkled it with mozzarella and parmesan and broiled it. In a bowl I warmed about 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce and spread it on the 3 whole rolls. I put a single sausage on each roll, for the family, dinner is served!
For my low carb option I took the remaining 3 sausages, cut them up, sprinkled them with the mozzarella and parmesan as well and stuck it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Then I serve it in the bowl that I warmed the sauce in so there us just enough to add a little flavor and I serve it with the little piece of cheese bread just to have the taste.
One meal cooked, two different styles, low carb and quick!

Holidays

It's a hard time of year to diet, but it's also a dangerous time of year not to set clear boundaries to keep from moving backwards in your weight loss/ life change goals.

I took the week before Thanksgiving off. I let myself break away from the low-carb regimen to enjoy holiday treats, but not eating low-carb meant having to pay more attention to portion sizes and calorie counts. I'm happy to report at the end of the week/ ten days off I was at the same weight after. 

I've had trouble getting back into ketosis this last week. Even eating primarily low-carb because I didn't go all the way back to hardcore induction phase of Atkins, I never got beyond small or trace ketosis. By the weekend I was discouraged enough I splurged and had some frozen yogurt with toppings at the movies yesterday.

Now the decision is do I try to get back on track tomorrow (because I made a yummy stew tonight) and do low-carb for three weeks till Christmas, or do I try to lose weight the old-fashioned way, eating less and moving more.  I did still manage to lose weight last week, so it might be a legitimate option.

It's encouraging to be moving the right direction on the scale even with more freedom in my eating because it gives me hope for real maintenance when I eventually reach my goal. Food is finally taking it's proper place in my life with God's help.

I'm trusting God will help me make the right choices to keep the scale dropping this holiday season.