WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY
My business attire! (I never get to dress in full business attire due to being in a manufacturing plant, but when I go to training, I take full advantage of it!).
Also, does it look like I have lost weight? I have:). Referring to my High Cholesterol post I mentioned I had lost 13 pounds in the last year. Well I have lost 17 pounds from the start and I am 19 pounds down from my highest weight ever. I started actively losing weight September 28th 2016, a year and a half ago. I could not get the ball moving and I figured out that no matter what I did, I could not lose more that 1 pound a MONTH. So that was quite shocking to me and sounds ridiculous right. Well it still hold true a year and a half later. I'm glad I can look back now because now I know that it wasn't that it wasn't working for me. I literally just took one month to lose a pound. Once I started figuring that out about around the 10 month mark in, I made peace with it. I accepted that it was going to be a loooong process and honestly it took all the worry and weight off of my shoulders and I was able to relax and enjoy the process of slowly making a lifestyle change.
It took a year to lose 12 pounds and it took 18 months for someone to finally notice. They say anyway that the longer it takes for you to get it off, the longer it will stay off. The beginning was the hardest part because it literally took 10 months to reach that, down-10-pounds, mark. And I have made a vow to myself, to never go over 155 pounds again, even with my future pregnancies (Just my comfortable weight to never go over, and no unfortunately that wasn't my highest weight).
The reason it takes me so long to lose weight is because I lost weight the unhealthy way in high school and DESTROYED my metabolism. I was never overweight (really in my whole life) but very very close. So in high school, I didn't just want to be in shape, I wanted to be thin like everyone else. Everyone else could eat whatever they wanted and stay stick thin and I couldn't. It made me really sad. So I was going to do something about it. Since it was my first time ever losing weight in my entire life, it came off easy, I barely had to try at first and I could lose 3 pounds in a week. So I figured that out and kept up that pace even when it got harder and harder. I lost almost too much weight (for my healthy BMI range) and had to stop. I slowly (more like in one year) gained all of the weight back and it about killed me mentally. And I was never able to really fix it because my metabolism was shot. So every time I tried to lose weight again in the past 9 years, I would do the same thing as before but this time nothing would happen. Literally nothing. Now I know it takes a month of up and down weight loss to lose an average of a whole pound. I wish I could have known that then. I just wanted to get back to the lower end of my healthy BMI range. The thing is, I don't think my body can handle or look good under 130. So I will just see when I get there. I am naturally an athlete and have a lot of muscles on my frame. I always have. I can work out twice and look like I have been training for months. I am very fortunate in that regards. I am very strong.
So, like my high cholesterol post, yes I have lost weight but I want to share just how I did it:
So before, I would add lots of exercise programs and cardio and cut down on food and all that left me doing was being constantly hungry and angry at myself for "messing up" and eating more than I should.
NEVER GIVE UP!
Don't derail your progress which is EXTREMELY easy to do. All it takes is one day to erase your week efforts and get in the 'gaining' rut.
So like me, you may enjoy food too. And while trying to lose weight it is important to still have and enjoy that love but to do it in a smarter manner. I now experiment with making healthier dishes instead of experimenting by adding peanut butter to every kind of dessert.😅
Gum is the #1 thing that keeps the munchies away. It distracts me and gives me something to do. When I saw this mega pack I couldn't pass it up! How amazing! Over two packs in one convenient case!
Explore new delicious foods and drinks like above and above to keep things interesting while on your healthy journey.
Moving on to another healthy alternative (especially for kids!) is the veggie tots! They are made with cauliflower instead of potatoes and taste EXACTLY like real tater tots but with like 1/6th the calories and a whole lot less carbs! Amazing!
Also I found these two bowls in the salad isle. They were surprisingly good! The one on the left you heat up in the microwave and it wilts the salad enough to enjoy a stir-fry, steamed-like taste! I take the salad on the right to lunch with me at work!
I was SO excited to see this healthy little box at Walmart because it is just like the Starbucks bistro box which I love! This little box was the perfect lunch for work. (I usually only eat one or two cubes of the cheese and take the yolk out of the egg to cut down on cholesterol).
I found this little spice on the baking isle. I believe you can add this to sandwiches and potato salad and such and it will add a dill pickle taste to it. I haven't tried it yet but am very excited to!
These little bites of goodness are kale and quinoa bites. They are cooked in the oven and are surprisingly tasty! They are vegetarian bites.
For my guilty food pleasure I normally get Lindt 90% coco dark chocolate but they stopped making it😖. So I have found this which is 46% dark chocolate but has amazing acai berries within! So good!
On to yogurt because I am the yogurt queen :). I have found this butterscotch flavored OIKOS yogurt that tastes amazing!!! I just love the OIKOS brand. On the other hand, I have found a healthy yogurt 'alternative' made by Silk almond milk which is...interesting. It has zero grams of cholesterol which is really good for me but it also takes some getting used to. The texture is completely different and the taste is odd. But once you get used to it, it is just that, a healthy alternative.
And last but CERTAINLY not least, these amazing new bars I have found! These will blow you away! They are so delicious and have a good little bit of protein. They are not necessarily health foods but you have to live a little (and I am a sucker for anything peanut butter that I can get away eating with my cholesterol problems).
Brown rice sushi with no cream cheese is a great healthy option on the go! Ask your sushi master if you can swap the brown rice with white rice.
I don't believe in Detox teas but this tea has gentle grapefruit and dandelion to relax your body and cleanse the sodium from your diet. I tend to have a problem with water retention which can stubbornly hold onto weight.
These are my favorite 'chips' ever!! They are chickpea chips and are so incredibly healthy!
These delicious acai bowls are all the rave right now! I couldn't help but grab them and blend them up! They look just like instagram acai bowls!!
These mixations are absolutely delicious! This cherry one is my favorite flavor! It is simply fruit pieces, like apple inside applesauce!
Never be afraid to meal prep. It is the greatest planning tool to stay on track and eat healthy throughout your busy week! I like to meal prep simple bean burritos (whole wheat tortillas with just refried beans inside), and sweet potatoes! Great healthy meals for work lunches or quick dinners!
For eating healthy in restaurants, opt for Jasons Deli! You can put together this amazing combination from the salad bar!
I also added in lots of jogging, T25 workouts, other home workouts, gym workouts, and lots of walks!
All of these preparations of healthy eating have set the stage for my next healthy eating development called the whole 30 diet. To check out that post, click here!
I hope you enjoyed my little healthy food haul and I can't wait to see you in the upcoming posts!
Love,
Kayla
7-15-18
