A Look Back at 2017

The holiday time is always a time for recalling the previous year, reflecting on what we have accomplished (or not accomplished), and making plans for the future. As I look back at 2017, I can't believe the changes I have made in my life! For 6 years, I had been a vegetarian - eating no meat, but substituting that with carbs. Lots and lots of carbs. Sweet carbs. Bready carbs. I was tired of being the fat person, the lazy mom, the unattractive wife. I decided that I needed to make a change. So after speaking to some friends who had been successfully losing weight on Ideal Protein, I decided that I needed to try it. I was skeptical. I knew that people saw some quick success, but many of them gave up before they got to their goal - or gained the weight back (and then some). I knew I had to change my entire way of thinking and doing. In early March, I started having meat again in preparation for the diet. I knew I couldn't do it without eating meat - how can you possibly have a low carb lifestyle when all you eat is carbs? I started with chicken broth and then moved up from there. It was much easier than I thought, going back to the carnivore lifestyle. And I realized I had missed the taste of BBQ. On March 22nd, I had my intake meeting with my coach, Jenn. Instantly, I felt like I could tell her about my woes. I was disgustingly overweight with high blood pressure. With a diabetic father, I knew it was only a matter of time before I was getting the same diagnosis. I was having aches and pains everywhere and no energy to do anything with my boys. I was a bad mom. I love my kids more than life, but I wasn't engaging with them in a way that a mom should. They started to learn to look to their dad for the "fun" stuff. They stopped asking me. The first week on the program was dicey. I definitely experienced the "keto flu" as my body went into ketosis. On days 3 and 4, I had to have an extra IP packet because I was so dizzy and lightheaded. But after a couple of days, things improved and those problems went away. At my first weigh-in, I lost a whopping 10 lbs and 6" (most of it off my chest). I was so happy to see the success I had. I was anxious to keep going. Since then, I have settled into the program nicely. I do cheat at times (I'll have some peanut butter - on a spoon, cheese, and diet soda) and I use the IP products to satiate those sweet cravings I still have. But I've learned how to eat properly. I eat my veggies and protein each day and thoroughly enjoy the changes I've seen in myself. In just two months, my blood pressure went from being high to optimal. I check it regularly in the pharmacies and grocery store. The aches and pains in my feet and legs went away. I don't have any of those anymore. I feel so much better and healthier.

In the summer, 5 months into the program, I started working out. It started with a bootcamp (too intense) and now, it morphed into daily morning workouts at a local no-frills gym with my dad as my workout buddy. He picks me up every morning and off we go. I've been going to the gym religiously since August, 4 months now, and I feel fantastic. I'm getting stronger and I can see muscles forming in my arms that were never there. But with the workouts, came a complete stall in the weight loss. I'm still losing weigh, but there are weeks that I gained a pound, or stayed the same. It's taken me 3 months to come to the realization that I can't obsess over the number on the scale. The benefits I am getting from the workouts far exceeds the slow rate of weight loss. My inches have still remained good, so I'm trying to focus on that. I'm 50 lbs from my goal. I know I can do it. I WILL do it.

March 2017 - 10 lbs. lost
April 2017 - 9 lbs. lost
May 2017 - 12.6 lbs. lost
June 2017 - 9.2 lbs. lost
July 2017 - 5.8 lbs. lost (with a 2 week trip to Ireland in there!)
August 2017 - 9.2 lbs. lost (this is when the workouts started)
September 2017 - 6.6 lbs. lost
October 2017 - 3.6 lbs. lost
November 2017 - 5 lbs. lost
December 2017 - TBD

Most importantly, I am a better mom and wife now. I spend more time actually doing the fun stuff with my kids. We play basketball together, and road hockey. My husband was diagnosed with diabetes in May and has jumped on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon with me. We are doing this together which has helped us to connect more. Our lives are so busy, but we are making time for each other. In March, we are going on a childless Mexico resort vacation and I cannot wait.

As I look forward to 2018, I am excited for my future. I have made eating healthy and working out part of my daily routine and will not stop this new way of living. I know I will lose those 50 lbs in 2018 and I am excited to finally be where I want to be. I've made this promise to myself for so many years - I am thrilled that I have finally found the willpower and strength to see it through.

Happy Holidays!