I’ve put off blogging about this for quite some time. Weight is just not a fun subject to talk about. I’ve struggled with my weight for the past 8+ years. Although, I remember thinking I was fat when I was in high school (and weighed 120 pounds!). I think most all women have body image issues, regardless of their size. I am no exception.
My weight started piling on after I got divorced in 2007. Surprising, right? I’ve heard a lot of people say that they lost tons of weight after getting divorced. But not me.
I had been married to an extremely emotionally abusive person for years. He called me fat (when I weighed 135 pounds, well within my range for my height), made me go to Weight Watchers, made me go to the gym (and timed me on each machine), and watched every single bite I put into my mouth. I wish I was exaggerating but I’m not.
When I got divorced, I started eating. I felt that was the ONE thing I finally had control over. I thought to myself “he’s not here anymore! I can eat what I want!!!”. I was FREE!!!!!! And so I ate. And ate. And ate.
Not that I blame him 100%, because obviously I chose to eat poorly and make bad decisions regarding my health. I am accountable for my actions for sure.
Over those 8 years (from the time I got divorced until today) I’ve tried various things to lose weight. Mostly Weight Watchers. Now, I do believe that Weight Watchers works. Especially when you follow the program exactly and eat all of your fruits/veggies/healthy fats, etc. But I found myself eating a lot of crappy stuff (I would eat 24 points worth of crappy food each day instead of 24 points of healthy food). I felt sluggish all the time, even when I was following the program and losing weight. I was eating WAY too many carbs, sugars and fats.
So….when we got back from Europe, I decided to make a change. I started a new kind of eating: Low carb, low sugar (and when I say this, I mean pretty much no carbs, no sugar). Low fat. Little to no processed foods. Lots of veggies (but no carb-filled veggies like potatoes and beans and corn). Some fruit (but not the super high sugar fruit). Protein (chicken, fish, lean beef). Smaller portions. A gallon of water a day. No soda (including diet soda). Black coffee (I drink black coffee now!). Lots of vitamins. Lots of walking.
And is it working? Yes. The pounds are falling off. I have lost 16 pounds so far. Is it easy? No. Although it gets easier every day. Is it worth it? Yes. Will I eat this ‘strict’ forever? No….I do plan to incorporate a few more carbs/fat….but not yet. In a couple of weeks I will incorporate some other foods and try to maintain my weight loss for 3 or 4 weeks. Then I plan to get strict again until I reach my goal weight. I still plan to stay low carb/low sugar, no processed foods, etc forever. And yes, I will have 'cheat' meals every now and then. In fact, since I've started eating this way, I've had two cheat meals. Not cheat DAYS, just meals. It set me back a bit, but not much because I got right back on track both times and the weight continued to fall off.
I have a long ways to go, but this is the best I’ve done in quite some time. And I FEEL better physically, not just because of the lost weight. On Weight Watchers I would lose weight but would still not sleep well, I would get ‘lack of caffeine’ headaches and feel sluggish from the carbs and sugar. Now? I have a lot more energy, I don’t feel sluggish at all and I’m sleeping pretty darn good. I think it’s because I’m off of all processed sugar (I still eat fruit). If you have Netflix streaming, watch the documentary ‘Fed Up’. It’s all about America’s sugar addiction. Studies have shown that sugar is more addicting than cocaine (they show brain scans that prove it). And it is added to EVERYTHING. Now that I’m really paying attention to food labels I am SHOCKED at everything they add it to. Pretty much everything in the center grocery store aisles. It’s the 2nd ingredient in peanut butter. Peanut butter! It’s even in things that you wouldn’t expect it to be in (like the Chili-Lime cashews at Trader Joe’s). Spaghetti sauce. Salad dressing. Canned soup. Infant formula. All frozen meals. If it’s processed, it’s going to have sugar. Insane!
Here's what our pantry looks like now:
Top 3 shelves: vinegars, salsas, mustard, seasonings. A few canned products (mostly tomatoes). Canned chicken and tuna.
And my storage bags ha ha. I use these for EVERYTHING. We do a lot of 'batch' cooking so these are great for portioning out chicken, veggies, etc. for our lunches. Just this morning my husband grilled a bunch of chicken and I now have 30 individual baggies full of grilled chicken for our lunches.
Bottom two shelves: Rice (for the dogs when they get upset stomachs), some nuts, and a few baking mixes that I'm saving for a rainy 'cheat' day ha ha. Oh, and some olive oil. Looks kind of bare! But I'm okay with it.
So that is my weight loss story for now. I will keep plugging away and hopefully the pounds will continue to fall off. I can’t believe how much better I feel already!
P.S. – my mother-in-law and husband are eating this way too. I won’t reveal numbers, but they have both lost a lot more than me and look great!
