Going Down Down Down!

Hey friends!

Things are still going very well.  Have been enjoying my way of eating still...so so much.  I don't miss really anything from the way I used to eat before.  I do occasionally enjoy a treat and am keeping that to once a week or so, and when I say treat, it's not like I'm running to Dairy Queen...it's more like making some kind of paleo friendly sweetened with honey goodness.

In fact, I didn't even use sweetener in the ice cream I made last night.  I took frozen chopped bananas, and blended them with plain unsweetened cocoa and half a cup of almond milk.  Almond milk is not technically allowed on W30, but I don't mind a little here and there.  I've added in a little dairy too, some cheese every now and then, but only the kind I LOVE and only if I want it, which is pretty rare.

So here is where I am weight wise, this morning I weighed in at 190.8.  WOW!  I haven't weighed that in over a year.  This was post-run in the heat and humidity and it's my "week to lose" so we'll see how well that stays down.  My goal of 189 in May didn't happen, but I still lost around 5lbs in May so I'm ok with that.  For June I started at 192.8.  It's looking like 5lbs a month is doable for me.  Will take a little while doing it this way, but hey, it will stay off right?

Overall my results since December have been pretty staggering.  I've lost 35 lbs and a TON of inches, including a total of 9.5 inches off of JUST my WAIST!

Here's a series of updated, humiliating pictures:

 

 

Sure, I have a ways to go...some days feels like a long way.  But I am positive I will get there.  These pictures show what a long way clean eating and exercise can take you!

Now for a more flattering comparison picture:

The picture on the left was taken in March of 2010 at my heaviest.  I also look SO sickly.  I was 30.  The picture on the right was taken last month at a restaurant.  I look alive, healthy, and well.  I'm now 34.  What a difference a few years can make. I think I look MUCH older in the white shirt picture. 

Want to see some food pictures?  I've had a few friends asking me what I eat exactly.  I follow the Whole 30 principles with just a few paleo like tweaks.  This means I eat protein, veggies and healthy fats at each meal.  Some fruit as well, but it's not the "star" of my plate.  I get enough at each meal that I don't need to snack hardly at all.

Chicken Alfredo served atop Zoodles (noodles made from fresh zucchini in my kitchen!).  The alfredo is made with canned coconut cream (full fat) and ghee.  Recipe is on my Pinterest board "Good Eats for Life" as a Seafood alfredo, I just used chicken instead.  Served with kale sauteed in and with bacon. I used to make a killer alfredo back in the "day" and this one really rivals it! So good!!!  (added a bit of parm too...that helps)

Typical breakfast for me.  2 eggs scrambled, half a haas avocado and snap peas steamed then covered in coconut oil and toasted almonds/toasted coconut.  SO good!  I crave this.  Veggies in the morning have made a HUGE difference for me - I lose more weight when I start my day off with veggies!

Cauliflower pizza crust didn't come out as well as I'd hoped as I didn't have wax paper BUT it was still pretty good.  Recipe also on my pinterest board - for the crust.  The sauce is easy, your favorite seasonings mixed with tomato paste.

One of my FAVE made up recipes!  A bag of dry broccoli slaw sauteed in coconut oil, add chopped chicken, diced pineapple, coconut aminos (a replacement for soy sauce), curry and chinese 5 spice.  SO good!  I also sprinkle toasted coconut and almond on this one as well.

Homemade chicken salad with my homemade paleo mayo (YES I can make my own mayo!) and dates.  I season it with curry and sea salt.  Wrapped in romaine. 

This is the Power Steak Bowl for breakfast at Panera! 2 Hard boiled eggs, steak, tomato and avocado. SO good!

My zoodles again...this time with homemade spaghetti sauce (1 lb of grass fed ground beef, seasonings, a can of tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.)

As you can see...I really like my new zoodles creation.  They are AMAZING and have brought pasta back into my life!  Here is where you can get the zoodler Amazing zoodle maker! - it does tons of other veggies too - I have some sweet potatoes to try this weekend!

So there you have it.  TONS of pics.  And hopefully some inspiration for your own food adventures.  Basically every meal for me has the same balance.  Protein, healthy fat, and lots of veggies.  I love everything I eat and am excited I'm also losing weight in the process!

Oh and before I forget, my husband has now become a runner!  This morning we ran 2.25 miles - he's actually got some speed to him! I'm struggling a bit with IT Band syndrome, but am planning new shoes and full use of my foam roller to treat it.  Wish me luck! His first race will be in a few weeks...then if all is going well, we will start training for the Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon in November!

That's enough excitement for me for now!  

Take care all!

Clara

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Leaner!

Hey friends! Things here are going great.  Didn't mean to have such a long blog break but life has been moving at full speed ahead as usual and my weekends crazy packed too! I'm also so busy EXERCISING I'm having less time to blog.

YEP. You heard me right.  Someone has found her motivation to move her tater again.

I belong to a Facebook group that is all about the Whole 30 way of eating and connects me back to some folks I've been in a few healthy eating/workout challenges with since December.  I posted that I really needed some group accountability and voila, a May challenge was created by one of the awesome members!  We're trying to get all the pieces moving at once. 

I think we all struggle sometimes with either doing great on exercise OR eating but not both.  This is all about trying to do it all in conjunction for best results.

I was down to 193 this morning.  My goal was to be at 189 by end of next week, but not entirely sure that will happen as that's a bit of a stretch for me.  Heck, I'm back under 195 and pretty happy about that!

I started thinking back and yeah, I spent a LONG time in the 190s and even longer in the 180s when i lost the 100 pounds before getting discouraged, busy and losing my focus (and creeping back up over 225 - holy crap how did that happen???)

SO that in mind, I'm trying to stay true to the process.  Because it IS a process. One that may take many more months to get me to where I want to be!  I'm in the downswing at 193...so I know I'm moving in the right direction. 

And I FEEL great.  Truly.  Just posted a picture to my facebook page of my family last night.  I didn't realize how different I look and it made me realize how much my body is changing for the better. 

Sometimes, in this journey, we kind of get stuck in a rut where we feel like nothing is changing, the scale isn't moving fast enough, clothes still feel tight in certain annoying places, etc.  Then, sometimes, you experience this kind of magic where you feel like you wake up one day leaner and more toned. I don't know if it's just that you get so busy with life you don't notice it until you actually LOOK at yourself, but I'm experiencing that this week!

I am noticing my shoulders definition.  My biceps, while still flabby, are tightening up tremendously.  My back becoming fat-roll-free again.  My waist, just below my chest, is truly looking TINY (well as tiny as I will ever be, by definition).  I still have a belly, one that stretched out to almost 300 pounds, and that will just take time (and a ba-donka which may ALWAYS be there) but I'm really shrinking.  I actually think I look as lean now as I did in my 180s.  My face is leaner, and I look younger overall. Helps that my skins is essentially clear, my nails longer and stronger and the whites of eyes/teeth thing ain't too shabby either.

How am I getting these results?

CONSISTENCY.  I consistently do the following:

EAT CLEAN - I'm eating almost completely clean and very very close to W30 all of the time. I eat beans maybe once every month, maybe a little bbq sauce occasionally, but otherwise stay almost 100% on track.  Even with my travel.  No interest in grains, dairy or preservatives.  love the way I eat now!

EXERCISE - I'm back to exercising 5-6 days/week.  Part of our May challenge was to move every day in some way.  So even on rest days I will go for a walk or do housework.  My hubby is on week 3 of his Couch to 5k running training, and I'm running with a new running buddy in addition to that.  I'm also CONSISTENTLY lifting weights.  I use the T30 Monster, Beast and Warrior workouts and they are HARD.  I was using 8 lb weights at first, moved up to 10s and just bought and began using 15 lb weights.  (yep that's 15 pounds in EACH hand).  The guy is a little obnoxious (geared towards guys so there's some goofy guy talk) but I really like that in 25 mins I can have sweat pouring from lifting weights and using body weight for exercise.  I like to do this in combination with a HIIT workout for Turbo Fire or on a shorter run day.  I'm doing this 3x/week at the least.  On other days sometimes I toss around a kettlebell. That's always fun! I am enjoying my exercise again.  FUN to run with my hubby and my new running friend!  I do much much better in group situations.

So, admit it, are some of you reading my excited download above and thinking I have more of the following in my genetic makeup than you?

1) time
2) money
3) energy
4) discipline

Well I have news for you.  Not at all true.  On any of the 4.

1) TIME - nope, I work full time, travel 30-40% for work, have an active church life as a pastor's wife, mommy to a wonderful 9 year old, I cook when I'm home from my travels, I also take care of the budget for the family and keep my household running even while I'm away.  I meal plan every week and plan meals for when I'll be out of town for them and me as well.
2) MONEY - Sheesh, I just said I was a pastor's wife.  In all seriousness, I do have a really great job myself.  But I don't spend alot of money on my fitness.  No gym membership.  I buy running shoes (good ones I'm fitted for), the occasional fun new outfit to run in and healthy food.  Worth. Every. Penny.  I just choose to do that instead of spend on other things (like eating out constantly at crappy places).
3) ENERGY - Honey, I am as wiped out as the next person.  And I am one of those weird people who need a solid 7-9 hours of sleep to be at full function, no joke.  I just try to multi-task as much as possible.  And I choose what to spend my energy on.
4) DISCIPLINE - I'm so tempted to leave this blank and allow one of my dear friends to, while laughing, explain just how UNDISCIPLINED I am...I am not a routine follower.  I change up things about my food, habits and exercise ALL THE TIME.  I think that's why I'm successful.  I like shiny, new things, including routines and fun new veggies.

You know what I DO have that people who are repeatedly unsuccessful at their fitness/nutrition goals don't have?

COMMITMENT.

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.” ― Kenneth H. Blanchard

I love this quote.  Dude who wrote it wasn't any kind of fitness buff (from his picture I didn't get that vibe) but it applies to so many areas of our lives.  I'm not an aimless wanderer. In career world, I've been blessed to find what I love to do fairly early and made an awesome career out of it.  BUT I was 31 when I finally finished my Bachelors degree (remember what I said about discipline?  haha!).  I have lost 100 pounds...but gained 40 back (and have lost 32 of that again thankfully).  I have gone a week without exercising at ALL many times over in the last 4 years.  Slept in at hotels instead of going to the gym, made poor food choices here and there, if you've been following my story you know ALL of that is true.

But what sets me apart is the fact that I'm committed to seeing this through. No matter how LONG it takes.

Yeah, I'm also a pretty positive person.  That helps for sure.

What's in your way of fully committing to your own health?  Drop the excuses, and turn your interest into a full on commitment to your health.

You won't regret it.

Even now, almost 4 years later, not exactly where I was hoping I would be, I wouldn't change ANYTHING.  Not even any of my bumps in the road. 

What didn't kill me, made me leaner.  Eventually.

Peace out!

Clara B.

Balance!

Hey friends, sorry it has been so long since I've posted.  You all must be busy too, as I haven't received many "where have you been?" emails.

Things have been going good!  My weight loss over the last few weeks has stalled a little.  Lots of travel plus little sleep really seems to mess me up all around.  I've eaten well, stayed on plan for the most part and felt pretty good.  Then got a little sick last week that put me down for a few days from exercise.

After over 90 days of being pretty strict W30 eating, I decided to take a few offroading adventures in a 24 hour time span.  The book (It Starts With Food) talks about offroading as consciously eating things outside of the normal plan. It's impossible for anyone to be perfect all the time, especially when you travel and eat out as often as I do, but overall, I've done pretty well with it.  There have been a few things I "miss" a little, and so I made a plan to indulge in those few things for 24 hours and then jump back on.

I noticed a few things.  I had some ice cream, and while it tasted good, it left a strange film in my mouth - in looking at the ingredients I realized it had about 15 things I haven't eaten in the last 90 days, mostly additives, soy, butter oil (what is that???) etc. Decided that was not really worth it.

Then had some birthday cake. It was ok.  Again, kind of a plasticky feeling it left in my mouth once the sugar went down.  Pizza...I have decided I don't really like too much cheese anymore.  Now THAT is an unexpected result.  HAHA!  It was ok but nothing I felt I couldn't live without.  I'm finding food SMELLS much better to me than it ends up tasting.  And it tastes SO bland!

I have one more off roading meal planned today at lunch, my hubby's birthday is today and there is a local place that makes the most amazing burgers.  I plan on having one with sweet potato fries. 

Then I will be turning back into a W30 eating pumpkin when the clock strikes midnight tonight.

Interestingly, so far I haven't eaten anything thinking to myself, man, have I missed this!  I found myself actually craving strawberries last night.  Didn't eat any because I literally had no room in my body for it after the other junk.

My stomach is bloated and I've experienced other gastric distress I won't go into here in case you're reading this on your lunch break. 

It's incredible that when you eat really clean, then try something from your past, and it doesn't "do it" for you like it used to.  The only thing it "does" is seem to clean out my intestinal track and give me a tummy ache.

Another interesting finding in all of this is that I don't feel guilty AT ALL.  This is actually a HUGE change for me.  Typically I would have shed a few tears by now, upset with myself, etc., because this doesn't usually happen on PURPOSE.  I usually trip and fall face first into a pizza buffet.  The old me would anyway.

The new me decided, consciously, that I would offroad for 24 hours, and then get right back on track.  I don't have any longings for anything else, and I don't feel I'm missing much (except tummy pain and weight gain) by eating this way regularly.

I feel really good right now.  I'm sure the scale will not be my friend tomorrow when I have my back to W30 weigh in, but I am ok with that and ready to square off.

Because I'm realizing, since I'm not wallowing in guilt and self-pity of the recovering food addict that I am, that balance is so important.  I will NEVER call this cheating as that has a negative connotation.  I'll simply say I'm offroading and I will decide in advance to do it.  The book warns against making decisions in advance, but I really feel good about all of this and each person is different.  Being conscious about making poor food choices is hugely liberating.  And since I know so well how poor they are (as my gut is rumbling while I type) it will be no problem for me to jump back on track.

The good part is I made it a really long time of being really really solidly good.  Enough time to learn to LOVE how I eat now.  The first round, I made it around 45 days before doing my "grain reintroduction" that went so poorly.  If you look back over my blog, that day made me feel sick and gain 3 pounds and I felt terrible guilt.

Well given the last 24 hours has been planned, I don't at all feel that way!  I went another 45 days before offroading on purpose.  Wow.  That's a long time!  I feel excited to get my tail back in gear tomorrow and I truly miss my healthy food.

So I'm not going to smack a label or time stamp on my offroading.  Instead, I'm going to go for as long as I can (at least 30 days plus) before deciding I want something off plan.  There will be certain special occasions that are worth it - and some that are not! I will partake in what I WANT to partake in, keeping in mind I still have 30 pounds to lose!

So right now, I feel balanced (and bloated, but balanced).  I know I will reach my goals and think my brain is finally wrapping around how to exercise moderation.  Which will be extremely moderate for me until I get lean enough for my body to handle offroading better.  BUT the funny part is, the longer I go eating like this, I'm thinking the less and less foods I will find "worth" more than a bite or two.

Ah, it's been 4 years in the making folks...but this thick chick is getting it all figured out. Finally.

In other news - my husband started training today for his first 5k!  I'm so excited. Today's his birthday and in honor of it we began training for his first race.  I want us to run a half in the fall.  So super excited!  He did great.

Will keep you posted on everything!

Take care,
Clara 

Memorial Miles

Hey friends! Wow, what a week in our sad, fallen world.

It was tough watching the coverage but like a bad car wreck, you just had to look.  I held my baby girl extra tight on Monday night and let her fall asleep on me.  The image of the little boy, Martin Richard, has just haunted me.  How many times has my family waited for me at a finish line of a race?  So many. Never at a race as big as Boston's, but still.

When will we ever feel safe again?

When tragedy like this hits, I feel literally nauseated.  I could not watch the Sandy Hook coverage as I was almost vomiting over it.  It's been worse as a mother, but I know part of it is that being a person with Empathy (Gallup Strength # 5 for me) I literally can FEEL what other people are feeling.  I sobbed when Elizabeth got home from school that day and she knew something was wrong.

I didn't cry alot this week.  I was just stunned.  And sad.  And wondered when the other shoe would drop.  I prayed alot.  I had to travel for work, so when I turned on the TV on Thursday morning and saw the news about Waco and the explosion, I just stopped and prayed again.  And was glad to get home to my family again.

So much tragedy in such a short week. 

I can't do much to help.  I feel helpless and hate that.  But decided on Friday I would run in memory of Boston on my lunch break.  I did my T30 weights workout and took it easy on the lunges knowing I was heading out for a 3 mile run, which right now is challenging as my mileage has been lower as of late.

I didn't do a warm up walk as I was already warm.  Instead, I started running as soon as we got outside.  Each mile was for a different victim (at that point I didn't know about the police officer who had been killed later in the week).  I put my running playlist on shuffle.

My first mile was for Lingzi Lu, the Boston University grad student who was here from China.  I spent that mile praying for her family and asking God to show Himself to them, as they grieved for their lost daughter.  I prayed for healing for her friends and family.  What a beautiful girl with her life cut short.  I noticed the beautiful spring blooms around our town and could only imagine that she was a gentle, kind person.

My second mile was for Krystle Campbell, a 29 year old restaurant GM.  Everything I've read about her was that she was full of spunk and life.  A beautiful redhead who was always there for everyone.  I have to believe she was a fun loving person; all of the songs that came on during my 2nd mile were old Zumba songs that are fun and energetic.  I couldn't help but smile.  I prayed that her influence would be positive on those who knew her and that the love of the Lord would touch her family and friends during this terrible time and they would remember what they loved about her forever.

My third and toughest mile I ran for Martin Richard, the 8 year old boy who lost his life.  His beautiful smile was all I could see as I pushed through a tough run in the 86 degree full mid-day heat, up a hill of course.  I wanted to stop but made myself push through.  I prayed for his family and his young friends who are all grieving. I also prayed for the healing of his mother and younger sister, also injured in the attack.  I prayed their family could feel safe again.  Martin's mile was my toughest mile but that beautiful smile kept me moving.

As I finished that last mile, I began to sob.  Which was hard as my breathing was already irregular.  All the sadness from the week finally caught up with me.  I had forgotten how cathartic a run in honor of someone else could be.  Sometimes crying is just as cathartic.

Here is the song that happened to be on as I finished:  Beautiful by Group 1 Crew

I felt it appropriate.  All three lives were beautiful.  God made them all.  You may not like hearing this, but God also created and loved the men who created these bombs and murdered the innocent.  They just don't know it.  I'm praying for them and their families too.

And then yesterday I couldn't get this song out of my head Beauty from Pain by Superchick.  God will somehow bring beauty from this tragedy.  I just know it.

Now for an update on my journey.

Here's my fitness for the week:

Monday - T30 weights workout on my lunch break.  2 mile run with a friend that night.
Tuesday - travel/rest day
Wednesday - 50 minutes on the elliptical, hill workout
Thursday - 2 mile run with a friend.
Friday - T30 weights workout on my lunch break and 3 mile memorial run.
Saturday - 2 mile run with friends.

My nutrition has been on point.  And the scale is showing that! I weighed in at 194.0 this morning.  That's 31.6 pounds down from January 1.  Woohoo!  Back to 91 pounds lost total also.  That feels great.

In about 9 pounds I'll be back to where I was last year...but not stopping there.  I made myself a spreadsheet and am hoping I can see consistent loss of around 5-8 lbs/month until I'm done with the losing, then I'll keep moving and eating right so I can stay healthy and fit. Not much will change, I just know my body will stop losing when it reaches where it is happy.  I'm thinking that will be 165 but we'll see.

Funny thing is when I weighed 194 before I wasn't in the same shape I'm getting now.  My shape is different and changing I think because my nutrition is 100% right and my exercise/activity is including regular weight lifting.  I need to find some heavier weights...will be looking around this week for those. 

In the meantime, I won't forget what has happened this week.  I have this feeling I'll be running for them again, especially for little Martin who has captured my heart so.  I truly felt like he was with me yesterday and had goose bumps for most of the run, which was odd as it was HOT outside. 

I'll be looking for ways to encourage people not to give up or be afraid to live our lives because something "could" happen at anytime.  God has a plan and sometimes pain and tragedy is allowed in order for transition of that plan to take place. I have lived that myself a few times over, but never to the extent of those affected forever this week.

We also need to focus on the good that we saw everywhere.  Complete strangers saving each others' lives and being there for one another.  In Waco, TX, a nursing home was destroyed and there were reports of nursing home staff shielding the residents with their own bodies to protect them.  How amazing to see the true human spirit come alive in absolute tests of our resilience.  That, my friends, is what our country was founded on and what gives me hope about our future.  That, and my faith that my God has not left us nor foresaken us.  Even this week, He's there.

Hugs to you all,
Clara

Being a Patient Grasshopper

Hey all!

Sorry it has been a few weeks.  Crazy schedules, then my mother in law was in town last weekend and then my week this week was nuts.  Getting the blog updated before I get another fun filled day started around here.

Things have been going well!  I stayed 100% on track even with my mother in law in town last weekend.  This is a huge deal!  She found my strategically placed "It Starts With Food" book on the coffee table and also was interested in the recipes in Well Fed.  So we spent the weekend talking about nutrition, enjoying each others company and whipping up some amazing W30 approved meals.  She tried my zucchini spaghetti, the Well Fed Bora Bora Fireballs (amazingness) and also from Well Fed we made Jicama home fries.

Jicama looks like a rutabega or another kind of root, but its known as the "mexican potato."  I cooked the heck out of it - 18 hours on high in the crock pot covered in water (diced up first).  Then I pan fried it in coconut oil with the seasoning and it was AWESOME!  Still a little like an undercooked potato.  lol.  I think I'll do the full 24 hours in the crock on high next time and go from there.

I'm really enjoying trying new veggies and recipes.

I got a little discouraged this week because the scale hasn't been very friendly to me.  I'm not gaining, but haven't been losing.  Been at 197.8 or 198.5 for a few weeks it seems.  I analyzed my nutrition and think I figured it out - I needed more veggies.

It's not that I'm eating anything I shouldn't, but I definitely need more veggies overall.  I stopped eating them at breakfast regularly and that sets the tone for the day. So I'm adding them back into my mornings - even if its just on the side and not mixed in with my eggs. 

I did that for a few days and voila, the scale started moving again.  I'm down to 196.4 this morning!

What I've found is when I lack the veggies, I end up retaining more water and getting bloated. 

I also need to not get on the scale every day.  That's another mistake I've made lately, I have started weighing daily again.  Ugh.  I need to stop.

So I am going back to weekly weighins starting today.  I will NOT weigh until next Saturday morning, post-run. 

It won't be that hard this week as I'll be gone for work from Tuesday - Friday.  BUT that means I've got alot of prep to get myself ready to be on the road again.

It's working really well to carry food with me when I'm on the road, which if you know me, you know is just about weekly now with my new job.  I travel with carrots, hard boiled eggs, avocado, larabars (blueberry is my current fave) and of course my olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I have found myself being so set in my nutritional ways that I am not at risk of getting off track.  I just eat this way.  Period.

I don't feel deprived, I don't long to eat this or that.  It's wonderful to have completely reset my palate.

I made my own olive oil mayo this past weekend. I've made it before but wasn't sure what to use it for.  Now I made it and used it for chicken salad which I have really enjoyed.  I also realized I don't really miss creamy dressings, etc., as I haven't had any desire to make my own ranch dressing from it, which I could if I wanted to.  Sigh.  The positive changes are amazing here.

Planning continues to be key.  So does consistency.  And patience.

It's really tough to be patient when I still have ~30 pounds to go and I have been at this for so long.  But it took me almost all of the 4 years to get my nutrition dialed into where it needs to be, so I know it won't take me terribly  long to lose the rest of this weight.  It just won't happen overnight.  Or next week.  Or next month, in fact, it might take multiple months.  I might not be exactly where I want to be this bathing suit season. Yet.

And I need to be ok with that.  Because when you plan, practice consistency in nutrition, routine, and schedule, treat yourself well, sleep enough, eat whole food and exercise, fit happens. 

But it doesn't happen without hard work and dedication.  And I've got plenty more of that to give.

Will report in next Saturday after I weigh again! Have a GREAT week!

Clara

How BAD Do You Want It?

Here I am! Sorry for not posting this weekend, Easter is kind of a big deal in our house/church.  But I'm back and forcing myself to post now as I really should be making dinner but planning an early bedtime.

Speaking of that, I've been staying up WAY too late lately.  And it's killing me productivity-wise.  I'm ready to get my 2 hours of morning time back vs. the 2 hours of evening time I'm taking sitting on my fanny in front of the tv/phone/computer.  There's a goal for ya.

So I wanted to let you know all is still going really well on the nutrition front.  Exercise has been tough over the last few weeks due to being sick and then getting sick again.  It's truly just allergies spinning out of control.  Ain't nobody got time for that!  But I've done pretty well and been way more consistent with exercise so that is great.

I decided on Day 55 to try grain reintroduction just to see what happened.  You have to know, I really haven't missed bread much at all.  I planned, shopped for it and was ready to see how I did. Here's how the day fared.  This was an experiment, and I was approaching it very scientifically.  I'll also add in here this is NOT an April Fool's joke.  Kinda wish it was.

Breakfast - Whole grain bagel with almond butter (would have had cream cheese but that's for dairy reintro).  I had to CHOKE it down.  It was so blah tasting to me.  Like cardboard. 

How did I feel?  Ok.  Nothing major.

Lunch - We went to a local restaurant and I ordered fried chicken, plain rice and broccoli casserole with two yeast rolls on the side. (Duh, forgot that broccoli casserole has cheese so didn't eat much of that.)  Didn't finish the rice (never been much of a rice eater). 

How did I feel?  Ok, but a little bit like an addict having a glass of wine.  Shaky almost.  The food felt a bit like lead in my gut.

Dinner - So we didn't get to eat until after an evening church service that started with a cross-walk around 4pm, and ended at 8:30pm.  The only place open to eat locally was the Pizza Place.  I had nothing thawed out.  I figured, what the heck, it's grain reintroduction day, a few breadsticks would be good for me.  I got in there and smelled the pizza, saw the cheesy bread and LEFT MY BODY.  Seriously, it was almost an out of body experience.  4 slices of pizza, 2 slices of dessert pizza, cheese sticks and guess what else?  JUST GUESS.  You'll NEVER guess.

Yep.

DIET COKE. 

How did I feel?  Like a complete, disgusting, huge, failure.  Like I let myself down, everyone else down.  I felt so super strong just the day before.  I'd battled so much temptation in the almost 2 months of this.  Why did I allow one Diet Coke cause a complete landslide in behavior in one sitting? Ate some chocolate out of feeling defeated when I got home.  Cause THAT's a good reason to eat.  Not.

Physically I felt fine that night.  Very very full and a bit bloated, but no GI issues. The next day I was ok, but felt almost hungover.  And guess what other fun side effect I experienced?  I GAINED 3 POUNDS IN ONE DAY!

Now, of course, it doesn't mean I'll keep the 3 pounds, but it did teach me one MAJOR thing.

I am gluten/grain/crappy junk food intolerant.  But not because of the typical reasons.  It didn't cause gastric distress, or an allergic reaction.

IT MADE ME FATTER.  Reason enough for me to stay away...given my goals and all.

I've decided to delay any other reintroduction for a long long time. I'm feeling too good and doing too well overall to allow experimentation to get out of control again.  There's a reason I was shaky at lunchtime on that fateful day.  I am an addict.  A food addict!  And I need to treat myself as such, and not allow even the smallest bit of temptation lure me into a day full of crap trap.

I do know this, the fact that I so quickly scrambled into my seat on the wagon was impressive at least to me.  Normally this type of binge behavior would end up dragging along for a few days.  But nope, I was back exactly where I needed to be the VERY NEXT DAY. 

Because a MOMENT of weakness isn't going to destroy MONTHS of good health.

So once again, I've proven to the world that I'm imperfect.  But that is ok.  I've forgiven myself and learned a great deal from it. 

Oh - did I tell you I'm at 197.8 as of this morning?  Hello ONEDERLAND!  I've officially lost 27.8 pounds since the beginning of the year.  Pretty proud of that.

Easter picture in front of the cross with fresh flowers.  Loved my TJ Maxx dress!

 

in my hotel room in Hinesville - wanted to share the dress I bought in Nashville (it was too small then!) in November, along with my super cute new boots that BARELY fit over my mega muscled calves.  BUT they did and I felt great in the outfit.
 

There you go...more to come next week.  Been feeling GREAT and STRONG ever since that one day that spun out of control.

 

And you know what?  I want this.  And I'm doing this.  I want it bad...in a good way.  How bad do you want it?

 

But that's kinda been my mantra this whole time, right? 

 

WE LOSE OUR WAY, WE GET BACK UP AGAIN!  Thanks Toby Mac for the continued inspiration.  Get Back Up by Toby Mac.

 

Peace out,

Clara

 

Been There, Doing That!

Hey all! Had a much less stressful week, though every week has it's moments, right?

I am still recovering from the ear infection of the century - sheesh, finish working antibiotics and steroids! Wish I had been feeling well enough to exercise while traveling but it just didn't happen. 

I did managed to eek out the following exercise this week even while traveling for 3 days:

Monday - T30 Warrior workout (weights)
Thursday - T30 Warrior workout (weights)
Friday - Interval run with my 9 year old
Saturday- Interval run with my friend Hannah, then T30 Beast workout (weights)

So yeah, mostly weight training this week, but hey, it was something right? 

Kept my food on point, even though Panera tried to sabotage me.  I ordered off the hidden menu, and thought I averted crisis when the girl rang it up wrong and explained the salad to me (it was wrong).  She fixed it, then I grabbed my food and headed back to the hotel.  Got settled in to watch the Biggest Loser finale and found it had feta cheese all in it, and had some mystery dressing on the side.



Dressing from my purse to the rescue!!!

Yep, that's how I rolled.  I did end up with some cheese, but it didn't bother me much, dumped as much of it as I could, but you know feta, its tough without washing your salad (and I just now realized I could have done that).

Food otherwise was great, found an awesome cafe on Tybee Island (Sundae's) and LOVED the food there.  Lots of beautiful salads with fresh fish.  I tried a mango gazpacho that was incredible and I can't wait to recreate it here at home.

So speaking of the Biggest Loser, I was SO excited for Danni to win it.  She was my favorite throughout, so much heart and so dedicated.  She worked her fanny off (literally!).  There were so many amazing transformations in addition to hers, I was so proud of every contestant.  I honestly cannot watch that show, especially the finale, without shedding a few sincere tears.  Probably because I can compare my own journey to theirs. 

Of course, I haven't had time to focus ONLY on losing weight, I've done it while working full time career jobs that have all involved travel.  And I haven't had a personal trainer pushing me multiple hours per day, I relied on friends to meet me for walks, then trained myself to run using C25k, and did many hours of home workout videos.  I have had some gym time but don't prefer it, to be honest.  You all know running is my favorite.

So the one major thing I have in common with the Biggest Loser contestants?
I could have been on that show.  Easily.  At 285 pounds, I weighed more than most of the female contestants start off weighing on the show.

WOW.

It still staggers me to think of it.

So yeah, I've been at this for 3 and a half years.  And it will be a solid 4 before I've reached my goal weight.  I have had some ups and downs, good days and bad days, injuries and recoveries and HUGE self-discoveries.  I feel fortunate that I have finally found my sustainable groove here and plan to keep the momentum up, forever.

Every time I think it's taking too long and I am tired of it, I remind myself of that girl that I don't recognize from 2009 at 285 pounds.

That's me in the middle.  Yep.  Wow.  I look sick.

Me and my loving husband.  I am so blessed he loved and pursued me, even at this weight.

I don't recognize this girl at all anymore.  In fact, people who knew me then, and didn't know me before, walk by me now with zero recognition.

Last weekend after church.

 

Last month in Orlando.

 

Yeah, I don't recognize me either comparing those pictures.  Sure, I have a ways to go, but I'm more than halfway to where I want to be, in fact, I'm around 2/3 of the way.

 

So every day I feel it's taking too long, I'll just have to come back to this blog and remember and breathe.  I'm glad shows like the Biggest Loser exist so they can help keep me in check.

 

Overall, I'm feeling great and still LOVING my food every day.  I'm 53 days into the Whole 30 and no sign of stopping.  I am going to start to reintroduce food this week; just grains to start, to see how I react.  Not doing it because I miss them, and have zero intentions of changing the way I eat right now, but I'm curious to know if I have a bona-fide allergy to it so I can just know.  I will give myself a full week to process the one day of grains to see if I get any gut interruptions, new zits, or headaches, etc.  Will let you all know how that goes. 

 

I got a new cookbook that I am SUPER excited about, it's called Well Fed.  It is INCREDIBLE and the food is easy to cook and amazingly tasty!!! Already made two recipes from it and have 2 more on the  menu for this next week!  You have to check it out if you are interested in Whole 30/paleo eating.

 

Keep on keeping on my friends...and as always let me know how I can help support you!

 

~Clara