Week 17: I Am Doing This

"I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say instead that you are doing it. Then fasten your seat belt.  The most remarkable things follow." -Julia Cameron

I have had an interesting week.  On one hand, my digestive system was truly having a meltdown.  I don't have a clue why, but I am convinced it is some food allergy or sensitivity.  On the other hand, I stayed active, kept away from sugar (until last night at least...) and yes, lost weight! I am down two pounds from last week, which means I am at my lowest weight yet!

I'm happy about that, but this not feeling well thing is really cramping my style. Literally. The doctors have no clue what is going on and I was scheduled for a colonoscopy today that didn't end up happening.  I am basically sick of waiting for someone else to tell me what's wrong with my body, so I am taking matters into my own hands. 

Enter The Conscious Cleanse, a book that I had heard about and decided to look into this week.  Before you freak, don't worry, this is a NOT a juice/liquid cleanse.  I don't believe in that and I like food too much anyways.  What this book outlines is a 14 day whole foods, allergy free cleanse. Namely NO: gluten, dairy, sugar, shellfish, soy, peanuts, strawberries, chocolate, peppers, corn, tomatoes, eggplant, eggs, potatoes, or yeast. After the cleanse, you slowly reintroduce foods to check your body's reaction to them.

Sound a little awful? It might be, but at this point, I am willing to try anything that might help.  And I can do just about anything for 2 weeks.  So what will I eat? Gluten free grains (brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, GF oats), beans, nuts (except peanuts) and seeds, some meats, plus most fruits and vegetables.  Right now, I am really excited about the prospect of being gentle to my body and seeing what results. 

Of course today being the day before the cleanse, I might have gone a little "nuts"--again, not like what most people would have done, but I made sure to get in a little bit of all of my favorite things, especially things that I may choose to never eat again if I find my body can't tolerate them.  It was a good day! 

But now it's over and I'm off to prep the gazillion fruits and veggies I purchased today! I am excited now, but I know many parts of this cleanse will be difficult (especially the no chocolate thing...), but also very worth it. You'll get a week one report next Saturday!

Pounds lost: 16.2

Pounds left to lose: 13.8

Love,

Candace

Week 16: Insanity

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

At least a couple of you read the title of today's post and thought I might have started up a workout program involving a ripped black guy named Shaun T.  That is not the case, although I do own the program and may decide to take it on one of these days.  

No, I am talking about insanity of the Einstein variety, that is, doing the same thing over and over and for some deranged reason thinking things will turn out differently.  In this case, it is my diet and exercise.  For the last month or so, I have been in the same infuriating two pound range with my weight.  After another disappointing weigh-in this morning (up another .6 pound), I decided enough was enough--something has to change.

I am realizing that when I keep my body guessing a little, I am successful with my weight loss, but when I get caught up in eating the same things and doing the same workouts, my weight also stays the same! So I am going to make a few changes in my routine that will hopefully spark some weight loss. For this week, it is going to be cutting out refined sugars and most simple carbs, as well as varying my workouts and incorporating more strength training. I will take an inventory next week and see what other changes need to be made.

On a positive note, I do think that my body has changed a little, even though the scale says otherwise.  This week, as I looked in the mirror, I thought a couple of times, "You are looking skinnier!", but pushed the thought away when the scale told me otherwise.  But after a couple of people also mentioned that I was looking thinner, I thought maybe I wasn't so crazy after all.  Possibly I am putting on some muscle which would also explain the scale a little bit. 

I have to admit that silly little scale is going to my head a little bit. I needed a bit of a reminder of how far I have come and how much my body has changed, so here it is--my second comparison picture! The first picture was taken right after my bestie won the Miss Carbon County pageant back in 2009, the second was taken yesterday.  You've seen the "BYU Shirt Comparison Picture" so let me now present the "Jean Skirt Comparison Picture"!

A lot has changed in the five year span between these two shots.  I am looking forward to all the changes that will happen in the next five! Happy healthy week!

Pounds lost: 14.2

Pounds left to lose: 15.8

Love,

Candace

Week 15: On Compliments

"I can live for two months on a good compliment." -Mark Twain

Well, I have just returned from a wonderful week in beautiful Jordan! I have to admit, I ate A LOT! But I stuck to my gluten-free plan (and also dairy free for most of the time), so most of the things I ate were actually healthy! Yes, I went to a Middle Eastern country that eats EVERYTHING with bread and I didn't even have one little piece! I did, however, have hummus, falafel, salads, chicken, eggs, and more!

I also stayed pretty active! We did a little swimming, some hiking, a lot of walking, and I even hit the gym at the Marriott one morning! That being said, my activity levels weren't quite enough to negate all the food I ate, so I am up .2 pound from my last report.

Normally, seeing a bigger number on the scale would get me down, but this time it hasn't, for two reasons--

1. I just had the most fabulous vacation, ate a lot of good food to my heart's content, got my sweat on, and basically didn't gain anything! Remember Sri Lanka? I packed on 10 pounds that trip! So I feel like I did a pretty good job!

2. I have been getting SO many compliments! Some people had no idea they were even complimenting me! For example, I was talking with a brand new coworker and mentioned that I was trying to lose weight. She gave me a look and said "Why? You don't need to!" And several of you commented on my pics from Jordan with kind words about my appearance, when I was really only posting to show awesome experience I was having! Compliments help me to realize that though I haven't seen a huge drop on the scale for several weeks now, I am still looking better than ever! 

As far as my health issues go, I am still not feeling 100%.  The Celiac test results are still not back from Germany, so I am keeping up the gluten-free diet until further notice.  I'm also keeping dairy at bay since it tends to mess with digestion as well.  Even though I'm not 100%, I am doing much better than before.  I cranked out a pretty hard workout this morning and have no intention of slowing down! 

Here's to another happy, healthy week!

Pounds lost: 14.8

Pounds left to lose: 15.2

Love,

Candace