Weight Loss Wednesday (on Thursday) #3

This week was a bit of a struggle.  I've been busy juggling my life and because I'm so tired and lazy by the end of the day, I've been letting my meal prep and healthy eating suffer. Being more lenient on what I put in my mouth. Wonderful boyfriend and I went for dinner before he left for work for 10 days, and I had a burger and fries (BUT, no pop!). I couldn't finish it all, which used to be no problem for me so that's good! And we went for sandwiches twice when we couldn't be bothered to cook. The last time I weighed myself (before today), I had gained weight so I've been scared of the scale and mad at myself for cheating. I know weight fluctuates, and I know I'm not a robot and humans aren't perfect but I can't help being a little heartbroken when I see that number rise.

SOME GOOD THINGS THAT I'VE NOTICED AND BEEN WORKING ON:
-Drinking WAY more water. I'm aiming for 2L a day, finding the first litre super easy to guzzle down, and struggling with the second.
-I'm going to the gym as often as possible. If I force myself to the point of exhaustion, I will dread going and it won't happen at all.
-I no longer gravitate to the junky foods in the grocery store. I've accepted the fact that I just can't have those things anymore (although, I may never accept the fact that I can't eat as many French fries and poutines as I used to). **ALSO, I needed to break a $20 at the convenience store earlier and it took me a super long time to decide what to buy because I didn't even WANT anything in there!
- I've become much more busy and less sedentary. Which is good physically, but I feel like my mental health needs some  time where I can lay on the couch and reenact a slug.

Now that I've confessed my slips and acknowledged the good that I've worked on and experienced this week, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty. My current weight is 246.4. Which means I'm up 2.8lbs from last week, and down 4.2lbs total. Honestly, as I was weighing myself during the week, I was disappointed and discouraged by the weight gain. Now as I think about it, I'm reminding myself that I'm taking in waaaayyy more water daily than I have before, AND I'm working out regularly. People almost always gain weight when they start working out! It's still frustrating that I don't have that "super close to 10lb weight loss" excitement to think about as I choose what to eat every day, but I'm trying not to get hung up on it because I'm doing SO GOOD. I've tried many, many times to lose weight over the years, and it has NEVER, EVER felt so effortless for me to stick with it and accept it as a new lifestyle. The time is NOW and it's happening! And I couldn't be more happy about that.

Start weight- 250.6lbs
Today's weight- 246.4lbs
Total loss- 4.2lbs

Weight Loss Wednesday #2

I have completed the first week of my journey to better health and in all the times I've tried to start this journey, I have never felt so motivated and determined and like "this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now", ever. I'm going to be straight up and tell you right off the bat that I "cheated" a couple times; when it was late and easier to go out and grab something, and when I was super jealous of my boyfriend's post oral surgery ice cream diet. BUT- I didn't eat nearly as much as I would have two weeks ago, and I'm still proud of myself for that. I no longer have the "go big or go home" attitude for cheating that would throw me way off course. I'm doing good.
Although, the first few days of this journey weren't so great. As I was detoxing from my sugar and fat diet, I was almost positive I wasn't going to make it to see the next day (okay, maybe a little dramatic). I felt as if I had the worst sunstroke of all time though. Cry-worthy headaches, level 1000 nausea, shaking to the point of vibration, and super frustrating insomnia. I was experiencing withdrawal and I felt terrible.

THINGS THAT HELPED ME AT THIS TIME
-Fruit smoothies (natural sugars are good sugars!)
-Drinking TONS of water (duh)
-The best pain relieving ointment ever (recommended by a very nice lady at a nearby Asian supermarket)
-Hot baths in the dark
-Thinking about NEVER HAVING TO DO IT AGAIN!

Thinking back on all of this, it feels like forever ago. I'm not sure if it's because my little family (including my cousin/main support system's little family) just endured a really tough week, or because I've been working so hard to come up with a variation to my diet. *Discovery- I looooove avocado!
After the first week of the rest of my life, I am proud to announce I have lost 7 POUNDS!

Starting weight-250.6lbs
Current weight-243.6lbs
Total lost- 7lbs!

As I am going to be sharing a lot of my favourite healthy recipes, I'm including a free recipe card printable for you to print, copy, and use as much as you'd like- whether it's for a healthier recipe that you find here at Nesting Doll at Home, or for someone else's grandmother's chocolate cake recipe (jealous). Enjoy!

Weight Loss Wednesday

(Posted Late Thursday night because life happened. Twice.)

Last week I stepped on the scale, only to come to an eye-opening realization- I have gained 100lbs since high school. That's 100 pounds in 6 years. Not good. This realization was the final push needed to decide I'm actually going to commit to the change my poor body had been waiting for. I owe this to myself for thinking all those terrible thoughts about how I look, and for mistreating my body for so long. I want my future children to have happy, healthy parents that can play with them and be able to keep up. I don't want to buy ill-fitting, plus size pants just to bring them home and alter them so I can feel somewhat comfortable in my clothes (if I'm even feeling brave enough to go shopping and face the disappointment of walking out with nothing or going up a size).

I remember a few years back when I couldn't try on clothes without crying silently to myself in the change room. Thinking back on this today (a totally repressed memory brought back to life as I started writing this post), I wish I could go back and hug that girl as she tried on too-small clothes and cried. Because time travel is currently impossible, the only thing I can do for her is give her a healthy future and fit her into some dang cute clothes! I am finally going to commit myself to a healthy, active lifestyle. So to hold myself accountable and hopefully inspire others to join me on this journey, I'm going to dedicate my Wednesday blog posts to my progress, my highs and lows, things that worked very well for me, and confessions about caving and eating that donair and french fries I had been longing for. I have only been at this since Sunday so I'm going to save all that for next week, but here are my current stats:

Starting Weight:  250.6lbs
Current Weight: 246.2

Ankle- 25.3cm
Calf- 45cm
Knee- 41.3cm
Thigh- 77.3cm
Hip- 131.5cm
Waist- 102.5cm
Bust- 123cm
Arm- 39cm

I wasn't going to share all this personal (and rather embarrassing) information publicly until I had lost a significant amount of weight, because I somehow think I would feel less naked and exposed if it was further in the past. BUT, how can I inspire you guys if I'm not straight up? IT IS WHAT IT IS! The whole point of this journey is to be healthy and to not feel ashamed of my body. Well, why the heck do I feel ashamed? My body paints, it cooks, it takes care of people, it gives hugs, it hurts, it feels, it loves! I am so lucky to have been born with a body that works the way it does, so I'm cancelling the pity party and going to go paint my nails so I can't eat the potato chips I'm craving :)

Please help yourself to this free printable I created to help inspire you guys to join me on this HEALTH JOURNEY!