Weight loss journey: Day 6

Verse of the day: Lamentations 2:22-23

[22] It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Today is day 6 of my weight loss journey. This morning I weighed in at 196.8 pounds. Almost 5 pounds lost in 5 days! I woke up this morning regretting eating too many bites of the ham I cooked up for little Joshua's fifth birthday party. Surprisingly, even with my lack of control, I lost weight! I will not allow myself to put something in my mouth if I can help it unless it is plated and I am sitting down. This will help me with portion control. 

Stress Levels

I scored a 74 on my stress levels yesterday, which shocked me because I was tempted to break my fasting and health goals many times.  

Food

Joshua's birthday meal request was ham, green beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, and white cake with chocolate frosting. I was not sure I would be able to stay away from that cake and ice cream. But I did! It was a huge accomplishment, but it was definitely hard. I had to get a big glass of water and walk away while my hubby cut up and placed the dessert on our guests' plates. I was a little embarrassed to be the only one not eating it. Maybe over time, this will get more comfortable. At dinner, I did eat a little more than I wanted to. But I succeeded in not eating the cake and not adding sugar to my sugar fuel tank. (I'll share more on this in my weight loss lessons from this week.)

Sleep Quality

I slept terribly last night. My goal is to catch up with a nap sometime today. I also asked Jordan to encourage me later to drink more water or grab a healthy snack when I may be weak. He's so sweet; he let me know he packed fruit, nuts, and veggies for our trip so that I could stay on track. He really is quite amazing.

Isn't it bipolar how you're over the moon in love with your spouse in one moment and then want to pack your bags and move out when you disagree? Yet, in the next minute, you're deeply, madly in love again. Just us? We are fully transparent when it comes to our weaknesses. We are often a mess, but we strive to LOVE and RESPECT one another. 

Love and Respect 

Love and Resped - this was one of the first conferences we attended at the beginning of our marriage in 2007. The conference is based on Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, which we highly recommend.

Clothing

The blue dress fits better today!💙 It might have been easier to get over my boobs if I had seen and unzipped the zipper. It is still tight on the breasts. I have noticed for the first time today in this journey that my breasts are decreasing in size. My bra seems to have too much fabric for a size G. I can't believe I just publicly shared my bra size, but I did. (Face slap) It's my transparent journey, and well there it is. I would like to look back at this and have an honest and open journey with myself. I also hope that it will encourage you to move your own mountains. Or, in this case, big tatas, pillows, fun bags, hoo hoos. OK, I will stop - that was a bit of my husband's personality showing through.

Recipe for Green Juice

Green juice was on the menu today. Watch this video for the recipe :) 

Hydration

I did not drink enough water yesterday. That definitely is one of the most important rules I need to adhere to. I am on the road today, traveling for a wedding, making it hard to drink enough water. I am trying to water fast today. As you may know, it's a bit easier to fast at a busy event, especially when you're thinking about how much better you would feel in the new dress I'm wearing with flatter… well, you know, let's not go there again. 

Lessons to Lean On

I haven’t had time to talk about the lessons I learned at a short informal seminar this past week. It was a program I truly believe could help people looking for accountability in their health goals and weight loss. 🙌 I believe credit needs to go where credit is due. In their educational breakdown, Noelle and Kathy in Great Falls, Montana, shared how the body works in fat loss from a scientific perspective. 

Takeaway: I’m going to dumb things down. We have three fuel tanks in our body to burn energy. The sugar tank, the fat tank, and the protein tank. The body uses the tank that gives the fastest energy, which is the sugar tank. It leaves the fat and protein tank to stay full, keeping those dreaded pounds on in the process. This makes the weight loss journey frustrating, especially if you’ve reduced calories and are still not seeing weight loss. 

The goal is to use protein and healthy fats so your body starts burning that fuel when your calories are depleted. The program begins with removing sugar from your diet and, yes, even fruits. There are weekly accountability weigh-ins, and I personally know Noelle, and I have witnessed her lose over 100 pounds in her weight loss journey! She admits this has been the best program for her so far. 

Encouragement

Since that meeting, I have been telling myself not to fill my sugar tank until I get to my goal weight. I’m starving this tank for healthier options - carefully, of course. That is what I plan to make as a rule as well. I am debating 🤔 whether it is OK to drink the fresh juiced berries and lemons I add daily to my homemade lemonade,  or if it is the best option. It all depends on the state of my pancreas. I'll share more on this tomorrow. If you decide to reach out to Noelle or Kathy, please let them know how you heard about them. They truly are treasures. 

I decided not to do the program as I would like to only have foods that are 100% natural and mainly juicing. I am also on a tight budget and do not have the funds to pay for their program right now. 

To conclude, I have seen great progress despite setbacks with food, sleep, stress, lack of discipline, and missed zippers. This journey is not a race; it's a new lifestyle. I see that writing about this journey helps me to self-evaluate and make decisions for the new day - to make new progress without getting upset with the mistakes. 

I am enjoying the challenging beauty of this walk and gaining knowledge in the lessons that I hope to carry with me for the rest of my life and pass down to my children. Being healthy is not temporary. It is for one's whole life. It's never too late or too early to decide to become healthy. It's a lifestyle that will benefit you now and throughout your life.

I look forward to sharing more of my journey over the next few weeks. If you like what you’ve read, sign up for my newsletter! You’ll receive weekly emails to keep you in the loop so you don’t miss any of my updates!

-Christian, Wrecked and Refined