30 days! Holy Cow!

So I made it through my first 30 days on the slow carb diet! There were definite points of frustration.

• There were two weeks where it took me 4 or 5 days to get back to my pre-cheat day weight! Other weeks it only took 2 days!
•  Extreme carb sensitivity - its hard for me to incorporate beans or lentils and not gain.
• Lack of exercise - I just wasn't feeling particularly motivated to work out. PLUS - I retain sooooo much water when I work out that my weight is never really down the next day. Frustrating!

On the flip side, there were some definite highlights.

•  I'm definitely feeling more energetic
• I can see changes in my face and body
• I'm not very hungry and my cravings are pretty manageable. 
• I feel hopeful and optimistic that I can continue this on and reach my goal weight.

But here is the best part. Are you ready for the stats??

• In 30 days I lost 19 lbs and 19 inches (waist, hips, thighs, calves, chest, neck, arms, etc)
•  In 30 days my total cholesterol dropped by exactly 100 pts! (From 236 to 136)
• In 30 days my triglycerides dropped from 193 to 97
• In 20 days my LDL (bad cholesterol) dropped from 141 to 84
• In 30 days my BMI dropped from 48.3 to 45.4

It's now day 40 and here's a quick overview of what I want to achieve in the next 20 days:

• Exercise at least 3 days each week
• Figure out how to get the cheat-day weight off more quickly
• Get my weight down to 263
• Stay on track (diet-wise) while on my business trip
• Have protein earlier in the morning (right now I'm having my first meal about 1.5-2hrs after I wake up)
• Blog at least twice a week.

A couple of quick things to note.

• I'm taking BioTrust's Leptiburn (started a couple weeks ago)
• Taking a high quality omega 3
• I drink a protein shake every morning for breakfast (eggs and lentils make me nauseous in the morning)

I'll post comparison pictures later this weekend. Here's to a great next 30 days!

A great week!

This week has been a good week in the body transformation realm! I've lost more than 3 lbs this week and have another day before the new week starts. My energy is good, my mood is pretty stable, I'm not hungry, and the weight loss is steady. Here are a few things I've focused on doing differently this week:

• Getting more sleep. Three nights this week I was in bed by 10 and slept until 6. The rest of the nights I was in bed no later than 11:30. I've been waking up before my alarm and feeling high-energy throughout the week
• Taking omega 3s. Most people are aware of the general deficiency in omega 3s in this country - they are critical for heart health and cognitive health but they also play a major role in increasing the body's fat burning capabilities.
• Reducing salt. I had been eating eggs 4 or more times a week and adding salt. I reduced the egg intake because I can't stomach them without salt. I think that helped.
• Diuretics. Ok, I confess. I've taken a water pill each day this week. But I'm ONLY doing that because its the week before my period and I'll naturally retain more water during that timeframe.
• Less Crystal Lite. I love it. It's my weakness. It's so sweet and fruity! But, I know the artificial sweetners are baaaaad news. I was having 5 or more 20 oz bottles of crystal lite every day! This week I've had no more than 2/day. I'm going to try to keep it that way. 
• Toned down my cheat day. I talked about that earlier this week but let me just say - my first two cheat days were OUT OF CONTROL. This last one was much more moderate. I think the longer I continue on this journey the less need I'll feel to go overboard on cheats.

On the down side, I've exercised less. Today is Friday and I haven't done any exercise at all since last Saturday.

All in all, however, I feel really good about my progress this week. I'm thinking about some goals for next week already including:

• Breaking in to the 260s! Woohoo!
• Exercising at least 3 times between Sunday and Saturday. 
• Keeping Crystal Lite intake minimized.
• Getting to bed by 11
• Going for at least one long walk with my dog (this is more about de-stressing than exercise)
•  Keep the cheat day in check! 

I'm coming up on the 30 day mark and I'll have a full report of weight loss, inches, and lab results. Stay tuned!

Following the Rules

This week was a little frustrating - I lost less than 1 lb!!! On the one hand, I'm wicked frustrated. On the other, I think its OK.

I'm about a week out from my period so I know I'm probably retaining some water and will until next week. I also ate WAY too much on my last cheat day and it took me a while to bounce back.

On the other hand, I did my kettlebell swings and bridges. I didn't cheat at all. I ate really clean all week and I'm having a more moderate cheat day today. Much more moderate, actually.

I can tell that I'm losing inches but I'm not checking them just yet bc its hard to tell if its accurate or maybe I'm measuring in the wrong place. Who knows. My jeans fit better and I can see my face thinning out.

A quick overview of the cheat day - I got up and worked out this morning. Sprint intervals on the treadmill. Then I had a protein shake for breakfast. I got a philly cheesesteak and fries for lunch. Oh, and ice cream. And I'm going to have pizza and onion rings for dinner. Trust me, that sounds bad, but its nothing compared to last week! We'll see what happens on the scale tomorrow!

Here's to a great week of weight loss!