Boy, that was redundant ;)
I wanted to write a bit about how our life changes are going, with regards to diet and weight lose. Not to brag, but perhaps to encourage others, and to keep a record of what works for me, and what doesn’t.
Let me say that I had been very discouraged. I started a very concentrated effort to lose weight on June 28th. I was exercising 5 days a week, and eating as healthy as possible, including one glass of fresh juice each day. I cut my sweet tea consumption to one glass per day, which was really hard for me! And guess what happened? I gained! After over a month of effort, and no lose to show for it, I decided to make even more changes. I knew it would be hard with the whole thyroid thing…but I had no idea it was going to be this hard!
After careful consideration and much prayer, Mr. OverKill and I decided it was time for me to try a strict fast of sorts. I read about many different types, The Daniel Fast, The Reboot Plans (from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead), and The Gerson Therapy. Here’s the deal… if I do a program like that, and it tells me to juice beats and tomatoes and drink it, I won’t. I hate beat juice! But it’s in the plan and then I stress…and rather than substitute, I will just not eat – or drink as the case were ;)
Eventually, I ended up creating my own plan. And really, I think that is the best thing to do! I live in a smallish town, and some of the foods on these plans aren’t even available locally. Here it is:
The Frazzled Mama’s Diet
- Fresh juice made from a variety of veggies and fruit, preferably more veg than fruit, at least twice a day.
- Snacks are fresh fruit or veggies, maybe one homemade pickle a day.
- Lunch and dinner, large salads with lots of veggies, and a tad of salad dressing. Baked sweet potatoes, and more veggies, roasted or steamed. The last couple of days I allowed myself to have a tiny piece of salmon. Yum-o!
- I started and ended each day with a cup of warm water or warm herbal tea.
- LOTS of filtered water.
- NO REFINED SUGAR, NO CARBS, NO MEAT
I started last Monday. The first 3 days were hard. I felt hungry all the time, but found that drinking an abundance of water to help stave off the hunger pains. I did not exercise at all the first week. I felt a bit drained…but all in all not too bad. Sadly, I gained more weight. I was becoming very discouraged. Then, on the 5th day, I dropped 5 pounds! I have continued to drop between1-3 pounds per day, and after 7 days have lost a total of 10 pounds.
At this time, I am planning to continue eating in this fashion. I am sleeping well, have reduced inflammation, and I have energy! I am 3 pounds away from reaching my first weight loss goal. And I am SO excited!!!
I am planning to add exercise back into my routine this week, and am actually looking forward to it. I am starting slow with a Leslie Sansone walking program and her firming workout. I really have no desire to be “ripped” I just want to be strong, healthy and toned.
Last but not least, a recipe, for these….
Ok, they don’t look like much, but oh man! The author of the recipe was going for an Oreo flavor. Our turned out to be more like a peanut butter brownie. You can find the recipe at Chocolate Covered Katie. I followed her directions with the exception of the coconut butter. I couldn’t find any at Publix, so I opted for cashew nut butter, which I made myself by grinding cashews in my coffee bean grinder. I did not follow any recipe for this, as most called for added oil and salt. I used roasted, lightly salted nuts, and it was fabulous. Everyone really enjoyed them and I was tickled to have something sweet and chocolaty that fell within the parameters of my diet.
So, there you have it, you are redundantly caught up.