I’m absolutely astounded by my progress! It’s been five weeks now, and aside from some struggles in the beginning (when I went camping), I’m doing great with my eating. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve stayed on plan without even the tiniest “cheat”, and I truly couldn’t be more proud of myself!
Don’t be fooled though. This isn’t just me. I truly feel like I’m making it work because God tapped me on the shoulder. He helped everything fall into place in just the right way at just the right time. I don’t believe in coincidences. Never in my life have I experienced the hand of God in a more obvious and ever-present way. I thank Him every day for His gifts, without which I’d be utterly lost here on this journey as has been the case for me so many times in the past.
I’m down to 265.8 this morning. That means that in 5 weeks, I’ve lost 13 pounds. So many folks who embark on a low-carb eating plan experience dramatic weight loss. I am NOT one of those folks. For me though, this average of 2.6 lb/week lost is lightning fast, and that helps me to stay positive.
When I first set this Transformation Day 2012 goal for myself, I was thinking, “I’m NEVER going to be able to lose almost 140 pounds in that short a time.” My previous history of not being able to stay on plan, of eating foods that react badly with my body, and of losing very little weight before getting discouraged left me feeling like I was doomed to lose the race before I even took one step. Now, while I’m not taking any of this for granted, I’m continuing to feel optimistic. I’ve been making real changes that are having a positive effect on my life and my body, and I want to keep that going.
I did discover on Saturday that any aged cheese is probably a bad thing for me and my body. In the past, I’d assumed that only the really aged stuff like cheddar and the like were causing me grief. After having some mozzarella cheese on Saturday, the first dairy I’d had in at least 10 days, I discovered that it really doesn’t agree with me. I had terrible digestive upset all evening, and it was hard to go to sleep despite the anti-gas and antacids I took to try and relieve my discomfort. I can do without cheese. I don’t even really miss it now, and I really thought I would. The aged cheese isn’t worth that pain, and that determination in and of itself is amazing to me ’cause a month ago, I wasn’t so “evolved”.
My tastes are changing as well as my preferences. I’m drinking more plain water now (instead of water with a peppermint tea bag in the bottom). I’m also happy having the same old grilled chicken thighs for lunch every day. I never thought I’d be one of “those” people.
I’m still an addict though, and I definitely have my issues. Saturday night, I had my first “carb” dream where I dreamed about devouring Sam’s Club cupcakes with buttercream frosting. As I mentioned in another update, those bad boys are my NEMESIS. I successfully avoided them at my daughter’s birthday party, so I’m not sure where that dream came from, but it’s definitely a sign that I can never let me guard down, especially now with the progress that I’ve made.
I feel so blessed — blessed to have this blog, blessed to have the support of a lot of good people, blessed to have a beautiful family, and blessed to have the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other on this very long journey. I’m headed forward, and I’m only looking back to learn so that I can be successful this time around as I claim my path to liberty!