2 Months In... Down 1-2 sizes and nearly 25 lbs!

I've moved from (almost out of) 14's to between 10-12's (12's are getting loose, 10's are still too snug). 

I'm still eating clean and combining a protein and complex carb at each meal time.  I haven't been as good at eating every 3 hours because there is a lot of stress in my world right now.  

When I weighed in at the Docs yesterday, I was actually up 5 lbs on the scale vs. my home scale from a couple days before.  I'm in the ovulation phase of my cycle... not sure if that would cause the weight difference or if it was merely a scale/time of day issue.

The good news... since I cut out all refined sugars (I'm only using honey, rapadura/sucanat, or palm sugar in moderation), I'm ovulating on my own again. As a long time sufferer of PCOS, this is great news indeed!  I'm sure the weight loss has also helped in that regard, but I was thinner a dozen years ago when I first started trying to conceive and I wasn't ovulating on my own then.

7 Weeks

And 21lbs down...

Granted... I'm picking up speed again because there's a lot of junk going on in my life right now and I'm not eating much... which I know isn't good...

But 21lbs... YAY!

Breaking My Early Plateau

Well... I had basically hit a plateau... at least it felt like one.  I've finally kicked it... I think this higher protein/complex carb combination is working!  Yay!

18.6 lbs gone in just under 7 weeks.  Official weigh in on Saturday (4 days prior to the 8 week mark). 

Determining My Eating Philosophy

I stumbled across the Eat-Clean Diet (Tosca Reno) and thought, hmmmm... this looks relatively close to the nutrition philosophy I subscribe to.

I finished The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged! a day and a half after finding my amazon box at the post office.  What I love about this eating lifestyle...

• The combination of protein and complex carbs w/ healthy fats to keep you feel and energized
• Frequent small meals (5-6/day) to keep blood sugar level and hunger at bay
• Focus on natural foods, even for those who really can't cook (I cook... and am good at it but not everyone is!)
• Honesty... Tosca shares her story including what our bodies really look like after significant weight loss and how she made decisions regarding cosmetic surgery after weight loss. 
• The fact that Tosca is 51 years old and looks STUNNING... but 10 years ago she was a frumpy, overweight housewife.  She's lost 70+/- lbs!
• The website and forums (FREE!)
• Tosca explains how we sabotage our metabolisms (too few calories = starvation mode) and hit weight loss slumps

Tosca also emphasizes the beautiful body formula 80% Nutrition, 10% Exercise, 10% Genetics.   She goes on to say that working out isn't necessary to weight loss when you eat clean, but if you don't work out/tone then you will just be a smaller (soft, squishy) version of your former, chunkier self.  (My wording, not hers here).

What I'm not on board with:

• The emphasize on low fat dairy (dairy fat is essential to health)
• The focus on egg whites (the yolk of free range eggs is healthy)

So, I'm going to combine Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet with the standard Mediterranean diet (minus white carbs) and a Traditional (WAPF) diet.

Tosca says there is no need to count calories and fat... that by eating clean foods we are fueling our bodies efficiently and that foods are not equal in our bodies... we might be able to lose weight on 2000 cals/day of clean foods but gain on 1600 cals/day of junk foods. This makes sense.  I'll still be recording what I do eat and drink so that if I'm not losing, I can look back and figure out why.  

Here's my menu for today:

Breakfast (7am): GF oatmeal (1/2 cup oats + 1 cup water), 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries, 1 scant handful raw almonds + 1 heaping teaspoon of palm sugar (I can't go sans sweetener yet).
AM Snack 10am: 2 eggs scrambled w/ 1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms and half a sliced apple
Lunch 1pm: chicken breast (palm sized) + 1 cup brown rice + large garden salad
PM Snack 4pm: 1/2 sliced apple + 1 Tbs natural almond butter + drizzle of local raw honey
Dinner 7PM: Tilapia fish + 1/2 baked sweet potato + zucchini and mushrooms sauteed w/ coconut oil
Before Bed snack (if needed) 10pm: kefir smoothie

Cleansing... AGAIN!

I'm at 16.1 lbs down... which is good, no it's GREAT.  But, it's now coming off SLOW.  And I'm impatient, remember? (I know I should be happy with another 1.1 lbs gone in this past week... heck, if I lose a pound a week, that's 52 lbs/year, right... and that rocks. But I want faster results, especially since I am working my butt off, literally!).

I'm doing circuit training 4-5x's week (my goal is 6, but who knows when that's going to actually be a reality) and trying to get walking/swimming/etc... in at least 3 days a week as well.  The good news... I'm already seeing body changes with 2 weeks of regular work outs under my belt... increased muscle tone... ability to get through the circuit easier while maintaining a fat burning cardio rate.

I've changed my diet (low carb, high protein)... in an attempt to hit another spurt of rapid loss... it doesn't seem to be working.

So, I decided to do a heavy cleanse/fast today.  Yuck, I know.

I'm doing Isagenix Cleanse for Life (4oz 4x/day) and lots of water.  The only food I get is... organic apple slices and a few almonds.  Yes, I'm starving.  Someone mentioned that I'll be enjoying headaches today as well... that'll be awesome, especially since I have one very unhappy toddler here today.

The point to this is to detox my body... especially since I've only been off the soda for a couple months (I did a gentle 14 day cleanse already) and I had some cheating going on last week. 

In other news, I spent a good part of yesterday verifying my Naturopathic coverage on our health insurance and booking my annual exam with our ND friend (who rocks, BTW).  I'm excited about this for a couple of reasons...

* No MD means no mention of the dreaded hysterectomy that I've been assured is in  my future
* No MD means not having to fight off (again) prescriptions for Metformin and HRT for PCOS
* No MD means natural thyroid and hormone therapy if needed instead of drugs to mask the problems

Here's an interesting thought... I've been 20-65ish pounds overweight for my entire adult life (since the flare of PCOS and subsequent hormone/fertility treatments).  Not one of my doctors has every addressed my weight as a health concern, because to them, I'm healthy... as in, my cholesterol, BP, sugars, etc... are all just fine.  The only times my weight has been discussed at all was during pregnancy because I was losing weight (also the only time in life my thyroid was over active). 

Even though my docs can say I'm healthy... blah blah blah... I know that I'm on the fast track to diabetes.  How do I know this (and my doctors should as well)?  My family history... EVERY.SINGLE.ADULT.WOMAN on my Mom's side has developed diabetes between late 30's-40's... and most of the men as well.  My father also has diabetes.  I also have PCOS which has been linked to insulin resistance.  I had a 9lb 7oz newborn (in a pregnancy where my blood sugar was not checked).  And the list goes on.

Optimum Health? I think not.

Weigh Loss and PCOS

I was diagnosed with PCOS way back at the age of 19.  I finally had a doctor who said, "let's see what's going on" instead of "you're young, we won't worry yet".   Even though I was young, having cycles only a few times a year wasn't normal.

As I ended my teen years and headed into early adulthood, I was planning to get married and knew that pregnancy wouldn't be easy for me.  By the time I was married at 20, we knew what was wrong and I was able to begin fertility treatments right after the wedding... a year later, I was pregnant.  I can't help but wonder how long it would have taken me to get pregnant if we hadn't been proactive...

Today, I would take a different route because I'm learning how to manage my PCOS naturally in order to find a healthy body balance.  I'm also 12 years older, which I think gives me a different perspective.  And since I've birthed three biological children and am the mother to a stepson as well, I'm no longer the young, desperate woman I was before children.  I've been reading blogs of women who are me, several years ago and so much wiser (maybe because of the blogosphere) than I was... that said, back then I didn't even own a home computer.

I knew going into this weight loss lifestyle, that it wouldn't be as easy for me as it is for some because of the PCOS.  But since I lost the first 14lbs quickly, I was hoping I'd been wrong.  Since the weight is just barely creeping off now it appears I wasn't incorrect.  *Bleh*.

What I'm learning about a healthy PCOS diet:

• Eat high protein to help regulate insulin in the body
• Remove added sugars, especially refined
• Replace white carbs with healthier whole grains
• Enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables

I've already been doing these things for quite a while.  I honestly thought that giving up my soda habit (2-3 soda's a day, usually the 16oz bottles), would make a HUGE impact... I'm sure it will account for 20lbs or so over the course of this first year.  But, as we already know... I'M NOT PATIENT.  So, I'm praying for patience daily.

When I'm struck by a sweet tooth, I find that some fruit (especially strawberries with some whip sweetened with honey) works great!  If I do need to add sweetener to something, I'm using palm (coconut) sugar which has a GI of 35 or raw, local honey.

What I'm not doing... I slacked off on my food diary/journal.  I had this mentality that I had things down... but the weight isn't coming off so I must be missing something.

I am working out at least 4x's a week (30 minute circuit training).  My body feels it.

The good news...

We took the kids swimming yesterday, the suit I purchase for Spring Break (end of March this year) was FALLING OFF ME.

Diet FAIL

I had a bad couple of days.   Seriously... BAD.  My daughters had First Communion and my son had a birthday... that all added up to a lot of cake in the house.

Funny thing is... on day one, I didn't do terribly.  I had one small slice of the cake.  By day two, just knowing that cake was in my house was reason enough for me to eat it... and eat it I did... I didn't crave it, after a few bites I even felt sick... but I kept eating it.

By end of day three... I was SICK.  I kid you not... hanging out in the bathroom sick.

I felt so crummy that I also skipped two days at the gym, which added to my feeling worse.  I made bad choices (having a bagel thin for breakfast instead of eggs and healthy fat), that left me feeling hungry and that led to mindless eating.

I threw the cakes out... if they aren't here, I can't eat them.  Too bad it took me three days of feeling like crap to do that! 

I'm switching off calorie and fat counting for two weeks.  Instead I am eating whole (clean, natural) foods, limited grains, and lots of protein. Pre morning workout, I had a cup of yogurt with berries. For breakfast today I enjoyed, 1 egg cooked omelet style + 1 cup of cooked gf oats w/ sliced strawberries, 1 TBS of palm sugar and 2 Tbs of whole milk.   Lunch will be a grilled chicken breast, zucchini, mushrooms, and salad.  Afternoon snack will be 2 hardboiled egg whites + a sliced apple and dinner will be a repeat of lunch. 

The combination of high quality proteins with limited grains should help fuel my body and help ensure I am burning fat and not muscle at the gym.

Oh, yeah... the gym.  I joined Curves.  This week I only made it there 4x's.  My goal is 6x's/week, since I made myself sick this week, I lost 2 workouts.  So far, I am liking it... the circuit makes sense in my world.  I'm still walking a lot and maintaining all my normal activities, so this should help burn faster and tone up as the weight is coming off.

I didn't gain any weight during my 3 day binge... I held steady at 15lbs lost.