On March 17th , 2011 I started the beginning of what would be getting back my life. I weighed 272 pounds. I was embarrassed stepping on the scale at the doctors office that day. I had yo-yo dieted off and on for the past couple years and nothing would ever stick. The doctor told me I had to go on the low carb diet. I heard stories about how many people would lose a ton of weight and then gain it right back. I decided to take the doctors advice and to do some research myself. I learned how the Atkins diet had changed since then. They have revamped the program to help you lose it in a healthy way and to maintain a healthy lifestyle after hitting your goal. Finally, a diet that would work. I knew that this would be hard in the beginning. My favorite thing to eat is Chinese food. Specifically- Cashew Chicken. I was determined to get back the body I was meant to have. It was getting harder and more expensive to buy clothing for work. I work in an office setting where I needed to have business casual attire and the selection that a 22 Year old would be interested in was getting slimmer as I continued to get bigger. (ironic huh?) So, I started my journey. I was a size 24. I bounced between a 2X-3X depending on the clothing brand.
I started eating the normal thing people usually grab for when on the Atkins Diet: steak, chicken, fish, pork, and shrimp. That was pretty easy because I enjoy those types of food. The hardest thing in the past for me was free food. I grew up in a family where free food was good food. I had to find a way to convince myself to not take free food. To get my mind out of the free food mentality, I convinced myself that the free food the person was offering had something in it that I HATED! (for me it was green beans) If I say, "That food has green beans in it. No thank you." My mind would think of the horrible taste green beans had and I wouldn't want the food. It was a little weird at first because people would always give me a weird look when I said it, but saying it out loud really made my brain not want the food. The food I was eating was boring, but I wasn't hungry and that was my biggest concern.
My next appointment was on April 14th. Almost a month later. I stepped on the scale. I was blown away! I lost 20 pounds! It was such an incredible feeling! The doctor was so proud of my progress! People hadn't really noticed the difference in my weight loss yet, but I could really tell the difference in the way I felt. I had a lot more energy and I finally felt like I was making progress.
The food was getting more boring to me just eating a lot of the same thing. I went on the Atkins website (Atkins.com) and got a "free starter kit" they were advertising online. I received it a couple days later in the mail. It came with 3 protein bars, a carb counter, instructions, coupons, and recipes. This blog is ALL about honesty- 2 of the protein bars were disgusting to me. However, I really liked the chocolate chip granola bar. I could only eat bits of it at a time because it was so filling. One of the bad things about low carb is you cant have fruit, cake, ice cream, etc so I was really missing out on sweets. This really helped those chocolate cravings we all have on a rough day. I also then found out I could have sugar free jello. I also learned that its better to have a green with each meal. I then started making broccoli, salads, cauliflower, asparagus, etc with each meal. Cheese and Butter are allowed on the diet, so it was nice to be able to add them to mix up the taste.
May 12th I went to my next appointment and I learned I lost ANOTHER 20 pounds! I was now down 40 pounds! I was at the point where a lot of my clothes didn't fit. I was either looking like a hobo wearing baggy clothing, wearing some of my old clothes I had still kept that I used to wear, or clothes I bought in denial that wouldn't fit before that I was too embarrassed to take back to the store. People were finally noticing my weight loss! Its amazing how some people are afraid to compliment someone on their weight loss because they don't want to offend them. To me, someone telling me how good I was looking on my weight loss or ask me how I was doing it was the greatest compliment and really kept me going. If it wasn't for the people that constantly complimented my progress, I don't know if I would have lost as much as I have now!
Food wise, I was looking online for low carb recipes all over the net. I wanted to make sure I didn't get burnt out on the food I was eating. The best thing to me was finding a way to make the food I used to eat but in a healthier, low carb form. I also didn't want to be able to taste the difference. Most recipes are hit or miss. You just have to be patient and once you find a good one, share it with the world. (i.e. like starting a blog lol)
June 16th I had my most recent appointment. I was down 16 more pounds! So much weight lost and not a single item of clothing I used to be able to wear fit! I was at a point that people would double take when looking at me because I didn't look like the same person.
As of today, July 2, I am at 192 and a size 12. I'm going to really start focusing on working out to really tone my body. I have lost so much weight pretty much everything has to be toned up.
I have had a lot of people feel inspired by my story and have started their journey. It makes me feel so good inside to know that I can help someone else gain their life back. Everyone is always asking for tips, recipes, and general help while on their journey, so I decided to start this blog to be a helpful area for anyone wanting help to achieve their goal! If you ever have any questions or need some tips let me know!
I want to leave you with this thought my Memaw told me: There is no food that tastes as good as skinny feels!
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