Wellness Journey: Part 4

Phase 3 of the Skinny Utah program is the Remain or Maintain phase. I completed the program and am happy with the results. For those tuning in for the reveal and you want to read about the whole long journey read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Here is a before and after...or After and before!

Left: March 20, Weight: 176.2. Right: Dec 2017, Weight: 207.4

So far, I have lost 30 pounds in 10 weeks on the Skinny Utah program! Before I go over my goals for this next phase I want to list some of the things that I have learned so far.

1. I can do hard things. Sounds a bit cliche, but it's true.

2. I can go without sugar and still be alive!

3. When I was in ketosis I could feel it. I felt chilly all the time. I felt like I was burning fat too.

4. Hard is hard so pick your hard.

5. Reduced body odor and sweat.

7. Cleared up my skin.  It's smoother too because it's hydrated and happy.

8. I need to be accountable to someoene in order to be more successful.


The following are things that in general help people like me, to lose significant amounts of weight. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a pro at this. I have no training in nutrition. I have not read a tons books on dieting. I am sharing this based on my own experience and because I have a poor memory and want to be able to reference this later, if I need to go through this again. Weight loss in general is hard work. These are some simple things that have helped me lose and then maintain so far.

1. Be mindful. Before, I would eat any crumb, child's leftovers, scraps left on the table, etc etc. I hate to waste food because in my mind, wasted food = wasted money. So I would eat the table scraps, the broken pieces left in the bottom of the bag, fallen candies on the floor, etc. I am getting disgustingly honest here. I would rather eat a chocolate chip that fell on the floor than toss it in the garbage. And then I became a human garbage disposal without me even noticing. Since this journey I have realized that good food is more expensive. However, it is more filling and can be more satisfying, the more I eat and it and get used to it. I can purchase less, but higher quality food because I am eating less of it and it fills me better.
2. Water. My sister-in-law Emily, who is currently in med school, told me an interesting biological fact (I hope I get the info right). The nerve that connects the stomach to the brain gives the same signal for thirst and hunger to our brains. In other words, sometimes when we think we're hungry we're actually thirsty. I had read that in multiple places that water is a great replacement for a snack. I had experienced it for myself over 12 years ago when I lost all the baby weight after Samuel was born. But I got used to substituting water with food or soda.
3. Less or no sugar. The first week of this journey I had headaches daily adjusting to the lack of sugar. Now, when I eat any processed sugar, in tiny amounts, I get a headache almost immediately. I am still on a search for alternative sweeteners that don't taste gross. I have tried powdered stevia and the aftertaste is vile. Although a version of stevia is in my protein powder and it tastes fine. I have purchased liquid stevia and not yet tried it. I recently tried powdered Splenda, no calorie sweetener, made from stevia plant. That was much more bearable to eat. I have tried a small amount of coconut sugar but it's not very strong. I want to try Swerve. Honey is good but I want to find more alternatives. I think I will try the goal of one treat per week. It'll force me to be more mindful and not just mindlessly bake and eat. It will help me make wiser baking and shopping choices too. But I will also not feel deprived if I allow myself to eat it sometimes instead of never. What do you do that helps?
4. Portion control. My portions just kept getting larger and larger over the years. I believe my stomach expanded. It used to be that one can of soda used to be too much for me to drink because I would get full from the bubbly drink. By January of this year, I could easily consume at least 36 oz of soda and still not be full. I didn't think that was possible but I proved to myself that it was! So, when I was limited to 500 calories per day I thought I would die of hunger. But, to my astonishment, I am still here! And when I had to eat more food in Phase 2, I felt so full and bloated. I guess my stomach has shrunk!
5. None or less fast food. Like I said earlier, I got into some expensive and unhealthy eating habits=eating fast food at least once a week. Most of it was fried or greasy. I dine out at a restaurant two times during the whole 9 week program. It was hard to find restaurants that did not use rancid oils (canola, vegetable, etc) or sugar in everything. Since then, especially because it's my birthday month and I get all these freebies from restaurants, I have eaten out more often. But I scour the menu online before ordering. I have made healthier choices. I still look forward to eating a juicy hamburger on a white bun or pizza complete with sauce and cheese but I am trying to hold off. I want to take on the fun and junky foods slowly so I don't binge and gain a ton back. 
6. Keep body moving. I became more sedentary. I am not sure if it was because the food I ate made me more tired=wanted to sit and sleep more. Or if I was just lazy. I like to think the former. I enjoy certain forms of exercise but not others. I like aerobic activities like Zumba or walking more than weight lifting or hardcore things like P90x or circuit training. I want to pick up running again too. I have started HIIT (high intensity interval training) exercises per the SkinnyUtah program 3x/week. It burns fat faster by getting your heart rate revved up and then rest to allow heart to calm faster, does that make sense? I only need to do this for 5-10 minutes per day and then exercise in addition to that. My goal is 4-5 times per week. 
7. Vitamins and nutrients. I want to take a good multi-vitamin, Vitamin D (the happy vitamin), and others. What do you take?
8. Sleep . When I am more rested I am less stressed, wake up with a better attitude to bring on the day, and I eat less! Plus, I have read that you digest food better if you get more restful and enough hours of sleep in the day (less at night + a nap during day or at least 8 hours straight at night). I did really well the first few weeks, but then life got busier and it forced me to stay up later. Then Colin started waking up at night causing me to wake up with less effective sleep. I also eat less when I don't stay up late....see next tip.
9. Stop eating before 9 pm. Or 8 pm. If I get hungry after dinner I try to eat a fruit or veggie. And drink water. 
10. Planning. I have had to be more organized with meal planning to make sure I am prepared for myself. If I didn't thaw meat out my go-to was tuna fish or eggs. But if dinner was later I would get hangry which would force me to binge snack. Before I would go to yogurt or bread to hold me over until I had dinner ready. Or buy take-out or frozen pre-made meals. Now, if I am not as prepared I eat almonds to hold me over until I am done cooking. 
11. Stress.  How does this not exist in life? Some weeks are just plain stressful. But...when I am stressed I eat, as I discussed in the earlier posts. So, avoiding it by saying "No" to projects or  to people can help. I am trying to organize my life more too to manage my stress.
12. Little rewards or incentives, what's your motivation? When I lost 20 pounds I took myself to have my eyebrows threaded. When I was done with the program I got my hair cut/dyed. I am trying to find non-food related rewards. 
13. Keep track, be accountable. When I don't write down or record on an app like My Fitness Pal, I lose track of what I eat. I tend to eat more snack and larger portions when I don't weigh or measure my food or write it down. I am getting better at guessing how many calories are in my foods but I still need to be more vigilant, especially now that I am not accountable to someone. 
14. Less processed food. Buy less, see less in the cupboards, less temptation to eat it. The better for my body. I am really trying to eat real, whole foods, as much as possible. I don't think I want to go totally "clean" and eat nothing processed ever again. In fact, I have already eaten out and processed foods. It's not very realistic for our family situation right now. However, I am trying to do better. I cannot change overnight but I can make one choice at a time. I still buy my kids sugary cereals and fruit snacks but I try to buy whole fat Greek yogurt instead of sugar loaded brands. Make homemade cookies instead of pre-packaged kinds. What do you do?
15. Gratitude. I wrote 5 things down daily that I was grateful for that day. Simple to more deep things. I have stopped doing this and I have noticed my attitude has become less positive. I need to start again because it just adds to the overall health.
16. Determination. Find the motivation and get the willpower. For me, the money that I paid certainly helped. But mainly, I wanted something and went for it with all that I had. 

So I started at size 18/20. I am now at a 14/16, still L/XL. As my mom said, I was born with hips. Regardless of the weight loss, I still have a larger frame, especially my hips (they were great for birthing, haha) so I still wear larger sizes (grumble).  But I'd like to be 155 pounds again. This is what I weighed when we lived in Paris, between Samuel and Jocelyn. I am about 15-20 pounds away from that goal. I have only been in the maintain the same weight on my own for a couple weeks now. I am still learning how to stay at this weight. My goal is to continue working on adding new foods to see how my body responds. To continue to eat healthy and enjoy food. I was gluttonous before and it was kind of gross. I would just about anything put in front of me, whether it tasted good, or not. I have gained a healthier appreciation for food. I want to get to a healthy relationship with food where it becomes FUEL to my body and not a treat or "must get through my day until I can eat again" mentality. It's a learning process that I am willing to take on. I don't want to fall off the bandwagon again. I have more confidence in my health and myself than I have had in years. Now, I hope to keep making my overall health, physical, mental and emotional well-being my priority and to keep it that way! 

What has helped you? Other than genes, how do you maintain your weight? How do you balance your life?