Wellness Journey: Part 3

I kept going back and forth on the date, realizing there was no ideal time to decide to make a change. I couldn't wait for the motivation, my schedule to clear, for it to be convenient for any change to occur. That is what I learned early on. It's never convenient to change because it's hard. So I just went for it and chose a date.

I started Skinny Utah on January 6, 2018. Starting weight: 207.4.

This is a brief synopsis of the program timing. The first two days I was instructed to load up on healthy fats. The next 40 days were like an extreme Ketogenic diet. Then the following 3 weeks were a re-set phase, adding back in healthy fats. The third phase is Maintain phase, which I am currently in now.

The first two days I was instructed to eat three normal meals plus a  dessert, if I wanted. I wasn't going to be able to enjoy these foods for a long time. So I did. I splurged at Cafe Rio complete with my last Dr Pepper. German pancakes for breakfast and our traditional Galettes des Rois, I didn't want to miss out on that.

Day 3 is when the hard began. I wanted to share something that I learned from my aunts. We had a Knell ladies night in October, during that first health challenge. My aunt Emily, I believe, remarked how one of her friends coined this little phrase about weight and health. "Hard is hard, so choose your hard." That really struck me. It was HARD trying to lose weight and be healthy. But it was harder to be in pain, tired and unable to fit into my own wardrobe. I had to choose which hard to battle because either way it was going to be difficult.

The program is a 9-week regime. Here are some bullet points that just make it easier to explain.

1. 9-week program divided into 2 phases
2. It's supported and supervised by a professional nutritionist and doctor
3. They do not sell or encourage protein bars or shakes, meals, etc. Just eating real food.
4. It is supplement based-they provide you with natural supplements to your bodies specific needs
5. It includes a Bio-Scan which points out my bodies unique food preferences and shows me my stressed organ biomarkers
6. They guarantee that if you follow the program exactly that you will lose at least 20 pounds
7. You go in for a BCA every two weeks (measure body fat, water weight, bone density, BMI)
8. Report to them 3x/week online
9. No exercise the first 40 days
10. It's like an extreme Ketogenic diet 
11. The only food consumed during the first 40 days were two servings of protein (limited types), two servings of fruit and two huge servings of  veggies, totaling 500-800 calories per day
12. Drink half of my body weight of water in ounces
13. No additional fats, oils, dairy, sugar, gluten, anything except the fruit, veggie and lean proteins
14. Intermittent Fasting (to learn more about that read this )
15. Sleep is importatnt
16. Keep a gratitude journal
17. Keep track of everything I eat, drink and bowel movements
18. Weigh yourself at the same time each morning and write it down
19. Avoid body soaps, creams, pedicures, massages etc with added fats and oils or chemicals.

That's the gist of the program. Sound intense? It was but it became easier each day.

The first two weeks were difficult emotionally, physically and a bit mentally. I was sooo tired, the first 5 days I went to bed before 9pm so I wouldn't pass out. I felt nauseous. I had headaches from toxic withdrawals. I craved sugars and all my comfort foods. I was a bit moody, especially at night. I asked for support a lot on Marco Polo app with friends and family. Although, I was prepared with a strict menu I was not expecting the time it would take to prepare two protein laden meals a day for myself in addition to cooking for my family, journaling and noting everything. More on that later. In general, it was hard. Had I not paid money to participate or didn't have emotional support from family, I would have thrown my hands in the air and given up. Easily. That would have been the easy thing to do. It's what I had done with all other previous diets.

The supplement schedule I created so that I wouldn't forget to take them. They're regimented by time of day, quantity, etc. I used pillboxes like an old person :)

I journaled my food and weight and other physical details on the right and my Gratitude was on the left. 

However, I did NOT feel hungry. I was amazed that the little amount of food and tiny bit of fat in the meat for only two meals a day sustained me. I began to feel more energetic the second week! The cravings began to go away, for all things garbage. Emotionally I still had cravings for sugars, carbs, dairy but I did NOT crave them physically. I found this to be most surprising. I almost always felt full and if I didn't it was because I did not eat enough veggies. Once those two weeks passed it was smooth sailing for the next month.  It was so exciting to step on the scale each morning and watch it go down!! It definitely got me out of bed in the morning.

The hardest times were travel, social events, traditional events (several birthdays), and times where I normally eat comfort foods (movie theater soda and popcorn). In general, January was very slow month. It was perfect. I kind of hibernated the first two weeks. I learned that I eat fast food and soda when I am out running errands during the day with Colin. So, I avoided that. I avoided the temptation, the sights the smells, all of it. Plus, I saved money by not shopping or eating out! But once February rolled around and I was in my routine, things got busy. I was extremely busy leading up to these two weekends with church calling, PTA commitments and creating a video.

Two particular events could not be avoided. I flew to Colorado for my sister Jennie's birthday/Olympic party. I avoided decadent chocolate cake, chick-fil-a, delicious looking Korean food and even prevented my sisters from going out to eat because I was so limited on what I could eat---basically nowhere. Then the next weekend, the last days of the first phase, we traveled to CO again, this time driving, to Tyler's Gpa's 90th birthday party. There was food all over--birthday cake, pizza, yummy treats, munchies, etc. Despite this busyness and social food of the weekend, I did not break. I owe it to the fact that I came prepared with my food scale, griddle, my supplements and even my own food. And again, full family support and not scrutiny. One night was pizza night, another comfort food that I sorely missed, and Tyler surprised me with a filet mignon steak that I could eat while I sat and smelled and saw the delicious pizza. It really hit the spot and I don't regret making the choice to eat that instead. It's still melting in my mouth :)

A note on Intermittent fasting. It was not as hard as I thought it would be. For this program, they asked me to eat within an 8-9 hour window of the day and fast for the remaining. So, I skipped breakfast. It wasn't' too difficult because I was nearly doing this anyway. When I began exercising in the fall, my friend Cierra read that if we eat before a workout that we simply burn what we just ate and not much more. So, I pushed myself to wait until after the workout to eat. Plus, my belly thanked me not shaking around breakfast. So I typically ate a brunch of eggs or oatmeal around 11 each day. With this program it got later and later especially when I was busy. I would sometimes eat as late as 2pm. I do not recommend this! I started to get light-headed and faint, lol. So I really tried to eat around noon.

I did begin to get bored of the same meals over and over again. I was allowed to use spices, herbs and Himalayan salt. They just couldn't have added salts or sugars. I made salad dressings with their recommended recipes but I just got used to eating plain romaine, especially in a pinch. The nutritionist, Karen, shared this recipe with me. Chicken stock, spinach, ground meat (I chose turkey) and I added some herbs and onion and bell pepper. Super quick and yummy!

I was basically in Ketosis the first 45 days, in my case. By the time I finished the first phase, I had lost 26 pounds!! This is the best photo I have of that busy weekend. I was preparing for an audition so this is a screenshot.

That is another subject. Although the scale was constantly going down I did still meet discouragement along the way. I did gain more confidence in myself. I felt beautiful again. However, I was met with two difficult trials. Two things that really really wanted me to break down and eat sugar. They were fairly small things but still sad for me personally. The first was the fact that I auditioned for a play that I really, really wanted to be in. It was honestly a big motivation to lose weight for this play because I thought it would help my chances in casting. Sadly, not only was I not cast at all I was not even given a callback. I was heartbroken. It still makes my heart hurt to talk about it. The second disappointment was that I did not win a second Facebook health challenge that my friend hosted again. I thought for SURE I would win the most body weight % lost. It happened simultaneously with this plan. I got 2nd place, losing by less than 1% . I could have won over $300 which I would have then used to help pay for this program again. Ugh, I was so ticked. Especially because the very next day I dropped another pound and I would have won!! So, despite the good things that happen, bad things do too. And life moves on. However, I DID NOT EAT MY EMOTIONS. It was the first time in a loooong time. Though, my family saw me eat them in a healthy way...I baked healthy brownies and yummy healthy ice cream as my solution. Fortunately, by this point I was allowed to eat cocoa powder and that helped immensely because all I wanted was Culver's custard or my cookie dough.

Once Phase 1 ended Phase 2 was a bit more complicated. I had to increase my calories dramatically by adding healthy fats. I had to be more vigilant. It wasn't spelled out for me as exact as before because I had more freedom. Something else I learned from this is that I am a hand-holder. I need my hand held by someone else to be pushed and motivated. I like someone else to do the research and tell me what to do and I will obey. I drove the Dr's nuts because I always had a long list of specific questions. I wanted to follow the plan 100% so that I would not fail. And I did about 98%. I admit that there were about 5 times when I "cheated". I ate three cheeze-it crackers on the long ride home from CO. Even that crappy processed powder cheese tasted so good. Several times I licked my fingers after making a dessert for the kids. Or tasting the dinner sauce. Took a bit of a brownie. Besides these times I was perfect. And when I did cheat, my kids would notice! Cecily in particular would call me out! "Mom, you can't eat THAT!" It was so helpful and encouraging that they cared enough to notice and remember and keep me accountable. And I notice two things about baking. The kids were asking less often "What's for dessert tonight?" And when they did want dessert, about once a week, I asked them to make it themselves. I couldn't resist eating the dough or smelling the baked goodness so in the first few weeks I avoided it and let them practice their skills.  Jocelyn made these experimental cookies. I took a photo juxtaposed to my snack. Cantaloupe has a lot of fructose so I had to weigh a tiny amount to eat for my snack that night...luckily, the cookies looked pretty gross so the temptation wasn't as great, haha.

So in Phase 2 I added almonds, natural nut butter, oatmeal and avocado and other healthy fats including coconut oil and small quantity olive oil. They were soooo delicious. Still no dairy or starches. I had to force myself to eat enough calories the first week because I became full so easily compared to what I was eating. But they stressed that I needed to eat enough to re-set my metabolism. It took 3 weeks to do so. And it worked! The scale never decreased or increased more than 2 pounds. I have never been that consistent. I was amazed. And I started exercising again, doing their recommended HIIT type exercise 3x/week in addition to whatever I wanted. I am starting slow by doing walking and Zumba videos at home. I could also eat breakfast now. Choosing to fast on some mornings was okay but it was important to eat after a good workout. I make green smoothies with added protein (plant based) powder almost every morning now.

It's been an exciting journey. That's the gist of the Skinny Utah program. Would I recommend it? Yes, definitely. Can you do it on your own? Some of you, probably yes. The supplements, BCA and Bio-scan were not life-changing on their own. But the combination of them with the 9-weeks of constant support was the ticket to success for me. Will I keep the weight off? I hope so. I have more to lose still! But of course, I am not perfect. I will fail. But why set myself up for that? I have had this experience now in my tool belt. I have tools and experience, which I personally learn great from for future life experiences.

Ready for a before and after? Stay tuned for Part 4 :)