Back to Basics

This past month has not been a good one for me, weight-wise. I'd lose a pound, then gain 2 back, then lose 1, etc. I'm pretty much right where I started out, which is not cool. So, here I am, beginning again AGAIN.

I've been re-reading the Insulin Resistant diet, which is the one that make the most sense for me in regard to my health issues and just the patterns I notice about myself. So I'm starting that again. It's not a diet so much as a new way of eating, and understanding how my body uses the food I eat and how to help my body use food more efficiently. It's pretty interesting stuff and it makes a lot of sense.

The first step, the one I'm focusing on for the rest of the week, is LINK. The goal is to link a protein with whatever else I'm eating. I should never be eating carbs on their own, but should rather link them with a protein, which helps my body use the carb better and prevents the mountains and valleys in my blood sugar levels. The goal is to keep things nice and even, no spikes and dips.

Eating protein may sound like a dream come true for some, but it's kind of hard for me. I love carbs. And though I like meat and stuff, it's harder to have those "quick" things to grab on hand. One thing that has helped is that this diet does not make you count low-fat diary as a carb because the carbs in diary do not have the same effect on blood sugar and insulin that other carbs have. So, cheese or yogurt or milk can be my protein choice. Which is good for me. But I am trying to come up with some other go-to protein choices that I can pair up with my carbs during the day.

Sunday I will weigh in again and I will post here how I did... though I'm nervous about it. And for the rest of the week I will focus on the LINK part of the eating plan. Next week, I'll add in the BALANCE part.

All in all, it feel s good to have a plan and to be actively following it again!

Checking in

But nothing really new to report. I wasn't at church on Sunday (home with a sick kiddo), so I didn't weigh in. We don't have a scale at home, but there is a really nice, accurate doctor's-type scale at the church so I weigh in there.

Not that I imagine I had much of a loss. I just hope I didn't gain.

This past week, I've had a visit from my monthly-friend-who-doesn't-come-every-month-but-whom-I've-seen-a-lot-more-of-since-having-a-baby. I don't much care for her visits, and I tend to have more cravings and to indulge said cravings a bit more when she's around.

But she finally took the hint and left, so here we go again.

Weekly Weigh-In

I weighed in this afternoon and I was a bit dismayed to learn that I had only lost 1 lb this past week! I had been hoping for a bigger loss, but I must admit that we had eaten out quite a few times over the past couple of days, and I'm sure that had a lot to do with my number. But, instead of beating myself up over the fact that I only had a small loss this week, I'm choosing to be thankful that I had a loss at all this week! The scale could have gone up! And yes, 1 lb. is just a drop in the bucket. But tomorrow is another day in this life-long journey towards health.

One pound down... 89 to go.

One week down... the rest of my life to go!

So far, pretty good...

I've been doing pretty good with my eating so far- just getting back into the habit of following the diabetic eating plan. I haven't done it perfectly, but again, there is a lot to re-learn and I think I've done very well for my first week back on program. Tonight was a hard one. I was just REALLY snacky tonight. I made the choice to go over a bit on my carbs for my evening snack, but I did choose low-fat popcorn, which is a lot healthier than what I could have chosen.

I'm anxious to weigh on Sunday and just see what the scale says, but I can already tell I have slimmed down a little. I tend to lose weight in a weird way... my sides slim down first, and my belly is one of the last things to be affected. It's part of having PCOS, the tendency to gain weight around the belly, and the difficulty in losing that weight. But, my sides are getting slimmer and I know that soon enough I'll start losing my belly too. I just have to keep at it!

Not really exercising yet. I wanted to focus on diet these first couple of weeks and then start adding exercising in once I have a better handle one what/when I should be eating. But I have done well with keeping up on my medications. Just trying to make the best choices I can each day.

New Year, New Start

Well here we are again. It's January 1, 2012... a brand new year. And I've got some big changes I need to make in regards to my health.

So let's get to it. I found out the day after Thanksgiving that my Hemoglobin A1C levels were elevated, indicating that I have borderline diabetes. I shouldn't have been surprised... but I was. I mean, I had been insulin resistant due to my Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) AND I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. So maybe I should have seen this coming. But it really threw me for a loop and, quite honestly, scared me a bit.

The holiday season is a horrible time to get this kind of news. There's just so many sweets around; it's a recipe for failure. I actually did really well for about 2 weeks. I lost 7 lbs and I was starting to feel better. But then I let myself slide a bit over Christmas. So I haven't lost anything more.

This year HAS to be the one where I get a handle on my health; at least the parts that I can control. I didn't ask for insulin resistance or gestational diabetes or borderline diabetes, but I can make choices that will have a positive effect on my health. I can:

1. Follow a diabetic eating plan. This basically means that I will limit the amount of carbs I eat at any one time. I will balance carbs with a protein. I will eat small meals and snacks and consistent times during the day to ensure that my blood sugar stays level. I will limit sweets and simple carbs and choose complex, healthier carbs whenever possible.

2. Get some exercise most days. I asked a friend of mine who was diagnosed this past year with diabetes for some advice on managing it, and she said the best thing she has found to do is to walk a mile every day. So when the weather is nice, I can load Caleb up in the stroller and take a walk. And when it's too cold/rainy/snowy/hot/whatever... I can walk a mile with my Walk Away the Pounds DVD.

3. Drink water. 'Nuff said.

4. Take my medications. I am currently taking 2 medications twice a day, one for blood pressure and one that was first prescribed for my PCOS but is also a diabetic drug. You would think with all the medications I had to take when we were trying to get pregnant and then during my pregnancy that this would be a habit already, but after having Caleb I was off all my medications for about 6 months... so I need to make taking them a habit once more.

So those are the things that I can, that I must, that I will control. Hopefully doing them will have a positive effect on my blood sugar, my blood pressure, my weight, and my overall feeling of wellness. Yes, I'd like to lose about 90 lbs this year. But I've come to realize that a number on the scale cannot be my goal... living healthy is my goal.

And I think 2012 is going to be my year!

Baby Steps

So I had a full week to wrap my head around my need to make some changes, to actually start TRYING to lose weight again, since pregnancy hormones have left the building and are no longer doing all the work for me. And though I did take some time to think about the changes I need to make... I didn't actually make any of those changes, and so I was up another pound when I weighed in yesterday.

Imagine that. Do nothing, and not lose weight. Revolutionary thought.

So this week I've decided to actually start doing something about losing weight. But instead of trying to go all gung-ho all at once, I'm going to concentrate on two small things. Two baby steps towards a healthier me.

Baby step toward health. (Thank you, Bob!)

1. I am going to drink at least 64 ozs of water a day. This will probably be hard for me, because when I am thirsty I want diet coke or tea, not water... but I've always heard/read/been told by those who know that drinking water is one of the best things you can do for your body. So I'm going to start there. Water. Lots and lots of water.

2. I am going to NOT snack mindlessly at night. That is my biggest temptation to binge, that time after the boys are in bed and I am able to sit down for a minute and watch some TV or read a book. Suddenly, I am so hungry, and no matter what I eat, nothing seems to satisfy. Hmmm... I think that's because I'm not really hungry, I just want to unwind and snack at the end of the day. So my goal here is to allow myself ONE small snack, and then to quit eating. I can have a fudge bar OR a small bag of 94% fat-free popcorn OR some crackers and cheese OR a graham cracker and milk... but not all of them and more. One snack. And you better believe I'm going to savor it!

So those are my baby step goals for the next week. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go fill up my water bottle and start drinking!

Baby steps to the fridge.
Baby steps to get the ice.
Baby steps to drink the water.

(I seriously love that movie and need to watch it again soon!)

I'm Back!

Whoa Nelly it's been a ride since last I posted here! Yes, it's been a year since I've been here. But I think you'll agree that I had a good reason not to be posting on my weight-loss blog.

You see, in September 2010, I found out I was pregnant.

After trying, hoping, praying for over 4 years, I was finally pregnant.

So, of course, I stopped trying to lose weight.

But guess what... I LOST WEIGHT WHILE PREGNANT!

That's right! Thanks to gestational diabetes and learning to eat to manage that, I not only didn't gain any weight during my pregnancy, but I actually lost!

I left the hospital 10 lbs down from my pre-pregnancy weight. And over the course of the next month, I lost another 10 lbs.

Are you keeping up with me here? Not only did I have a beautiful, healthy baby boy... but I was down 20 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

It was glorious.

Especially since I wasn't really trying to lose weight during that first month. I was pretty much eating what I wanted, and letting those wonderful "I just had a baby" hormones do the rest.

But alas, like all good things, it couldn't last.

Because once my hormones stabilized, I stopped losing weight.

And I even started gaining a little bit back.

Which means, even though I am still 10 lbs down from my pre-pregnancy weight... I'm up almost 10 lbs from where I was that first month after having my baby.

So... all that to say... I've been gone from here, but now I'm back, because I want to get the scale moving DOWN again, and I want it to stay there.

And just how am I going to go about doing this?

Well that, my friends, is another post. So check back, and keep me accountable.

Cause seriously, I need all the help I can get!