Hello FS peeps! The outpour of support has been AMAZING on my last post. Thank you ALL so much. I have been sent so many messages asking me a ton of Q's regarding my journey and how I plan to keep myself in maintenance, so I will attempt to do that here.
Last May, I was so deep down in the darkest of holes that I had given up and decided I was just going to exist until I wasn't. I wasn't living. I wasn't thriving. I was 236# of complete misery. Everything hurt.. from head to toe. Not to mention brittle bones, arthritis, osteoporosis, herniated discs, operated knees, lymphedema and c-PTSD. Then my faint voice came up and said NOT YET. Stars aligned.. meaning my head, body, finances and willingness to do something about it emerged.
I researched all the latest "diets" and fads that were trending and none seem to really fit "me". Atkins made the most sense and because the program is fairly easy to follow, FREE and has dietitians that are vey active on the forums helped a bunch. With more than 40# to lose, I fit into the 20-carbs per day category.
June 1st, 2021 was THE day.
It was HELL at first trying to figure out how to work the numbers.. but ya know, I am anal anyways so I NEEDED that structure and accountability. Their app was easy to work with and the weight just started flying off. I lost 12# that first week alone.. most was water weight because I was a huge soda/tea drinker. But I was consistent and trusted the process. Even with stalls I believed. Constipation became an issue because I wasn't consuming enough fiber in the vegetables I was eating.. so I had to wrap my head around that.
I did not exercise the first 2-3 months because my joints were not having it. Luckily, it was now around September and being in South TX.. the weather was a bit kinder. I started walking around the neighborhood.. about 1/2 mile. Then I did 1 mile.. after that I found a park with 3 miles and just focused on better timing. When my legs got stronger, I felt more confident to try longer distances so I tested my endurance and I now walk 6 miles in about 1.5 hours.
During stalls, I made sure not to judge myself too harshly. I focused on protein, water and fiber. On days I didn't feel hungry, I drank lots of broth.. it was fulfilling.
Around my birthday this February, I was weighing in the 160's. I finally felt comfortable joining a gym. I started doing the elliptical and started swimming again. For the elliptical, I started with just 15 mins. I am up to 1 hour now. With swimming, I started with just 10 laps, now doing 60. I then added cycling and weights for better strength. I cycle 1 hour, soft weights just for definition, maybe 1/2 hour at most. I am not looking to getting all buff, just more "solidity" to help the excess skin not look so horrid.
Then I got stuck (again). This particular stall was emotionally draining. I started researching constipation again (btw.. I am hella-anemic and require LOTS of iron.. which constipates.. so yeah it's a vicious cycle) - Then I hit an "a-ha" moment.. I ran into colon cleansing. They say we have about 5-12# of waste just sitting there. I was like "oo Hell no" and decided to give it a try.. ummm.. it was a 14-day thing and let me tell you.. besides the cleansing, I dropped major pounds those 2 weeks. I definitely recommend that!
Then.. then.. I got a cancer scare. I am a twice breast-cancer survivor as well. Labs did not look promising and a very good friend of mine recommended an alkaline diet (it's not proven and most people scoff at it, but I didn't care.. ya'll can Google it if you are interested). He blew my mind, showed me facts (from others he has known and their stories just like how I am now sharing mine). By now, with the healthy eating habits I was used to.. it wasn't difficult to make the jump. He said "try it for 30 days" - day 30 was Monday the 23rd - I lost a BUNCH of weight this month because of this.. and not only that - the 2 little tumors I HAD.. one is gone and the other shrunk!! We are still awaiting biopsy results but even my oncologist is perplexed. Labs are better than ever.. hemoglobin/hematocrit were NORMAL (they haven't been normal in over 10 yrs).. labs were immaculate. No shit.
I am in no way endorsing this.. but it is what it is. This is my story. I am no longer taking arthritis/pain medications or my anti-depressant. The only things I take are: liquid multivitamin, liquid collagen, vitamin D3 and Allegra-D for hellacious allergies, lol.
And now since my 30 days are over, I have mostly converted to 90% Fruitarian and 10% Vegetarian lifestyle-way of eating. I do not miss meats and other acidic food/drink. I will continue to monitor my labs and eat accordingly. I have never felt better, clearer, energized and optimistic for my future. Last month I competed in two bike runs for charity. The first I did out curiosity to see how much I could endure and guess what.. I competed ALL 32-miles! Then for fun, I did another the following weekend at 21-miles. It's the newest bug I caught.. well, that and now I want to start boxing.. AND.. and.. there is a triathlon I have my mind set on doing next summer! Never did I fucking-EVER think these words would be coming out of my mouth. Me.. who was ready to cease to exist last May.
Again guys.. my story. Hopefully it might motivate some.. and research, research, research! Here are some stats:
1 - wore men's size 3x tops / now wearing men's small or women's medium
2 - women's size 24 bottoms / now size 4-6
3 - undies size 9 / now "small" - whatever # that is, lol
4 - ring size 9 / now 5
5 - shoe size 9-9.5 / now size 7.5-8 (funny thing I learned about weightloss and feet size.. they say you lose about 1/2 a shoe size every 50# you lose)
Rock on! Ohh.. and I am 47 years old ;)
