Choose to lose: week Two check in

SEVENTEEN DAYS! That's how long I've been at this weight loss thing this time around!! It feels like its flown by yet creeped at the same time! I hope that you will find encouragement on your own personal journey as you follow mine. Wanna know what kicked all this off? Check out my blog WEIGHT LOSS: my why & how you can find yours! Today, I'm gonna be bold and share some pretty vulnerable stuff with you, I hope that you will find it encouraging on your own personal journey.

This week, I have struggled on this journey. I have either wanted to eat everything in sight or not eat anything at all. Textures have bothered me, and it's just taken a lot of determination to stick to the course. I kept fighting though. I only went over my calorie budget one day this week and that was on accident because I input something incorrectly that morning and didn't realize it till the following day, by that point I can't make choices around that calorie budget. I will say, it was only over by 23 calories, so it's not like that killed my progress or anything.

I've also been super emotional these last few days. I don't know if it's because this is taking a mental toll, if this is hormones, or what... but yesterday I found myself on the verge of tears all day. I don't think people who have never delt with weight issues realize what it takes to lose the weight, esp. if you have never had issues in this area before. For me, I gained weight super quick over the course of like 2ish years due to a medication that I HAVE to take. I didn't realize the how extreme the issue was until I started getting some test results back from the doctor and at that point, I KNEW I had to make some changes.

As far as Exercise goes... well I'm not following a vigorous schedule, but I am trying to go for walks a few times a week. This week I managed to walk 2 days. I'm hoping to get more walks in this week, but no promises.

MY FOCUS: Right now, my focus is to track everything I eat on the Lose It! App while making better food choices.... I'm shooting for high protein, low calorie. I have a budget on the app and I'm trying to stick to it. Macros Goal: 30% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fat. I've struggled with macros bad because it's such a learning process. Some days, I even just focused on staying under on calories because I was just struggling!

HERE ARE THE DEETS:

My Heaviest Weight (Feb 8, 2023): 276 lbs.

My START Weight (April 3, 2024): 257.7

My Current Weight (April 13, 2024): 251.3

This week's weight loss (in 7 days): 0.6 lbs.

 TOTAL WEIGHT LOST: 24.7 lbs.

**Just TWO days ago I was down to 250 lbs, but "gained it back". I'm not sure what happened. I've stuck to my calorie budget, and I've done my best, but I guess that just happens from time to time.

For those of you wondering WHAT my diet looked like this week... Here it is!

I'm NOT perfect, but these are the changes I made that helped me get these results:

If you are NOT interested in the details, feel free to skip this part! 

Sat April 13, 2024: I started out with a Protein Coffee and scrambled eggs with cottage cheese. For lunch I had Chicken Taco Dip with some Quest Nacho Cheese Protein Chips. Dinner was a new favorite: Sauteed Chicken Breast and Sauteed cabbage. I had lots of snacks through the day.... 2 Fiber Brownies, 2 Apple and Strawberry bars, Light string cheese and turkey pepperoni.

Sun April 14, 2024:  Breakfast was a Protein Coffee. For lunch I had Pizza in a bowl. Dinner was a Apple & Gouda Cheese Chicken Sausage with Avocado toast and peaches and cottage cheese for dessert. For snacks throughout the day, I had an apples and strawberry bar, a Fiber brownie, and a protein coffee (can you tell I LOVE those?).

Mon April 15, 2024: You guessed it, PROTEIN COFFEE for breakfast. For lunch I had Chicken Taco Dip I started putting it on a everything bagel but didn't care for it, so I tossed that to the chickens and put some chicken taco dip on a tortilla. For dessert after lunch, I had some protein pudding. Dinner was a roasted garlic and Asiago Chicken Sausage with cottage cheese and mustard for dipping, half of a cucumber, and some mini sweet peppers. Throughout the day I had a Strawberry Protein bar, some Chocolate Chip Cookie THINS, a Frozen Yogurt bar, and a Carmel Double Chocolate Protein Bar. Whew that was a lot. BUT I was under by 165 calories.

Tues April 16, 2024: Protein Coffee for breakfast. A frozen Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl with Chicken for lunch but I was still hungry, so I also had 2 Turkey Sausage sticks and 1 light string cheese. For Dinner I had a Firehouse Sub Hook and Ladder Chopped Salad (we have discipleship class on Tues, so mom hooked me up with a salad instead of our normal cheeseburger). Snacking throughout the day I had Choc Chip cookie THINS, an apple and strawberries bar, HALF a package of ritz cheese crackers (because I totally had a moment and forgot I shouldn't eat that.), and then a Fiber brownie.

Wed April 17, 2024: Breakfast was Protein Coffee as usual. Lunch was Pizza in a bowl. Dinner was Mozz, Peppers, and sundried tomato Chicken Sausage with cottage cheese and mustard, 3 small turkey sausage sticks, a light string cheese stick, and HALF of a protein coffee (Keegan drank the other half and said it's the only coffee he actually likes! lol). Throughout the day I had a cuties orange, a strawberry protein bar, and choc chip cookie THINS.

Thur April 18, 2024: Breakfast was a Protein Coffee (I accidentally put in 1/2 serving on this for some reason and it messed up my calorie counting for the day because I didn't catch it till the following day). For lunch I had 2 Turkey Sausage sticks, 1 light string cheese stick, Turkey Pepperoni, and then Scrambled Eggs with cottage cheese topped with salsa. For dinner I had Big Mac Spaghetti Squash (so good but I had texture issues with this). I snacked on a Strawberry Protein bar and where I messed up was trying a new recipe I thought was healthy, but it WAS NOT! It was yogurt cookie dough.... SOOOOoooooOOo good but I can't do it because its 533 calories. Maybe if I make it without chocolate chips??? I dunno.

Fri April 19, 2024: Protein Coffee for breakfast, as always! I had left over Big Mac Spaghetti Squash (still had texture issues with it) and a fiber brownie. For dinner I tried a new recipe - Philly Cheesesteak bowls (OH MAN - YUM!). I snacked on 1 turkey sausage, turkey pepperoni, and string cheese through the day. ((I WAS UNDER BY 652 calories that day!))

REMEMBER EVERY DAY I ATTEMPT TO DRINK ONE GALLON OF WATER!!!

I do this by using water flavoring packets and skinny syrups to flavor my water, this also helps to curb my sweet cravings.

CHANGES I'VE NOTICED: I've not noticed any changes just yet.... but I'm learning a lot!

Probably the most valuable lessons I've learned this week is that I eat to fuel my body... and eating for health CAN BE ENJOYABLE. I can mess up and still make progress..... and I can say NO when I'm not actually hungry.... I can also say YES to small indulgences! It's all about moderation. I have also learned to LOG my food BEFORE I eat it (I can always go in and edit) this trick is esp. helpful for new recipes that I don't know calorie count for. BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING >>> I learned how much I value my friends and family who are encouraging me and empowering me on this journey. I have a few people that I touch base with throughout the day and that means the world to me! Having them there to share the wins and the struggles just makes all the difference! GET PPL IN YOUR COURNER WHO WILL CHEER WITH YOU!

THIS WEEKS WIN: I'm down 0.6 lbs!!!! While I realize that isn't much weight, I'm considering it a win. REMINDER (for both of us) 1-2 lbs of weight loss per week is healthy natural weight loss. I want to take a moment to challenge you to look for 1 WIN per day and/or per week! It can be something simple.... like I ate the appropriate portion of a meal OR I drank a gallon of water today OR I got 8 hrs of sleep...... FIND SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE THAT WILL PUSH YOU FORWARD ON YOUR OWN HEALTH JOURNEY!

Dear Lord, I pray for myself as well as anyone joining me on this journey. I pray that you would give us the strength to continue to make the changes that we need to make and to STICK to them. Help each of us to make good food choices even when the going gets hard. Bring restoration to our whole being as we learn to eat with our health in mind. Help us with our self image as our bodies change on this journey. Let us learn to love ourselves where we are even TODAY. Bring wisdom and truth to each of our minds, and help us to plan our daily food and to enjoy it. Lord, bless our efforts with sustainable weight loss. Father, We long to be free of this difficulty in our lives, and we look to you, you are our supporter, our comforter and our helper. Thank you for your constant love. AMEN!

Thank you so much for following my journey and encouraging me along the way!

<3 The Bohemian Homemaker - Michelle Warren