.png)
Its hard to believe it's already been 1 week since I found MY WHY and started this journey to better health. 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, my primary focus was on getting in 1 gallon of water DAILY. I wasn't going to look at food just yet BUT because I was getting my water in, I felt motivated and decided to go ahead and start working on that as well. My main concern with doing both at the same time came from my fear of getting overwhelmed with all the changes BUT sometimes 1 change serves as a ripple effect and makes you view other things different. For me, drinking a gallon of water helped me to "FEEL FULL" and because I wasn't starting my day with a coffee loaded with CREAMER, it helped guide me to make better choices with food as well. This made me realize that taking just ONE step in the right direction, can alter your entire course! You may be wondering about exercise. Well sweet friends, I'm NOT at a point where I feel like I can add that into my routine YET, although I do want to get there in the coming weeks/months; so stay tuned for that change!
MY FOCUS: This week my focus was to drink 1 gallon of water per day & Track everything I eat on the Lose It! App while making better food choices!!!! That's it.
HERE ARE THE DEETS:
My Start Weight (Feb 8, 2023): 276 lbs.
My Current Weight: 270 lbs.
TOTAL WEIGHT LOST: 6 lbs.
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!
DAY 1: I started out with a pizza pocket.... you may think HOW IS THAT HEALTHY??.... well sweet friend, its better than TWO Hot Pockets or a Kit Kat bar. I mean SERIOUSLY we are taking BABY STEPS HERE! For lunch I had ONE bologna sandwich (you guessed it... ONE IS BETTER THAN TWO) with a can of cooked carrots. Later as a snack I had a can of cooked green beans. Finally for dinner I ate what I cooked for the family which was Kielbasa Sausage, fried potatoes and onions.... but I had it in moderation! I then ate a healthy muffin as a bedtime snack.
DAY 2: Healthy muffin for breakfast. At Tutoring I indulged with a slice of Homemade Blueberry Lemon Bread that a friend made, for lunch I had Leftovers (again in moderation) and then for dinner I had a Protein Shake.
DAY 3: I skipped breakfast. For Lunch I had Cheri's Lentils and Rice with some Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast. Dinner was a salad with black olives, mozz cheese, that same grilled chicken, topped with Italian dressing. At bedtime, I had a cup of whole milk.
DAY 4: Breakfast was a healthy muffin. For lunch I had Cheri's Lentils and Rice with Tyson Grilled Chicken Breast. Finally for dinner I was starving and had ONE pepperoni pizza pocket with 1 cup of milk.
Day 5: One small avocado for breakfast. For lunch I had Cheri's Lentils and Rice with Tyson Grilled Chicken Breast (MAN I NEED TO GET THEM AS A SPONSER). Dinner I had a small portion of BBQ pulled pork that I cooked for the family, and on the side I had Black Bean Chips with hummus and a small apple. I was starving at bedtime and at a Teriyaki Tuna Bowl with White Rice.
Day 6: YALL >>> I had Biscuits and Gravy for Breakfast.... like a lot of it. But for the rest of the day I made better choices. For Lunch I had a sweet Chili Tomato Tuna Bowl with Rice. Dinner was a smorgasbord so bare with me here.... I had strawberries, celery with peanut butter, celery with cream cheese and everything but the bagel seasoning, sweet peppers, and black bean chips with hummus (DINNER WAS ONLY 504 calories!) Then at dinner I had a small apple and some caramel dip.
Day 7: Breakfast was a delicious bowl of cottage cheese and peaches. Lunch was... YOU GUESSED IT Cheri's Lentils and rice with Tyson Grilled Chicken Breasts and I snacked on an apple with caramel dip. For Dinner I had a Teriyaki Tuna Bowl with White Rice and since I had a sweet tooth I finished with 2 strawberries dipped in Dark Chocolate Hummus.
REMEMBER EVERY DAY I DRANK ONE GALLON OF WATER!!!
The first day or two I found myself kind of obsessing over food. Mainly because I didn't have healthy food in the house.... I wasn't prepared to eat healthy because my original plan was to start out JUST DRINKING A GALLON OF WATER A DAY.... AND on top of that I've got SO. MUCH. TO. LEARN. about preparing healthy food... I've learned a few tricks over the years but honestly, I only know how to cook a handful of "healthy meals". {I'm also learning what foods are good for lowering cholesterol as well} so there is defiantly a LEARNING CURVE you just have to stick with it and get friends on board who know a little more than you and soak in all the knowledge you can without obsessing over it.
CHANGES I'VE NOTICED: I think the biggest change I have noticed is the amount of sleep I need is drastically LESS! I do flavor my water throughout the day with "energy" flavor packets that have caffeine but I'm waking up hours before I used to wake up and I'm going to bed later! FUN FACT ABOUT ME: I was diagnosed with Narcolepsy in 2012 so I normally require A LOT MORE sleep than the typical person. I'm gonna have to charge my fitness tracker watch and start tracking my sleep better - I'll try to better update you next week!
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. BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING >>> I learned how much I value my friends and family who are encouraging me and empowering me on this journey. So. MANY. people. reached out to me privately and shared their own personal struggles and wanted to join me on this journey OR wanted to offer encouragement. I simply cannot put into words just how much those messages and comments touched me! You guys are ROCK STARS and I'm so so so beyond words thankful for you!
THIS WEEKS WIN: I LOST 6 POUNDS!!!! While I realize that this is just one type of measurement, its what I'm considering as this weeks win! 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 1 hot pocket instead of 2 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 implement the changes that we need to make and to STICK to them. Help each of us to not start strong and then fizzle out and want to turn back to comfort when the going gets hard. Bring restoration to our whole being, bringing new balance and health. Cover each of us with love as we seek to cope with a poor self image. Help us to love ourselves where we are in our journey 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. Lord above all things we want to honor your temple the way you want us too! AMEN!
Thank you so much for following my journey and encouraging me along the way!
<3 The Bohemian Homemaker - Michelle Warren