.png)
TWO WEEKS! 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!
This week was rough. I wish I could say that life is rainbows and butterflies over here but yall, I face trials just like anyone else and this week I felt just... heavy burdened. I came off of a strong first week in regards to weight loss and I was super encouraged with week ones progress but week two has been rough. I had several days where I either had to force myself to eat or where I wanted to shove food in my face because of the emotional load I've carried. I'll spare you all the details but in a few words my son had some tests this week that could be life changing for our family AND I rescued a sick kitty from a bad situation. Its been a journey to nurse him back to health... cue cute kitty picture. Meet Simba....
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. I'm not focusing on exercise yet.
HERE ARE THE DEETS:
My Start Weight (Feb 8, 2023): 276 lbs.
My Current Weight: 269.1
THIS WEEKS WEIGHT LOSS: 0.9 lbs.
TOTAL WEIGHT LOST: 6.9 lbs.
For those of you wondering WHAT my diet looked like this week... Here it is!
If you are not interested in the details, feel free to skip this part!
DAY 1: Breakfast blew my mind today. I had 2 hard boiled eggs and half of a small avocado and while eggs are low in calories they are crazy high in cholesterol which yall know is the whole reason I'm on this journey! Lesson learned.... limit eggs. For lunch I had a Sun Warrior Protein Shake (2 scoops of protein, spinach, blueberries, half a banana, and almond milk). I was still hungry later so I had a pizza pocket and a can of green beans. Then for dinner I chose to do portion control and had Olive Garden Pasta Meal that I had made for the family and 2 small cucumbers with ranch. I snacked on black bean chips and hummus that day and had a cup of herbal detox tea sweetened with blue agave. I ended up being 92 calories UNDER my budget of 1778 calories per day.
DAY 2: Cottage Cheese and Peaches were a yummy breakfast. Lunch was ONE bologna sandwich and 2 pieces of sugar free caramel chocolates. Then for dinner I enjoyed TWO Beddar with Cheddar Smoked Sausages WITH hot dog buns topped with ketchup and mustard. I had a sweet tooth this day because I had another 2 pieces of sugar free caramel chocolates. BAH! I was 308 calories UNDER budget.
DAY 3: I struggled to get food in on this day. I had Cottage Cheese and Pears for breakfast. Teriyaki Tuna Bowl with white rice for lunch and a Chocolate Protein Shake. For dinner I had 1 slice of Brisket Pizza. I was 704 calories UNDER budget on this day!
DAY 4: Breakfast was a simple Chocolate Protein Shake. Lunch was a super quick warmed can of chicken noodle soup and a small apple dipped in lite caramel with 2 pieces of sugar free caramel chocolates. For dinner I had 1 slice of Brisket Pizza but had a stressful evening and was CRAVING taco bell so instead I made me a HUGE salad with baby carrots, sweet peppers, cucumbers, mozz cheese, and topped with ranch. What killed me was the 3 cups of wine (holy 600 calories!!!) I went OVER my calorie budget by 210 calories.
**YALL>> Today was a huge eye opener for me as I like to enjoy wine on occasion (don't come at me!). Especially after a stressful day or while I cook dinner. I had no idea how many calories were in a small glass of wine and this really made me realize how impactful this can be on weight gain.
Day 5: I wasn't hungry, so I had a few bites of cottage cheese for breakfast. Lunch was delicious! I sautéed 1 Zucchini, 2 yellow squash, and 1 onion (SO GOOD!) For dinner I had 1 1/2 cups of Cheri's Lentils and Rice, 2 beef hot dogs WITH buns and ketchup and mustard and I was craving milk so I drank about a cup of milk! I was 413 calories UNDER budget.
Day 6: {THIS WAS AN EMOTIONAL DAY FOR ME} I had a chocolate Protein Shake for breakfast. Lunch I snacked on black bean chips and hummus and then splurged after my husband cooked Frito chili cheese pies (portion control!) For dinner I had a can of ravioli's and 2 cups of red wine. I was 217 calories UNDER for the day!
Day 7: Breakfast was... you guessed it, cottage cheese and peaches. Lunch was 1 1/2 cups of Cheri's Lentils and rice. And I had a late dinner of Sautéed Zucchini, yellow squash and onions. I was still way under on calories so I had a Chocolate Protein Shake as well. I still ended up 657 calories UNDER for the day!
REMEMBER EVERY DAY I DRANK ONE GALLON OF WATER!!!
0.9 lbs. Well that's kinda depressing to be honest. Especially since I only went over my calorie budget ONE day and on several others I was WAY UNDER BUDGET! But its okay we will get to some non-scale wins here in a minute. I also think its worth noting that I should be starting my period any day now and we all know how that can factor into the number on the scale. Overall.... I still have SO. MUCH. TO. LEARN. about preparing healthy food. For the coming week I plan to get some recipes together so that I can have more things to choose from. This week was so stressful but I realized that I need things that are convenient for me to grab when I'm starving, so that I don't make bad choices. I have found myself frustrated several times because I'm hungry and don't want to eat the very few options that I have given myself.
CHANGES I'VE NOTICED: I'm still requiring DRASTICALLY LESS sleep! Like I said last week, 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 wore my fitness tracker watch this week and it looks like I'm averaging about 7 1/2 hours now where before I was needing about 9 hours!
Probably the most valuable lessons I can mess up and still make progress..... 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. continue to reach out to me privately and shared their own personal struggles and are wanting to join me (US) 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 each such a blessing to me and I'm so so so beyond words thankful for you!
THIS WEEKS WIN: I STILL lost weight. Even though it was less than a lb. Its a win. I also wanted Taco Bell this week REALLY BAD and I was able to overcome that craving. On another occasion I really wanted a Mocha Madness from Tropical Smoothie and I was able to drive on by! Those are sweet little victories BUT I wanna also say, its totally okay to splurge on that stuff from time to time as well! 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 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