4/24/2017 Update

2 more weeks gone and I'm down another 7 pounds! The weight is melting off right now and I wish I could put a finger on exactly what I'm doing. All I can say is, I feel terrific. I have no inclination to cheat or eat off plan for even one day. And every time I step on the scale it is good news. Right now I am losing a pound every other day. I don't know how long this will continue, so I am taking advantage for as long as I can. I still have a long way to go to get to my goal, but the goal gets smaller by the week. When I started out I had a daunting 172 pounds to lose. now I have 95 to go. It's so nice to say I have less than a hundred pounds to lose. On the other hand it is hard having come so far to still look ahead of me and think I am not even half way there yet. this process is nearly 99% mental. For example, this weekend in my household we had 3 birthdays, which meant 3 cakes and so much garbage food everywhere I looked there were cookies and candy bars and ice cream and cheetos and you name it. We had a funeral of a sweet lady from church this week and they even had extra cake from the funeral they decided to drop off as well. It's like the entire world wanted to send me cake. I didn't touch any of it, but there were moments this weekend that I realized that the me of just a few months ago would have caved. I have thought long and hard about how a person can survive all of the pitfalls of this process to finally get to the mindset needed to get where I'm at. I'll be giving this more thought as I move forward. I have been kicking around the idea for a book if I can get this weight off so I can help others do what I am doing. At this point though, I need to concentrate on ensuring my own success. But if I can get there, and help others in the process, then this whole journey will have been worth it.

Yesterday on Facebook there was a video of my daughter's wedding day since this was her 1 year anniversary. In the video I am there hugging her at the biggest weight I've ever been. It was so hard to concentrate on my daughter when all I could see was my huge self bursting at every seam. That was 77 pounds ago. It's hard to believe I ever let myself get that bad. If I ever feel weak again I just need to dig up that video and watch it over and over again. I will say this. Once I said say no to eating off plan on those special occasions that were derailing me before, it becomes easier and easier. I look at food in a much more healthy way. I don't see chocolate double fudge cake as fun, I see it as poison that will taste good for a few fleeting moments and then will make me sick. With all of the substitutes I have found, If I really need cake I am sure there is a low carb substitute anyway. Before I close this post I will repeat that the most important component of this lifestyle is the mentality. You have to go from the place where you say, "I can't have that," to a place where you say, "I don't want that!" Until you get there you have to hang on by your fingernails every day and get a good support system in place. Someday I hope to be a part of that support system for people. But for now, I just hope anyone reading this and struggling as I have knows, you can do it!"

Weight - 290 lbs, started 367lbs

Chest - 51 Inches, started 60 inches

Stomach - 51.0 inches, started 64 inches

Waist - 44 inches, started 54 inches

Mid Thigh - 23 inches, started 25 inches

Total pounds lost - 77 lbs, Total inches lost - 34 inches

Goal weight - 195, Pounds to go 97 pounds

4/10/2017 Update

It's been a few weeks since my last update and things are really going well. I lost 7 pounds since my last update! That puts me into some fun territory. First, I am now down below 300 pounds for the first time this decade! How cool is that? Second, I have now lost 70 pounds! I keep looking down at my belly and it is getting smaller and smaller. I love this feeling. The smaller I get, the more motivated it makes me. I continue to find wonderful new foods to add to my growing buffet of available low carb options. I can't believe all of the things I can eat now. I have this amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe that is so good, I really can't believe it's legal. This week we made egg fritatta's in muffin pans for breakfast and they were so good we made them three more times. I even froze a few to see how they would survive, and they were perfect after just 2 minutes in the microwave. Several of my non low carbers in the house had them and wanted more. We also found a wonderful chocolate zucchini brownie recipe with frosting as well as a cinnamon roll recipe. Keep in mind, all of those treats were during a two week period where I lost 7 pounds! How is that for dieting? As always it is so important to understand this is not a diet. I am not doing this to lose weight so I can return to eating 'normal' at the end. This is my new lifestyle. I am now eating this way for the rest of my life and I am excited about that. I hate the way I feel when I eat off the plan. And I'm not just talking about the extra pounds that fly back onto my waist. I hate the lethargic, drugged feeling I get when I am loaded down with carbs. The food industry is poisoning the American people with processed grains and sugars. I am wearing that poison around my waist to this day. But 7 more pounds of it is gone now!

Weight - 297 lbs, started 367lbs

Chest - 51 Inches, started 60 inches

Stomach - 52.0 inches, started 64 inches

Waist - 46 inches, started 54 inches

Mid Thigh - 23 inches, started 25 inches

Total pounds lost - 70 lbs, Total inches lost - 31 inches

Goal weight - 195, Pounds to go 102 pounds

I have some fun numbers coming up. First, once I lose 3 more pounds I will have less than a hundred pounds to go! Of course I want to lose 30 more pounds and be down 100 total. Then it's on to other marks. My 1 year mark will be June 6th. I'll see where I am then and make a new set of goals at that time. My initial goal was to lose 100 pounds my first year. I don't think I will get all the way there but I am pushing to lose as much as I can and get as close as possible. Right now my immediate goal is never to go above 300 again. I thought it would be fun to do a before and after picture this week to see how far I've come after reaching this milestone. Let me know what you think in the comments.