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Nora’s Weight Loss: Day 14–Weigh In
Posted by: | CommentsToday was weigh in day. Since I was in Ketosis all week, I was really excited about the possibilities of weight loss and inches.
I loss almost 3½ lbs. That is more than I thought I would. I am pretty stoked! Here are the numbers for two weeks:
Two weeks ago:
Weight: 155.8 lbs
Measurements:
Neck: 13.5 inches
Chest: 38.5
Bicep:13.25
Waist: 36.5
Hips: 42
Thighs: 30.5
Second week:
Weight: 150.4 lbs
Measurements:
Neck: 13.5 inches
Chest: 37.5
Bicep:13.25
Waist: 35.5
Hips: 41
Thighs: 30.5
Total 2 Week Difference: 5.5 lbs and 3 inches
Woohoo!
Nora’s Weight Loss: Day 8-12–Staying Strong
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Unfortunately, I had a family emergency this past week/weekend hence no updates.
When in stressful times, we find ourselves scarfing everything in sight. We find it easier as well as more comfortable to eat sugary treats and carbohydrates. We deem these belly enlarger foods “comfort” foods.
While in the waiting room at the hospital for days on end next to my family, I was surrounded by everyone and their comfort foods of choice–potato chips, french fries, chocolate, sodas, candy. The first three days my husband and I stayed strong. We ate our healthy breakfast before going to the hospital and at lunch we drove to restaurants that boasted salads. In the evening, with a bit of a search, we found more restaurants that had healthy selections that fit within our recommended diet. I felt proud of myself (and my husband) for not giving in to the temptation that was surrounding us for 10 hours at a time.
The fourth day, by far, was the hardest. By the fourth day, I was exhausted and was ready to give in to my urges of wanting a grilled cheese sandwich. White bread soaked with butter and melted American cheese (oh so gooey and good). The “stress” wanted to take over and I was seriously considering letting it.
I had to think about how dedicated I have been on this diet. How I even did my warm up exercises on Friday morning even though I wasn’t able to go to the gym. I had to remember that I am in Ketosis, which means my body is a fat burning machine. Did I really want to go backwards? I had come so far.
What I needed was to trick myself into feeling like I wasn’t on a diet; that I didn’t have restrictions. What better way than to go to a pub and order a hamburger? Now, yes, I did have a hamburger with everything on it except mayo (I don’t like mayonnaise) and a bun. Instead, I had them wrap the burger in beautiful green leaf lettuce. And instead of french fries, I had a steamed vegetable medley of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. It was all within my diet but I felt like I was being bad and had succumbed to my unhealthy urges.
Stress is a funny thing and it makes you do funny things. What I learned is, YOU have to be in control and realize why you are craving what you are craving and come up with a solution that satisfies your good sense and bad cravings. I feel so much better knowing how strong I am. Whoo-hoo! I made it through a huge hurdle. I don’t think anything can stop me now.
Nora’s Weight Loss: Days 6-7 –I FEEEEL Good
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Day 6:
No more jelly legs! And that is even after Day 5‘s gym session. A James Brown song is running through my head “I FEEEEEL GOOD!”
Tomorrow is weigh day! I sure hope I have lost some pounds/inches. I don’t think I look thinner. I am starting to feel better. I feel better not only physically, but mentally. I really feel good about myself. I haven’t cheated and I haven’t starved. I have pushed myself to exercise and I have made improvements from that first day. So, for a first week…I don’t think I can expect much more.
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Day 7:
Weigh in day! How exciting! Drum roll please….
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I did it. I lost some weight as well as inches.
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Before:
Weight: 155.8 lbs
Measurements:
Neck: 13.5 inches
Chest: 38.5
Bicep:13.25
Waist: 36.5
Hips: 42
Thighs: 30.5
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After:
Weight: 153.8 lbs
Measurements:
Neck: 13.5 inches
Chest: 37.5
Bicep:13.25
Waist: 35.5
Hips: 41.5
Thighs: 30.5
Total Difference: 2lbs and 2.5 inches
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Yay!!! It’s a start. And to celebrate, I went to the gym and pushed myself yet again. I did one warm up set…but instead of walking the 400 m, I jogged half of it. Big kudos for me!
You know, I don’t run. I don’t jog. I don’t like anything that remotely looks or feels like jogging (that includes walking). In school, I would come up some sort of excuse to sit out in P. E. when it came to running or walking. And here I am, jogging. So this is BIG stuff for me. I could just feel the inches melting away…well, it was HOT in Charleston.
To top off my great day, I had my favorite for dinner…the Salmon with a vegetable medley.
And check out LeAnn’s Weight Loss Challenge!
Nora’s Weight Loss: Day 5–Early to Rise
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Exercise
Wanna say dedication? For a person who doesn’t wake up before 7:30am most mornings, I was AT the gym at 6:30am. I really had an easier time. I still pushed myself, but the one set for the warm up went easier. I did all 10 burpee pushups! I struggled, but I did it! My coach today was Sam. He was great. He had a bit of time to really instruct me and introduce some new exercises and stretches. We even did this 4 minute structured exercise from Japan. Basically you pick an exercise like sit-ups and the plank. For 20 seconds you do the fastest, best formed sit-up, rest for 10 seconds and then for 20 seconds you hold the plank position. You keep rotating like this back and forth until the 4 minutes are up. It was intense! But really something I can do at home.
Food
I am impressed by the 360° Weight Loss meals so far. I am a picky eater and was quite skeptical that I would enjoy eating these healthy meals. Everything we had a choice of sounded good but would it really be edible? You know, you have tried some of these frozen Lean Watchers meals that look great on the cover but look and taste more like the cardboard box it came in. All the food looks good. The only problem I have had is opening the clamshell container the food comes in. I was really hungry and the steak kabob container mocked me by not easily relinquishing the goodies inside its clear chamber. It was quite funny and even had my husband try and open it to no avail. I succeeded in the end, but had to threaten it at knifepoint. For breakfast, I had the strawberry parfait and the shrimp salad wrap for lunch. Both were good. I was a bit hungry by mid-day and had to eat some additional protein.
Nora’s Weight Loss: Day 4–First 360° Meal
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Food
Tonight was my first meal from the 360° Weight Loss meals. I had the Dill Salmon with veggies. It was DELICIOUS. (See picture.) All I added was a bit of pepper to the vegetables. The salmon was cooked just right. I hope all the food is as good as this! I did have a bit of a chocolate craving after dinner. But I had to only eat a few almonds to satisfy me.
Water
I have been drinking a lot more water the past few days. Before, if I drank 24 oz of anything a day, that was considered a lot of liquid. I am now trying to drink 40+ oz a day. I understand the importance of water in my diet and I realize my intake of liquids was probably putting my body in a permanent state of dehydration. The problem I am facing is every 15-20 minutes I have to go to the bathroom. It is quite annoying. I hope this is just a temporary side effect until I get properly hydrated.
Muscles
As for my muscles, they still are aching and every so often I feel them wobble beneath me. I decided to do some yoga to try and stretch the soreness out. That seemed to help for a bit. I found if I sat down at the computer for an hour or so, the achiness came back. I hope my efforts today will help before tomorrow’s workout.
Spirits
I really am in good spirits. I really thought this would be harder. I thought I would be craving pasta and peanut butter and cheese. I really haven’t thought about them. Well, maybe I have thought about peanut butter. When I started this I was determined to succeed. Now four days into it, I feel that it maybe easier than I anticipated…the diet, not the exercise.