Feeling Great! Day 11 Cycle 2

It's been a while since I've written. I have to report that I'm feeling great! Cycle 2 has been a slow decline, but the key is it's still been a decline! The first 5 days I didn't lose anything...those plateau's! The great news is that now I'm losing again. I've now lost 8lbs total and am at 177lbs. I am very happy with that. I know I will reach my initial goal of 160lbs on this diet. I feel that this is going to come a lifestyle change for me. I've been making very good decisions and feel totally in control. What's weird is that I've also found yogurt to be key. I seem to lose after the days I have my 2 yogurts. I don't love yogurt so I'll often skip one, but it pays off on the days that I don't! I still need to drink more water...that's such a challenge for me. I've really gotten used to the green tea though...I look forward to it now!

I'm starting to fit better into some of my clothes which feels really good. I haven't been under 180lbs in so long that it's really nice. I'm excited about getting under 170lbs now :) I do keep working out. I mostly do Cardiosculpt on Tuesday's and Thursdays, and then I hike and bike on the weekends. This week I did add an extra workout day on Monday and that seemed to help, so I will start mixing it up more with the workouts I do.

Today we're leaving for Telluride for the weekend. I'm not stressed because the last time we traveled, yellowstone, I lost 3 lbs...so I can do it again :) I have the hang of it now!

Ok, until next week :)

The Frustration of Weight Loss

It's day 4 on Cycle 2. Losing weight is so frustrating. I have pretty much stuck to the rules on this diet...and it's hard to feel I'm hitting a plateau early on. In 20 days I've lose 6 lbs. Really that's good for me, but it's hard to know that I'm eating aroudn 1200 calories a day and the weightloss isn't melting. That's the challenge with losing weight. It's not an overnight something...it's something you have to keep working at. I still feel very good about the diet and I feel it's going to get me to a weight where I can feel a lot better, so I'm not quitting, but I had to write during this time!

I also have to take the time to write about my biggest supporter. My husband, AH is amazing. I have been "on a diet" since I've known him. He fell in love with me overweight and has always supported me on any diet I've tried...which have been MANY. He never gives up on me...and I'm very thankful for that. He says he's really proud of how well I've done, he can see the change already in these 3 weeks. He's also amazing with the way he supports me with work outs. He takes care of my daughter so I can workout at the gym, and we always do hikes and bike rides together. So thank you honey :)

Ok, tomorrow I will continue and be strong...on to my next carb day. I have a dinner with some friends, therefore I will save my lunch carb and have it then. I hope the scale shows some weightloss.

Day 3 Cycle 2

Today is day 3 of cycle 2...and it's the 2nd day of eating the activate menu vs. accelerate. I feel good and I don't feel hungry. I still feel in control. What's frustrating is that I've had no weightloss. Hopefully that'll change soon.

I have this good friend named Nancy. She's lost 65 pounds in the last 9 months...it's amazing. She's been an inspiration for me. She's tracked her food everyday on myfitnesspal.com, she works out like 2 hours per day, and she's been great about making recipes. One of the recipe's she makes is "Dr. Mike's Protein cookie". The other day was amazing...she brought me a dozen cookies! Anyway, I had those today. They're very good. I recommend them to anyone on the diet. I will probably start making them in the future :) THANK YOU NANCY :)

Ok, we'll see if tomorrow show's any weightloss

Day 2 Cycle 2

I have joined "The Doctors" website because there is a group that just talks about their progress on the 17 day diet. Many of them lost like 12 lbs on the first cycle...that'd be nice! Anyway, many of them also said that when they got to cycle 2 they'd be up one, down 1, etc...and most generally lost 4 lbs in the cycle. Well it looks like I'm going to be doing that myself. Today I'm up 1lb to 179.5lbs. I plan to stick to the diet, but it may be frustrating. it would probably be ideal to only weigh in once a week, but I like watching the scale...I feel it also keeps me on top of things.

Ok, I'll let you know what I weigh tomorrow! Today is an "activate" day (cycle 1) so no carbs.

End of Day 1, Cycle 2

Well, it's now the end of the day and I didn't eat the planned menu due to changes in my schedule. I ended up eating 1366 calories. I still feel good about the day, but it's weird eating carbs again. When I ate the beans in my burrito bowl from Chipotle at lunch I felt really tired afterwards. It might have been my workout...not sure.

Tomorrow is an Activate day (back to cycle 1) so that should be easy enough...I'm used to that now :) It's hard sometimes getting used to adding the carbs back in...it makes it harder in a way.

Oh...I have been drinking my green tea, the diet requires it at every meal.

Goodnight :)

1st day of Cycle 2

Today I begin cycle 2. It's conflicting...I'm happy I can eat some new foods, but then it's "scary" as well. I do feel very in control these days, so that is good. I don't want to lose that. For that reason I continue to be very strict and I don't cheat when it comes to sweets or carbs. Below is my plan for today. I put this into "myfitnesspal.com" and it's ~1200 calories:

Pre-Breakfast: Warm water with Lemon
Breakfast: 1/2 cup (dry) Quaker old fashioned oatmeal with Blueberries
Snack: Yogurt with sliced almonds
Lunch: 2 Eggs with Brown rice
Dinner: Chicken taco salad (Chicken, tomato, onions, salsa,...)
Snack: Yogurt with sliced almonds

This is about 1197 calories. This should be good...I try to keep under 1200. I think I may not lose weight quick enough because several days I was probably under 1,000. It's weird how pre-diet you eat way over calories...then you try to be so good that you're under calories, it's tough to get that balance right.

I also have cardiosculpt today. So it's one of the days where I really need the calories. These hard core workouts also skew things with the calories...making the calories too low. But it's working, slowly but surely! This is the most weight I've lost in so many years...

Day 16 - 6.5lbs down

I haven't written in a few days...I found that realistically I'll only update 1-2 times per week! But I'm still feeling great. The last time I wrote I was at 179lbs. Really the scale kept going up and down. It went back up to 180lbs, and today I weighed in at 178.5lbs. I feel that my body's slowly coming down to the weightloss. it just took that jump right after yellowstone.

Tomorrow is the last day I'll be on cycle 1 of the 17 day diet. Then I move to cycle 2. Basically I'll be adding in 2 "natural" starches. 1 for breakfast and 1 for lunch. I was hoping a slice of whole wheat bread would be 1 of those but it's not...it's more like oatmeal, brown rice, beans, etc...the other thing you add in on this cycle is more proteins like beef, pork, crab, shrimp etc. This will be good as well. In the activate cycle (2nd phase) you have to alternate 1 day from the 1st cycle with one of the activate days. I'm committed to sticking to this because it's the best I've felt in a LONG time...maybe 5 years?

I just took pictures to compare pre-17 day diet and after...and really the pictures don't look much different. But what's crazy is I feel much better in my clothes. I guess 6.5lbs isn't enough to see the difference yet...although people have been complimenting me. I'm guessing alot of the loss has been in my face and that's the reason people can tell.

Regarding my mood et, it's amazing what 6 lbs can do. I feel more confident and really believe I can do this. Ok, until the next post....

6 DOWN Day 11!

Wow, I can't believe it...I broke the 180lb barrier! I'm so happy about that! Now I feel that this weightloss is possible. I can do this...I am doing this. Whew, it feels good. I really recommend this diet. I feel very in control and it gives you the quick weightloss in the beginning so that you feel motivated. I don't want to stop! Later today I'll post pictures and measurements from March vs. now. I will also start documenting what I'm eating again. Here's today's start:

Pre-Breakfast: Warm water with lemon
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, fruit cup, Green tea.
Snack:
Lunch:
Snack:
Dinner:

Day 10 ...going fast!

I just got back from Yellowstone tonight and I weighed myself! I knew I was feeling great but I wasn't sure if I'd lost or not...well I did, 1 more lb :) I don't doubt it's really two...but I weighed myself at 5:00pm! We'll see what tomorrow morning is!

It was tough on the trip but I stuck to the diet. I did make some changes...like I ate a lot of eggs because in the morning I would get 4 hard boiled eggs and I'd have them for lunch. It was getting really old having turkey and dry chicken, so I did have some beef here and there. But overall I ate very well. I mostly had salads whenever I could. It also really helped having the yogurt. I don't usually like yogurt but I'm starting to really look forward to it!

Anyway, I'm on day 10 and 4lbs down. That makes me really happy. I'm about to break that damn 180lb barrier which had become some kind of mental block for me! I couldn't get past it. Fortunately I'm finally going to do it! I'm determined to keep going...it's really the best I've felt in a LONG time.

Ok, tomorrow I'm going to post pictures and measurements. I had taken some back in March so I will probably use those...that way I can see where I've come since then and use that as my starting point.

Day 5 - HEADACHE's GONE!!!

I was so happy...I woke up with NO headache's today...and I tested the green tea and it wasn't the culprit. That means that my headache's were from stopping all carbs & sugar. It's kind-of scary...it shows how addicted I was to them. I was really feeling that way...it had gotten to the point that I felt like eating something all the time....and I wasn't hungry. I don't feel that way at all now. Now there can be a chocolate or any carb in front of me and I REALLY have no desire of having it. It's really a great feeling. Now I know this will change, but I want to remember this strength ;)

Ok, day 5 has been very good. Here's the update:

Weight: 182lbs (but I did see the scale play with 181.5 ;) )

Pre-Breakfast: Warm water with lemon
Breakfast: 1/2 Grapefruit, 2 fried eggs, green tea
Lunch: 1 med salad with dressing on the side from Noodles. Grilled Chicken. No pasta on the salad. Green tea
Snack: Yogurt with almonds and blueberries in it
Dinner: Egg omelet with onions. Broccoli. Green tea.

That's it :) And I've been trying to drink more water...that's been good.

I really do feel I'm starting to lose weight. I'm feeling it in my face, my waist, and even my legs and shoulders. And what's even better is that yesterday during my cardiosculpt class that I do twice a week, I didn't have ANY knee or joint pain...and last week it was awful...very good :)

Tomorrow we leave for Yellowstone but I will try and write my weight before I go. There will be no internet access there so I will write an update Monday night when I'm back. The good news is that I'm prepared to follow the diet while there :)

Day 4 and Feeling Great!

I woke up this morning, FINALLY feeling great...no headache! I also felt thinner...weird in just 4 days, right? Well I've lost .5 lbs...today I'm at 182lbs. My first goal is to break 180lbs. i think it's been a psychological barrier for me. I haven't been under 180lbs since before Sophia was born and have been feeling I'd never get under it. So that's why breaking 180 is my first goal. If you look at my ticker you'll see that the goal weight I put on there was 160lbs. Really my goal is more like 130-140, but I figured that visually that would be my first goal! How great to just lose 20lbs.

I didn't write dinner yesterday so here it is. I went to a friend's house and she bbq'd. Here's what I had:

Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, some grilled beef (not recommended on 1st cycle but I figured a little bit was ok, it's still protein), peppers, onions, mushrooms, a cabbage salad with just scallions, cucumbers, and lemon, and salt. Oh, and peach slices. That was it, and I felt very satisfied.

I haven't had green tea since yesterday for breakfast and the good news is that my headache's are FINALLY going away. That headache was constant since day 1. I'm guessing my body is finally detoxing from all the sugar and carbs also.

Today is the first day back to work...so we'll see how I do with the diet! I plan to stick to it...salad with some protein for lunch. The good news is that I've also been enjoying my yogurt snacks. I put almonds in them and a few dried cherries to make it more interesting and that seems to be oK :)

17 Day Diet

I am 38 years old, on the verge of 39, and I must say that the biggest constant STRESS in my life has always been food. This is because food is what I turn to on ANY occasion. Whether it be a celebration of something or because I didn't get a job that I applied for....food is my comfort. I've also always known what you "should" eat to be healthy and to lose weight. I have also worked out since I was 11. I remember the first race I did...I was 11..it was a 1 mile race at school, I came in 3rd...that's when I thought running might be my solution. So since that age I started running. I ran all the way to 2 years ago...I did the NY City Marathon in 1999 and I've done relays like the big Sur marathon relay...but it's still never stopped my weight problem.

I have done every diet...Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Susan Somers, etc...and the truth is that they all work. The bottom line is that it's up to the person to follow it! I can tell you what to do for each diet...but lately I don't want to DO IT at all :)

A year ago my daughter Sophia was born. During the pregnancy I gained about 30 pounds. Fortunately I quickly came back to my pre-pregnancy weight...but the bad news is that that pre-pregnancy weight is too high. I weigh 185lbs right now...

So what is this post about?! It's about the diet that I FINALLY started 2 days ago..."The 17-Day Diet". Borders had a clearance sale since it's closing and I decided to buy the book...I read it and decided that it seemed pretty straightforward to follow and that I'd just do it. So here I am on day 3. I'm going to start writing my progress and we'll see how it goes. There are pros and cons to the diet...the pros are that it's clear what I can and can't eat, and I don't have to write things down. I tried doing this with MyFitnessPal.com which I highly recommend if you want to document what you eat, but I just didn't do it more than 4 days in a row. For some reason that doesn't work for me....so anyway, you don't have to document on this diet. But i"m going to here...we'll see.

Here's an overview of the diet (taken from the blog "blah, blah, blah", I didn't feel like re-writing!):

The 17 day diet was created by Dr. Mike Moreno to help shed holiday pounds. There are four cycles:
Cycle 1: Accelerate. Encourages rapid weight loss, cleansing and fat burning. Discourages fat storage.
Cycle 2: Activate. Resets the metabolism.
Cycle 3: Achieve. Develop good eating habits, re-teach yourself how to eat carbs.
Cycle 4: Arrive. A combination of the first three Cycles. On weekends, enjoy your favorite

I'm on Cycle 1 right now and here's what I can eat:

- 2 Eggs or 4 egg whites
- All veggies (no corn, potatoes, etc..)
- 2 fruits a day (no bananas, watermelon,...)
- Lean meats (chicken, fish,...)
- Have warm water with lemon in the am
- 8 glasses of water a day
- 2 yogurts a day

That's about it. Basically a no carb diet at this stage...only lean meats, veggies, and fruits...

so here's how it's going:

Day 1, Saturday September 3rd:

Weight: 185lbs
Before Breakfast: Warm water with lemon
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, strawberries, and green tea
10:00am Snack: Yogurt
12:00pm: Mixed greens with tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, lemon, and a can of tuna...(yuck..not too tasty) and green tea
3:00pm: Yogurt and a fruit
4:00pm: Went to Indian food...so only ate tandoori chicken and a tomato and cucumber Kutchumber salad, and green tea

Day 2, Sunday September 4th:

Weight: 185lbs
Before Breakfast: Warm water and lemon
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with onions, green chilles, and tomatos (TASTY)! 1/2 grapefruit, green tea
Lunch: Spinach salad with dijon mustard vinegrette, red wine vingar, walnuts, and goat cheese...goat cheese isn't in the book as ok, but I figured it still protein...should be fine...same with walnuts...
Dinner: Vennison burger with no cheese or bread...had it like a salad with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and onions and green tea

Day 3, Monday September 5th:

Weight: Haven't weighed yet...will update later

Before breakfast: Warm water with lemon
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 1/2 grapefruit, and green tea
10:00am Snack: 1 peach

ok, this is where I'm at now...I have to write my observation's so far...I am feeling better in terms of having cut out sugar and my stomach feels less bloated. But am having INTENSE headache's. I don't know if it's from the lack of carbs or if it's the green tea. I've read on other's blogs that they don't drink the green tea, so I might have 1 a day. I probably also haven't been drinking enough water so that's what I'm going to do now. Ok, I will keep writing as I move forward :)

be back soon!!!

Ok, back again...great news! I weighed myself just now...3:30pm...and I'm at 182.5lbs. I didn't believe it myself...so I checked it 4 times! I'm guessing it's all water...but it feels good! So I'm determined to do this :)

Here's the rest of the food for today:

Lunch: Fresh veggies salad at Cheesecake factory and grilled salmon (no green tea)
Snack: 1 6oz peach yogurt with almonds and blueberries
Dinner:

Meeting Moni

I've thought about doing a blog for quite a while...and have finally decided that today is the day! I plan to write in it almost daily, but if nothing else once a week! The purpose of the blog is to really share my thoughts...mostly this will be my struggle with weightloss, being a mom, and career decisions.

I am 38 years old and work in marketing. I recently got married and now have a daughter that's 1 year old. When I first had my daughter I was convinced that I'd be a stay at home mom...but now, not so much. I realized after about 5 months that I still needed something for me. Therefore I went back to work full time. There I am now a part time stay at home mom, and a career women :) Of-course figuring out how to balance this has been and I have a feeling will continue to be, one of my biggest challenges.

I've seen blogs by others and I get inspired by reading what people have done, therefore I decided to do it myself! My first goal will be to use the blog to focus on my weightloss journey...we'll see how that goes :)

Until the next post....