Relaunch

Its been a long time since I've posted anything.  Actually A LOT has happened since the last time I was here, my friends.  First, I got a new job working in Insurance.  Second, I moved to Orange County, due to said new job.  Due to all of this craziness, I decided to take the month of October off from my weight loss program.  While I wasn't officially on the program, I was still (fairly) conscientious about what I was eating.  It was nice to have some time to get acclimated to my new surroundings and responsibilities.

My work schedule has changed dramatically with this new position as well.  While this seems like a minor change, it really affects every aspect of your life.  Besides, when you eat on a specific schedule this can be a difficult adjustment.  In the past I was used to getting up at 5 am, eating breakfast, going to the clinic, working until 4, coming home and exercising, eating dinner, and then having some time to relax.  However, I now don't go into work until 9 am and work until 6 pm or later!  It also have about an hour commute.  which means I get home pretty late.  I am not a morning person, to say the least, and I will gladly sleep as late as possible.  I am beginning to realize, however, that this leaves me little to no time for a workout.  I still haven't figured out when is the best time for this to occur, however, I have also had to figure out my eating on this new schedule as well.  For most people this may not seem like a big deal, however if you are someone who has tried to or been successful in losing weight, you know that this is paramount to your success.

So this past week was Thanksgiving.  Happy Thanksgiving followers!!!  This holiday in which the basis is gorging yourself on as much food as possible.  This could be your own personal version of hell if you are someone that is being completely diligent about losing weight.  However, one of the things that I have learned in the past few months is that you also have to live your life.  While I agree that when you are in the midst of a program and doing well the LAST thing you want to do is sabotage it in any way, eating one bite of potatoes won't kill you.  In fact, I have found that having that one or two bites allows me to get rid of the craving and I don't feel deprived, although I didn't completely destroy my day with it.

So tomorrow I am starting again.  Relaunching the weight loss machine, if you will.  My goal is 30 lbs. by the end of 2012 and I believe that I can do it!

                  October 2012 w/ Miss Bella Buschini

Vacation of a lifetime

So much has happened since my last post on here!  I want to share with you all the amazingness that was my trip to Israel.  I'm not even sure that I can express how amazing this experience was.  Thank you so much to my grandparents for giving me this amazing opportunity.  To give you just a preview of this amazing vacation, i gave you a picture of the beautiful city of Jerusalem.

Pretty amazing, right?  I was a little worried about going on this trip because I REALLY did not want to lose momentum or gain weight.  Going to a foreign country is always a struggle because they often times do not eat the same kinds of food that we do and in a lot of countries you are advised not to eat things such as fresh produce.  Thankfully, that was not the case in Israel.  In fact, their produce was amazingly fresh and delicious! It was fairly easy for me to find salads and such.  This made things so much easier for me! :)  In addition all the walking that we did while sightseeing helped out a lot as well.  As part of my program, I am supposed to wear a pedometer daily.  Over the course of this trip, we walked an average of approximately 11,000 steps a day!  I also packed lots of snacks in my suitcase, however, it was so unbelievably hot there, that I didn't really snack on the trip (bad, I know!).  

One of the most amazing things that we were able to do on this trip was swim (ok, float) in the Dead Sea.  First of all, the Dead Sea is huge!  Much large than I ever imagined.  I would compare it to, maybe one of the Great Lakes?  Here is a photo so you can judge for yourself :).

Anyway,  the floating in the dead sea was pretty awesome.  Its kind of crazy actually because the minute that your feet no longer touch the ground you are so buoyant that your feet fly up in front of your face!  Here is my family experiencing this phenomenon:

Anyway,  I was really nervous coming back from this 10 day vacation and having to go weight in.  I went in the day after I got back with a very nervous feeling.  All I could think about was all the delicious hummus that I had eaten.  However, all the walking must have paid off because I ended up losing 10.5 pounds while I was gone!

July 2012

So now I have completed my 10 week program.  I have lost 40 pounds.  I have lost two (plus) clothing sizes.  However, there is so much that I have gained as well.  I have gained confidence in myself.  I have learned how to eat healthy and how to BE a healthier person.  I have learned that losing weight is something that I can do and that not being overweight will be a reality for me.  I have learned that my family and friends can truly be whatever kind of support system I need and that I shouldn't be afraid to utilize them in that capacity.  Most importantly, I have learned to be proud of what I have accomplished.

Sharing the Story

So, many of you do not know what I have been doing these past few weeks (okay, 9 weeks to be exact).  I know that I have been different to many of you; challenging plans for meals with more active options and constantly asking many of you to go hiking, or walking, or trampoline jumping, or many other activities.  Through these past 8 weeks I have also realized that there are many people out there, maybe even people that I know, that can benefit from my story.  I have started this blog to share with all of you: my family, my friends, and maybe even a few strangers, what I have been going through in my struggle to lose weight and become a healthier person.  I hope that this will help someone else achieve their goals as well.

When I started this journey (I HATE that word) venture, I thought it would be a piece of cake and that it was most definitely something that I could do alone.  I could not have been more wrong.  I have learned that something so life-changing requires you to have an incredibly strong support system.  People that will be there for you on the hard days; the days you want to eat everything in sight, the days you don't want to exercise, and the days that you want to have a cheeseburger, regardless of how that would set back your goals.  Thats where all of you come in.  While many of you already have been there for me in that aspect, whether you know it or not, I think that just sharing what is going on with all of you out in the big, wide internet will help as well.

Below you will find a picture of me near the beginning of this process.   When I look at this photo, which is bad and grainy to begin with, I can't believe its actually me.  Its like a different person than I would look at in the mirror every morning.  To be completely honest, it kind of disgusts me.  In fact, this picture was taken at the OC Color Run.  When I finished walking the 5K I thought I might pass out.  When I started the program I weighed 275 pounds.  While I don't exactly love sharing my weight with the big, bad internet, this is reality.  Me at the heaviest I will ever be because I am not going back.

April 2012

I started my weight loss program the first week of May.  May 7th to be exact.  The first week alone I lost 7 pounds.  As is the story with most people that are heavy I had tried millions of different diets. If there is a diet or weightless system that has been created, I have probably tried it.  This is the probably the first time I have lost this much weight at the beginning.  Let me tell you, it definitely keeps you motivated.  To be honest,  the first few weeks were relatively easy.  I was losing weight everyday when I weighed in (a first for me) and was pushing through.  For the first time, I could envision the finish line and what my life could be like when I lost all my excess weight.

May 19, 2012

The photo above was taken two weeks into my program.  At this point I had lost 10 pounds.  I was still moving quickly along and it seemed like while I was definitely limiting the content and portion size of my food, it did not really seem to faze me at all.  I had pretty much transitioned seamlessly into this new style of eating.  I also had been starting to exercise more regularly, mostly walking and riding the stationary bike at my house, which gave me more energy.

Fast forward to week 7.  The consistent weight loss that I had experienced for much of the previous six weeks had stopped.  I was still eating according to the plan but it did not seem to be helping.  Talk about frustrating!!  Since I had hit some sort of weight loss plateau, the nurse suggested that I try an alternate menu.  I agreed enthusiastically; anything to get my body back on track, right?  She then explained to me what this menu would entail: seven days of a mostly liquid diet.  Liquid breakfast, liquid lunch, and mercifully, a protein-heavy dinner that was made of real food.  This is where I hit my first real struggle of the program.  The first day was relatively uneventful.  Day 2, however, was when it became unbearable.  My stomach was growling all day; from the moment I woke up until the moment I went to sleep.  Previously, I never really experienced hunger unless it was time for my next meal, so this was uncommon for me and I was unprepared to deal with it.    Suddenly, all the emotion that I had put aside throughout this entire program came to light.  I'm sure that I freaked my family members out a little bit!  All I could think about was wanting to eat a cheeseburger and fries and somehow I could not get past this image in my head.  Once I got pass the first few days it was a breeze though, and I finished the week strong.

July 1, 2012

So here we are now-- the first week of July.  How did it become July already?  Anyway, after almost 9 weeks in the program I have lost a grand total of 27.8 pounds.  The photo above was taken on Sunday and contrary to what my pictures show, I do not walk around with a Hello Kitty head at all times.  Isolated moments, I swear.  There are so many things that have changed for me in the past two months. I have lost almost 30 pounds, which according to my good friend, Google, is either the weight of the human head or a toddler.  I am now imagining having a small toddler strapped to my back.  Anyway.  I have lost two clothing sizes (finally!).  I have a stack of clothing in the corner of my bedroom that no longer fits.  I now want to go hiking, or walking, or trampolining, or play baseball, or soccer, or anything active over going to eat with friends, or watching TV, or sitting around a coffee shop with a friend pondering our lives.  I am learning how to be happy with not only who I am now but also who I would like to become.  I can now see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.  

Tomorrow will be July 4th.  While millions of people on America will be barbecuing and eating massive amounts of meat, BBQ sauce, potato chips, deli salads, and cookies, I will be eating my usual meal of chicken and salad.  However, I have reached the point where this no longer bothers me.  I no longer feel that I am "deprived" of certain foods.  I have a goal to meet and missing out on a few cookies and potato chips is worth it to me.  Tomorrow, I will be packing for my trip to Israel.  Tomorrow, I will be taking two pairs of pants that I purchased two weeks ago in anticipation of my trip back to the store because while they fit perfectly then, they are now way too big.  

I started this with 115 pounds to lose which is an entire person or the amount of weight Al Roker lost after his surgery.  This no longer seems unattainable.  As of today I have 87 pounds left to reach my goal.  By next year at this time I should be living at my goal weight.  Crazy, right?