My Body is a Temple...

30 days ago I started dieting and exercising regularly. I've currently lost 17 lbs in 30 days. A few people have been interested in what I've done, so I thought I'd share...

Firstly, I've struggled with my weight for years. I've done every diet imaginable. I've lost, gained, lost, had babies, and so on. About 3 months ago I started really asking the Lord to give me the desire to do the work, and eventually He did. It started from the inside out.

Once I had the desire, I went to see my family doctor. I was diagnosed with insulin resistance about 4 years ago and he helped me get set up with a colleague in his office who does nutritional counseling. He showed me that what I had to do was give up anything with a high glycemic index (or in layman's terms, anything that causes a spike in my blood sugar). The most obvious culprits are sugar, white flour, white potatoes and white rice. The not-so-obvious ones are things like corn and bananas. He gave me a list of what to eat and how much and sent me on my way.

I have one serving of whole grain a day, one small serving of low-fat dairy, all the good veggies I can eat and 4 servings of lean protein. What's worked best for me is a protein shake for breakfast, a snack, a protein bar and veggie for lunch, another snack, and then a dinner that my family will eat...like chicken, roasted veggies and brown rice.

I'm also exercising most days. I'll admit, I've been a slacker for about 4 days while trying to get rid of this pesky cold, but most days I do a 45-minute Hip Hop Abs video that I have. Make fun if you will, but I start sweating about 6 minutes in and the first several days I could barely move! :)

Tonight, for the first time since I started, I gave myself grace and had a "free meal", if you will. I had a chicken stuffed tortilla meal from the Cheesecake Factory. I allowed myself to eat about a third of it and then made myself wait about 20 minutes to eat any more. After 20 minutes I wasn't hungry anymore, so I was done eating. Todd and I got a piece of cheesecake to share, but I had 2 bites and gave the rest to him. Now I'm downing the water like it's going out of style so I don't have a "sugar hangover" in the morning! I'd rather be up all night peeing than wake up with a headache... ;)

I have a long way to go (37 lbs, to be exact) until I'm at the ideal weight for my height, but I've set "mini-goals" along the way. For instance, after losing my first 9 lbs I was at my "pre-Owen" weight. Now I'm 1 lb away from being the lowest since having Hailey. I have another 10 lbs to be the weight I was at Christy's wedding. Another 12 lbs after that, I'll be at my pre-Hailey weight, which was the lowest I'd been at since my own wedding. 5 lbs later, I'll be at my wedding weight and then 10 lbs to my ultimate goal. I will celebrate each milestone, because it's all about baby steps, people!

Now that I've written this out there's no turning back, right?? Nothing like blogging to create accountability. :)