Never fear - I'm still here!

I am midway through cycle 3 now and still consistently losing weight. Not as much as with Cycle 1, or even 2 but I am losing an average of 1.5 pounds a week. Every week there IS a loss which is encouraging. I am being more loose with the rules but still losing. I am sure if I was much more diligent I'd be losing more than 1.5 a week.

However... I am down just about 30 pounds now and feeling great! My weight starts with a ONE again!!!!!! That has not been the case since before Donovan was born. It's so exciting to see that on the scale.

My Crohn's is flaring a bit so this week I have had to do bland foods (and done some easy to digest white breads) and no fruits/veggies but I am hopeful it'll pass soon and I can get back on track. Even with that setback, I still lost 2 pounds this week which is fantastic.

I actually look forward to eating this way and really do feel better about myself and my body. It feels so good to have more energy and to be able to run around and play with my son. The Crohn's thing is definitely hard to manage when there is a flare because the foods that don't bother me are no-no's on the plan. Things like white rice, white breads... anything super easy to digest. The only saving grace is that I don't feel well enough to eat a lot of it so it's OK. Also... I am finding I don't like the taste of those things as much! I'd prefer to eat my wheats,  fiber one cereal and oatmeal - more flavor!! My flare seems to be toning down though and I should be back on track this week.

Here is my progress so far!

Week 2 on Cycle 2

and I am down another 4 pounds! So that's 6.6 MORE pounds gone since starting Cycle 2 and 21.6 pounds gone since I started this diet 28 days ago.

OK, I LOVE this diet. I really do. I love that the weight just keeps coming off. I love that I feel better and look better. I love that I am fitting into clothes that have not fit me since before my son was born in September 2009. To make myself feel even better I look at my total weight loss since I checked into the hospital to give birth which means I have lost an amazing 58 pounds since September 7, 2009. So about 36 pounds I lost myself and then kind of, gave up I guess, until I found this diet. I kept making excuses for myself and saying that it didn't matter since we're just going to have more kids anyway. One day, I saw a photo of myself and realized, it was NOT OK. It was NOT OK to be a big as I was... it was NOT OK to not care. The day in December that I saw the 17 day diet on TV I just knew it was for me and I was ready to make the change and make it work.

Now... I have so much energy to keep up with my active toddler. We dance, we run, we play and I have the energy to do it all. It's a beautiful day here in DC today, 70 degrees! We went for a walk and I ran around with my son and didn't even get out of breath. It felt good to go out there and just have fun with him.

The best part is, I'm not done yet! I enjoy the foods I am eating now and I enjoy all the positive changes I see in myself. My goal weight is only 40 pounds away. It's so close I can taste it. I may make it there before I get pregnant again and I may not. I am OK with whatever happens because I do not plan on going back to my old ways. Who knew oatmeal actually tasted good?! I really do plan on embracing this healthy eating. Even when I am pregnant again (with more calories for the bambino of course). I just feel excellent that if I were to get pregnant now... I weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with my son. It's good to be at a lower starting point. And I definitely do not plan on gaining another 50 pounds with my next pregnancy!!

Now, I haven't been perfect on this diet. I've had a piece of chocolate here and there and last weekend - went all out. We had company and ordered Chinese food and drank wine. I indulged and I indulged too much. Let me tell you... the next day was not happy. My digestive system rebelled and I felt horrible. It was like my digestive track was saying "what the hell do you want me to do with this crap?" I can't believe I still lost 4 pounds this week, even with that night. The only thing I could think about was how much I wanted some fresh veggies and to be back on plan ASAP. That's how I know for a fact I am not only ready to embrace the change but... that's I am not in the danger zone for cheating.

In the past, a cheat day meant a mindset change. "Well, I cheated yesterday so what the hell... let's have that pizza today!" Now, while the cheat evening was fun and I don't think I regret it... all I could think about was getting back on plan. I also don't think my body has ever really felt so bad after a cheat day. It made me not want to do it again, at least not anytime soon. It also was not hard for me to jump right back on the wagon and follow the plan again. This never would have happened to me before and since it is now... I know this change is here to stay.

First week on Cycle 2...

and I lost 2.6 pounds this past week.

Not as good as my weeks on cycle 1 but still a good loss for a week. I hope once my body gets use to cycle 2 I'll lose more in a week. This week I have actually given oatmeal a REAL try and found I actually like it. Getting to eat a few carbs and starchy veggies is a nice thing to be able to do. It's still a daily challenge to eat right and not cheat. I won't lie... there are days I cheat a little. I have been good about not going nuts and honestly, I don't want to. I like the changes I am seeing in myself and really do want to keep it up. When I think about cheating big time I find that I feel it won't be worth it... why sabotage myself after all this hard work and 17 pounds gone? I want to see those numbers keep going down and I am just STEPS away from ONEderland. :)

The other thing I am finding is that it's also a HUGE challenge to exercise. I need to find something I like to do and am having trouble there. Then, when I do find something I like... the arthritis in my knees, or ankles, acts up and they swell up and hurt (like right now). I haven't been able to exercise in days because my knee is the size of a grapefruit. I really am not sure what to do. I want to do everything right on this diet and this is going to be my biggest challenge.

I hope I keep seeing that scale number decreasing... it really does feel awesome. Tomorrow is a carb day and I am looking forward to my morning oatmeal and some peas with my lunch!

No brown rice sushi?!?

I looked forward to my sushi all week and was terribly disappointed today when I could not find a place to make it for me. I've seen it at Whole Foods but didn't have a chance to get over there today. It was a HUGE disappointment and put me in a bad mood.

However, I did get to eat some carbs today and actually ate oatmeal! I have tried before and have never been able to choke it down. I got Apple Cinnamon and it was not too bad... I could eat this! I also had brown rice with dinner. Not the same as white rice but it was still not bad. I feel more satisfied with these foods today - feeling like I was able to eat more was a good thing.

During cycle 2 you alternate the new foods days with cycle 1 days so tomorrow is a cycle 1 day for me. I still want my sushi and did post on the 17 day diet's facebook page about this. I was told a cheat such as that is fine every once in a while and to simply exercise more on the day I choose to do it and do not overindulge. So... I see some sushi in my future! Makes me happier than I was most of the day today :)

I took a whole body photo to compare to when I started... not totally happy with how I look but you can see I am making progress!!

Cycle 1 comes to an end..

My official Cycle 1 weigh in will be tomorrow but as of this morning, I was at 206.4 which makes my loss an amazing 16.2 pounds in 16 days! I see myself everyday so it's hard for me to notice the change but I compared two photos of myself and was amazed to see how much thinner I look already!

What an amazing change in a mere 16 days! This diet has been hard but I am very proud of myself for sticking with it so far! I am excited for Cycle 2 and the introduction of more foods - hooray for variety! I will admit... chicken and turkey every day has been especially hard these past few days. I was QUITE bored with my food options.

I am seeing some other changes in myself. My clothes are bigger and I definitely have more energy. I am embracing all these fruits and veggies and healthy eating. I don't miss the bad things as much as I thought I would. I mean, I do miss them but it's not like an overwhelming desire to go out and eat a pizza, you know?

Tomorrow starts Cycle 2 and with that a treat! I have gone 17 days without sushi (no rice!) and I can get it with brown rice which is terrific! I have never, ever looked forward to a meal so much. It's going to be such a treat to be able to indulge in one of my favorite foods. I am so happy with my progress over these first 17 days - on to the next 17!