Weight Loss Update

Well, I'm almost embarrassed to even say it, but I'm now down 50 pounds. 50. It feels amazing. It's hard to believe that after struggling with my weight for basically my whole adult life, I'm finally making a change. I'm controlling it instead of it controlling me. I've been on this journey for five months now and what a difference!

I get asked a lot what I'm doing to lose the weight, so I thought I'd share it here. My first step was to cut out sugar for a few weeks. I had horrible cravings all the time and I heard sugar was the culprit. If you need convincing, just watch "Hungry For Change." I had also read Practical Paleo at the advice of a friend (thanks Andrea!) Although I wasn't prepared to cut out wheat and dairy, it did convince me to really cut back on them, and to stick to whole foods as much as possible. So my journey began.

The first couple weeks were hard but I had committed to it for three weeks. I avoided almost all sugar, except the odd fruit, and ate as much whole food as possible. I also started finding alternatives to the foods I use to eat (kale chips, home made sweet potato fries, banana and egg pancakes, spaghetti squash, almond butter/milk, etc). After three weeks my cravings for junk food were gone. It was amazing how quickly I was able to turn it around.

I started tracking my calories as well using myfitnesspal.com. It's not for everyone but for me I find it keeps me accountable and lets me know when I should be eating more or less. I no longer track every day but I still do when I want to know where I'm at calorie wise for the day.

In January I also started working out. I did couch to 5k (a running program) three days a week, and 30 day shred three days a week, for 8 weeks. Now that it's starting to get warmer out I'm running outside most days. I love it. And on April 28th I'm going to run in my first 5K. 6 months ago I never would have thought I'd be a "runner". Even now I put it in quotations because it seems weird to call myself that!

The best part of all of this, and my biggest motivation, is that I have the energy to really play with my boys. Whether it's rolling around in the snow, running around the block (with one of them on my back), or having a dance party. I'm so excited for the fun we will have this summer!