Doctor's Visit

So some of you are probably wondering about my Doctor's visit! Well, it went GREAT! The nurse commented, "have you SEEN your weight chart?????" I smiled and said, "not here at the doctor's office!" She laughed and showed me and then asked what I have been doing, and congratulated me on my success. When my doctor saw me, he said, "You look Great! Are you still doing the diet?" He commented that I was an all star and He wrote in my chart, "She's an All Star." After having checked my blood pressure, he said, "It's perfect! Back to normal! You've taken back two years of your life in the last 6 months. You don't need a surgery referral now :), Don't let this change who you are on the inside though."

I was so happy I did a little dance in my heart. Wow, I've taken back two YEARS of my life, just in 6 months! Hopefully I can take back another few years just by sticking it out a few more months. The goal of one day being able to have kids, is getting closer and closer. Goals I never thought I'd every achieve are finally looking more realistic.

Sometimes I really really really want to give up. I want to throw the towel in and say, "ForGET it." I cannot do this anymore. Work has been so stressful. I have dealt with investigations, police station trips, emergency changes in placements, and serious occurrence after serious occurrence. I feel like I just need to take a moment, breath, book a hotel and sleep for 2 days.

In those moments, that I want to quit my job, throw in the towel, I am amazed at the grace and self-control God supplied me with to not quit the diet, not to take the cookie, not to eat the Christmas stuffing, and pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. It's almost surreal. It can't be my doing that I have lasted this long. I heave a heavy sign. Sleep will come, I will feel less stressed, life will go on.

 When my foster sons says, "I Lub you too", when my husband hugs me tight, when my sister calls and encourages me, when I see my foster parents succeeding in connecting with hurting children, when I see the fresh snow falls and the twinkle of the stars, I look up and say, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I am so blessed.

200 Days of Ideal Protein

Hi Everyone, 
It's been 200 DAYS on Ideal Protein. I haven't blogged in some time because a big change has happened in my family life. My husband and I are now parents to a 2 year old boy that we are taking care of for now while his mom works on some things to get her to a better space. 
Needless to say, this has taken the forefront of my mind and time.

Whereas before I may have indulged in a little extra chocolate and chips with these kind of changes, I have continued to follow the Ideal Protein Protocol...and I've finally made it to day 200! And I am almost below the 200lb mark. I am excited about this and wish I could be at 199 already!
One of the things I did for myself recently was to get my hair dyed. I am really happy with the new do, and it was a great way to celebrate so much loss and hard work. I am trying to be positive and optimistic, but some days I REALLY want to quit.

I really want to try some of the homemade bread I've been making. And last night I went to East Side Mario's with my sister for dinner. They always bring out the bread, and I love their pasta dishes...but instead I chose a spicy chicken dish, asked them to hold the rice and give me extra veggies! They accomodated me perfectly. I got button mushrooms, steamed broccoli and grilled peppers. DELICIOUS! Just when I felt like giving up. Discouraged by how much more I have to do and go. 

UGH!

Tomorrow I visit my doctor. I am sure he will be encouraging and excited for me. I hope this will be another item to encourage me to continue, because right now I want to say, "ENOUGH!" Let's get on with life!...but life is NOW, not in the future, and a diet doesn't mean you aren't living, I just need to remind myself that if I do the hard work now, it will pay off in the future as I will be able to enjoy once in a while some of those items that I dearly miss...such as bananas and PB and homemade biscuits and bread. Or my favourite - Thai Curry dishes!

172 Days

1/3 of a YEAR!

Wow! It's been almost exactly a month since I last blogged. I just realized yesterday that I have hit the 4 month mark on Ideal Protein.

Summer has been both really easy and really hard to be on this diet. The easy part is that there are so many available vegetables and they are cheaper and in more abundance.  The hard part is that I'm missing out on so many delicious summer fruits. I missing my summer watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, and PEACHES! mmmm I have to stop now, or I'll go crazy!

My husband grew up with a family that did a lot of canning. I have never really canned before, but I was open to the challenge. I picked up a canner (for those of you like me who didn't know what that was- it's basically a really big pot with an extra insert to place the cans on to seal them). And I also picked up one of those devices to be able to take the cans out of the boiling water, without burning your hands.

My great uncle brought us up a big bushel of peaches, and we got to work. We peeled them all, and placed them in the jars. I had bought two cases of 12 and it was perfect for the amount of peaches we had. The juice of these peaches was sliding down my arms and dripping off of my elbows as I cut and paired them. My oh my were they juicy peaches. I really wanted to have a bite. It was so tempting to eat some of the ends that didn't go into the jars. kept feeding them to my husband, who was such an AWESOME help at the canning. I think next year we should do tomato sauce, and applesauce too!.

At least when I'm done with Ideal Protein, I will be able to eat some of the peaches we canned together (Even if I have to sleep with a jar under my pillow so my husband doesn't eat them all!

I've been on this thing for what seems like forever. Here's the latest Progress Pics!
I don't want to give up, I want to see this through. Life is about to change completely in the next month or so, and I am praying that I will be able to cope with the changes and with continuing the diet. I am stubborn, and I won't give in easily.

I want to thank those of you who are my encouragement team, and continue to cheer me on in this journey!

95 Days and Counting

95 DAYS!

It's been 95 days on Ideal Protein and I just came through the other side of 2 really difficult weeks. 

                         45 Pounds GONE!
 Two weeks ago I went out of town to help with a reentry program for third culture kids coming back to live in Canada. I was really worried about what the food situation would be. I knew it was being held at a local small college and that a chef would be making the meals and the menu. I didn't know if I'd have access to a fridge, or if I could bring my own food. I was worried that I'd be hungry or that I wouldn't get enough meat. When I got to the College, I was able to speak with the Chef. I explained my dietary needs to him and he was more than happy to accommodate. What was even more amazing is that he actually made a few meals that were specifically made for me. I particularly loved the portobello mushrooms baked with zucchini and peppers. I put ground beef on top and it was DELICIOUS and FILLING! What I found the hardest, was remember to get in my 4 packets of IP foods. Most people on IP only need 3 packets a day, my coach has me on 4 a day due to my weight levels. I also find I lose more when I eat all four. I'll be honest, some days I missed the 4th packet because of the busyness of the days.

At the end of the week I drove back to the city and headed to a wedding. I stayed away from the treats and the snacky foods that I would normally indulge in. I did have a nice soda water with lime. After being away for the week, I crashed in my own bed for one night, got up early, did laundry and went to the Airport.

From Saturday to Thursday morning, I was at a work conference in Denver, Colorodo. The week itself was amazing in terms of what I gleaned from the sessions...the food on the other hand...UGH. It was so hard. The hotel did not have ANY veggies on their menu. The only thing I could order from their menu was a lean turkey burger, no bun, with aioli and a side salad. It was near IMPOSSIBLE to get the veggies that I need for this diet. By the end of the time there I was CRAVING veggies. I almost cried one night as I lay in my hotel bedroom...I was never going to give up, but I was so frustrated that there was no options for veggies.

There was nothing around the hotel for other options. I tried the local Mexican restaurant, but when I asked for more grilled peppers with my steak and shrimp, they added cooked onions instead! (I can't even eat cooked onions! :( )

I was so happy to come home. I arrived at 9am and met with my coach at 11am...Stopped for my veggies on the way home and was SO HAPPY to have peppers!

I can't believe I'm 45 pounds down. I know it seems weird...I'm happy, but also sad at the same time...so much more to go...I wish I could get below 200 wayyyyyy faster. But I am proud of what I've accomplished. I could not do this without my husband's support and God's help!

71 Days of Ideal Protein

After a lovely weekend away at a friends cottage, I started having MAJOR abdominal stomach cramps where everything would constrict and I'd have to stop and bend over or clutch my stomach. It was horrible! 

I started to worry that maybe the diet was the problem, or my appendix, ....or what! !?

It's not like I'm taking an weird pills..and today I just finished 71 Days on this diet. it's very healthy and focuses on eatting good veggies and lean protein.

I went to my favorite walk in clinic doctor on Tuesday after my husband told me that if the pain was still there by Tuesday night he was driving me to the hospital and we were skipping his softball game. I couldn't bare the thought of him missing softball and so j made the time to go to the clinic.

Doctor said it was probably my appendix, or food poisoning. He told me to get an ultrasound to rule out the appendix. So that's what I did yesterday. Low and behold today was the first day I didn't have major cramps. It still feels a little "off" but overall I'm feeling much better. So hopefully the doctor won't call me back with anything else and we can chalk it up to something I ate.

Anyways I've made it to day 71. yay!!! Also I hit 200,000km on my car and failed at dying my own hair with a box that cost me $4.99 (guess I should get a better brand 😊).

I look at my picture and see changes in my face. Yet inside my mind I keep screaming, "is there really a skinnier girl in there!!!?"

I can't picture it, can't imagine it, can't fathom it. I hope I make it!

I'm not wanting to be skinny as a stick, what I really want is to have a healthy amount of body fat. And what I really really want is to be able to have my own kids at a healthy body weight. ...sometime before I hit 50. haha still a ways to go.

Being able to swap some clothes with my sister would be pretty awesome as well. And oh ya, looking forward to sitting in chairs and crossing my legs unawkardly (is that even a word?)

Anyways, as I said last post...takes 12 weeks for others to notice weight loss, I'm almost there. Can't wait.

Do you see any change?

I can't believe it's been almost just over 2 months since I started this journey. It's been 9 weeks and 2 days.
I started this journey at a whopping 280lbs. I am now at 248lbs. I realized the other day I was unintentionally lying to people...and myself! I totally did the math wrong. When I had only lost 26lbs I thought I had lost 36.... Well in reality I've just passed that 30lb mark. I felt so bad that I had miscalculated, and kind of discouraged. But somehow, thinking I had lost more, was so motivating at first!

I saw this chart. Can't wait to get to the 12 week mark.


I have a small confession to make... I literally check a few times a day on this Ideal Protein Group on Facebook to see other people's results. I'm not caught up in being like them, but I'm needing the support and reminder that this is actually working. I don't look at myself in the mirror often, and when I do I usually run by it quickly.

My struggle hasn't been with the temptation to cheat and eat foods I am not allowed, but with the inside emotional stuff that's coming out. I think a lot about other things that I need to do, like the laundry, finances, vacuuming, fileing paper work, writing reports, calling people back and the endless amount of emails that seem to inundate my life. Sometimes I get paralyzed by the "To-Do" list and how I feel like I'm not keeping up. Maybe it's because I'm focusing so much on what I put into my body that I'm not getting as much done or maybe it's just me putting too many high expectations on myself.

I have to remind myself to take a step back, savour the moment, don't waste a day. Find the good in people and be grateful.

I'm an Astronaut!

Well...not exactly...but the food sure looks like it!

On my orientation day with my coach, one of the first things she said to me was, "you're going to be eating food that looks like it was made for astronauts." I laughed along with her, and after the hour long intro, I walked out of there with a HUGE bag full of Ideal Protein silvery looking food packages. 3...2...1... Blast OFF!

When I first started it was hard to know what I'd feel like eatting, since I had no idea what the inside of the packages would turn out to be as I experimented.

To be honest, some of the foods are not bad at all. For example, I love the spicy flavour of the Southwest Cheese Curls, and I don't mind the maple oatmeal in the morning for breakfast. I've gotten used to, and even enjoy the chocolate pudding. The ready made vanilla drink is absolutely delicious poured over a Doppio and ice.

The part that I have fun with is creating my evening protein in new and exciting ways, and once in awhile treating myself to a "fattier" protein, such as a sausage on the BBQ.

I'm loving turnips! I had no clue they could be such a great alternative to potatos. I even slice them like fries and throw them on parchment paper and put them in the oven with a tiny amount of olive oil and spicy paprika.

I've made these spicy burgers that I top with sugarless salsa, and eat on top of a bed of romaine lettuce.

For a treat on Sunday this week I had my big protein meal at lunch after church. My husband took me out to Korean BBQ and I enjoyed the pickled turnips, the kimchi, sliced beef, pork and chicken.
When I got home I made myself some more veggies to snack on so that I met my 4 cup quota of veggies for the day.

Going back to the whole astronaut thing, ...some days on this diet, I totally feel like I am on another planet. I count the days, the weeks, the hours until I can reach my destination. I celebrate the victories, but quickly critique how far I have left to go. I have dreams about dieting, and meeting with my coach. I dream of failing, giving up, and disappointing those around me. I dream I'm pregnant, and I have to quit the diet. I dream of playing basketball again and jumping around like I did at 14, full of energy, tight skin, long fingered but comfortable in my own awkward 14 year old way.

Sometimes it doesn't feel real. I take my foster kids out for lunch and watch them eat the burger, the fries, the soft serve icecream, as I wait 10 minutes longer for the place to make my salad, without feta, without croutons, without dressing. I feel like I'm the alien.

Even though I may be in outer space for now, maybe my time as an astronaut will teach me something, inspire me, encourage me, test my patience, test my strength, make me rely on God. That's truly what it's doing. I can't believe I've made it this far --over 50 days, without cheating, without caving, without giving up. Yes, I've cried a few (okay more then a few) tears, I've sniffed the bag of cheese, I've heard my tummy grumble at the smell of garlic bread, I've craved a summer icecream or freezie, and I've longed for this period in my life to end.

But what have I gained!
Love for others, compassion and new realizations (more on that later), support from my family, weekly accountability, appreciation for what I can have (ice water with lemons!, fish, chocolate flavoured things, fresh produce etc. etc. etc. ). I am truly blessed. I can't complain about the things I can't have right now, I must remind myself that truly we are blessed to have clean running water that is drinkable --imagine some of our own First Nation communities STILL do not have potable water --here in our own nation!

I have access to so many veggies and choices!

So here's to enjoying the view while I'm an "Astronaut", and here's to the anticipation of making it back to Earth, sometime...somewhere, I can make it.

"Competence means keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts. It encompasses ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything." (Chris Hadfield, astronaut)

The Lasagna Struggle

Last night was my husband's birthday. He requested a delicious lasagna.

I spent an hour or more making a delicious lasagna, grating mounds of cheese, and simultaneously making some delicious looking chilli for camping thus weekend. . . and I didn't take a bite.

I haven't struggled that much in a while. I think what made it worse was because I didn't have time to make something equivalently delicious for my dinner.

So this morning I took the time to take another picture. ..download a comparison app and encourage myself with the gains I've made.

I love cooking delicious foods. . . I think  it should be a love language.  I know it speaks to my husband ;).

Ideal Protein - Progress Pictures

So far the progress is amazing. However I personally can't see much of a difference from these pictures. I read somewhere that it takes at least 6 weeks for you to see a difference.

At least I'm fitting Into some older pants. Nice to rediscover some of my favorite jeans!

Day 1 - 280
Day 27 - 266

My IP coach is away right now so I don't really know what my numbers are.

I'm on Day 34. I'll be honest. This journey is hard. I made chocolate chip cookies for my husband's softball game. It took conscious effort not to lick my fingers or the spoon. And then there was the birthday mississippi mud cake that I made for my sisters birthday this week,and my husband's birthday this week. I miss baking and creating, so I was glad to have occasion for doing so, but oh man I wish I could sample the things I'm making!

Looking forward to camping this weekend, great thing is that camp food for the most part fits with the diet! add a few extra cups of veggies and eat lots of meat. 

Until next time.

Blame the Thyroid?

When I returned to Canada 10 years ago, I was 17 years old. I went from eating a healthy Mediterranean diet, to working with youth and eating fast food 3+ times a week. Needless to say, I gained quite a bit of weight at that time. Then I did weight watchers and I feel I reached a healthy goal weight.

Skip over a couple of years where I was pretty much the same, a little on the heavier side, but nothing to worry over.

Two years ago I went to visit my doctor for an annual medical. I asked him if he'd check my thyroid levels and told him about my frustration with weight gain. He did check, and then told me that my levels were a little "Higher then normal", but nothing to be treated with medication.

Two years went by, I got married, bought a house and tried to cook healthy meals and work out regularly. I even went back to weight watchers. I struggled. I lost maybe 5 lbs and then nothing much more than that. I even was going to a personal trainer once a week to motivate my activity level. I loved the training sessions, but I was not seeing any changes to my body weight.

A couple months ago I went back to my doctor for a medical and we were chatting and basically I bawled my eyes out at the office. I sat there as I told my doctor that I did not know what else to do to change. I also told him I was feeling down emotionally, always crying and feeling exhausted, and not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. He told me he would check my blood levels again and then asked me if I had ever considered Bariatric surgery - because I might just qualify for the provincially funded one.

I gasped.

"What?" "Isn't there something else we can do before that ?" "would you support me if I tried a diet like Ideal Protein or Dr. B's?"

My doctor to my surprise said that he definitely would support me if I chose to try one of those methods first before the surgery. I booked a follow up appointment and walked out in a daze to tell my husband the news.

My husband was not a fan of the surgery at all. Almost daily since we got married he has always said to me, "I love you, just the way you are." After a few long conversations, some tears, and some much needed hugs, we decided that we could afford to try something new. I decided that I wanted to wait until I found the results of the blood tests before starting anything new.

Couple weeks later I was back at the doctors office, reading Reader's Digest, and swinging my legs under the chair, playing Candy Crush on my phone. The nurse called me into a room where I waited some more.

The doctor checked my blood work when he came in after I asked him if he had the results. He told me that my blood pressure was too high, and that also my thyroid levels had spiked. He moved on to another conversation, and at the end of the 5 minute appointment I did not know what had happened. I asked him if he was going to treat it, and he said , "yup, I already printed the prescription, make sure to take it in the morning before food with a large glass of water"

I'm not blaming the thyroid. Yes it probably didn't help, but I also think I haven't treated my body in the kindest way. It seems my body is more sensitive to what I eat then it may be for others. My do I love good food. I'm kinda a foodie that way. I love to create new dishes, and try creating alternate cultural dishes...come over some time for a butter chicken and Naan. Or my Red or Green Chicken Curry dish.

See what I mean?

My creativity has meant I inhale more calories then I should. Now is the time to reclaim the body God made for me and to treat it with respect. I won't give up creating new foods, but I need to be more aware what my body needs as fuel, instead of just feeding it delicious flavours!

Letting Go of "I will Never go on a Diet"

Since I was young, I've always said to myself,  .'I am never going on a diet.' Not that I have anything against diets...it was more of a rebellion against conforming to the societal perfect body image,or family pressures, or the fear that I'd do it and then  yo-yo.

So I've spent the last 10 Years trying to be healthy... and work on my self image by being comfortable with myself no matter what size.

I never did get there however. I won't begin to tell you how many nights I've cried myself to sleep, angry that I don't fit into my family's body types, sad that I am not at a healthy BMI and discouraged that my exercise plan with personal trainer and attending Weight watchers wasn't working.

When I started Ideal Protein , I was quite discouraged that I had caved and started a 'diet'. However, I am proud that i  found something that is helping me reach my goals and I do enjoy meeting with my coach on a weekly basis one on one.

I was sad at first that I broke my stance. But after 10 years, I have changed my mind. Sometimes a diet is helpful. The strict nature can be helpful boundaries and the results and support Encourage me to keep going even on those hot summer days when I'd really like an ice cream.

Ideal Protein

I'm starting this blog a little later then I should have. . . I've just completed 30 days on Ideal Protein. According to my coach I have lost 17lbs since I started. Today she challenged me to start a blog to document some of the foods I'm eatting, the challenges I face and the non scale victories!

Here is a little sneak peak of some of the yummy things I've made since starting this lifestyle RESET.