Shedding Doubt... and pounds

Hello my beautiful friends...
I am FINALLY over my emotional cray-cray funk! Thanking Jesus for that. No one needs that kind of madness in their life ... and you will all be relieved to know that Renn has also survived. However, I did move his therapy appointment up to tomorrow morning to discuss his medicine... after several messages from his teacher over the last two days. Positive thoughts and/or prayers are always greatly appreciated. You will also be happy to know I stayed on track... the entire crying wreck of a hormonal mess time. That’s a NSV if I ever saw one!! NSV = Non-scale victory!!

But guess what was a SV... this morning I weighed and I could have cried tears of joy. It's Day 21 and I have lost 24.2 pounds. It feels EPIC. Several years ago I lost 77 pounds - I refer to that often because I was super successful with my weight loss, motivated and I stuck to it for a looooong time - put simply, it changed my life. I began that journey with Advocare's 24 Day Challenge - in 24 days I managed to lose about 23 pounds... so why is that significant you ask?? Because for the FIRST time since that Challenge I have stuck with something for MORE than 20 days AND for the FIRST time I lost MORE weight than I did on the Challenge without doing the Challenge whhhhhhhhat?!?!?!?! Sorry... I know that was pretty wordy but hopefully you were able to pull my point out of there somehow. Basically, I'm kicking butt. Things are changing quickly - I'm already moving around with a little more ease - my body isn't so achey and creaky... my clothes are fitting without a fight... my pants are falling down A LOT... and ya'll THREE people (other than my husband) told me they NOTICED. [insert heart soaring here]. Another thing that typically happens as the weight begins to steadily fall off is people start asking "HOW?"... they want to know what the trick is or what diet plan I'm following... "how are you doing it??" The trick is there really is no trick... you have to find what works for your body. I went through different plans that did not work, however... for my body what always works, without fail... as long as I stick to it... is low carb, high protein, moderate fat. I'm loosely following the LadyBoss program which focuses on a fiber/carb ratio and low sugar intake - it also focuses on daily exercise... I haven't gotten all the way there yet. I track my calories using MyFitnessPal (add me - jlorek731) and keep my count between 1000-1200 daily. I try to drink at least 1 gallon of water a day. And finally - actually the HARDEST part of it all, I stay motivated. I use this blog and whoever my readers might be along with social media (Facebook/Instagram) to keep me accountable. Even if no one interacts with me I still feel some sense of accountability to the great big world out there... people are always watching. I follow people on IG that share healthy recipes and healthy living tips and I read motivational quotes alllllllll the time, it's kinda my thing. I lean on friends when I'm struggling and I have the sweetest friends that message me encouragement throughout the week. I also have these "little" rewards I have chosen for myself for every 10 pounds I lose... they definitely help me stay excited and keep me on track. At 10 pounds I bought myself a set of workout clothes, at 20 pounds I bought myself this amazing little bluetooth keyboard I am typing on in order to blog anywhere... and at 30 pounds (only 5.2 pounds to go!!) I plan to take myself in for a little pampering... something I definitely neglect when I feel self-conscious. We are planning a trip to a water park in just under 2 weeks and I am so excited about not feeling absolutely hideous in a bathing suit... I'll just be a tiny bit hideous ... but not enough that it keeps me from the fun! I also plan to have family pictures taken in November... yet another thing I have avoided due to my own insecurities. I have a dress... it’s my goal dress and I really, really hope I get to wear it for my pictures... that would be everything. I bought it TWO YEARS AGO- nuts, right? But I fell in love and HAD to have it... only it didn’t come in my size. I bought it with the thought that ONE DAY I would get into that dress and flit around feeling all adorable and princess-ie. I’ll get there ... soon.

With every step of this journey I feel like I'm shedding the doubt and insecurities along with the pounds... it’s exhilarating.

My shopping days are Wednesdays... I know that is a bit weird but it fits our budget so we do what we do. Starting Thursday I will be eating Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip with Flax Seed Nutthins for lunch and snacking on caramel rice cakes with Peanut Butter & Co.'s Dark Chocolate Dreams along with egg cups... I did this recipe for the first time last week and I loved them. I sprayed my regular sized muffin pan and then used just under 1/3 cup egg whites + a little bit of low fat mozzerella cheese + Ranch popcorn seasoning... yes, you are reading that correctly and I baked them at 450 for about 15-20 minutes. This week though, I plan to throw some broccoli and cheddar in there to get a veggie snack ... to maybe balance out that caramel dark chocolate goodness a bit. We shall see... but I bet it will be delish!
What's something on your menu plan this week? Post a comment... I need some comments in my life.

Thanks for being here with me!
-J