Still Going Stong!

Well today is day 5 and I'm still going strong! I started this on Wednesday and today is Sunday. I will tell you that the weekends at home are actully tougher for me as my weekend pattern before changing what we've been eating would be to have a sandwich or Sub.way sandwich for lunch and then an hour or two later, I'd be enjoying a sweet snack, like fruit slices or spice drops-- and now I can't have that and its hard for me to push through that candy craving. I made it through but it was tough! I don't have that problem during the week as I'm usually too busy to think about wanting that sugar fix. I think its more that I'm bored sitting watching tv, etc and thats when I want it most. (although Lord knows there is never a shortage of candies, sweets and goodies at the office I work at.....drug reps are forever bringing in candy and pastries)

I am super excited to say that on Friday (day 3) I had lost 6.4 pounds!!!! (since Weds). Thats why I love this diet/aka lifestyle change!! You see results early on and its a wonderful motivator to stick with it! Of course, now I'm a bit nervous to get on the scale tomorrow as I'm hoping the scale will have at the very least just stayed the same, not gone back up.......Tomorrow shall tell (I'm using the scale we have at work since we don't have one at home).

I need to start thinking of some exercise to incorporate in as well, however I'm faced with the challenge that I live in the mountains of NY, the roads are not in any condition to really go for much of a walk on and the past few days have been below zero in the morning!!!! Now, that being said, I'm not whimping out on the exercise portion of all this..... I know I need to do it, and quite honestly, I know I will feel better and have more energy once I do. I have a Yoga DVD and I also have the 30 Day. Shr.ed so I will just need to figure out the best time of day to get moving on it!

So, I guess thats about all to report in for now! Yeah for a 6 lb loss, its a fabulous motivator and is encouraging me to stick with it!

Day One.....Check!

Well its the end of day 1 of my new "lifestyle" change and I am happy to say that all has gone well! Despite a looooong day at work that seemed like it would never end (and I ended up being stuck there an hour and 10 mins after I was supposed to leave) and a pounding headache that I suspect was my body telling me it was mad that I had put very few carbs in it today (and my body is used to plenty of carbs). Surprisingly, just one day into my low carb diet, I didn't get that drained feeling I usually get by the middle of the day and when I finally got home from work I didn't feel wiped out, which is a great thing! That means it will get even better as the days go on.

I will tell you that I miss carbs a little bit and these first few days on this journey are not the easiest. Especially when I look up on top of the fridge and see the two boxes of Jr Mints my husband gave me for Christmas in my stocking and I'd love to rip into a box of them, however I did not. Instead I snacked on a few cukecumber slices and grape tomatos with ranch dip.

Since I really don't have much else to talk about, I'll give a quick rundown of my meals for the day, which I will tell you, I am very strict with myself my first week eating this way. For me, I have to see progress early on or I get frustrated and will not want to stick with it, and the best way for me to achieve that is to be pretty strict.

here's what I ate today:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs with 3 sausage links
16 oz Water
------------------------
2 carbs

20 oz H20 by mid morning

Mid Morning :
1 Strawberry Atkins Shake on ice (11 oz)
---------------------------
1 carb

Lunch:
6 slices Salami
5 slices cooked ham
2 tbsp. Whipped cream cheese
16 oz H20
----------------------------------
2 carbs

Snack
3 strips cukecumber
5 grape tomatos
ranch dip
24 oz H20
-----------------------------
1 carb

Dinner:
Philly steak meat with onions
2 slices American Cheese
diet soda
---------------------------------
4 carbs

Grand Total: 10 carbs for the day

I guess thats about all for tonight, I'm about to turn in and hit the hay. Here's hoping Day 2 goes as well as Day 1 has!

The Eve Before It All Begins!

Welcome to my journey! I sit and write this on the eve of my new beginning which starts tomorrow, January 6, 2010! Tomorrow starts my journey from fluffy to fit, a journey which I have been on more than just a few times in my life, but I'm pretty sure this time is going to be "it". Now, I bet your saying, "yeah right-- everyone says that, and they always fall off track and go back to their old ways", and Yes-- that has been me in the past, but tomorrow starts a new day, a new journey and a new healthier way of living, and I am happy to say that my husband will be joining me on this journey, which we all know, makes life easier at home when you are on the same page and have a "buddy" to join you on the journey. I won't have to cook one way for me and another way for him-- we'll be able to push and encourage each other along the way.

I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which for those that don't know means that my ovaries don't work like they are supposed to and cause problems in trying to get pregnant.) Having PCOS also makes it difficult to loose weight and keep it off due to some hormonal imbalances that PCOS causes as well. My husband is diabetic and will certainly benefit from a better diet which will help control his up and down blood sugar levels as well.

Now, I know there is a lot of controversy over which diets/lifestyle changes are the best and which ones are bad, so I will let you all know that we will be making a lifestyle change that will entail cutting out all sugar and basically all white foods including flour, white breads etc. (which many refer to as the Atkins Diet). If you have any negative opinions on this, please do not feel free to share those here, as this blog is intended to be a positive place to record my journey and there is not room for negative comments here, so kindly keep the negative to yourself :o) This will not be our first run at this lifestyle change, we have done it a couple times over the last 10 years we have been together, and honestly its the best "lifestyle" change for both of us given our histories and medical diagnosis' and it works for us.

So, tomorrow starts our new journey, and I'm super excited to be sharing it here! I'll be using this blog to keep myself accountable to.......well, to me and maybe just maybe my journey might help a person or two along the way. If you have personal postive experiences that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them and if you need a buddy on your journey, please feel free to send me an email at: sheworescarletbegonias@hotmail.com and I'd be glad to give/get support from you!

The journey starts tomorrow...........tonight I bid a fond farewell to my old lifestyle and will go out with a bang.........and I'll have a scrumptious Lemon Filled donut topped with yummy icing!!