A Work In Progress...

A Stroll Down Memory Lane...

I was going through some old pics and realize that you don't notice the changes your body makes until you compare photos. If this isn't a motivation picture I don't know what is, lol. Enjoy! xo

             

Taken October 31st, 2009 around 280lbs                    Taken June 30th, 2011 around 230 lbs

Tis' The Season...

I know I'm wayyyy to early to be thinking about the fall/winter season but it's particularly chilly today and I wanted to bust out my "fall" coat :) I love this coat. I bought it Black Friday 2009 at the Old Navy in Pennsylvania. I remember seeing it at home but of course they didn't have my size. I was so happy when I found a size XXL for $20!!!

Me in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 2009. "Around" 280 lbs. (Notice how the buttons are popping and how tight it is around my stomach).

Here is me today, 224lbs. I love this jacket and I'm not ready to give it up yet. I was thinking about trying to move the buttons over, and make it fit properly. I went to measure how much I would need to adjust it and it looks like about 7"! Ahhh, feels good!

Decision Made :)

Thanks to those who gave me their input about the dress. Many of you liked the first one but I will tell you how I came to my decision :)

Dress #1: Addition-Elle, Size 14, $69.99 (On Sale)

I really did like this dress. I liked the way the top covered up the chunk around my arms, lol and it does look pretty classy ;) lol but I felt like it made me alook a little older than I am. I felt like 35, lol. Also, my tummy is my problem area and I did not feel comfortable in it. Especially since It's an Italian wedding and I have told myself I am going to eat like an Italian that night and drink like an Irishman, lol. Hellllllssss yaaaaa! LOL


Dress #2: Addition-Elle, Size 14, $99.99

I really liked this dress. It came in purple and black. The style hid my tummy issues, gave me an hourglass-type figure and...it has pockets!!!! LOL. I probably would have bought it right then and there but it was $99.99 :s Keep on shoppin!


Dress #3: Sears, Size 14, $79.99

MY DRESS! So this is the dress I chose :) Very similiar to the purple one but I fell in love with the colour... and the price :) Since I am broke as ass my wonderful and amazing boyfriend was able to help me out :) He's awesome <3
Since I am a control freak and very detailed oriented (lol) I have already figured out what I am going to do with my hair and shoes. Shit, you'd think it was my own wedding, lol. So stayed tuned to see the final result October 15th! lol


Yes, peacock blue = peacock feathers in my hurr, lol
 Sparkly shoes to bring out the jewel-tone in the dress :)

Friday Shopping with Jen! Need Your Opinions!!!

My lovely sister drove a whole hour to come visit me today :) We went to a few stores on a mission to get a feel for a dress for my cousin's upcoming wedding. I know I said I wanted to try to fit into my old red dress and although I do fit into it, I realized that, I need a nice new dress to show off my new figure ;) lol.
There are three dress possibilities. I already have my opinion, now I need yours :)

# 1:

Dress #2:

Dress #3:

FYI: The first 2 are size 14s, the blue one is a size 16 ;)

Also, had some yummy non fat key lime pie frozen yogurt ;)

I NEED TO GO SHOPPING AGAIN!!!

Last week was my first week of summer vacation and I ended up getting a lot of stuff done: Threw out a bunch of teaching stuff, organized my closests and drawers, gave away 3 garbage bags full of clothes to Talize, cleaned the apartment head to toe and went to the gym every day! I could really get used to staying home everyday ;) Anyways, I left myself with a few pairs of long jeans, one pair of dress pants, one pair of jean capris and no dressy capris! This is the pair of capris I left for myself...

Yeah, I think that might have been a mistake, lol. Since I do not work in the summer I don't get paid either. I am sitting here quietly waiting for my EI cheque to start kicking in. In the mean time, I am looking out for another 40% off all bottoms at Old Navy, maybe I can get a cheap pair of jean capris. In August, I will have to make a trip across the border to get some new work clothes since I am hoping to be down even more.

Anyways, here is the menu for today:

Breakfast:

n/a (Got to sleep in again ;))

Lunch:

Gluten Free Grilled Cheese Sandwich:

2 Gluten Free slices of bread

2 Fat Free cheese slices

1 tbsp of margarine

1 banana

1 tbsp low fat peanut butter

Snack:

Healthy Choice Fudgcicle! Yummmm...

Dinner:

Gluten Free Lean Beef Meatballs (4)

Cereal Pasta (1/2 cup)

Homemade tomato sauce

Romaine Lettuce

Kraft Fat Free Italian Dressing (2 tbsps)



Melting

My 230lb Reward!

240lbs - New jeans!

230lbs - Massage & Pedicure (I'll have to book a massage very soon!)

220lbs - Bench sweater or jacket

210lbs - LuluLemon sweater

200lbs - A ring with white gold and diamonds :)

180lbs - New swim suit (2 piece?)

160lbs - Trip! Europe or NYC. Depending on the finances, lol.

Having Fun at 231!

Wow!

Ok people, so I went digging for old pictures. The picture where I thought I was my biggest... Was not my biggest...
Get ready for it...

Never going back to that again.

Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast:
Kashi (1 cup)
Skim milk (1 cup)

Lunch:
Salmon portion
Brown rice (1/2 cup)
Low sodium soy sauce
Orange peppers and zucchini

Snack:
Skim milk (1 cup)
Gluten Free, Sugar Free Banana Muffin (1)

Same Dress, Different Person :)

Let's just do a quick comparison:

January 1st, 2010 - 282lbs
I remember feeling very uncomfortable in this dress. It was very snug and I was barely able to breathe.

April 29th, 2011 - 238 lbs. We dressed up for the Royal Wedding at school. Let's just say if it wasn't for my black top, this dress would be at my ankles. Every time I put my arms up, it would fall. It was a great feeling, lol.

All Dressed Up For The Royal Wedding!

Rewards Part II

In March, I had set the following goals:

When I get to 240lbs - I will go for a massage
When I get to 230lbs - I will buy myself a new pair of jeans
When I get to 220lbs - I will go for a pedicure
When I get to 210lbs - I will buy myself a LuluLemon sweater, since they don't fit right now :(
When I get to 200lbs - I will buy myself a nice piece of jewelery, like something white gold with a few diamonds :)

I've decided that I need to re-evaluate my goals. I've also decided that the more I lose, the bigger the reward :) lol
240lbs - New jeans!
230lbs - Massage & Pedicure
220lbs - Bench sweater or jacket
210lbs - LuluLemon sweater
200lbs - A ring with white gold and diamonds :)
180lbs - New swim suit (2 piece?)
160lbs - Trip! Europe or NYC. Depending on the finances, lol.

Feelin' Fine at 239! :)

In My Jeans...

Good evening all!
Last Saturday, I was happy to announce that I bought a new pair of size 18 jeans from Old Navy. What I forgot to tell you was that after 20 minutes of wearing them, I had already decided to return them. They started sagging and my bum and my crotch and looked horrible!
So today, I finally made it down to Old Navy and stared endlessly at the wall of jeans once again. Skinny jeans, Bootleg, low rise, stretch, ahhh! Too many choices! And what do they all mean?! I brought a few pairs into the change room in a few different sizes and... I ended up getting into a size 16 dark denim bootleg cut! Ah, what a feeling! I literally smiled at myself in the change room, lol. I felt that great.
Today Old Navy was having 40% off all "bottoms" so I returned the size 18 jeans (for which I paid full price) and ended up buying the size 16 jeans and a short jean skirt (size 16) for $6.99! So I ended up with jeans and a skirt plus a $10 credit! lol. I am pretty much on cloud nine right now :) I know size 16 is still a big size but I am extremely happy! Considering I was previously a size 22, size 16 is a huge accomplishment for me! And you can find size 16 in most stores :)
I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 240lbs. That's 42lbs down. I can't wait until I start seeing the 230's start and kiss the 240's bye-bye and good riddance! Believe it or not, I even think my fingers are getting thinner. I put on some rings that I haven't worn since last summer and they feel a lot more lose :)
Sorry if I'm blabbing or if I sound like I am flaunting it but I am just really proud of myself :)
On another note, Glee is on for 90 minutes tonight! Whoo, hoo! Yes, I am a devoted Gleek. I have all the CD's and we are going to their show in June :) So I better finish up this post, I'm missing it! Peace out, y'all! xo

Surprise!

I had to take a moment to share my great news!
I just came back from the store where I HAD to buy a new pair of jeans! The ones I brought to Brampton with me (Apple Bottoms) looked absolutely horrible. Walking through the mall they were falling off! I bought them from Old Navy and I'm so happy. Over the years, the bottom half of my body sadly outgrew Old Navy and I'm proud to announce that I'm now in a size 18!

Beware! Tummy Picture Ahead!

Ok so consider yourself warned! I am aware that this is still considered a "fat picture" but I was just so excited to share my news with all of you!

This is a picture I took yesterday in an old pair of jeans. There were not just sagging on my butt or anything... but they couldn't even stay up! After trying them on I decided to go through a few more pairs of jeans and the result is I have 2 pairs that won't stay on (one from a cousin, one from Additonelle), one pair that are so baggy and look horrible but are perfect for around the house (my old favourite Dereon jeans!) and one pair that I can probably wear for a little while longer (Baby Phat). It's almost time to go jean shopping! Yay!

Me (in my Dereon jeans) Buddy, Laura and Jen in NYC March 2010.



On a different note, this is what I ate today:

Breakfast:

Kashi GoLean (1 cup)

Skim milk (1 cup)

Banana

Snack:

Apple

Lunch:

Romaine lettuce

Kraft Fat Free Dressing (2 tbsps)

Goat cheese

Egg whites (2 hard boiled) Introducing eggs for three days, so far so good!

Dinner:

Ground turkey (deck of cards)

Brown rice (1/2 cup)

Green beans

Oyster sauce

Thanks for the Support!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to so thank you to all of you who comment on my posts and send me messages of support! I really appreciate it and I believe that without it, I would not be able to be as successful as I have been so far. :)
I had an appointment with Dr. Som my Naturopathic Doctor and although I am down about 35lbs since starting, I am down 11 from when I began following her plan (March 7th!) She was so impressed and told me what a great job I was doing!
I lost about 7lbs of fat, 3lbs of water and 1lb of muscle (which basically means, I need to up my workout!)
She received the lab results from my doctor and everything seemed pretty much normal. My B12 and iron were a little low, but nothing to worry about she said. When I was younger, (before I was on the pill) I used to take iron supplements and B12 shots because I was anemic. She was a little concerned about my inflammation and white blood cells, since it was high. I had a cold when I went for my blood work, so that may be why it was high but she is sending me to get tested again. My family doctor also sent me requisitions to get some more tests done including a glucose test, a test to check my testosterone levels, one for cortisol, insulin, and some others. I'll have to get them done on a weekend since it's pretty much an all day thing: They are going to take blood at 8am, then have me drink a sugary drink and test again at 10am, then they are going to check my cortisol level in the evening at about 4pm. I was also told that my thyroid analysis came back normal too! *Whew!*
So I am starting the elimination detox on Monday. It consists of cutting out dairy products, eggs, wheat, tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, white potatoes, citrus fruit, peanuts, peanut butter, pork, bacon, cold cuts, hot dogs, sausages, canned meats, shellfish, smoked meats, catfish, butter, sugar, artificial sweetners, coffee, black tea, soda and alcohol. I have already cut most of this stuff out of my diet, the only part that is going to be difficult is the dairy products since I usually have my Kashi and milk for breakfast. Dr. Som gave me some alternatives to the milk such as soy milk, almond milk or rice milk. I think I'll stick to hummus, rice crackers and fruit for the next two weeks, lol. The other part is the tomatoes because that includes tomato sauce and I'm Italian, lol. The detox is supposed to be about 2-3 weeks long and then I need to slowly reintroduce each item and look for side effects.
I have discovered a new treat! RiceWorks chips! Made from brown rice and they are wheat and gluten free! I asked Dr. Som and she said they are fine to eat. I was surprised because they taste so good, lol.
It is going to be a tough 2 weeks and I am soooo afraid of messing up! I have my dad's birthday on Saturday so I am going to have to find out what my mom plans on making, nix the birthday cake and probably pack some things that I can have. Wish me luck!!! xo

Shrinking

Hello everyone!
So I'm noticing some changes in my body, my tummy is feeling a little smaller in my pants but the thing I notice the most is my boobs! They are shrinking! Let's just say Chris is not happy, lol.
We are having company over this weekend but I do not plan on cheating! To get through it, I am going to have to make some healthy treats to eat. Any flourless, sugarless treat recipes out there? :)
I have another appointment with the naturopath on Saturday. The last time I was there we asked my doc to send over my most recent blood work (done in November). She is also sending me for a bunch of other blood tests including a glucose test. When I first started being super strict she wanted to find out if I was sensitive to any foods. There were two options: Either pay $300 for a "allergy test" or do an elimination detox. I was very overwhelmed with the new way she wanted me to eat that I almost considered saving for the allergy test but now that I have gotten used to eating this way, I am going to tell her that we can go ahead with the elimination detox. From what she told me, the way the detox works is that you have to eliminate things from your diet such as wheat (already done), dairy (that's going to be a tough one!) and some other items and then add them back in separately. If you have a reaction, which could be anything from a sniffly nose, flemy or sore throat, headaches, etc. it could be that you are sensitive to it. I will post more about it when I get that information. She also wants to send me for a $250 hormone test. I know, I know, it's a little steep but she thinks it's the best way to figure out what's going on with my hormones and how out of whack they are. My insurance covers it, but it's coming up with the money up front that I have to worry about. I'll let you all know how it goes!

About Me

Well, here I am! I never thought I'd be one to start a blog but I guess this is the day!
I am 24 years old and have been struggling with my weight since I was a child. I can't even count how many diets I have been on-- everything from Weight Watchers, LA Weightloss, Low Carb, No Carb, Low Fat, No Fat, you name it, I tried it! With each diet I had little success, losing about 10 lbs and then plateauing. I would get frustrated and start eating like crap again.

Taking Charge:
In late 2009, I realized that when I don't watch what I eat, I eat HORRIBLY and if that kept up I was just going to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. I was watching CP24-- a newscast based in Toronto when I saw Dr. Natasha Turner. She was talking about her new book, "The Hormone Diet" and explained the effects our hormones have on our whole body. I went out and bought the book the very next day. I read it inside and out over the course of a few weeks, highlighted key points (something I never do, I'm so anal about marking up my books, lol), and made notes. I then typed up my new findings and printed them into a condensed version I could carry with me. I learned soooo much! Different ways to de-stress, to get a better sleep, foods to stay away from, and more. I began with her "detox" cutting out different foods to determine whether I had a sensitivity towards them. I didn't have a reaction to any, so I began to follow her "Glycemic Index" approach. I found this section of the book a little confusing so I went out and purchased "The GI Diet" by Rick Gallop. It broke foods down into 3 "colours". Green-light foods: Foods that you can eat all the time, Yellow-light foods: Foods you can have occasionally and to maintain your weight and Red-light foods: Foods to avoid. The book also suggested you make each meal balanced in a way that makes you consume 50%, 25% starch and 25% protein. Following this diet made me lose 30lbs!

Present Day:
After a very stressful year-- new job, moving into a place with my boyfriend, new city, new dog, the holidays and trouble with finances, my weight fluctuated about 10 lbs. I tried to follow the GI Approach but was constantly cheating! We had company over every weekend or we were visiting friends, my boyfriend was eating crap and it was TEMPTING!
I finally made the decision to see a Naturopathic Doctor. She is awesome! Very thorough and knowledgable. I started being very strict again and I am slowly losing again. I cut out wheat and started eating only rice-based grains. I feel grrrrrreat but every day is a daily struggle. I am hoping this blog will continue to motivate myself and others and offer support.
Today is a new day...wish me luck!