Yesterday I reached a milestone: I reached my (first) target weight.
Last January 1st I began a low carbohydrate diet and stuck to it, not without wailing and gnashing of teeth. In fact, it turns out that my metabolism is the lowest of the low (I knew it was bad but I hadn’t realized it was that bad) which made the first few months an absolute horror with little to show for it. If we’re all in a lifeboat I know who will succumb last.
Anyway, I finally started to see results. I began to have hope that I would reach the target by Christmas. Yesterday my weight dipped below the target for the first time and it didn’t rebound this morning. That represents a loss of fifty pounds this year (which feels staggering).
This is not a plug for the low carb diet – everyone should do what works best for them – but I want to point out that it’s not unhealthy to have around 50% of your calories come from (good) fat. I had labs done last fall and again a month ago. They were within normal limits last year but almost everything was better this time. All of the cholesterols, fasting glucose, etc., were improved. Fat isn’t the problem; sugar is. Ok, lecture done.
This isn’t the end of the road. As I mentioned in the beginning of the post this was the first goal. I am still not within the healthy range for my weight. That’s next year’s goal. And then the work of adding a few foods as part of a maintenance (i.e. rest of my life) diet. But for now I’m happy to have gotten this far.
Life has been absurdly busy the last week or so as I haven’t had time to blog. Hopefully things will calm down and I can return to normal posting. In the meantime, here are a few peaceful photos:
Praying With My Feet 
How exciting! Congratulations on this milestone. Wishing you continued success on this journey and a blessed Nativity.
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Thank you!
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That’s wonderful! Congratulations!
I hope the busyness slows down for you. It’s nice to greet Nativity with a little bit of peace and calm in the midst of so much secular chaos.
Merry Christmas!
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Yes, absolutely. Things should calm waaaay down after next Tuesday.
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Congratulations! That is huge. I just hit my first goal weight this morning too, but I’m not counting it until I can hold it for a few days. I still have 15 pounds to my moonshot weight goal, but it feels within reach. Low carb, high fat, mod. protein–it works!! (The induction flu is really really hard, though).
So happy for you!!
P.S. Re: busy this year, YES! I almost never feel this busy in December, but this year has smacked me between the eyes. I guess it is having all the kids be school aged or something.
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Congratulations to you too! I was leery about yesterday’s weight until I saw it drop a bit this morning too. It’s now unlikely to bounce back above.
I’m busy every year, but for some reason this year has my anxiety level running on turbo. I keep telling myself, “just a few more days of insanity, then some peace.”
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So proud of you!!
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Congratulations! That’s really amazing!
I hate hearing how important sugar is, but I know I need to hear it. Did you cut sugar completely?
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Thank you!
Oh, I resisted for a long time. I had to cut it out completely or it would have fed the cravings and they never would have stopped. I also cut out all grains (rare servings of quinoa being one exception), starchy fruits and vegetables, and legumes. I was vigilant about sugar hiding in other things as well. Recently I added back one bread: Nature’s Own Double Fiber wheat bread. It has 6 grams of net carbs per slice. I allow myself no more than 2 slices a day, and only a few times a week. It hasn’t hindered the weight loss and hasn’t contributed to cravings.
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wow! I was hoping it would sound easier. But, well done! Has it made a difference in how you feel too?
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It was hard, but by knocking out entire categories of food it made it simpler. In the beginning I literally made lists of what I *could* eat. I didn’t follow any particular program but did use some Atkins information online as a resource. I also researched it using current journal articles so I would understand the mechanism.
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Do you have any new favorite fasting recipes after doing this diet? I followed a strict candida diet in 2012 for nine weeks. I haven’t looked at food the same since then, especially bread, mushrooms, peanuts, almonds and pretty much all desserts.
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Well, my diet has gotten a bit more monotonous, but I can say I appreciate avocados much more now!
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