Back on the downhill turn

Whenever I've hit a long plateau in the last year or so, it's deterred me from blogging about my journey. I know that plateaus are a part of the process, but they still suck, and they are discouraging.

Tomorrow is 1 year since the day I went to the doctor's office and was given an ultimatum. As of today, I'm down 60 pounds. I'm thrilled! I had hoped to lose 100 pounds by Christmas... but that feels a little unrealistic now. That would mean I would have to lose 6 pounds per week between now and Christmas. Possible, sure, but unlikely. I've reset my goal to 75 pounds by Christmas, but if I make it, of course, I'm going to continue to bust it to keep going.

Several big changes have happened since the last time I wrote in this blog. I decided to take the plunge and go vegetarian as of July 1st. Well, to be completely accurate, I gave up beef, chicken and pork. I was still eating fish and shrimp as well as dairy and eggs. I wrote in another post how I hoped that I would one day be able to go vegetarian, and I'm glad I did. I was really beginning to slide on how good I was being when I was running around and hadn't properly planned my meals for when I was away from home. I was finding excuses to justify going to get fast food. The only way I was able to really give up fast food was to give up meat. Sure, I could get a salad at a fast food restaurant  but let's be realistic. If I walked into Zaxby's, I wasn't going to order a plain salad. I was going to order a chicken fingers and fries meal. So... while animal cruelty ticks me off, especially after watching so many documentaries and learning what I have, the main reason I was able to give up meat was for the purpose of giving up fast food. By not eating meat, I wouldn't eat fast food. If I had said "No fast food" it wouldn't have worked. If I were still eating chicken at home, I would find a reason to justify going to Zaxby's.

So... gave up meat, and I lost over 20 pounds in 6 weeks. It was AWESOME. Thhhhhen I hit a major plateau for another 8 weeks or so. Totally bummed me out. Sometime in October I learned of The Daniel Fast. In a nutshell, it's a 21 day partial fast that is closely aligned with the vegan lifestyle, except it's more restrictive than vegan. Absolutely no meats, no dairy, no leavened bread, no deep fried foods, no solid fats (butter, shortening), no beverages over than water, no added sweeteners (yes, even natural stuff. The only sweet you're able to have on the Daniel Fast is that which occurs naturally in fruits or veggies.) No processed or packaged foods of any kind.

Most of this wasn't new to me. Most of this is just pure common sense, but it's strict enough to make me roll up my sleeves and says "Alright, let's do this!" especially since it's a FAST, not a diet. This is not meant to be permanent. For 3 weeks, I can give up my weekend coffee, fish, shrimp, eggs, dairy, fried foods, added sweeteners, ghee (clarified butter) and bread. If nothing else, this is a test to see if I can finally go vegan (something I really want to be able to do).

Today is day 6. I feel FABULOUS this week. I avoided Halloween the best I could. Work had a Halloween party - people brought all kinds of treats to work. I avoided the kitchen except ti fill up my water bottle and I had my mental blinders on while I was there. I cannot believe the amount of ENERGY I have had.Whenever I would get up from my desk to walk to the bathroom, I felt like power walking to the bathroom (and tried to do it without looking like a dork). It felt like I had so much energy to burn, and no where to use it. So this is what it feels like to not be on a sugar high? And that 2pm feeling that the 5 hour energy drinks are always talking about? Yeah, not for this girl. No mid afternoon slumps for me this week. I could tell a difference. A HUGE difference in the way my body felt this week. UNBELIEVABLE. I've never EVER felt so good in my life.

My friend Katie is on a weight loss journey of her own. She reminded me of the whole concept of "drink half your weight in ounces of water every day." I've heard this concept before, but have never tried to follow through. That is ALOT of water. But, I decided to give it a whirl. I have this 24 ounce water bottle that I use every day. Normally I drink 2-3 bottles worth, and thought I was going good because it's such a big bottle.Yeah, I figured out that I'm supposed to drink 5 per day right now. Holy smokes, that's alot. So, I gave myself hourly check points. I told myself I wanted to shoot for finishing the first bottle by 10 am, then noon, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm... knowing good and well that I probably would fall behind, but would still have the rest of the evening before bed time to catch up. I did fall behind, but by having that goal, it pushed me to be more conscious about how much water I was drinking and how often. Good grief, I was getting up to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes though!

I started the waster thing on Wednesday. I lost 3 pounds overnight as a result. WOAH. I started prepping for my fast about a week before I started it. So in less than 2 weeks, I've shoved the plateau aside, and I'm down another 8 pounds total already. That's how I've hit the 60 pound mark already. I cannot wait to reach the 75 pound mark. I'm going to do another before and after picture then. I plan on doing it for each 25 pound increment from here on out.

Today will definitely be a test though. I am going up to SPSU for an Alumnae reunion, and I have a feeling there will be food.. and I'm going to have to pass. I guarantee that nothing (except for maybe a salad with no dressing) will meet my fasting requirements right now.I'll just have to plan to take something with me to eat before and afterwards.

Well, I'm off to make some Daniel Fast approved Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast. Hope y'all have a good day!