12 weeks!

Twelve weeks into this journey.  Wow- 12 weeks seems long but at the same time SO short!  I have lost 37lbs so far! I can hardly believe that is possible.  I have been so very impressed with this program and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about losing the weight and attempting to start fresh with a renewed mindset about food.

I still struggle as everyone will because food is delicious, but you just have to make the best decision each time and get moving!  I am not the worlds best example for exercise but I do try to stay moving each day and exercise numerous times a week.  I think that it will be very crucial to keeping this weight off in the end.  Plus, the secret is I always feel better after I do it too! 

I am due for my 12 week blood test next week and we will see the proof in numbers of how much my health has improved in 12 weeks.  :) I will update soon!  But, so far -37 lbs equals less anxiety, less heart medicine, better sleep, renewed energy, happier Brittany, and minus 2 dress sizes and almost 3!!!

The voice in your head is a liar.

Firstly, I am a blogging slacker.  I love it and I find it so beautiful to be able to type what I feel and what I have accomplished and how I have done it.  I even got an email from the company that owns the product I am using to lose this weight saying they ran across my blog ( HOW COOL!) and I told myself right then...YOU UPDATE YOUR BLOG RIGHT NOW YOUNG LADY!  So, a couple days later here goes!

This is my 7th week using New Direction products through a program at Mercy Hospital here in town.  In the past 6 weeks I have lost 24 lbs.  24 lbs!!!! This is still so surreal to me!  A little over a month and now I have lost what always seemed to be an impossible amount of weight months ago.  I just wish I had started sooner!  

The New Direction team here in Northwest Arkansas rocks.  My Dr. the dietitian and all the people that come in and weigh in each week are so wonderful!  I look forward to seeing these folks and weighing in each week.  There is something to be said about accountability to other people for certain.  I also want to be strong and give the other people in the program tips and watch their transformations as much as I want to see mine!  

If you have had a chance to read my health story you would have found scary health details that really explain WHY I am doing this.  This is not a vanity issue as I love all people from the inside out and felt beautiful even the way I was before I started this journey, however it wasn't healthy for me to weigh that much.  My body was revolting.  So, after 24 lbs loss I have been able to reduce my blood pressure medication by half ( 200 mg a day to 100 mg).  I have also started having a cycle again. <--HUGE PLUS considering my husband and I want to have children sometime in the next year or two.  Who knows what other improvements are coming!  I have 58 more lbs to go to my first goal weight. I may decide to lose 10 to 20 more when I get to my first goal weight, but I will cross that bridge when I get there.  

So how do I do it..live on soups, puddings, and shakes?  It's easy because you have to figure out what works for you. I splurge with pickles, olives, and sugar free snow cones A LOT!  Don't get me wrong I love the shakes and I make my soup into the biscuits but I love me snow cones and I am looking forward to another one in a about an hr :).  I am now so excited about my progress and forward movement that I no longer care about the Pizza I want to eat or the massive Banana Split that is calling my name.  I know that I already have a renewed mindset about food and the where its place is in my life.  It will not be a controlling force and I will not give in to things when I can choose healthier options.  As my dr. told me this week..."I've had a lot of cakes in my life...they are never THAT good".  I have to agree and feel that a lot of things we litter our bodies with fall into that category.  Here is to you and here is to me living a better lifestyle!!! 

XOXO and send me well wishes!

Britt

Howdy Friends!  This past week was a whirlwind of excitement as I started a new job and continued on this diet program!  My husband and I are also working really hard on our rental property that we own and that has been my workout for the week.  Speaking of my husband I want to give a big shoutout to him because he rocks, he's a hard worker, and such a big supporter of me!  ((Awe)). Okay back to me...

 I had a successful week again on New Directions and lost another 3 pounds!  That makes for a -12lb loss in two weeks!! *Dances around like the white girl I am* 

I love that I have lost -12lbs in two weeks, however I wanted more!  But, so is life , right !?  Want want want!  I am extremely inspired and happy on this diet .  As crazy as it seems I am full, I am not doing without, and HELLOOOO there is a light at the end of this tunnel and the quicker I lose it the quicker I get there!  I believe I should hit my goal weight somewhere between September and November.  Cha Ching Ba Da Bing, as fast as time goes that will be here tomorrow or more like 5-7 months from now :). 

As good as it here in dietland, there are food demons lurking all around me trying to come into my little safe place and destroy my KETOSIS , but I am not breaking down. I survived grocery shopping for my husband and a breakfast filled with everything from muffins, donut holes, to fruit this week.  I did however, skip a Birthday celebration at work because I am not ready to be around cake or cupcakes.  BECAUSE I LOOVE CAKE AND CUPCAKES!!!  There is this place in town called Kirbys Cupcakes and holy moly could I sit down and lap up two of their Vanilla Vanilla cupcakes...but I'm not going to because what I want right now is not worth giving up what I really want!! 


Have a fabulous week friends and send me well wishes and I'll update ya next week on the next loss! :)

Like a Boss

First things first.  I could never ever do this without with all of the support I have coming from everywhere around me. So shoutout and ((Hugs)) to all of you!! You guys are amazing.

Next, I feel like I accomplished something last week that seemed almost impossible.  But now I'm ready, I see my future, I see success within the next few months and I am ready.

I lost 9lbs last week!!!!!!!!  I can't believe it.  I know I will probably never see those numbers on a weekly weight loss again, but I am proud of those 9.  Those nine pounds gone have officially set me on fire for this program.  Please continue to pray for me as I need lots of support.  I have several hurdles in front of me that I WILL conquer, but your support is what will make it all the easier.

Here is how I feel...and how I am going to lose this weight on this program.

7 Days In - Weigh in Tomorrow....I truly am losing it!

Hello friends.

I don't know if you have had a week like I have but...it's been CRAZY in my world and in my head. 

It has now been one week since I have had a "real what you would call meal".  I remember that last meal like it was the last pizza ever cooked on this earth.  It was super cheesy with delicious crust and I carefully dipped it in ranch and washed it down with 2 TALL beers. Now approximately in pizza alone I ate 1,320 calories and 75 carbs that night.  Gross amount of calories.  But unfortunately, pizza is my most favorite thing in the world and I will spend the rest of my life figuring out a way to enjoy pizza in moderation while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and weight!  I look forward to my next slice of pizza ...a few months from now :).

Other than spending time remembering my last meal I have conquered so many things this week.  I have had victory after victory and of course some moments in absolute torment as I prayed and shed a few tears.  These tears are not tears of true misery but just little bits of courage and energy seeping out as I felt "different" - "weird" -"unhealthy"- and hungry <--not in quotes. I am not any of those things and this diet is medically supervised to IMPROVE my health not destroy it or my mental health.  It is just so emotional at first because I feel disconnected and I am pretty emotional anyway.

Now to talk about my victories: I succeeded in having my shakes, puddings, and soups this week successfully!  I am really fond of the mocha shake, chicken soup, chocolate shake and pudding, and the Apricot Pineapple shake!  I even made two batches of chicken muffin thingys that you can make with the soup mix <--pretty good once I made a few adjustments to the recipe.  Don't worry Casey if you are reading this I only added in 2 tbs of salsa that fit into the carb allotment  :).  ( Casey is the dietitian on this program and she is AMAZING)

Next huge victory--- I am in KETOSIS and I mean pee on a stick make it turn purple ketosis! Woo WOO...and for all who are unaware ketosis means my body is not longer using glucose for energy and is now burning my storage of fat to fuel my body!  Woohoo..I could probably fly to the moon on this fuel ;). Ketosis also means that I am not near as hungry as I once was and I am feeling a bit more normal in my energy levels.  The dr. says it may take a few weeks to your body to get used to this diet, so this is just a huge step in the right direction.  I still am having mood swings though so please pray for me , my friends, and my wonderful supportive husband!




I also had a team luncheon with my new team.  It was at Shogun and it was difficult to say the least- but I was able to adjust my diet that day and enjoy a seaweed salad and a bowl of miso soup along with my lunchtime shake.  I skipped my mid afternoon shake that day to make up for the calories in the soup/salad.  It was worth it for a change in pace, but things like this are used just to keep social abnormalities to a slow roar.  However, that doesn't mean that I didn't want to jump into the fried rice and swim in it along with the steak and chicken being cooked in front of my eyes.  However, I did not have to go into a carb coma that afternoon so that was a plus!! 

So tomorrow is the big day - the big weigh in..what did one week of liquid of do for me.. Stay Tuned and send me prayers, light, and lots of love!!!!

Hello Friends.  It's the number one blog slacker here!  I am back!

Since the time I began a weight loss journey in January I have never lost track of my goals or slacked outside of blogging ( I mean not more than 1 week at a time 2-3 times :/) ! I had a great result from the last program I was using but unfortunately I just needed to take a radical action in order to really save myself -if you will.  My diseases aren't terminal but they would be if I don't get them under control. I am currently on about 6 pills a day.  You may look at me on the outside and think yeah she is overweight but to the point of problems--NO.  Well, on the inside my body is screaming for help and all the blood tests prove it.

So here I am.  What is this radical thing I speak of ?  Well it's a VLCD or very low calorie diet.  I will be consuming around 800 calories a day on an all liquid medically supervised fast. Now it's time to insert the crazy face that you are making now and doubts in your mind of how this will never work for me..and leave those thoughts right here.  Send me well wishes vs. negativity please!

I did not go into this program without researching everything about this diet. I am a researcher/hypochondriac about medical things and I firmly believe that the benefits outweigh the negatives.   I will be required to attend classes numerous times a week to learn about food, healthy habits, and how to lead a healthy life from here forward.  I will also be monitored weekly by a physician and registered dietitian and will get blood tests monthly. 

If you want to know more check out: http://www.robard.com/Programs/New-Direction/

If you want to see local success stories check out: https://www.facebook.com/NewDirectionsPhysicianWeightLoss

Okay, now back to me and where I am at currently on this program. 

Today is day 3 of no solid food.  The last meal I had was pizza and beer(Thursday Night)  and it was amazing, but it's not going to taste near as good as healthy will feel!!  I have a mixture of flavor options to chose from on this program .  So far I am really enjoying the Mocha, Apricot Pineapple, Chocolate ,and the Chicken Soup mix. I am currently HATING the lemon pudding :(. I am so happy they have a soup plus great tasting sweet things because I love savory things plus sweet things..Okay I like food dadgummit! 

I have felt pretty decent the past couple of days considering what I thought I would feel like. I am also not using any appetite suppressants or anything.  Today I actually feel really good ( so far) so i am hoping my body has switched into Ketosis.  This would be a really fast switch for someone but it is possible. I am going to by some ketone test sticks later today and we'll see. I am going to get to weigh in the first time next Friday which will be my end of week one.  Wish me luck--xoxo to you all!

Keystone Habits

Hi Everyone,

I hope you each have had a fabulous weekend.  Around the Jones household it has been a pretty relaxing and fun weekend.  We attended a super fun surprise party for a good friend and it was a blast!  I have now survived yet another weekend of my life change.  Guess what, it's gotten so much easier!  I even managed to exercise both Saturday and Sunday, and I didn't even whine as I did it .  I looked forward to it.  SCARY!!!!

Alright, so why is this getting easier?  Is it because my habits are being formed because it has almost been 21 days and that's how long it takes to start a habit?  Is it because this time I REALLY have decided to make the change? Is it because I started to do one thing to change my life and then added other healthy things into the mix?   I don't know, but I think it has a lot to do with all of the above, and things way out of my control.

In my book this week it talked about how we all have trigger habits or Keystone Habits .  Keystone habits according to Duhigg are singular habits but once we do them they transform other areas of our lives as well. 

Examples of some KeyStone Habits :

1. Waking up at an earlier time 
2. Making your bed
3. Flossing
4. Taking Vitamins
5. Going to Bed Early

So how do these Keystone habits work?  Are you saying if I wake up earlier I am automatically going to eat right and exercise daily?  If so ..let me go grab an alarm clock and let's get going!!  I don't think it's that easy, but maybe! It all depends on what that Keystone habit is for you .  This keystone habit would be one that enables you and encourages you to make better decisions in other areas of your life just by doing one thing.

For the person that starts a habit of waking up earlier they have time to eat a nutritious breakfast vs. grabbing a poptart, exercise, and get to work on time.  So that one habit allowed them more time in the mornings which they now fill with things that normally took the back burner because they were rushed. So, since they have time for these things take a look at what the benefit is and how the chain reaction starts.  

Start getting to work on time and their work starts improving.  Work starts improving, promotions come!

Start eating right at breakfast they decide to make healthier decisions throughout the rest of the day.  Health starts to improve, have Less sick days, better nutrition, better health, and longer life.

Start exercising in the morning and they feel more energized throughout the day, are in a better mood,  and even sleep better at night. 

and..maybe because they woke up early they also made their bed which made them keep their room cleaner,  and had time to floss which gave them healthier and better teeth??  The list could just continue on how ONE singular habit could morph into so much more all because this person decided to start getting up earlier.  

So, what are some of your keystone habits that you have in your life?  Or what is that one change you could make that may just transform the rest of your life?  

XOXO

Britt