I'm going to start with mine and Eric's and Jeff's recent weight loss. Back in April I challenged Jeff to lose 50 lbs before Prom. I knew he could do it. He's a young strong healthy man. I told him to just cut out the sweets and pop and eat in moderation.
 |
| Jeff Before |
And he did, the pounds started melting away! Soon after he started and got into the swing of it he was only hungry for one meal a day. And that’s how he lost his weight and met my challenge.
 |
| Jeff Later |
He became very energetic, riding his bike everywhere and working out when he could. He looks amazing!
 |
| Jeff Now! |
Eric and I decided once and for all that we were going to get healthy too. What a crazy journey it’s been. Jeff made it seem so easy that I was encouraged by him. But it didn't take long to realize it was going to take much more effort than just cutting back on sweets. We had to adhere to a strict diet and exercise everyday to achieve results. I struggled with hunger constantly! Finally I made an appointment with my doctor and she helped a lot. She said I most likely have an ulcer and had me take Prilosec O.T.C. and she encouraged us to take vitamin B12. The Prilosec helped calm my stomach gnawing and the B12 gave us energy. It was getting a little easier but still very difficult to be strong and have the will power to resist tempting forbidden foods.
 |
| Forbidden Forever |
We pray daily for help and walk a couple miles a day. We use a food list from a diet called "Prism" that we used once before. Mostly consists of natural foods, no carbs or sweets.
 |
| Then |
 |
| NOW! |
Well it’s been 7 months. We’ve both lost approximately 75 pounds. We're on a break for now. Till after the holidays. We’ve allowed ourselves to gain 5 lbs back but have promised each other no more than that. We ate at the Golden Corral the other day and stuffed ourselves into sickness. It scares me to think that after all this time of eating good and making wise food choices that we would still eat like that. It's very discouraging to know that this addiction will never leave us. It's truly just like smoking or alcoholism or drugs. And it's just as harmful! I'm a diabetic and Eric has high blood pressure, if we let ourselves go again it could kill us. One would think that's enough to scare away all bad food forever but believe me it's not that easy! It's a constant inner argument! I'm always making deals with myself and analyzing every morsel of food. It gets so old!
But on the up side, the compliments of how good we look are the best encouragement ever! It took two months of dieting to get noticed at first, but then it must have really started to show because everyone told us how good we were looking. Jarah told me a quote that helped a lot. "Nothing tastes as good as feeling skinny" or something to that affect anyway. I try to say that to myself with every temptation. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. The one thing that everyone said at first was "I really see it in your face". That makes me laugh because it's like, “What? My face got smaller but not the rest of me? I must look really odd!"
The best thing that keeps us going is how much healthier we feel. I would go into the whole 'romantic' part of it but it would mortify my kids.
They hate when I talk about bedroom stuff so I will spare them. So on the other side; I don't have the diabetic headaches anymore. No more high blood sugar readings. No neuropathy in my feet, no more restless leg syndrome, no I.B.S., No more lethargy at the end of the day. No more low blood sugar crankiness. It's really amazing how much better I feel! Eric feels better too. He has more energy and can walk farther without being out of breath.I worry about my kids having the same issues with food as we do. I wish I had been better about teaching good food choices and serving better meals. I wish I didn't make biscuits and gravy every Sunday morning or cookies every day after school. I thought I was being a loving a mom but if only.....
Can't go backwards, only press forward. I'm trying to teach Jed and Justin good food choices now. I need to be stronger though and keep in mind all the good benefits of saying NO to devil food!
