Mental challenge

Every woman on this earth has struggled or is currently struggling with their weight, whether it’s losing a few extra pounds, a great deal of pounds or gaining pounds, we’ve all gone through it. Weight is an issue I’ve dealt with since I was very young but it’s never really bothered me to the breaking point of wanting to do something about it. Yea, I’ve tried to go on diets 57482964 times like almost every other woman out there, but I’ve never really had the discipline to actually stick with it, until recently.

Stress at work was getting to me lately so that lead to me de-stressing by eating. I was gaining weight. When it hit me that I was actually moving to Miami, I knew that I would be starting a new life and with that, I wanted to start a new life with a new me. I figured that it would be easier for me to stick to it since I had a deadline per se. Problem was that I didn’t know which diet to try because like I said, it’s hard for me to stick to something, especially when it comes to food. I’m an extremely picky eater and if you know me personally, you know this to be very true. My main problem is that I don’t like vegetables (only very few) and I don’t eat a lot of foods which contributed to me not being able to stick to any diet plan because it required me to eat foods I didn’t like. I’m not the kind of person that can eat something even if I don’t like it just because it’s good for me. I can’t. It has to have a good taste, if not, I can’t. I also don’t like eating foods that you have to acquire a taste to. I just can’t do that. I’ve never understood that. I started looking around and knew that I needed to find a plan that didn’t sell me the food I needed to eat because I knew I wouldn’t like any of it, plus it would be more expensive. Besides the issue with the food, I slowly realized that even though your body can take almost anything, it’s your mind you have to convince and that is one of the hardest things to do. Believe me, I tried.

One day I saw a commercial for Lindora and they had a sale price for their 6 week program. I called and made an appointment because I wanted to see how the plan worked. I knew that the only way a plan would work for me was if I had to report to someone on a weekly basis because it would in a sense obligate me to stick to it. I went in and they explained the program to me. I was scared to do it because I figured that based on my previous experiences with diets, I feared paying the money and not being able to stick to it. Nonetheless, I decided to just do it. Prior to starting the plan, they had to run lab work on me to make sure I was healthy to start the program. The results came in a week later and believe it or not, I was fine. Everything came out normal except the blood sugar which was a little on the high end of the range but I still wasn’t pre-diabetic or diabetic, thank God. Diabetes runs in my family and has caused complications in family members which has eventually led to their passing so it’s something that I’m scared of getting. These results in a way showed that I was overweight but I wasn’t necessarily unhealthy. Believe it or not, that is possible.

I dreaded the first week of the plan because for 4 days I would be on a protein menu which, with the exception of a protein bar, is basically a liquid diet. I started the program and the first day was really, really hard. I had a headache the whole day and I was starving! But I stuck to it. By the second day I was better. I made it through the first week and I felt lighter already. That first week I lost around 6 lbs and it greatly motivated me. I stuck to the plan and at the end of the 6 weeks, I had lost 20 lbs! That was my goal when I started the plan and I reached it. This was only with the diet because I wasn’t doing any weight training; I was only (sparingly) doing some cardio. You must be wondering what the plan is and how it works. It’s pretty easy and it was something I could actually do which is why I was able to stick to it. That, and the fact that I had a goal and this time around was really committed to reaching it.

Now, the plan. As I mentioned, I had lab work done and once it came back, I met with a doctor to go over the results. He stated everything was fine except for my blood sugar which as I stated was a little on the high range but he confirmed that with the diet alone, it would go down by itself because I would drastically be reducing my carb intake. He also mentioned my iron. He said I wasn’t necessarily deficient but I was on the low range and he wanted me to be closer to the middle range so he recommended I either take an iron supplement or take a multivitamin that had iron in it. Done, I would buy an iron supplement. I then met with the nurses and they recommended I take potassium on a daily basis as well as fiber. Why? Because I would be consuming mainly protein and that could give me leg cramps as well as make me constipated. Hence, these would help me avoid both of them. Then, after the first 4 days of the protein menu, I would start with the regular menu days which basically consists on eating protein primarily and restricting my carb intake to 50-55 grams a day. Yes, a day! You don’t realize how much carbs you eat on a daily basis until you start counting them! I was given a set menu of categories of what I could eat for the whole day but what I liked about it was that they gave me the servings per category that I could consume and then another list of what foods satisfied that category. It was super easy for me to fulfill the categories because I could choose from a list of foods and pick what I actually liked. Also, I didn’t have to buy any food from them besides the ones for the first week (the liquid diet). The rest of the food was regular food I could buy at the market. Besides the diet, I also had to visit their office twice a week to weigh in and get my B12 shots. The pounds were melting off and I never found it hard to eat my way through the plan. That, and the fact that I was really determined this time around is what made me never quit. Not to mention the pounds melting off was also a big motivation. 6 days of the week I did that meal plan and one day out of the week I had to do the “liquid diet” as I would call it. I was surprised at myself because I was able to stick to it but I also realized that it was because I had set my mind to it and I was very determined. That was something I had never done before in my previous attempts. The mind really is a powerful thing. Once you convince your mind to do something, there’s no turning back.

Everything was going great until I remembered I’d be leaving for Mexico on vacation. I didn’t want to deprive myself of the delicious food but I also didn’t want to gain some of the weight back. I went on vacation and tried not to eat too much. I still ate everything I wanted but in limited portions. We also did a good amount of walking and some light hiking (when I visited Hierve el Agua in Oaxaca) so I figured it would even out. Once I got back from Mexico, I abstained from visiting the office for the rest of that week because I wanted to get back on track. I did and once I went back the following week, I had lost 4 lbs! Needless to say, I was happy! After that, I admit it got a little harder because less than 2 weeks after I got back, I left for Miami to take care of some stuff prior to my move. Of course, I tried to stay on track but it was hard because well, Cuban & Puerto Rican food. I then came back and it’s been farewell dinner after another both at work and then with friends. So for the last few weeks I’ve been slowly losing pounds because I haven’t been following the meal plan as before but I’m still losing. I’m at 25 lbs now. My goal is to lose a total of 30 lbs by the time I leave for Miami. That’s only 5 lbs away so I’m almost sure I can do it.  Several weeks ago I also started working out with my trainer again but this time 3 times a week at 5:30 am. Yes, 5:30 am!! If you know me, you know that’s nearly impossible for me to do because I am not a morning person, but I was determined to stick to this as well. When I started working out, I was still working a full time job so I’d have to go straight to work after showering. I didn’t even have time to sit down and rest because I was running from one place to another, but I did it!

During my visits to the office, they would also measure me and so far I’ve lost 5.5 inches from my chest, 7 inches from my abdomen, 7 inches from my hips, and 3 inches from my thighs (each one). Overall, you can tell a lot but the middle section is a stubborn one to lose. The weight training is helping me tone my body because of the weight loss, the last thing I want is sagging skin. Besides the inches, in clothes I’ve lost 2 shirt sizes and 4 pant/jean sizes. As you can imagine, most of my clothes in my closet no longer fits me and while that’s great and I’m excited about that, that means I only have a few outfits that still fit. I’ve had to buy several pieces of clothing because nothing fits, but I don’t want to buy too much because I intend to keep losing so I don’t wanna throw away my money by only wearing the clothes a few times. The struggle is real lol. Where have I noticed the weight loss? My face (that’s what I think people have noticed the most as well), my arms (although I’ve lost weight, I now have the dreaded jiggly arms-toning those out!), my thighs and my upper torso. Like I said, the middle section is a really stubborn one!

Besides the potassium and fiber, I am also taking an iron supplement, a multivitamin, probiotics, and calcium. The benefits I immediately noticed once I changed my diet was that I no longer felt sluggish or tired. I literally felt like that every day even if I got a good night’s sleep. My lower back no longer hurt and I, myself, felt lighter. I also no longer had acid reflux and my hair and nails looked much better. My nails were always very soft and would sometimes peel. They’re amazingly strong now. Even my nail lady noticed it and mentioned it to me! My hair also looks better and with more body.

Now I’m in the maintenance phase as I need to take breaks in between before starting another 6 week plan. I plan to start another 6 week plan once I get to Miami and settle in. That’s the hard part: continuing to lose the weight once I move to Miami and don’t have to visit an office to weigh in and don’t have my trainer with me to keep me on track with the weight training, but I’m determined to keep going.

Once I settle in Miami and start another 6 week plan, I will write another update to let you know how it’s going. To all of you who have noticed the difference, said something and encouraged me, thank you. Your encouragement helps me to keep pushing through. This is only the beginning, I plan to lose much more (aiming for a total of 60-75lbs) but I will set small goals because it makes them more attainable.

People have asked me how I was actually able to stick to it now. I’m going to say that the fact that I’m moving and starting a new life has been my main motivation, the pounds melting off my second motivation and the compliments my third motivation. Yes, I want to be healthy and even though I wasn’t necessarily unhealthy before, I recently had lab work done again and I’m much healthier now. Is it wrong to say that I’m mostly doing it for aesthetic reasons as well? I don’t think so. We all want to look and feel better and that’s what I’m aiming for.

To be continued…

**Please note that this is not a sponsored post. I simply wanted to share what worked for me. As usual, always check with your doctor prior to starting any treatment/diet plan. My doctor okay’d it before I started it and then congratulated me on all the weight loss.**