“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life" ~Shinoda

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was on a mission to lose weight and get fit before the munchkin's first birthday (9-09). I am proud to say that I am nearly there. So far, I have lost 27 lbs. I'd like to lose about 10 more.

I wanted to lose my pregnancy weight. Going into this, that was my main goal. I didn't anticipate all of the other wonderful things that I would learn along the way and the other big changes that would become an integral part of my life from now on.

I have always tried to eat healthy on a regular basis. Any time I would need to lose weight in the past (like before my wedding), I would implement a low calorie, low fat diet and lots of exercise. I knew exactly how many calories I needed to stick to in order to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time. This works. But it is hard, it's not REAL food and it's alot of work to prep and make food that doesn't really taste all that good anyway. And the calorie counting.... ugh!! I hate counting my calories. I found a website that would keep track of everything for me and it was definitely easier, but who wants to have to pay that much attention to every single detail about every single bit of food that they are putting into their mouth? After I had the munchkin and realized that the weight wasn't going to just fall off on its own, as I had hoped, I turned to my old tried and true weight loss methods. But without being able to have all of the time I had before to work out and go to the gym along with the diet, I was only maintaining my weight.

Then my sister and her husband started the HCG diet (homeopathic version). I was more then skeptical. In fact, being concerned about her health, I begged her not to do it. It just didn't sound like a good idea. After extensive research, I did a complete 180 and decided to try the diet myself. I ordered my drops, followed the very strict eating plan and the rest is history. I am not going to go on and on about the details of the diet and how it works. That information is readily available all over the internet. Plus, that is not the part that I am the most excited about. That is not what I really wanted to share with everyone. The diet helped to kickstart my weightloss quickly, but it was what I have learned along they way that will stick with me forever.

Update: Knowing what I know now, however, I would NOT recommend the HCG diet as a healthy way to lose weight.

I started to do alot of research about food and how it all works and breaks down in our body. The dynamics of the diet, really got my wheels turning and I wanted to learn more about my body's relationship with food. I didn't want to have to "diet" ever again. I never want to count my calories. I just want to be healthy, to eat healthy, to maintain a healthy weight without really having to try hard to do so, and to set a good example for my daughter. I want to be able to feed her everything I am eating without having to worry about the decisions I am making concerning her health. I didn't want to eat to stay thin or maintain my weight. I wanted to eat to nourish my body, along with the rest of my family. I wanted the food we put into our bodies to help us live longer and to feel good.

Is that too much to ask? Was that even possible for someone like me who had a very long history of working hard to not become overweight?

I think it is very possible. I feel so empowered and excited about everything I have learned. Not only have I lost weight, but I feel amazing. It may sound silly, but I feel like I have discovered the fountain of youth or something.

I am no longer counting my calories or paying attention to how much I eat. I eat whenever I want and as much as I feel that I need. And I am still losing weight. If I had to guess, I would say that I am probably taking in somewhere around 2,000+ calories a day right now (it could be even more then that). I also eat 3 pretty good size meals, along with several snacks, throughout the day. And I am eating real food. Real butter, real cheese, real cream in my coffee. Natural Peanut butter, not to mention my love affair with almond butter. And lots and lots of olive oil.

I am staying away from most starches and sugar in any form, except those found naturally in fruit and vegetables, and those with almost as much fiber as the carbs (like flax seed), making a net carb count of close to zero. The only sweeteners I use are stevia and erythritol (and splenda on a very, very rare occassion). Other then that I am trying to stay away from anything artificial and unnatural.

I have been making my own crackers, muffins and other "faux starches" using almond flour, coconut flour, and flax seed. I am still eating desserts and sweets. I haven't given up carbs completely, I am just trying to cut out all the bad ones.

What is the most amazing part to me is that I not only feel better then I have felt in many many years, but I am enjoying my food more then ever. And I am enjoying it all completely guilt free! I am not just eating food that is keeping the weight off, I am eating food that tastes delicious and that is stocking my body with everything it needs to be healthy. I feel like I am nourishing my soul. I am also going to be setting a good example for my daughter, which has admittedly made eating healthy more important then ever.

Whether you think it sounds like a boring menu of options and alot of work cooking and making everything from scratch (this was me before), or you are already a veteran in this area and are saying to yourself "nice that you finally caught on"... I feel like I have made an enormous revelation.

To me, this is HUGE. And I just wanted to share my excitement. I plan on sharing some of my new creations and recipes as I go.