Healthy 30 pounds Lost from a Diabetic Type II Perspective

Lessons I've learned and how I lost 30 pounds to be a fit and fab mom AND what I am doing to lose the REST!!

Before: 168 pounds, January 2012

After: 138 pounds, July 2012

So, first things first. I shouldn't be the first one to tell you there is no quick fix to losing weight and if you do manage to, guess what? It will come right back. I am the queen of yo-yo dieting. Literally. But the last time I ever got close to 170 pounds and bypassed it was when I was pregnant with each of my three children.

So when I was reaching the 170 mark last January, I had to ask myself what was going on. It wasn't like I was eating fast food every day and sitting on the couch. When I went to my doctor, the prognosis was a few things:

1. My hormones were out of whack. My doctor addressed this with a very, very small dose of estrogen.
2. Red wine is heart healthy, yes. But not a glass every night--even though the French seem to pull it off. Bummer for me. I love red wine.
3. Glucose levels indicated diabetes type II. My medical doctor, (who is from India) said putting me on insulin was not going to correct my problem. She stated, "You need to lose 35 pounds, maybe 45, even 50. The charts you see that indicate a woman of your build and height that should be at 144 for healthy is a nice, American way of saying that is "ideal." That is incorrect. For your height (5'4), your healthy weight should be 120-130 pounds."

What is Diabetes Type II and why anyone can be at risk---Just so everyone knows---diabetes type II can spring onto anyone at any age, but it is typically an adult onset and due to our eating habits over time. Suddenly, your metabolism just can't process the crap we eat. When you eat food, the body breaks down all of the sugars and starches into glucose, which is the basic fuel for the cells in the body. Insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, this is where diabetes comes into play. Basically, you have fat cells building up and running through your blood.

The yellow area in the blood vessel is fat that will begin to build up and block the vessel

Ohhhh....how daunting is the task of finding out you need to lose 30 to 40 pounds!! It is so hard to deny what we can't see going on inside our bodies on a daily basis. But the sad truth is, all the things I loved to eat had to be eliminated---somewhat.

Does this mean you can never have certain things again? Well, no. But in the beginning, to get your metabolism back into shape, yes.

There are a couple of websites my doctor approved and I will tell you that the following programs led me to lose about 2 pounds per week. Never more than 2 pounds per week. This is healthy weight loss.

Stage 1:

www.beyonddiet.com  I paid $69 to join Isabel (the founder) for the body type quizzes, menu plans of what I should eat exactly, and even exercise ideas. I love the site. Their are recipes, online forums for support, weight loss trackers, etc... It is somewhat similar to Weight Watchers, however, the difference is the meal planning surrounds ORGANICand SUGAR FREE EATING. It is worth checking out, and I definitely don't regret what I paid.

Things you can do right now that will help make a huge impact:

1. Go organic- pretty much with everything if you can. Yes, this is expensive. I am not going to lie. Organic fruit and anything else is expensive for a couple of reasons. First, organic food goes bad if not eaten within a couple days. Second, this is because it is not treated with CHEMICALS and added crap to make it last longer. This means you go to the store more often OR you could learn to do a little gardening and grow your own ORGANIC veggies and fruits. Food for thought--literally.

2. Eliminate anything with sugar, white flour, wheat, and starches like potatoes, rice, and pasta. I love the bakery. I love Italian food. I love Mexican food. I love cakes, pies, flour tortillas, fried potatoes, fried rice, etc....But let me tell you something. Give it all up for now. Lose your weight. Then, reward yourself with a day once a week where you have a Mexican night, or a Italian night. You will find that after giving it all up, you will have very small portions when you allow yourself to indulge.

3. Drink water. Nuff said.

4. Eat lean protein (chicken), eggs, raw almonds, and organic low fat cottage cheese for excellent protein sources. If you love bacon like I do, make sure it has "no nitrates" in it and is not maple, honey smoked, or whatever else. Just get regular, nitrate free, plain bacon. Also, when cooking eggs, I buy Organic brown eggs, and the Organic Egg Whites.

5. Bread or carb source-- EZEKIEL 4:9 English Muffins and/or Bread (made out of Spelt and grain). One of my favorites! Throw some chopped avocado and tomato on top with a small amount of Sea Salt and it is yum!!

6. Eat fruit....any kind, but especially apples, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, bananas, watermelon, fresh pineapple. Fruit should always be organic if possible and fresh...nothing frozen or from a can. Hit a farmers market!!

7. Eliminate milk and go to Almond or Rice milk, unsweetened. Almond milk is my favorite and packs more calcium and nutrition than regular milk. So much better for kids too! 

8. Eat Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, cucumbers, kale, spinach, and my favorite---AVOCADOS. Avocados counts as a fat source too, BUT, Avocado is a healthy fat. 1 small one a day is healthy!!!

9. Cut the beer, wine, and any alcohol for awhile. Sad, but true. Reward yourself later once you have lost a bunch of weight. Another reward day!!

10. Coffee is good. Coffee is always good. There are varying views of caffeine, but a cup in the morning with a bit of Almond Milk is what I do.

11. If you have to have sugar, use Stevia- not Splenda. Do not use Splenda. Chemicals. Yuck. STEVIA is a natural herb sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. STEVIA comes from a plant. With Stevia, you don't use very much, otherwise you will find you don't like it. I mean, we are talking 1/8 of a tsp. for what you would normally use for a cup of coffee. However, I have found that I don't use it at all.

12. NO CHEESE. You don't need it, really.There are raw cheese versions that I have tried. It's easier to just go without. Trust me on that.

13. Cook with Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil or the Organic Dark Extra Virgin Olive Oil

14. Don't fool yourself with the butter/margarine issue. Just stay away from both if at all possible. If you have to have some--get RAW BUTTER. Margarine is chemically mixed. Yuck.

15. Stay away from sauces, dressings, etc...just use avocados on your salad. Avocados are "God's Butter" in my opinion, and healthiest if you have to add something for taste.

What my meals looked like:

Breakfast:

1 egg/2 tbsp. of egg white (scrambled with cooked fresh onions)

2 slices of bacon

1 slice of Ezekiel bread (I usually put my egg omelet on top with my bacon)

Snacks: (2 or 3 throughout the day)

Handful of Raw or Dry Roasted Almonds

Apple or any other fruit

Water

Hot Tea- anything TAZO is yum!! Lots of Green Tea is sooooooo good for you!!

Lunch:

Spinach leaf salad--(my salads are varied--chicken, leaves, tomatoes, nuts, cucumbers, broccoli, etc...) just make sure you have a protein source in it!!

or

1/4 cup of Organic Cottage Cheese, pineapple

1 slice of Ezekiel bread with 1/2 avocado and cut up tomatoes on top

Dinner:

Crock pot Queen (I bought a really nice, huge crock pot from Goodwill for $6.00)

There are so many variations, and tons of sites to go to for different recipes. One of my favorites is making up fresh salsa and throwing it in with boneless chicken breasts and black beans. 

Again, the key is lean protein and a veggie source (where you also get healthy carbs from).

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Exercise:

I do something every day, for 1 hr. Walking, jogging, strength training, cycling, etc... also, I love to try different things out. I find the wildest things to try, and just take a class. This past year, I became a licensed massage therapist. Extra money, plus an excellent workout for the arms---trust me. I am getting some pretty nice guns now, I have to say.

Stage 2: My last 10 to 15 pounds that I currently need to lose!!

Admittedly, you will hit a leveling out period. This is where I am at. I am not gaining, I am not losing. Upon my research to get rid of the extra, I began paying attention to a friend of mine's posts on Facebook. Spencer Owens, is a regional director and promoter for Visalus. (www.challengewithspencer.myvi.net) My initial thought was that this would be like Herbalife--which I had tried a couple of years ago and ended up not sticking with.

Visalus shakes are very different. I sent all the info to my doctor to have her check it out. It took her awhile, but she researched into it and came back with her stamp of approval. Now, I am having a shake in the morning for breakfast, (contains yummy fruit, Greek yogurt, and you can add different flavors), one for lunch, and then my normal dinner. I still have a snack here or there as I stated above. I am still exercising as I am above.

It is day 4, I have lost 1.5 pounds. I am now at 136.5. My goal is 120 even. As I said from the beginning, this is not a quick fix. This is a complete lifestyle change. My family and I still love to go eat out, we just tone it down to once a week, and I do indulge in my glass of wine or pasta, or whatever. But the point is, I don't feel like I am dieting. I don't crave things anymore. I can look at something and think, "Yum, that looks good." But I don't have an intense longing or desire to eat it. If I do indulge, typically, I can't finish it.

This stage is still ongoing for me. I hope for those who have asked or messaged me about what I am doing to lose my weight that this will help!

Good luck and I will continue to update you on my last stage!! Trust me, when I reach 120, you will know!!