the diet post

So what a great title huh?? The great life change post? I was asked to be a bridesmaid so I needed to be less squishy before September? The I'm not 18 anymore and everything I eat goes directly to my hiney? I could go on? Would you like that? A long listing of my insecurities about my weight and how I feel about my bod in general? No? I can't believe you don't want to hear me whine. Huh some readers ...

So I got married in 2007! That was lots of fun (well, except the part where certain people thought we were doing things wrong and kind of ruined the actual day for me but that is another post entirely). When I say fun I mean Fun! My hubby and I like to have Fun. We like beer. We like food. We are not teenagers. My pants  grew! I kept telling my hubby that it was because I was so happy!! Oh yeah hunny! I'm gaining weight because I'm happy! Ugh! Nice to hear from your wife right? Not exactly! I was increasingly miserable about it. Hubby wasn't thrilled but maintained being a pretty supportive guy through the chunky.

 BTW: I have no idea who this baby is-it's just Chunky!!**

My annual exam last year was as usual with my favorite doctor. This is the woman who will sit down with me and be frank. When she says "How are you" she actually wants to know and wants also to know the actual answer, not the glossed over "oh I'm ok" crap. When I left my appointment last year she was encouraging me to start on an antidepressant. Hmmm, hint hint anyone? Lifestyle change needed? Ok ok it took me a year but point taken!
I maybe needed the inspiration (i.e. Bridesmaid) but nonetheless on January 1st (how typical) I started the Atkins/Paleo diet. I cut out carbs of almost all kinds without strictly following the rules of either diet. It is the make it up as you go along but still lost some weight diet! Hooray! The Atkins thing is pretty familiar to most and this link is the best description of Paleo that I could find. Hope it kind of makes sense now. I first heard of the Paleo diet here and here.
The food change was huge at first for me. I luuuurrrrve me some pasta, potatoes and BEER!! Well, hello carbohydrates!! Come and be my BFF and forever attach yourselves to my body!! I spent the first week or so a little bit grouchy and craving (BIG time) noodles of any and all types, french fries, baked potatoes and essentially any carb I wasn't allowed to eat! I felt immediately better and lost TEN pounds in the first week! Holy hannah!
After the first week or ten days passed I quit losing weight and would still have loved to eat some pasta I just wasn't willing to sell my firstborn for it now! After awhile the weight started coming off again, just more slowly and at a more maintainable rate (Greetings sensible lifestyle! Maintainable?? Hmmm, how novel.). As of this date I've lost around 16 pounds (I haven't stepped on the scale in about two weeks) and three pants sizes! Hooray for all of this! But also, this feels maintainable (t.w.i.c.e. in one paragraph!! WHAT UP?). This way of eating is something I could/can keep up for a long time. I am anxious to include exercise into this routine (ha, I could totally have said "maintainable routine" but thought you might all leave) but at this point haven't done that. My hubby likes the change (rawrrrr!) and my kid sees that I'm eating sensibly (yes! for mom points here) and has taken notice! I have a daughter and I'm scared I'm going to be passing along the typical body issues to her! This, of course, is another post entirely!
I'm not saying I'm perfect but have read a couple of things recently that brought this post on (Dutch Blitz and In the Trenches) that made me want to share. I am extremely proud that for the most part I haven't cheated on this diet (I do have a few beers here and there and have taken to eating things like chicken strips with some breading on there) and love the way I'm feeling.
That being said - I feel like crap (finally caught the cold my diseased roommates/co-workers have had) so, in the mean time, I'm out finding myself ....