1 Year + 1 "Trick" = -1 lb/week

A little over a year ago around my birthday, I had a week-long vacation to London with my husband and some friends. It was absolutely wonderful and amazing, except for how terrible I felt. All of my joints were aching, I was incredibly fatigued, could not think clearly/remember things, and had such terrible digestive pain/distress that I had to leave the music festival we had planned the whole trip around before the main band even came on.

When we got back home to Texas, I knew I had to take my health more seriously. I was sliding into a new age bracket, and the way I felt was not the future I wanted as I got older.

I thought of the movie Moneyball, and how the biggest factor of winning was getting to first base. The most basic element of that game is what indicates you win when you look at the statistics. I have been chubby/heavy my whole life, and have tried many different diets and programs. So, for this recommencement of “the game,” I realized there was only going to be one way for me to do this, the one way that had given me success in the past: tracking absolutely everything I consumed, and this time I was going to be consistent about it.

Everything: every oz of any drink, every supplement, every medication, every little Jolly Rancher, every food I knew hardly had any calories anyway. Tracking these things and then paying attention to how my body reacted allowed me to discover some food sensitivities/inflammation I had not realized before. I now have certain things I know I shouldn't eat (gluten, large amounts of fructose, more than a few sips of alcohol, and artificial sweeteners) because my body cannot handle them well.

How I feel today is a complete 180 from how I felt one year ago. My joints don't ache like they used to, I can think more clearly, my hair/skin/nails are so much healthier, I’m no longer anemic nor in a vitamin deficiency, etc.

There were days I did not eat at a deficit, days I was not within my macros, days where I did not eat any vegetables. There were very few days I was perfect and followed all the guidelines. However, I did, every day, record what I put in my mouth.

I’m down 51.6 lbs.—about a pound a week (although that is NOT how it went). I’m excited as I feel good enough that I am going to start a Kenpo class in August and when it gets cooler again, weight lifting. Now for some pictures –