May 17, 2012

weighing the benefits

I can easily say that I have eaten more fresh vegetables and fruit in the past two weeks than I can remember in my recent memory. Eating fresh foods and excluding sugar and flour has been good for me for many reasons some of which I will touch on in this blog post.

To keep me honest I go over to my Mom's on Saturday mornings with my coffee and weigh in. My first week of healthy eating netted me a loss of 6.3 pounds. I'm pretty proud of myself..

no sadly i am not 16o lbs!

I have not skipped any meals, where before I never ate breakfast. I snack on healthy foods such as unsalted/unsweetened almonds and fruit or organic yogurt. I have not eaten any fast food or cheated, in fact Mom and had dinner out the other night and I had  fish and double veggies. I wouldn't even let the server put the bread on the table! Then a few days later when I went to my hairdresser to get my roots done; Bill and I successfully ate lunch out at a restaurant and didn't eat potatoes we substituted veggies with our lunch, again no bread.

I hadn't mentioned this before but I gave up salt last month which just adds to this little health kick I'm on which is all good. The benefits so far keeping in mind that I haven't and excess salt in six weeks other than in the smallest amounts while cooking. I find that the use of fresh herbs from my garden are a great substitute for adding additional flavor.

What amazes me is that in less than two weeks I'm already feeling and seeing many changes in my body besides this first bit of weight loss.
  1. I have not had a migraine. {wouldn't that be a kicker if my neurologist decreased my med's in July when I have my check- up?} 
  2. I don't have clogged sinus' especially at night when I lay down, it helps with my snoring.    OK be nice with the comments please :) 
  3. I'm sleeping better, my guess the phlegm and snoring might have something to do with this.
  4. Although my body still aches they body aching is less and I'm hoping it will go away eventually.
  5. My fingernails are growing like crazy and are not splitting like they used to.
  6. My skin isn't as dry like it used to be either.
  7. No bloating and no edema around my ankles {I had a little if I spent long days on my feet} even the right leg below my healed wound site (shocked about that) 
  8. No cravings which is really weird for a carb addict. 
Finding and creating recipes or taking the regular recipes I used to cook and making it into acceptable sugar or flour free recipes will be the subject of my next blog post. 

Stay tuned and I'll share a few of our favorites....with pictures.

21 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Jen!!!! That is so exciting to be down over 6 pounds as well as all of those other benefits! I've been trying to eat healthier again, and this post was EXACTLY what I needed to read today for that extra little bit of motivation. Keep up the fantastic work!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great work Jen! I'm in the process of changing my eating habits also. I'm about two months in and I've lost 17 lbs. I always lose weight slowly so that has been a big issue with me...to stay motivated while the weight comes of in dribs and drabs. I wish you well with your life style change...keep up the good work!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good work, I will look forward to trying some of you suggestions after I have this baby!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fantastic! I bet you look as great as you feel! Keep it up and push through any week that the weight loss wasn't what you wanted or expected. It will come off. Hahahaha about the snoring but I knew that already about you and not being able to be your sleeping buddy! Woo Hoo about the migraines, too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm sure it's a great feeling.
    I've very happy for you.
    m.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jenn,
    This is awesome!!!! Changing habits is hard and the only way they stick is if you keep at it! This is a great start!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well done and you have the motivation because of the changes in your body you've seen already.

    ReplyDelete
  8. If I didn't cook with salt I'd have to eat a separate meal. Not for me but for my husband. That would be the equivalent of going to be with a bra on. "What's this?" But you've motivated me to do better just on the fingernail splitting alone. The ugliest splitting fingernail happens to be my ring finger and it drives me nuts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow that is fantastic. I have noticed the same kind of changes, only the sleeping is still bad, but I guess that is mostly due to a knee that doesn't want to stop shouting at me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was really surprise how quickly my body has responded in a positive ways. Sorry about that knee though....sounds painful.

      Delete
  10. Awesome Jen! I'm a big believer that we can cure most illness with what we do or do not put into our bodies. Congrats on such a significant loss so quickly!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You go Jen! I'm so impressed with you (& your hubs) dedication to this new clean way of eating. 6.5 lbs in one week-WHOA! Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first week is always the big week for weight loss, but I'm expecting it to slow down and slow and steady is fine with me as long as the weight comes off and I feel more healthful.

      And the truth is Jackie, Bill and I are really having a good time with this, deciding on what we'll eat eating meals together, planning and shopping together...the whole together thing really is a bonus.

      Delete
  12. Good for you, Jen. I'm so happy you're already seeing positive results! I know it can't be easy to make such a big change, but you're doing it...you can be proud of that!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. How wonderful that you are finding other benefits from eating healthier! I have to get rid of carbs too...they're just evil for me. I admire your success! Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing some of your recipes!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Awesome! Keep it up!
    Wish I could get my husband to give up his salt addiction.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You're kinda inspiring, especially when you said you're not getting cravings. I'm a carb lover too, so that's amazing! I could definitely fill up on veggies though. I LOVE them! I use a lot of pepper or spicy seasonings in place of salt.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I started (gradually) eating healthier a couple years ago and each year I get better and better. A little over a month ago, I started counting my calories to help me decide which foods would be better to eat. It's amazing how low-cal I was already eating. I still had to cut out a few things I like, but it's not bothering me.

    Yay for your success :)

    Also I have something on my blog for you today :)

    Hope you have a wonderful day :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey there
    Check my blog for May 20. There's a little surprise for you there!
    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy for you~~~ What wonderful changes to your body and news! I can't help but seriously wonder if my migraines are from my bad foodie habits. Anyway - awesome news!

    ReplyDelete

I'm always interested in what you have to say...
Comments are appreciated!