choose to lose: week one check in

TEN DAYS! That's how long I've been at this weight loss thing this time around and I'm actually feeling super pumped about it! Today, I'm gonna be bold and share some pretty vulnerable stuff with you, I hope that you will find it encouraging on your own personal journey.

This week, my primary focus was on my diet. I use the Lose It! App to track my calories. This is what fit my lifestyle best so I'm choosing to track my food intake, but you do you boo. Its defiantly a learning process, figuring out what to eat, how much, & when. Learning what how to balance macros is WORK but it's worth it! I just log and learn as I go! Putting your knowledge to the test is the best way to go... because if you wait till you have all the info... you will never get started! Last year, I was ALL IN and was super motivated to lose the weight, but I fell off the wagon after 4 weeks so I'm trying to put in some safeguards so that I don't fall off the wagon again. I'm planning to set a Dr appointment in 3-6 months to check my bloodwork again. I'm hopeful this will push me to keep moving forward, knowing the Dr is gonna SEE my results whether I'm progressing or not! I'm also wanting to find something that will help me hit my goals. If you have something that worked for you, please share! I'm looking for any tips I can get!

Exercise... well I'm not following a vigorous schedule, but I am trying to go for walks a few times a week. That may change in the future though.

MY FOCUS: This week my focus was to track everything I eat on the Lose It! App while making better food choices.... I'm shooting for high protein, low calorie. I have a budget on the app and I'm trying to stick to it. Macros Goal: 30% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fat. I've struggled with protein, but like I said it's a learning process.

HERE ARE THE DEETS:

My Heaviest Weight (Feb 8, 2023): 276 lbs.

My START Weight (April 3, 2024): 257.7

My Current Weight (April 13, 2024): 251.9

This weeks weight loss (in 10 days): 5.8 lbs.

TOTAL WEIGHT LOST: 24.1 lbs.

For those of you wondering WHAT my diet looked like this week... Here it is!

I'm NOT perfect, but these are the changes I made that helped me get these results:

If you are NOT interested in the details, feel free to skip this part! 

Wed April 3, 2024: I started out with Peanut Butter Toast and a banana with Peppermint Tea sweetened with honey. For lunch I had Cheri's Lentils & Rice. And I needed something quick and easy for dinner, so I had a Everything Bagel sandwich with sun dried tomato turkey breast, sliced American cheese and mayo. I drank a glass of whole milk with a chocolate Carnation Breakfast packet mixed in.

Thur April 4, 2024:  I had Avocado Toast and Peppermint Tea sweetened with honey for breakfast. Lunch was Cheri's Lentils & Rice again. Dinner was Zucchini Lasagna Soup which was sooooo good! For snacks throughout the day, I had an apple with peanut butter, some pepperoni, and a chocolate pumpkin muffin.

Fri April 5, 2024: I discovered PROTEIN COFFEE (recipe coming soon). I had that for breakfast. For lunch I had leftover Zucchini Lasagna Soup. I splurged for dinner and had a small portion of Buffalo Chicken Tortellini (this was 956 calories, YIKES!) But because I had so little calories during the day I was STILL under my calorie intake for the day, but my macros were out of wack.

Sat April 6, 2024: Breakfast and lunch was the same as yesterday.... Protein Coffee and Zucchini Lasagna Soup. I wasn't really hungry today so for dinner I had a simple protein shake (with vanilla almond milk and SunWarrior Chocolate Protein)

Sun April 7, 2024: Protein Iced Coffee for breakfast before church. After church we came home and I chopped up a No Pasta, Pasta Salad (SO DELISH)! And dinner, I just did portion control and had Crockpot Mississippi Chicken, mashed Potatoes and corn. (I KNOW, I KNOW.... this was 659 calories), I snacked on Protein Cheesecake Dip with 2 gram crackers and a light string cheese throughout the day as well. I still managed to stay under my calorie budget, but my macros were not where I'd like to them to be.

Mon April 8, 2024: Breakfast was a Protein Iced Coffee AND Scrambled eggs with cottage cheese (OH MAN SO GOOD). For lunch I had the other half of the No Pasta, Pasta Salad and I wanted something sweet afterwards, so I had 1 gram cracker. For dinner I had Pizza in a Bowl (let me know if you would like this high protein, low calorie recipe!) For snacks I had 1 can of chicken mixed with 1 avocado topped on mini sweet peppers, 1 tbsp of protein cheesecake dip, and 1 light string cheese stick.

Tues April 9, 2024: Protein Iced Coffee for breakfast, as always.... AND 2 scrambled eggs with cottage cheese. I skipped lunch on accident. BUT I had a large dinner out with my mom.... we went to Western Sizzlin' and I had SALAD BAR.... I had 2 large salads and then for dessert I had 2 large strawberries, cottage cheese and peaches, and a small serving of cheesecake dip. I was proud of myself for not going crazy! I stayed under my calorie budget but my macros were out of wack. We went to a play and got home super late... so I had Turkey Pepperoni and 1 light string cheese stick.

Wed April 10, 2024: As per usual, I had a Protein Iced Coffee for breakfast. Lunch was 2 Chicken sausages with cottage cheese and mustard to dip, 3 small snack size dill pickles, and a protein yogurt. Dinner was another chicken sausage with cottage cheese and mustard dipping sauce and 1 piece of avocado toast, with 1 pickled okra. I snacked on tortilla chips (bc I had them in the van), and some pudding.

Thur April 11, 2024: Protein Coffee for breakfast & another one at lunch with 3 snack dill pickles, chicken sausage, and cottage cheese and mustard dipping sauce. For dinner I made Lazy Lasagna for the fam, so I took some spaghetti meat sauce and put them over some zucchini noodles. It was delish! I had Pizza in a bowl and 1 light string cheese stick during the day as snacks.

Fri April 12, 2024: I had my Protein Coffee for breakfast. For lunch I had 1/2 a bagel with mayo, cheese, and turkey. Dinner caused me to go over my calorie budget (for the 2nd time in 10 days) because I had what I cooked for my family.... which was the Buffalo Chicken Tortellini Meal.... I snacked on light string cheese, turkey pepperoni, protein pudding, and a That's It - Apple and Strawberry bar (btw, those are tiny... Probably won't get them again).

REMEMBER EVERY DAY I ATTEMPT TO DRANK ONE GALLON OF WATER!!!

I do this by using water flavoring packets and skinny syrups to flavor my water, this also helps to curb my sweet cravings.

Starting over was surprisingly not that hard and there have only been a few days that I have obsessed over food. I think that is from anxiety though. I worry that I'm gonna run out of calories and starve AND on top of that I've got SO. MUCH. TO. LEARN. about preparing healthy food... I've learned a few tricks over the years but honestly, I only know how to cook a handful of "healthy meals". {I'm also learning what foods are good for lowering cholesterol and sugar as well} so there is defiantly a LEARNING CURVE you just have to stick with it and get friends on board who know a little more than you and soak in all the knowledge you can without obsessing over it. At least that's what I've had to do.

CHANGES I'VE NOTICED: I've not noticed any changes just yet.... I mean, I think some of my bigger jeans are getting loose (I have a wide range of sizes in my closet right now) but my bigger jeans are from when I was at my heaviest.... so that's almost 25 lbs difference.

Probably the most valuable lessons I've learned this week is that I eat to fuel my body... and eating for health CAN BE ENJOYABLE. I can mess up and still make progress..... and I can say NO when I'm not actually hungry.... I can also say YES to small indulgences! It's all about moderation. BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING >>> I learned how much I value my friends and family who are encouraging me and empowering me on this journey. I have a few people that I touch base with throughout the day and that means the world to me! Having them there to share the wins and the struggles just makes all the difference! GET PPL IN YOUR COURNER WHO WILL CHEER WITH YOU!

THIS WEEKS WIN: I LOST 5.8 POUNDS!!!! While I realize that this is just one type of measurement, it's what I'm considering as this week's win! I want to take a moment to challenge you to look for 1 WIN per day and/or per week! It can be something simple.... like I ate the appropriate portion of a meal OR I drank a gallon of water today OR I got 8 hrs of sleep...... FIND SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE THAT WILL PUSH YOU FORWARD ON YOUR OWN HEALTH JOURNEY!

Dear Lord, I pray for myself as well as anyone joining me on this journey. I pray that you would give us the strength to implement the changes that we need to make and to STICK to them. Help each of us to not start strong and then fizzle out and want to turn back to comfort when the going gets hard. Bring restoration to our whole being, bringing new balance and health. Cover each of us with love as we seek to cope with a poor self image. Help us to love ourselves where we are in our journey even TODAY. Bring wisdom and truth to each of our minds, and help us to plan our daily food and to enjoy it. Lord, bless our efforts with sustainable weight loss. Father, We long to be free of this difficulty in our lives, and we look to you, you are our supporter, our comforter and our helper. Thank you for your constant love. Lord above all things we want to honor your temple the way you want us too! AMEN!

Thank you so much for following my journey and encouraging me along the way!

<3 The Bohemian Homemaker - Michelle Warren