#fitnessfriday | this week's weigh-in

i am super excited to share my progress for the week! if it seems like i am only posting hair and fitness stuff, you're correct. i'm still getting my china posts together! #soonandverysoon

anywho, i met and surpassed my dietbet game goal (156.9 by april 8) and i am 22.4 lbs down since i began my anti-candida journey on march 1!

beyond weight loss, my body is actually feeling like it's starting to like me. i haven't gotten sick despite the disrespectfully drastic weather changes, which ALWAYS made me sick in the past. my bloating has decreased immensely and i feel much, much lighter. my feet also feel much better, and i can finally stand to be barefoot for around 30 minutes before the pain comes. i can breathe much better, and i am less winded when i take the stairs.

in pairing the diet with weigh down/intuitive eating principles (and now intermittent fasting! more on that later), i finally feel in control of my eating. even though the diet is really hard, i will eventually be able to reintroduce some old foods back. if i get the go from my doctor, i can start on april 15!

i also randomly took this quiz and a few others to verify, and i found out i am mostly mesomorphic (62%) and less endomorphic than i thought (38%). i always thought i was an endomorph based upon pictures, but i've actually been reading the descriptions for and viewing pictures of fit mesomorphs. both have been spot on for me when i'm in shape with the exception of a few characteristics i possess that are definitely endomorphic. the workout plan for promoting lean muscle mass for mesomorphs includes light cardio, yoga, and regular resistance training, which is absolutely perfect for me!

so my goal from now until the end of april is to walk 30 minutes in my fat-burning zone once per week; i will increase it to twice in may. this doesn't seem like much, but i haven't done any real exercise since my injury, so i want to ease into it.
slow and steady!

in pursuit of:

adopting a healthy way of eating that will heal my body

how is your journey coming along?

linking up with jill

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#fitnessfriday | this week's weigh-in

there have been a few times this month when i have lost complete hope in eating my diet. it's so incredibly strict (and i have been following it very strictly) and despite the fact that i have been experiencing so many benefits -- less bloating, no indigestion, shortened colds, etc -- it's just been hard sometimes to have to list off all of the things i can't eat.
today's weigh-in made it totally worth it.

as of today, i am less than 0.5 lbs from a 20-lb weight loss since march 1! whoop!
my goal for my dietbet game is 156.9 by april 8, so I will hopefully hit that tomorrow.

i have to say that dietbet has definitely played a huge role in my success, and no, i am not advertising for the site in any way. it's just nice to be in a group of people trying to reach literally the same goal (4% in 4 weeks) when no one around you is on a weight loss journey. and i have been ridiculously motivated to get my entry fees back. i refuse to throw away that money -- i'm a poor student!

in pursuit of:

adopting a healthy way of eating that will heal my body

how is your journey coming along?

linking up with jill

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#fitnessfriday | the post-china weigh-in

ni hao!
i am back from china and still recovering (rather slowly) from the time change, crappy sleep schedule, and 8-hour drive home from new york.
just popping in to announce that i won my first diet bet game (yay!) and entered a new one that ends on april 7.
since i am still in rest and recovery mode, it totally slipped my mind that it was friday and that i was supposed to take a new weigh-in pic!
oops!
here's a screenshot from my dietbet game instead.

i am officially 16 pounds down today and very happy!
happy fitness friday!

in pursuit of:

adopting a healthy way of eating that will heal my body

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#fitnessfriday | the pre-china weigh-in

today's weigh-in after strictly following my doctor's prescribed, personal anti-candida/leaky gut diet* since sunday:

isn't my little travel scale so cute?
it makes my size 5.5 feet look godzilla-sized. now i know how all you larger specimen feel!
but beyond that, i've almost lost 10 pounds since the start of the dietbet game, and i am below my goal! the key will be keeping it off when i travel and hopefully not gaining my usual 3-5 TOM pounds.

the deets:
every morning or night, i have 1/4 tsp of bee pollen granules. i also have a tbsp or two of apple cider vinegar in warm water with or without cinnamon pretty often.
from there, i focus on getting meat (everything but beef and cured pork) and mostly green vegetables. i avoid nightshades as much as possible, though i did have some bell peppers with last night's fajitas. i've been craving and eating a lot of avocado lately, which is perfectly fine since i LOVE them!
i sometimes end the night with a cup of bamboo tea that i often cry into because i miss my nightly glass of red (i don't really cry... most times).

i can introduce other foods back in eventually, but i am focusing on healing for now, and i am willing to wait. i may never get back to daily wine again *tears*, but my doctor thinks i may be able to have a few glasses per week once I'm completely healed.

my doctor warned me that china is definitely not ideal for maintaining my diet, but that if i really focus on finding good options, i could be okay.
i plan to get most of my food on the street so that i can watch its preparation. i've seen lots of posts on chinese street food that includes meat and vegetable skewers, so those will likely be my bread and butter (ha) for the trip.

with that said, i will be mostly MIA from the blog until i return on march 17, but i will be back with lots to share!
love you all, and i will see you soon!

*my diet was prescribed particularly for me by my particular doctor. if you think you have symptoms of candida overgrowth and/or leaky gut, please seek out medical advice!


linking up with jill

in pursuit of:

adopting a healthy way of eating that will heal my body

how do you keep the pounds away during travel? any tips for TOM bloating?

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#fitnessfriday | fitness confessions 4.0 & dietbet

after reading ebony's post about a dietbet game she joined, i immediately hopped on the challenge!
like her, i am super competitive and determined to win -- even if it just means getting my money back!
and because i am SO confident that i will lose my 4% by march 16, i am going to check in here with my (however embarrassing) weigh-ins.

i know, i know.
my feet are gross.
try to ignore them.

this was my initial weigh-in last week.
this is also the biggest i have ever been, and it freaked me out that i am SO close to being 200 lbs. i now weigh more than my father, and that's a REAL confession.
i knew that my clothes weren't fitting correctly and that i had definitely gained (especially after my weight watchers binges and completely abandoning weigh down when i was in minnesota), but this was a SERIOUS reality check.

this week's weigh-in:

i almost didn't weigh because i've been incredibly sick with a chronic sinus infection and strep throat, and i am retaining water like crazy. but being forced to go to the doctor for that helped me.
i was diagnosed with leaky gut and candida overgrowth on wednesday, so my diet is about to change pretty drastically. i have had pretty much all of the symptoms for years now, so i am surprised i had to go to a holistic doctor in order to find this out. in any case, this weigh-in serves as the starting point of my anti-candida diet, which i started today.

as far as dietbet is concerned, my mini goal is to get to 169.5 by the end of the game, and i will keep enrolling in new games until i reach my final goal. if i lose at this same rate, i will be at goal by the october 12. i am honestly okay with that.

i know that there's a lot more to life than being obsessed with losing weight. i have a lot of travel coming up, and i know that i won't always be absolutely perfect. but i know i can lose that 4% each month if i stay focused on my principles of weigh down/intuitive eating and consistent in my prayer.

in pursuit of:

adopting a healthy way of eating that will heal my body

what are your confessions? triumphs? challenges?

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#fitnessfriday | fitness confessions 3.0

i confess...

... i am feeling myself right now!
i have absolutely no way of knowing this because i don't weigh during my "lady time," but i feel like i've lost a few pounds, and i feel good!
i feel (mostly) in control of my eating since i began weigh down last week. i've stopped the near-daily emotional binges, and i feel like i am getting to the point where i can put food in its place: in my body as fuel when i am legitimately hungry and moving from it when i am legitimately satisfied.
it hasn't been a perfect week, but i feel like i am making lots of progress in both my relationship with food and God!

i've literally been eating whatever i want, and waiting for true hunger makes food taste so much BETTER!
i do notice that i'm starting to make better choices, though, because i get full a lot quicker on the so-called "unhealthy" foods that i crave from time to time. i either have to eat them in really small amounts, or i may overeat and then have to wait a long time before i'm hungry again. i'm working on finding that balance.

summer's coming up quickly, and i don't know if i will be where i set my own goal...

looking forward to adopting this lifestyle forever!

what are your confessions? progress this week? triumphs and challenges?

in pursuit of:

adopting a healthy way of eating that will heal my body

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#fitnessfriday: fitness confessions 2.0

so... remember how i started the simply filling technique with weight watchers?
oh, i filled up alright....

i have been a binger for pretty much the last 21 years of my life, so i don't know why i thought things would be any different just because i was eating brown rice and beans.
sike.
i was still binging, and once i did that enough times with "health food," i eventually got bored and started binging on everything.

i'm tired of dieting!!!!

i love FOOD, and i need variety!

and i loved how "free" i thought i was on low carb because i got to binge as much as i wanted and not gain weight. but as soon as i looked at a potato, 5 lbs packed on immediately.
i literally just do not know how to eat like a normal person. changing the food to low carb only worked for so long before i got bored. 

so, in thinking about the ONLY time i was successful eating anything i wanted and keeping it off, i remembered weigh down. it's what i followed back then, and it not only improved my relationship with food (food wasn't this thing i constantly thought about - i wake up immediately thinking about what i want to eat now!), but also my relationship with god. 

i tried intuitive eating, which is based upon the same principles as weigh down, but i think the lack of the spiritual aspect is what really kept me from being successful on IE. 

i am a firm believer that the mind, body, and spirit work together. and so, i confess that my ideas of food and health are completely jacked. moreover, i confess that i need help, and i am not too proud to pray about it!

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#fitnessfriday | 6-month challenge check-in #2

happy holidays!
yesterday's Christmas festivities were just amazing for my soul (until clean-up time, because then i was mad lol!).
i stuck to 70 bites all last week (even yesterday!), and the numbers are in.

this week's stats
daily bites: 70
pounds lost since last week: 1
pounds lost overall: 8.6

pounds to go: 45
workout completed: 40-minute aerobic work out and hours of shopping, cooking, and cleaning!

what was different this past week:

*i worked out for less than an hour, but i did lots more activity than i'm used to, so i don't think that accounts for the small loss. but i honestly don't know!

*i ate a lot of red meat, and my body doesn't seem to want to digest it at all! i didn't have any the previous week, and i was very "regular." when i weighed on sunday, i was down another 3 pounds, but gained 2 after i ate steaks for the past few days, and i haven't yet "gotten rid" of them.

what i'm trying this upcoming week:

*stick with 70 bites

*back to a full hour of exercise, not including daily activities

*no more red meat for a while to see if that's the issue

how was your holiday? did you stay on track?

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#fitnessfriday | 6-month challenge 3-week update

two words: epic fail.

the hair:
as i mentioned on wednesday,  this has gone completely out of the window! i am concentrating on trying to find out what works for my hair again, so i will post updates on my wash day posts.

the problem:
i have actually had to make changes with my eating plan as well.  since i live on campus and have to have a meal plan, it's been really difficult to try and get a lot of quality fats in my regular diet now that i can't have dairy. moreover, the first thing that went out the window during finals was calorie counting to determine macros, and i don't think that's something i could realistically keep up, considering how i've failed at calorie counting many times before.

the solution:

since i know i can't always ensure i can get what i need to stay in ketosis on campus, i did a ton of research on portion control instead and found out about bite counting and an app called 80 bites. i played around with the app for a couple of days to see how user-friendly it was and to track my current bites.
i was clocking in at over 200 bites many days!

there's a program attached to the app, but i am far too cheap to buy it, so i literally have just been sticking to 80 bites per day. this has been incredibly successful (more so than low carb) and i can literally eat exactly what i want. last night, i went out for happy hour with my best friends and had wine and gluten-free crepes. i also had a pumpkin spice latte from panera, and a yummy meal of lamb, rice, chickpeas, and salad from an amazing food truck in rosslyn for lunch and dinner (i ended up splitting it up).
but since i was counting each bite and swallow (of a calorie-containing beverage), i still lost weight.

i think it will be much easier to change the number of bites i take to lose more weight, slow weight loss down, and to eventually maintain once i've lost all i want. i've been using it everyday, and it's really a cinch. it's a pretty good app, and honestly, i know that i just have to make things as easy for myself as i can. similar to my workout commitment, there is absolutely no excuse to not use my bite counter because it takes absolutely no time or real effort to do.

so, i recommitted to my 6-month challenge using the app and working out at least one hour per week on sunday, december 14. my challenge will end on june 14th.
i will post every friday with bites, weight loss, and work-outs.

this week's stats
daily bites: 80
pounds lost since sunday: 7.6
pounds to go: 46
workout completed: 4-mile power walk

how's your fitness journey coming along?

linking up with yalanda

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