A little piece of heaven

We are working on something BIG. Very BIG. Amazing, really. I can’t share yet. But I should be able to in just a couple of days.

Let me just say it is a fulfillment of dreams. It is exciting beyond belief.

And as soon as I can, I will share here. Keep an eye on this space!

Today our mermaid princess turned 2 years old.

It’s unbelievable that she is now officially in her terrible 2’s (she’s been there unofficially since she turned 1 🙂

What an amazing year this was for Izzy.  This was the year of language.  She is now talking in full 4-5 word sentences!  She has become so expressive and communicative.   My favorite is something she learned this week. She realized that if she says Pwwweeezzeeeeeeeeee she can get pretty much anything she wants.  So she spends half the day pweeezeeee’ing us.  She is so cute when she says it too.

Going to her Montessori preschool has also been amazing for her.  She has learned and grown up so much.  Her preschool has kids from ages 2-5 so she is hanging out with big kids that are great role models for her.

I don’t have words to communicate how amazing Izzy is.  She is a force of nature.  It was amazing to watch her will and determination unfold this year.  She became so independent, so capable.  She is an amazing sister and loves to take care of and play with both of her brothers.  She has a supremely strong connection with Nathan and loves being around him, and is always looking out for Gryffin and trying to make him laugh.

There are just no words to describe the amazingness of this little girl so I won’t even try.  I will just say – Happy Birthday Izzy! And may your 3rd year be even more amazing!

I’m not here to sell you a miracle weight loss product or system. I’m simply here to share how I lost all of the excess weight that I’ve been diligently accumulating over the last 20 years. As of today I weight the same that I weighted when I was 16 years old. I have a lot of energy and I feel good.

Here’s what I did:

Step 1. Cut down on CARBS

I stopped eating all man-made sources of carbs, all white sources of carbs, and most fruit sources of carbs. This means NO pastas, rice, candy, breads, tortillas, crackers, most fruits, grains etc. This automatically got rid of gluten which is HUGE as gluten causes weight gain and retention.

So taking all of this out, what was left? What do I eat on a daily basis?

Lots and lots of proteins, vegetables, and nuts. Here’s a sample menu:

Breakfast: An apple, a large slice of cheddar cheese, and a tablespoon of almond butter
Lunch: Salad with chicken and avocado, or vegetables sauteed with beef
Dinner: Protein burger (instead of in bread, wrapped in lettuce)

If I go out to eat, I end up ordering mostly salads, fajitas, etc. Almost every single restaurant will have good salads and/or meat and chicken dishes. If they come with rice or pasta I ask to replace them with salad or vegetables. Every once in a while I will eat a little bit of corn and beans, which I typically don’t eat as they are very high in carbs. However, since these are natural sources of carbs, if I feel I need a little more energy, I eat a little bit of these as I prefer them over man-made carbs such as breads or pastas.

I avoid fruits too as fruits have a lot of carbohydrates and I find that they cause me to crave more sugars. The only fruits I eat regularly are apples, as they are pretty low carb and fulfill my craving for something sweet.

Step 2. Don’t CHEAT!

If I eat even one small piece of chocolate, I find that I crave more chocolate and sweets for the rest of the day. Any carb that I eat that isn’t from the vegetables family tends to create more cravings. I believe this has to do with our internal ecosystem. All of us have yeast, bacteria, etc living in our bodies. Some are good some are bad. Organisms like candida thrive on sugar. If you eat carbs, it feeds the candida, which then create a chain reaction of craving so you can feed them more. By not cheating they are “dormant” and don’t trigger cravings.

Also, if you are eating a lot of protein and nuts, those have a lot of fat. If you then cheat and eat carbohydrates, it will have the opposite effect and you will end up gaining more weight.

Just don’t cheat. The first 2 weeks will be very hard, you will have no energy and fight hard against cravings. But once you get past the first couple of weeks your body will recover and won’t ask you for carbs, so it will become easier and easier. I have been eating this way for close to a year and I hardly ever crave carbs any more – I can look at a brownie sundae or a chocolate covered strawberry without melting (these used to be my favorite treats).

Step 3:  Eat every 2-3 hours

I know this sounds like I lot but I told you that I don’t starve at all! Every 2-3 hours I usually grab a handful of nuts or seeds to keep the metabolism going. These also have a lot of fiber which help with elimination, especially since there is a lot of protein in the diet. I also munch on vegetables such as carrots, jicama, celery, and tomatoes. Another good snack is a piece of ham or turkey with cheese.   Don’t forget to snack regularly because if you don’t, then you are starving during meal times and tend to eat more than if you’d snacked throughout the day.

Step 4. Find a low carb drink that you like and sip on it throughout the day

I bought a starbucks metal mug that keeps drinks hot for hours. I make myself a large mug of Tazo Chai in the morning, and another one in the afternoon.  I mix it with a little bit of vanilla almond milk to sweeten it a bit.  Then I sip on it throughout the day. For some reason this helps to contain any cravings and keeps me from eating more than I need to.

Step 5. Drink lots of water!

This is super important, as I eat lots of proteins so the water helps keep the system moving. By staying hydrated your body asks you for less food, plus it tricks the stomach by making you believe you are full.

Step 6. EXERCISE!!!

I started by doing 15 minutes of yoga every day from home. After about a month I started swimming laps 15 minutes every other day. Then I started alternating and doing 30 minutes of swimming or 1 hour of hot yoga. My goal is to swim or do yoga every day, but in reality I find that at the end of the week I worked out 3-4 times. I found a city pool where I can swim laps for $30 / month, and a yoga studio where I bought a monthly membership that makes the classes super affordable and is extremely fun. I love hot yoga as it makes me sweat and eliminate toxins, and the stretch feels great on my body and makes me feel healthier.

That’s it!

I know everyone is different and perhaps this only worked because of my body type.  I don’t know.  I do know that I’ve recommended this to a few people and those that have done it have experienced similar results.  Those that can’t do it all the way don’t see much benefit from this.

What’s the catch?

Absolutely none.  As usual I am just sharing from my experience.  I know the title sounds gimmicky, I just couldn’t help myself 😉  But seriously, there is nothing you have to buy, nothing you have to do, other than to rely on some old-school discipline.

Motivation

My motivation for staying disciplined?  Nathan.  I realized that I have to take excellent care of my body in order to be able to take care of Nathan in the long run.  I won’t be of much help to Nathan if I develop diabetes, am so overweight that I can’t carry him, or throw out my back.  So instead I choose to be proactive, get in shape, get healthy, and make sure that I am doing everything in my power to ensure my ability to care for my boy for the long haul.