The Ugly Truth

Days 1 & 2 of my detox journey.

Here I go. As scary as this is, this is the ugly truth. I'm about to share with you what I try to hide from everyone.

 In four years I've gained seven pounds, and almost all of it has gone straight to my stomach. I am 53 years old, wear a comfortable size 6 and sometimes 4. I am post menopausal (thanks to chemo) and, according to a popular weight loss program, I am at a perfectly good weight.

Really?  Does this look perfectly good to you?

I can camouflage my pudge most of the time, but let me tell you, this is NOT attractive.  Nor is this easy to show you. 

Normally I go to great lengths to avoid letting people, especially my husband, see my body flaws. Tonight I asked him to not only look at my flaws, but to make sure they show well in these pictures. (He's a very good amateur photographer). He, of course, didn't hesitate when I asked him to photograph me in such an unpleasant light, bless him. Usually I tell him I don't want to see a picture of me unless he touches it up to remove what I see as unattractive. Instead, I said "make sure the bulges show".

I've done it now. I've exposed the ugly truth, and I've committed in public to change the way I look for the better.  

Yesterday was my first full day to detox. I'll share some basic information today so that I don't keep repeating myself in these next 21 days.

I eat pretty healthy and have for a long time, even more so since I finished treatments for breast cancer. I started then trying to eat healthier than I already had been. I had heard too often that obesity and the Standard American Diet (SAD) was linked to certain types of cancer.  I was, and still am, determined to do my part to not get cancer again by eating as healthy as I can.  What I've learned in the last 4 years has been at times a bit overwhelming. But I've read so much on different diets, different food choices, and different life choices, that now I'm beginning to see the similarities in some of these.  I am learning that not all "healthy foods" are good for us. Instead, some of them can cause not only what I experience, the pudge, joint pain, brain fog and embarrassing gas and bloating, but other symptoms as well. 

This particular diet that I am just starting has 3 cycles. In cycle one, I will be cutting out gluten, peanuts, corn and sugar.  There are 3 more foods listed to cut out, but I already don't eat those.  At the end of this journey, I will share my resource with you so if you are interested, you can discover the other "healthy foods" that can cause issues. 

For the sake of information, I am currently a vegan, so I am choosing the vegetarian option on this diet. Also, I've never been a good lunch eater, and smoothies are frequently my breakfast already. You'll see smoothies for my lunch too...for now. Hopefully I get more creative with lunches. However, these smoothies aren't made with fruit and yogurt.  These smoothies are made using ingredients like; organic rice protein powders, fruits, leafy greens, chia seeds, flax seed, almond or coconut milk, healthy fats like avocado and flavor extracts.These can change depending on the smoothie. So don't freak out that you see those often. I'm getting plenty of nutrients and protein in these 20 oz smoothies. Plus all the ingredients I'm using are approved in this diet. The book I'm following has plenty of recipes too, so that makes it easy to follow.

Join me if you wish, on my detox journey. Hopefully I'll have some much nicer pictures to share at the end of my 21 days.

Goals: Lose 7-10 pounds and/or lose 2 inches in my waist, drink 64 oz water daily, exercise 5 days a week, have more energy, experience joint pain relief, and stop the bloating!

Sat Feb 22

Water: 40 oz

Weight : starting weight 135.4

Breakfast: Protein Smoothie

Lunch: Protein Smoothie

Dinner: Bean and Nut patty with a lime vinaigrette dressing and cucumbers, fresh roasted broccoli and cauliflower

No snacks

No exercise

Notes: Not a bit hungry after the second smoothie. Was wondering how I was going to eat again that day. 

Sun Feb 23

Water: 60 oz

Weight: 133.9 - loss of 1.5 lbs 

Breakfast: Protein Smoothie

Lunch: Protein Smoothie

Dinner: Left-over Bean and Nut patty with lime vinaigrette dressing and cucumbers, fresh roasted broccoli and cauliflower (that was so good last night!)

No snack

No exercise

Notes: Cramping in my leg during the night. A symptom I've experienced on other restrictive diets. However, I noticed I had more energy today. 

I had planned to cook a different dinner tonight but time got away from me, so left-overs it was.  But it was good! Tomorrow I'll post a fresh meal and post the recipe on It All Begins with Dirt for Meatless Monday. Hint: I'll have to source my recipe.

Can I just say, I'm a little nervous about sticking with this for 21 days, plus adding exercise into the mix, all the while reporting this to whoever is reading this blog. I'm not as nervous about those of you I've never met as much as I am about family and friends reading it. They KNOW me! This is going to take discipline on my part as I find it very easy to put off exercising.  We have our exercise equipment in the basement and it is COLD down there! I know, I know, I should be thankful for that once I start sweating, not a good excuse, but can't blame a girl for trying. 

Okay, day two is done. Stay tuned for day three and beyond!