Happy Healthiversary to ME!
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I can hardly believe it’s been a whole year since I made some major changes to my life. September 30, 2021 I had a serious moment of reflection and revelation about how I was treating my body and needed to stop. So I did.
I decided that I would change my diet. It had been a long time coming. Since the pandemic of 2020 I had lost control of my eating, gained weight and felt terrible. I was already not doing well before that, so I was in a bad place. A dear friend of mine had already been managing her eating with very low carbs and it had been on my mind. Then, as if a bolt of lightning struck, I knew it was what I needed to do. The next day I went cold turkey on the carbs. Let me tell you, it was a rough couple of weeks.
I went through what can only be described as withdrawls. “Keto flu” hit me hard. But I knew if I could make it to the other side I would be ok, and that’s exactly how it went. I hung on for dear life as I rode the waves of cravings and feeling flu-ish. But then it was over and I started to feel better. After that I went to work figuring out what to eat and who to get advice from.
One thing I did that really helped was I got a constant glucose monitor. Y’all, to see exactly what was happening inside my body as a result of what I ate meant there was nowhere to hide with my food choices. I was fascinated with what my insulin levels would do when I ate different things. It really helped direct my choices and I used a nutritionist during that time, so I had some direction from her. I only wore a device for 3 months. I don’t have diabetes and had learned a lot in that time, but I didn’t need to keep using it. I give credit to my being able to stick with the diet in the beginning to wearing that and having a friend who was doing it alongside me.
My basic eating plan is simple….eat as few carbs as possible while staying full. Also I was already dabbling with intermittent fasting so I cemented that in a little more than I had been. I generally don’t eat before 2:00 or after 7:00. That was pretty easy to get used to because I was already halfheartedly doing it. And I started following some guys who really live and teach a carnivore/VLC Keto diet. Dr Ken Berry and Dr Robert Cywes both have great YouTube channels filled with information to help you get started.
(which are nothing but egg and cheese)
Over the summer I felt ready to take it up a notch, so in August I started doing the 75 Hard challenge. With that I took the diet a little further by really going full on carnivore with very few exceptions. And this challenge, which I am 40 days into, doesn’t allow for any cheats. That’s been a little difficult; I like to have a small something a couple of times a month. Nothing crazy or high carb or sugary, just a little treat. Like Dr Ken Berry says, “When I need a cheat on my carnivore diet I have something keto.” That is me! But the 75 Hard doesn’t allow any cheats, so I have stuck very closely to it for the past 41 days and have 34 more days to go! (if you decide to try 75 Hard you don’t have to do the diet I am doing….you choose your own eating plan).
That also means I’m doing two workouts a day and drinking a minimum of a gallon of water. Once this challenge is over I will be so happy to do one workout a day and not have to measure my water anymore. But it’s been a great boost to my health goals. While I am getting tired of it, I am planning to take it to the end. Having my husband and one of my besties doing it too really, really helps!
I tell you, it’s such a gift to be able to look back over the past year and not regret another year of not trying. I have lost 62# and have so much energy and the best part is the feeling of hope. Hope that I can take good care of my body and not feel stuck.
One thing I love about getting one part of my life in order is how it ripples out to everything else. Finances, skin care, my business, daily Bible reading, so many areas that need work but have improved from making that one change a year ago. That also gives me hope that I will keep making improvements in other areas that I want to work on.
My plan for the next year, after I finish the 75 challenge, is to keep doing simple, daily workouts. That is phase 2 of my total lifestyle overhaul. Nothing crazy, just half an hour on the bike or waking or stretches, something like that every day. And I still have weight to lose, but it’s slow now. I am content to let it happen naturally as a result of my lifestyle choices and not push to just get it over with. This is the long game.
If you’ve been wanting to make some changes in your life, why not start now?! We can celebrate your one year healthiversary together next Oct 1!
This post contains an affiliate link. That means sometimes I share about things I love and get a small percentage if you order through my site. It never costs you more money, and often (like in the case of the glucose monitor in this post) it will actually give you a small discount also!