2020

Hey guys! I know, I sort of dropped a book post and a trip recap on you after not being around for a few weeks. I kept meaning to get up a few weekend posts, my favorite books from 2019 and Christmas…but none of that happened.

Can you believe that we are over half way through the first month of 2020?! January usually feels like it lasts a year to me for some reason, but not this year. I am not one to make resolutions, or have a word or theme for the year. I don’t think I have ever stuck to any resolutions or remembered my word past the first few days. I do usually try to reset my diet for a month after the holidays. The past four years I have done Whole 30. While I feel it is a great reset tool, I don’t love it and didn’t want to do it again this year.

The stress of the last several months changing jobs, buying/selling a home, moving, getting a new car, Zoe’s birthday, the holidays, a long trip, life….it has all contributed to a weight gain for me. That and I didn’t work out a single day in December. Me, the girl who faithfully works out 5 days a week.

I decided I was going to have to start 2020 with something more drastic. I picked January 6th, the Monday after we came home from our trip. Because can you really start anything on any day but Monday??

I am doing Thomas DeLauer’s 30-day Intermittent Fasting Challenge, along with following the Keto diet. I have fought hard against both these things for so long. I tried IF a few months ago, but I didn’t do it right and I felt like shit after day three and quit. I did a lot more research this time around, as well as eased myself slowly into it. Thomas DeLauer’s challenge is to do IF every other day. This is totally manageable, and I find that I am actually doing it a little more often than that. I will probably go full blown IF next month.

I thought that 16 hours was just so long to go without food. I am one of those people who gets hangry, and can get shaky and have a headache if I go too long in between meals. The first few days were a little rough, I am not going to lie. But I realized if I can push past the 30-45 minutes of discomfort I feel between 9-10am, I am fine again and actually have laser sharp brain focus until I break my fast. This has helped me reduce my caloric intake, since I am not eating anything at breakfast. I don’t even really like breakfast anyways, and have always struggled with it.

Then the whole keto thing. Chris did Keto when I was pregnant with Zoe. What a time to cut out carbs, right???? I obviously didn’t follow along with him, but I supported him and made meal modifications for him. (Basically we just ate different sides.) He was really successful and lost a lot of weight. I know so many people who have been successful with keto. Basically everyone who has tried and stuck with it has seen significant loss.

So this is the end of my second week, and I am down 10 pounds from my pre-Christmas weight. I still cant find our scale from when we moved, so I went out and bought one this week so we can track. I had a doctor appointment the week before Christmas, and that is the weight I used as my starting weight, even though I probably gained a few pounds on our trip…as one does.

Obviously, this isn’t a lifestyle that is sustainable forever. I mean, it could be, but that isn’t how I want to live forever. I will probably adjust and modify as I go.

I will share some updates along the way, and if I get brave enough, I may share the horrendous before pictures. This isn’t just about weight loss for me though. While I am hoping to drop some weight, I have been having horrible hip pain lately. The only thing I can contribute it to is less movement and extra weight.

Let me know if you would like me to share some low carb recipes. One of the things that has made this easy, is trying out new recipes each week. We have had some really good stuff so far! I don’t really feel like I am depriving myself of much. Besides coffee creamer. God, I miss the coffee creamer. I am still bitter about it and blow it kisses as I walk by it in the store. Dramatic much?

I am just putting all this out there to hold myself accountable. Did you make any goal or diet changes for 2020?