Striving for Health & Simplicity

Wow! Today is the start of Week Three of our Healthy 2019 challenge! It's hard to believe we're already a third of the way through the strict 6-Week Eat to Live plan! The last two weeks have been amazing. They've been filled with hard work but the results have shown that that hard work has paid off! Non-Scale Victories: Loser Fitting Clothes More Energy Mood Stability Decreased Aches & Pains Measurement Victories: Down 3.8lbs  Down 1.25" The measurement victories are most likely a little bit off. I wasn't able to weigh in when we started on January 1st so my last weight/measurements are from December 24th. I know I gained weight and inches between Christmas and New Years so I would guess I've lost more weight and inches then my numbers are showing me. Here's to another successful two weeks!

It's often said that the days are long but the weeks and months are short. This is very true for the last six weeks! It's hard to believe that I jumped back on the healthy bandwagon six weeks ago already. Instead of putting all my energy and time into the number on the scale for these past six weeks I wanted to focus on six specific non-scale items. Other then on one occasion I was able to keep these goals as my primary focus. In the last six weeks I have acheived being able to wear my wedding bands again, facial hair growth has decreased significantly, I am fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes more comfortably, and my emotional health has improved dramatically. I will be continuing to work on the reduction of PCOS symptoms and expanding my cooking/baking skills. I am extremely happy with what I've accomplished in the last six weeks despite not following the strict six week plan. I hope that I will be able to put my focus into another six weeks and follow it strictly once...

Three weeks have flown by! It's hard to believe that on Monday I finished Week 3 of my Eat to Live postpartum journey. When I began this journey I didn't realize the number of events that we had going on through the first six weeks(when I'm strictest) of my journey. There have definitely been difficulties in regards to ensuring I stick within the six week guidelines, but I've managed to do it with only a few pieces of meat thrown in! I promised myself that for the first six weeks I would focus more on the non scale victories then the numbers on the scale. In the last three weeks I've noticed and celebrated the fact that: I can wear my engagement ring again!  I've been able to pull some more clothes out of storage & they have been fitting better!  I'm crying significantly less! My moods have improved greatly! I have a lot more energy! I feel pretty awesome that in just three weeks I've been able to accomplish these non scale victories! I...

September is often treated as another time to make resolutions and goals. It's the time of year when we are settling into new routines. One of the new routines that's often started is eating healthier. It was my original plan to join those in starting out a new routine in September, things change and I started changing my eating habits two weeks ago. Restarting my Eat to Live during while there were still a few weeks of summer left was difficult. Many opportunities to stray from my guidelines presented themselves, each time I was successful at avoiding them though! One of my biggest challenges in terms of eating within my guidelines right now is eating out. I thought that trying to stay within my guidelines while being home on maternity leave would be difficult. It hasn't been as hard as I imagined, thankfully! I've watched the scale drop 6.8lbs and 4.25" in the last two weeks, that's enough motivation to keep me going! 

It's hard to believe that 6 weeks has come to a close! It's amazing how fast time flies. The last 6 weeks have had their ups and downs. They have been filled with both scale, and non scale victories. Non-Scale Victories: There were times in the last 6 weeks that I fell off the wagon, but it became so much easier to get back on! I might have eaten out a few times, but I always made sure it was close to guidelines, and my next meal followed the guidelines. Before the Eat to Live Journey I would often fall off the wagon and it would last a couple days. I can walk out of a store without a dark chocolate bar/bag of chips. I had gotten to a point in my journey that I would convince myself that as long as I had a dark chocolate bar, or the "healthiest" chips I could find that I was okay to buy myself a treat. Every single time I went to the store. I haven't done that once in the last 6 weeks!  Towards the end of our Magdalene Island trip(right before my 6 week jou...

Can you believe that week three of the six week Eat to Live journey has come to a close!? I can't believe that there's only three weeks left. We're halfway there! The changes both on the scale and in life are amazing! A few non scale victories I've noticed is a better overall feeling, far less cravings, clearer skin, feeling fresh in the morning, and probably hubby's favourite I'm being more adventurous in my cooking. All of the non scale victories contribute to an overall happiness and joy, that's even more present then it was three weeks ago! The results for week three a pretty awesome! Weight:  -2lbs Bust: NC Waist: -0.75 Thighs: -0.5" Since starting Eat to Live on September 11th I have lost a total of 8.6lbs and 4". In just three weeks! That's amazing! Stay tuned for a Thanksgiving post soon!

Every single Tuesday morning since September of 2016 I've knocked on my parents door at some crazy hour in the morning to be weighed/measured. This helps me stay accountable, and know the consequences of any decisions I've made! The results are in for week two and I'm pretty happy with them! Weight:  -1bs Bust: NC Waist: -0.25" Thighs: -0.25" I believe that seeing a smaller weight loss/inches lost is extremely healthy for week two! Especially because this is my second round of the six week Eat to Live. I'm happy with the numbers. We're halfway through Week Three almost, and it's been a tougher week! I'm gearing up for a really strong week four before Thanksgiving!

We started back on track with the 6-Week Eat to Live plan exactly 8 days ago. It's hard to believe how fast time goes! The results are in for week one and they're pretty amazing! Weight:  -5.6lbs Bust: -1.5" Waist: -0.5" Thighs: -0.25" A total weight loss of 5.6lbs with a total inches lost of 2.25" is absolutely amazing for week one! Struggles of Week One:  -Birthday dinner for my father in law, there was cake! I love cake! I didn't eat any though!  -Sweets around the office. Two of my coworkers brought in sweets, normally I have a hard time saying no but I avoided them!  -Staying on track on the weekend. I always find weekends the most difficult, but with everything carefully planned out I made out okay! Highlights of Week One:  -We had some amazing friends over for dinner Sunday, and they completely supported how I'm eating so we could all eat the same meal!  -Support and understanding. I always find the first two weeks of getting...

No one could have prepared me for how quickly things can change with PCOS. Beginning my Eat to Live journey helped many of my PCOS symptoms become regulated. Yet, all of a sudden everything went wonky. My symptoms of PCOS suddenly started popping up again. I attributed this to stress with the wedding, basically pushing it aside. The wedding has passed, I have settled into married life, and into our home yet more PCOS symptoms keep arising. Unfortunately the referral process to get in to see a medical professional could take months. It's up to me to once again figure out what my body needs. Two of the top ways PCOS can affect a women is through fertility and weight issues. Both of which I'm currently experiencing. It's incredibly hard to be a newly married twenty-three year old who without reason suddenly gained eight pounds, and stopped having a period. Nothing I was doing before has drastically changed. I am frustrated. I feel like giving in to all my cravings and eati...

A couple of weeks ago I posted the below picture on social media. This photo documents the biggest milestone thus far being reached. I had successfully lost thirty-two pounds and nineteen inches. The journey to reaching this milestone was not easy, but I'm incredibly proud of myself for reaching it. There were days I wondered why I was doing what I was doing. It's all been worth it though. The outpouring of love when I shared this photo was incredible, so thank you! September 19, 2016 vs. April 11, 2017 I wish before I started this journey that I had a better understanding of just how much it would change my life. My eating habits haven't been the only thing to change since starting this journey. There are multiple parts of life that I have noticed changing in the last seven months including my evening routine, weekend morning routines, and grocery shopping trips. One of the biggest aspects of my life to change has been socially. Before this journey it was a comm...

The last seven years have been spent running a marathon, figuratively not literally of course! Seven years ago is when my life changed forever, it's when I was given answers as to why I was gaining weight at a rapid pace but couldn't lose it, why there was facial hair appearing in odd spots, and most importantly why my body just wasn't acting normal. I feel like since that day I've tried many different coping methods some better then others, yet none seemed to provide the results I was looking for. After a summer filled with hospital visits for iron infusions, unsuccessful doctors appointments trying to figure out why I was loosing iron so fast, and my family doctor mentioning my weight multiple times it was time for a change. I began my journey of Eat to Live on September 6, 2016 with the intention of loosing thirty pounds. Reaching that goal would bring me to my lowest weight yet, and with it hopefully health benefits. These five and a half months have seen many p...

Have you ever stood on the scale but the number hasn't moved? Yet you feel like something changed that week. The year 2017 has started off with a bang! I can't believe we're already half way through January. I don't always want to be sharing the scale victories because I believe a weight loss or life style change journey has many different parts. My journey to a healthier life was brought on due to medical reasons, so the one goal I had was to get to the weight recommended, I didn't think about all the additional bonuses that would come along with that. Presenting you with my top five non-scale victories! 1) Awareness- As mentioned above my journey to a healthier lifestyle was brought on due to medical reasons. I did not realize when I started that I would have such success in creating a new lifestyle. It's a lifestyle I want others to know about, especially those with PCOS. Often my response to being asked why I'm doing this is just for health reasons...

As the Christmas season approaches I began getting even more nervous about what Tuesday mornings would bring as Tuesdays are my weight and measurement day. I have a timeline with specific goals that I would like met within a certain period of time. I was really nervous to be on this journey as the Christmas season approached, but I vowed to give it my all and go from there.  My healthier lifestyle journey began on September 6th. It's been fourteen weeks since I made the decision to change my lifestyle. After following Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live diet strictly for six weeks I moved onto the life plan. The life plan gives me the opportunity to continue eating much healthier while having slight variations for special occasions. The biggest thing I've stuck to is allowing myself to have very limited amounts of refined and added sugars. I haven't had a glass of pop since September 5th! That's huge for someone who could easily drink four litres a weekend. I have succ...

I am a recovering sugar addict. I love sugar, of any form! Some of my favourite forms of sugar would be candy, cakes, and milk chocolate bars. Over the last ten weeks I've been working incredibly hard on transforming my eating habits, creating a new lifestyle when it comes to eating, and really eliminating added sugars to my diet. My PCOS has seen incredible improvement since I changed my eating habits ten weeks ago, and that's my motivation to keep going on this journey. Unfortunately, this weekend brought me right back to the start in some ways. Over the weekend there were many birthday celebrations bringing with them many different types of foods, and a lot of cakes! I indulged in a lot of things that I worked so hard to cut out of my diet, simply because they were in front of me. It was the first time I had been in a setting multiple times in a row that had tempting food, and unfortunately I gave in. Giving in caused me to not only feel defeated, but by Sunday afternoon I...

I am done! As of yesterday I am finished my initial six week Eat to Live Journey. More than once over the course of the last six weeks people would say that I was young, so I didn’t need to worry about my weight or habits yet. I am not your typical twenty something year old. I have health issues that left me in the hospital every second Friday this past summer, I knew that there was more to life then that. I knew that only I could control my weight and eating habits which in turn affect my overall health. My health is why I started this journey, and my health has seen improvements to make this journey all worth it. Over the course of the last six weeks I have learned three incredibly important lessons, ones that I am sure to carry with me throughout the rest of my life. I learned that I can live without added/refined sugar. Previous to my Eat to Live experience I was drinking between two and six litres of pop every week, I couldn’t drive by a store without picking up a bag of ch...

Have you ever had a week that you look back on and wonder what the heck happened?! In a matter of five days last week I got engaged to an amazing man, resigned from my current job, and accepted a new job. In five short days I completely altered the path I was on in life, it has never felt so good! At the end of the week we celebrated Thanksgiving, I was given a few extra things to be thankful for! The celebration made me extremely nervous for my weigh and measure in. Even though I kept fairly on track I did sway from the strict guidelines a bit. Below are my week five results: Weight Lost: 3lbs Inches Lost: Bust: +.25 Waist: - Thighs: .25 I'm very happy with how things are going. Here's hoping for another successful week!

It has been an incredibly busy few days. I apologize about my tardiness in posting results! Below are the number results for the last week. We have taken my hips out of the equation, mostly because where to measure is always a bone of contention at 7:00am! I have stopped going to the gym due to the loss of my gym membership, but we are going to make an effort to exercise at least three times a week as a couple. Weight Lost: 2lbs Inches Lost: Bust: .5 Waist: 1 Thighs: +1 In four weeks I have lost a total of 13lbs and 9.25 inches. I weigh in tomorrow morning for Week Five results, I'm nervous because of Thanksgiving!

Have you ever wanted to do the happy dance at seven in the morning? I sure did on Tuesday! The first week was challenging, but I stuck to the guidelines completely. Over the course of the last week there were some opportunities that really provided a challenge. One of the challenges that I’m proud I overcame was when a coworker bought the ladies in our set of cubicles smile cookies. I love smile cookies! I was able to say no, but I felt bad declining an offer from someone. I knew if I ate that cookie I would fall back into feeling the need to answer those cravings. I had to get up and walk away while they were talking about how good they were, but I got through it. There have been many little moments where I feel like I could easily fall back into that lifestyle, but each time I get through it. Below are the number results for the last week, I’m most pleased with the weight that has come off! Weight Lost: 6lbs Inches Lost: Bust: 1 Waist: 1 Hips: 1 Thigh...