Naughty Glitter Goddess

Surgery 8/15/18: Starting wt: 321, Current 220 Still losing GOALS: no junk food, add a day of yoga to my weekly workout routine, lose 20 lb

Ok, before/after, 15lbs down. I don't see too much of a difference but I feel great!

Yay! I was wondering what naughtiness I was going to get up to with the end of January and no accountability! I'm in. Although, the workout portion is giving me the shaft big time. One of my most hated exercises of all time is the burpee - and my name is trying to make me do 3 rounds of it! But, I really like the no junk food and the introspective writing portion. I think that sounds like a great idea. See you there!

Well, I haven't met all my goals for this month. Primarily I wanted to break my evening snack habits. I'm better but not all the way there so I didn't lose as much as I wanted but I did break through another stall. I'm officially ending the month at 220lbs. That means I lost 15lbs this month and..... I'VE OFFICIALLY LOST 101LBS!!!!!

DIET: My Fitness Pal EXERCISE: Muscleandstrength.com SCALE: Renpho app Muscle and strength is a little over the top with the meathead content but it has great beginner routines and you can look up different exercises and watch a video on how to do it properly. It enables me to feel confident when I'm trying to switch up my routine.

OK, overcoming obstacles. You saw the bad section of my pantry and I need to stay out of it. If I could get rid of every item of junk food in this house, I would. But, it's just part of my journey that I will have to rely on willpower instead. Don't really discuss it much here but my kids have severe food insecurity from early on in their lives before they came to us. It's important to keep comforting snacks available where they can see them and access them. They rarely rely on them anymore but trashing them isn't an option unfortunately. But, I can still do this! So, the hard time for me is evening, after dinner, after the kids are in bed. I usually watch TV or get on my computer to relax and for some reason it just triggers my snacking monster. SOOoo, I'm switching up my routine. I've decided to make the time after the kids go to bed my self-care time. If I want to watch TV, I need to do it earlier in the day. I think it will give me a little mental boost and help me sleep better too. Shower, exfoliation, moisturizing, facial mask, relaxing music, herbal tea. I'm starting right now!

OMG, the visual on this one is hilarious. I also have baggy fabric on the front of my bra cups. I was absently twirling them the other day in front of the mirror trying to figure out how to tuck in the extra fabric. Let's just say husband was concerned, ha!

I’m one of those lucky ladies with early onset menopause. I’ve been experiencing a variety of symptoms since last October and am currently managing without any hormone replacement therapy. How have your menopause symptoms been effected since surgery? I have lost about 25 lbs preop and have definitely noticed a decrease in some of my symptoms. Most noticeably: migraines (which I never had before menopause), severity of bleeding, general fatigue I’m expecting that my symptoms will improve with weight loss as the inflammation in my entire body will be greatly improved. But, I think I’m looking for some encouragement, ladies! It’s been an eye opening experience to say the least; a wild ride I was not ready for!

So, just to update, it's now been 5 mo since surgery and things are looking very differently! I've lost 100lbs, I'm much more active and my menopause symptoms are mostly gone. My period has regulated, the heavy bleeding is gone and I've only had 1 migraine that was very mild. My OB/GYN was all set to do a hormonal IUD but we decided against it now that things have changed so much. Not to say that I'm no longer in menopause but it's looking more like a gradual transition now. It was a wild ride for a while!

Current Struggle: snacking in the evening This has always been a terrible habit of mine; one I broke about 4 months before surgery and I was really proud of myself. UGH! I tried getting myself back on intermittent fasting but I'm just not ready for it yet. Can't get enough calories in to keep my weight loss up while weight training at the gym. Anyway, none of that is a good excuse for driving by the pantry for a handful of nuts. Then 10 minutes later a piece of cheese. Then 15 minutes later a bite of fruit. You get the picture. I have planned for a healthy protein-heavy early evening snack around 7:30pm. (we eat dinner super early due to hubby's IF and kids who go to bed early) But I want to eat a FUN snack while I watch TV. I'm actually thinking about finding another activity to do in the evenings instead of TV watching because it's a slippery slope with the snacks! This is the section of the pantry I'm not supposed to be looking in. I need to clean it out!!!😐

Keto cracker recipe! https://thenovicechefblog.com/low-carb-crackers/

Lemon chicken salad, 2.5 oz and 4 homemade keto crackers. No leftovers!

When eating out I try to plan ahead and know what I'm eating before I get there. Earlier this week I promised my oldest a special mom hang out day. She wanted to eat at a biscuit sandwich place. Not ideal but Im glad I went with the flow. She really enjoyed hers and had my leftovers for lunch/dinner. I ate 2-3 bites of the chicken from inside and a swipe of the gravy. Yes, that's a homemade pop tart in the background which I did not touch. I'm so thankful for this surgery-wasnt even tempted! The stir fry is much more representative of how I eat out. (That's the after pic by the way)

My favorite way to keep warm: winter camping! Campfires, hiking, wine...

Throwback Thursday to my honeymoon, a time when I felt really beautiful and almost exactly 1 year ago at my highest weight. The first now feels almost attainable, the second is in my past where it will stay!

Great cardio music!

I'm glad you're still here ❤️❤️

Looking forward to discovering some new music on this thread! At the gym now. Here's mine:

Dinner last night: Korean spiced ground beef w/kimchi, started at 2oz meat, 1 oz kimchi. My restriction took me down quick!

I'm putting my 2 cents in on the pizza madness. I've tried cauliflower crust, fathead crust, the Realgood" brand frozen pizzas BUT, this one is the best by a looong shot. https://mouthwateringmotivation.com/2018/09/06/the-greatest-low-carb-pizza-of-all-time-yeast-risen/ It's made with coconut & almond flour, vital wheat gluten (a protein people!) and actual yeast. This thing rises and everything! Has a very similar texture to a chicago style cornmeal pizza crust.

My husband is absolutely my greatest support . You don’t have to be on this website for long to know that’s not always a given. I am truly lucky to have someone by my side every day who not only encourages me but is putting in the work with me. He has officially lost 75 lbs since *I* started this process because he eats well and exercises like I do. But an important thing I’ve learned here is that I don’t NEED his support to do this. I can do it on my own with the support of people here, in-person support groups and my own determination and resiliency. Having him on my team is just icing on the cake! @ummyasmin not a cliché, we are lucky! pic of the husband when he was little, didn't want to post him on here

*takes notes*

Amazing work! You look gorgeous!

Early morning with kids #notenoughcoffee #stilldark #wouldnottradeamoment