My Progress (updated 4/1/22)

February 1st marks my official start of this journey. I spent the previous week on a beautiful, relaxing, solo getaway to Turks and Caicos. I needed some time to myself to reflect, reset, and come back ready to conquer this year called 2022. For the last 6 months, I have transitioned from a very active, demanding job as a full time bedside nurse, to part-time nursing administrator that calls for less days and less physical activity. I am prone to gaining more weight due to the lack of activity from work, so I must be careful.

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The last week of January, I drove around the island and drank about 6 Margaritas total, a lot for someone who only drinks about 6 times per year, lol! I ate all the burgers, the ice cream, the local "must haves" and regretted none of it. I got back home on the late night of Jan 31st, and weighed in at 242.8! I was in shock, sure, but I knew that it was going to be okay. I gained approximately 4 pounds on this trip, and I knew it was from alcohol, travel and short term indulgence. 

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I started my first day of February with squeaky clean keto, with the hopes of lasting for 28 days. I wanted to completely detox, and eliminate possible problem foods such as dairy, nuts and sweeteners. I lasted for 16 days and lost 10 lbs. The next few days off plan, I incorporated a few meals with dairy, nuts and sweeteners and I saw a slight "slow down" in my weight. Towards the 20th, I got a little frustrated when I noticed my scale hadn't moved in nearly 5 days. MENTAL NOTATION: I got so frustrated. There was no way that I could do squeaky clean keto for the rest of my life, but, why isn't the scale moving anymore just because I introduced those new things? If this isn't working, why even do it? So I've been here and done that before. Things are going well, moving strong, and when I don't get what I want, I act like a brat. So what did I do differently this time compared to the past? I stopped to think, used logic, and identified sabotage triggers. Logic ended up being that, on keto, you lose a lot of water weight because you have burned through the glycogen stores, and the water that was bound to them is essentially excreted via urine. I knew this. I also knew that I have picked up a little bit of exercise, which can cause slight water retention while the muscle fibers repair, and I also knew that towards week 3 and 4 on keto, the body rebalances the water that was lost early on. However, although I was not losing any weight, the reason I wasn't gaining weight on the scale was because, despite the water coming back into my body, I was dropping pounds of fat at the same time, which equaled out. Once my body rebalances the water, the fat loss will continue and I will be able to see it. This part requires patience. So, I continued to do what I knew I was supposed to do, and I am happy to see the scale go down an additional 2lbs this week (last week of February). Yay.

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I wrapped up February with a total of 11 pounds lost! Next month, I am going to begin to incorporate some exercise. In the past, I have always struggled with the initial weight gain that I ALWAYS experience when I start working out. Two things that happen to me is one- I am not in the best shape, so even the easiest weight training exercise causes soreness, and inflammation, which comes along with water retention while my muscle fiber heals, and two- I gain muscle fairly easily, up to 2 lbs per month if I go super hard. If I am focusing so much on the scale, the numbers going up can really mess with me mentally, and I go into the pity and sabotaging circus. NOT THIS TIME BOO. If I gain, I gain. Cheers to March!

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