High Fructose Corn Syrup...

Yeah. It's in ketchup, pop, dressings, maple syrup, etc. 

I hate the crap.

And what's worse is the stuff that is sugar-free has aspartame in it. Which pretty much turns into embalming fluid in your body. Disgusting!


A major part of my "new" eating habits is to totally cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup. Which means, no more pop or the highly coveted Coca-Cola! However, most things in glass bottles have "sugar" in them and not that disgusting syrup. But, it's still a manufactured sugar that was designed in a lab. 


Another major part of my new eating habits is to eat organically whenever I can. I plan, this summer, to purchase grass-fed and medication free beef, poultry, and pork. I think the lack of all the chemicals in the meat and dairy products will help me as well. Those chemicals collect in your gut. 


I thought about Gluten Free. Apparently, it's the new "cool" thing to do. Along with the coolness factor, it is better for you. Although, I've heard it's quite hard to bake with it. I'm sure I can figure it out. 


My husband grew up vegetarian, so giving things up for him is simple. Not for me. My family is a huge beef-eating family. Steak, burgers, etc. I've been substituting a lot of ground beef with ground turkey or TVP, which is Textured Vegetable Product. Chili is pretty tasty that way. 


I am surprised at how easy this diet has been and how powerful it has become. I was starving on my way home from the salon this afternoon, and I drove past every single food joint. I came home and had a salad with mixed greens, peppers, and tomatoes with red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. It was awesome. 


I weighed myself today, and I am proud to say that from Sunday, (which my weight was posted yesterday) I am another 2.2 pounds lighter. 


Weight Today: 245.8

The picture to the left is my body...back in 2006. I weighed close to 130 lbs, which was still heavy for a 19 year old girl just out of high school at a height of 5 foot 4 inches. 

The doctors tell me I should weigh 102 pounds if I'm a small framed woman, 120 pounds if I'm a medium build and 137 if I'm a large framed woman...meaning I am what they call "big boned". I guess I can safely say that I take after my Dad's side of the family. My brother was blessed with an awesome metabolism. He eats anything he wants and does whatever he wants. Of course, he is in the Military...

However, the doctors did tell me that 102 pounds was unrealistic. I'd look like a toothpick, or one of those anorexic models you always see on TV. I've decided to aim for 130 to 140 pounds in order to be comfortable in my own skin again. I think it's realistic, do you?

The only thing I've had a hard time with overcoming is Patience. It is the worst thing ever. I hate waiting. FOR ANYTHING. I can not stand waiting for people, or waiting for trains, or the computer to turn on, or my food to get done. I can't wait for the shower to warm up, or the mirror to de-fog. I can't wait for my heater in my truck to warm up or the movies to load in my DVD player. But I HAVE to wait for my weight to fall off. It's the saddest thing ever. However, I overcame it. I realized, by this time next year, I'll be close to 100 pounds lighter. And the only thing I can do to make it go faster is wait!

I started this whole thing, about a week ago, on January 16th 2011. I lost 9 pounds in one week. My husband, on the other hand, lost a total of 14 pounds. He's aiming for 185 pounds, and he started at 265. I'm proud of him and he's proud of me. That's what we both need, our own little cheering crowd in our section of the field. 


Many of you are saying to yourselves, "to be healthy and to keep the weight off, only lose two pounds a week". I say BS! And I quote Dr. Mike Moreno, author of The 17 Day Diet "Despite what many nutritionists have preached for years, rapid weight loss diets can be healthy if done correctly and can work wonders on reducing pounds and inches in just days. Brand-new research suggests that the faster you take weight off, the longer you keep it off."


He uses the 'technology' of confusing your body. The first Cycle of 17 Days is "Accelerate". By losing 10-12 pounds in the first 17 days, you are jump-starting the rest of your weight lost journey by giving yourself the Self-Motivation to continue on with it. 


And I'll admit it. The first 3 days sucked the BIGGEST BALLS ever! I was soooo hungry by the third day. I kept my will strong, and I did it. I overcame the 3-day hump everyone talks about. I've never had to "quit" something that I was addicted to before. I've never been a smoker or a drinker or a drug user...but I have been addicted to food. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I've never had to ignore that Milky-Way candy bar sitting in my cupboard before. 


Now, by the 11th day on Dr. Moreno's diet, I no longer crave pizza, chocolate, burgers, or anything nasty. I work in the food industry and have access to millions of bad things, and I say no. I haven't even had a pop! I've had Skim Milk, Kefir, Green Tea (by Honest Tea, it's amazing! and Organic!), and Water. Water is the magical weight loss tool everyone needs to have! 64 oz of water, every day, religiously. Trust me, you'll get over peeing every 15 minutes, I did. 

So, on February 2nd, my husband and I walk into the next Cycle of 17 Days. And personally, I can't wait! We get to add in a couple different foods. This Cycle is called Activate and is strictly Pure-Fat Burning. 


And in conclusion to today's post... 


My Beginning Weight: 258
My Weight as of today: 247
Total Weight Loss:  11 lbs