Well, hello everyone! I know it’s been a really long time since my last post, but I did move across the country…

So, where are we today? Well, I took about 5-6 weeks completely off plan (yes, definitely longer than I expected). The first 2 weeks were while we were still in Minnesota. We had lots of parties and celebrations that made it difficult, and then once we packed up most of the kitchen I was like, “forget it”. It was stressful enough preparing for the big move without having to worry about food.

Then, once we got here, we took about 3 weeks to settle in, unpack and enjoy all the new cuisine around us. Probably didn’t need to stay off plan that long, of course, but it is what it is. I definitely had to confess to God that I felt a slip and pull back towards gluttony, but he’s forgiven me, so I’m going to forgive myself!

When I did that and decided the food party was over, I stepped on the scale. Up 21 lbs!! 

Now, before I panicked too much, I figured at least some of that was water weight, and I was right. I put myself on one of SlimGenic’s 4-day plateau-breakers and immediately shed 10 lbs!

So, with only 11 lbs to go, I decided to NOT go back to the extremely strict SlimGenics plan, but to do more of the balance phase and to incorporate some regular exercise and see what happened. I actually didn’t start exercising much right away; I needed to work into it. For the first 5 or so days after stopping the plateau-breaker, I lost (and gained) NOTHING. My weight stayed EXACTLY the same. I wasn’t too upset, because I was actually enjoying my food (still eating healthy and in moderation) and I didn’t feel deprived.

Then, this past Monday night, I went to my 2nd Zumba class (my first was right when I started the breaker) and the next morning, .4 lbs were gone. This morning, another .6. So, another pound gone with only 10 to go. However, I did adjust my goal weight down another 10 lbs from my original SlimGenics goal, so I really have about 20 to go now (I also adjusted my weight loss ticker to show my total weight loss, not just my SlimGenics weight loss).

Tonight I am going to do Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred DVD and I am going to try and do some kind of aerobic exercise at least 3-4 times a week (every other day). I really want to be able to enjoy some additional foods and not feel so restricted all the time, so hopefully this will do it. Plus, I really need to tone up – I lost the weight and look great in clothes that cover me up, but not so much in a bathing suit.

So here we go!! Living in the Austin area certainly will be helpful, because people around here live far more active lifestyles than in Minnesota. We don’t want to be the fat and lazy people in Austin, and we won’t be!

Last week = rock star week! 3 lbs! This week? Not so much…

To be fair, I kind of expected this. That kind of week this late in the game? It was unlikely to be repeated this week!

So, today I started yet another plateau-breaker! I gotta give my SlimGenics center credit – they are throwing everything at me they can to help me be successful and get to goal before the end of my weight loss phase, which is after next week. This breaker has me eating FIVE of their thermo-snacks a day!

I weighed in on Monday and started out the week down .5 lbs. I weighed in yesterday and hadn’t budged at all. Tomorrow will be my last chance to lose anything significant for the week.

Today was Day 1 on the breaker, so it may be a little late to salvage this week, but even if it carries forward into another rock star week next week I’ll be happy!!

I’ll check back over the weekend and let everyone know the results of my week and how this particular breaker is treating me.

Part of me wants to ask for prayer that I can see this through and get to goal before starting balance and another part of me thinks that’s greedy. But God has brought me this far, I REALLY want to see Him do something amazing and shed these last 4 lbs from me in a little over a week. Only He can do that and I believe I’m on this journey to finish it!

Either way, I know I’ll lose it, but can you blame me for wanting to finish strong and know that I accomplished exactly what I had set out to do 2 weeks early?

So, yeah. Running out of time. This is how I feel. I had the one great week during the plateau-breaker, but just hardly anything since then.

I’m getting a little frustrated because the counselors there can’t seem to agree on what I should do. I’m trying very hard to follow their directives, but I feel like they change every time I’m there, making it very difficult.

I had one manager (who floats, but used to be my center’s manager) tell me that when I had 15 lbs left to lose, they were going to switch me to Plan 1. But I hit that mark in the middle of the recent plateau-breaker and he was gone afterwards. They wanted me to go back on my normal Plan 2 after the breaker, so I did (last week) and only lost 1 lb.

So then last Wednesday a counselor told me to try the alternating removal of one fruit and one starch each day. I did that and was down 1 lb on Friday, giving me that whopping 1 lb loss on the week.

Then I went in on Monday and was UP .25 lbs. I did NOT expect it (I usually do) because I was down about .8 lbs over the weekend on my scale at home, so it really bummed me out. That day’s counselor told me to STOP the alternating removal and that she instead wanted me to ADD a 3rd thermo-snack in and to also exchange my starches for a 4th snack 3x a week. I didn’t do it on Monday or yesterday, so today I’ll be doing it for the first time.

I weighed in today and I was down 1 lb since Monday, putting my loss so far for the week at .75 lbs. Today’s counselor told me to instead remove the VHP meal replacements next week completely and see if that helped.

4 counselors; 4 different directives.

I really think I should just go on Plan 1. I know it’s harder, but I only have 4 weeks left until I need to start Balance and I think it’s safe to say I’m NOT going to lose 10 lbs in 4 weeks at the rate I’ve been going. No matter who I get when I go in on Friday, I think I’m going to just ask why in the world they’re so hesitant to put me on that plan!?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy that I’m still losing and I don’t expect these pounds to come off as easy as they did in the beginning. However, I paid a lot of money for this plan and I am already not going to get my money’s worth since I’m moving soon. I feel like they could at least get on the same page and be consistent in how to attack these last 10 lbs so I can get as close as possible to my goal before they put me on Balance for the last 4 weeks I’m here.

Ok, enough whining. Time to enjoy my chocolate VHP meal replacement for lunch. Have a great day everyone!

SlimGenics definitely knows best, as my plateau-breaker has given me a rock star kind of week and I really haven’t had one in a long time!!

3.75 lbs on the week, which blew me right past my 85 lb milestone and landed me at 87 lbs!!

This weekend I am doing a 2-day “fresh start” before going back on my normal plan on Monday, which means that I get to eat unlimited protein, including skin and meat on the bone!! Woohoo!

So for lunch today I enjoyed KFC’s grilled chicken. Loaded with sodium, but soooooo good and so much better than a boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Admittedly, even though it’s technically on-plan and should be 100% guilt-free, I still feel a small amount of guilt for the sheer amount of sodium it contained. I know that I’ll be taking in more sodium than usual this weekend, especially with beef being unlimited, but I’m still afraid I’m going to pay for it when I weigh in on Monday.

Something tells me tomorrow will include a lot of Apple Cider Vinegar.

The best part about my weekend, though, has been the return of family who has been in Nevada for the winter since last fall. They hadn’t seen me in about 50 lbs and it was really fun to see their reaction to how I look now compared to when they left.

Even makes up (a little bit) for the SNOW that was on the ground this morning.

Even if the weather outside is frightful, I’m still thanking God for all the blessings He continues to shower me and my family with (if a little snow in April is my biggest complaint, I’m doing pretty good!!) and for continuing to give me the strength to push forward on this journey. I know He’s going to use me for something great and now I’m going to be ready for it – physically AND mentally!