Yah I'm naughty for putting off blogging and stuff... 

I reached some goals, and sadly my body decided enough was enough and I plateaued for 3 months straight. Not very encouraging, so of course, I stopped low carbing, slacked with my work out routines, and I'm realizing now that I'm gaining weight again. When I started to plateau I was 201. SO frustrating being just a few pounds away from your ultimate goal... Then I would yo-yo off and on from then until now around 202 - 205 range. SOMETIMES peaking up to 207. Today I weight myself and I was 210. I NEVER wanted to see that number so high again. I can tell in my face and the way my once lose size 14 pants use to fit, they are tight again. I've got to snap back into low carb and continue with my goals.

I realized the reason I started to gain again was because I stopped giving myself milestones, and I took my 'daily reminder' photos off my mirror. Having that there as an eye sore of what I was and what I want to become was what kept me going from day to day. Taking it down was a bad idea... so today I reprinted the pictures and created some new weight loss rewards for myself. Interests have shifted from last time, so these seem a bit weird, but they are things I want REALLY badly, so here we go:

~ 205 lbs Reward ~

Get nails done.

~ 200 lbs Reward ~

Buy the Donna Noble shirt “Forget me Not” off TeeFury.

~ 195 lbs Reward ~

Order a commission for myself on deviantART or Signed print off eBay

~ 190 lbs Reward ~

Make Ten/TARDIS cosplay

~ 185 lbs Reward ~

(DEADLINE: AUGUST)

DSLR Camera!

Yah.... totally nerdy, but truth be told, we're trying to save up for Florida next year, and I can't really spend a whole lot of money on rewards like I planned to last time. I doubt I'll afford the DSLR camera by the time we go, but here's hoping I can convince my husband and that I can meet that goal! 

That mermaid tail I had before will break the bank, so to speak, so I have to table that for at least another year or two. Hopefully by then I'm really skinny. XD And that Ten/TARDIS cosplay will also be very expensive, so I have to be careful which goals I create.

So the plan will lead me right back to low carbing, strictly, once more. Less then 20 carbs a day, 1 cheat meal a week, and no other cheating. I hope I can keep a regular routine to the gym every other day. Going every day wasn't helping and I did find that without carbs to fuel my work outs I was getting worn out. :(

Anyways, hopefully making this blog post will motivate me a bit more. I'm very proud that I lost how much I did. I mean look!

I'm very proud of myself! 25+ pounds and I really do feel good about myself. Just gotta keep going. I'm nowhere near done!

Back to strict low-carbing

I've been cheating long enough. Yay that I haven't gained weight on the scale, but I'm starting to see that chubbiness in my face again, and I hate it, so here I go again with strict low carbing!

Hopefully this break gave my body a chance to reset and forget about the whole low carb thing and quit plateauing. I figured it was my best chance at starting anew. I hope to lose an additional 15 pounds in the next few weeks.

I'm also going to start working out regularly like I promised I would. Among other things:

No more sugar, only splenda
Cheat only ONE dinner meal a week

Here I goooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Carb Cycling

Discovered why I was keeping my weight down despite cheating. Apparently its an actual legitimate diet called Carb Cycling! 

I follow Chris Powell's blogs (he's a dieting and weight loss professional most known Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition, which ironically, starts tonight at 8pm on ABC---PLUG). Anyway, he talks about what diet he gives his contestants, and its basically a roller coaster of low carb, high carb days!

"With the Classic Cycle, besides losing weight at a quick and constant pace, you’ll also be able to tune into what is happening in your body during this carb cycle process. You’ll learn and actually feel how food affects your body, and while you may experience some brief periods of nausea, headaches, low energy and other symptoms as you change the way you fuel your body, these will be temporary. In the end, you’ll have a whole new appreciation for this marvelous body you have! And as with the Easy Cycle, you can stick with the Classic Cycle throughout your weight loss journey or move onto another cycle. You are in control!"

Full article here: http://chrispowell.webfactional.com/carb-cycling-the-easy-cycle/ 

The star is one entire day of cheating, and you get one reward meal a week on a high carb day. So while I'm still counting carbs, and keeping them low, I can still have foods I love. :D

I may try this for a week to see how my body reacts. But in reality, it was no different than what I was already doing. I was going a couple of days, staying super strict with low carb, then slacking for a few days. I think if I did every other, I might see better results. 

Either way, I gotta get back into dieting. I'm still 201 - 204 range, despite cheating regularly. SO glad I'm maintaining, but the break is over, time to get that number under 200! :D

Maintaining weight! (Thankfully)

I've always been good at keeping my weight solid. It's the reason I stayed 217 pounds for 4 years straight after I had Kadree. It was only those last few months before I started this low carb lifestyle that I really let myself go, eating out too much; McDonald's, Taco Bell and any other fatty place I could find, as well as drastically increasing my sugar intake. That's what made me go from 217 to 224 in just a few months. Normally, I'm not like that. It must have been a hard time in life, too much stress or something, because normally I stay away from sugar (I don't go out of my way to eat it), I control my portions to keep my stomach small, and I just try to eat normal, and not pig out or whatever.

Lately, I've gone back to that healthy 'normal'. I slacked on the low carbing (since we had so many friends and family visit, eating out a ton really tempts me). Thankfully, my body remembers how to maintain! I've been dancing around 201-204 for 2 1/2 weeks, which is normal for anyone, dieting or not, to yo-yo a little bit. 

I miss seeing 201, but I'm hoping with this break from dieting will refresh my body. That way when I start eating strict low carb again (which I started again today), my body will lose again. I'm hoping it'll treat it like I just started my diet for the first time. Your body usually goes through a shock and rapidly loses when you first start low carb. Just like I did when I started, losing 15 pounds in 2 weeks (which is what Atkins advertises). 

I've read lots of articles of people who say sometimes to jump start your diet, you have to cheat for like a week, then switch to being super strict and lowering your carb intake. It's risky, and yes you do pack on the pounds a bit, but so far its been working. It's what helped me get passed that first big plateau at 210. 

Cheating for 2 weeks off and on has been great, and thankfully, no rapid weight gain, but even though I haven't reached my first major goal of reaching 199, I'm already enjoying the benefits. Lots of people have seen the difference and have complimented how good I look, compared to back when I first started in February. I can see a difference in the way clothes look on me. Most of my tight shirts I wore then, are lose now! I'm inches away from wearing a size 16, but with all this excess skin, not sure if that will happen. Either way, 17/18 is far better than size 20/21!!!

This last weekend I went to a convention, as Link as usual, and people noticed how loose my costume was, in fact I was swimming in that tunic! That was a huge motivation boost, because every time I go to a con, I'm motivated to try new cosplays. Since the weight has come off, its motivated me to try more. :)

Anyways, other than that, nothing new. I'm happy with my results so far, even though they could be better if I stopped slacking off and making excuses. XD I need to hit the gym at some point again, and get back into a normal schedule. 

So close...

This has been teasing me for the past 3 days!!! So close! Don't screw up now!