If at first you don't succeed...

(Warning: REALLY long post!!)
Since the beginning of this year I have been diligently working towards my weight loss goal. I made it my new years resolution and at the beginning I was optimistic and hopeful that this would be the year I would finally become "thin". I made meal plans, bought new work out equipment, hung up my goal clothes where I could see them, and even convinced my husband to do it with me. I dieted and worked my butt off for two months. And you want to know what I got for all that hard work? I GAINED FIVE POUNDS! GAINED!!! I wanted to lock the door to our apartment and never come out. For years I've been gaining weight and have never been able to control it. I've tried so many diets and so many work out programs it's not even funny. So needless to say, I was a little frustrated and disheartened and I threw the entire diet into the trash. I knew losing weight wasn't going to be easy. I knew I would struggle with this but does it really have to be this hard? I kept telling myself, "You CAN do this!" But in the back of my head I kept wondering if it was ever going to happen, if I was ever going to get the body that I wanted.

For a few weeks I just quite everything. I didn't work out. I didn't diet. My weight stayed exactly the same and my anxiety about wanting to lose the weight so we can have more babies went through the roof. I cried. I prayed. I moped around the house. I wore the same outfit to church every Sunday because nothing else fit.

And then one day it hit me. The solution to my problem. I had been reading through my old blog posts one day and found the one where I was diagnosed with insulin resistance. I had been tested for diabetes after I had Claire because I had gestational diabetes but the test had come back completely normal. At that point, I assumed that I no longer had it. But that day I knew that it had to be the problem. Later that week I got an e-mail from Prevention Magazine (how they got my e-mail I have no idea). In that e-mail they were show casing a new book called The Metabolism Miracle. Normally I would just delete it but I kept reading the article and found that it was a diet book specially designed for those with insulin resistance! I was so excited about it that I called Joe at work and told him all about the book. I wanted to order it right then and there but instead my husband drove me out to Idaho Falls so that I could pick it up at the book store! :)

I started reading it and everything just made so much sense! She explains in the beginning of the book how people with insulin resistance don't react the same to carbs and sugar. Our bodies have a tendency to overreact to carbs by releasing excess insulin which is a fat storage hormone. So every time I ate carbs or something sugary my body would automatically store it as fat. She also had a list of symptoms that described me perfectly. These are just a few of them: you tire easily (even after a good night of sleep), mildly depressed, you have an energy slump in the afternoon, frequently feel anxious, you crave carbs such as chips, bread, and sweets, you gain weight easily but it's difficult to lose weight, and you have a midsection roll of fat.

The book is a three step plan to losing weight and keeping it off. The first step is an 8 week program that is designed to give my pancreas and liver a rest from spilling extra insulin all the time. It's called Carb Rehab which means that I basically eat carb free. I get what the author calls a 5x5 carb which means I get 5 grams of carb within a five hour period. My diet consists of a lot of low-fat protein and a lot of vegetables. No sugar is allowed in this step. It sounds hard but I am nine days into step one and it has been so worth it!!! I have lost a total of 8 pounds (!!!) and I have more energy, my body is slimming down, and I feel so incredibly HAPPY! It's been an amazing experience! I love how I feel!

The next two steps are designed to transition your body back into eating carbs. After the rehab is over my body will be able to handle carbs normally as long as I keep track of how much carbs I have during the day. The second step is designed for additional weight loss and I will be staying in step two until I lose the rest of the weight. My ultimate goal is to lose 95 pounds! Yikes! That's a big number but I really think I can do it! (8 down 87 more to go!) And the third and final step is my lifetime weight maintenance plan. It will help me to keep the weight off and live a healthy lifestyle.

I really feel like this diet has been my saving grace! I feel like I have gained control of my diet and my weight and I LOVE how much energy I have!!! I will be completely done with the first 8 weeks before we leave for our vacation in New Jersey which means that I am really crossing my fingers to look AMAZING in a swim suit! Ha I guess we will just have to see!