Winning the "Why"

Yesterday I flew on an airplane for the first time since being on this program. I've lost 25 lbs since starting and I was hoping to be more comfortable on the plane than I usually am. A couple of years ago I bought a seat belt extender for the plane just so I didn't have to ask for one. I also usually ask for an aisle seat so that I have more shoulder room. Yesterday I was assigned a window seat. I usually don't like the window seat because my shoulders uncomfortably bump up against the wall/window, but this was not the case on that flight. Not only was I sitting comfortably, I was able to fit the seat belt without an extender and it even had a little slack.

One of my 3 "whys" was being able to sit comfortably on a plan and this is the first time I've felt this way in a long time. I'm winning the 'whys' and it's only the beginning.

I sent that pic to Anthony as I sat on the plane telling him of my small win. He has been an amazing support to me through this process and I am so happy to be doing this health journey with him.

I packed all my food in individual bags so that I could be ready to go each day without too much work about what I was going to eat. I planned it out and packed it up. Here's what it looks like -

One more pic only because I am liking taking more selfies haha...it's because I like what I see and it's empowering to see the results in my face. I am eager to get back and start going to the gym again.

That's me and the Lonestar Cafe cow :)

The Journey Day 16

11/8/17

Yesterday was the start of Week 3. In my weigh in I had neither gained nor lost from the day before which I am okay with. I know that things are leveling out. The most important thing is how I feel and I really do feel amazing. I flew in to San Antonio yesterday for training that starts this morning.  I have been feeling lately like I'm not getting enough nutrition. I am starting to track my calorie intake on myfitnesspal app and even with the lean and green I am barely getting 800-900 calories a day with the PCMR fuelings.

I wasn't sure if my feeling queasy and headaches was due to the cycle regulating or due to lack of enough calories. Anyway, yesterday was the first day I deviated a tad bit from the regular program and did more of a 4 and 2 rather than a 5 and 1. I arrived at the hotel at about 2:30. I had eaten 3 fuelings up to that point since I had been up since 4:45 am. I went to the Denny's in front of my hotel and ate a steak and zucchini. I immediately felt better after eating that meal. I was proud of myself for not giving in to anything off plan. I took the bread off the plate and ate just the steak and veggies.

Later on, I got a text from JoEllen. She asked if I wanted to do dinner and I was excited to have company and someone to talk to. I walked about a half mile down to her hotel and then we settled on eating at Lonestar cafe. I had a smoked chicken salad with a vinaigrette. Again, very proud of myself when there were so many amazing things on the menu.

One of the things I love about being on this program is not only do I sleep better, but I don't have acid reflux anymore. I am still up and going after 7 hours of sleep like clockwork every day. I was super tired last night so after talking to Anthony and the girls over the phone and saying our family prayer over the phone, I knocked out. That was about 9:45. Sure enough, I was up by 4:45 am.

I talked to Shannon last night and it was good to hear that there are highs and lows to the program. Sometimes there are days that I feel a little more energy than others and some days that I just feel tired. Yesterday was one of those days. I took a nap after lunch and it felt good. Lately I've been like turbo just go, go, go, but yesterday I definitely felt a change.  We had daylight savings last Sunday and gained an hour which I feel has thrown me off my sleep schedule. I'm waiting for the adjustment to come and hopefully it will by the end of the week.

Today I am attending a training on an evaluation model called Results Based Accountability and we are being trained by Mark Friedman who create the model.  I'm looking forward to hearing from him and learning some new evaluation strategies.

The Journey Day 14

11/6/17

Quick update...I weighed in this morning because my flow is starting to slow down. I'm down 2 more pounds...343. That's a total of 25 lbs in 2 weeks! I'm weighing in again tomorrow for my official 2 week total, but I'm stoked about this.

The Journey Day 13

11/5/17

It's been almost 2 weeks since I started the program, but it feels much longer than that. I've had some major issues with my cycle this week that have caused some bloating and irritability, but all in all the energy continues to be up and I feel great. I told myself at my last weigh in that I would only weigh once a week or biweekly on Tuesdays, but sometimes I just have to know. So despite my feeling bloated and fear that the scale had gone up, I weighed myself yesterday morning just to see and I'm down 3 more lbs since Tuesday. So I'm down to 345 now from 368 13 days ago. Woohoo!!

One of the most interesting things about this program is that I literally can not sleep in anymore. My body is used to getting 7 hours of sleep now and just pops awake in the morning when it's time to eat. I feel like my body is driving this journey, I'm realizing that more and more with each day. When I wake up in the morning it seems to nudge me out of bed to go downstairs and eat. I try to close my eyes and reposition to get a little more sleep, but in the end my brain just does not shut down. I've never been a morning person so it's weird, but exciting to now be one. I used to be able to stay up all hours of the night and I just can't now. When it hits 10:30, I'm no good...I lay my head down and I'm out.

I'm leaving for Texas next week for work training and then I'll drive down to see Nephi in San Angelo for the weekend. I'm very excited to see Nephi and to hang out with him. I miss him so much sometimes. We were face timing last Sunday and he was shocked to see the difference in my face. I told him about what I'm doing and he said he would find good places for us to eat where I could have a healthy meal. I have also prepared a plan for meals and will pack everything up. I usually buy all my meals on these trips because I get reimbursed with a per diem, but I'll be saving a ton this time and still getting paid with a per diem. bonus!

One thing I look forward to is working out again. I feel like it will be a different experience when I go back because I feel a lot lighter and have a ton more energy. I might even go early in the morning which I've always wanted to do, but could never get out of bed to do. That's my plan once I get back from Texas and hopefully this cycle will have ended.

Today is Sunday and for to'ona'i I'm making seared tri-tip steak with sautéd veggies and a green salad...and rice for the kids. I'm trying to find a good balance between what we eat and what the kids need to eat. So far they are champs...they are growing and eating more healthy and it makes me happy.

The Journey Day 11

11/3/17

Despite some health issues this week with the birth control pills, I'm going strong. I know I'm in fat burn mode because I can barely eat the meals when it's time to eat. I'm sleeping really well except for the all night bleeding. With my cycle being so off I actually felt cravings for the first time yesterday in addition to the backache and abdominal cramps. I drank a propel and ate a sugar free Jell-O cup and that curbed it really well. Later, even though it was a 1/2 snack extra - I made the chocolate peanut butter cup in the freezer with the brownie and the PB powder. OMG! It was like eating a real peanut butter cup it was so good!

I also shared a comparison photo yesterday with Shannon and she posted it on Facebook. I wanted to see for myself the change...sometimes it's hard to tell just looking in the mirror, but it is really apparent here.

This top pic was taken at the pumpkin patch on Sina's birthday last month - nearly 3 weeks ago. The bottom was taken in my office yesterday. I'm so proud of the differences I see. It's one thing to feel the difference, but to see it is so empowering! Belle has asked about the program and I sent her some information on it. I feel like my success story will prompt others to want to be on it. It truly has changed my perception of food and nutrition and I can't see myself ever going back.

I'm thinking of maybe even becoming a health coach after the holidays. I think my progress will give others hope...our Polynesian culture around food makes it so difficult to sustain any type of eating program, but this definitely feels different and I'm excited to share it with others.

I've been enjoying cauliflower pizza crusts lately and so far I've made 3 different types of pizza. Today I think I made my best crust and pizza yet - balsamic shrimp and spinach pizza...so good!

back-tracking . . .

Old unpublished post....

I discovered a cool lil site as I was checkin' out Francine's blog, as I often do. I found out that I can make this whole blog thing a book whenever I want to. That discovery has gotten me very excited to write more and to post more pictures because I'd hate to regret not putting more pictures in. So these pictures a bit dated, but I wanted to show Sina in her "earlier days".

Sina at 2 months and then 4 months

The Journey Day 8

So the weekend was a little interesting. With the sleep schedule shifting a bit to staying up later and getting up later I had to adjust the eating times a bit,  but all in all I stayed with it. Sunday I wore a puletasi to church that I stopped wearing because it was getting tight. It fight so well and felt so good.

During toonai after church, Becky mentioned that my skin looks really bright and clear and that I look happier than usual. I told them about the program and how much it has changed the way I think about food and the goals that I have. They asked me about Thanksgiving and I told them I would probably do a cauliflower mash and eat turkey. Before I started last week I had some concerns about the holidays, but those have all gone away now.

I weighed in this morning at 348.2 exactly 20 lbs down in 1 week. I can feel it in my body and bones. It's easier to walk and get up and down the stairs. I have more energy and actually want to get things done around the house. I worked from home yesterday and went up and down the stairs during meal times for exercise.

I had a check in call with Shannon and Heather last night. Heather is the one I reached out to first when I saw her posts on LinkedIn. She referred me to Heather who got me started. They continue to emphasize the importance of the health community and making sure to stay connected for support. I see others post so freely on the Facebook pages and I am just not ready to do that yet. Perhaps in time I'll feel more comfortable, but right now it just isn't something I want to do.

I have joined multiple lean and green meal support groups and have found some amazing recipes. I think that is the most exciting part for me...looking forward to what I can make for dinner. Some people are really creative in the things they come up with. I found a recipe for making a bagel out of the mashed potatoes. I'm totally trying it to eat at a on plan sloppy joe or chicken sandwich. Someone else shared a frozen peanut butter cup they made out of the pudding and pb powder. I might have to do that for my holiday treats.