Back to Basics: Tools and Rules (Top 3)

Well hello there! Two and a half months later and I'm finally back in front of the computer writing again. It's been a crazy few months... my husband and I have gone on vacation, moved, almost moved again, and been running from one social obligation to another. But I'm excited to be back at the keyboard, if for no other reason than to kick-start my healthy habits.

Oh! But really quick, for those of you who remember me mentioning my "prom night" date that I was going to have with Ben, here's a photo (strapless gown for the win! Thanks Jani Snell!):

In the last year I've been asked now and again how I've managed to drop the weight (currently at 158 pounds, by the way). I thought I'd take some time to write out my "how-to" guide so that I have somewhere to point people in the future when I'm asked this question. It will also be a fabulous reminder for me on what I need to continue do to be successful. I'm calling them my "Tools and Rules". Today I'll start with my top 3.

(One quick disclaimer: I use the word "diet" a lot. I really hate that word because it's become so taboo over the last few years. I always get the people who look at me with condescension and say "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change". While I totally agree with that statement, that this is much more than just changing what you eat for a short period of time, I don't mean "diet" when it's defined like that. The word diet has two definitions in the dictionary. The noun: "The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats." And the verb: "Restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight." While I am "dieting" by making restrictions on myself, I'm also simply talking about my "diet", as in the foods I eat habitually.)

Rule/Tool #1: Jesus & Made to Crave

The foundation for truly changing anything from bad to good in my life will always start with Jesus. It has only been with His guidance and grace that I've managed any of this. The best tool He gave me for this specific battle is a combination of His Word (which I need to use waaaaay more often than I do) and the words of Lysa TerKeurst in her book, "Made to Crave".

Lysa has been dealing with the struggle of food for many years and as many of us do, she's sought to find the right balance between saying no to food and saying no to vanity. In her book, what she really teaches her readers is to not just say no (and live in constant deprivation) but more importantly to say "yes". Yes to filling your life with God and choosing to redirect your unhealthy food cravings towards the One who you were created to crave eternally.

She gives her readers some practical advice on how to do things, but she does not say one diet plan or workout routine is best. I really appreciated that because I don't think one diet fits all any more than one cocktail dress fits all. Everyone is made differently, enjoys different foods, and usually has a specific workout that they know they will actually do. My diet and workout routine might be the perfect fit for some of you out there, but I know better than to think it will "work" for everyone. What will work is to lay down your eating habits at the cross and ask Jesus what needs to change about them. For me, food was in control of me instead of me being in control of my food. That needed to be dealt with (and still is dealt with) everyday while I figured out what my new lifestyle would look like.

Above all, my attitude about food, health and beauty needed to change. They were all tied together in this secret place that I wouldn't let God touch. Reading Made to Crave and giving God full access to this struggle was essential (and still is) to making me successful long term and not making it about the wrong things like looking hot in a mini-skirt. 

I recommend this rule/tool for everyone who struggles with food more than once in a while and wants to know what God thinks about your eating habits.

Rule/Tool #2: Food/Workout Tracking

This tool has been one that more recently I've been able to shelve, but was absolutely essential in the beginning of my journey. The web has tons of these tracking websites (Lifehacker lists their top five here), but my weapon of choice has been Sparkpeople.com. Sites like SparkPeople offer much more than a place to write down how many calories you've consumed. They offer food, workout, and goal tracking, while supplying you with recipes, fitness articles and testimonials of others who have been successful in their weight loss. They also offer a place to connect to others while you go through their weight-loss journey. You can access SparkPeople from your computer, but it's also available as an app on Android or Apple devices. I strongly encourage anyone starting a weight-loss plan to check out a site like SparkPeople and look into all they have to offer.

Tracking helped me be realistic about what I was eating and how much I was working out. It held me accountable and gave me parameters to stick to. Because I was such a major food addict, I needed all the boundaries I could get. I couldn't be trusted (still can't!) to make decisions in the moment. I needed a plan and rules in place so that I knew when it was okay to say yes and more importantly when I needed to say no to certain foods.

I recommend this rule/tool for anyone beginning their weight loss journey and in need of some structure. So basically everyone who wants to change their eating/workout habits and knows that simply wanting to change isn't enough. You need the how.

Rule/Tool #3: Greater Curvature Stomach Plication

This is the most controversial and drastic tool I've put in my dieting tool belt. Let me start by saying weight loss surgery is not for everyone. Most people will not need to do what I chose to do. And for those of you thinking about if it's the right step for you, I strongly suggest you do your homework, talk to your doctor and pray about it. It is not a cure all or a magic bullet. If you are not dedicated to changing how you deal with food (and your health in general), surgery will not fix your problem.

There are now many options available for someone considering weight loss surgery, all of which have their risks. Plication surgery is very new on the market, but the studies done have shown it to be one with the fewest complications and highest success rate long term. Also, since there's no device to implant (and pay for) it's one of the cheapest choices. This procedure was presented to me while I was looking into lap-band surgery, otherwise I would never have known about it. After much prayer and research, I truly felt God had brought this opportunity to me and two months later I was under the knife.

Plication surgery was just one more boundary put in place to keep me safe. When I do make indulgent food choices, it limits the amount. Even when I'm eating healthy foods, I used to have a very hard time with portion control and the surgery changed that for me. About a cup and a half of food and I'm basically stuffed. That means that things like buffets are no longer a temptation, since I'd barely be able to eat half a plate's worth anyway!

I recommend this rule/tool only to those who feel their eating is truly out of control, and only after much thought, prayer and research. You need to know the risks involved and know your own body's ability to handle those risks.

So there's the top three things I use in my healthy eating journey. I'll add to this list in my next post, giving a bit more of the "secret recipe" to how God's helped me lose 74 pounds.

Much love,
Leigh

Before and After (As Promised)

April 8th, 2011 at my friend April's wedding.

May 13th, 2012. Back in my wedding dress for the first time in 5 years!

1 Year Later

I've got a fun story to tell you...

I've been working hard this past week and a half, as I told you I would in my last blog. I needed to be at 157 on my scale in order to be at 160 on my doc's scale. After working hard (I COMPLETELY cut out sugar, amongst other things) I was hopeful that I might just make it. So, I woke up yesterday, did my usual pre-weigh in routine (go to the bathroom, undress, take hair tie out), stepped on the scale and saw: 159. I wasn't going to make it after all.

I can't lie, my heart broke a bit. I told God I was bummed, but that I knew He wanted me to remember how far I've come and that I also wasn't done yet. This is a lifelong change that I'm just at the beginning of. I did my best to get my heart right and remind myself that God's plans are bigger than a number on a scale and that I can trust Him with what was happening. Then I finished getting dressed, ate very little so that I would at least be as low as I could be at the doctor's office, and headed off.

When I got to the doc's office, I got changed into my wedding rehearsal dress (I got in my wedding dress earlier this week!! Such a fun bonus!). It's a simple black dress that's light weight, chosen because I knew there was going to be pictures, and also hoping it wouldn't affect the scale much. I had gotten my confidence back a bit, after all I had lost 73 pounds by my scale. That's nothing to sneeze at! I was shown back to an exam room, and got on the scale, ready to give my "well 98% excess weight loss is not bad!" speech. Then I looked up at the number:

160.0. On. The. Dot. 

I know God must have been smiling with me at this point. I didn't hear Him audibly, but I knew He was saying to my heart: "I needed you to turn your eyes on Me and My purposes for your life. I needed you to remember that it's just a number on a scale. I needed you to know that you're working so hard to please Me and bring Me glory, not your doctor. Once you had that straight, I was happy to give this to you, too." 

God has done so many miracles in my life. And yesterday He gave me one more. Looking back on the last year He has done so much; taught me and changed me and given me victory over things I thought would hold me forever. Thankful doesn't begin to describe how I feel about what He's done. And I won't stop at being thankful, either. I believe God has empowered me to defeat these demons not just for me, but so that I can help others know there's a way out, too. We all have our addictions. We all have our everyday battles that beat us down. But let me tell you something: God is bigger. And He wants in on the fight. You don't have to do this alone, no matter what your struggle is. God doesn't want you to try and fix your problems on your own. He knows you can't. He also knows He can. I'm living proof.

In the future, I hope to help women in the church specifically with this food battle. Two-thirds of America is overweight and the church is no exception. What that says to me is that food is an issue that people need God's help with. So often it's looked at as something that we need to do on our own. I mean, it's almost weird to think that God cares if I have another brownie. But He does. God cares about anything that is hurting us. Anything that is the master of us. And if we're consistently overweight and can't manage to control our food choices in order to help that, then food has become our master. I learned that the hard way.

So we'll see what God's going to do with this. I hope to be His tool to help others in any way He sees fit. I want others to experience the freedom that I've come to know. I want everyone to invite Jesus into their battles so that they can finally see victory.

(Steps off soapbox...)

Thank you all for supporting me through this last year. I'm not done yet, I actually still have another 9 pounds I want to lose regardless of what the doctor says, but I know I'll get there soon. Until then, I've got some fun plans to celebrate how far God's brought me when Ben and I go visit my folks in Vegas in a week and a half!

My plan for the future of this blog is to start including some healthy lifestyle "tips" that I've found the most beneficial. That will help keep me on my toes, too, and encourage me to keep looking for ways to be more healthy in a manageable way.

Much love to you all,
Leigh

P.S. Before and After pictures will be coming shortly!! (Ben saw the "before" picture and went, "noooooo..." it was pretty funny.) :)

Getting Close to the Finish Line... the Real One.

Latest update: 161.4 pounds. 71 pounds down. 11.4 to go. Newest finish line date: June 1st.

Funnest part of that update: I'M IN MY SIZE 10 JEANS!!!

Last time I was at the doctor's office he gave me some fantastic news. At my 10 month appointment, I'd lost 90% of my excess weight. (According to his scale I started at 228, and am currently at 167. 160 would put me at a technically healthy body mass index.) What did this mean to me? I've got 7 weeks to drop 7 pounds. And I had one thought.

It. Is. ON.

I mean, come on... I have to at least TRY for it! And so far? So far I'm down 3. In 3 weeks. And I'm on track to get to 100% of my excess weight lost by my next appointment (and a year from my surgery date): May 18. My body's responding pretty quickly to working out again, especially since I've added weights to the regimen.

What God has quickly reminded me is this: I'll get nowhere without His help. And I have to want His plan more than I want my own. So I told Him the truth, that I wanted to get to 160 (on the doc's scale) by May 18. But I also told Him that I didn't want to do this my way. I wanted to do it the right way. His way. So I dove back into Made to Crave and thankfully, the lessons are still rocking my dieting world. Even the 4th time around! 

I'm realizing that a healthy lifestyle with this eating thing is kind of like a healthy marriage. You can't just get lazy once things are good. Eventually, you'll start to slip more and more back into those old bad habits and have to fix it all over again. And I DO NOT want to EVER have to do this again.

Whether or not I hit 160 by that date, I know God has taken me through the worst of this addiction. Mind you, I know I can walk back into at any time, so I'll cling to Jesus as hard as I can from here on out. But if I'll do that, if I'll continue to faithfully renew my mind in His Word, I believe that I won't ever have to be at that desperate place I started ever again. And that is nothing short of miraculous. Food isn't my ruler any more. By God's grace, I am the ruler of my food. And it's gonna stay that way.

As always, your prayers are appreciated. God is doing a lot in my life right now (and my husband's life, too) and I know that being healthy is not the answer to all life's problems. But this last year has taught me so much about who I am in the Lord and how powerful He can be in me that I have faith He can take me through anything. (No, God, that is not a challenge...)

One really fun finish line prize I'm looking forward to? Ben's asked me to go to "prom" with him. Now let me explain... the other night we were at a restaurant and a bunch of high school kids walked by in their fancy dresses and black tuxes. I smiled and sighed. Ben noticed. He knows that in high school I was never asked to prom. (I only went because each year a good guy friend was kind enough to go with me) So he reached over and took my hand and asked, "Will you go to prom with me?" We decided to get all gussied up and go out together. He said he'll even rent a tux. And I realized that would be the perfect way to celebrate me getting to my goal weight. Get in some gorgeous gown and go out on the town with my very own Prince Charming. Yeah, I know, I'm spoiled. And I can't wait.

So my next post will be on May 18. I'll let you know if I "made it", but even if I didn't, I think I can say with confidence that I have faith that I'll get there. And in a lot of the most important ways, I know God's already brought me through. :)

See you in a week and a half!

<3 Leigh

Frustrations, Avoidance and Redemption

So you may have noticed I've been gone awhile. (Or maybe not...) And I have a confession. I've been avoiding you. Not any one of you specifically, but all of you. The truth is I've been avoiding writing here because my scale hasn't moved down. I've gotten a bit frustrated in my struggle with my weight and, quite stupidly, I thought that meant I had no right to write. But God reminded me that frustration is a part of everyone's struggle, regardless of what it is, and it's important to share with you while I'm frustrated. If I don't, I'm short-changing what God's doing. This frustration is part of my path, and I need to have enough faith in what God's going to do to share this part of the story with you. So here goes...

I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place. Specifically, I've been stuck between an injured and a sick place. I have an injury I've been battling for many months now that directly affects my ability to workout the way I normally do. With this comes good news and bad news. The bad news is that I can't do Zumba, which I miss like crazy. The good news is that I haven't been gaining weight. I've stayed the same! This is the first time in my life where I've managed that feat! And by "I've managed that feat" I of course mean God's blessed me as I unwittingly walked the path He chose.

The practical dieting side of the story goes like this:

I have a two or three health conditions that I've been dealing with for a few years now, one of which requires me to take thyroid medication everyday on an empty stomach (empty stomach = 2 hours of not eating before taking the pill, followed by at least 1 hour of not eating). I've always gotten up in the morning, taken my pill and then waited an hour to eat. But after an incident where I basically passed out at a doctor's appointment one morning, I found out I'm borderline hypoglycemic. I also have low blood pressure. All of that meant I had to find a new time to take my thyroid medication, as I had to eat within an hour of waking up. This led me, unwittingly, to the best dieting "trick" ever. I decided I would stop eating two hours before bedtime in order to take my pill on an empty stomach. I also started getting up earlier and making myself an all-protein breakfast every morning, to avoid any more passing out incidents. (Breakfast consists of 2 eggs and deli turkey, if you're curious... so good and so easy!) 

That combo of eating a high protein breakfast and stopping eating at least two hours before bedtime has totally changed how my body holds on to food. See, I haven't been just not working out (once again, due to injury, not by choice), I haven't really been dieting either. I've been careful, not eating the way I did a year ago, that's for sure, but I haven't been counting my calories on Sparkpeople.com like I usually have to. I've just been aware of when I'm hungry and need some food (I stick to protein whenever possible as my stomach does NOT like sugar/carbs on an empty stomach, part of the hypoglycemia), which has meant I've become a "grazer", eating little snacks throughout the day. I eat whatever is reasonable calorically and sounds appetizing. And somehow, my scale hasn't moved. This is nothing short of a miracle.

With all of the above in mind, I decided a few days ago to get my butt in gear again and lose that last 16 pounds before June 1st (Ben and I are going to Vegas for a week and it will be so fun to pack one of my old 2 piece bathing suits!). Just by getting back to tracking what I eat with the two new "rules" in place, I lost 3 pounds in 3 days. WITHOUT WORKING OUT. EATING 1500 CALORIES A DAY. That has NEVER been possible for me before!!! Usually it takes me eating 1000-1200 calories and then working out 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes in order for me to lose weight.

Let me just tell you that I am shocked at how powerful these two new habits are. I have, of course, heard that eating a good breakfast and not eating before bed are good for you, but I had no idea just how good they would be! I'm finally finding a healthy lifestyle I can keep up and not feel like I'm constantly in a state of deprivation. And as always, I didn't do this. God did.

I wouldn't have changed unless I had to. God knows this about me. I'm stubborn in my habits. Eating at night is not something I would give up unless it was absolutely necessary. So God allowed my body to break just enough to make it necessary. Getting up earlier to make myself breakfast falls into the same category... I love to sleep waaay too much and the morning is one of the few times when I'm usually NOT hungry. God knew that needed to change, too. He also knew that regardless of my stubborn habits, my heart's desire is to be healthy and wise with how I eat. So He went around my weakness and found a way to tether His best to a plan I could follow. I'm in awe of His goodness and grace. He continues to blow me away with how He can take something I'm determined to see as a bad thing and redeem it for His glory and my blessing.

I know this was a long post, and major kudos to you for finishing it. I hope and pray it has encouraged you to see that God can redeem things that we are sure are harmful and useless. I also hope that what I've relayed here can help you practically in your weight loss journey, should you be on one.

Until next time,

<3 Leigh

Bring on 2012

First post of 2012! Woohooo!!

Alright, this is gonna be short and sweet. The last two months have flown by and I've managed to maintain my weight, by God's grace. :) Now, it's time to kick things back into high gear. I've got goals for the new year (huge shock, I know) and here they are:

1. 150 pounds by April 1st. (Currently at 167)
2. Get my hip and knee healthy. (Need to go back to physical therapy)
3. Teach a Zumba class.

Those are my big three. I'm hoping to hit my goal weight before April, but I want to keep the timeline realistic and not kill myself trying to make it happen.

So there's my short and sweet blog. I do want to write more, but at the moment this is all my foggy brain can provide. I'll write again soon.

I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!

<3 Leigh