Update

So I thought I ought to update.

I'm still on my diet. The drastic changes have become habit now, and life is still rolling along.

My Diet/Lifestyle Changes:

-Cut down on sugar
-Remove gluten as much as possible
-Drink more water
-Move around more

I cut my sugar consumption down to 10 grams or less per serving of anything processed, with the exception of slim fast drinks. It was hard at first, but I feel pretty good about it now. I can even take my coffee without sugar, as long as I use plenty of cream. I have gotten pretty good about not wanting to binge on sugar because of an amazing realization.

Sugar is what caused a great deal of my anxiety.

I never realized until I cut it out. How I found this out, is my mother made some homemade baked beans. I LOVE beans so much. She served me some. They were sickly sweet. She assured me that she'd only added maple syrup. So I ate them, and they were delicious. However, soon thereafter I spent the rest of the evening having panic attacks! I looked on the jug of maple syrup and a serving is 2 tablespoons. Each serving contains 51 grams of sugar!!! Well, no wonder I reacted so badly! So now I make doubly sure to read labels and know exactly what I'm eating.

Removing gluten was pretty easy, but I never realized how gluten is literally everywhere! And I ate SO much of it! Within days of cutting out all wheat products (bread, pasta, cake, etc) I felt lighter. And out only took days for my family to notice that I'm reducing too. I feel better and I look better. Less bloated.

Drinking water has been really hard! I've never been someone who really desired water. I grew up on sugary drinks. I love carbonation. So I switched to seltzer. It's not bad. And there are some pretty yummy seasonal flavors of Polar Seltzer out right now. I really enjoy the Champagne Strawberry flavor! But I'm doing a lot better than I have in the past with drinking. I feel good about it.

Moving around has not been much of a problem. We moved recently, and I had a lot of things to do. Now, I'm doing a lot here at home while I wait for my new job to start. I never realized how much WORK it is simply keeping a household running. Stay-at-home spouses, I salute you!

I can go up the stairs now without killing my knees and back. I walk briskly through the grocery store chasing after my mom on the motorized cart. I feel like my posture is better when I stand and walk. I feel more like myself again and less like Jabba the Hutt.

Best part is I'm getting more to the point where I'm feeling my clothes fitting better. This past summer I was so fat my sports bras wouldn't stay on my boobs comfortably. Now, my boobs are looking amazing in all my tops! I am finding my waist again. I don't only have to wear yoga pants.

Win.