Happy Monday everyone! Today is also November 3rd, which is the 3 week mark on my little low-carb diet challenge. From the beginning, I told myself that on November 3rd, I would analyze things and see if I wanted to continue or change things up a bit.
First off, I’m happy to say that I did a VERY awesome job adhering to the goals I made for myself. Woo hoo! I really stuck to my guns and am SO happy I did. I ate SO MANY veggies and I loved it! I ate them with almost every meal and I didn’t have to throw out ANY produce the entire time!! That’s pretty amazing ’round here, folks. It seems like there’s usually some form of wilted/dying/rotting produce in my fridge at all times, lol.
I also feel really good! My appetite is very much under control, my body feels very clean and functional (I know that sounds weird), and my skin looks more clear and smooth than it has in a long time!
I have to admit, I did poach some Halloween candy from my little kid’s buckets on Halloween night though. 😉 That was really the only indulgence I had. I probably had 4-5 small candy bars. Not good, but HOLY COW, I know I would’ve eaten so much more if I didn’t have my goals.
Anyway, here are the results from my 3 week low-carb adventure:
- I lost 7-8 pounds.
- I actually feel thinner. 3 weeks ago I felt very, very chubby. I certainly don’t feel “thin” right now, but I don’t feel mega chubby anymore either. I’m so happy ’bout that.
- I’ve been able to add a couple more pairs of jeans to my wardrobe! They don’t fit beautifully, but they technically FIT!
- I’ve had a couple people give me some nice weight loss compliments lately and that always makes me happy!
Here’s a “before” and “after” picture, taken about 3 weeks apart…
The picture on the left was taken the day before I started my challenge. It’s a very scary picture and I don’t think the angle is doing me any favors, but I felt like a GIANT chubb that day.
The picture on the right was taken on Halloween. I still have a LONG way to go, but I think I can tell a difference in my face and overall body.
I have about 15 pounds to lose until I’m at my pre-pregnancy weight.
Oh, and FYI I’m usually a loose size 6 and can sometimes fit into a size 4 (which is probably technically a size 6, but the store marked it as a size 4 so that people like me would buy it and feel happy about fitting into a smaller size!)
Pretty good sales tactic if you ask me. Hee hee.
Anyway, I’m probably a tight size 8 right now. The jeans I have on in that picture above are a size 10. My sister bought them after she had her last baby and then she gave them to me. I wore them with this pregnancy and with my last pregnancy as I gained and then lost weight.
Those size 10 jeans were SO TIGHT on me about a month ago. I could barely zip them up! When I wore them on Halloween, they were so baggy! I could almost take them off without undoing the button.
Awesome, Possum.
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Soooooo, with all that being said, I decided to make today a “squishy day.” What I mean by that is that I indulged a little here and there throughout the day. I didn’t take a full-out cheat day, but I snitched a little bit of Halloween candy and then I made cookies with the kids tonight.
It was so fun and I don’t regret it one bit!
We had a fun family night. Kev played “Clue” with some of the kiddos….
And I made cookies for everyone. My oldest son wanted to “help” me make the cookies, which I thought was very cute. This is really not a good picture of ANYONE, except maybe the baby, but no one wanted to stop and pose.
The kids were THRILLED that I made cookies. Chocolate Chip Cookies are the favorite treat in our house and my kids have definitely missed them. We have had ZERO treats in our house the past few weeks and my older kids kept reminding me how deprived they were.
Cry me a river…..lol.
It was a really fun night and I loved my “squishy day.” I actually think “cheat days” and “cheat meals” are healthy for the psyche. After I’ve had a few treats and indulged a little bit, I usually feel motivated and anxious to get back to work! It’s kind of like taking a vacation….it’s always so so nice to take a break and get some R&R, but it’s also nice to come back home and get back to organization and structure again too.
Make sense?
Soooo, starting tomorrow, I’m going right back to my low-carb diet stuff, but I’m going to add in fruit and sweet potatoes. YAY! I’ll probably only have 2, maybe 3 servings of fruit/sweet potatoes a day though. It’s good to spread the sugary/carby stuff out throughout the day so the blood sugar stays stable.
I’m planning on sticking with that diet until Thanksgiving, which is 3 1/2 weeks away. Between Thanksgiving and New Years, I’m going to loosen up a bit and enjoy the holidays and then I’ll hit it hard again after the New Year!
Sounds like a plan.
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We had a very fun Halloween weekend and I loved that it fell on a Friday. I know there are a bunch of “Halloween Haters” out there and I really don’t get it!??! Halloween is such a fun holiday! Yes, it’s weird, warped, totally strange and a little psychotic, but I LOVE IT!
It makes me feel just like a kid again. I’m so happy I have so many kids so I can “live it up” vicariously through them! I’m not a big fan of the bloody, gory, evil stuff though. I do love the scary aspect, just as long as it’s not too over-the-top.
I’m also a DIE HARD trick-or-treater! We usually just leave a bowl of candy out on our porch and then make trick-or-treating a family affair! We head out just as it’s getting dark and then keep on going until we can’t go anymore. We’re usually out for about 2 hours and I love every single minute.
My two teenagers didn’t come with us though. Sniff, sniff.
The weather was so so perfect too! We really didn’t even need a jacket. I love our neighborhood so much! We saw so many friends along the way and stopped and chatted for a bit. It was a great night.
I snapped this pic of the kiddos just before we left…
My baby was a cute puppy dog and we also had a grim reaper dude, a green ninja (he was the green ninja last year, but wanted to be it again! yay!), a cute “super dog” and a golden ninja.
I laughed so hard when I saw this picture because it looks like Jimmer (the dog) is smiling!
Cute, cute kidlets.
Oh, and my two ninja kid’s costumes are from the show Ninjago. One of the mottos on Ninjago is “Ninja never quit!” Sooooo, when my poor kids started to get tired of Trick-or-Treating, I would remind them “Ninja never quit!”
Ya, I’m so mean. Thankfully, we brought the double stroller so they could get a break from time to time. At the end of the night, Kev just held the baby and we let the other kiddos (and dog!) ride in the stroller!
It worked out perfectly. Oh, and even though I’m a HUGE lover of health and fitness, I don’t really mind all of the Halloween candy too much.
It seems like the kids only really eat a lot of candy for a day or two and then they get sick of it. Some years, I offer to buy it from them and then I just throw it away.
I’m not too concerned about it though. Halloween is such an EPIC childhood memory and I really want them to enjoy it. They really don’t have candy too often throughout the rest of the year anyway.
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We also went out to dinner with some fun friends on Saturday night. We went to HuHot Mongolian Grill and it was delicious!
I loaded up my plate with lots of veggies, some meat and a few Pad Thai noodles. It was phenomenal!
It was a little bit spendy ($12.99 a person), but it was nice to have a “real,” fresh meal. It was “all you can eat” too.
I also loved spending time with some of our favorite friends!
It was a great night and a great weekend!
I hope y’all had a wonderful weekend and a wonderful Halloween as well! xoxo
Your family is so adorable!! Congrats on your weight loss, I know you are super excited about it! I remember when I first started losing weight after my baby, it was like a breakthrough..I actually started to believe I would be attractive again and it really helped my severe depression.
That pic of your kids on the couch in their costumes are so precious! I laughed out loud because at first I didn’t even notice your son because of his all black costume, lol! The dog and your sweet baby are just irresistible. Seriously, you are so blessed!!!
It is so nice to start losing some of the weight. It’s tough to not be pregnant anymore, but still feel so much bigger! That is so funny that you didn’t even notice my son all in black!! Love it! Thanks for your sweet comments. It always means so much to me.
Great job! I am glad you allowed yourself a little candy on halloween, and I am even happier to hear you did not regret it. Moderation is key 🙂 Your family are so lovely, and these photos make me excited to have kids someday. I am sure you will continue in the right direction to get you to where you want to be, but at the same time, love who you are! Check out my post on the changing body image of runners, I think you would like it 🙂
Thanks so much Tina. We did have a wonderful Halloween and I enjoyed the candy. 🙂 I will have to check out the post you mentioned. It sounds great!
You look great!
Love the Halloween shots. What a great time!
Thanks so much Jessica!
WOW! You look so great! I’m so happy the diet worked for you and more importantly that you feel great! I am definitely going to keep this in mind post-baby! And a little Halloween candy is no big deal! 🙂
Thanks so much! It’s been nice to finally see some of the weight coming off! I’m not very good at being patient. 🙂
Mel you’re so cute! I miss you! Congrats on the hard work!! You are awesome! Xoxo!!
HOLL!!! I miss you my sister!!! I hope to see you soon. I miss you and love you lots and lots.
You look amazing Mel, I am glad you stuck with your low-carb diet challenge because you look great and happy. Your children look adorable with their Halloween customs and I bet they had fun eating all the candy too.
Oh thanks so much! We really had such a fun Halloween…I’m sad it’s over!
You look awesome!!! Glad you gave yourself a bit of a break and it sounds like you have a great plan for the next couple months!!!
We like HuHot but don’t go often because it is sort of pricey:)
Thanks so much! That was our first time going to HuHot and I really loved it! If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d want to go there all the time!
I know EXACTLY what you mean when you say you can feel your body functioning right and that you just feel clean!! I have been eating like a HOG the last couple weeks, and finally put the brakes on two days ago. It’s going to take a solid week to get to that clean feeling, but I know how to get there and that’s what matters!! WAY TO GO, you’re inspiring me!
I’ve actually been struggling in the “clean eating” category this week and I can definitely feel the difference! I’m craving that “clean body” feeling so much and am hoping to get there soon!!!
great ! that cool , keep going
Thanks so much!
Sounds like you are doing so amazing. Isn’t it great to be getting back into your clothes. And I love all the Halloween costumes. I had so much fun handy out candy to cute kids like yours.
Thanks so much Abby! I’m SO HAPPY to be wearing some of my normal clothes again, although I still have a ways to go!
WAHOOOOOOO I am so happy to hear about your progress and that it’s been successful enough for you to want to continue! 😀 I am also happy that you were SANE around the candy, sure you snagged a few, but common, you’re only human! Stupid holiday, stupid holiday – ha ha ha! Adding in some fruit and sweet potatoes is a good idea for ya too, when you get a sweet craving you can try and just pounce on those. I know my go-to is Butternut Squash or Pumpkin 😀 With lots of STEVIA! ha ha. Natvia is the brand I love because there I NO AFTERTASTE AT ALL! 🙂
YAY!
It’s been so nice to add in fruit and sweet potatoes into the diet. Love them! I definitely want to try that Stevia. It sounds awesome. I just bought some pure stevia powder (no fillers) on Amazon and am really enjoying it so far, but when it’s gone I will try the Natvia. Sounds great!
What huge progress you’ve made. I can really see it in the photos with Carson. Good for you, lady! Once you begin your workouts you’ll be smokin!
Oh, thanks so much! It’s so nice to see a little bit of progress. Finally!
You look great! Good job with the low-carb diet. You have inspired me to try that type of diet to lose this baby weight (is it still baby weight when she is 15 months old?!) Also, for the extra Halloween candy, look into donations in your area that ship to soldiers in care packages for the holidays. We have Operation troop support and Cape Cod Cares for troops here in MA. I allowed my 3 year old to chose a few candies and then we donated the rest. It was a gallon size Ziploc bag full! I hope it will brighten a soldier’s day and it made my son really proud.
Thanks so much! I really don’t love low-carb diets, but they DO work so well for jump starting weight loss! I LOVE your idea for the extra Halloween candy. It sounds so great and such a great teaching opportunity for the kids. Thanks!
Great job on the weight loss! You can totally tell a difference in the pics you posted, and I bet you feel awesome! I agree about indulging every once in a while..especially on Halloween 😉
Oh, thank you so so much!
I’m glad you’re making progress – and giving yourself a cheat day once in a while. That’s so conducive to long term success. We had so many kids this year. My youngest almost didn’t go. It was his last year, I think. So, end of an era I guess.
I really love cheat days from time to time too! That’s so sad your kiddos are out of the “trick-or-treat” stage now. I will probably make my grandkids take me with them too! Ha.
Congratulations on your weight loss success!
I think being kind to yourself and allowing a couple of “squishy” days helps to stick to the overall regimen better than just being too strict with yourself and getting burned out. You are smart.
I love Halloween too! I don’t understand why everyone can’t just enjoy costumes and candy and fun. I love your attitude that it’s all about family fun and happy childhood memories.
My oldest teen didn’t go trick-or-treating this year either. It made me sad.
I really love having “squishy days” so much too, but it’s always so hard to get back to work again! I’ve been struggling a bit this week.
It makes me sad to see my kiddos growing up so fast! I wish they could all go trick-or-treating with us until they move out of the house! Ha ha.
I love your healthy weight loss! So glad you know about the blood sugar theory and are using it wisely!
I LOVE that you love Halloween so much! Totally cracks me up that you want to be out longer than your kids. Your’e awesome!!
Thanks Kirtley! Yes, I’m a DIE HARD “live up the holidays, relive my childhood, create great childhood memories” for the kids kind of mom. I might drive them crazy from time to time. Hee hee.